Haydock Park, Saturday 23 May 2026

Haydock Park, Saturday 23 May 2026

Three Pattern races across an afternoon at Haydock that deserves your attention. The ground is riding Good To Soft on a cloudy day in Lancashire, and that is a significant factor in both sprint contests. The Canadian Grand Prix fires up in Montreal tomorrow, but right now the focus is firmly on Haydock and three races where there is genuine selectivity to be exercised. Here are the angles worth backing.

1:45 — William Hill Epic Boost British EBF Hedge Of Oak Stakes (Listed, 1m2½f)

Selection: Friendly Soul (9/4, Boyle Sports / Betfred)

This should be treated as a glorified exercise for the Gosden yard. Friendly Soul arrives here as a Group 1 winner, having landed the Prix de l’Opera at Longchamp in October 2024 on very soft ground. Five wins from six starts overall. The absence since October is the only question mark, and the form book tells you the John and Thady Gosden operation is firing right now, 8 wins from 33 runners in the last 14 days. That is a yard sending horses out ready.

Good To Soft at Haydock is no concern whatsoever given she won a Group 1 on very soft ground. The opposition includes some lightly raced fillies with upside, particularly Noche Clasica, who has been progressive through handicaps, but asking a filly to step from a Musselburgh handicap to a Listed race in one move is a significant demand. Sparks Fly carries a 5lb penalty and comes here off a Chester Group 2. She is respected but has not beaten anything close to Friendly Soul’s level.

The 9/4 is short enough that you take it win-only. If Friendly Soul is even 80 per cent of her best, this field is not stopping her. Straightforward.

2:58 — William Hill Sandy Lane Stakes (Group 2, 6f)

Selection: Venetian Sun (9/4, Boyle Sports)

Back to 6f and back to conditions that suit. The Karl Burke filly was an exceptional juvenile, winning three in a row including a Group 1 at Deauville, all on good or good-to-firm ground. Her reappearance in the 1,000 Guineas over a mile at Newmarket was, with hindsight, an experiment that told us everything we needed to know. She is a 6f horse. She shapes like a non-stayer beyond that trip and today she gets her conditions back.

Burke’s yard has struck 8 from 45 in the last 14 days. In-form handler, right horse, right trip, right ground. The 9/4 available at Boyle Sports represents the best price on the board.

Coppull is the main danger and cannot be dismissed lightly. Clive Cox’s colt won the Ascot Group 3 on reappearance in good-to-firm conditions and Cox famously won this race with Harry Angel in 2017. But Coppull has not been tested on anything close to Good To Soft and today’s ground is a legitimate query. Division showed a strong late run at Ascot on reappearance, is versatile on ground, and William Haggas is having a strong fortnight. He will run his race. But the form pointer here is clear. Venetian Sun did not stay a mile. Put her back at 6f with a bit of cut in the ground she has already handled at Listed level and she becomes the one to beat.

Brussels is 8/1 for the O’Brien team but that Ascot reappearance was well below what he showed as a juvenile. He needs to find plenty.

3:30 — William Hill Temple Stakes (Group 2, 5f)

Selection: Night Raider (9/2, Boyle Sports / Betfred)

The Temple Stakes is a wide-open Group 2 sprint and this is the race of the day from a punting perspective. Thirteen runners, a field that includes last season’s Group 1 winners, and a firm form line to work with from the Palace House three weeks ago.

Night Raider made all in that Group 3 at Newmarket on good-to-firm ground. That was his first run since being gelded and it told you a lot about where his head is now. He was unlucky in two Group 1s last summer, not beaten far at all. The gelding operation has clearly had the desired effect and Karl Burke’s yard is in red-hot form, 8 from 45 over the past 14 days. The same trainer saddling Venetian Sun in the earlier race. Burke knows where to pitch his horses.

Shagraan is the market danger at 5/1 and the Clive Cox runner is certainly not without a shout. He was 3 lengths behind Night Raider at Newmarket on his seasonal reappearance, is open to improvement second time out, and his Listed wins at Beverley and Ascot show he handles cut in the ground. He is the each-way play at the prices if you want to spread.

Jakajaro Each-Way at 7/1 catches the eye as a value proposition. Robert Cowell’s 5-year-old has won two 5f handicaps on the bounce this spring, including making all in a big York field last week. He handles soft ground from earlier in his career and could easily outrun those odds with a bold front-running display. With 4 places on offer at 1/5 odds in a 13-runner Group 2, the each-way bet at 7/1 has genuine merit.

Asfoora carries a 5lb penalty and was down the field on her comeback at Newmarket. The Prix de l’Abbaye win on very soft at Longchamp means today’s ground holds no fears, but the penalty and the comeback run mean Night Raider looks the sounder selection at the same price point. American Affair ran at York just ten days ago. That turnaround is too sharp for a transformation in form.

Today’s NAP