Bet365 Old Newton Cup at Haydock

It’s always worth forgiving a horse for one indifferent performance, and if we forgive FLAMBOYANT LAD for his below par effort at royal Ascot at York, there are plenty of reasons to think he will win Saturday’s Bet365 Old Newton Cup at Haydock.

In the middle distance staying handicapper’s sphere, few have been more progressive over the last two seasons. Indeed, Barry Hills’ charge looked a pattern-class performer in the making when scoring at Newbury on his penultimate start, where he readily beat subsequent Northumberland Plate victor Sergeant Cecil by three lengths.

The going was firm that day, but the four-year-old also won on good and soft going last term, so there’s no reason for concern whichever way the weather decides to go at the Merseyside track.

Flamboyant Lad, who is a well-bred colt by Nashwan, is just 6lb higher than when scoring at Newbury in May, which looks lenient given how well the form has worked out and the authority with which he won. He’s a strong galloping type, who looks tailor-made for the gradients of Haydock Park’s stiff course and at 8-1 with Stanley Bet and William Hill he simply must be supported.

I’m not overly convinced by ante-post favourite Promotion, who runs in the colours of The Queen. He’s a smart colt, don’t get me wrong, but he’s not an easy horse to win with and is currently off a mark 14lb higher than when recording his last victory, which came at Newmarket last May.

More of a danger in my opinion is Tawqeet, as he looked like a horse on the upgrade when slamming Sirce by six lengths at Newbury, and his revised mark of 87 is hardly prohibitive. Like the selection, he acts on any going and, again like the selection, could prove to be better than a handicapper in time.

The Mark Johnston-trained Quizzene was another to flop at royal Ascot at York. The three-year-old was all the rage for the valuable King George V Handicap, but simply failed to give anything like his true running. The grey colt had scored in good style at Sandown and Chester respectively prior to Royal Ascot, and if returning to that sort he should give a good account.

However, a stat that puts me off both Tawqeet and Quizzene, is that no horse under the age of four has won this race in the last decade, which suggests that you want to be looking for a more battle-hardened performer, who has experienced the rough and tumble of this sort of contest.

Flamboyant Lad scores highly in that department. In addition to that impressive display at Newbury I eluded to earlier, he rattled up a hat-trick in the autumn last year, concluding in a battling victory in a highly competitive 19-runner handicap at Newmarket, where he beat classy dual-purpose performer Big Moment by a head, with some very smart sorts strung out like washing behind. 

I doubt Flamboyant Lad will prove good enough to go on and emulate last year’s winner of this, Alkaased, who landed a top-class renewal of the Group One Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud in France recently, but he’s certainly good enough to land this before possibly going on to hold his own in Listed and Group three company.

Betting verdict: 1pt win Flamboyant lad @ 8-1 (William Hill)