Craig Kieswetter is dreaming the next stage of the Echoes In Rain journey leads to an Ascot Gold Cup triumph as the former England international cricketer has eyes for only one trophy at Royal Ascot.
Kieswetter was named man of the match in the World Cup Final when England conquered the cricketing world at the 2010 T20 World Cup. But since crossing the boundary for the final time at the tender age of 27, he has gone on to play a major role in Barnane Stud and now stands on the brink of reaching the pinnacle of Flat racing when the standard bearer of his family’s racing operation lines up in Thursday’s main event.
Trained by Willie Mullins, Echoes In Rain has raced 23 times in a dual-purpose career that has seen her win nine times, striking at Grade One level twice – including on her most recent outing at the Punchestown Festival when she arguably produced a career best, romping to an imperious nine-and-a-half-length victory.
Her record could be even more impressive if not racing in the era of Honeysuckle, but it is somewhat fitting that the Barnane stalwart could provide her owners with their biggest triumph on the ultimate stage.
“She’s an incredible horse and all the credit has to go to Peter, Ross and Anna Doyle who purchased her for us and Willie and his team for the way they have looked after her,” said Kieswetter.
“She’s one of those horses that doesn’t come around too often and she has given us so much pleasure over the jumps and on the Flat for a good few years.
“As grateful as we are for the great times and the journey she has taken us on, at times it has been frustrating because she has come up against Honeysuckle. It’s been an amazing journey and it would be great to continue that journey on Thursday.”
Mullins is seeking his own slice of history and he attempts to become the first man to win both the Cheltenham and Ascot versions of the Gold Cup in the same year.
Vincent O’Brien is the only man to win both races, but it was not in the same calendar year – showing just how remarkable Mullins’ achievement would be.
The Closutton handler came close to Gold Cup glory 10 years ago, when Simenon was narrowly denied by the late Queen’s Estimate in the week’s premier staying contest.
Kieswetter continued: “Willie is happy with the mare and hopefully he can create a bit of history for himself and become the first trainer to win both Gold Cups in the same year – that would be one hell of an achievement.
“He’s a genius and he knows what his plan is. He is hungry to give the race a good crack and is sending a good team of horses for the week. It’s extremely exciting, the Gold Cup is the Gold Cup and we’re just hoping the mare gives a good account of herself and if she does, we will be happy with that.
“After chatting to Willie, he did mention a couple of options for her at the Royal meeting and some other Flat races throughout the season, but I think he must be quite chuffed with her and confident after her last performance.
“Willie isn’t going to just enter a horse for the sake of entering it, so he must be confident and that in turn gives us confidence.”
Barnane Stud broke their duck at the Royal meeting when the William Haggas-trained Candleford stormed to success in the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes 12 months ago, a result that simply whetted Kieswetter’s appetite to return in search of further glory during one of the biggest weeks of the racing year.
Now, like their horses, the close-knit family operation is ready to make the step up to the highest level and – win, lose or draw – they are determined to enjoy the day to its full potential.
“Last year we had a nice result with Candleford in the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes,” added the South African-born owner-breeder.
“Just to have a runner is great, but to have a winner is very special. It’s an incredible week of racing.
“The Gold Cup is steeped in history and tradition. The whole week of racing is amazing, but the Gold Cup is the pinnacle of the week and to have a runner the trainer is confident in is very exciting.
“We have the whole team over from Barnane and South Africa and we will be racing with a lot of friends, so it will be a fun day.
“If she wins the Gold Cup, I’m pretty sure we will open up the local pub to the whole of the town and drink them out of Guinness.”
A Gold Cup victory would make Echoes In Rain a valuable broodmare proposition for Barnane Stud with Kieswetter tentatively mooting they could decide to pull stumps on her racing career there and then in the Ascot winner’s enclosure if big-race success came her way.
There is, of course, plenty of water to cross through Swinley Bottom before a date with the breeding sheds is inked into the diary, but it appears Kieswetter’s mating plans are as aggressive as his exploits with cricket bat in hand as he suggests he would not be shy in pointing Echoes In Rain the way of Frankel amongst others.
