Run To Freedom heading for Champions Sprint at Ascot

The seven-year-old gelding has run some fine races in defeat at the highest level, including when finishing second in this race at 150/1 in 2022, under the now retired Dane O’Neill, before finishing fifth in the 2023 renewal.

This year the son of Muhaarar showed the fire still burns brightly when finishing a close-up third at 40/1 in the Al Basti Equiworld Dubai July Cup, a race in which he has also filled the runner-up spot two years ago.

Although Run To Freedom could only finish 10th on his latest outing in the Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock, the Kingston Warren handler believes he will be seen in a better light at Ascot after a valid reason emerged following his latest defeat.

Candy said: “Run To Freedom is absolutely fine. I think he swallowed something up at Haydock during the race as he had a few coughs afterwards.

“Whether it was just a little bit of loose grass or something like that, but whatever it was it stopped him in his tracks and that wasn’t his running.

“He loves an uphill finish. He loves Newmarket and he loves Ascot so we will have a crack at the Champions Sprint back at Ascot again.

“He has run well in that race before and it would be wonderful if he could just win one of these big sprint races as he has been trying for a long time.”

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