Iroko has connections excited as he prepares to complete his comeback from injury in the Turners Novices’ Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.

The six-year-old gave upwardly mobile training duo Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero a landmark first Festival success when claiming the Martin Pipe 12 months ago.

It seemed unlikely he would feature at this year’s showcase meeting, with an injury suffered shortly after his imperious chasing debut expected to keep him out of action for the rest of the campaign.

However, he returned to full training quicker than anticipated and will head to Prestbury Park’s New course attempting to repeat last year’s heroics in an open Turners Novices’ Chase that kicks off day three of the Festival.

“He’s absolutely fine and in good health and is all set to run – we’re looking forward to running him on the Thursday in the Turners,” said Greenall.

“He seemed to really handle the New course (in the Martin Pipe), but I think he’s pretty versatile and he would handle the Old course just as well.”

The injury sustained by Iroko earlier in the season has left his training team in a race against time to prepare their stable star for the Cheltenham Festival.

Despite failing to beat the clock in order to provide the gelding with a prep run, Iroko successfully came through an away day at nearby Haydock recently, with Greenall believing the experience he has garnered running in handicaps will stand him in good stead for his Turners assignment.

“It (possible races) just came too soon really, fitness wise, but he has been away and schooled at Haydock and we’ve done everything we can,” continued Greenall.

“I think the fact he has run in some good juvenile races and some good handicaps, he is streetwise in that sense and it will just be jumping the fences at speed he will lack experience in, I suppose.”

It could be a big afternoon for the Greenall and Guerrero partnership, as fast on the heels of Iroko, in the very next race they will saddle White Rhino in the Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle.

A general 10-1 shot to land a knockout blow with the bookmakers, the eight-year-old brings solid course form to the table, having finished second at the November meeting before going one better over the Pertemps track and trip the following month.

He was last seen qualifying for this event by finishing third at Huntingdon and is predicted to sharpen up for that outing back in the Cotswolds.

“He will go in the Pertemps on the same day, if he gets in,” continued Greenall.

“He seems to have come on nicely since his Huntingdon run, has a nice weight and we look forward to running him.”

City Of Troy tops the 49-strong list for the initial entry stage of the season’s first Classic contest, the Qipco 2000 Guineas.

The Aidan O’Brien-trained colt was unbeaten in three runs as a juvenile, culminating in a superb three-and-a-half-length Dewhurst victory at Newmarket in October.

He has his name on the long list to return to Headquarters on May 4, alongside stablemate Henry Longfellow – also unbeaten and the winner of the Vincent O’Brien National Stakes.

Richard Hannon’s Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere champion Rosallion features, as does the well-regarded Godolphin colt Ancient Wisdom, winner of the Futurity Trophy for Charlie Appleby.

Owen Burrows is represented by Shadwell’s Alyanaabi, second to City Of Troy in the Dewhurst and the winner of the Tattersalls Stakes, plus Futurity Trophy fourth Deira Mile.

Coolmore and O’Brien also have the leading fancy in the 1000 Guineas with Opera Singer, a Justify filly last seen winning the Prix Marcel Boussac at Longchamp. Ylang Ylang, winner of the Fillies’ Mile, is another for Ballydoyle.

Karl Burke’s Fallen Angel won both the Sweet Solera and the Moyglare Stud Stakes last season and is another exciting prospect put forward to head to the Rowley Mile on May 5.

Simona Halep is free to resume her career after the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced her doping ban from four years to nine months.

The former Wimbledon champion tested positive for the blood-boosting drug Roxadustat at the US Open in 2022 and was handed the long ban last September.

Halep appealed to CAS and, following a hearing last month, the court has dramatically reduced the Romanian’s suspension.

A CAS statement read: “The CAS panel has unanimously determined that the four-year period of ineligibility imposed by the ITF (International Tennis Federation) independent tribunal is to be reduced to a period of ineligibility of nine months starting on October 7, 2022, which period expired on July 6, 2023.”

