A laid-back temperament is sure to help Sprewell as he bids to give Jessica Harrington a maiden Derby victory.

That is the message from the County Kildare handler, whose three-year-old son of Churchill is charting a course to the Epsom Classic on Saturday week.

Sprewell has blossomed this term, winning both starts, including an impressive three-length victory in the Group Three Derby Trial Stakes at Leopardstown.

“I’ve been delighted with him,” said Harrington. “We knew he would come on over the winter and he has run two good, solid races since.

“He came out of Leopardstown very well. He definitely stepped forward from there again and we are looking forward to Saturday week.

“I think the step up to a mile and a half will definitely suit him. He ran through the line very strong and he’s a very nice, relaxed horse, which is the main thing.

“Nothing seems to faze him and I think going the mile and a half will suit him, because I think he will settle well, which he has done in both of his races this year.”

Harrington has previously been better known for training jumping stars such as Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Sizing John, Champion Hurdler Jezki and Champion Chaser Moscow Flyer.

Yet in recent times she has acquired more Flat horses – and quality ones at that.

She has won the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot with Alpine Star and Alpha Centauri, who also took top-class success in the Falmouth, Irish 1,000 Guineas and the Prix Jacques le Marois, while Millisle landed the Cheveley Park and Albigna the Prix Marcel Boussac.

She is no stranger to Classic glory, annexing the Irish Oaks last season with Magical Lagoon before a tough period in her personal life following a breast cancer diagnosis in October.

On a conference call to promote the Betfred-sponsored blue riband, Harrington added: “Things are great and I’m lucky enough.

“I’ve finished the worst part of it probably now, the chemotherapy, and we are just going onto the next stage now. It will take a bit longer, but I’ll be out and about very shortly.

“I’ve been very lucky enough to have a great support team. My daughter Kate and my son-in-law and my other daughter Emma, they’ve been around all winter, keeping things going.

“I did my best to get out every single day I could to look at the horses, because that was the best therapy I reckoned I had, because it was just lovely looking at the horses every day.

“I went racing last Friday at Leopardstown, but I go when it is nice and near when I can.

“I will most likely be watching the Derby at home, but I just don’t know. I’ll see how I get on.”

Harrington has only had one runner in the Derby before, with 150-1 chance Gold Maze finishing ninth to Serpentine, a renewal run during the Covid pandemic in July 2020.

Sprewell goes to Epsom with a greater degree of confidence behind him as a general 12-1 chance and the 76-year-old feels his rapid progress this year, after two runs as a juvenile, will stand him in good stead.

“He’s done everything we hoped he would do,” said Harrington. “We were fairly confident going to Naas for the conditions race, rather than going for a maiden. He did that well and he learned a bit that day.

“He made a big step forward when we sent him to Leopardstown and he hit the line very strong that day, having come round the outside.”

“I think he will improve for racing,” she added. “He’s a fine, big horse.

“We are very happy with the temperament he’s got so far. He’s a laid-back horse and he’s very straightforward, and each time he’s run, he’s walked round the parade ring in a very relaxed manner.

“I know there will be much more hype and buzz in Epsom, but so far he has been very good.”

Physically and mentally, the difference between last year and this has been startling.

She added: “We always thought he would be a better three-year-old than a two-year-old. He never looked like a two-year-old. He was big and backward-looking all the way through last summer.

“He had to grow into himself and then seemed to get organised mentally. He had to grow up mentally more than anything else, he was very babyish last year.”

Those looking to pick holes in his form will point to the ground conditions. All four previous runs have some with plenty of ease and not once has the word ‘good’ entered the going description.

However, Sprewell’s conditioner feels this is something of an outlier and should they race on quick ground at Epsom, she believes it will not be a major factor.

Harrington said: “I think they will all go on it once. He is a low-moving horse, he is a very good-moving horse and I see no reason why he won’t run very well on it.

“It is just out of circumstances he’s run on soft ground, because it was a wet autumn in Ireland last year and it has been a wet spring.”

The Mohamed Khalid Mohamed Abdulrahim-owned colt has ticked every box thus far. Shane Foley’s mount will, of course, have to overcome Epsom’s idiosyncrasies of cambers and undulations, but Sprewell has plenty of the right attributes.

“He is a very well-balanced horse, so I’m hoping he will cope with it fine,” said Harrington.

“It would be very special to win the Derby. It’s on the bucket list. It is great to go there with a horse that’s got a chance. It’s very exciting.”

