'I never thought it would happen' - joy for Ed Bethell and Callum Rodriguez as they bag first Group 1 with Regional in Sprint Cup

How do you turn a 3,500gns buy into a Group 1 winner? Ed Bethell might have found the answer, but he could barely believe it after Regional provided him and jockey Callum Rodriguez with breakthrough victories at the highest level.

At a sweltering Haydock, Regional scorched to Sprint Cup glory, holding off 50-1 shot Shouldvebeenaring to put the upwardly mobile trainer in dreamland, as Shaquille finished stone last as the 11-10 favourite.

After overcoming slow starts to win the Commonwealth Cup and July Cup, Shaquille was away much more quickly this time, but Julie Camacho's stable star had none of his usual finishing punch.

One Yorkshire yard's despair turned into another's joy as Bethell, who took over Thorngill Stables in Middleham from father James only at the start of 2021, confirmed himself as one of Britain's brightest training prospects.

"I never thought it would happen and I'm just incredibly lucky and fortunate to have a nice team of people around me," said Bethell. 

"Tom Biggs bought him, Barbara Jones rides him every day and is an unsung hero and then there's Keith McGloin, my assistant. There are too many people to thank and I'm just the lucky one to have my name on the ticket.

Ed Bethell and Callum Rodriguez embrace after the Sprint CupCredit: JOHN GROSSICK

"These sort of days will help the yard achieve what I wanted it to, but I'll enjoy today and tonight and get back to it tomorrow morning."

Regional started off for Bethell by winning a handicap at this track off a mark of 94 two years ago, having been bought out of Richard Fahey’s yard at the 2021 Tattersalls July horses-in-training sale.

The Future Champions Racing-owned five-year-old was defending an unbeaten record at the Merseyside course as he had also set a new five-furlong track record when winning a Listed race here in June.

He did not get the breaks in the Nunthorpe on his previous start, but was much better suited to this six-furlong trip here.

"He was rushed off his feet in the Nunthorpe, but he was so much more comfortable at this trip and I'm over the moon for everyone," added Bethell.

"He's a straightforward horse and Callum has done a tremendous job of getting him out of the stalls because he had been inclined to miss the break. It looked smooth and he was one of the last to come off the bridle.

"The owners might want to go to America, but I'll see how the horse is first and then we'll make a decision."

Regional runs out a first Group 1 winner for jockey Callum Rodriguez and trainer Ed BethellCredit: John Grossick

It was also a huge success for Rodriguez, who has gradually rebuilt his career after a six-month ban for testing positive for cocaine in 2019.

"It's a great feeling," he said. "I really hit the ground running as an apprentice and landed the Ebor and other nice races and then it went a little bit stop-start. 

"You're asking yourself whether you're going to find the one and I've just been so lucky to find Regional this year. 

"I've a lot to thank Ed for – I stepped into the yard in January this year and there's a really strong team of horses there."

The Camacho team were deflated with the performance of Shaquille, with concern over the stable form following just two winners since the start of last month.  

"We're very disappointed," said Steve Brown, Camacho's husband and assistant. "Nothing obvious has come to light so far, but James [Doyle] said he was very flat and was beaten early. 

"We need to go home and lick our wounds and find out what's going on. It was too bad to be true and we need to get to the bottom of it and what's going on in general. 

"We've definitely been out of form, but there's been nothing obvious at home and all the tests have been stringent, but we're obviously not coming up with all the answers."

Read these next:

Breeders' Cup on the horizon after Auguste Rodin does his latest Lazarus-like impression with Irish Champion Stakes triumph

Chris Hayes shines on 'ruthlessly tough and genuine' Tahiyra as she conquers elders in Matron Stakes 

'Today he really looked like a Group 1 horse' - Richard Hannon sets sights abroad with Chindit following Superior success 

Sign up to receive On The Nose, our essential daily newsletter, from the Racing Post. Your unmissable morning feed, direct to your email inbox every morning.