The Sky Bet Sunday Series moves on to Haydock

Action from Haydock

Sol Cayo seeks Old Newton Cup spoils at Haydock on Saturday

By Graham Clark

Horse Racing

Thu July 03, 2025 · 6M ago

Trainer Fionn McSharry hopes Sol Cayo can hit the jackpot in the bet365 Old Newton Cup Handicap at Haydock, just months after hospitalising her following a freak incident on the gallops.

The Yorkshire-based handler believes the £150,000 contest is the ‘right next step’ for her stable star, who has won three of his seven starts since being picked up for 22,000 guineas at last year’s Guineas Horses In Training Sale at Tattersalls.

However, while McSharry is excited about the Havana Gold gelding tackling the mile and a half contest, which he is a 12/1 chance with the race sponsor, it was a different scenario back in October after the now five-year-old left her requiring to be airlifted to hospital.

McSharry, recalling the incident said: “It was actually with this horse that it happened and basically he got a bit upset on the trailer. I went in to help him and I ended up underneath him in a confined area. My father pulled me out at the back of the trailer and I was semi-conscious at this point.

“My nose was very badly broken, I had facial wounds and I had an open fracture on the top of my right arm, which was operated on, but that has not healed and I need another operation on that.

“Mostly though they were worried about head injuries as there was a lot of blood coming from my face and I was only semi-conscious.”

After spending several days in hospital to help aid her recovery in the immediate aftermath it is now back to business as normal for McSharry, who took out her licence to train in 2023 following a spell as head girl for Richard Fahey.

However, she continues to remain thankful to all those that rallied around her hour of need.

She added: “Sean Kirrane came to ride that day and he helped out as did Nigel Tinkler, who was very good, and all the gallop staff at Malton. I was very lucky in the situation to have everyone about as they did.

“The team at Jack Berry House have been a phenomenal help. They had me straight in and they have supported me the whole time through this injury. It is a fantastic facility to have available to us.

“It is very much a family run thing at our place, but the support from the wider racing community in Malton has been great as everybody helped keep us going and the horses never skipped a day.

“It was tough, but in terms of how the yard kept running it was seamless really and that was full credit to my father Chris, all the jockeys that helped, and Keith my partner, and the great team of staff.”

Looking ahead to the weekend McSharry, who also had 10 rides as an amateur jockey, believes Sol Cayo heads into the race in excellent shape having run out a convincing winner at Pontefract last time out on his first start over the trip.

She added: “He had a lot of time off given the whole situation as he was part of the John Dance dispersal sale. He was quite a big, raw horse both physically, and mentally, when we brought him back into training.

“We never rushed him and last year he placed once and won one up at Newcastle and then another race at Southwell in January.

“We gave him a break as we knew he wanted the better ground and we ran him back on the turf at Pontefract last month. We were happy with him at home going into that race as I knew I had got him as fit as I wanted him to start racing again. That was his first time over a mile and a half and he seemed to appreciate the trip.

“We thought he was a nice horse from the get-go and we had this race pencilled in. We have taken it slowly with him, but hopefully this is the right next step for him.”

Sol Cayo’s latest success was achieved from the front, however McSharry insists he doesn’t have to force the pace to be seen at his best.

She added: “Although it was only a small field at Pontefract it was a solid enough race and he made a good account of himself from the front.

“He is a very straightforward horse in that he travels well. He is pretty versatile and if there is a lot of pace on, he doesn’t need to be making it.

“I’m sure there will be lots of runners in the race and therefore we can see how it pans out and have a Plan A, B and C.”

And while tasting success would be a milestone moment in the career of the 33-year-old, she admits that having a horse capable of being able to compete in such a race against horses from some of the leading yards is a thrill in itself.

McSharry added: “We are only a small yard, but I want to build my numbers up, however I want to try and keep it 30 or 40 to be able to continue training them the way that we do now which is with a lot of turn out and individual care.

“They have put him up to 90 and it is fantastic to have a horse in the yard that is rated that high.

“If he could surpass that mark it would be great, but it is just nice to have a horse in the yard that we know is going to have good days out at nice tracks in the good races. It is nice for me to be in a race where we have a chance against some big names and hopefully it comes off.”

Safer gambling

We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.

If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.

Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.

Like what you've read?