Moeen Ali is considering the possibility of reversing his Test retirement after Jack Leach’s injury left England short of an experienced spinner for the Ashes.

Moeen, 35, has not played red-ball cricket since September 2021 but has found his name thrust back into the conversation after Leach was ruled out for the summer by a stress fracture in his lower back.

The PA news agency understands Moeen is weighing up whether or not to make a dramatic return over the next couple of days.

England are not without slow bowling options, with Surrey’s Will Jacks, Leicestershire’s rising star Rehan Ahmed and Liam Dawson all offering different skills. However, none can match the experience of a seasoned Test player with 64 caps and 195 wickets under his belt.

Head coach Brendon McCullum previously tried to tempt the all-rounder back into the fray for the historic tour of Pakistan but, after initially declaring himself open to the idea, Moeen ultimately decided to stick to limited-overs cricket.

Now the same offer is back on the table in the form of one last shot at Australia. With the series getting under way at Moeen’s home ground of Edgbaston on June 16, time is short, but the England and Wales Cricket Board are unlikely to rush for a quicker verdict.

Announcing his decision not to take up McCullum’s offer of taking part in the Pakistan trip, Moeen said last year: “I want to enjoy my cricket and it wouldn’t be fair to reverse my decision and then struggle to give it my all. It’s time to close the door on that side of my career. To play 64 tests for England has been a privilege and a dream fulfilled.”

He had earlier taken a different tone, hinting that he could be persuaded to re-enter the fray, telling PA and the Guardian last June: “Baz messaged me asking if I was in. Maybe in the future, potential tours or whatever, who knows? I said ‘Call me at the time’. If and when he calls me, we’ll chat.”

If he did throw himself into the maelstrom of an Ashes summer, Moeen would need to be certain he had the necessary mental and physical energy to take on a side against whom he has some difficult experiences but, perhaps, unfinished business.

The leadership style of McCullum and captain Ben Stokes may prove a real draw in his deliberations. Moeen’s naturally aggressive style, with both ball and bat, chimes perfectly with the current environment and the chance to make his own mark on the ‘Bazball’ era could be persuasive.

Stuart Broad, a contemporary of Moeen’s who has been revitalised by the set-up over the last year, can already see a neat fit.

He told Sky Sports: “We know Mo is a phenomenal cricketer and someone who would fit into Stokes and Baz’s philosophy beautifully.

“I don’t know if he’s being considered by the selectors or if he would consider red-ball cricket again, but he’s a mighty fine cricketer.”

England have held off naming an addition to the squad, having originally expected to make an early call, leaving the ball in Moeen’s court.

The Buffalo Bills have upgraded their pass rush, agreeing to a one-year deal with veteran outside linebacker Leonard Floyd.

Ian Rapoport of NFL Network was the first to report the agreement on Monday.

Drafted with the ninth overall pick by the Chicago Bears in 2016, the 30-year-old Floyd is entering his eighth NFL season after spending the last three with the Los Angeles Rams following his first four years with the Bears.

He won a Super Bowl with the Rams two years ago while playing on the opposite side of the defense as Von Miller, who he'll be reunited with in Buffalo.

The Bills were tied for 14th in the NFL in sacks last season with 40, but their production dipped after Miller tore the ACL in his right knee in November and missed the rest of the season.

Following Miller's injury, Buffalo had two or fewer sacks in five of their final seven games.

Floyd had nine sacks while playing in all 17 games last season and has 47 1/2 sacks in his career.

Since the start of the 2020 season, his 29 sacks rank 10th in the league.

The Bills have lost in the divisional round of the playoffs each of the last two seasons, and hope the addition of Floyd will help them get back to the Super Bowl for the first time since the 1993 season.

Buffalo opens the 2023 season with a highly anticipated Monday night showdown against Aaron Rodgers and the New York Jets on September 11, and Miller is optimistic he'll be able to play.

 

 

Bills agree to terms with OLB Leonard Floyd on a 1-year deal. (via @rapsheet) pic.twitter.com/4NKBxj1Lcr

— NFL (@NFL) June 5, 2023

A tearful Miyu Kato returned to Court 14 at the French Open a day after her controversial disqualification.

The Japanese player and her women’s doubles partner Aldila Sutjiadi were defaulted during their third-round clash with Marie Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo after Kato accidentally hit a ball girl with a ball.

The 28-year-old was allowed to continue in mixed doubles with German partner Tim Puetz and, back on the same court, the pair defeated Brazilians Luisa Stefani and Rafael Matos to reach the semi-finals.

