Tottenham forward Richarlison feels ready to carry the weight of expectation again for both club and country as the Brazil squad prepare to face England at Wembley.
The 26-year-old returned from minor groin surgery in November to hit nine goals for Spurs as Ange Postecoglou’s side chase Champions League qualification.
Richarlison admitted it was a tough spell dealing with his injury setback, which saw him avoid shooting during warm-ups because of the pain, and he also sought the help of a club psychologist to support his mental well-being.
Richarlison, who is closing in on 50 international caps, knows the pressure which comes with the Brazil number nine shirt – having been in tears when taken off after failing to score in the World Cup qualifier against Bolivia in September.
However, the Spurs frontman is determined to lead by example.
“(It is a) very big responsibility,” Richarlison said at a press conference.
“I myself carry a very strong image, where children like me a lot. I always try to walk the line, so as not to disappoint.
“I know the responsibility I carry with this shirt, (and) for a big club in England (also).”
On his work with a therapist, Richarlison added: “As a national team player with an active voice, I tell people to seek help because it saved my life. I was already at rock bottom.
“It is very important for the national team to have a psychologist to help the athletes.
“Only we know the pressure we suffer, not just within, like off the field. I suffered more even outside. It is important to have a psychologist.
“We know the prejudice that exists when someone says they are looking for help – I myself had it, but I don’t have it any more.”
Fulham midfielder Andreas Pereira was handed a first call-up to the Brazil squad for six years by new head coach Dorival Junior, the pair having worked together during a spell on loan at Flamengo from Manchester United.
The 28-year-old – who was born in Belgium and had played for their youth teams up to Under-17 level – is relishing the opportunity to tackle England at Wembley.
“Of course we know their qualities, they have many good players,” Pereira said.
“We respect England, but we know our qualities. In Brazil we will always have big players and a big team.
“We know it is going to be a tough game, but we for sure are ready and know what we are capable of.”
Juventus defender Gleison Bremer has now joined up with the rest of the Selecao squad at their St Albans base, having replaced Arsenal centre-back Gabriel Magalhaes, who withdrew through injury.
After facing England, Brazil then travel to Spain for a friendly in Madrid on Tuesday.
John Carver admitted Grant Hanley’s lack of recent game time for Scotland is a concern but he remains hopeful that the injury-plagued Norwich defender can prove his fitness in time for the European Championship.
The 32-year-old was due to join up with the squad this month for the first time in a year after recovering from an Achilles problem that sidelined him from April to December last year.
Having made nine appearances since returning to action on Boxing Day, however, Hanley withdrew on Tuesday from the Scotland squad for the upcoming friendlies against the Netherlands and Northern Ireland after missing the last two Norwich matches with an ankle injury that forced him off against Middlesbrough earlier this month.
Canaries boss David Wagner said he felt Hanley had not been “as explosive and sharp” as he was prior to his eight-month injury lay-off and that it had been agreed “to pull him out of team training and give him a proper individual programme in the next couple of weeks, or how long it will take, to get back to that level”.
Hanley was a Scotland mainstay before he got injured last Easter, but he has not played for the national team since the win at home to Spain last March.
“It is a concern because he’s one of our squad,” said Carver on Tuesday afternoon. “But it’s up to Grant to get fit again and make sure he’s OK.
“That’s one of the reasons he’s stayed behind to work with the people at Norwich. It’s important he’s in good condition.
“If he gets himself fit and starts playing again, there’s no reason why he can’t get back into this squad.”
Centre-back Scott McKenna was yesterday being assessed by national-team medics after picking up a knock playing for Copenhagen, while key duo Callum McGregor and Aaron Hickey were not named in the squad as they recover from their respective injuries.
Brentford wing-back Hickey has been sidelined since late October with a hamstring problem and, like Hanley, appears to be in a race against time to be fit.
“They’re saying he could be around two or three weeks before he’s back training with Brentford, so we’re waiting for that final medical report to find out where he is,” said Carver.
