Jerome Reynier confident Lazzat is ‘spot on’ for Haydock test

Jerome Reynier is backing Lazzat to regain his spot at the top of the speed division in the Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock on Saturday.

The Wathnan Racing-owned gelding made a successful trip across the Channel in June to land the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot, after which he lost his title in the Prix Maurice de Gheest back on home turf.

Reynier has kept the horse in good form at Deauville in recent weeks, and has him poised to get his head back in front when he returns to British soil this weekend.

“We have kept him in Deauville and given him a workout on the racecourse, on the turf, he’s got a long journey to Haydock but I think he’ll be spot on for the race on Saturday,” the Frenchman said.

“It’s a very different feeling when you bring a horse over for a Group One and he is the favourite, we are all hoping he doesn’t fail.

“When he got beaten by Sajir in the Prix Maurice de Gheest it was tough, but we were very happy with the horse and he ran a good race.

“It’s a lot of pressure, because if he wins another Group One sprint in Europe, he could be the champion of the year and that’s very important to all the team.

“They have invested a lot, it was great to be able to win a Group One for them at Royal Ascot.

“I’m hoping to bring many more for the team and every race is important, he was beaten the other day so he needs to fire back and prove he is the best.”

Lazzat leads the way as a maximum field of 17 assembles for the six-furlong contest, with Wathnan also represented by Kind Of Blue, trained by James Fanshawe to finish second in the contest last year, and Andrew Balding’s Flora Of Bermuda.

Time For Sandals, Harry Eustace’s Commonwealth Cup winner, is declared alongside Richard Hughes’ July Cup heroine No Half Measures and her stablemate Sayidah Dariyan.

Big Mojo was second in the July Cup and turns his attention now to Haydock, with Annaf also set to line up from the same Mick Appleby yard.

Last season’s winning trainer William Haggas will be represented solely by Sky Majesty as Almeraq has not made the cut having been declared, whereas Kevin Ryan has two runners in Inisherin and Ain’t Nobody, who was second in the Nunthorpe at 100-1.

Clive Cox is another trainer with two runners as he has put forward Diligent Harry and James’s Delight, with Henry Candy’s Run To Freedom and Eve Johnson Houghton’s Rage Of Bamby both on the list also.

There are two further horses travelling from overseas, a second French raider in Yann Barberot’s Beauvatier and an Irish challenger in Ger Lyons’ My Mate Alfie.

Nighteyes and Celandine are the two reserves for the race.