Owen Burrows considers Hukum’s light campaign to be a help and not a hindrance ahead of his bid for the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

The Shadwell-owned colt has been seen just twice this year, winning the Brigadier Gerard Stakes after almost a year off the track when making his seasonal debut in May.

He defeated Derby hero Desert Crown on that occasion and subsequently side-stepped Royal Ascot as the ground was unsuitably quick.

That left the horse off the track for 65 days when he lined up for a hugely-competitive renewal of the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes, but the absence did nothing to stop him edging out Ralph Beckett’s Westover by a head in thrilling finish.

There will be gap of a similar length between that performance and Sunday’s race and with the bay proven to go well fresh, Burrows has few concerns about his sparse season.

He said: “I’m more than happy to bring him in off the back of his King George win, he’s proven as he won first time in Dubai last year on Super Saturday.

“He won the Brigadier Gerard and then we weren’t able to run at Royal Ascot as the ground was a bit quick, so he went to the King George after a bit of a break.

“He’s obviously a horse who runs well fresh and we’re confident we can get him there in a good spot.”

Burrows has been satisfied with Hukum’s work since he was last seen on track, and is especially pleased with how he seems to be thriving at six after a serious injury robbed him of a year of racing following his 2022 Coronation Cup victory.

“We’ve been very pleased with him, obviously that (the King George) was at the end of July so he’s had a nice easy couple of weeks after that,” the trainer said.

“We’ve had a nice amount of time to slowly bring him up for this very important race now.

“I think it’s pretty obvious to see with his form this year that he is better than ever, it looked last season like he was on the up when he won the Coronation Cup at Epsom.

“Unfortunately he picked up his injury there, which stopped his season, but from an early stage this year when we started working him again, he showed all his old enthusiasm and his work was better than ever.

“For whatever reason he looks as though he’s found a bit from somewhere this year, he was able to win the Brigadier Gerard over a mile and a quarter. He certainly is as as good as ever.”

Owen Burrows considers Hukum’s light campaign to be a help and not a hindrance ahead of his bid for the Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

The Shadwell-owned colt has been seen just twice this year, winning the Brigadier Gerard Stakes after almost a year off the track when making his seasonal debut in May.

He defeated Derby hero Desert Crown on that occasion and subsequently side-stepped Royal Ascot as the ground was unsuitably quick.

That left the horse off the track for 65 days when he lined up for a hugely-competitive renewal of the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes, but the absence did nothing to stop him edging out Ralph Beckett’s Westover by a head in thrilling finish.

There will be gap of a similar length between that performance and Sunday’s race and with the bay proven to go well fresh, Burrows has few concerns about his sparse season.

He said: “I’m more than happy to bring him in off the back of his King George win, he’s proven as he won first time in Dubai last year on Super Saturday.

“He won the Brigadier Gerard and then we weren’t able to run at Royal Ascot as the ground was a bit quick, so he went to the King George after a bit of a break.

“He’s obviously a horse who runs well fresh and we’re confident we can get him there in a good spot.”

Burrows has been satisfied with Hukum’s work since he was last seen on track, and is especially pleased with how he seems to be thriving at six after a serious injury robbed him of a year of racing following his 2022 Coronation Cup victory.

“We’ve been very pleased with him, obviously that (the King George) was at the end of July so he’s had a nice easy couple of weeks after that,” the trainer said.

“We’ve had a nice amount of time to slowly bring him up for this very important race now.

“I think it’s pretty obvious to see with his form this year that he is better than ever, it looked last season like he was on the up when he won the Coronation Cup at Epsom.

“Unfortunately he picked up his injury there, which stopped his season, but from an early stage this year when we started working him again, he showed all his old enthusiasm and his work was better than ever.

“For whatever reason he looks as though he’s found a bit from somewhere this year, he was able to win the Brigadier Gerard over a mile and a quarter. He certainly is as as good as ever.”

Europe’s Ryder Cup captain Luke Donald has cranked up the emotion in the team room this week by bringing his players to tears but it is all part of the plan to get his stars ready to regain the trophy from the United States.

