Wantage trainer Henry Candy’s magical touch with speedsters was borne out again as Twilight Son stylishly maintained his unbeaten record in the Betfred Sprint Cup at Haydock.

The 70-year-old Kingston Warren handler has enjoyed success at the highest level with the likes of Twilight Son’s sire Kyllachy, Markab, who landed the six-furlong Haydock contest in 2010, and Airwave.

He acknowledged he was throwing his young star in at the deep end as he made the big jump up from handicaps to Group 1 company on just his fifth career start.

But the 10-1 chance fully justified his decision to run by holding off the fast-finishing Strath Burn by a short head to capture the first prize of £162,190 and give jockey Fergus Sweeney a first Group 1 triumph after 20 years of trying.

Candy admitted to being immensely relieved.

“I thought I might look incredibly stupid, but Fergus was very complimentary,” he said.

“He is a natural. He is a magnificent specimen now, but he was a baby for a long time.”

Twilight Son could have one more run this season in the Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes at Ascot on October 17, while stablemate Limato is bound for the Group 2 Saint Gobain Weber Park Stakes at Doncaster on Saturday.

Candy also enjoyed a notable success earlier in the week when La Rioja stormed home by four and a half lengths under Andrea Atzeni in the Group 3 Country Gentlemen’s Association Dick Poole Fillies’ Stakes at Salisbury.

Elsewhere, former top jump jockey Graham Bradley, who lives at Sparsholt, near Wantage, has withdrawn his application to the British Horseracing Authority for a training licence and will instead concentrate on his bloodstock business.

Meanwhile, Chipping Norton trainer Charlie Longsdon holds an open morning at his Hull Farm Stables on Saturday (10am).

Visitors will get the chance to see horses schooling before he parades his powerful string, which includes the likes of Kilcooley, Kalane, Grandads Horse and last Saturday’s Stratford winner, Hepijeu.

Entry is a £2 donation to the Riding for the Disabled Association.