Hello Youmzain dominates to win the Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock

Kevin Ryan was rewarded for playing the waiting game with Hello Youmzain after the fast-improving sprinter enhanced the excellent recent record of three-year-olds with a dominant display in the Betfair Sprint Cup.

Resisting the temptation to run in the Nunthorpe at his beloved York must have been tough for the Hambleton trainer, but bringing a fresh horse from Royal Ascot in June to Haydock's premier Flat race paid off handsomely.

The late withdrawals of Group 1 winners Advertise and Ten Sovereigns might have depleted the three-year-old challenge, but Hello Youmzain more than made up for their absence when providing the Classic crop with a fifth win in the last six years of the race.

"It was an amazing performance and he's a fantastic horse," said Ryan, who also ran Brando and Major Jumbo in the Group 1 contest.

"He jumped professionally; they've gone a good gallop and he's quickened up well. Major Jumbo is a very fast horse and he had him out of his comfort zone very quickly.

"We put him in the Nunthorpe but it was a tentative entry, if it came up very soft, and this race and Champions Day was always the plan."

Hello Youmzain, who was backed into 9-2 co-favourite (from 6), had caused a stir at the course before in the Sandy Lane Stakes in May when turning over the now-retired Calyx, who was sent off the 2-13 favourite.

After a slow start in the Commonwealth Cup, he stayed on in eyecatching fashion to finish third, after which he was put away for this day.

Watch the Betfair Sprint Cup

A return to Ascot for next month's Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes, for which his odds were halved to a best-priced 7-1, is on the cards for Hello Youmzain, and Ryan is already looking forward to next year.

"He's a big horse who's going to improve. You shouldn't wish your life away, but next year he's going to be bigger and stronger," said the trainer, who celebrated his first top-level strike in Britain since 2013.

"He's going to mature, he still hasn't got his strength. He's very exciting."

Five of the last six winners of the Sprint Cup have been three-year-olds

James Doyle, who held the lead throughout on Hello Youmzain to win by half a length from last year's winner The Tin Man, noted a major physical development had already taken place, having last partnered the Jaber Abdullah-owned colt in the Greenham Stakes in April.

"He's a beast! He's a completely different horse to the one I rode in the spring," said the jockey. "I hadn't planned on leading all the way but he hit the gate so well and he gets this trip standing on his head. He's got a lovely, powerful stride and when he hits top gear he has a good turn of foot and then levels off, so it worked out perfectly."Doyle took time to pay tribute to Kevin Stott, who has ridden Hello Youmzain on his five other starts but was on Major Jumbo this time.

"I owe Kevin Stott a big thank-you as he's been a big part of this horse's career and I feel for him missing out today," added Doyle.

A little of the shine was taken off the victory for Ryan after stable stalwart Brando, who finished fourth, was found to have burst a blood vessel.

"He's done it before and he's come back, so he'll be fine," said the trainer.

The big disappointment of the race was Stewards' Cup winner Khaadem, who was co-favourite but trailed home last of the 11 runners.

The stewards considered the run, but trainer Charlie Hills could offer no explanation and a routine veterinary test failed to reveal any abnormalities.

Hello! He's not in the same league as his namesake

Hello Youmzain was a dominant winner of the Betfair Sprint Cup but he has a long way to go to match the exploits of the horse he is named after.

Youmzain was a remarkable performer, who was bought for just 30,000gns as a yearling and earned more than 100 times as much in an amazing career.

Owned, like the Haydock winner, by Jaber Abdullah and trained by Mick Channon, he is best known for finishing second in the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe three years in a row from 2007 to 2009.

Though no match for Zarkava and then Sea The Stars on the last two occasions, his first crack at the Arc was shrouded in controversy as he was beaten just a head by Dylan Thomas, who appeared to cause interference to others and was confirmed the winner only after a lengthy stewards inquiry.

Youmzain, who won Group 1 races at Cologne and Saint-Cloud, landed his most notable British success in the Great Voltigeur Stakes at York in 2006. He was retired to stud at the end of 2010 with earnings of £3,394,000.

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