The tactic of having messages from family relayed in meetings during the build-up has been well used in the past by both sides and the Americans will have undoubtedly done the same at Marco Simone.

And while the videos tug at the heartstrings, they are used as a tool to help boost confidence and reinforce the reasons for their presence in Rome this week.

“It’s an emotional week and even some of the stuff that’s happened already this week would get you quite emotional,” said Irishman Shane Lowry, who famously said after the defeat in Whistling Straits two years ago he had cried then – but not for his 2019 Open win or the birth of his first child.

“There’s videos that are played in the team rooms in the evenings, motivational videos and it just kind of hits home a little bit.

“I’m not going to elaborate much further than that, but Luke and his team have done a great job already this week on Monday and Tuesday.”

World number three Jon Rahm did, however, expand a little further on what they have been viewing behind closed doors.

“I don’t know how much of that they’re going to post, so that’s kind of personal for us,” he added.

“There’s very few players not shedding a few tears yesterday afternoon. I can say that.

“It was a lot of family-related (content) and the reason why all of us are here. If you guys (the media) were to watch it, it would make you feel a lot of the same emotions we felt.”

While family are leant on heavily for such contributions, the players often seek out reassurance and advice from other sources and Rahm did not think twice about taking counsel from his good friend and record Ryder Cup points scorer Sergio Garcia.

His fellow Spaniard is ineligible to play having resigned his European Tour membership following his move to LIV Golf and despite Rahm campaigning for his inclusion, only a couple of weeks ago calling his omission “stupid” and even Garcia himself trying to negotiate a way in, there was no way back for the 43-year-old.

But that has not stopped Rahm consulting his countryman – and former Ryder Cup talisman Ian Poulter who was not considered for the same reasons – as late as Monday.

“I did talk to him (Garcia) and ask for advice. He did show me a lot of what to do at Whistling and obviously in Paris, as well,” added the Masters champion.

“But I did have a little bit of a chat with him, and with Poulter, as well.

“Poulter was a little bit longer than last week. Sergio as recently as yesterday.

“Not that it’s going to be easy to take on the role that those two had both on and off the golf course, but just to hear them talk about what they thought and what they felt is obviously invaluable information.”

The dynamic within the team room often plays a huge part in the overall success of the team and as Europe look to bounce back from their record defeat in Wisconsin, Lowry said fighting for a common cause was galvanising.

“I think being a part of something that is bigger than you or anything else is pretty cool,” he said.

“Whistling Straits (a 19-9 defeat) was hard to take but it was quite motivating for me coming away from that and it’s quite motivating for me this week.

“I’m looking forward to going out there and hopefully earning some points for Europe and hopefully we can all do a great job at trying to win the trophy back.”

Foniska made every yard of the running to take home Listed honours in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Navigation Stakes at Cork.

Trained by Jessica Harrington and ridden by Shane Foley, Foniska was sent off a 12-1 for the mile prize having last been seen when beating only one horse home in the Sandringham Stakes at Royal Ascot in June.

That run came on quick ground, but conditions were much more testing at Cork, with Foniska relishing the challenge to come home three lengths clear of Snapraeterea and Clever And Cool beaten a further two and a quarter lengths in third.

Foley felt a combination of front-running tactics and soft to heavy ground had played to the Galileo filly’s strengths.

He said: “She has enjoyed making the running in the past. She had a good run in the Salsabil in Navan on deep ground and I think the key to her is ground.

“She went to Ascot when the ground was very firm and came back sore, but Mrs Harrington and (daughter and assistant) Kate have done a good job to get her back.

“Her work has really come on in the last couple of weeks and we were quietly confident coming down today, with the ground the way it was. I liked the way she picked up between the three (furlong pole) and the two and even down to the one again. She kept quickening and gave me a feel.”

Foniska sports the colours of the Niarchos family’s Flaxman Stables and Foley added: “I think she is improving and I don’t know if she’s in the (owner’s) dispersal sale or not, but if she stays in training, she will definitely compete in those better races next year on soft ground.

