Ryan's filly has attitude

Hambleton handler Kevin Ryan treats the promising filly Miss Marasol, his runner in tomorrow's £135,000 Weatherbys Super Sprint at Newbury, with kid gloves.

He is wise too, as she can be a bit of a handful if roused. The Yorkshire trainer was almost put on his back by the daughter of Sheikh Albadou when he took her to Newmarket last month for a Listed race.

She was on her toes before the event, and attempting to put the saddle on her was like trying to kiss a crocodile. As Ryan explained: "She was a bit emotional beforehand, but I'd much rather have a tough filly like that with spirit."

Spirit she has got in buckets, and when jockey Joe Fanning let her loose over a furlong out, she surged past Bishop's Lake to triumph by a length and threequarters. Behind her in third was the odds-on Katdogawn from the stable of Richard Hannon, whose yard is jam-packed with speedy juveniles. But more of that later.

Before the Newmarket race, Miss Mirasol (3.35) had beaten two previous winners in a useful contest at Redcar and was subsequently earmarked for a Group Three event in Ireland before connections decided on this sales-based highlight at the Berkshire track.

As for Mr Hannon, he regards the Sprint as his own personal property, having won it three times and supplied the runner-up on four occasions during the race's 11-year history.

His stable originally had an entry of 10 for the five-furlong cavalry charge and I don't see many bookmakers offering a price about a horse from the Wiltshire wizard's yard lifting the prize again.

The two likely aces in his pack are Hurricane Alan and Presto Vento. The former is going for a four-timer, having already blown hot by scoring at Brighton, Bath and the Curragh - winning form which stands up to the closest inspection. His Bath win was over Never A Doubt, who went on to finish runner-up in the Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Presto Vento, sixth in that June set piece, more recently finished a disappointing seventh over the six furlongs of the July Course in Newmarket's Cherry Hinton Stakes.

The longer trip and softish ground may have explained her poor showing that day. With faster ground likely, Presto Vento may return to the early-season form that provided her with a hat-trick, crowned by a triumph in Sandown's National Stakes.

Wunders Dream also comes into calculations. Ex-vet James Given has been waiting with her since the Spring when she won two races over the minimum distance. Night Speed, trained by Brian Meehan, who was once Hannon's right-hand man and therefore must have learnt how to prime a sprint hope, is another to consider. She ran away with a maiden event at Kempton.

Top TV tips for tomorrow

- Newbury: 3.00, Foreign Affairs (nap); 3.35, Miss Mirasol; 4.10, Calcutta; Newmarket: 2.05, Ellens Lad; 2.40, Roman Hideaway; 3.15, Esloob (nb); 3.50, Pablo.

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