The Jockey Club has lodged an application to the High Court seeking an injunction to prohibit acts intended to disrupt the Derby Festival, which takes place at Epsom on June 2 and 3.

The Jockey Club, which owns Epsom Downs alongside many other high-profile tracks, says it has been forced to take action after activists from Animal Rising continued to make it “explicitly clear” that they intend to breach security at the Surrey racecourse to stage a disruptive protest.

Last month, the Grand National at Aintree was delayed a little over 10 minutes by protesters, with attempts to disrupt the Scottish National at Ayr the following weekend thwarted by police and security staff.

Officials now fear planned disruption at Epsom may endanger participants, racegoers and horses – although they have stated they do not dismiss the right to peaceful protest and have offered Animal Rising an area near the entrance of the racecourse specifically for this purpose on Derby day.

The injunction sought would prohibit individuals from entering onto the racetrack and carrying out other acts with the intention and/or effect of disrupting the races. Such acts include intentionally causing objects to enter the racetrack, entering the parade ring, entering and/or remaining on the horses’ route to the parade ring and to the racetrack without authorisation, and intentionally endangering any person at Epsom Downs Racecourse during the two-day Derby Festival.

If the injunction is granted, individuals acting in breach of the court order could be subject to proceedings for contempt of court, which may lead to a fine and/or imprisonment.

A High Court hearing, which will rule on whether to grant the injunction, has been scheduled to take place this Friday (May 26).

Nevin Truesdale, chief executive of the Jockey Club, said in a statement: “In planning for the Derby Festival our number one priority will always be to ensure that the safety of all our equine and human participants and the thousands of racegoers who join us at Epsom Downs is not compromised.

“We respect everyone’s right to peaceful and lawful protest and with that in mind have offered Animal Rising a space for this purpose directly outside the racecourse during the Derby Festival.

“However, Animal Rising have made it explicitly clear that they intend to breach security and access the track itself in an attempt to stop racing taking place and it is our duty and obligation to do everything we can to protect everyone’s safety and prevent a repeat of the illegal and reckless protests we saw at Aintree in April.

“As such the decision to apply for an injunction is a course of action we have been forced to take and is the result of careful consideration following consultation with Surrey Police and a number of stakeholders. If successful, this would be just one of a range of robust security measures we are implementing to ensure the event can go ahead safely.

“We are proud to stage the Derby Festival and hope that the thousands of people who look forward to attending over the two days and the millions more watching at home and around the world are able to enjoy what is not only an important event for the sport but an iconic moment in the British summer and a celebration of the Thoroughbred.”

Mark Cavendish will retire from professional cycling at the end of the current season.

Cavendish, who celebrated his 38th birthday on Sunday, made the announcement at a press conference on the rest day of this year’s Giro D’Italia.

The Manxman boasts 53 Grand Tour stage victories and a world title, and is still set to compete at the Tour de France in July, where he could break the record of 34 stage wins he currently shares with Eddy Merckx.

Cavendish said: “I’ve absolutely loved racing every kilometre of this race so far, so I feel it’s the perfect time to say it’s my final Giro d’Italia and 2023 will be my final season as a professional cyclist.

“Yesterday I celebrated my 38th birthday. Like many others I’ve been struggling with sickness during the race as well as the effects of some unfortunate crashes. To get me through, I can’t thank this group of friends enough.

“Cycling has been my life for over 25 years. I have lived an absolute dream and the bike has given me the opportunity to see the world and meet some incredible people.

“It’s taught me so much about life – dedication, loyalty, companionship, teamwork, sacrifice, humility and perseverance – all things that now, as a father, I can show my children.”

Geraint Thomas, his long-time friend and team-mate who won the 2018 Tour de France, called Cavendish “the greatest sprinter of all time” and said he struggled to believe his retirement news.

“He told me at the start of the Giro,” said Thomas. “I didn’t really believe him. I kind of thought he would keep going.

“He has had an incredible career and I am really proud to have been a team-mate of his for a long time.