There has been a lot of support for Kato since the incident from within the locker room and, as the crowd gave her and Puetz a prolonged round of applause, the Japanese player began to cry before being consoled by her partner.

Kato, who apologised on Twitter on Sunday evening, was in tears again in the press room and had to briefly leave her press conference before answering questions only in Japanese.

It is believed she has appealed against the disqualification in the hope of keeping her prize money and ranking points, which would normally be forfeited in such situations.

Puetz said: “I think, first and foremost, we’re all, including Miyu, happy that the ball girl is OK, because obviously she got hit. It’s a little girl on Court 14. For them they’re very excited to be there. I think you saw she was distraught.

“Besides that, I’m sure Miyu feels terrible about what happened. This was just very unfortunate for everyone, especially for her and the girl.”

Kato was returning a ball to the other end of the court after a point had finished but the ball girl reacted too late and it struck her on the neck.

The umpire initially gave a warning but, with Bouzkova and Sorribes Tormo pointing out the distress of the ball girl, the supervisor and referee were called and, after lengthy discussions, opted to default Kato and Sutjiadi.

The decision has drawn widespread criticism from within tennis, but Puetz had sympathy for the officials, saying: “All they see is a crying ball girl who got hit with a ball. In that moment, to make that decision is very difficult.

“While I don’t necessarily agree with it, I think I can understand how you would get to that decision. It’s much easier now looking at the pictures and then comparing to some other instances in the past years. Yeah, I think it’s very easy to say, ‘No, she should not have been defaulted’.”

Bouzkova and Sorribes Tormo have faced heavy criticism on social media for appearing to try to force the default, but the Spaniard insisted they did nothing wrong.

“It’s a very bad situation that happened yesterday,” said Sorribes Tormo. “Also, for Marie and for me, it’s tough to have all this kind of things that people are saying.

“It’s not easy because the only thing we’ve done yesterday was going to the referee and explain to him what happened.

“So, first of all, we were saying that the ball kid was crying because we were scared, because we were, ‘Oh, something happened’. Then we were saying that the ball was direct because he didn’t see the ball.

“All the rest, the decision was taken by the supervisor, and I think it’s not our thing or we haven’t done anything bad.”

Puetz now hopes Kato can write a happier ending to her fortnight at Roland Garros.

The German said: “I was happy yesterday when we got the call that we will be allowed to play mixed. Not because I care too much about the mixed, it’s just because hopefully she can kind of move on.

“I’m happy that we can still play a couple of matches here and just hopefully add some good memories to kind of get over it as well instead of just leaving Paris with that really crappy feeling with what happened yesterday.”

Coco Gauff is gunning for revenge against Iga Swiatek when they clash in the quarter-finals of the French Open.

Gauff reached her first grand slam singles final here last year and was handed a heavy beating by Swiatek, who claimed her second Roland Garros title.

Their rivalry is a one-sided 6-0 to the Pole, with Gauff yet to win a set, but the teenager said: “Honestly, since last year I have been wanting to play her, especially at this tournament.

“I figured that it was going to happen because I figured I was going to do well and she was going to do well. Didn’t know what side of the draw we were going to be on, obviously.

“But I’m the type of mentality, if you want to be the best, you have to beat the best. I think also, if you want to improve, you have to play the best.

“I feel like, the way my career has gone so far, if I see a level, and if I’m not quite there at that level, I know I have to improve. I think it would be almost cowardly to say that I want to not face the noise and not face the challenge, but I think that I’m up for it.

“I have improved a lot since last year, and she has too. I think it would be a great battle for us and for the fans, too.”

Gauff is again showing excellent form in Paris and she reached the quarter-finals for the third successive year with a 7-5 6-2 victory over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.

Swiatek, meanwhile, has lost only nine games in her four matches, although she was given a helping hand when Ukrainian opponent Lesia Tsurenko retired through illness trailing 5-1 in the opening set.

Swiatek again raced out of the blocks, moving into a 4-0 lead before her run of 23 straight games across three matches came to an end.

Tsurenko called the doctor and trainer after getting on the board but played only one more game before calling it a day.

Seventh seed Ons Jabeur eased into the last eight with a 6-3 6-1 victory over American Bernarda Pera.

The Tunisian, who reached the final at both Wimbledon and the US Open last year, has struggled with injury in 2023 but is through to the quarter-finals here for the first time.

“It was the only grand slam missing,” said Jabeur. “I’m very happy with the performance, with the way I was, playing, especially coming back after an injury.

