Will Lethal Force get his ground as 16 declared for the Betfred Sprint Cup?

Lethal Force wins the Darley July Cup in record time on very fast ground, but he’s most unlikely to get that on Saturday. Image courtesy of racingfotos.com.

A highly competitive, 16-runner Betfred Sprint Cup promises a very exciting race at 3.50pm on Saturday afternoon, live on Channel 4, with the weather the critical unknown factor at this stage.

Lethal Force, brilliant winner of the Diamond Jubilee Stakes and Darley July Cup, is currently a warm favourite and if the race was due to take place today, he would be hard to oppose on the fast ground that currently prevails at Haydock Park.

However, rain is due tomorrow and Saturday – maybe a lot of it – and that will count against Lethal Force in a big way.

Instead it will be a huge plus for one of two Irish raiders, Gordon Lord Byron, whose best form is over a slightly longer distance than Saturday’s six furlongs, but softening ground would play to his strengths.

He was just three-quarters of a length behind Lethal Force when the pair clashed on good ground in France last month over six and a half furlongs, running on strongly at the finish.

If Saturday’s race was over seven furlongs, he would have a huge chance but the big question remains – does he have the speed to win a top class sprint?

The other Irish visitor, Slade Power, won’t mind what the ground is like and he would also have a big chance judged on his solid third place in the Darley July Cup when the ground was absolutely in Lethal Force’s favour.

He got worked up before the five furlong Coolmore Nunthorpe Stakes at York last month and that cost him any chance, but if he’s calm on Saturday he could well be involved in the finish.

Hawkeyethenoo is another who would appreciate rain, while Heerat has run well on good-to-soft ground before.

South African raider Kavanagh represents Mike De Kock, though he would probably appreciate a fast surface.

One of the most interesting runners is Garswood, winner of two good seven furlong contests this season.

He will definitely appreciate the rain and like Gordon Lord Byron, it all boils down to whether he has the speed for six furlongs. He may have and if so would be a threat to them all.

Lethal Force is set to take on his stable companion, Reckless Abandon, for the first time and the word from Clive Cox’s yard is that if some rain comes, Reckless Abandon could be the one to be on.

He was brilliant in his two-year-old campaign last season, winning all his races.

In his three most important victories he was ridden by French ace Gerald Mosse, who is reunited with him on Saturday for the first time since.

Very soft ground would be an unknown, but there’s no doubt that he is top class and this could be his day to prove that he’s retained last season’s brilliance.

Three and five-year-olds have just held sway this century with four victories apiece – four-year-olds have been successful three times with one six-year-old and one seven-year-old triumphant.

That speaks in favour of the two three-year-olds, Garswood and Reckless Abandon, and the one five-year-old, Gordon Lord Byron.

The negative for the latter and Slade Power is that no Irish-trained horse has won the race since way back in 1972.