“You’ve got that situation with Aaron but there are other players too. It’s a difficult time for everyone because they’re all coming towards the end of their seasons with their clubs, playing competitive games, and we’ve just got to keep our fingers crossed that we don’t have too many injuries going into the championships.”
Scotland have selected four goalkeepers – Hearts pair Craig Gordon and Zander Clark plus Norwich’s Angus Gunn and Motherwell’s Liam Kelly – for this month’s double-header but Carver refused to divulge how game time will be carved up among the quartet, with one of them set to miss out on the final Euros squad.
“That will be down to Steve and who he selects but what it (having four keepers) has added is a huge amount of competitiveness,” he said.
“We saw that yesterday in training because every single one of them was right on it.
“Normally the first day they ease their way in but we had a small-sided game towards the end of training and the four goalkeepers were outstanding.”
Carver has been impressed with the way Hearts forward Lawrence Shankland has played his way into contention after being called up as a late replacement for Che Adams in November. Since then, the 28-year-old has scored a stoppage-time equaliser in Georgia plus 17 more goals for his club.
“I think he’s been great,” said Carver. “I’ve watched quite a bit of Hearts lately. He just gets himself in the right areas. People talk about, ‘he doesn’t do this, he doesn’t do that’, but he scores goals and they’re worth their weight in gold.”
The International Olympic Committee has urged a boycott of Russia’s planned ‘Friendship Games’, labelling the event a “cynical attempt” by the country to “politicise sport”.
Russia intends to stage the ‘Summer Friendship Games’ in the cities of Moscow and Ekaterinburg in September this year, just a few weeks after the Paris Olympics, and a winter event in Sochi in 2026.
“For this purpose, the Russian government has launched a very intensive diplomatic offensive by having government delegations and ambassadors, as well as ministerial and other governmental authorities, approaching governments around the world,” the IOC said in a statement.
“To make their purely political motivation even more obvious, they are deliberately circumventing the sports organisations in their target countries. This is a blatant violation of the Olympic Charter and an infringement of the various UN resolutions at the same time.
“It is a cynical attempt by the Russian Federation to politicise sport.
“The Olympic movement strongly condemns any initiative to fully politicise sport, in particular the establishment of fully politicised sports events by the Russian government.
“The IOC strongly urges all stakeholders of the Olympic movement and all governments to reject any participation in, and support of, any initiative that intends to fully politicise international sport.”
Since the military invasion of Ukraine two years ago, Russia has been banned from the Olympics, although athletes from the country who have qualified for Paris 2024 can compete in a neutral capacity.
Nicky Henderson has raised the faint possibility of Constitution Hill returning to action at the Punchestown Festival.
Last season’s brilliant Champion Hurdle winner had been a short price to defend his crown at Cheltenham last week, but a fortnight before the Festival a poor workout at Kempton led to the discovery of mucus in his scope.
There was a brief glimmer of hope he would come right in time for Cheltenham, but he was ultimately the first in a host of Henderson big guns to be ruled out of the showpiece meeting.
Henderson ran six horses on the first day of Cheltenham, five of which were pulled up. The only bright spot was Luccia finishing third in the Champion Hurdle, just three and a half lengths behind State Man, arguably making Constitution Hill’s absence even harder to bear.
One by one Henderson’s main chances were withdrawn, with Shishkin not even declared for Friday’s Gold Cup. Jonbon was taken out of the Champion Chase while Sir Gino also missed the Triumph Hurdle.
Henderson was keen to point out that a very trying week was made a fraction more bearable due to the understanding shown by the racing industry as a whole.
“My owners were brilliant, very understanding, as were the media and everyone else in racing and for that I’ll be forever grateful,” he told the PA news agency.
While in hindsight Constitution Hill’s absence might have been a blessing given how Henderson’s week went, there may be green shoots of recovery. He also saddled a winner at Kempton on Saturday through Persian Time.
“He had his blood done yesterday, as he has done every Monday since what happened at Kempton,” said Henderson.