He said: “If she does happen to do something special, she will undoubtedly be going to the best Flat stallion. It would make sense being a Gold Cup winner or placed mare, so she would be deserving of the full treatment and we certainly wouldn’t hold back on her.
“Frankel is most probably on the cards. He’s a superstar and his results are outstanding. But that is something we will sit down as a team and no doubt discuss the options. Although it is important we don’t get carried away and we need to get through Thursday first before we can sit and decide anything.
“The fact we are able to even have these dreams is what the sport is all about and we are grateful for.
“We’ve got a beautiful team, both over here and in South Africa, and what we want to do is breed top quality racehorses and that is what the goal is.”
Emma Raducanu has revealed how she has had to deal with “sharks” and people who use her as a “piggy bank” following her US Open success in 2021.
Raducanu became an overnight star when she memorably won at Flushing Meadows as an 18-year-old in only her second grand slam, just three months after finishing her A-Levels.
That victory transformed her into one of the most marketable sportspeople in the world, with a raft of high-end sponsorship deals, but life on the court has been tough for her since then as she has tried to establish herself on the women’s WTA Tour against the backdrop of a glut of injury issues.
The Brit, now 20 and possibly out for the season following wrist and ankle surgery, admitted she was naive following her US Open win and has been taken advantage of.
“When I won I was extremely naïve,” Raducanu told The Sunday Times Style magazine. “What I have realised in the past two years, the tour and everything that comes with it, it’s not a very nice, trusting and safe space.
“You have to be on guard because there are a lot of sharks out there. I think people in the industry, especially with me because I was 19, now 20, they see me as a piggy bank.
“It has been difficult to navigate. I have been burnt a few times. I have learnt, keep your circle as small as possible.”
It remains to be seen whether Raducanu, who has been displaced as British number one by Katie Boulter, will play again this year following her double surgery.
And she admitted her desire not to seem weak to a newly-appointed coach saw her play through the pain and make the injury worse while also revealing how she suffered mentally.
“The pain [in the wrists] escalated last summer after Wimbledon,” she added. “I started with a new coach and I was really motivated to get going. We were overtraining, a lot of repetition, and I carried on even through pain because I didn’t want to be perceived as weak.
“I was struggling with the physical pain but the mental side of it was really difficult for me too. I always want to put forward the best version of myself, or strive for that, but I knew I couldn’t.
“I very much attach my self-worth to my achievements. If I lost a match I would be really down, I would have a day of mourning, literally staring at the wall. I feel things so passionately and intensely.
“I was under so much pressure to perform, people had no idea what was going on and I had to have this façade, to keep everything inside. It has been really hard.
“And then to be scrutinised for it when they don’t know what is going on. I am very young and still learning and making mistakes. It is a lot harder when you are making mistakes in front of everyone and everyone has something to say about it. The tour is completely brutal.”
Ben Davies will not feature for Wales in their Euro 2024 qualifier against Turkey.
The Football Association of Wales announced the Tottenham defender has stayed at home for the birth of his first child.
Kieffer Moore is also absent for Rob Page’s side after being sent off during their humiliating 4-2 defeat to Armenia in Cardiff on Friday.
The forward is suspended having been sent off after tangling with goalkeeper Ognjen Chancharevich.
Goalkeeper Tom King will also miss Monday’s clash in Samsun as Wales look to recover from Friday’s shock loss.
Swansea are progressing with talks for Michael Duff to become their new manager.
Discussions are on-going for the Barnsley boss to succeed Russell Martin in Wales.
Swansea have made an approach to the Tykes but no deal has been struck between the clubs yet, the PA news agency understands.
The Swans, who finished 10th in the Championship last season, want the ex-Cheltenham boss with Martin poised to move to Southampton.
Saints are close to officially announcing Martin as their new manager after the 37-year-old agreed to move to St Mary’s last month.
Southampton and Swansea have disagreed over the amount of compensation which should be paid.
They have been haggling over £700,000 with Martin’s release clause for Championship clubs and Premier League sides different.