Callum Wilson is in line for an England recall as boss Gareth Southgate waits on Jude Bellingham’s fitness.

Newcastle striker Wilson has scored 11 goals since he was overlooked for the European Championship qualifying wins against Italy and Ukraine in March.

On Wednesday Southgate names his squad for the Euro 2024 qualifiers in Malta on June 16 and at home to North Macedonia in Manchester on June 19, with England top of Group C.

Wilson has helped spearhead the Magpies’ top-four charge and they confirmed their return to the Champions League after 20 years with Monday’s 0-0 draw against Leicester.

The 31-year-old went to the World Cup in Qatar but scored just once in 13 games after the season resumed, prompting Southgate to leave him out.

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has previously backed his striker for a recall.

He said: “It’s one for Gareth, but he is certainly doing the right things, scoring goals. That is always going to get you the headlines. He is certainly in great form. I don’t know if it is his best.

“But I think he is very focused at the moment and he knows he has to be. I think the biggest compliment I can pay him is that, whatever situation he’s been in, he’s still been himself, laughing, smiling, joking.

“He is a really positive character. He’s somebody that the squad needs to be positive because he’s such a big personality within it.”

There is a spot available after Ivan Toney’s eight-month ban for betting offences was confirmed this month.

The Brentford striker made his debut as a late substitute in the 2-0 win over Ukraine but will be unable to play competitively again until January.

Aston Villa’s Ollie Watkins missed out on a call-up last time and will come into Southgate’s thoughts again.

Watkins has 15 goals this season, although he has not scored in his last six outings and missed a penalty in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Liverpool.

Borussia Dortmund’s Bellingham missed Sunday’s 3-0 win at Augsburg with a knee problem he suffered in the 5-2 win over Borussia Monchengladbach and is a doubt for Saturday’s final game against Mainz.

Dortmund are two points clear of Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga, hunting their first title since 2012.

Trent Alexander-Arnold is almost certain of a return after his improved form for Liverpool and with Reece James’ season having been ended by a hamstring injury in April.

Marcus Rashford is expected to be fit after injury and illness this month and Raheem Sterling could be recalled after being injured in March, while Morgan Gibbs-White’s form, which has helped Nottingham Forest stay in the Premier League, makes him an option for Southgate.

Ben Chilwell has a hamstring injury, which could open the door for Arsenal’s Ben White to return, while Chelsea team-mate Mason Mount had surgery on a pelvic injury last month and is unlikely to be risked.

David Probert is set for a swift return to action having escaped serious injury when kicked at Windsor on Monday night.

The incident occurred in the parade ring before the 5.35 race where Probert was due to ride Bits And Bobs for Andrew Balding and having been kicked by his intended mount, green screens were put in place while he was attended to before being taken to the nearby Slough hospital.

However, there appears to be no lasting damage, with Probert tweeting on Monday night that his X-rays had come back all clear and that he was simply sore and bruised.

He intends to return to the saddle on Wednesday where he has a full book of rides at Kempton’s evening all-weather meeting.

“I’ve spoken to David this morning and he is just bruised. All being well he will be back tomorrow,” said Neil Allan, the jockey’s agent.

“He won’t be riding today because he is bruised, but he was in good spirits when I spoke to him this morning.”

LaLiga will request greater jurisdiction to punish clubs whose fans are guilty of racist abuse after feeling “powerless” at the lack of current sanctions in the wake of the latest Vinicius Junior incident.

The Spanish league is engulfed in a racism scandal after Real Madrid forward Vinicius was allegedly subjected to racist chants during Sunday’s game at Valencia and later claimed it was an example of “continuous episodes spread across several cities in Spain”.

LaLiga, according to the country’s law, can currently only identify and report incidents, and punishment is rarely handed out.

Now it wants legislation changing so that it has the power to impose punishment such as forcing games to be played behind closed doors or financial penalties.

It said in a statement: “LaLiga will request more sanctioning powers, with the aim of being more agile and effective in the fight against violence, racism, xenophobia and intolerance in sport, where LaLiga has been leading the identification and reporting of such behaviour in football stadiums for years, but feels powerless when observing how its reporting ends.

“Despite its intense and continuous fight against violence and racism to the full extent of its powers (currently, according to Spanish legislation, limited to identifying and reporting the facts that occur), LaLiga feels tremendous frustration at the lack of sanctions and convictions by the sports disciplinary bodies, public administrations and jurisdictional bodies to which it reports.

