Punters in clover as fancied runners sparkle at Haydock

Sports bettors hit the bookmakers hard at Haydock Park on Saturday as the Merseyside racecourse staged one of its biggest meetings of the year.

The historic Old Newton Cup is generally one of the most competitive staying handicaps in the flat racing calendar and always generates massive interest in betting circles.

Online platforms such as Betway Sports were inundated with wagers ahead of the race and were forced to make a sizeable payout after the well-backed Plage De Havre emerged victorious.

Plage De Havre taking it all in after his victory in the @bet365 Old Newton Cup on Saturday… the crowd, the cheers, the moment. What a day! 🥂🏆🏇🏻 pic.twitter.com/ru5HsB2acC

— Haydock Park Races (@haydockraces) July 7, 2025

The Andrew Balding-trained four-year-old was a 5/1 shot to win the race and delivered the goods with an effortless victory under jockey PJ McDonald.

Balding was understandably delighted with the performance and has now set his sights on winning an even bigger prize at York next month.

“We think a lot of him and we never had an anxious moment,” Balding told Racing TV. “He needs a strong gallop and a bit of cover to settle and he got everything today. He is as good as he looks.

“The Ebor is a possibility, although I’ll have to discuss it with his owner as he’s convinced a mile and a half is his trip.

“We’re going to have limited options there, so it might be worth another attempt at going a bit further. He’s definitely settling better now.”

Red-hot favourite Estrange also delivered a winning return for punters, although Scenic made her pull out all the stops in the prestigious Lancashire Oaks.

Estrange was an impressive winner of a Group Three event over the same course and distance in May, sparking talk of a tilt at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe later in the season.

The 2/7 favourite was made to work hard under jockey Danny Tudhope, but eventually held off a sustained challenge from Scenic by a neck.

“Danny was caught in a position where the leader (Love Talk) went off and it’s a question of when do you go after them,” O’Meara said.

“He said she normally falls asleep in her races, but today she was trying to chase the leader a bit and didn’t quite drop the bit and ended up in front then a long time.

“It isn’t really how we’d like to play her, but it was a means to an end, I guess. She’s four from five now and she’s won her Group Two today, so it’s brilliant.

“We were hoping we wouldn’t turn up on good to firm so the drop of rain helped. I don’t think she’s absolutely reliant on heavy ground or anything like that, she just doesn’t want to be running on very quick ground.

“The Yorkshire Oaks would be the next target and we’ve got five or six weeks until York.”

Elsewhere on the card, Balding continued his stellar run of recent form when King’s Lynn edged home in a competitive 7f handicap.

The eight-year-old previously won the 2022 Temple Stakes at Haydock in the colours of the late Queen, and now runs in Balding’s colours.

Having failed to get his nose in front again since that victory, Balding was delighted that King’s Lynn was able to return to the winner’s circle at the Merseyside venue.

“The late Queen will be having a chuckle upstairs,” Balding said. “It’s very special. With him and Coltrane winning yesterday, they mean a lot.

“It’s been a long time between drinks with this fellow, but he’s run some good races.”

Luna A Inbhir Nis, Pole Star, Expert Agent and Santa Savana were the other winners on an entertaining afternoon of flat racing at Haydock.