Pep Guardiola believes stopping Manchester City winning the treble could give Manchester United extra motivation in the FA Cup final.

The two neighbouring rivals clash in the Wembley showpiece for the first time on Saturday with more than a trophy and local bragging rights at stake.

For Premier League winners City victory could be the second leg of a potentially glorious treble with the final of the Champions League to come next week.

United on the other hand – as the only side to have won all three of those competitions in the same season, back in 1999 – will be anxious to stop them and protect their place in history.

City manager Guardiola said: “I could understand that. It belongs to them, that’s normal. Sport is like that.

“’That belongs to us – we don’t want anyone else to do it,’ it’s normal, that feeling. It’s completely understandable. But it’s a football game, who will be better will win.”

United boss Erik ten Hag, however, has played down the party-pooping aspect of his side’s task.

The Dutchman has enjoyed an encouraging first season at Old Trafford having won the Carabao Cup and reclaimed a Champions League spot.

“I know what is the thinking from the fans,” Ten Hag said.

“But what we want is to restore Manchester United by winning trophies. We have an opportunity to win a trophy and we don’t want to be distracted by anything.

“If it’s important for the fans then it’s important for us, so we will give everything to win the cup.”

Guardiola insists the treble is not part of his thinking yet. He has spent the week preparing to face United and will switch focus to playing Inter Milan in Istanbul next week.

“We didn’t speak once about Inter these days,” he said. “We’ll have Sunday off, and after we’ll have three or four days training.

“We’ll introduce what we believe Inter are, to try to beat them, then. We have time. Saturday to Saturday is a long time to prepare for a game.

“United and the FA Cup deserve the full attention and commitment. The players are completely aware of that.”

City could have a fully-fit squad with Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish, Ruben Dias and Manuel Akanji, who all missed last week’s game at Brentford, having since returned to training.

Guardiola has confirmed second-choice goalkeeper Stefan Ortega will start, as he has in all domestic cup fixtures this season.

United are without striker Anthony Martial due to a hamstring injury and winger Antony is also a major doubt.

Skipper James Vince and Liam Dawson starred as Hampshire trounced Essex by 118 runs in the Vitality Blast.

Vince needed just 48 balls to amass 103, hitting eight sixes and the same number of fours, in a total of 214 for eight before Dawson took four for 21 as the home side collapsed to 96 all out in 14.1 overs at Chelmsford.

Tom Kohler-Cadmore plundered an unbeaten 64 to help Somerset strengthen their position at the top of the South Group with a nine-wicket demolition of struggling Middlesex.

Kohler-Cadmore, who hit four sixes – the last of them to win the match – and seven fours, and Tom Abell with 25 not out eased the home side over the finishing line with 39 balls to spare at Taunton after the visitors were bowled out for just 136 in 18.4 overs.

Tom Smith dispatched the first ball of the final over for four as Gloucestershire edged to a two-wicket victory over high-flying Surrey in a low-scoring thriller at Bristol.

Only opener Grant Roelofsen, Oliver Price and James Bracey made it past 20 on a difficult pitch, but the hosts, who needed two off the last over, managed to chase down the visitors’ 124 for nine despite England seamer Sam Curran’s three for 20.

David Payne and Matt Taylor had both earlier taken three wickets with Jamie Smith’s knock of 29 the biggest batting contribution in the match.

Colin Ingram and Chris Cooke staged an unbeaten stand of 109 to ease Glamorgan to a seven-wicket win over Kent inside 17 overs.

The pair came together in the ninth over with the score on 82 for three in response to Kent’s 189 for six – due in large part to Tawanda Muyeye’s 62 – and were still there at the finish, Ingram making a 32-ball 63, including 10 fours and a six, and Cooke 46.

Michael Bracewell and Adam Hose both hit half-centuries as Worcestershire blew away Nottinghamshire by 56 runs to go top of the North Group.

Bracewell, who put on 98 with skipper Brett D’Oliveira for the first wicket, made 55 and Hose an unbeaten 51 in an impressive 226 for five.

