Strong Suit could be the joker in the pack for the Sprint Cup at Haydock.
Australian confidence will be at near hysterical levels on Merseyside as Ortensia bids to become just the third horse since 1990 to complete the Nunthorpe-Sprint Cup double.
Make no mistake, Paul Messara’s mare is a worthy favourite.
Although Ortensia easily has the beating of most of this field, the curveball contender could feasibly be Strong Suit, who is worth serious consideration at the prices.
And while it is fair comment to suggest he has not shown top-draw sprinting form since winning the Coventry Stakes as a juvenile, there has undeniably been extenuating circumstances of late.
Richard Hannon’s experiment in campaigning him at a mile backfired in both the Breeders’ Cup Mile and the Queen Anne Stakes, while he should not have really run in a July Cup which was competed in a quagmire.
Big things were then expected of him in the Hungerford Stakes last month, and connections were clearly mortified after he finished second to Lethal Force.
On another day, Strong Suit would have perhaps won handsomely, though, as jockey Ryan Moore gave the trailblazing victor far too much rope at the head of affairs.
Moore is champion quality, of course, but Richard Hughes knows Hannon’s inmate better than anyone on the planet, having ridden him in 12 of his 13 outings, and will not be caught napping once the pace is intensified.
