Young speedsters can shine in Temple Stakes

After established top table sprinters Sole Power, Kingsgate Native and Tangerine Trees once again filled the rostrum places in Newmarket’s Group 3 Palace House Stakes, it seems that the sprint division could be there for the taking for one of a select group of up and coming domestic speedsters. Mince disappointed in her first run of the campaign at York, now the Temple Stakes offers the chance for Reckless Abandon and Pearl Secret to step up to mix it with the old guard.

The pair can be backed for Group 2 glory on Merseyside at 7/2 and 6/1 respectively and both have done little wrong over sprint distances to date.

Reckless Abandon completed an unbeaten juvenile campaign with a victory in the Group 1 Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket over 6f in his fifth race of 2012, whilst the only blot on four-year-old Pearl Secret’s ledger came in his fifth race, when finishing ninth – four and a half lengths behind then dual Group 1 winner Ortensia – in his first race at the highest level.

The Clive Cox-trained former faces a huge challenge in translating juvenile form into all age company, given half of the 8lb weight-for-age allowance he receives from rivals aged four or older has been eaten up in the form of a penalty for his Newmarket Group 1 success last term.

Nonetheless as the highest rated horse in the field according to the handicapper he remains well-in at the weights with every rival against whom he’ll be competing.

Having benefited from a concession of his own in last season’s Group 1 debut, Pearl Secret may have to concede weight this year, but there’s good reason to suspect that he’s a deal better than his ninth that day, with David Barron’s colt impeded when beginning to run on 1f from home.

At the weights Reckless Abandon looks to have every chance of striking on his first foray into all-age company, but if the five runnings of the Temple Stakes since its switch from Sandown in 2008 are anything to go by, the draw is likely to play a big part in proceedings.

All five winners and four of the 10 placed horses across the five Haydock renewals broke from stalls 1-5, meaning it may prove wise to await the announcement of the quarters for this year’s contestants before getting involved.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publication