Can My Mate Alfie break the 10-year Irish drought in Haydock's Sprint Cup? There’s Group 1 action on offer at Haydock on Saturday and surprisingly, Aidan O’Brien won’t be represented. Two Irish trainers are sending over a runner each however, with Jessie Harrington bringing over Winston Junior and Ger Lyons sending My Mate Alfie. The latter is available at huge odds for the big race of the day, whilst Harrington’s potential runner is an intriguing outsider. Here we assess their chances of launching successful raids, as there’s loads of prize money on offer. Take our State of Racing Survey for a chance to win a €50 Amazon gift card Winston Junior - Haydock 2.25 Jessica Harrington’s three-year-old made his debut in a Galway maiden last summer, where he finished a respectable fifth, and three of the horses that finished in front of him have won since. It took him a few runs to get the hang of things but he’s going the right way since going handicapping. He produced a career best performance to finish second in the Ulster Derby at Down Royal back in June and he saw the 1m5f trip out well that day. Connections haven’t raced him over 1m6f yet, which is a bit of a surprise bearing in mind he looks tailor-made for it. Winston Junior then went back into maiden company at the Curragh in July and he was half-a-length away from getting off the mark. A Ballydoyle runner came out on top that day and there was a bit of a gap between the front two and the rest. Aggressive tactics were employed in a Racing League handicap at Chepstow last time out and his finishing effort suffered as a result. Going up in trip now, patience could pay dividends and there should be more to come. The handicapper has put him up 3lb since, which does make life harder, but he remains lightly raced in handicaps and it’s likely that the best is yet to come. My Mate Alfie - Haydock 3.35 The big race of the day is the Group 1 Sprint Cup and there hasn’t been an Irish-trained winner in the last 10 years. Ger Lyons is hoping My Mate Alfie can put an end to the drought, but the four-year-old is available at substantial odds. He has finished second in three of his four starts so far this season, including in a Group 3 at the Curragh last month. Staying on well that day, he couldn’t quite reach the impressive front-runner Bucanero Fuerte. Interestingly, Kind Of Blue was behind him that day and James Fanshawe’s horse also runs here but is a fraction of My Mate Alfie’s price. That form gives him a bit of an each-way chance but you would imagine a bit of improvement will be required for him to challenge. Lyons’ gelding showed a good attitude to win the Group 3 Renaissance Stakes as a three-year-old last term, further evidence that he’s not without a chance. Gary Carroll travels over to take the ride and the pair could be a solid each-way play.