“It has kept on improving to the point where it is as near normal as it could possibly get without being 100 per cent. It is 99 per cent, which is a long way from where it started.
“He is back in routine exercise and has joined in at the back of the team this week.
“What he had and what the others had are two completely different things. He was pretty unwell, whereas all the others are very well but have a problem. I think it’s been well documented we have a problem.
“His blood tests told us he was unwell and given he’s so laid-back at home it was a good job we took him to Kempton.
“Now he’s better and his bloods are almost back to normality he can resume exercise, but he hasn’t galloped yet.
“We’ll tick along, you can take it he won’t be going to Aintree but if he continues and his work progresses with it, there is the possibility he could go to Punchestown which both Michael (Buckley, owner) and I would love to do if possible.
“If you were to ask me his primary objective I would most likely say it’s the Fighting Fifth next autumn, but if we can get to Punchestown then we will.”
He added: “Where we are mystified is that we thought they were well, their work was great but 10 days before Cheltenham they weren’t running well and everyone picked up on that, but we put it down to the ground and not being the ‘A team’.
“All appeared to be fine and all the tests were fine, but then we discovered the horses we were running were running dreadful.
“Every trainer in the country dreads this sort of thing, and for it to happen last week couldn’t have been worse, the timing was horrendous.
“Everybody has been through the mill, but as a team and family we at Seven Barrows would just like to thank everyone for how understanding everyone has been and for that we will be forever grateful. I wasn’t looking for sympathy, just a bit of understanding.
“We’ve been having massive meetings about how we get through this and we’ll take it easy this week and regroup next week and see where we are.
“We’ll see if we can get the main protagonists to Aintree. Sir Gino, Shishkin and Jonbon, they’ve all missed their dance. The next dance is Aintree and the one after that is Punchestown but they’ll only run in one, they would have done anyway.
“I love Punchestown and I love Aintree, they don’t quite have the pressure of Cheltenham but they are still Grade Ones so let’s try to get there.”
EFL chairman Rick Parry has rejected the idea that an independent regulator risks killing the golden goose of the Premier League.
The Football Governance Bill, which will establish the regulator in law, was introduced to Parliament on Tuesday.
Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer has said she is confident the legislation will pass through Parliament “before the end of the parliamentary session” – in other words before a general election.
The regulator will have a raft of powers to ensure clubs are sustainably run, to force unfit owners to divest their stakes in clubs, to ensure fans are consulted on major issues affecting their clubs and to block teams from joining unapproved competitions such as the European Super League.
Arguably the most eye-catching aspect, though, is the backstop powers it will have to impose a financial settlement on the Premier League and the EFL if they cannot agree one themselves.
One of the leagues would have to apply to trigger the powers, and the regulator would then accept that application if it believed one of its key objectives – such as the financial sustainability of clubs and financial resilience across the leagues – would not be delivered if the powers were not triggered.
Ultimately the regulator would ask the Premier League and the EFL to submit final proposals and choose the most suitable one.
The process appears to chime to a large degree with what the EFL has previously called for and potentially gives it greater leverage in the ‘New Deal’ discussions between now and the establishment of the regulator.
The Premier League has reiterated its concern around any “unintended consequences” of an independent regulator, and the prospect of any settlement that impacts the competitiveness of the top flight, but Parry said on Tuesday: “Nothing is going to change the competitiveness of the Premier League.
“The gap (in terms of wages paid) is just getting bigger and bigger between the Premier League and the rest (of Europe), so the idea that the Premier League is going to be unduly constrained or no longer competitive, I just don’t even see how that argument gets to first base.”
An independent expert panel would assess the proposals and take into account the impact on club competitiveness, sporting competition and the commercial interests of both parties in making its decision, but the leagues would then be required to distribute broadcast revenue in line with that decision.
Parry added: “It’s to do with the regulator making an objective decision that it can’t meet its primary objectives of the sustainability of the game.
“If the regulator decides everything’s fine, if the regulator’s happy with the imbalances, fine. We’re not running to the regulator to say, ‘You’ve got it wrong’. All we want is some objective and independent assessment.”