“Jessie will be delighted as the Niarchos family are massive supporters of our yard and it is a good time to be having good winners with the sales on.”

Course officials are expecting good to soft ground for both days of this weekend’s Qatar Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe meeting at ParisLongchamp.

Conditions were described as very soft when Sir Mark Prescott’s Alpinista claimed victory in Europe’s premier middle-distance contest 12 months ago, while the going was heavy when Torquator Tasso caused a huge upset for Germany in 2021.

Testing terrain also prevailed for the Arc triumphs of Sottsass in 2020 and Waldgeist in 2019, meaning this weekend’s ground is likely to be the quickest it has been for Arc day since Enable successfully defended her crown in 2018 – the first renewal staged following ParisLongchamp’s redevelopment.

Charles de Cordon, clerk of the course at ParisLongchamp, said: “We are preparing for a very big weekend for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. I would like to point out that the track is new, having not been used since July 14, because on the day of the Qatar Arc Trials the rail was at nine metres, so we now have eight metres of new ground for the weekend.

“Since the Arc trials we have aerated the track with a mechanical spiker, which means there is better water infiltration. We also did some mechanical seeding to densify the turf and the turf has been rolled in order to get a smooth track.

“This week it is mainly just maintaining the track. It was mowed on Monday, it will be mowed on Wednesday and for the last time on Friday so that the grass has a height of 10 centimetres.

“The track is in very good condition.”

The official going on Tuesday was described as soft – but with little or no rainfall forecast for the coming days and no plans to water in place, conditions are expected to dry out slightly between now and the start of racing on Saturday.

De Cordon added: “The weather forecast is for our nicest days today and tomorrow and then from Thursday onwards temperatures will drop again.

“It is drying, but it is drying very slowly because we have a very heavy dew in the morning and it evaporates very slowly.

“For the weekend we believe that the ground is going to be good to soft. I get a lot of questions about whether we are going to water the track and that is not the case – we are not watering the track for Saturday nor for Sunday.

“There is a 25 per cent chance that it might rain on Thursday and Friday, but it will be very little – somewhere between zero and two millimetres, which will not make any difference to the track.”

Liverpool assistant boss Pep Lijnders believes they will take on a Premier League quality team in Leicester in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.

The Championship leaders, who look set to vie for an immediate return to the top flight under new coach Enzo Maresca, will make the trip to Anfield for a third-round tie.

Lijnders took over the hotseat from Jurgen Klopp for the pre-match press conference, and he said: “We know we’re going to play against a team that has a lot of individual quality.

“It shows how they are doing in the league. A real clear offensive game idea, very quick installation of this idea with the coach Enzo – he does an unbelievable job. I think each player could play in the Premier League.

“It will be really hard for us to get control of their key players and at the same time put them under pressure. As always in each game we will focus on ourselves.

“Of course we will make changes but we want to put our game into place, we want to be dominant, we want to be in their half of the pitch.”

The game will come too soon for Trent Alexander-Arnold, who Lijnders said “looked outstanding” on his return to training on Monday following a hamstring injury.

Midfielder Thiago Alcantara, who is yet to make an appearance this season, is back on the grass but is working individually.

There could be another chance, though, for 17-year-old winger Ben Doak, who started last week’s Europa League match in Linz.

Lijnders cited his Dutch heritage while discussing Doak’s potential, saying: “He is young so a lot of things can happen.

“I had the privilege to grow up in Holland and we have this culture, a long tactical culture of Johan Cruyff. This idea of having the wingers on the outside, they can create, can really disorganise the opposition, use the speed.

“Then, if you get a young winger from Scotland but only 17 years old and he has this capacity to create and to reach the final line with individual movement, it’s nice to see.

“The good thing about Ben in my opinion is he comes into a squad with so much senior authority. He will never make a sidestep, the boys will already tell him.

