Tante Rose upsets the boys

Tante Rose landed a blow for the fillies, taking the Stanleybet Haydock Park Sprint Cup on Saturday by a short head from last year's winner, Somnus.

A 10-1 shot, Tante Rose came with a classic late burst to lead in the final strides under jockey Richard Hughes, who was making a welcome return to the big-race scene after a bad run with injuries.

A bumper field of 19 went to post, indicating the open, and substandard, nature of the European sprint division. The Aiden O'Brien-trained One Cool Cat, the talking horse of the last 12 months, was sent off the favorite at 3-2, but could only finish sixth.

Somnus took up the running from Welsh Emperor approaching the furlong pole, and looked set to record back-to-back Sprint Cup triumphs until cut down by the fast-finishing Tante Rose, who is trained by Roger Charlton.