Betfred Temple Stakes – Haydock Park – Saturday 24th May

The gap between top level sprint handicaps and Group races is often a very surmountable divide, and that can be illustrated on Saturday as the Betfred Temple Stakes at Haydock Park at 3.30 features one horse who has climbed the handicap ranks over the last 10 months or so in taking fashion and often defying quite notable track biases to do so.

At 10/1 each-way with Ladbrokes or Coral, Jim Goldie’s American Affair has been clocking times left, right and centre which would translate very well into any Group 2 or Group 3 sprint run over the corresponding period and so is a strong 2-star ** ante-post fancy for WhichBookie.

Not only that but on no fewer than five occasions in his last eight races, I could evidence quite clearly how poorly American Affair has been drawn in comparison to where you needed to be on the track on each instance.

Most notably, he ran furlong-per-furlong much quicker than any horse who raced in the stands side group in last year’s Group 1 Sprint Cup over 6f at Haydock Park, when he ran in the 5f handicap on the same card in September. He finished second that day but ran his face off compared to how inconvenienced any horse who raced on the stands side was on that card.

American Affair then won the Portland Handicap in quite extraordinary fashion, again having to race away from the main action, getting stopped in his run more than once, and yet still managed to pick up and win cosily.

Fast forward to this season and following a ridiculously facile success at Musselburgh, American Affair was again handed a terrible draw in the 5f handicap at York’s Dante meeting. Middle to far side was the place to be all week generally on the Knavesmire straight track, and American Affair was still able to defy it.

Top level sprints are decided by fine margins and as soon as American Affair gets a favourable set-up he could genuinely make up into a Group 1 5f sprinter, and as such, taking a little of the 40/1 for the King Charles III Stakes at Royal Ascot before Saturday wouldn’t be a crazy idea.

Of those ahead of him in the ante-post market for Saturday’s Betfred Temple Stakes – American Affair’s run over 5f on the unfavoured side at York was a very similar performance on the clock to that which general 7/2 favourite Night Raider put in the day before over 5f.

Rumstar was beaten by an inconvenienced American Affair in the Portland, Jasour has a bit to prove after a disappointing end to last season, while Washington Heights perhaps lacked spark on his seasonal debut and so the main danger might be Mgheera, who won nicely over 5f at Longchamp on first start for Ed Walker 13 days ago. However, she was favoured by where she raced that day and tracked a very strong tempo. I think she was flattered a touch but looked good nonetheless.

I quite strongly believe Jim Goldie has the next Jack Dexter on his hands, and American Affair will do his extended sprinting homebred family proud over the coming months. I’m sure that come the end of the season, we’ll look back on the fact that 10/1 was available about him for a winnable Group 2 sprint and wonder how hindsight is a wonderful thing!