Temple Stakes Tips: Liberty Beach to storm to Haydock sprint glory

A small field of seven runners will go to post for the Group 2 Temple Stakes at Haydock Park this Saturday, and there are some exciting speedsters looking to follow in the footsteps of the mighty Battaash, who has won the last two runnings of the 5f prize, and with the Charlie Hills-trained raider not taking his chance here then the door is ajar for a sprinter to sparkle.

Several of these will have the King's Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot as their ultimate mid-season target, and this event is set to be used as a springboard to that Group 1 event. One contender that could be in with a major chance of landing Saturday's prize before going on to Royal Ascot is the John Quinn-trained Liberty Beach, who is a real speedball. A real class act as a juvenile, Liberty Beach won four of her six two-year-old outings, which included wins in the Listed Dragon Stakes at Sandown and the Group 3 Molecomb Stakes at Glorious Goodwood.

She may have only recorded one win in her six runs last season, but that came in her seasonal reappearance at Haydock in a Listed event over six furlongs. She built on that by running a fine race behind Battaash in the King's Stand at Royal Ascot, and a replication of that should see her have too much class for her rivals here. Hugely consistent, she has shown she can produce the goods on her first start of the season, and having tasted victory in good to soft last season at Haydock then she should act on the rain-softened ground expected for Saturday's event.

Quinn will not only saddle the well fancied Liberty Beach, but he will also unleash Keep Busy, who like his stablemate is making his seasonal comeback this weekend, and could prove to be the biggest danger. The pair locked horns in their last visit to a racecourse, as they both ran creditably in the Prix de l'Abbaye at Longchamp. Liberty Beach managed to get the better of his compatriot, as he bagged a fine third spot in France, with Look Busy back in fifth. There was a length and a half between the pair at the finish, and it's hard to see Look Busy reversing that form. The four-year-old filly ran a host of fine races last season, but often found one or two too good on the day (one win in 9 runs last season), so while she should put up a bold effort, she will have to settle for the minor honours once again.

In a race that could be dominated by the ladies, the Michael Dods-trained Que Amoro showed her ability in top level sprints last season when chasing home Battaash in the Group 1 Nunthorpe Stakes at York. That is A1 form, and if she can replicate that effort then she has to come into calculations. Her last win came at Ayr in her first outing last season, and it's the Scottish venue and York that appears to bring the best out of her, so a switch to Haydock Park is interesting, and any market moves for her would be very interesting.

The Eric Alston-trained hat-trick-seeking Jabbarockie will line up in red-hot form, and with his main rivals making their first start then he will bring race sharpness to the table. He was last seen dominating a field at Chester, as he made all, but this looks a much tougher assignment against a lot better quality field, and his winning run can come to an abrupt end.

Karl Burke's Lady In France was another seen in the Prix de l'Abbaye last season, and finished a fine fourth in that prestigious event. Prior to that she had beaten Look Busy at York, so will be looking to frank that form on Saturday, but she failed to land any sort of blow when a big price for the Duke Of York Stakes at York just over a week ago, and it's hard to fancy her on the evidence of that run.

Declaring Love is another that lines up on the back of two wins on the spin, but while the last one was an impressive Listed victory at Bath this looks a whole lot tougher, while Ainsdale completes the line-up for the aforementioned Burke, and he was last seen finishing third at Chester, and this looks above his capabilities in a race that can go the way of the Quinn stable.