Wathnan Racing will launch a two-pronged challenge for the £400,000 Group One Sprint Cup at Haydock Park on Saturday, with Kind Of Blue and Paborus representing the Qatari-owned operation over six furlongs.
Sprint Cup 2026
The September 5 contest offers the Qatari-owned operation another opportunity to add a British Group One success to an already notable season. Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani’s racing interests finished the Qatar Goodwood Festival as leading owner after earlier celebrating four victories at Royal Ascot.
For Kind Of Blue, however, Saturday carries a more personal storyline. James Fanshawe’s five-year-old knows Haydock and this particular race particularly well, having finished second in each of the last two editions.
The son of Blue Point was denied by the narrowest of margins in 2024, going down by a head to Montassib. Twelve months later, he returned and again filled the runner-up position, finishing a length and a quarter behind Big Mojo.
Now he comes back for a third attempt, with James Doyle again entrusted with the ride.
The Sprint Cup 2026 also gives Fanshawe an opportunity to add another chapter to his distinguished record in the race. He has twice taken the prize, first with Society Rock in 2012 and later with The Tin Man in 2018.
Richard Brown, racing adviser to Wathnan Racing, believes Kind Of Blue’s versatility regarding underfoot conditions could prove an important asset.
“I don’t think Kind Of Blue actually needs soft ground, and also has very good form on better ground,” Brown said. “What he can do is go on any ground really, and I think that helps him as some horses don’t really handle soft ground.”
The five-year-old’s two near-misses have inevitably become part of the story surrounding his return to Haydock.
“He’s been second for the last two years and was maybe a bit unlucky last year, but that’s just the way it sometimes goes in these sprints,” Brown added.
This will also be Kind Of Blue’s final season in training. Brown confirmed that the horse is due to begin his stud career at the end of the year, although no decision has yet been announced over where he will stand.
Paborus Returns To Six Furlongs
Wathnan Racing’s second representative brings a rather different profile into the Sprint Cup 2026.
Paborus, trained by Ed Bethell and ridden by Daniel Tudhope, remains relatively lightly raced at five. He produced one of his best performances when winning the Group Three Chipchase Stakes over six furlongs at Newcastle in June.
His subsequent appearance came over seven furlongs in the Group One City Of York Stakes on August 22. Paborus finished eighth there, five and a half lengths behind the winner, and connections have elected to bring him back to the shorter trip at Haydock.
The return to six furlongs is significant given his Newcastle performance, while Bethell already knows what is required to win this race, having trained Regional to success in 2023.
Brown described Paborus as an interesting contender after his York effort and indicated that conditions should not inconvenience him.
“I thought Paborus ran well at York last time, and after that run it was felt that going back to six furlongs would suit him,” he said. “He won’t mind the ground and is an interesting contender.”
Saturday’s six-furlong Group One therefore presents Wathnan Racing with two distinct chances: Kind Of Blue, the established top-level sprinter returning to settle unfinished business, and Paborus, the less exposed runner seeking to make his mark at the highest level.
Kind Of Blue’s recent Sprint Cup finishing order — second in 2024 and second again in 2025 — underlines just how close he has already come. Big Mojo, who defeated him last year, is among those set to oppose him again, adding another familiar element to the Sprint Cup 2026 at Haydock.
For Kind Of Blue, a third visit is a chance to turn two narrow defeats into a long-awaited victory. For Paborus, it is an opportunity to show that six furlongs remains the distance at which his speed is seen to best effect.
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