“He is the greatest sprinter of all time when you see his record. But he hasn’t finished ye, and has got to get the record at the Tour (de France) and hopefully win a stage here.”

British Cycling performance director Stephen Park also paid tribute to Cavendish, saying in a statement: “On behalf of British Cycling, I would like to congratulate Mark on a truly outstanding career.

“Cav is without doubt the sport’s greatest sprinter and will be remembered by fans across the world for his 53 Grand Tour stage wins, and I’m sure that we will all be cheering him on as he looks to add to that total in his final months of racing.”

Cavendish won his first world title in the Madison in 2005 in Los Angeles, and within three years had claimed four Tour de France stage wins, as well as two at the Giro d’Italia, to become Britain’s leading Grand Tour cyclist at the age of just 22.

As well as his Grand Tour exploits, Cavendish won a silver medal in the omnium at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, and gold in the scratch race at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, representing the Isle of Man.

And he fulfilled a childhood dream in 2011 when he won the road World Championship in Copenhagen, becoming the first British man to do so since Tom Simpson in 1965, a year which also saw him crowned BBC Sports Personality of the Year.

Park added: “Professional and passionate, Cav has been a real asset to our team over the years and will be remembered as both a peerless rider and a fantastic teammate with time for everyone.

“We wish him the very best of luck both for the rest of his final season in the peloton and in the next stage of his career.”

Geraint Thomas has no intentions of following Mark Cavendish by riding off into retirement any time soon as he targets Giro d’Italia success and finalising a contract extension at Ineos Grenadiers.

Welshman Thomas admits he did not quite believe his friend Cavendish would go through with his plans when he told him in confidence ahead of this year’s Giro.

Thomas, who played a key role when Cavendish won the world road race championship in 2011, hailed the Manxman as the “greatest sprinter of all time” and hopes he goes on to break the record for Tour de France stage wins later this summer.

Having previously hinted 2023 might be his final season as a professional cyclist, Thomas – who turns 37 on Thursday – remains fully focused on the challenges ahead.

“I said before the start of this tour that I just want to concentrate on the race,” Thomas told a media call during Monday’s Giro rest day.

“Talk has started with this team about extending (my contract), but I am going to cross that bridge in a couple of weeks after this race hopefully.”

Thomas, who won the 2018 Tour de France, has raced alongside Cavendish in the British Cycling set-up as well as for one season at Team Sky.

“He is the greatest sprinter of all time when you see his record and it has been an honour to ride with him,” said Thomas.

“Mark told me at the start of the Giro. I didn’t really believe him. I kind of thought he would keep going.

“He has had an incredible career. He is still racing, though, and has got to get the record at the Tour (de France) and hopefully win a stage here.”

Thomas surrendered the pink jersey to Bruno Armirail on stage 14, and heads into Tuesday’s 203-kilometre mountain course from Sabbio Chiese to Monte Bondone just over a minute off the pace and only two seconds ahead of favourite Primoz Roglic.

Thomas, though, will not take any unnecessary risks as he plots a successful path towards Rome.

“I certainly want to race, but I don’t want to just attack for the entertainment and then blow myself up and somebody else profit from it,” the Welshman said.

“We have got three mountain-top road stages and a super hard TT (time trial), so people have to try.

“We (Ineos) are obviously not leading the race because I am second, but when you look at the GC guys on top of the tree, you would say the onus is on other guys to try and gain some time back.

“But we have got our way of how we want to race and what we are thinking and hopefully that can come off.”

Thomas added: “I don’t think any of us will feel too comfortable with the situation at the moment – between me and Primoz there is only two seconds and anything can happen.

“You know for sure he is going to try to gain time and me as well, same with Joao (Almeida).

“The next three mountain stages will be interesting because we are all going to look to see if we can try to get something over the others.”

Everton have entered an exclusivity agreement with American firm MSP Sports Capital as they look to secure an injection of new investment, the PA news agency understands.

