Brigadier Gerard the highlight on thrilling 10-race card at Haydock Park

Haydock Park stages its first flat meeting of the new season with a spectacular 10-race card on Sunday (June 7).
Haydock Park stages its first flat meeting of the new season on Sunday.Haydock Park stages its first flat meeting of the new season on Sunday.
Haydock Park stages its first flat meeting of the new season on Sunday.

The meeting has benefitted from a number of races being rescheduled following the ongoing coronavirus pandemic and of course strict social distancing guidelines and protocols will be in place.

The Racing Post have previewed all of the action with stats and analysis. The 2.05pm, 2.40pm and 3.15pm are all on ITV.

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The feature contest on the card is a spectacular renewal of the £37,000 G3 Brigadier Gerard Stakes (2.40pm, 1m 2f). The nine-runner field has attracted a host of top-class names headed by the market leader Elarqam for Mark Johnson.

The five-year-old was an unlucky third in the Juddmonte International at York in August and a reproduction of that effort would see him go close. Mark Johnston is hopeful of a strong year with the son of Frankel, but he might just need his first run of the season.

Sangarius was an emphatic winner of the G3 Hampton Court Stakes on his last start at Royal Ascot. He looks a typical horse trained by Sir Michael Stoute will only improve as he gets older and he also goes well fresh which augurs well for this assignment, a contest Stoute has won 11 times.

Others to mention include Telecaster, who was an impressive winner of the G2 Dante Stakes last season before disappointing in the Derby, Group scorer Bangkok and Spotify who has his first run in England since joining trainer Charlie Appleby.

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The £37,000 G3 Pinnacle Stakes (2.05pm, 1m 3f) is another competitive contest which has attracted a small but select field of six. The John Gosden-trained Fanny Logan won five of her eight starts last season, which included a Graded success at Newmarket.

She looks the type who is open to further progress this season and makes the most appeal on the back of a fine fourth-placed effort in G1 company at the Breeders’ Cup in America in November.

Her chief market rival is Manuela De Vega who failed to score in five attempts last season, but ran a number of fine races in defeat. That included a second-placed efforts on her latest start in the G1 Grosser Preis von Bayern at Munich in Germany in November. She is certainly capable of further progression this season and she also goes well fresh.

Shailene, a winner in Italy last term represents the Andrew Balding team who are in exceptional form and she warrants a mention alongside Vivionn who looks to be improving with every run judged on her runner-up effort at York in Listed company in August.

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The other contest on ITV is the £25,500 Listed Spring Trophy Stakes (3.15pm, 6f) in which exciting sprinters Space Blues and Safe Voyage look set to face-off.

The former disappointed in Dubai in March, but was previously placed in successive G1 events in France and retains plenty of potential for Godolphin. Safe Voyage is unbeaten in four starts at Haydock, which included victory in this contest last season and he finished a fine third in G1 company at Ascot on his latest start.

Elswhere on the card, the exciting Liberty Beach makes his eagerly awaited reappearance in the Listed Cecil Frail Fillies’ Stakes (4.25pm). An impressive winner of the G3 Molecomb Stakes at Goodwood in July, the three-year-old son of Cable Bay looks a sprinter to follow this term.

Haydock selections:

12.55pm Betway Handicap (1m 2f) – Harrovian

1.30pm Heed Your Hunch At Betway Handicap (1m 2f) – Oleksander

2.05pm G3 Betway Pinnacle Stakes (1m 3½f) – Fanny Logan

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2.40pm G3 Betway Brigadier Gerard Stakes (1m 2f) – Sangarius

3.15pm Betway Listed Spring Trophy Stakes (7f) – Space Voyage

3.50pm Betway British Stallion Studs EBF Fillies' Novice Stakes (6f) – Sarsaparilla

4.25pm Listed Betway Cecil Frail Fillies' Stakes (6f) – Liberty Beach

5.00pm Betway Casino Handicap (1m) – Tadaawol

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5.35pm Read Andrew Balding On Betway Insider Handicap (1m 2f) – Brown Honey

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