“Faced with this serious situation, in the coming days LaLiga will formally request the amendment of Law 19/2007 of July 11, against violence, racism, xenophobia and intolerance in sport and Law 39/2022 of December 30, on sport.

“The purpose of the proposal is to request that LaLiga may exercise disciplinary authority over incidents of this type which occur in matches of the professional competition, so that the disciplinary bodies of LaLiga may proceed to sanction them, among other things, with the total or partial closure of the sports venue, the prohibition of access to it in the case of members/fans and the imposition of financial penalties, without prejudice to the adoption of provisional or precautionary measures that may be appropriate, depending on the nature and seriousness of the incidents.

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“As we have been repeating in recent days, LaLiga has been leading the fight against violence, racism and intolerance on football pitches, both inside and outside the stadium, identifying such behaviour through its match directors, security officers and television cameras, and subsequently reporting it to the relevant bodies.”

It comes on the day four people have been arrested in Spain under suspicion of hanging an effigy of Vinicius off a bridge in January.

An inflatable doll dressed in a Vinicius shirt was hung from the railings with a banner that read ‘Madrid hates Real Madrid’ ahead of Real’s Copa del Rey game with city rivals Atletico at the start of the year.

And Spanish police confirmed on Tuesday that four suspects had been apprehended.

They tweeted: “Arrested in #Madrid 4 people who allegedly hung a mannequin with the #Vinicius shirt on a bridge near the Ciudad Deportiva del @realmadrid.”

The arrests follow the latest racism scandal that has engulfed Spanish football, with Vinicius targeted by racist chants during Sunday’s LaLiga game with Valencia.

The Brazil international threatened to leave the pitch in the second half after being subjected to alleged monkey chants at the Mestalla.

Real Madrid said the abuse constituted a “hate crime” and filed a complaint with the Spanish State Attorney General’s Office.

Valencia confirmed police had identified a fan who made racist gestures at Vinicius and that individual faces a lifetime stadium ban.

Vinicius tweeted on Monday night: “Every round away from home is an unpleasant surprise. And there were many this season. Death wishes, hanged doll, many criminal screams… All registered.

“But the speech always falls on ‘isolated cases’, ‘a fan’. No, these are not isolated cases. They are continuous episodes spread across several cities in Spain (and even in a television programme).

“The evidence is there in the video. Now I ask: how many of these racists had names and photos exposed on websites? I answer to make it easier: zero. None to tell a sad story or make those fake public apologies.

“What is missing to criminalise these people? And punish clubs sportingly? Why don’t sponsors charge LaLiga? Don’t televisions bother to broadcast this barbarity every weekend?

“The problem is very serious and communications no longer work. Not blaming me to justify criminal acts either. You are not football, you are inhuman.”

LeBron James paid tribute to the Denver Nuggets after the Los Angeles Lakers were swept in the Western Conference finals.

The 38-year-old said he and teammate Anthony Davis are in agreement that Denver was the best team they had faced while playing together with the Lakers.

Despite 40 points from James, 31 of which came before halftime for his highest scoring total in a half in a playoff game in his illustrious career, the Lakers lost a close Game 4 contest.

Denver prevailed 113-111 with Nikola Jokic having 30 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists and Jamal Murray adding 25 points as they clinched an historic 4-0 series win.

The Nuggets claimed their first Western Conference title in the team’s 47-year existence and will face either the Miami Heat or Boston Celtics for the league championship

"Me and AD were just talking in the locker room and we came to the consensus this is one of the best teams, if not the best team, we’ve played together for all four years," James said about the Nuggets.

"Just well-orchestrated, well put together. They have scoring. They have shooting. They have playmaking. They have smarts. They have length. They have depth. 

"And one thing about their team, when you have a guy like Jokic, who as big as he is but also as cerebral as he is, you can’t really make many mistakes versus a guy like that."

James, who was 15-of-25 shooting, prompted a wave of coverage after Game 4 by suggesting he was considering basketball retirement.

After saying he had a lot to think about in the post-game news conference, he was asked to clarify his comments by ESPN.

Asked what he would be thinking about, James replied: "If I want to continue to play. I got to think about it.

"It was a very challenging season for me, for our ballclub, and obviously we know whatever went on early on [the Lakers started 2-10 start]. It was cool, a pretty cool ride.

"We'll see what happens going forward. I don't know. I don't like to say it's a successful year, because I don't play for anything besides winning championships. I don't get a kick out of making a conference [finals] appearance.

