Sprint Cup 2025 Preview & Betting Tips: Could It Be Time For Sandals Again?

Saturday’s feature at Haydock is the Betfair Sprint Cup, a Group 1 over six furlongs that has thrown up some big names in recent years. Billy Grimshaw is on hand to preview the race in detail, looking at the main contenders and how the race could be run before giving his verdict on where the value lies.

This is the sort of Sprint Cup where you can make cases for five or six, which is usually the cue to be ruthless. Lazzat is the obvious starting point: the French raider was brilliant in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee and brings the highest rating to the table, but that Deauville blip next time was a reminder that even the quickest can be vulnerable when the setup isn’t perfect.

He’s bidding to become the first French-trained winner since African Rose in 2008, and while that’s a neat historical angle, it also underlines how hard this race is to plunder from abroad. No Half Measures, the 66/1 July Cup shock, returns with a target on her back; she travelled like a proper Group 1 sprinter that day and the form has a solid look, with Big Mojo running a blinder in second.

Kind Of Blue is the metronome of the division—battle-hardened, campaigned in the right races, and exactly the sort you want for a stiff six if they go hard from halfway. Then you’ve got the three-year cohort: Commonwealth Cup winner Time For Sandals brings a potent blend of pace and professionalism and shaped perfectly in a sharp 5f Group 2 since—back up to six is a positive. Add in seasoned operators like Annaf, Diligent Harry and Run To Freedom, plus classy types such as Inisherin, and you’ve a race with plenty of potential winners. On balance, I want something that can sit just off the speed, cope if they edge to the middle, and still find in the last 100 yards on the soft surface.

The one I want onside is TIME FOR SANDALS as she has the perfect blend of proven class and untapped potential for this test. Her Commonwealth Cup win was no fluke despite her SP: she travelled sweetly, quickened decisively, and still hit the line with more to give. That form has held up and, crucially, it showed she’s comfortable in a big-field where the pressure ramps up from halfway.

Dropping back to five furlongs last time wasn’t her game but it served its purpose, sharpening her up, and the way she finished off suggested she’s ready to peak now back at her optimum trip. The three-year-old allowance puts her in beautifully at the weights, especially against older horses who’ve been through hard campaigns all summer.

She’s uncomplicated tactically, can sit handy without burning petrol, and her rider knows she needs to be delivered late, which suits Haydock’s stiff finish. With pace guaranteed from the likes of Shouldvebeenaring and Swingalong, she won’t lack for a target, and unlike some of her rivals she still has scope to improve again.

Lazzat and Regional are obvious dangers, but neither has her profile of proven Group 1 winning ability this season combined with weight and freshness on their side. Everything points to TIME FOR SANDALS stamping herself as the new sprinting star.