Alex Hales led a Notts charge with 71 from 35 balls, but largely without support as D’Oliveira ripped the heart out of their reply with four for 11 in his two overs and Pat Brown took four for 25 as they were dismissed for 170.

Wayne Madsen’s unbeaten 71 laid the foundation for Derbyshire to see off previous leaders Birmingham Bears by 17 runs.

Madsen hit 12 fours with Tom Wood adding a quick-fire 39 from 19 balls in a total of 174 for five, and they were backed up by bowlers Zaman Khan and Zak Chappell, who finished with three for 34 and three for 32 respectively as the visitors reached 157 for nine.

Chris Lynn smashed an unbeaten century as Northamptonshire beat Leicestershire by eight wickets in the battle of the bottom two.

Lynn thumped five sixes and 13 fours on his way to 110 from 68 balls to see his side to victory on 168 for two with seven deliveries to spare.

Leicestershire had posted 164 for eight with Ben Sanderson and Andrew Tye helping themselves to three wickets each.

A third-wicket partnership of 54 between Michael Jones and Ollie Robinson provided the backbone for Durham as they completed a comfortable six-wicket win over Lancashire at Chester-le-Street.

Jones’ 43 and 39 for Robinson set up Ashton Turner and Wayne Parnell to see the home side over the line with 10 balls remaining after Parnell, Bas de Leede, Ben Raine and Nathan Sowter had taken two wickets each to help restrict Lancashire to 152 for nine.

Jordan White admits belief is key to Ross County’s quest to claw back a two-goal deficit against Partick Thistle on Sunday as they battle for cinch Premiership survival.

The Staggies lost 2-0 in the first leg of the play-off final at Firhill on Thursday night where they played for the majority of the game with 10 men after 16-year-old defender Dylan Smith was sent off in the 17th minute for denying Aidan Fitzpatrick, who had netted the opener for the Championship side, an obvious goalscoring opportunity.

Veteran Jags striker Brian Graham struck just before half-time with his 21st goal of the season to put Kris Doolan’s side in the box seat for the second leg in Dingwall.

However, Staggies striker White insists the tie is not over yet.

The 31-year-old said: “I don’t think I would have taken 2-0 at any time but under the circumstances I think we did well to come out the way we have.

“The first half isn’t how we wanted it to go but we have another game to put it right.

“The belief in the group is always there and there’s no point turning up thinking you can’t do it as you are on to a loser then. It is only half-time in the tie, that’s all it is.

“Other than the Kilmarnock game (3-1 defeat) I think we have performed pretty well since the split.

“It all comes down to Sunday now and we have to look after ourselves and put in a performance. No one in the dressing room wants a relegation on their CV.

“Partick have had a good night on Thursday but we have to take our medicine and move on.”

White believes home advantage could be “massive” as County look to turn the tie around against a Jags side who are unbeaten in 11 games.

He said: “Partick played well but coming up against 10 men for 75 minutes probably made it a bit easier for them.

“We can’t use it as an excuse but we know what we can do and we are confident going into the game.

“It was disappointing on Thursday but we need the fans behind us and they can be a big help, especially if we get an early goal.”

Manchester United boss Erik ten Hag says the chance to stop Manchester City’s treble charge provides no extra motivation heading into the FA Cup final.

The eyes of the footballing world will be on Wembley on Saturday afternoon for the first-ever all-Manchester cup final.

United head to the capital looking to end a promising first season under Ten Hag by winning both domestic cups in the same campaign for the first time.

Neighbours City already have the Premier League title under their belt and are looking to lift the FA Cup a week before heading to Istanbul to take on Inter Milan in the Champions League final.

Lifting both of those trophies would see Pep Guardiola’s men join Sir Alex Ferguson’s 1999 treble heroes as the only English sides to achieve the feat – something United supporters are desperate to stop.

“I know what is the thinking from the fans,” Ten Hag said. “But what we want is to restore Manchester United by winning trophies.

“So, on Saturday we have an opportunity to win a trophy and we don’t want to be distracted by anything.