"I've done it a lot, and it's not fun to me to not be able to be a part of getting to the [NBA] Finals."

Davis had 21 points for the Lakers and all five starters reached double figures, but a seemingly comfortable 73-58 halftime lead swiftly evaporated as Denver outscored them 28-10 to start the second half.

Jokic’s eighth triple-double of this year’s playoffs broke a tie he shared with Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain for the most in a single postseason.

Denver will face either Miami or Boston in the Finals. The eighth-seeded Heat own a 3-0 lead in the East finals ahead of Game 4 on Tuesday.

Last year’s Derby hero Desert Crown will make his eagerly-awaited return to action after 355 days on the sidelines in Thursday’s Racehorse Lotto Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown.

Trained by Sir Michael Stoute, the Saeed Suhail-owned colt is unbeaten in three racecourse appearances.

A Nottingham maiden win at two was impressive by any standards, but he stepped up on that to win the Dante at York on his first outing at three and he looked to have the world at his feet when toying with the Derby field at Epsom.

Richard Kingscote was on board that day and maintains the partnership on a horse who has been off the track since due to injury.

Nursed along by Stoute, he is now ready to return in a race which the trainer has traditionally used as a starting point for his best middle distance horses such as Pilsudski, Notnowcato and Workforce.

Stoute also runs Solid Stone, in the same ownership, who will be ridden by Ryan Moore.

Desert Crown faces far from a penalty kick as another long-absent star returns to action in Hukum. Trained by Owen Burrows, he was last seen winning the Coronation Cup at the Derby meeting but in doing so he picked up an injury which has kept him off the track since.

Jane Chapple-Hyam’s Royal Ascot winner Claymore, David Simcock’s Cash and the Keith Dalgleish-trained Chichester returns complete the field.

Frankie Dettori has the ride on Enemy in the Racehorse Lotto Henry II Stakes. Nate The Great, Roberto Escobarr, Sleeping Lion and Princess Anne, trained in France by Hiroo Shimizu, are the other contenders.

Some very highly rated juveniles go to post for the Racehorse Lotto National Stakes, led by James Tate’s Blue Storm.

The Newmarket race he won on debut could hardly have worked out any better, as Tate explained: “Blue Storm was very taking up at Newmarket. He has been very natural at home and has showed up well all winter.

“We gave him one piece of work just before the Craven meeting, which he showed up nicely in before winning at Newmarket.

“Generally speaking my two-year-olds come on a lot from their first run to their second and if he follows that rule, we have every reason to be excited.

“What is even better is that the second, third, fourth and fifth have all won since, so the form looks great.

“There are not too many negatives and lots of reasons to be optimistic.”

Richard Hannon’s Dapper Valley, Hugo Palmer’s Chester winner Hackman and Charlie Appleby’s On Point all carry tall reputations into the 10-runner contest.

Sergei Bobrovsky made 32 saves for his first career playoff shutout, and the Florida Panthers moved a win away from a surprising spot in the Stanley Cup Final with Monday’s 1-0 victory over the Carolina Hurricanes in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals.

Bobrovsky made Sam Bennett’s power-play goal midway through the second period hold up as Florida took a commanding 3-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.

The Panthers are aiming to become only the fourth No. 8 seed in a conference to reach the Stanley Cup Final since the NHL adopted a 16-team postseason in 1979-80.

Florida, whose lone Final appearance came in 1996, can finish off the series at home on Wednesday. In the history of the NHL playoffs, teams with a 3-0 lead have advanced in 200 of the previous 204 occurrences.

The Panthers won Game 3 despite being outshot by a 32-17 margin and losing captain Alexsander Barkov to a lower-body injury in the first period. Bobrovsky came up with 14 saves in the second period and 11 in the third, in which the Panthers managed only two shots on goal.

Nikola Jokic had 30 points, 14 rebounds and 13 assists as the Denver Nuggets advanced to the NBA Finals for the first time in franchise history with a 113-111 comeback win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday to complete a four-game sweep of the Western Conference finals.

Top-seeded Denver overcame a 15-point halftime deficit to claim its first Western Conference title in its 47-year existence and will face either the Miami Heat or Boston Celtics for the league championship. The eighth-seeded Heat own a 3-0 lead in the East finals.

Jokic made history as well by recording his eighth triple-double of this year’s playoffs to break a tie he shared with Hall of Famer Wilt Chamberlain for the most in a single postseason. The two-time NBA MVP also hit the eventual game-winning shot when his layup with 52 seconds remaining snapped a 111-111 tie.