The Saints felt they should pay the smaller amount, around £1.25million, after their relegation from the top flight while the Swans have been holding out for £2million.
Former Swansea assistant Chris Davies, who is expected to join Ange Postecoglou’s coaching staff at Tottenham, was linked while the club held an interest in Birmingham boss John Eustace.
But Duff has emerged as the No.1 candidate after just a year at Oakwell having guided them to the League One play-offs.
The Tykes lost 1-0 in the last minute of extra time to Sheffield Wednesday in the final at Wembley.
Former Burnley midfielder Duff spent four years as Cheltenham manager, winning League Two in 2021 – the club’s first league title in their history – before cementing the Robins’ place in League One and joining Barnsley last summer, finishing fourth last season.
Mick Fitzgerald has paid tribute to Paul Barber following his death at the age of 80, describing his Cheltenham Gold Cup victory aboard the leading owner’s See More Business as “one of my proudest days in the saddle”.
The landlord of 14-time champion trainer Paul Nicholls, Barber was a passionate supporter of jumps racing and enjoyed numerous big-race successes, both in his own name or in partnership with others.
The Nicholls-trained duo See More Business and Denman both landed Cheltenham Gold Cup glory for Barber, while in recent years, he was a joint-owner of dual King George VI Chase hero Clan Des Obeaux.
Barber was also known for the family’s dairy and cheese production business, but it was See More Business who took him to the pinnacle of National Hunt racing in 1999 when Fitzgerald steered the first real staying star of Nicholls’ Ditcheat operation to a one-length success over Go Ballistic.
“I was very lucky to ride a Gold Cup winner for Paul and I know what it meant to him,” said Fitzgerald.
“Being on top of See More Business when Paul was leading him into the winner’s enclosure that day after winning the Cheltenham Gold Cup is a memory that will live forever for me. It’s one of my proudest days in the saddle and I was just privileged to be allowed to ride the horse.
“I know what it meant to him to have a Gold Cup winner and I think that is how I would like to remember Paul Barber.
“He was a man who loved what Paul Nicholls did at Ditcheat, he was very proud of what Paul achieved – I know that. They were very good friends as well as Paul being a tenant and I know it meant an awful lot to him to have Paul as his trainer and he took a lot of pride in Paul being champion trainer so many times as well.
“I feel for (his wife) Marianne and the whole Barber family at this time.”
Sam Thomas was the man aboard Denman when he stormed to the Cheltenham Gold Cup for Barber and co-owner Margaret Findley, mother of pro-punter Harry, in 2008 and remembers a “gentleman” who was “a pleasure to ride for”.
“My thoughts are with his wife and all the immediate family and friends,” said Thomas.
“My association with Mr Barber was obviously through Paul (Nicholls) and you couldn’t wish to meet a nicer gentleman, he was a pleasure to ride for and a real honour to ride for him.
“He had See More Business as well (as Denman) and I’m sure they both would have given Mr Barber an enormous thrill and he was always such a pleasure to ride for.”
Ollie Robinson helped England salvage a slender seven-run lead on day three of the first Ashes Test, dismissing Australia for 386 to leave everything up for grabs at Edgbaston.
England took the last five wickets for 75 in the morning session, with Robinson claiming three of them as he roused himself from a wicketless second day performance.
He clean bowled centurion Usman Khawaja (141) and bounced out Nathan Lyon and Pat Cummins to finish with three for 55, with James Anderson and Stuart Broad picking up one wicket apiece.
The day began with Australia on 311 for five, still 82 behind but in a marginally better position with half their wickets in hand and two set batters at the crease.
England needed early breakthroughs to nudge themselves back in front and Anderson almost delivered one when he took Alex Carey’s inside edge with his fourth delivery of the morning.
Anderson, who did not create a single clearcut chance on day two, had already started to celebrate as Jonny Bairstow tumbled low to his right but watched in dismay as the ball squirmed free from the wicketkeeper’s glove.
It was a painful start for Bairstow, who already had a missed a stumping against Cameron Green and another dropped catch off Carey on his ledger, and his frustration was plain to see.