“If it’s important for the fans then it’s important for us, so we will give everything to win the cup.”

Asked why he would not use the chance to extinguish City’s treble hopes as extra motivation at Wembley, Ten Hag said: “Because it is not necessary.

“That will not give more motivation to the team because their motivation is already enough. That can’t be more.

“They want to win the cup and they have an opportunity. They want to set a crown on the season, so what do you need more? What is more motivation?”

This will be the Manchester clubs’ third meeting of the season, with City winning 6-3 in October before United triumphed 2-1 at Old Trafford in January.

Those were the first times that Ten Hag and Guardiola have faced each other in management but their relationship goes back a decade.

The Dutchman spent two years as Bayern Munich II head coach as the now City boss coached the perennial Bundesliga champions’ senior side.

Asked what makes Guardiola so special, Ten Hag said: “Oh, I don’t tell! It’s obvious we have seen what he is doing, he’s doing a brilliant job.

“What he can do is he can construct not only winning teams but also winning in a very attractive way, so that is why I think we all admire him so.”

Ten Hag says winger Antony is expected to miss the final and United confirmed earlier this week Anthony Martial would be absent due to a muscular tear.

The 27-year-old’s future is unclear after an injury-hit season but it appears the recovery time from this issue may hamper any chances of moving him on.

“It’s going to be a long one but how long we don’t know,” Ten Hag said. “We have to do more assessment.”

Kyle Turner revealed Kris Doolan targeted cinch Premiership football immediately upon becoming Partick Thistle boss as the Jags stand on the brink of a return to the top flight.

Doolan stepped up from his role as under-18 coach in February to take over, initially on a temporary basis, from Ian McCall and the turnaround in form since has taken the Maryhill side all the way to the play-off final.

The Jags are 2-0 up from Thursday’s first leg against Ross County – the victory extending their unbeaten run to 11 games – with the return game taking place in Dingwall on Sunday.

Thistle are the first team to finish fourth in the second tier to go all the way to the play-off final – during that run Doolan had to cope with the death of his father Lawrence – and they are looking to make more history by completing the job against the Staggies.

Malky Mackay’s side played most of the game in Glasgow with 10 men after 16-year-old defender Dylan Smith was sent off in the first half for denying Aidan Fitzpatrick an obvious goalscoring opportunity and midfielder Turner is hoping Doolan’s ambition is soon fulfilled.

The 25-year-old said: “The gaffer has been brilliant. He has had a hard time in the last few weeks and it has been tough for him.

“But when he came those were his first words, ‘let’s try to get to the Premiership’.

“He constantly goes on about it in the changing room, that we want to be looking up the way and how we want to get there.

“It is the top league in Scotland and he instilled a belief in us that we can do this and so far so good.

“Since the gaffer has come in we have a siege mentality and we keep going to see what happens.

“In five play-off games we have scored 18 goals and conceded three, so the gaffer has installed a belief in us. He wants us to be free and go and play our own game and it has worked so far.

“We were disappointed this season and we should have been challenging in the final games but we slipped up a few times and we weren’t happy with that.

“We finished fourth and we had to play six games in the play-offs. We felt the worst we should have finished was second.

“When we got past Queen’s Park, then the belief started to grow. We know Sunday will be tough and County will throw everything at us so we have to be ready.”

Turner believes the margin of victory over the Staggies, who finished 11th in the Premiership, could have been greater.

The former Stranraer and Dunfermline player said: “I thought we put on a good performance. We were actually disappointed we didn’t score more goals to be honest.

“We had a lot of chances in the second half but County defended well and they threw bodies in front of the ball to make it hard for us.

“If someone had said to us we would win 2-0 then we would have been happy.

“But the way the game went with them down to 10 men, with the chances we created, on another day we would have scored more. But overall though we are delighted with the win.”

Pep Guardiola has promised Manchester City fans his side will “give everything” to beat rivals Manchester United in the FA Cup final.

The neighbouring clubs clash in the competition’s Wembley showpiece for the first time as the domestic season reaches a mouth-watering climax on Saturday.