The International Tennis Integrity Agency, which oversees tennis’ anti-doping programme, had also appealed seeking an even longer ban, but this is a major victory for Halep, who was staring at the end of her career if the original sanction stood.

The independent tribunal had not accepted Halep’s explanation that a contaminated supplement was the source of the Roxadustat in her system, while a charge of irregularities in her athlete biological passport was also upheld.

But the CAS panel took a different view, with a statement reading: “Having carefully considered all the evidence put before it, the CAS panel determined that Ms Halep had established, on the balance of probabilities, that the Roxadustat entered her body through the consumption of a contaminated supplement which she had used in the days shortly before August 29, 2022 and that the Roxadustat, as detected in her sample, came from that contaminated product.

“As a result, the CAS panel determined that Ms Halep had also established, on the balance of probabilities, that her anti-doping rule violations were not intentional.

“Although the CAS panel found that Ms Halep did bear some level of fault or negligence for her violations, as she did not exercise sufficient care when using the Keto MCT supplement, it concluded that she bore no significant fault or negligence.”

CAS dismissed the biological passport finding, saying: “Contrary to the reasoning of the first instance tribunal, the CAS panel determined that it was appropriate in the circumstances to consider the results of a private blood sample given by Ms Halep on September 9, 2022 in the context of a surgery which occurred shortly thereafter.

“Those results, and Ms Halep’s public statements that she did not intend to compete for the remainder of the 2022 calendar year, impacted the plausibility of the doping scenarios relied upon by the ITF independent tribunal.

“Having regard to the evidence as a whole, the CAS panel was not comfortably satisfied that an anti-doping rule violation had occurred. It therefore dismissed that charge.”

The ITIA has also been ordered to pay Halep around £18,000 as a contribution to her legal fees and expenses.

Halep was the highest-profile tennis player since Maria Sharapova to fail a drugs test, having won the French Open in 2018 and Wimbledon the following year as well as being ranked world number one.

The 32-year-old, who strongly criticised the original process, will now look to rebuild her career.

UK Sport has outlined ambitions for the United Kingdom to host its first FIFA Women’s World Cup in the 2030s.

The global showpiece is the biggest sporting event the UK has never held, and one of several new additions to the funding body’s latest list of major event hosting targets alongside a World Athletics Championship in 2029 or 2031 and a men’s Rugby World Cup in 2035 or 2039.

The target list comprises 70 events – including 18 world championships – across 32 sports taking place between 2024 and 2040, and while inclusion on the list is just the first of a number of steps before a decision to bid is made, it marks another move forward.

Esther Britten, head of major events at UK Sport, said: “If we had this list without [the Women’s World Cup] on we’d all be saying, ‘Why is it not on it?’. We want to explore this meaningfully in the 2030s and make the right decision about which iteration of the Women’s World Cup is one to go for.

“The environment that we land any of these women’s sports events in is one where we have athletes that are getting increasing cut-through, that are championing their sports, that are speaking out for their sports, and we have increasingly an environment where we have people who want to go and watch these sports.

“That’s why it should be on our list for consideration, but choosing the right time will be (about) the wider international relations factors.”

Every event is subject to a feasibility evaluation which considers factors such as chances of success, venue selection, bid process, financial contributions and costs, as well as the social impact potential.

Such a study would be the next step for the Women’s World Cup, which is currently on the list as an “opportunity” alongside a potential men’s Rugby World Cup.

Simon Morton, UK Sport’s deputy CEO, said it is likely stakeholders would gather after the 2027 Women’s World Cup hosts are announced at the 74th FIFA congress in May 2024.

A joint bid from Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands is being considered alongside one from Brazil, while the United States and Mexico have also put themselves forward as co-hosts, while the 2031 hosts will be confirmed in 2025.

Morton said the 2027 host selection may help narrow down which of the next decade’s three Women’s World Cups could give the UK the best chance, while also needing to factor in the Lionesses’ prospects of success in each of those years.