Anderson continued to cause the left-hander problems and got him after 20 minutes, forcing one through Carey’s defences from round the wicket and trimming the bails with precision.
Moeen Ali started things off from the Birmingham End, fresh from receiving a fine from the ICC for using an unauthorised drying agent on his hands during Saturday’s play. If that was an unwanted present on the spinner’s 36th birthday, then things did not get a lot better as he worked through his spell.
A return to first-class cricket after almost two years in retirement has clearly caused some damage to to the all-rounder’s spinning finger – hence use of spray which caught the match referee’s attention. He got away with one loopy full toss but could not stop Cummins launching him for a couple of sixes as he struggled to get any purchase on the ball.
Stokes began to set some highly unusual fields in a bid to knock Australia off their stride and it seemed to work when Robinson uprooted Khawaja’s off stump. With a ring of four close catchers on the leg side, the opener tried to force the ball through cover and succumbed to a yorker.
The tail was knocked over with efficiency after that, Lyon pulling Robinson straight to deep square-leg, Scott Boland backing away and popping Broad to silly point and Cummins holing out off another short ball.
Gibraltar defender Jayce Olivero will approach Monday night’s Euro 2024 qualifier against the Republic of Ireland as “a final” as the minnows look to add to Stephen Kenny’s misery.
The clash between the sides currently occupying the bottom two places in Group B at the Aviva Stadium could prove make or break for Kenny after Friday’s 2-1 defeat in Greece left his team pointless and with his critics once again on the offensive.
Gibraltar, who are ranked 201st by FIFA, have lost each of their three opening fixtures against the Greeks, the Netherlands and France 3-0 and while the odds may be heavily stacked against them in Dublin, Europa defender Olivero is relishing the task ahead.
He said: “The game for us is a final. Ireland are a great nation and a really, really big team, and they’ve always competed at the very top.
“This is what we want. We want to compete against the very best and we prepare with everything we have for every game we have, and that’s what we’re looking to do in our next game.
“We compete with everything we have and that’s the most important thing for us.”
Ireland were decidedly second-best in Athens as they followed up a 1-0 home defeat by France in their opening fixture – in which they produced a spirited display – with a tepid performance.
Asked if Gibraltar could capitalise on the fall-out from that game, manager Jose Ribas said: “It’s important that we focus on our game.
“Ireland are a great side regardless of their form at the moment. We’ve seen them playing against Greece, we’ve seen them playing against France and they’ve put in good performances.
“We respect them, they’re a great side.”
Ribas, who has been in charge since 2018, has assimilated a new generation of players into his squad, but has retained vast experience with defender Roy Chipolina, 40, and 41-year-old striker Lee Casciaro starting against France and 37-year-old Scott Wiseman, who enjoyed a 13-year career in English league football, coming off the bench.
Asked how important that experience to his team, the Uruguayan said: “It’s obviously very important.
“We’ve got 23 players – some who are unfortunately not with the squad now – some of whom have played right through from Under-17s level, and of course it’s very important to have these very experienced players who have been through a lot with Gibraltar.
“We’ve only been admitted to UEFA very recently and it’s great that these young players have that experience to help them. We believe with that, they will grow.”
Andy Murray continued his excellent preparation for Wimbledon with a second successive title.
The former world number one followed up his win at Surbiton last week with a flawless display to lift the Rothesay Nottingham Open.
Murray beat Frenchman Arthur Cazaux 6-4 6-4 in the final to make it 10 wins in a row.
That is his best sequence since 2017, when he still topped the world rankings and was not playing with a metal hip.
And he will now head to his favourite stomping ground at Queen’s, where another good week will see him improve his ranking enough to be seeded at SW19.
He made it through the week at Nottingham without dropping a set, but it was a second-tier Challenger event so he will receive a truer test of where his game is at next week at Queen’s, with the likes of Carlos Alcaraz, Matteo Berrettini and Holger Rune all in the draw.
However, on the evidence of his movement, serving and matchplay this week, he looks a good bet to enjoy his best run at Wimbledon since he hobbled out of the 2017 quarter-finals with the hip injury that derailed his career.