There is plenty of incentive for City as they look to claim the second leg of the treble and move a step closer to matching United’s 1999 haul of Premier League, FA Cup and Champions League trophies.

Yet even just taking the game in isolation, City manager Guardiola is well aware of how much simply beating United in a major final – after plenty of suffering at their hands in the past – would mean to supporters.

With that in mind, and his players fully focused, Guardiola has urged fans to savour the occasion.

He said: “I will ask to our fans, behave properly first and, secondly, go there to enjoy an incredible event, knowing the players will give everything to beat Man United.

“The consequences and the result, who knows it? I don’t know it. (United manager) Erik ten Hag doesn’t know it.

“It’s a football game. Enjoy the moment and enjoy next week to prepare for the (Champions League) final, to dream of seeing the team. It’s the best way.

“You have to understand anything can happen but we are going to do everything to beat United.

“I understand completely for City fans, who were in the shadow for decades behind United.

“We’ll try to do the best game as possible. So I would say have fun, enjoy the right portion of beers before the game and, that’s all. Enjoy it.”

The fact City are bidding for the treble could also give United extra motivation, however, as they not only look for a derby cup triumph but to preserve the uniqueness of their club’s own achievement 24 years ago.

“I could understand that, it belongs to them,” said Guardiola. “That’s normal. Sport is like that. It’s completely understandable.

“But it’s a football game. Who will be better will win.”

After an intensive schedule in the closing weeks of the Premier League season, City have had a full week to prepare of the fixture.

Guardiola even had time to attend a Sir Elton John concert in Manchester while some of the players went to watch Coldplay at the Etihad Stadium.

The City boss has no doubt the mental break has done his players good.

He said: “When you have these events in this city – and one of the legends, Sir Elton John – you have to use them.

“They’ve trained really good these last two training sessions. There’s a good mood in the locker room and on the pitch.

“We know what we are playing for. I don’t have to tell them. It is the final of the FA Cup against United, the chance to add another trophy. This is the mentality we have right now.”

British interest in singles at the French Open ended after Cameron Norrie lost meekly to Lorenzo Musetti in the third round, castigating his attitude and performance in a 6-1 6-2 6-4 defeat.

Novak Djokovic survived the longest three-set match of his grand slam career, battling past Alejandro Davidovich Fokina in three hours and 36 minutes, while Carlos Alcaraz had a much easier time against Denis Shapovalov.

In the women’s event, Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka reached round four for the first time but third seed Jessica Pegula is out.

Picture of the dayTweet of the day

Naomi Osaka and boyfriend Cordae are expecting a girl.

Shot of the dayStat of the day

A disastrous first week for the home country, who began with 28 players in the main singles draws.

Fritz earns Mac approval

Not surprisingly, Taylor Fritz’s baiting of the French crowd in his late-night win over Arthur Rinderknech was right up John McEnroe’s street. “I like to see a little confrontation,” said Eurosport pundit McEnroe. The booing was so loud that the on-court interview was limited to one question.

China return

The WTA announced earlier this year that it would be ending its boycott of China over the Peng Shuai affair. Details of the autumn calendar have now been announced, with seven tournaments taking place in the country, including the WTA Finals in Shenzhen.

Fallen seeds

Men: Andrey Rublev (7), Hubert Hurkacz (13), Cameron Norrie (14), Alejandro Davidovich Fokina (29).
Women: Jessica Pegula (3), Anastasia Potapova (24), Irina-Camelia Begu (27).

Who’s up next?

The boot will be on the other foot for 19-year-old Coco Gauff when she takes on Russian Mirra Andreeva, three years her junior, in the third round on Saturday. Defending champion Iga Swiatek meets Wang Xinyu of China while fourth seed Elena Rybakina plays Spain’s Sara Sorribes Tormo. The night session again features a men’s match – Alexander Zverev up against Frances Tiafoe – while Casper Ruud and Holger Rune are also in action.

Sergio Ramos will follow Lionel Messi out of Paris St Germain with the French champions confirming the veteran Spanish defender’s exit at the end of his contract.