It is understood that, while a deal over funding is yet to be concluded, talks between New York-based MSP and the Toffees – who had also been speaking to 777 Partners – are progressing well.

Seventeenth in the table after the weekend’s action, Everton play Bournemouth at Goodison Park next Sunday as the battle for Premier League survival goes down to the final game of the season for Sean Dyche’s men.

The Merseyside outfit’s new stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock is currently under construction at a cost of £760million.

Figures from MSP were present at Goodison when Everton lost 2-1 to Southampton in January.

MSP and 777 Partners, another American company, were then understood to be parties being spoken to after Everton owner Farhad Moshiri in February said he was in talks with “top investors of real quality to bridge a gap on the stadium”.

Lizzie Deignan believes the standard of professional cycling is getting “harder and harder” as she continues to make her return to the sport.

The 34-year-old is set to compete in the three-day Ford RideLondon Classique later this week, her first UK race since October 2021.

RideLondon begins on Friday and has two stages in Essex before Sunday’s finale in central London, which includes a finish down the Mall.

Speaking about her return to competitive action this year after giving birth to her second child last September, Deignan believes the performance levels in cycling are continuing to improve.

“I think on both the men’s and women’s side, professional cycling it’s getting harder and harder,” Deignan told a press conference.

“Everybody is pushing their limits and the performance levels are getting stronger in women’s cycling particularly, the changes, the investment that we’ve seen means the peloton, the level of performance, is deeper.

“It’s harder for breakaways to go on climbs, the break takes longer to go, it’s just simply harder than it’s ever been before – which is great!”

Seven months after giving birth to son Shea, the Olympic silver medallist and former World Road Race champion made an earlier-than-expected return to racing in April.

Injury and illness among her Trek-Segafredo team-mates saw her line up at La Fleche Wallonne last month before going on to compete in Liege-Bastogne-Liege.

Deignan has since taken part in La Vuelta Femenina, making the upcoming RideLondon race her fourth competition of the year, and she says she is settling back into dealing with the demands of racing.

“Personally, my form I learned again for the second time that you can be flying in training, you can be as fit as you want, but it’s no replication for racing,” said Deignan, who gave birth to daughter Orla in September 2018.

“You simply can’t suffer as much you need to or accelerate as many times as you need to, there’s no replacement for racing.

“I’m really happy that the finesse and race rhythm has come back really quickly so I’m excited to do RideLondon.

“Even in the last week I feel like I’ve taken another step forward in my performance so I’m really excited about it.”

Ante-post favourite Al Riffa will not run in in Saturday’s Irish 2,000 Guineas after suffering “a little setback” in training.

A son of Wootton Bassett, he made three starts last year for Joseph O’Brien, all at the Curragh, and signed off the campaign with a length-and-a-quarter success over Proud And Regal in the Group One National Stakes.

However, the Jassim Bin Al Attiyah-owned colt has not raced since September and while market leader for the mile Classic, he will be a notable absentee.

O’Brien said: “He has just had a little setback training. Hopefully it is nothing too serious and he will be back later in the summer.

“He has options at Ascot and further afield than that as well.

“These things happen, so it’s a long way from a problem. It is obviously disappointing for the owners. This race has been his target for the last while, but we will look forward to things later in the summer.

“Timing-wise Royal Ascot will be fine, but we will have to decide whether we want to run there or in other races. We’ll not be rushing into any decision.

“Everything else is good. We are looking forward to what is going to be a great weekend of racing at the Curragh. It is very competitive action and there’s much to look forward to.”

With Al Riffa missing the race, Qipco 2000 Guineas winner Chaldean heads the market.

Roberto De Zerbi accepts that some of Brighton’s top talents may not be part of his Seagulls set-up when they take on Europe for the first time next season.

Albion guaranteed themselves at least the Europa Conference League with Sunday’s 3-1 Premier League victory over Southampton, though sixth place and the Europa League are also all-but assured.

What remains less certain are the futures of multiple men who helped make history at the Amex, with Alexis Mac Allister and Moises Caicedo among the names linked with summer transfers.