“He has this great low gravity and that’s how he can control the ball better. So he’s a really interesting player but loads to come, he needs to mature, he needs to listen to Robbo (Andy Robertson), to Mo Salah, to all these guys that are trying to help him.

“And I think it’s really good for the older players to have young players with this hunger. That combination is what we always had and that’s how we want to construct the squad.”

Bukayo Saka has added to Arsenal’s injury woes as Mikel Arteta revealed the England winger could miss the weekend trip to Bournemouth with a foot problem.

The 22-year-old scored from the penalty spot and saw a first-half shot deflected in by Cristian Romero as the Gunners drew 2-2 at home to north London rivals Tottenham on Sunday.

Saka, though, then limped off late in the game to be replaced by Emile Smith Rowe and will definitely miss Wednesday’s Carabao Cup third-round clash at Brentford, while his club-record run of 86 consecutive Premier League appearances is also under threat.

Declan Rice was replaced at half-time against Spurs with a back issue and forwards Gabriel Martinelli and Leandro Trossard missed the game through injury, with Jurrien Timber and Thomas Partey also sidelined.

Now Arteta is worried Saka – who has four goals as well as four assists from the first eight games of the campaign – could join that lengthy injury list.

“He was limping quite badly after the match,” said Arteta. “We had to get him off the field, which is never a good sign. He hasn’t been able to participate in the session.”

Asked if he could miss the Bournemouth game, Arteta added: “It’s a possibility, yes.”

None of the players currently on the treatment table will be available for the London derby against the Bees, with the same quintet unlikely to return in time for Saturday’s trip to the south coast.

Saka could yet make an appearance at the Vitality Stadium as Arteta once again highlighted the amount of football being played as a potential explanation for so many injuries.

“It’s true that they play with the national teams and they’re coming from a season where they had a World Cup and some players played 60-odd games,” he said.

“We’ve been unlucky. Jurrien, for example, was due to other reasons, while Bukayo was because someone stepped on him.

“There are some traumatic injuries, others are more muscular. We try to find the ways to avoid them but they’re a part of football.

“It’s true that we have a lot of internationals in the last few windows and they have quite a lot of exposure to minutes but at the moment we have a squad that is not 24 players. To change 11 or 12 players tomorrow is just not a possibility we have.”

Arteta suggested he could rotate at the Gtech Community Stadium, with fringe players and young talent in line for a rare chance to impress.

“There are a lot of players who need minutes,” he said. “If you go through the squad there are lots of players who haven’t had minutes and they are going to need exposure, that’s for sure.

“We all trained today. The line up, we could not make it because there are still some players who are doubtful. So I will decide the best team to put out there.”

George Boughey will wait until later in the week before deciding whether to send Cachet to France for Sunday’s Prix de la Foret or wait for the Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket the following Saturday.

Last season’s 1000 Guineas heroine did not run between Royal Ascot last summer and this year’s St Leger Festival at Doncaster, an absence totalling exactly 15 months.

The Highclere Thoroughbred Racing-owned filly could finish only fourth in the Group Three Sceptre Stakes on Town Moor, but Boughey was far from discouraged given the length of her absence and the fact underfoot conditions were more testing than ideal.

Having been pleased with what he saw from his Classic winner in a racecourse gallop on the Rowley Mile on Tuesday, Boughey is not ruling out a trip across the Channel for a Group One assignment on Arc weekend – but will be keeping an eye on the weather before making a final call.

“I was pleased with Cachet this morning and she is a lot tighter than she was on her seasonal debut. Mathematically she is a lot fitter on the scales,” said the Newmarket handler.

“The plan had been to go to France for the Foret as she would have loved the seven furlongs around the bend there and there is a stronger favourite in the Sun Chariot (Inspiral) than the Foret.

“However, the weather looks like scuppering that so we will probably aim her at the Sun Chariot now.

“The ground was too soft for her at Doncaster and hopefully it will be much quicker at Newmarket. We know she stays the mile and she should run well.”

Another Boughey-trained filly to be put through her paces on the Rowley Mile on Tuesday was Soprano, who will be stepped up to Group One level in Saturday’s Juddmonte Cheveley Park Stakes.