Ramos has spent the past two seasons at the Parc des Princes after joining from Real Madrid on a free transfer, but he stands to make his final appearance in Saturday’s match against Clermont Foot.

The 37-year-old has won back-to-back Ligue 1 titles with PSG, scoring five goals in 57 appearances, although his form was often questioned and his departure is not seen as a surprise.

“Wearing the Red and Blue shirt for the last two years has been a wonderful experience,” Ramos said in a statement.

“I’ve had an unforgettable adventure in Paris and I’d like to thank you all for your support and love. Allez Paris!”

He later added on Twitter: “Tomorrow will be a special day, tomorrow I will say goodbye to another stage of my life, goodbye to PSG.”

Club president Nasser Al-Khelaifi said: “We would like to express our immense gratitude to Sergio Ramos for the two years he has spent with us.

“Sergio’s leadership, team spirit and professionalism, combined with his experience at the highest level, make him a true football legend, and it was an honour to have him in Paris. Everyone at the club wishes him all the best.”

Rafael Nadal underwent surgery on Friday evening in a bid to discover the extent of his hip problem.

The 22-time grand slam champion only expected to be out for six to eight weeks with the injury he suffered at the Australian Open in January but nearly five months on he has not recovered.

Nadal was forced to miss the French Open for the first time in nearly two decades having admitted his team had not been able to find a solution to the issue.

The Spaniard, who turns 37 on Saturday, announced last month that he would be taking a break, potentially for the rest of the season, before what he expects to be farewell tour next year.

Nadal’s representatives revealed the surgical intervention on Friday, with the 14-time French Open champion undergoing an arthroscopic investigation on his left psoas muscle in Barcelona.

The results are expected to be announced on Saturday morning.

Joao Moutinho and Diego Costa are to leave Wolves when their current contracts expire with Adama Traore still in talks over an extension.

The Premier League club’s sporting director Matt Hobbs has confirmed that 36-year-old Portuguese midfielder Moutinho and Brazil-born Spanish striker Costa, 34, will officially depart at the end of this month.

Hobbs told the club’s official website: “Joao’s going to go down as one of the best players to ever pull on the old gold, in my opinion.

“He was an integral part of the team the entire time he was here. Our success over the last four or five years, he’s been instrumental in. So, he now departs with nothing but thanks from the football club.

“We thank Joao for all he did at Wolves and wish him the best of luck for the future.”

Moutinho joined the club from Monaco in July 2018 and made 212 appearances for Wanderers.

On former Atletico Madrid and Chelsea frontman Costa, Hobbs added: “It feels the natural time to part ways because he was on a one-year contract. There was some internal conversations and we felt this was right.

“I’ve got no doubt that Diego will get another club off the back of his performances for sure. If a club calls me to ask about the person, he’ll get nothing but praise from me.”

Traore, however, could yet have a future at Molineux with manager Julen Lopetegui keen to keep the 27-year-old and discussions are ongoing.

Hobbs said: “He’s now out of contract, but it doesn’t mean there’s not an opportunity to still come to an agreement, so conversations will be ongoing. He’s probably earned the right to understand what else is out there.

“Sometimes it’s not possible, but we’ll certainly be trying. We hope we can come to an agreement but let’s see what happens over the next few weeks.”

Cameron Norrie criticised his own attitude and performance after his French Open campaign ended with a straight-sets loss to Lorenzo Musetti in the third round.

It is the third year in a row the British number one has fallen in the last 32, and he only managed to mount any real challenge in the third set before going down 6-1 6-2 6-4.

There is certainly no disgrace in losing to 21-year-old Musetti, who is ranked only five places below Norrie and whose best surface is clay, but the 14th seed was hugely disappointed by the manner of what is one of his worst grand slam losses in terms of scoreline.

The result, meanwhile, brings an end to British singles hopes at a tournament where only three players even made the start line.

“I came out very flat and I’m disappointed with the attitude in the first couple of sets,” said a very downbeat Norrie.