Fiorentina director Joe Barone has died after suffering a cardiac arrest on Sunday.
The 57-year-old Italian-American businessman was taken to a cardiac intensive care unit in Milan hours before Fiorentina were supposed to play against Atalanta in Bergamo, with the Serie A fixture being postponed as a result.
A statement on the club’s official website on Tuesday read: “It is with deep sorrow and immense sadness that Fiorentina confirms the loss of one of its figureheads, a person who has marked the recent history of the club and who will never be forgotten. General director Giuseppe Barone passed away today at the San Raffaele Hospital in Milan after suddenly falling ill on Sunday.”
Barone, who began working for Rocco Commisso’s Mediacom business in 2017, joined Fiorentina when the latter purchased the Tuscan club in November 2019, working closely alongside sporting director Daniele Prade and with head coach Vincenzo Italiano as La Viola showed clear improvement in the league and reached the 2023 Europa Conference League final, losing to West Ham.
The statement continued: “Rocco Commisso and his family, Daniele Prade, Nicolas Burdisso, Alessandro Ferrari, Vincenzo Italiano, Cristiano Biraghi and everyone associated with Fiorentina are utterly devastated by the terrible loss of a man who showed great professionalism and gave his heart and soul for these colours. He was a treasured friend who always stayed strong in the happiest and, above all, the most difficult moments.
“The entire Viola world sends its heartfelt condolences to Giuseppe’s wife Camilla, his children and the entire Barone family during this time of immense sorrow.”
Great Britain will play Canada, Finland and Argentina in the group stage of the Davis Cup Finals in Manchester in September.
Leon Smith’s side will hope for a less nail-biting conclusion than in the same city last year, when Dan Evans and Neal Skupski saved match points to beat France in the deciding match in front of a jubilant record crowd, and the draw appears to have been relatively kind.
Canada, led by Felix Auger-Aliassime and Denis Shapovalov, were champions in 2022 but lack strength in depth.
Finland were last year’s surprise package, making it through to the semi-finals for the first time, while Argentina boast three top-30 players, but indoor hard courts should favour Britain.
The ties will take place at the AO Arena from September 10 to 15, with the top two teams progressing to November’s Final Eight event.
Having beaten France, Australia and Switzerland last year, Britain fell at the first hurdle in Malaga, losing out to Novak Djokovic’s Serbia.
Defending champions Italy will host a group in Bologna also featuring the Netherlands, Belgium and Brazil, while Australia, Czech Republic, France and Spain will contest a heavyweight Group B in Valencia.
The final group, containing Germany, USA, Slovakia and Chile, will take place in the Chinese city of Zhuhai.
Two-time champion Chris Gayle and United States star Ali Khan lit up the iconic skyscraper of New York’s Empire State Building, which marked the official launch of the 2024 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Trophy Tour.
Gayle, who ignited the game’s shortest format before his retirement, had the honour of pulling the lever to light up New York’s most iconic building in the navy and magenta colours of the event. The former Jamaica and West Indies batsman also showcased the trophy which 20 teams will compete for in the June 1-29 tournament across the West Indies and United States.
The event marks the first time an ICC World Cup will be held in United States, including eight matches at the brand new, state-of-the-art modular 34,000 capacity stadium in Nassau County, New York. Newly renovated existing venues Grand Prairie Cricket Stadium in Dallas and Broward County Stadium in Lauderhill, will each host four fixtures.
Co-hosts West Indies have a rich history in T20 cricket, having won the T20 World Cup twice, with popular Caribbean tourist destinations, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, St Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago all hosting matches.
The ‘Out of this World’ Trophy Tour will reach 15 countries across four continents as it visits iconic sporting teams and stadia, famous landmarks, and legendary cricketers, while also giving fans the chance to get a glimpse of T20 cricket’s biggest global prize. In addition to visiting all host venues across the West Indies and United States, the Trophy tour will also visit emerging Americas cricket countries Argentina, Brazil, and Canada, enabling new fans to connect with what will be a landmark event in the region.