De Zerbi said: “Now we have to organise, we have to build a new squad. We have to organise the new season. We have to finish before, OK, but then we have to organise and we have to build a new squad.

“I think we don’t need too many players but we have to compete in the Europa League. We have to compete in the Premier League because it will be tougher for sure for us.

“I think we will lose some big players, but it’s right, no? Because they deserve to play for other targets in another team, but we have to be ready to bring in other big players with the policy of the club.

“We have to arrive ready to compete in four competitions.”

According to some reports, World Cup winner Mac Allister, who joined Albion in January 2019 on a four-and-a-half-year deal, has already principally agreed a move to Liverpool.

Brighton CEO Paul Barber, however, was quick to dismiss those rumours, telling talkSPORT: “If I lost sleep over every report that I read about one of our players doing that, then I wouldn’t be sleeping very much at all.

“At the moment he’s focused on doing what he can for us in our final two games of the season. We’ve got a massive game here against Manchester City on Wednesday and then we go to Villa Park on Sunday to complete what has been a fantastic season for us.

“I saw him down on the pitch looking very happy and obviously we’d love him to be here next season.

“We know that there are going to be a lot of clubs, not just in this country but around Europe, around the world that are going to be wanting Alexis to play for them.

“But at the moment he is wearing blue and white stripes and I’m delighted about that.”

Southampton boss Ruben Selles was also looking ahead to his club’s future, though what happens to him after the conclusion of the campaign is unclear.

Selles’ agreement also expires at the end of the season, with Swansea boss Russell Martin rumoured to replace him.

The Spaniard handed academy prospects Kamari Doyle and Dom Ballard their league debuts in the relegated Saints’ penultimate Premier League contest, with just Liverpool at St Mary’s left to play.

He said: “I’m looking ahead to what can I do if I’m here or not. And that’s why I can give our players that are coming from the academy all the way into the first team.

“I can get players that are ready to go and perform for the first team and even if it’s some minutes today or against Liverpool, that is a big step for their careers and they just keep the door open for them.”

Jim Goodwin has told his Dundee United players “to not feel sorry” for themselves ahead of the battle with relegation rivals Kilmarnock on Wednesday night.

The Terrors’ boss was dismayed by the goals conceded in the 2-1 defeat at Livingston on Saturday and their third successive loss after three straight wins kept them bottom of the cinch Premiership, two points behind Ross County and three behind Killie, with two fixtures remaining.

After the visit of Kilmarnock, the Tannadice side take on Motherwell at Fir Park in the final fixture of the season on Sunday and Goodwin, who was appointed United manager on a short-term contract in March, stressed positivity to his players at a meeting on Monday.

“The key message was to not feel sorry for ourselves,” said the Irishman, who will make a late decision on Steven Fletcher’s groin injury which kept him out the trip to West Lothian.

“I don’t want to see anyone mumping and moaning about the place.

“I want to see everyone nice and bright which I think I got at training this morning, there was a positive reaction.

“We are not brushing anything under the carpet.

“We have spoken about the mistakes we made on Saturday and we emphasised again the importance of Wednesday in terms of making better decisions in those key moments and if we do that then  we give ourselves a really good chance.

“I don’t think there is a great deal between the two teams.

“I think it will be a close affair again like most of the games in the league are but there is lot of stake for both teams.

“But we have some very good players in that dressing room who are more than capable of turning it on and hopefully we see that on Wednesday.

“Every game since I came through the door has been massively important  and the next one is the most important but Wednesday night is the biggest game of the season.

“We don’t need to over-emphasise what is at stake. We are still in the fight.”

On the eve of the US PGA Championship, Brooks Koepka was asked about the possibility of being selected for the Ryder Cup.

US team captain Zach Johnson had dismissed Koepka’s runner up finish in the Masters as “one good week” and claimed he could not accurately assess the form of LIV players in their own events.

Knowing that performing well in majors was effectively his only chance of impressing Johnson enough to earn one of his six wild cards, Koepka had a simple solution.

