'The rain hasn't come in time' - more than a third of Haydock runners pulled out

Haydock officials on Saturday bemoaned bad luck with the weather after more than a third of runners on the Betfair Sprint Cup card were taken out, the vast majority due to the quick ground.

A total of 34 horses were pulled out of the track's signature Flat fixture, with the seven-race card taking place on good to firm, firm in places.

The going was changed from good to firm on Saturday morning after a dry and warm night. A total of 8-10mm of rain was forecast on raceday but failed to materialise.

All but four of the non-runners were due to the going on a card that attracted 88 declarations.

When asked why the track did not water, clerk of the course Kirkland Tellwright said: "I've been doing this for 22 years and I'm no stranger to this set of circumstances. There were other years when I've chosen to water and the even money chance of rain has turned into a downpour and we found ground a lot softer than people want which they found unsatisfactory.

Island Brave had only five rivals to beat in the Old Borough CupCredit: Grossick Racing

"We've had a forecast of rain through the week and we'd only want 4mm of rain for everyone to be happy. It hasn't materialised, there's been rain in Liverpool – Kirby on the Wirral – but not here. It's not far away but it's not come in time for us.

"I do believe it's right that when you're running a Group 1 sprint race, if you're in doubt, you're better off leaving it alone.

"Maybe the BHA needs to have a conversation with people and ask if we should be changing the general instruction so that clerks eliminate the risk of firm ground from their calculations.

"However, in that case there is a greatly heightened risk of soft ground, and if you want that you're quite likely to get it at Ascot in October."

Kinross and Brad The Brief were among five horses to be taken out of the Betfair Sprint Cup, while the field for the Superior Mile was halved to four runners and nine horses were scratched from the Old Borough Cup, leading to a field of six.

Tellwright said: "We faced a similar set of circumstances in Oasis Dream's year. We chose not to water until the last minute but after we watered there was rain and we were heavily criticised. We've tried the other way round but the problem is there's always a degree of risk that the forecast will be wrong. My experience is you're better producing it too quick rather than too slow for a sprint race.

"Inevitably, there will be disappointment among trainers, but I have a suspicion that no matter what the weather had been, whether it had rained or not, some of the declared runners would not have run."

Charlie Appleby, who won the Ascendant Stakes with Naval Power, expressed sympathy for Tellwright. He said: "I know I wouldn't be applying to be a clerk of the course. The way the weather is nowadays, nobody can pin their colours to what is going to happen.

"It's a very hard job and it's very hard to keep everybody happy. If he watered last night it would have made it worse because the ground would have been loose."

Full list of Haydock non-runners

1.45: Bayside Boy, Brunch, Dark Shift, Reach For The Moon
2.20: Zain Nights, Post Impressionist, Speycaster, Sarsons Risk
2.55: Rajinsky, Morando, Dark Jedi, Taipan, Going Gone, Evaluation, Soulcombe, Contact, Reshoun
3.30: Great Ambassador, Kinross, Umm Kulthum, Castle Star, Brad The Brief
4.05: Corazon, Barbill, Sunday Sovereign, Copper Knight, Lord Riddiford
5.14: Shawaamekh, Gifted Ruler, Monteria, Mustazeed, Give It Some Teddy, Barney's Bay, Tammani

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