The Lakers had built a seemingly comfortable 73-58 halftime lead behind 31 points from LeBron James, his highest scoring total in a half in a playoff game in his illustrious career.

Los Angeles came out cold in the third quarter, however, making just one field goal over the first 4-and-a-half minutes as the Nuggets steadily cut into their deficit. Denver outscored the Lakers 28-10 to start the second half and grabbed an 86-83 lead on Michael Porter’s tiebreaking 3-pointer with 3:34 remaining in the period.

Jokic’s 3-pointer with 2:50 left to play extended Denver’s advantage to 110-104, but the Lakers’ Austin Reaves answered with a triple on the ensuing possession to spark a 7-1 run that tied the game at 111-111 entering the final minute.

After Jokic’s layup put the Nuggets back in front, James missed a 20-footer and had his final attempt blocked by Aaron Gordon right before time expired.

James finished with 40 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists but shot just 4 of 12 from the field in the second half.

James DeGale made history by claiming the vacant IBF super-middleweight title with a thrilling unanimous decision victory over Andre Dirrell in Boston eight years ago.

DeGale became the first person to win Olympic gold and a world crown in the professional ranks for Britain after withstanding a fierce comeback from his American opponent.

The Londoner appeared on course for a sensational early stoppage after dropping Dirrell twice in the second round, with the first knockdown coming from a brutal overhand left.

Dirrell weathered the storm in the early rounds as DeGale, who won middleweight gold at the Beijing Olympics in 2008, looked for the knockout and even came on strong in the second half of the fight.

But DeGale finished strongly and two judges scored the fight 114-112 in his favour, with the third of 117-109 seemingly a bit harsh on Dirrell.

After improving his record to 21-1 (14KOs), DeGale said: “I’ve finally done it. It’s an unbelievable feeling, I’m world champ. I made history!

“I will take on any super-middleweight in the world, I’m hard to beat when I’m at my best.

“(Dirrell) is a very, very good opponent, he’s very talented, he’s hard to beat, if anything it’s me and him second and third in the rankings. Andre Ward’s there and there’s me and him. There’s no other super-middleweight that would beat me on my day.”

DeGale held the title until 2017 when he lost it to Caleb Truax before regaining it in a rematch with the American the following year.

He retired from professional boxing after a defeat by Chris Eubank Jr in February 2019.

A new campaign aimed to transform the way children and young people are coached in sport and physical activity by prioritising enjoyment has been launched to help increase activity levels.

Sport England’s latest Active Lives Children survey found only 47 per cent of children who regularly exercise strongly agree they enjoy taking part, which was down from the pre-pandemic level of 51 per cent.

The survey, published in December 2022, also showed 53 per cent felt they do not get enough exercise.

The launch of the ‘Play Their Way’ campaign by the Children’s Coaching Collaborative will be led by the 17 partner organisations and is funded by Sport England and the National Lottery.

Research shows enjoyment is one of the biggest motivators for children and young people to help them get active.

The Play Their Way campaign will be dedicated to ensuring children have the best possible experience in sport and activity through a ‘child first’ approach taken on board by England’s 2.6million coaches to build a grassroots movement which is hoped will in turn keep youngsters staying active through the rest of their life.

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A launch event is being held on Tuesday in south London at Peckham BMX Club, which has coached and supported more than 2,000 young people since opening in 2004 – including 2020 Olympic silver medallist Kye Whyte.

Sport England chief executive Tim Hollingsworth said: “Positive experiences for children and young people are at the heart of Sport England’s ‘Uniting the Movement’ strategy – and child-first coaching is an important part of this.

“Our research tells us that for children, fun is the primary reason for taking part in sport and activity. They will want to take part if they enjoy it.

“It is vital that we put fun and enjoyment at the centre of sport and activity, and give our children and young people the chance to shape their sporting experiences to boost activity levels.”

Head of coaching and policy at UK Coaching Heather Douglas added: “Coaches play such an important role in the development of children and young people’s lives, often in difficult circumstances, and can have a profound effect on the positive experiences they have in sport and physical activity

“We know that child-first coaching and giving children a choice and a voice in the way they are coached works, and that many of our coaches are out there doing this already.

“This campaign is about helping more coaches do more of this and through ‘Play Their Way’ we will be providing them with resources and support to help transform the way our children and young people are coached.”

:: To learn more about the campaign, access resources and sign up to join the biggest grassroots movement to transform the way we coach our children and young people visit www.playtheirway.org