ICC General Manager, Marketing and Communications, Claire Furlong said the anticipation has been heightened as the historic tournament is now less than three months away.
“As we count down to the World Cup, the Trophy Tour provides fans with the opportunity to be part of the event in locations across the globe. The Tour will travel extensively across the Americas, igniting the passion of both new and existing fans to share in the excitement of T20 cricket's pinnacle global event coming to the region and what better way to kick it off than by lighting up one of the world’s most iconic buildings in one of the world’s most iconic cities,” she said.
“Cricket has more than a billion fans and we want to give as many people as possible the opportunity to get up close with the trophy that will be lifted by the winning captain in Barbados on June 29,” Furlong added.
Fawwaz Baksh ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Tournament Director echoed similar sentiments.
“The start of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup trophy tour is an emphatic signal to fans worldwide that the World Cup is coming. Throughout its Caribbean leg of the tour, fans can look forward to a plethora of engaging activities, including meet-and-greets with Cricket stars and legends, Caribbean infused cultural entertainment, and the opportunity to see and take pictures of the trophy in person at some of the region’s most iconic locations.
“In addition to fan-facing engagements, the trophy tour will also serve as a platform to leverage the continued growth of Cricket globally and to drive positive change and leave a lasting impact on communities,” Baksh said.
Meanwhile, following huge demand of more than three million ticket applications in the public ballot, additional tickets have been released for 51 of 55 matches, including fixtures where allocations were previously exhausted.
In the West Indies, tickets are now available to matches at all six host locations, including Group Stage, Super 8 and semi-final matches, ensuring as many fans as possible can attend. Fans can create an account and purchase tickets now at tickets.t20worldcup.com.This is the fastest and easiest way for fans to get the tickets they want. All online transactions at tickets.t20worldcup.com are secure.
Also available now are a range of premium hospitality offerings inclusive of food and beverage packages for all fixtures at Nassau County International Stadium in New York and to all matches at West Indies venues at tickets.t20worldcup.com.
The Trophy Tour schedule for March and April
March 18 to 20: New York, USA
March 21 to 23: Houston, Grand Prairie and Dallas, USA
March 26 to 27: Buenos Aires, Argentina
March 28 to 29: Sao Paulo, Brazil
April 3 to 4: Jamaica
April 13 to 14: Barbados
April 17 to 18: Antigua and Barbuda
April 19 to 20: Saint Lucia
Adrian Keatley’s smart performer Ballymount Boy is pencilled in for a step up in trip as he limbers up for the impending Flat season.
The Camacho colt enjoyed a good two-year-old campaign, winning a Hamilton maiden before catching the eye when finishing just a length behind Vandeek in the Group Two Richmond Stakes at Goodwood.
Vandeek subsequently went on to score twice at Group One level in the Prix Morny and the Middle Park, while Ballymount Boy was runner-up in the Acomb and then the winner of the Listed Prospect Stakes at Doncaster on his final start of the term.
After the Goodwood run Ballymount Boy was purchased by Wathnan Racing, who have appointed James Doyle as their retained rider.
Doyle partnered the imposing Ballymount Boy during his Doncaster victory and is set to sit on him ahead of the new season as plans are formulated for his three-year-old campaign.
After running predominantly over six furlongs last season, Keatley’s charge has emerged from his winter break looking like he will eventually appreciate further and both the Greenham and the Craven Stakes are possible targets.
Keatley said: “James Doyle is going to come and sit on him next week and we will finalise plans closer to the time, but the Greenham is a possibility I think, or he could end up going to Newmarket in April.
“He’s a fine horse, he looks more like a seven-furlong horse or a miler this year than he did last year.
“Last year he was built like a big, strong, sprinting two-year-old – I think he’s leaner this time around and hopefully he can keep progressing from where he is now.
“We were happy to finish off the season how we did with him last year and we’re hoping he can pick up where he left off.”
