Haydock rain sees Limato pulled from Sprint Cup

Henry Candy was left to rue his luck with the ground at Haydock as persistent rain led to the withdrawal of morning favourite Limato from the 32Red Sprint Cup.

The four-year-old gelding has a distinct preference for quick conditions and Candy hoped he had made the right call when declaring Limato on Thursday, at the same time as taking last year’s winner Twilight Son out of the race.

Speaking after the ground was officially changed to soft, Candy said: “He’s been unlucky all his career with the ground.

“We’ll see what happens (with the ground) at Chantilly for the Foret, but there is no pressure to run him again this year.

“He’s a gelding, so he’ll stay in training.”

Limato started the season with a creditable fourth in the Lockinge Stakes over a mile, before returning to sprinting to win the July Cup and giving Mecca’s Angel a battle over five furlongs in the Nunthorpe Stakes.