SOME of the speediest racehorses in Britain go head to head in the climax to the three-day May Festival at Haydock Park Racecourse this weekend.

On Saturday the Betfred Temple Stakes launches the seven-race sprint division of the £14 million QIPCO British Champions Series which comes to a climax at Ascot Racecourse in the autumn.

The series, now in its third year, unites Britain’s top Flat races – two of which are run at Haydock Park - under one banner, throwing the spotlight on the very best of the sport.

Racing over a distance of five furlongs or just over 1,000 metres – the minimum in horse racing – the dash down the Haydock Park home straight at 3.50pm on Saturday for the £90,000 prize will take just 60 seconds after the horses break from the starting stalls.

Major training yards across Britain will be sending their best sprint horses to Haydock Park, but there is a challenger from the north west who could beat them all.

Ballista, trained by Tom Dascombe at footballer Michael Owen’s stables in Cheshire, won on his seasonal debut at Chester Racecourse earlier this month and will be ridden by jockey Richard Kingscote who is confident of the horse recording his second career win at Haydock Park.

Taking on the local horse could be the veteran Kingsgate Native, the winner of the corresponding race in 2010, as well as the highest rated horse in the race, the undefeated Reckless Abandon.

Sole Power, the 2011 winner who was also runner-up last year, could return along with the third-placed horse from last year Spirit Quartz.

Haydock Park is home to two of the seven races in the QIPCO British Champions Series sprint division. The richest race held at the racecourse is the second, the Betfred Sprint Cup in September.

The Betfred Temple Stakes is the centrepiece of a seven-race afternoon on Saturday which also includes the £65,000 Betfred.com Silver Bowl.

The three-day May Festival begins on Thursday when the races are sponsored by 32Red and Betdaq. Friday features a race in The Jockey Club Grassroots Series, aimed at rewarding the grassroots of the sport with valuable prize money.

Garry Fortune, General Manager of Haydock Park, said: “The third day of our May Festival is one of the great racing days of the year at Haydock Park. We are delighted to welcome the QIPCO British Champions Series to the racecourse for the first time this year. It’s set to be a thrilling sporting occasion.”

‘Best of British’ menu On Saturday, all the main ingredients in the recipes for the dishes served in Colours Restaurant in the Centenary Grandstand will have been sourced within 50 miles of the racecourse.

Something fishy in Harry’s Bistro A dish created by a racecourse spectator is on the menu in Harry’s Bistro during the May Festival. The recipe by Karen Ferguson was chosen as the best by racecourse head chef Martin Swindley in a competition this spring.

Karen’s dish is ‘Pan-fried loin of Atlantic cod, ragout of butter beans, smoked tomato and chorizo, sea salt parmentier and sauce vierge’.

Tickets and times More information about Haydock Park’s fixtures is available at www.haydock-park.co.uk where tickets can be bought online. Telephone bookings can be made on 0844 579 3006.

Other forthcoming highlights, on and off the track, at Haydock Park are the first Ladies’ Evening of 2013 on Friday 7 June and ‘Legends of the 80s’ night with Newton-le-Willows-born Rick Astley, Marc Almond, Paul Young and ABC performing on Saturday 22 June.

The first race times this Thursday and Friday are 2.20pm; while it’s 2.10pm on Saturday. On-the-day admission: Premier £36 Thursday and Friday (£48 Saturday); County £24 (£35); Tattersalls £13 (£22); Newton Enclosure – Saturday only (£13). Accompanied children aged under 18 are admitted free of charge,