“I was just taking it one match at a time, trying to make it to the second week. Now I’m going to push more for the next few matches.”

In the last eight she will meet Beatriz Haddad Maia, who needed a mammoth three hours and 51 minutes to get past Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-7 (3) 6-3 7-5.

It was the longest women’s match of the year and the longest at Roland Garros since 1995, with Haddad Maia becoming the first Brazilian to reach the women’s singles quarter-finals since Maria Bueno 55 years ago.

“All the matches that I play I prepare myself for the toughest moments,” said the 14th seed. “So I know that Sara will bring the balls. She defends very well. I knew that the ball was coming again.

“I had to be aggressive. So I was prepared for that. I was trying to be as aggressive as I could to finish the point, to go to the net. I work very hard on my body, as well, so I believe in myself when we have tough moments.”

Holger Rune survived a fifth-set tie-break against Francisco Cerundolo to set up a French Open quarter-final rematch with Casper Ruud.

Their encounter at the same stage last year descended into acrimony when Rune accused Ruud of celebrating in his face in the locker room and showing a lack of class, which was fiercely denied by the Norwegian.

For a while it looked like they might not meet again, with Argentinian Cerundolo battling back from two sets to one down to force a decider and then holding three break points at 4-3.

Dane Rune saved all of them, broke serve himself then failed to serve it out but put the disappointment behind him to clinch a 7-6 (3) 3-6 6-4 1-6 7-6 (7) victory after just short of four hours.

Rune felt it was just deserts after his loss at the same stage of the Australian Open to Andrey Rublev, saying: “I had a heart-breaking loss in Australia where I could serve for it and I lost it in a match tie-break like this.

“I told myself when we started the tie-break just to relax and enjoy it. Moments like this stay with you whether you win or you lose. I enjoyed every moment.”

There was another moment of umpiring controversy in the third set when, like in the clash between Cameron Norrie and Lucas Pouille on the same court, the umpire failed to spot a double bounce.

This time Cerundolo was the victim and, to compound matters, umpire Kader Nouni awarded Rune the point after his opponent gestured that it should have been stopped.

Ruud edged three tight sets against Chilean Nicolas Jarry, coming through 7-6 (3) 7-5 7-5 to keep alive his hopes of making back-to-back finals.

The Norwegian is slowly coming back into form after a disappointing start to the year, and he said: “This year I felt a little more pressure, obviously, because I needed to try to defend my final spot.

“That’s been on my mind. And I haven’t done as well in other tournaments, so I know every match that I can win and points on the rankings that I can try to gain can be important for the rest of the year.

“So I don’t feel like I have played my best tennis yet but, at the same time, I’m playing many opponents who play very aggressively and they play fast and give me no rhythm.

“I think my next match is going to be a little more playable from the baseline and I think the game will be a little bit different from this match. I’m going to try to prepare for that and hopefully bring my A game.”

The Anaheim Ducks have a new man behind the bench, hiring veteran assistant Greg Cronin as head coach on Monday.

The 60-year-old Cronin will serve as an NHL head coach for the first time and comes to the Ducks with 36 years of prior experience as a coach and in player development.

He will be the 11th coach in franchise history.

"While we did cast a wide net in searching for the next head coach, it became clear to me that Greg would be the ideal fit for the position," Ducks general manager Pat Verbeek said.

 

 

 

Cronin has 12 years of experience in the NHL as an assistant, working with the Toronto Maple Leafs and New York Islanders, and spent the past five seasons as head coach of the Colorado Eagles of the AHL.

He joins an Anaheim team that is in the midst of one of the worst stretches in franchise history, having finished sixth or worst in the division each of the last five years, and had the NHL's worst record this season at 23-47-12.

The Ducks were abysmal on defense, allowing a franchise-worst 335 goals - the most by any NHL team since the 1995-96 San Jose Sharks permitted 357.

Having missed the playoffs each of the last five seasons - the longest such stretch in franchise history - Verbeek believes Cronin has the coaching qualities necessary for a rebuilding team.

"Being a young team, I felt we needed a teacher of the finer points of the game, and someone who has worked extensively over time with talented young players, helping them develop into successful NHL players," he said. "Greg has done all that and more, and we are excited to name him head coach of the Anaheim Ducks."

Cronin replaces Dallas Eakins, who served as head coach the last four years, and inherits a team that will have the No. 2 overall pick in this year's draft.

