Weatherbys Super Sprint 2026: Where Tomorrow's Stars Begin to Shine

Few races on the British Flat calendar are quite as unique as the Weatherbys Super Sprint.

Restricted to two-year-olds sold for no more than £65,000 as yearlings, it is a race built on value rather than fashion. Expensive bloodstock need not apply. Instead, it offers trainers, owners and breeders the chance to prove that future Group horses can emerge from more modest beginnings.

Over five furlongs at Newbury, raw speed is essential, but so too is maturity. For many of these youngsters, this is the biggest test of their short careers, and the large field often rewards those who can cope mentally as much as physically.
As ever, this year's renewal is packed with progressive juveniles from some of Britain's leading yards.

Bint Archange Sets the Standard

The horse bringing the strongest form into the race is Bint Archange (Richard Hughes; William Buick).

Already officially rated 94, she heads the weights after producing a series of high-class juvenile performances that have marked her out as one of the better two-year-olds seen so far this season. Hughes has rapidly established himself as one of Britain's leading trainers of young horses, while William Buick's decision to ride immediately catches the eye.

Despite carrying one of the biggest weights in the field, Bint Archange possesses the class to overcome it.

Close behind on ratings is Vollering (Archie Watson; Tom Marquand), another filly who has quickly developed into a leading juvenile. Watson has become renowned for producing sharp, precocious two-year-olds, and Vollering looks tailor-made for a fiercely run five furlongs.

If either filly wins, they could quickly find themselves entering conversations about the major juvenile Pattern races later in the summer.

Richard Hannon's Strength in Numbers

Few trainers target this race quite like Richard Hannon, and this year he again arrives with a formidable team.

His leading hope appears to be Call Me Tomorrow (Jason Watson), a £63,000 purchase who has steadily climbed the juvenile ranks and looks capable of further improvement.

Stablemate From Me To You (Pat Dobbs) brings valuable experience despite top weight, while Rollthedicebaby (Sean Levey) looks another capable of progressing significantly from her current mark.

The Hannon team is completed by Leucothea (Joe Leavy) and Clueisinthetitle (Josephine Gordon), giving the yard remarkable depth in a race it has made its own over the years.

With five runners spread across the track, Hannon's hand will be impossible to ignore.

Burke, Watson and Cox Bring Serious Opposition

The strongest opposition may come from three trainers who consistently excel with precocious juveniles.

Final Appeal (Karl Burke; Clifford Lee) has already shown enough ability to suggest he belongs in this company, while stablemate Kodi Bear Light (Jack Nicholls) adds further strength to Burke's challenge.

Archie Watson relies not only on Vollering but also Niewiadoma (Pierre-Louis Jamin), another speedy filly whose pedigree and early form suggest there could still be considerable improvement to come.

Meanwhile Sky Secret (Clive Cox; P. J. McDonald) represents a stable with an excellent record in Britain's premier juvenile races. Cox rarely overfaces his youngsters, and Sky Secret has the profile of a colt capable of taking another step forward.

The Dark Horses

As always in the Super Sprint, several lightly raced runners arrive with limited exposed form but considerable potential.

Wait Geordie (Hugo Palmer; Rossa Ryan) has already shown enough ability to make him one of the more interesting colts in the line-up, while stablemate Nascent Star (Finley Marsh) could easily improve for both experience and the demands of a strongly run five furlongs.

Among the lesser-exposed runners, Courage Best (Rod Millman; George Wood), Etienne (Richard Spencer; David Egan) and Angels Lane (Henry Candy; Laura Pearson) all possess the sort of profiles that can make them dangerous in juvenile handicaps, where improvement is often impossible to quantify.

The same can be said of Bill The Bull (Adam Kirby; Pat Cosgrave), whose current rating perhaps underestimates his long-term potential.

Why the Super Sprint Is Different

Unlike most valuable races, the Super Sprint is not simply about finding the fastest horse.

The winner usually combines:

• natural speed over five furlongs
• enough professionalism to cope with a large field
• further improvement still to come

the ability to handle the occasion despite limited racing experience
Those qualities explain why the race has launched so many future Pattern performers over the years.

The Final Word

This year's Super Sprint appears to revolve around the established quality of Bint Archange and Vollering, two fillies whose ratings already suggest they belong among the better juveniles seen so far this season.

Richard Hannon's strength in numbers means Call Me Tomorrow, Rollthedicebaby and From Me To You all deserve respect, while Final Appeal, Sky Secret and Wait Geordie represent some of the strongest opposition from rival yards.
In races like this, however, improvement is everything.

One of these youngsters is likely to leave Newbury with a reputation transformed.

Selection

1st - Bint Archange
2nd - Vollering
3rd - Final Appeal

Bint Archange sets the benchmark on form and ratings and has the ideal combination of class, experience and an outstanding jockey booking in William Buick. Vollering looks the obvious danger after an impressive start to her career, while Final Appeal appeals as the one most likely to improve again for Karl Burke in one of the season's key juvenile handicaps.