Ortensia hard to oppose for Sprint Cup after receiving plum draw
Published:Ortensia’s connections could arguably not have asked for a more perfect draw for the Betfred Sprint Cup and if she wasn’t already, the seven-year-old is now undoubtedly the horse to beat.
As a result of the draw and the fact that one of her leading rivals Mayson has been removed because of a bad scope, Ortensia is 9/4 to win the Sprint Cup.
This is a short price for a race with 15 runners, but everything has fallen in her favour.
Firstly, William Buick has confirmed that he will stay on board, despite having little more than two hours to reach Ireland by helicopter to take another ride on Nathaniel in the Irish Champion Stakes.
Buick has built a fine relationship with the horse this season and given her slight quirks, a jockey with an understanding of how to get the best out of her is a big plus.
One of the comments that was made after her success in the Nunthorpe was that Ortensia is at her best when she can run in a straight line and not attempt to weave through a blanket of runners.
Therefore, stall 15 on the wide outside must represent a plum draw, as Buick should have little trouble holding the horse up and guaranteeing a straight-forward passage to the leaders.
Meanwhile, five of the last nine winners of the Sprint Cup have been drawn in one of the widest five stalls, meaning this looks the better side of the track to race from.
This is bad news for Ortensia’s chief rival Bated Breath, who will appreciate the firmer ground at Haydock, but will have to win from stall one, which looks no mean feat.
The only thing that can seemingly go against Ortensia now is some late rain at Haydock, which would turn conditions too soft for her liking, but this is not forecasted.
All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.