"I'm excited and honoured to be named head coach of the Anaheim Ducks," Cronin said. "This team has a fantastic future ahead, and I'm very grateful to the Samueli family and Pat Verbeek for entrusting me with this amazing opportunity."

 

Leicester have confirmed seven players will depart the club at the end of their contracts in June, including Caglar Soyuncu and Daniel Amartey.

The announcement comes following the Foxes’ relegation to the Championship on the final day of the Premier League season last month.

Turkish defender Soyuncu joined in 2018 from Freiburg and has featured over 100 times for Leicester, while fellow centurion Amartey made his first appearances for the club during their Premier League title-winning season in 2016.

Youri Tielemans is also among those leaving, having announced his exit on Instagram last week after spending four years with the club since joining from Monaco in 2019.

Nampalys Mendy, Ryan Bertrand, Ayoze Perez and Tete are the remaining players who are to leave the King Power following the expiration of their contracts.

Captain Jonny Evans remains in discussions with the Foxes as his contract is set to expire this month, while an option has been exercised to extend Hamza Choudhury’s contract to June 2024.

Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou has agreed to become Tottenham’s new manager on a two-year contract, according to reports.

The 57-year-old told Celtic principal shareholder Dermot Desmond on Saturday night of his decision to leave the Glasgow club and has now agreed a deal in principle with Spurs, with the option to extend.

Former Australia head coach Postecoglou admitted on Saturday, after Celtic’s Scottish FA Cup final win over Inverness had secured them the domestic treble, that his celebrations would soon be disrupted.

Neither club have commented but reports claim an announcement will be made when the finer details of the contract have been finalised.

Tottenham have been searching for a permanent new manager since sacking Antonio Conte in March, with first Cristian Stellini and then Ryan Mason placed in temporary charge.

When repeatedly pressed on his future after Celtic’s 3-1 Hampden win over Inverness on Saturday, Postecoglou said: “I anticipate enjoying this moment for the next 24-48 hours, as long as I can, before someone drags me away and takes my attention away from enjoying something that’s been hard-earned.

“The reality is, there’s probably players in that dressing room who won’t be here next year. That’s the nature of football.

“But I want them to enjoy it, I am going to enjoy it, and that’s all I am going to focus on until someone grabs me by the collar and tells me that I have to answer certain questions.”

He has won five domestic trophies out of a possible six after arriving from Yokohama F Marinos in 2021 and was linked with numerous Premier League clubs throughout this season.

Postecoglou became a hero with the Celtic support, not just for resuming their success after a barren season, but also for implementing an attacking style of play and his connection with the fans.

But he looks set to swap Glasgow for another rebuild job as Spurs finally look to appoint Conte’s permanent successor after the Italian’s departure on March 26.

Postecoglou is due to go on a family holiday on Tuesday and a deal could be finalised quickly.

Tottenham failed to qualify for European football next season for the first time since 2009-10 after an eighth-placed finish in the Premier League.

Former Hoops manager Brendan Rodgers has emerged as an unlikely favourite to succeed Postecoglou at Celtic, four years after leaving the club mid-season to take over at Leicester.

Assistant manager John Kennedy is also high up the list but reports claim Postecoglou hopes to take the former Celtic defender to Tottenham.

Auguste Rodin could drop back in trip after attempting to complete a Derby double at the Curragh, according to Michael Tabor.

Owned in partnership with John and Susan Magnier, Derrick Smith and Georg von Opel’s Westerberg racing operation, Tabor’s famous royal blue and orange disk silks were carried to victory at Epsom thanks to an imperious Ryan Moore ride.

The half-length margin of success over King Of Steel did not do justice to the superiority he had over his 13 rivals in giving trainer Aidan O’Brien a ninth Derby success, just weeks after the colt was beaten 22 lengths in the 2000 Guineas.

Tabor is now confident the son of Deep Impact will head for the Irish Derby.

He said: “It was really good. It was what we obviously hoped for. We thought he could do it and he did. We are all delighted, naturally. It was one of the great days.

“I would say he’ll go to the Irish Derby. I haven’t discussed it, but it’s common sense to say he definitely goes to the Irish Derby. Then we’ll bring him back in trip – a mile and a quarter – for some of those races.”

Tabor has always hankered for a Triple Crown. The last colt to win the Guineas, Derby and St Leger was Nijinsky in 1970 and connections had hoped Auguste Rodin could replicate the feat.

However, although the middle leg has been won, Tabor feels that stepping up to a mile and three-quarters for the final Classic at Doncaster in September will now be ruled out.