His physicality was tested here as he won his semi-final at 6.30pm on Saturday night but was back on at 11am for the final, which was brought forward owing to the threat of rain on Sunday afternoon.
He hit the ground running, though, breaking the world number 181 in the opening game before eventually seeing the first set out 6-4.
The second set was much tighter, owing to Cazaux’s big serve, but Murray broke at 4-4 and then served it out to get his hands on the trophy.
Rob Burrow and his family completed the Arena Group Leeds Mini and Junior Run together on Father’s Day.
Burrow, who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease in late 2019, was pushed by his daughters Maya and Macy along the course.
The mini and junior routes took place alongside the Leeds 10k that ran through the city on Sunday morning as part of the Jane Tomlinson Run For All Event.
Burrow’s wife Lindsey also took part and the family celebrated with their medals after crossing the finish line.
Last month Kevin Sinfield pushed Burrow at the inaugural Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon and carried his former Rhinos team-mate over the finish line to complete the course together.
There is no disputing a huge week awaits Andrew Balding at Royal Ascot. But equally it is very much a feeling of “good pressure…the pressure you want” for the Kingsclere trainer, as he prepares to send out a team captained by Classic winner Chaldean.
Balding arrives in Berkshire with a string in fine form, boasting a near 20 per cent strike-rate in the last two weeks, and with leading chances in two of the real showpiece events of the meeting.
The 2000 Guineas hero Chaldean will head his formidable team, as he takes on Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Paddington and unbeaten Cicero’s Gift in a mouthwatering St James’s Palace Stakes on Tuesday.
“Obviously, we were thrilled with his Guineas win. That was his main objective for the early part of the season and this will be his second target. This, we always hoped, would be the plan,” said Balding.
“He had a little break after Newmarket. He has freshened up well and his work has been as solid as ever and we’re looking forward to it.
“There’s pressure, obviously, he is wearing the crown at the moment and that gives you added pressure.”
Balding will run Berkshire Shadow in the curtain-raising Queen Anne Stakes, the first of three Group One races on the opening afternoon.
Beaten just under two lengths in a bunched finish in the St James’s Palace last year, he opened his four-year-old campaign with a Listed win at Wolverhampton and another success in the valuable All-Weather Mile Championship at Newcastle.
Bookmakers appear to be overlooking the Dark Angel gelding, making him a general 33-1 chance.
“He ran well when finishing third in the Lockinge next time,” said Balding, as he ran through his team sitting on a bench opposite the weighing room at Newbury, where he waited to saddle a three-year-old. “We think he’d have an each-way chance again.
“It is a tough division, but he is a high-class horse, who won a Coventry a couple of years ago.”
Dante Stakes winner The Foxes, who subsequently failed to see out the Derby trip, will not be among the yard’s runners, although Oaks eighth Sea Of Roses will take her place in the Ribblesdale.
Kempton’s Magnolia Stakes winner Foxes Tales and Notre Belle Bete, who has placed three times this year and landed over £100,000 when scoring in the All-Weather Easter Classic at Newcastle, are Balding’s contenders in the Wolferton Stakes.
“He (Foxes Tales) has a (3lb) penalty. He is in the Wolferton.” said Balding. “We have Notre Belle Bete in that too. He’s had a great season.
“We run some two-year-olds, but we don’t quite know what to expect there,” admitted Balding, before citing two horses who may fly under the radar in Imperial Fighter and Sandrine.
The former was beaten two and a half lengths by Native Trail in the Irish 2,000 Guineas last year, but has not hit the same heights subsequently.
Fifth to Regal Reality in the Diomed at Epsom on his last start, Balding feels he has started to come to hand again.
“Imperial Fighter will go in the Royal Hunt Cup,” he added. “He was third in the Irish Guineas last year but has just taken his time to find a bit of form this year, but I’m happy with him now. I think he’d have an each-way chance.”
Sandrine, owned by Kirsten Rausing, is a dual Group Two winner who landed the Lennox Stakes at Goodwood last July.
She won the six-furlong Albany on heavy ground two years ago and is equally effective on a quicker surface.