Although winless since making an impressive start to her career at Newmarket in May, the daughter of Starspangledbanner has since been placed in the Albany at Royal Ascot, the Star Stakes at Sandown, the Sweet Solera at Newmarket and the Dick Poole Fillies’ Stakes at Salisbury.

With regular work rider Charles Eddery in the saddle, Soprano looked the part in her morning gallop and Boughey feels she merits a place in the Cheveley Park field.

He said: “I’m delighted with her. She worked with a decent four-year-old that is a five-furlong horse rated in the 90s and she showed plenty of pace. 

“Charles Eddery, who rides her regularly, was delighted with her so it is all systems go to the Cheveley Park. She looks better than ever.

“She is a very balanced filly, which is so key at Newmarket, and she won on her debut at the track. I think she has got to have a lively chance.”

Mauricio Pochettino has no problem with Chelsea’s owners visiting the dressing room after matches, but points out it is not their job to come in and “give some speech”.

Co-owner Behdad Eghbali went into the changing room following Sunday’s defeat to Aston Villa, with other members of the club’s senior hierarchy, including Todd Boehly and co-sporting directors Paul Winstanley and Laurence Stewart, having done similarly after home Premier League games this season.

The Argentinian insists it is “good” that the quartet spend time around the players on matchdays, provided his authority is respected.

“I like when the owners come,” he said. “In all my career as a coach, at Espanyol then Southampton, Tottenham and Paris St Germain also, before and after.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Chelsea FC (@chelseafc)

“I think it’s good that the owners came to the dressing room. It’s in the way that they approach the players that is the most important. If they are in a good way, I think they’re very welcome.

“After my press conference on Sunday against Aston Villa they came and shared with us like normal.

“Against Liverpool, first game, then Luton and Nottingham Forest, they came with Paul and Laurence and Behdad, and sometimes with Todd also. They share some comment and we talk about the game, always after my (press) duties.

“I don’t see it in a bad way. For me it’s good always if they share with us, then they can say hello to the players. The difference is if they come for some speech. That is different.

“But in the way they came they are very welcome. They own the club, they can do whatever they want.

“I think they are in a very good way and we are glad that they came and shared with us – even like happened on Sunday when we didn’t win and we are suffering.”

Boehly entered the dressing room and spoke to the team on a number of occasions last season, most notably after the 2-1 defeat to Brighton in April when he told the squad their season had been “embarrassing”.

Chelsea face the same opposition at Stamford Bridge in the Carabao Cup third round on Wednesday in arguably a worse position than the last time Roberto De Zerbi’s team visited.

Defeat to the Seagulls came in a run that saw the team win just one of their final 12 league games of the season en route to finishing 12th under caretaker boss Frank Lampard.

This season has begun in similarly poor form with one win and three defeats from Pochettino’s first six Premier League games.

Pochettino said he waited until Monday to address his players following the loss to Villa, which came after the visitors took advantage of defender Malo Gusto’s second-half red card to win it with a breakaway Ollie Watkins goal.

“Not really (I didn’t give a speech after the game),” he said. “We talked on Monday and Tuesday with the players. But it’s my duty, if I need to do it, it’s my decision (to make) some speech. Only me, or the captain.

“It’s not a job of the owner to come to the dressing room and give some speech after the game, whether you win or you lose. But they know very well how they need to behave.”

Defeat on Sunday made this Chelsea’s worst start to a league season for 45 years, with the team still struggling to convert possession and chances into goals – a feature that has carried over from last term.

The team’s performances have arguably been better than results, with Pochettino’s side having looked far the likelier to take three points up until Gusto was dismissed for a dangerous tackle on Villa’s Lucas Digne on 58 minutes.

The situation has been made worse by an injury crisis that left the boss without 12 first-team players for the recent goalless draw against Bournemouth.

“If you go back to the Liverpool game (on the opening weekend), I think no-one expected this situation,” Pochettino said.