“It was very, very slow conditions, very heavy, and I was not prepared for it to be that slow. For me, I can play bad and everything, but I was just very flat and disappointed to have a performance like that.

“The first two sets he didn’t really do too much and he was up two sets to love. For a player like myself, I can’t afford to give that much of an edge.

“There is no excuses to play the level that I did today. I missed so many easy short balls and I lost so many points within a couple of shots where usually I can win a lot of those ones.

“I didn’t come prepared. I was changing rackets throughout the match. It was a bit colder today but I’m good enough to not let that bother me.”

Norrie lost to Musetti in Barcelona recently but spoke positively after his second-round victory over Lucas Pouille about what he had learned from that clash.

He was immediately on the back foot, though, dropping serve in the opening game against the stylish Italian and swiftly losing the opening set.

The second was no better, with Musetti too often finding an answer to everything Norrie could throw at him, and the 17th seed went a break up early in the third as well.

Norrie was staring at his worst slam loss but he at least made a fist of it, breaking Musetti, who had lost from two sets up on both of his previous appearances at Roland Garros, back and creating two chances to break for 5-3.

The Italian held firm, though, and drilled a forehand past Norrie to break again before serving out the victory.

Norrie is known for a relentless work ethic and never-say-die attitude so to hear him talk about a lack of preparation and unwillingness to stay in points is certainly concerning.

The 27-year-old has maintained a relentless schedule to help him get to and then stay at the top of the game so it would be understandable if he felt mentally fatigued, but he dismissed the suggestion.

“I’ve played a lot of matches,” he said. “I think I can use that to my advantage. I’ve played more matches maybe than anyone else on the tour in the last maybe three years. I can say that’s a good thing.

“And then even going into this match today, I was thinking I’ve won more matches than Musetti this year, I’ve won bigger matches than him. I think I’m playing better than him on the clay. I was really confident going into it.”

Norrie will now head back to London and turn his attention to the grass-court swing a year on from his run to the Wimbledon semi-finals.

Frankie Dettori credits the Betfred Derby with giving him the “biggest thrill” of his career as he prepares for one last roll of the dice at Epsom.

The Italian is one of the most successful and well-known jockeys of all time, but all good things must come to an end and this year will be his last before retirement.

As a result of that decision, his journey throughout the fixtures of the Flat season is naturally grabbing the headlines, and on Saturday all eyes will be on his ride in one of the oldest and most prestigious races in existence.

Dettori will partner John and Thady Gosden’s Arrest, a Frankel colt with a live chance of providing him with a third victory in the premier Classic.

Those two prior successes and the promise of retirement leave the 52-year-old rider feeling relaxed ahead of his final Derby performance – an emotion he was not familiar with when striving to get his name on the roll of honour in years gone by.

Dettori’s first Derby ride was Pollen Count in 1992, who finished 16th of 18, and he would have to wait 15 years before he could return triumphant from the Epsom Downs track to the tiny winner’s circle.

Incidentally that decade-and-a-half wait was something endured also by Sir Anthony McCoy, who had a similar barren spell in searching for his first Grand National.

In the meantime Dettori partnered several contenders who ultimately fell short – Tamure was second in 1995, Shantou was third in 1996, Cape Verdi was ninth as the 11-4 favourite in 1998, Dubai Millennium was also ninth as the 5-1 favourite in 1999, Tobougg was third in 2001, Snow Ridge was seventh as the 7-2 joint-favourite in 2004 and Dubawi was third in 2005.

Finally Authorized obliged in 2007 for trainer Peter Chapple-Hyam, winning by a wonderful five lengths as the 5-4 favourite and sweetening the sour relationship between Dettori and the race.

“It was a nightmare. Every time it came to the Derby it was a nightmare!” he said of the winless run.

“When I won in 2007 I was full of relief. Finally, it was the last piece of the jigsaw.

“It was a nightmare though, even more when I rode Authorized because he was a big favourite, it was a lot on me and it was a relief.

“Cape Verdi got beat, I rode Dubai Millennium, I rode loads of good ones that got beat.