Having run over seven furlongs and a mile last season, she dropped back to six furlongs at Salisbury last month and was beaten a length and a half. She is a 16-1 chance for the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes on Saturday, yet her trainer remains hopeful.
Balding said: “Sandrine could be overlooked in the Jubilee, because she is high class.
“The return to sprinting will suit her. She was a bit disappointing at Salisbury, but I think there were legitimate excuses for that.
“She seems in great nick at home and she goes there, as long as the ground is not too quick, with what we think is a great each-way chance.”
By then, he will know whether it has been a successful Royal meeting or not, particularly since he has another plum chance with Coltrane, who is a general 11-4 chance for the feature on Ladies Day – the Gold Cup.
With Aidan O’Brien’s crack stayer Kyprios unable to defend his crown through injury, Balding feels Mick and Janice Mariscotti’s six-year-old – who won the Ascot Stakes, Esher Stakes and Doncaster Gold Cup last season – has every chance of backing up his recent Sagaro success as he steps back up to two and a half miles.
“It looks an open Gold Cup,” Balding said. “The good thing about Coltrane is we know he stays and we know he loves the track. That has go to be a massive plus.
“He seems in great heart and I couldn’t be more thrilled with his Sarago win. I thought that was his best performance ever.”
Acknowledging what is to come, he said: “Of course there’s pressure. But it is a good pressure. This is the pressure you want.
“You are always happy if you get just one winner at the meeting, so fingers crossed.”
Commentator Peter Drury is joining Sky Sports to cover the Premier League from next season following Martin Tyler’s departure.
Tyler, who had spearheaded Sky’s coverage of the competition since it launched in 1992, is stepping down from his role ahead of the 2023-24 campaign.
After Drury’s arrival was confirmed on Sunday, he said in a statement: “I’m massively excited to be joining Sky’s outstanding roster of commentators.
“To be working on the best games week in week out with a broadcaster that has told the Premier League story since the very beginning feels like the opportunity of my career and I can’t wait to get started.”
Sky Sports director of football Gary Hughes said: “We’re looking forward to welcoming Peter Drury to Sky Sports.
“Peter’s one of the game’s most poetic commentators and will bring great energy and enthusiasm as well as his award-winning broadcasting experience to our unrivalled coverage of the Premier League.”
Drury, who has more than 30 years of experience across TV and radio, has previously worked for the BBC, ITV, Premier League Productions and BT Sport.
He has been named Football Supporters’ Association Commentator of the Year for three of the last four seasons, and won the Sports Journalists’ Association Sports Commentator of the Year award in 2020.
Alongside his work for Sky, he will also continue his role providing commentary on NBC’s Premier League coverage in the United States.
England all-rounder Moeen Ali has been fined on his Test return for applying an unauthorised drying spray to his bowling hand on day two of the Ashes curtain-raiser at Edgbaston.
Umpires had expressly prohibited players from using any agents to their hands without prior approval ahead of this highly-anticipated LV= Insurance series between England and Australia.
While the International Cricket Council accepted Moeen’s use of the spray was an attempt to reduce perspiration and not a more serious charge of trying to alter the condition of the ball, he was found to have displayed conduct that is “contrary to the spirit of the game”.
As well as being fined 25 per cent of match fee, Moeen has been hit with one demerit point after admitting a breach of article 2.2 of the ICC code of conduct for players and player support personnel.
An ICC statement said: “England player Moeen Ali has been fined 25 per cent of his match fee for breaching Level 1 of the ICC code of conduct during the first Test against Australia in Birmingham on Saturday.”
It was an unwanted birthday present for Moeen, who turned 36 on Sunday and is making his comeback to Test cricket after almost a two-year absence.
Modern Games will face 11 rivals as he bids for a sixth Group One win in Tuesday’s Queen Anne Stakes, the opening event of Royal Ascot 2023.
Charlie Appleby’s charge struck at the highest level in France, Canada and America last year and secured his first Group One on home soil when winning the Lockinge at Newbury last month.