“If you go second, first, first, first, it would be kind of tough not to (get a) pick, right? If you go handle business, I feel like I should be fine,” Koepka said.

It sounded an ambitious goal but not any more after Koepka claimed his fifth major title and third US PGA Championship at Oak Hill, holding off a determined Viktor Hovland and a charging Scottie Scheffler to win by two shots.

There may be no need for a wild card now. Koepka has jumped from 22nd to second in the Ryder Cup standings, with the top six qualifying automatically and Johnson selecting six wild cards.

And his place on the team, despite playing on the Saudi-funded LIV circuit, was immediately welcomed by one of the men he had just beaten into second place.

“I want to win the Ryder Cup. I don’t care about tours or anything like that,” Scheffler said.

“It’s something we talked about when we finished (at Whistling Straits) a year and a half ago. We want to beat those guys in Europe. It’s been a long time since we’ve beat them.

“Whoever the best 12 guys are that make a complete team, it’s different than individual tournaments. We want a team of guys that are going over there together to bring the cup back home, and that’s all I really care about.”

Koepka is just the 20th man in history to have won five or more majors, matching the totals of Seve Ballesteros, Peter Thomson, Byron Nelson, JH Taylor and James Braid, the latter pair each winning five Open titles before 1913.

“It’s crazy,” the 33-year-old said. “I try not to think of it right now. I mean, I do care about it. It’s just tough to really grasp the situation kind of while you’re still in it, I think.

“Probably when I’m retired and I can look back with Jena (his wife) and my son and kind of reflect on all that stuff, that will be truly special, but right now I’m trying to collect as many of these things as I can. We’ll see how it goes.”

The chances of Koepka again becoming a dominant force in majors – he won four in eight starts at his peak – looked exceedingly slim as he suffered a number of career-threatening injuries.

He rushed back from surgery after shattering his kneecap in order to compete in the 2021 Masters, but missed the cut and did so again 12 months later, revealing this year at Augusta that had prompted him to try to punch out the back window of his car in frustration.

Koepka also admitted his decision to join LIV would have been harder if he had been fully fit at the time, while confessing on the Netflix documentary ‘Full Swing’ that he would “pay back every dollar I ever made” to regain the feeling of winning a major for another hour.

“It’s very hard to explain,” the former world number one said. “I mean, it was a lot worse than I let on to you guys, let on to everybody. I think maybe only five, six people really know the extent of it, all the pain.

“There’s a lot of times where I just couldn’t even bend my knee. The swelling didn’t go down until maybe a couple months ago, so that’s almost, what, two years? It’s been a long road.

“But look, that’s who I am. I’m open and honest. I know I seem like this big, bad, tough guy on the golf course that doesn’t smile, doesn’t do anything, but if you catch me off the golf course, I’ll let you know what’s going on.”

Asked if he considered retiring when at his lowest ebb, Koepka said: “I don’t know if I considered retiring, but I knew if I couldn’t play the way I wanted to play then I was definitely going to give it up.

“I mean, the thought definitely kind of crossed my mind.”

Oisin Murphy is thrilled to have live chances in both the Betfred Derby and Oaks at Epsom next week as he bids to continue his excellent comeback campaign.

The three-time champion jockey has been in high demand since returning from a 14-month suspension for alcohol and Covid breaches and has already claimed Classic glory aboard the Saeed bin Suroor-trained Mawj in the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket.

Murphy has not yet won the Derby or the Oaks – but has high hopes of netting one or both this year with The Foxes and Running Lion respectively.

The Foxes, trained by Andrew Balding, cemented his Derby claims with victory in the Dante Stakes at York last week, while John and Thady Gosden’s Running Lion oozed class when landing Newmarket’s Pretty Polly Stakes and delighted her connections when working over just shy of a mile at Epsom’s Derby Festival Gallops Morning on Monday.

“We were obviously delighted with Running Lion at Newmarket. She came out of the race well and today she went down very relaxed,” said Murphy.

