Gordon Lord Byron takes the Betfred Sprint Cup in style

Gordon Lord Byron comes home clear of his rivals in today’s Betfred Sprint Cup. Image courtesy of racingfotos.com.

This afternoon’s Betfred Sprint Cup at Haydock Park, race six in the Sprint division of the QIPCO British Champions Series, was undoubtedly the highlight of Gordon Lord Byron’s remarkable career.

He may have won the Group 1 Prix de la Foret at Longchamp on Arc Day last year, but that was run on heavy ground against modest opposition.

This afternoon he was electric. Always travelling well on the fair rail behind the early leader, Heerat, he took the lead with over two furlongs to run and when his jockey, Johnny Murtagh, asked him to quicken well over a furlong from home, the race was over.

He shot clear and was always in control of his labouring rivals, ultimately coasting home by an easy three lengths from fellow Irish raider, Slade Power, with a rejuvenated Hoof It, who had finished a very close third to Dream Ahead and Bated Breath in this race in 2011, three quarters of a length back in third.

Gordon Lord Byron had run really well in this race last year when second to Society Rock, but there was always a niggling doubt as to whether he was better over seven furlongs, the distance of the Prix de la Foret.

Today he proved that he is indeed a top class sprinter and there seems little doubt that he is still improving, remarkable for a horse who fractured his pelvis on his first ever racecourse appearance in 2010 and needed a long period of recuperation.

It is remarkable too that he cost just 2,000 euros – he has repaid that about 300 times already!

Runner-up Slade Power will go for the QIPCO British Champions Sprint on QIPCO British Champions Day at Ascot on Saturday 19 October while Gordon Lord Byron could also be seen that day in the £1m Queen Elizabeth II Stakes with Hogan keen to have a crack at Europe’s top mile race.

First he will try to defend his Prix de la Foret crown.

Murtagh, who is now just 15 points adrift of Richard Hughes in the Jockey of the Series table, said: "He was different today.

"I don’t know if it was the ground, but when I got to the three marker I was taking him back.

"I let him coast down to the two and when I gave him a couple of cracks, unlike the last time I rode him when he was hard work, today he was just electric and he picked up really well and won easy.

"He ran very well in France (Prix Maurice de Gheest). He’s very tough and was staying on really well on ground that was probably quicker than ideal.

"Today he was different. He looked different. The girl who rides him out said he was in a different zone."

Hogan said: "I knew that he had improved at this time of year every year. I knew last week he was well.

"I felt today was his day and hopefully he will keep on improving this year.

"I think we will go for the Prix de la Foret and then we might look at the QEII and go for a Group 1 over a mile for a change."

If he does, he could give Dawn Approach and Toronado something to think about in one of the highlights of QIPCO British Champions Day!

Clive Cox blamed himself for not taking the favourite, Lethal Force, out of the race once the rain had come.

Like Dawn Approach in the QIPCO Sussex Stakes and Al Kazeem in the Juddmonte International, Lethal Force was another to fail to do what only Frankel has done in the three editions of the QIPCO British Champions Series so far – win three races in one season. Indeed Frankel won five last year!