Ronnie O’Sullivan battled through to the last 32 of the World Open with a 5-3 win over Michael White.
The world number one was not at his best, despite back-to-back century breaks, but got the job done in Yushan.
It looked like being a straightforward evening’s work in China for O’Sullivan when he produced breaks of 129 and 106 to move into a 3-1 lead.
https://twitter.com/WeAreWST/status/1770089868388950384/photo/1
But Welshman White battled back and had the chance to earn a decider when he twice found himself in the balls after two uncharacteristic O’Sullivan misses – the second of which saw him hit the table with his cue in frustration.
But O’Sullivan won a safety battle to ensure he progressed in eight frames.
Judd Trump remained on course for back-to-back titles after a routine 5-2 triumph over Sanderson Lam.
Trump won this event when it was last staged in 2019 – before a four-year hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic – and is looking a good bet to repeat the feat.
World champion Luca Brecel is through after a 5-2 victory over Oliver Brown, while home favourite Ding Junhui beat Liu Hongyu by the same score.
However, John Higgins is out after a 5-3 loss to Jackson Page.
Manchester United teenager Kobbie Mainoo has been called up to the England squad for the upcoming friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.
The 18-year-old midfielder has been promoted into Gareth Southgate’s senior group for the first time having initially been named in the Under-21’s squad.
Mainoo, a former U17 and U19 international, has burst onto the scene at Old Trafford this season, racking up 20 appearances so far.
He joins the 25 other players who reported for duty at St George’s Park on Tuesday and get the chance to stake a claim for a possible place in the squad for the summer’s European Championship.
Southgate has had the youngster on his radar for some time and recently said at February’s Nations League draw: “He’s doing brilliantly.
“I’m not certain he’s necessarily going to be a defensive midfielder, as such.
“He’s quite a progressive player but he’s had a fabulous start to his career and it will be good to monitor him as we go forward.”
The midfielder joined United as a nine-year-old and made his debut at the start of 2023 in a League Cup game with Charlton.
He has progressed at speed and has often been a starter in Erik ten Hag’s starting XI.
Mainoo will be hopeful of making his debut when England play Brazil on Saturday or against Brazil on Tuesday.
Manchester United teenager Kobbie Mainoo has been called up to the England squad for the upcoming friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.
The 18-year-old midfielder has been promoted into Gareth Southgate’s senior squad having initially been named in the Under-21’s squad.
Mainoo, a former U17 and U19 international, has burst onto the scene at Old Trafford this season, racking up 20 appearances so far.
Brilliant Arkle winner Gaelic Warrior may be back out quickly for the WillowWarm Gold Cup at Fairyhouse on March 31.
Stablemate and subsequent dual Gold Cup winner Galopin Des Champs ran at both meetings as a novice, falling at the last when well clear in the Turners Novices’ Chase at Cheltenham before strolling to victory a month later.
The two races are closer together this season at just 19 days apart but trainer Willie Mullins has not completely ruled it out.
“We did it two years ago, we brought a horse back from Cheltenham to win this, so it can be done. I’ll see how Gaelic Warrior is,” said Mullins.
“He has a huge amount of ability. He won the three-mile novice hurdle at Punchestown that Galopin Des Champs won so I was never worried about his stamina, but the fact he can do this over a shorter trip is fantastic, it shows he has class.
“Ted Walsh always said a good Gold Cup winner could win a Champion Chase, as that is how you separate the ordinary Gold Cup winners from the very good ones, and this fellow has that type of ability, I think.”
Should Gaelic Warrior be given more time to recuperate, Blood Destiny is likely to try to give Mullins a sixth successive win in the race.
“I’m looking at Blood Destiny, he’s one that could go there. This race has been on my mind a while for him. We’d been trying him at two miles but a different way of riding him – we held him up in Navan – might suit for this race, I think,” he said.
“He has the speed when you need it so if Gaelic Warrior doesn’t come back for it, Blood Destiny could be a good substitute.”