“We jumped off just inside the mile and the idea was not to go mad but to do a sensible bit of work. We let them flow down the hill, maybe from the six-furlong pole round Tattenham Corner.

“Once I got her organised, although she didn’t take too much organising, I let her go forward in the straight but I resisted the temptation to ask her for an effort because I thought the Pretty Polly with a little bit of dig in the ground wasn’t long ago.

“That race would have made sure she was very fit so today was more about having a nice away day and coming here relaxing and going home.”

Murphy is keen to reward the support of those who have supported him since his return to the saddle, adding: “I’m so relieved and thankful to the trainers and the owners since I’ve been back. I’ve ridden for over 40 different trainers in Britain and I think I’m the busiest jockey in England and probably in Europe thanks to them.

“The Foxes was great in the Dante and I heard he was perfect when he trotted up on Friday. Hopefully he has a smooth run between now and the race.

“I’m delighted for his owners (King Power Racing) as they have invested an awful lot of money into the sport and to have a live chance in the Derby is great.

“I’m really happy to be in this position. To have two nice horses to ride in those Classics is fantastic.”

Both Running Lion and The Foxes will head to Epsom with stamina doubts hanging over them with neither having raced beyond a mile and a quarter so far.

Running Lion’s top-class sire Roaring Lion had his limitations exposed in that department when third over a mile and a half in the 2018 Derby, and Murphy admits only time will tell whether it will be the same story for his offspring.

He said: “I don’t know if Running Lion will stay, but no one knows. She might just find the last two furlongs too far, but it would be a nice way to find out in the Oaks if I was still on the bridle approaching the three-furlong market like I was on her sire.

“We don’t know if The Foxes will stay as he is by Churchill and his half-brother Bangkok was a real 10-furlong horse who was by Australia, but it would be nice to find out on the race day.

“Both of them can race a little bit behind the bridle and you can never be 100 per cent certain (they will stay). Going to the start I’m pretty sure neither will waste any energy which is so important as it is a long way down (to the start).”

John Gosden hopes to be double-handed in the Oaks, with Running Lion set to be joined by last week’s Musidora Stakes winner Soul Sister.

The Clarehaven handler does have stamina concerns for Running Lion in particular, but is happy to roll the dice.

He said: “The Musidora winner and this filly are very legitimate trial winners. They won their trials, a Listed and Group Three with authority. They very much belong in the race.

“Stamina-wise you never really know until you go a mile and a half. Everyone thinks it is a downhill track but it rises 150ft before you think about coming down hill and of course that last section where it climbs again at the finish can catch a lot of them out on stamina.

“Both the fillies have a lot of speed. They’re never worked together, but they both won their trials well which is great and I couldn’t be more pleased with the pair of them.

“It’s hard to say until you know with the trip, they’re both bred to be mile-and-a-quarter fillies and the last part is always the key, we don’t know. You can’t practice a race over a mile and a half at home I don’t think.”

Leeds stand on the brink of Premier League relegation after Sunday’s 3-1 defeat at West Ham.

The Yorkshire club’s three-season stay in the top-flight will be over if they fail to beat Tottenham next Sunday and, depending on other results, victory on the final day might not be enough to save them.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the reasons why it has gone wrong at Elland Road.

Bielsa legacy casts shadow

Leeds chairman Andrea Radrizzani, former director of football Victor Orta and chief executive Angus Kinnear received huge acclaim when the club ended their 16-year Premier League exile in 2020. They played a masterstroke by handing the keys to the bus to head coach Marcelo Bielsa in 2018, but their legacy was always going to be defined by how they filled the vacuum after sacking him in February 2022. The bus stalled when poor results cost the Argentinian his job. The board has since got most of its key decisions wrong and all the wheels, one by one, have fallen off.

What exactly did the board get wrong?

