'He goes with a really good chance' - who thinks his runner will love Windsor's heavy ground?

Big sprint handicaps are the order of the day in Britain right now. There was the Stewards’ Cup and Stewards’ Sprint at Goodwood on Saturday and this Class 2 has attracted 15 declarations.

Sterling Knight should be hard fit as he lined up at Goodwood on Saturday and has been declared to compete here just two days later. So can the quick return to the track pay off?

He was never competitive in the Stewards’ Cup and finished more than 12 lengths behind the winner Aberama Gold, but that was on desperate ground after which the meeting was abandoned. The conditions at Windsor will be testing again, but he does handle heavy going.

Sterling Knight was successful on heavy at Haydock last October and proved his versatility when scoring on good ground over course and distance in June. He is only 3lb higher here.

He was third in this race last season from stall four and has to go from 13 now, but they usually come wide at Windsor when the ground is testing, so that could be an ideal draw.

Knebworth is drawn widest of all in 15 and is the in-form sprinter in the race after wins at Haydock and York. He is 13lb higher than his first win, so has to improve again.

Trainer Hughie Morrison has a 23 per cent strike-rate at Windsor in the last five seasons, so don’t discount Haymaker. Tom Marquand has just his second ride on him and the other resulted in victory.
Analysis by Graeme Rodway

What they say

Clive Cox, trainer of Lethal Nymph and Heroism
Lethal Nymph ran really well last time and hopefully he'll handle conditions. Heroism is getting a lot of weight and he looks like he's coming back to the horse we saw at the beginning of last year. Hopefully, he'll be making his presence felt somewhere soon.

Ed Dunlop, trainer of Sterling Knight
We weren't expecting the ground to be as bad as it was at Goodwood and, like many others, he didn't like it. He's qualified for Windsor and he seems fine at home. We'll see how he is on the morning of the race, look at conditions and speak with the owner, but he does seem well in himself.

Hughie Morrison, trainer of Haymaker
It' a race we've been aiming him for and he's in good form for it. Really, he wouldn't want it heavy but he will run unless it's bottomless.

Tony Carroll, trainer of Lequinto
My only real concern for him is the going. He handles soft ground but heavy is different, so we'll have to see. He's very well in himself and he loves the track, so he'll take his chance. We've put the blinkers on as he can be a bit awkward and hang, so it's something we've always had in the back of our minds for him at some stage.

Richard Hughes, trainer of Knebworth
He's loving the ground the way it is at the moment and that might have just been the key to him. I think he goes with a really good chance.

James Millman, assistant to Rod Millman, trainer of Crazy Luck and Amazonian Dream
Crazy Luck had a bad draw at Goodwood last week and I think she could have placed in her race from a better stall. She's tough, she likes the ground and she shouldn't be far away. Amazonian Dream is quite well handicapped on his best form.

Harry Charlton, joint-trainer of Magical Merlin
He's in good order and it's a valuable prize for a horse of his rating to be able to run for. We'll take a view on quite how heavy the ground is, and he is perhaps not the best drawn as they tend to go to the far side when it's softer, but we're happy with how he is.
Reporting  by Peter Scargill

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