Irish Runners In The UK This Week Including Sprint Cup Contenders It's a major weekend ahead for racing fans with the arrival of September bringing with it Haydock's Group 1 Sprint Cup on Saturday afternoon. The Sprint Cup Festival runs for three days on Merseyside, while Saturday also witnesses a pair of Group 3s on the Polytrack at Kempton - the September Stakes and Sirenia Stakes. We're taking a look at some Irish runners bound for the UK in the coming days. Pralognan Haydock's big Flat meeting gets underway on Thursday and there is just one Irish runner on the card. It comes right at the get-go in the Tank Bar & Live Lounge Amateur Jockeys' Handicap and sees the partnership of Tony Martin and top rider Derek O'Connor taking the eye with Pralognan. The six-year-old won over hurdles at Downpatrick in June and followed up a fortnight later on the all-weather at Newcastle during their Northumberland Plate meeting. He has been beaten since on the level at Galway, but a mark of 68 looks enticing based on his old form at Dundalk and he has a top pilot to aid his cause. Herja Compensation will be on the minds of trainer Patrick Griffin and rider Brian Hughes when Herja runs in the opening Fairlight Studios At Sedgefield Racecourse Mares' Maiden Hurdle at the Durham venue on Thursday. The mare appeared set to break her maiden tag at Bangor-on-Dee in July, travelling smoothly and five lengths to the good under Hughes when she came down at the second last obstacle. She has been given time to get over that mishap and will aim to deliver now. Elusive Power John McConnell has a couple of runners bound for Sedgefield, including Elusive Power in the concluding Honky Tonks Open NH Flat Race over the extended two miles. The mare was second-best on debut at Bangor in July behind a decisive winner. She meets two rivals now, Stratford winner Fairlawn Skipper for Mickey Bowen and Worcester second Frammy for Donald McCain, but the race Elusive Power was second in looks the strongest form on offer. Yeats Star & Boston Rajj There's jumps fare from Bangor-on-Dee on Friday and trainer Gordon Elliott has a couple of runners on the card in Yeats Star in the Wrexham Lager Handicap Chase and Boston Rajj in the Paul Ferguson Jumpers to Follow Handicap Hurdle. Elliott has his team in fine fettle recently and he boasts a 35 per cent strike-rate at the Welsh layout over time (6-17), with both runners in the last 12 months scoring. Yeats Star was third recently at Tramore (2m6f, good) and should appreciate the longer trip here, while Boston Rajj was an impressive Sligo winner in June over 3m2f and has been consistent since in four starts over shorter trips. He now tackles his longest trip since, with 2m7f ahead at Bangor. Action, Benvenuto Ceillini, Isaac Newton, Pierre Bonnard Looking ahead to Haydock's Sprint Cup card, Aidan O'Brien has a quartet of possible contenders for the Listed Ascendant Stakes on Saturday. All four are last-time-out winners, each obliging on their second racecourse start. The best form in the book is that belonging to Isaac Newton after the Camelot colt won the British Stallion Studs EBF Maiden Stakes at Glorious Goodwood at the start of August. My Mate Alfie & Whistlejacket Two possible Irish contenders in the Sprint Cup come via Whistlejacket for O'Brien and the Ger Lyons-trained My Mate Alfie. Whistlejacket was a Group 1-winning juvenile last season and began this term with Listed success at Navan in April over this trip, but has twice come up well short in elite company in the Commonwealth Cup and July Cup since. My Mate Alfie is a more exposed sort, winning his final three starts in 2024 including Listed/Group 3 wins, and he has been running well this season without winning. This will be his first start in elite company. Absurde Willie Mullins could run Absurde in the September Stakes at Kempton, where the spectre of facing ante-post Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe favourite Kalpana and Group 1 winner Giavellotto looms large for the Closutton contender. Ninth Crusade Later on, the Group 3 Sirenia Stakes at Kempton is the target for Michael O'Callaghan's Ninth Crusade. The Kodiac colt won a Wolverhampton maiden in June on debut before being well beaten in a novice contest at Newcastle over 5f at the Northumberland Plate Festival.