“The circumstances are (something) that sometimes you cannot manage, a little bit of bad luck. We can’t talk about excuses, but that is the circumstances and the reality.”

Napoli boss Rudi Garcia did not carry out his pre-match press conference duties on Tuesday as the pressure continued to grow on his position following another fractious weekend in Serie A.

The Partenopei welcome Udinese to the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona with criticism mounting over their faltering start to the defence of the title they won last season and frustration within the camp threatening to boil over.

They are without a win in three league games after Sunday’s goalless draw at Bologna, where striker Victor Osimhen made no secret of his displeasure at Garcia’s decision to substitute him late on after seeing him miss a penalty.

After the match, Garcia told reporters: “Even the greatest players in the history of football miss penalties. As for when he went off, we talked about that, what I say to my players remains in the locker room.”

Reports from Italy – where it has been claimed Garcia has four matches in which to save his job – have suggested Osimhen has since apologised to the manager in front of his team-mates, but with Khvicha Kvaratskhelia having been similarly unimpressed with his withdrawal during the 2-2 draw at Genoa eight days earlier, the optics are far from good.

The champions are already seven points adrift of leaders Inter Milan – who have a 100 per cent record – after five games, although Udinese boss Andrea Sottil had dismissed talk of a crisis.

Sottil told a press conference: “The newspapers say that Napoli are in crisis, but I absolutely don’t think so.

“It’s not my priority to understand if their locker room is working, I’m interested in creating a strategy for the match by working on my players.”

Napoli will have high hopes of a return to winning ways against a side who have drawn three, but won none of their league fixtures to date and currently lie inside the bottom three.

However under-pressure Garcia, who replaced Scudetto-winning boss Luciano Spalletti this summer, will be without defender Juan Jesus, who has been ruled out for several weeks with a grade-one hamstring injury.

Cagliari coach Claudio Ranieri has called for his side to be calm when they take on AC Milan looking to kickstart their Serie A campaign.

Defeat at Atalanta on Sunday was a third in five league games for Ranieri’s side, who sit second bottom of the table.

Cagliari, promoted last season, have scored just one goal in September and have only two points on the board.

Ranieri, though, is confident results will follow if his side can produce the right mindset.

“The boys are working well, we must move forward with confidence, without fear of making mistakes and doing what we prepare,” Ranieri told reporters.

“We expected a tough start, the schedule is clear, we have two points and it could be more but also less, now on to Milan who are very strong and want to become champions of Italy again.

“It will be a good battle, we need some optimism also from the last matches, that goal, the victory that can unblock you and give you more calmness.”

Milan coach Stefano Pioli did not give a press conference ahead of the trip to the Unipol Domus.

Pioli, though, had hinted he would probably make changes on Wednesday night as he aims to keep his squad fresh to build on a 1-0 win over Verona after a goalless draw in their opening Champions League game followed a heavy defeat to derby rivals Inter.

The Rossoneri are without midfielder Rade Krunic for the first time this season.

The Bosnian had been an ever present before a muscle problem forced him off during the second half against Verona.

Yacine Adli and Tijjani Reijnders are potential replacements to come into the side as cover.

Ben Duckett’s dashing maiden ODI century after an astonishing early blitz from Phil Salt was negated by the elements as England’s summer ended in soggy fashion against Ireland at Bristol.

Salt caused carnage with a buccaneering 61 off 28 balls as England brought up 100 after seven overs, laying the foundations for Duckett, a contender for a non-travelling reserve spot at the World Cup.

Duckett struggled for fluency initially but moved superbly through the gears and brought up his hundred off 72 balls, reaching 107 not out in England’s 280 for four off just 31 overs before rain intervened.

The downpour was brief but a deluge saturated the outfield, where several puddles formed almost immediately, while the ground staff struggled to get the covers on promptly, hindered also by wind.

Barely half an hour after the players came off at 2.48pm, hands were being shaken between the sides on the dressing room balconies at 3.21pm, as England settled for a 1-0 win in the Metro Bank series.