Of his other entries in the Grade One, he added: “Facile Vega disappointed me at Cheltenham, I need to find out what is wrong with him.
“His home work suggests he has the ability I think he has. Indeed, his last three bits of work before Cheltenham, we thought he had a really good chance. Maybe we left our race at Closutton because his work was fantastic but he is taking a lot of working out.
“Fact To File had a hard enough race so I doubt he’d run, but Hercule Du Seuil worked well this morning.
“Il Etait Temps is a good, hardy horse and he could come back for it as well. If the ground came up nice and dry, I might let Sharjah take his chance and Tactical Move has the ability and is a nice type for that race.”
The other Grade One event at the Easter meeting is the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Honeysuckle Mares Novice Hurdle in which Jade De Grugy may attempt to atone for her Cheltenham defeat at the hands of Golden Ace.
“Jade De Grugy could run. I think you could say all the three Irish horses in her race were all marking one another. No one wanted to commit but then it was great to see Jeremy Scott winning, he had a great fan club there and it added a bit of atmosphere to the day,” said Mullins.
“Sometimes I don’t like coming back with a mare so soon as Cheltenham takes a lot out of them. Laurina managed to win both races, though.
“We have A Penny A Hundred with a chance, Cuta Des As with a chance but Fun Fun Fun could be the one as she didn’t go to Cheltenham.
“This is a Grade One and while it’s lovely to win in Cheltenham, I like to win Grade Ones, especially with mares, so it’s more important to go to Fairyhouse. We certainly did a lot of thinking this year regarding what we were keeping back for this, Cheltenham is only a Grade Two.
“If Jade De Grugy doesn’t make it back, I’d say Fun Fun Fun could be the one.”
City Of Troy could be seen at Saratoga this year, if everything goes as hoped with the red-hot Classic favourite.
Unbeaten in his three juvenile starts, the Aidan O’Brien-trained Dewhurst winner is set to reappear in the Qipco 2000 Guineas back at Newmarket on May 4.
Labelled “our Frankel” by co-owner Michael Tabor, the Justify colt is also favourite for the Betfred Derby at Epsom on June 1.
And if he is still on track after those engagements, an exciting trip for a dirt assignment could be on the agenda.
“We are particularly happy with how well he has wintered. He’s working away on bad ground at the minute as they all are obliged to,” the Ballydoyle handler said in a stable tour on Attheraces.com.
“He seems to handle it and handled a good cut in the ground in the Dewhurst, but as anyone can see he is a particularly beautiful mover which is what makes it so exciting to see what he does when he meets firmer ground. The better the ground, the better he’ll be.
“He’ll go away for a gallop in the next week or 10 days, that is always an important step for the Guineas horses. It was great for him to get the experience of the undulations of both the July course and the Rowley Mile at Newmarket last season. That will all stand to him in the 2000 Guineas.
“We’ll play it race-by-race, but you’d have to be made of stone not to be dreaming of the Derby if all goes to plan at Newmarket. After that, he could even go to somewhere like Saratoga for a Grade One on the dirt. He’s that type, he could do anything, but we’ll take it one race at a time.
“We have an unbelievable group of three-year-olds this year, but he has always been the leader. Horses like him are very rare.”
Before City Of Troy is unwrapped for the season, O’Brien has important business in Dubai on Saturday week, with dual Derby, Irish Champion Stakes and Breeders’ Cup Turf hero Auguste Rodin set for the Sheema Classic.
He said: “Everything is running really smoothly with him. He leaves here for Dubai this weekend and the Sheema Classic on March 30 is his target. We’ve been really happy with him since his gallop at Dundalk late last month. We feel he has matured well from three to four and it goes without saying that we are very excited to get him going again.
“The horse did all his own talking on the track last year, but we really do think that he’s a very important horse for the thoroughbred breed. It is a huge thrill to have him back for this year and we can’t wait to see him race.
“If all goes smoothly in Dubai, we have it in our head that he could come back for the Tattersalls Gold Cup and then drive on to the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot.”
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