Little Big Bear (evens favourite) bounced back to form with a scintillating success in the Betfred Nifty Fifty Sandy Lane Stakes at Haydock Park.
And now Aidan O'Brien's No Nay Never colt will head to next month's Royal Ascot as the hot favourite – he is a best-priced 5-2 with Coral – for the Group One Commonwealth Cup. Little Big Bear had been a superb winner over the same six-furlong trip in the Group One Keeneland Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh during his juvenile campaign last July, having also scored over the minimum distance in the Listed Windsor Castle Stakes at Royal Ascot the previous month. He didn't run again as a two-year-old due to injury and returned to bid for Classic glory at Newmarket earlier this month. As connections may have suspected he didn’t stay over the mile trip in the QIPCO 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket, so Little Big Bear was dropped back in trip at Haydock. And on fast ground on Merseyside, he resumed winning ways under Frankie Dettori, scoring by a comfortable length-and-a-quarter from Shouldvebeenaring (11-1) with Royal Ascot winner from last season, Bradsell (5-1), a massive eight lengths back in third. Dettori had Little Big Bear cruising near the head of affairs on the stands' side. He was always travelling well and when the Italian pushed him to the front he cruised to easy victory. Back down the sprinting route, the champion two-year-old will be hard to beat in the Commonwealth Cup next month.
Dettori, who was standing in for Ryan Moore who was at the Curragh where he won the Irish 2,000 Guineas for O'Brien aboard Paddington, said: "Aidan got in touch with me 10 days ago and I said 'yeah, I would love to ride the horse', but I didn't know where I was going to be. Very kindly they held on for me, I was on the phone on Sunday and said 'listen, I'm going to Haydock'.