“The point of the Derby is it’s only once a year – once it’s gone, it’s gone. At Ascot you’ve got 35 races, you’ve got the rest of the afternoon, but the Derby only comes once.”

Dettori would go on to win again in 2015, this time with the Gosden-trained Golden Horn, who struck as the 13-8 favourite and provided the rider with one of the most memorable days of his career.

“Golden Horn was a different thing because I really got to enjoy it, I was older and my kids were older,” he said.

“I didn’t have the pressure to try to win it for the first time either, so it was a lot more enjoyable. Probably my biggest thrill in one single race was that race.”

Though the racing industry has inevitably changed since Dettori first took to the track as a young man from Italy, he still considers the Derby the pinnacle of achievement in racing and credits it as the driving factor in the development of the thoroughbred breed.

“It’s the most important race, we have been breeding thoroughbreds for 350 years to win the Derby,” he said.

“For a jockey, when you start you want to win the Derby. Trainers, owners, breeders, the Derby is why we are breeding thoroughbreds, for this race.

“The tradition has been going for hundreds of years and it will be going for hundreds of years. It is the most important race.”

Frankie Dettori is as relaxed as ever and feels he has “nothing to prove” ahead of his last ever Betfred Derby ride aboard Arrest.

The veteran jockey – who will bring the curtain down on his glittering career at the end of 2023 – will join forces with John and Thady Gosden for the blue riband, an event he has won twice before aboard Authorized and Golden Horn, in 2007 and 2015 respectively.

Arrest is a son of Frankel who took an established Derby trial when landing the Chester Vase by six and a half lengths in May, though the soft going meant that race was run in significantly different conditions to those expected at the weekend.

Nevertheless, the Juddmonte-owned colt has undertaken a pleasing gallop since at Epsom, and his status as a Derby hopeful is a boon for Dettori as he did not expect to pick up a competitive ride in his final year in the saddle.

He said: “It’s my last year, I thought I’d find it hard to find a Derby ride, never mind a Derby ride with a chance. It’s actually surprising to me that I’m in this position and I have a shot at it, a proper shot at it. I’m very excited.

“When I said in December I was going to retire, I never thought I’d get the ride on a horse with a great chance to win the Derby, so it is a great position to be in.

“Arrest has filled out to be a good-looking horse, very strong, he’s improved throughout the spring and won his trial very well, even if it was a non-event on that ground. We know the distance is no problem, he’s full of himself and it looks a wide-open Derby. I would say I’ve got as good a chance as anyone.

“I wouldn’t like to swap him with anything else because I feel like I’m going in with as good a chance as anyone. He’s got a bit of a round action, a high knee action, we took him to Epsom and gave him a bit of a gallop round and he seems fine.”

With Auguste Rodin having a question mark after his eclipse in the Guineas, there is no runaway favourite for the race this year. But Dettori has an eye on Sir Michael Stoute’s Passenger, a maiden winner who suffered a luckless passage through the Dante before dead-heating for third.

“He’s the one that we still don’t know how good he is, he never got a fair crack at the Dante and he’s only run twice, so he could be anything,” he said.

Arrest is drawn in stall 13 of 14 runners and while the perceived wisdom is that a higher draw is generally beneficial at Epsom, Dettori does not think the stall position is as significant a factor as others believe.

He said: “There has been a lot of emphasis on it, but they’ve been winning from everywhere.

“To win the Derby you need a good horse, the draw makes no difference. Simple as that!”

Though he expects the emotion of hanging up his boots to catch up with him as his final rides loom, for now Dettori is enjoying his farewell tour and at ease going into one of the biggest weekends of racing anywhere in the world.

He said: “Believe it or not, I’m so chilled. Maybe it’s because I’ve got nothing to prove and if I do make a balls up of it, it doesn’t matter. I’m feeling very chilled, I’m embracing it, I’m super relaxed.

“I’m really enjoying it. It will be a different kettle of fish when I get to October and the last few days will be difficult, but at the moment I feel good.”