Bielsa’s successor Jesse Marsch was hailed as a natural replacement, but performances and results did not improve. Leeds survived relegation last season on the final day and when Marsch was sacked in February this year he left the club in a worse position in the table. The board’s failed, ill-conceived bids to hire Rayo Vallecano’s Andoni Iraola and Feyenoord’s Arne Slot led to accusations of panic and, after a fans’ backlash, they also reneged on appointing former Ajax boss Alfred Schreuder. So in came Javi Gracia. The club then admitted they had erred in that decision by parachuting Sam Allardyce into Elland Road with four league games remaining.

Can relegation be blamed solely on the managers?

No. After Leeds defied the odds to finish ninth under Bielsa in their first season back in the top flight, they have failed to sufficiently strengthen their squad. A lack of cover for an injury-prone Patrick Bamford and midfielder Tyler Adams are prime examples. It has also been an imbalanced squad with wide players in abundance, but no depth in other key areas. Some signings since promotion, such as Raphinha, Adams, Luis Sinisterra and Willy Gnonto, have been a success, but too many others have failed to make an impact, while the arrival of club record signing Georginio Rutter has left fans scratching their heads.

Has the ownership issue muddied the waters?

The last-ditch appointment of Allardyce was symptomatic of Leeds’ mis-management and of a club in limbo since the investment arm of San Francisco 49ers increased its stake to 44 per cent at the end of 2021. 49ers Enterprises has an option to own 100 per cent by January next year and the ownership issue has not helped decision-making. Orta’s resignation in protest over Gracia’s sacking has left Leeds without a director of football and, if Allardyce departs as expected, they will be without a long-term head coach. How relegation would affect the takeover remains to be seen, while Radrizzani has been linked with a takeover of Sampdoria. With relegation looming a rudderless ship appears to be heading for the rocks.

Connections of smart filly Bluestocking have not ruled out the possibility she could still run in the Betfred Oaks at Epsom on Friday week.

The daughter of Camelot won a decent Salisbury novice over a mile on her debut in September and made her return in the Listed Haras De Bouquetot Fillies’ Trial Stakes at Newbury on Saturday.

The Ralph Beckett-trained filly was sent off favourite under Rossa Ryan for the 10-furlong contest, but was beaten a head by Warm Heart and Ryan Moore.

A general 12-1 chance for the Oaks, the Juddmonte-owned Bluestocking also holds entries in the Ribblesdale at Royal Ascot and both the Group One Pretty Polly at the Curragh and the Irish Oaks in July.

Barry Mahon, Juddmonte’s European racing manager, said the Epsom door is being kept open.

“Plans are pretty fluid. We’ll see how she comes out of the race,” he said.

“Ralph will decide. It is more unlikely than likely. It is not impossible, but we’ll see how she trains in the next week.

“She is an exciting filly going forward and she ran a good race on Saturday. We are very much not ruling it out, but as we all know, it is probably not an ideal preparation for her.

“If she doesn’t go to Epsom, she will go to the Ribblesdale. Ralph was happy with her on Sunday morning and he said let’s keep an open mind for next week and see what happens, so that’s where we’re at.”

Haskoy, who took the Group Three Al Rayyan Stakes by a short head from Israr on the same card, could head to the Ascot Gold Cup.

Connections are unsure if the four-year-old, who was having her seasonal bow following three runs last term, culminating in a two-length defeat in the St Leger – will get the two-and-a-half-mile trip.

“It was a lovely run,” said Mahon. “She is a lovely mare, so genuine, so tough. We’ll just keep an open mind and will see how she trains, and we’ll think about Gold Cups closer to the time.

“The problem with the Gold Cup is no one really knows, until you actually try it, if you’ll stay.

“Ralph is happy enough that he thinks she’ll stay. Personally, I’m a little bit doubtful, but if it is deemed the right thing to do, we’re game and we’ll give it a go.

“We’re not trying to protect any stud values or anything. If Ralph and Frankie (Dettori) decided it was the right thing to do, we’ll possibly give it a go.

“It is tough for a four-year-old filly who has only had four runs.

“The good thing with her is that she is so genuine, so tough, there is no mental fragility. She is just a tough, genuine mare.”