He had the Richard Hannon-trained Chindit behind him that day and he reopposes along with the third Berkshire Shadow, fifth Mutasaabeq, sixth-placed Lusail and the seventh Light Infantry.
Modern Games’ main rival appears to be the John and Thady Gosden-trained Inspiral, winner of the Coronation Stakes at this meeting last year and making her seasonal bow here.
Angel Bleu, Cash, Pogo and Triple Time complete the field along with Appleby’s second runner Native Trail.
Chaldean and Paddington provide a mouth-watering clash in the St James’s Palace Stakes.
Winners of the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket and the Irish equivalent for Andrew Balding and Aidan O’Brien respectively, they are the star names among a nine-strong field.
Isaac Shelby, who was narrowly beaten in the French Guineas, represents Brian Meehan with Charlie Hill’s Cicero’s Gift an interesting contender as he makes the leap to top-class company after winning each of his three career starts.
Hills also runs Galeron, with Charyn, Indestructible, Mostabshir and Royal Scotsman making up the field.
A high-class field of 19 goes to post in the King’s Stand Stakes, with Highfield Princess currently heading the market for John Quinn.
Australian raider Coolangatta, trained by Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, is also a popular pick for the five-furlong affair, with her compatriot Cannonball another towards the head of the betting for Peter and Paul Snowden.
The Karl Burke-trained pair of Dramatised and Marshman are in the line up along with the likes of Manaccan, Twilight Calls and Twilight Gleaming.
George Boughey’s Asadna is one of 22 for the Coventry Stakes with Willie Mullins holding leading claims in both the 20-runner Ascot Stakes and the Copper Horse Stakes via Bring On The Night and Vauban, with the latter one of a maximum field of 16.
Frankie Dettori will ride Saga for the King and Queen in the Wolferton Stakes, with the Gosden-trained runner having come within a head of victory for the late Queen at last year’s meeting.
Wales are back in Euro 2024 qualifying action away to Turkey on Monday.
Rob Page’s side are bidding to recover from their shock home defeat to Armenia on Friday against the Group D leaders.
Here, the PA news agency looks at the main talking points surrounding the crunch game in Samsun.
Page must strike right balance
This time last year Wales boss Page was basking in the glow of guiding Wales to their first World Cup for 64 years. How times have changed.
Wales have won only once in 11 games and Page’s tactics have come under intense scrutiny.
Reverting to three at the back and playing two holding midfielders in front of them might provide Wales with the solidity they have so woefully lacked over the past 12 months.
Counter-attack best form of defence
There is no Kieffer Moore after the Bournemouth targetman was sent off against Armenia to earn a ban.
Moore’s absence might actually work in Wales’ favour in this instance should Page bolster his defence and pack the midfield.
That could give Wales a strong base to release the pace of Brennan Johnson and Daniel James on the break.
Should Danny ward off Wayne?
Danny Ward’s miserable season suffered further indignity as four goals flashed past him in Armenia’s stunning Cardiff success.
Ward’s struggle for form at relegated Leicester saw him lose his place there towards the end of the season and his confidence levels must be a real concern for Page.
Wayne Hennessey is the obvious replacement but the 108-times capped veteran – sent off on his last appearance at the World Cup in Qatar – has spent most of the season warming the bench at Nottingham Forest.
Revenge or repeat?
The two nations have met seven times with Wales winning four games to Turkey’s two and one draw.
Their last meeting came two years ago as Aaron Ramsey and Connor Roberts scored in a 2-0 Wales victory at the delayed 2020 European Championship, securing qualification for the knockout stage at Turkey’s expense.
So Turkey have that extra motivation of avenging that Baku defeat in front of what is sure to be a volatile crowd at the Samsun 19 Mayis Stadium.
Balance of power
This contest has the appearance of a defining fixture to make next summer’s European Championship finals in Germany.
Wales’ promising start with four points from two games, which included a bonus draw away to group favourites Croatia, was blown apart by the Armenia defeat.
Turkey are now on the front foot after grabbing a stoppage-time winner to beat Latvia 3-2 on Friday, and victory would take them five points clear of Wales in a potential race behind Croatia for the second qualifying spot.
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