Betfair Sprint Cup
Group 1, Haydock Park 15:35 £400,000 guaranteed, 3yo plus, 6f, Class 1
Tweet Saturday 6th September 2025

1 Big Mojo 16/1
2 Kind Of Blue 12/1
3 Flora Of Bermuda 22/1
17 ran Distances: 1¼l, nse, ½l
Time: 1m 8.49s (fast by 2.01s)

🟥 BIG MOJO 🟦

Hard and fast up the stands' rail, Big Mojo is much too good in the @Betfair Sprint Cup @haydockraces.

A HUGE DAY for the @MickApplebyUK team 🏆@WilliamBuickX pic.twitter.com/69efGrkHkT

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) September 6, 2025

Qipco Champions Day at Ascot and a possible second crack at the Breeders’ Cup are firmly on the radar for Big Mojo after he handed trainer Mick Appleby a landmark success in the Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock – his very first domestic Group One.

Appleby has had only one previous taste of top-level glory, courtesy of the similarly named Big Evs, who lit up the Breeders’ Cup two years ago. And fittingly, Big Mojo is following a familiar path: the Molecomb at Goodwood last summer, a solid showing at the Breeders’ Cup, Ascot’s Pavilion Stakes this season, and that agonising near-miss by just a neck in the July Cup at Newmarket.

Goodwood last time had seen him finish only fifth in the King George Stakes, so he was allowed to go off at 16-1 here. But up the stands’ rail, with William Buick delivering the kind of drive that demands superlatives, he surged back to form to win decisively by a length and a quarter.

Appleby could hardly contain his delight:

“That was absolutely great, he did it so well. Everything went to plan and it took William half the track to pull him up!

“I think it does mean more to win a Group One here (in Britain). He’s a very good horse, obviously we were disappointed at Goodwood but we put it down to the softer ground.

“There were a lot of question marks next to his name, but he was in great form at home and we were coming here quite optimistic, to be fair.

“We always had faith in the horse and he’s definitely up there with Big Evs.”

The link between the two horses runs deeper, with part-owner Paul Teasdale sharing in both triumphs. His thoughts were already drifting across the Atlantic:

“We knew he would give us a big run. I said to William going out ‘we just need another July Cup performance’ as we were only inches away from winning that day. We knew he was capable and we knew this was a Group One horse and it was just a case of getting it right on the day.

“He came fourth at the Breeders’ Cup last year and we wouldn’t be scared to go back. We think he’s equally good at five or six furlongs and he handled Del Mar really well last year.

“We’ve got an entry at Ascot on Champions Day and we might even consider the Prix de l’Abbaye. Let’s enjoy today and we’ll think about it.”

For Buick, stepping aboard Big Mojo for the first time, it was an opportunity seized with both hands:

“It was a brilliant spare ride to get, it all came together and we got the job done.

“It’s beautiful ground and I think middle to stands’ side is where you want to be. The race panned out well, but he put in a big performance I thought. He was very smooth and really I had no moment of worry. Once I gave him the get-go, he just got on with it and saw it out well.

“I’m delighted for Mick and the owners. They’re great people and these are the days we all do it for.”

Betfair Sprint Cup
(British Champions Series) (Group 1)
£400,000 guaranteed, 3yo plus, 6f, Class 1
17 ran
Going: Good