“He won’t go to the St Leger,” he added. “In my mind, that Triple Crown dream is over. A St Leger horse is not what we are looking for, once he can’t do a Triple Crown.”

The Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe at ParisLongchamp in October could be a future consideration, along with the Breeders’ Cup meeting at Santa Anita in November.

Tabor added: “It is a long way before the end of the year. We’ll see how he is. It could be the Arc, but the ground could be against him, although he won on soft as a two-year-old.

“We’ve even got the Breeders’ Cup as an option on the turf. We’ll see how he goes and have those discussions, I’m sure.”

Coco Gauff reached the French Open quarter-finals for the third successive year with a straight-sets victory over Anna Karolina Schmiedlova.

The 19-year-old American failed to serve out the opening set at the first time of asking but was otherwise convincing in a 7-5 6-2 victory on Suzanne Lenglen.

Gauff could face a rematch of last year’s final against world number one Iga Swiatek in the quarter-finals.

Seventh seed Ons Jabeur eased into the last eight with a 6-3 6-1 victory over American Bernarda Pera.

The Tunisian, who reached the final at both Wimbledon and the US Open last year, has struggled with injury in 2023 but is through to the quarter-finals here for the first time.

“It was the only grand slam missing,” said Jabeur. “I’m very happy with the performance, with the way I was, playing, especially coming back after an injury.

“I was just taking it one match at a time, trying to make it to the second week. Now I’m going to push more for the next few matches.”

In the last eight she will meet Beatriz Haddad Maia, who needed a mammoth three hours and 51 minutes to get past Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo 6-7 (3) 6-3 7-5.

It was the longest women’s match of the year and the longest at Roland Garros since 1995, with Haddad Maia becoming the first Brazilian to reach the women’s singles quarter-finals since Maria Bueno 55 years ago.

“All the matches that I play I prepare myself for the toughest moments,” said the 14th seed. “So I know that Sara will bring the balls. She defends very well. I knew that the ball was coming again.

“I had to be aggressive. So I was prepared for that. I was trying to be as aggressive as I could to finish the point, to go to the net. I work very hard on my body, as well, so I believe in myself when we have tough moments.”

New England vice-captain Ollie Pope has warned Australia they will come up against a very different player this summer.

Pope endured a torrid time during the last Ashes series and was dropped after two matches before being recalled for the dead-rubber in Hobart.

The Surrey batter only managed a top score of 35 in six innings and registered four single-figure scores in Australia, but he has flourished since Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum took over last year.

Pope scored 145 in the second Test of the ‘Bazball’ era and the 25-year-old has continued to go from strength to strength, hitting 205 against Ireland last week in his first official match since being made vice-captain.

Looking ahead to the opener against Australia at Edgbaston on June 16, Pope said: “I feel good and confident going into the Ashes.

“I’ve put a lot of hard work into my game. That was my first time in Australia, different kind of pitch, different wickets. That’s one change.

“But I feel like I’m a different player, mentally and technically, to deal with the challenge of an Ashes series as well.

“I’m not happy with the way I played in Australia last time, that’s pretty obvious, but I know how the bowlers are going to challenge me.

“What they’re like as bowlers, their paces, their angles and stuff, so that’s always a benefit having faced them once before.”

 

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A post shared by Ollie Pope (@opope32)

 

Pope’s promotion to number three last summer is one of many bold decisions made by Stokes and McCullum which have been handsomely vindicated over the past 12 months.

While he is determined to deliver with the bat over the next two months, there is a scenario which would see him captain the side during the Ashes.

Concerns remain over the fitness of Stokes, who has struggled with his left knee since the New Zealand series in February and, despite repeatedly allaying fears, the all-rounder has batted just twice and bowled only six competitive balls in the months building up to the Ashes.

“It’s a big honour firstly to be vice-captain of your country, especially in Test cricket,” Pope said.

“From what I was doing before, it doesn’t make a big difference. I’m going to give my opinion and challenge Stokesy when he needs challenging.

“We’re going to be tested in the Ashes along the way, so it’s not always about going on and agreeing with him. It’s about providing a different opinion to let ponder in his mind as well.

“Nothing’s really changed. He’s got a pretty clear vision and he’s got 15 guys in that changing room who know our roles now, so that’s helpful for everybody.

“Fingers crossed Stokesy’s body’s all good. It’s going to take a hell of a lot for him not to be on the pitch even for a day’s play, knowing what he’s like, but if it did happen, I feel confident.

“We’ve played a lot together as a team over the last year and a bit and he knows a lot how he wants the bowlers to operate, the kind of fields he sets and tries to get players to hit balls in areas that they don’t normally want to hit in.

“So, I’ve got a pretty good understanding of how he runs things now and if needs be can implement the same ideas.”

Sports stars and clubs across the world continue to provide an insight into their lives on social media.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the best examples from June 5.

Football

Football said goodbye to Zlatan.

Toby Alderweireld celebrated winning the league with his boyhood club.

Man City were still celebrating their FA Cup win.

Though their contract teaser wrong-footed fans hoping for an Ilkay Gundogan extension.

West Ham were seeing the sights.

Cricket

Jordan Thompson was an inspiration.

Golf

Is there a new star in golf?

Ian Poulter put the work in.

Viktor Hovland put in some overtime the day after his Memorial Tournament victory.

Tennis

Russian Daria Kasatkina addressed being booed at the end of her defeat to Ukraine’s Elina Svitolina.

Ons Jabeur progressed.

American Football

Patrick Mahomes said goodbye to an important member of the Kansas City Chiefs.

Motor Racing

Jenson Button enjoyed a bit of testing.

Tahiyra is reported to be “all set” for a Royal Ascot rematch with her 1000 Guineas conqueror Mawj.

Just half a length separated the pair at Newmarket last month, with the Dermot Weld-trained Tahiyra subsequently landing the Irish 1,000 Guineas at the Curragh at the end of May.

Both Tahiyra and the Saeed bin Suroor-trained Mawj are reported to be on course for the Coronation Stakes at Ascot on June 23, although conditions could be very different from the soft ground they encountered at Newmarket.

With Tahiyra yet to run on ground quicker than good, Weld will be keeping a careful eye on the Ascot going.

He said: “She came out of the Guineas well. It was a little bit quick to run her back after the English Guineas, but she’s taken it well and at the moment we’re all set for the Coronation.

“We’ll play it by ear with the weather. We’d hope that they’d water it well, it’s very dry, quick ground but it was lovely ground at the Curragh.

“She’s got a wonderful turn of pace. She’s in good order and the current plan is that we’re all set for the Coronation.”

Tahiyra is a general 6-4 favourite to reverse the Guineas form at Ascot, with Mawj widely available at odds of 2-1.

Dermot Weld appears to have a smart prospect on his hands after the well-bred Knight To King made an eyecatching winning debut at Gowran.

By Kingman out of Nightime, a Galileo mare who won the Irish 1,000 Guineas for Weld, the newcomer could not have been any more impressive in the Kings Of Ossory (C&G) Maiden.

Sent into an early advantage by Chris Hayes, once into the final two furlongs, he just pulled further and further clear.

The 10-11 favourite ended up coming home seven and a half lengths clear of the Ger Lyons-trained My King, also owned by Newtown Anner Stud Farm Ltd.

“He’s a really nice colt, he had been working exceptionally well. All the family take a little bit of time and we’re in no hurry with him,” said Weld.

“He’s come forward in the last few weeks. He’s a very good actioned horse, so I didn’t bother with him in the spring on heavy ground. Please God, we’ve lots to look forward to.

“It’s a great family for us and he’s always shown us talent. He was very immature, mentally and physically but he’s coming forward nicely.

“I’ll have a chat with Maurice Regan and we’ll decide where we go with him. I won’t make any decision until I see how he comes home and comes out of the race.

“Obviously we’ll go into stakes level with him now, there are many ideas in my mind.

“He’s very straightforward and I said if there was no pace to make the running on him. The one thing we didn’t want was a messy race with no pace.

“He was out there in front, he has a lot to learn. I think he jumped the road and Chris said he looked at everything. He’ll learn a lot today and he’s a really good colt in the making.

“He quickened up the Old Vic (gallop) the other day like a horse that would be very effective, even, over six furlongs.”

Four-time Group One winner Ghaiyyath and Man o’ War Stakes winner Zhukova feature among his half-siblings and Weld feels Knight To King compares favourably.

He said: “I think he’s pretty similar to them. They all progress and get better with age, they are all very good. Hopefully he’ll follow in their footsteps.

“He showed so much pace the other morning that I was surprised, in some ways, but he’s bred to get a mile-and-a-half.

“The reason that I came here today with this colt is because it’s beautiful ground here in Gowran.”

While Knight To King is a son of Kingman, Ghaiyyath is by Dubawi and Weld revealed he has a two-year-old full-brother to the latter horse in training.

He added: “We have a very nice full-brother to Ghaiyyath called Duraji that we like a lot.”

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