“We have to respect the fact that there are other countries interested in hosting them, so the sort of political dynamics across international federations, in terms of where these events might go, is something that’s outside of our control,” he said. “So that’s why you see a little bit of an open-ended position.

“There’s definitely an aspiration to host the Women’s World Cup in the 2030s, but we need to see who FIFA will go with for that (2027) tournament.

“I haven’t met anyone who thinks that going for the Women’s World Cup is a bad idea, and I think most people would want it to happen as soon as possible, but we’re open-minded about when it might be in the 2030s.”

UK Sport is also exploring the possibility of establishing a new central body to help deliver events where sports and cities are unable to do so.

The Women’s World Cup is one of several events on the list that would also require government funding. Events can move into the feasibility study phase regardless of which political party is in power, but decision-making about investment will need to be taken by ministers.

Despite this being an election year, Morton was optimistic about securing support for major events no matter who the Prime Minister is by the end of 2024.

“I think politicians have a timeless understanding of the power of these events,” he said. “I don’t think the importance of live sport to this country, in particular, and to the people and communities of this country, is going to change, irrespective of who is in power.”

Every event on the list is either multi-gender or, where a men’s edition has been included, so has the women’s counterpart, with the 2031 or 2035 Ryder Cups also newly included having reached the live feasibility study phase, alongside the 2029 or 2031 World Athletics Championships and five other events.

The Ryanair Chase remains “very much the plan” for ante-post favourite Banbridge, despite concerns about ground conditions ahead of next week’s Cheltenham Festival.

Joseph O’Brien’s charge was a non-runner in the Turners Novices’ Chase at the showpiece meeting last year due to the rain-softened ground and the official going at Prestbury Park on Tuesday morning was soft, heavy in places.

Banbridge made an impressive start to his campaign when accounting for subsequent Ascot Chase winner Pic D’Orhy in the Grade Two Silviniaco Conti Chase at Kempton and he has since been saved for the Festival, with a final decision on his participation unlikely to be made until the morning of the race.

“There’s still a long time to go between now and then, there’s lots of racing to happen and lots of weather forecasts that will come and go,” said O’Brien.

“As we’ve said all along, we’ll look forward to the race and hopefully we’ll walk the track on the morning of the race and hopefully he can run.

“Very much the plan is to run. He’s prepared well for Cheltenham so far.”

Banbridge is set to lead a small but select team of “six or seven” runners for O’Brien across the biggest four days of the season in the Cotswolds.

He added: “Hopefully we’ll have something running most of the days, some of them would like the ground a bit softer and some of them would like it a bit quicker.

“At the moment, it looks as if it’s going to favour the horses that prefer a bit of juice, but let’s see what happens – it can dry out fast and it can get softer quickly too. We’ll keep an eye on things over the next week.”

Lark In The Mornin heads the betting for the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle, but O’Brien revealed his participation is “up in the air”.

Considering some of his other running plans, he said: “Nurburgring is an intended runner in the Triumph Hurdle, he is still entered in the Boodles but he’s going to run in the Triumph.

“Home By The Lee is in the Stayers’ Hurdle, we’ll have Solness in the Grand Annual and Busselton in the Ultima Handicap Chase, so there’s a few runners there.”

Real Mardid head coach Carlo Ancelotti has warned his players only their best will do against RB Leipzig as they look to secure a place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.

Los Blancos will defend a slender 1-0 lead from the first leg in Germany when Brahim Diaz scored a fine solo goal.

Ancelotti’s side have been held to three frustrating draws in their last five domestic matches, with Jude Bellingham shown a red card after the game at Valencia ended 2-2 when he thought he had headed in a dramatic stoppage-time winner as the referee blew up for full-time.

The 14-time European champions may be favourites to get the job done against Leipzig at the Bernabeu on Wednesday night, but Ancelotti insists there can be no sense of entitlement.

“It’s a big opportunity to progress in a competition that is very special for us, but we will have to be at our best,” Ancelotti told a press conference.

“The tie is not over, even if we do have a small advantage. We have to be at our best from the first minute to the last.

“The first leg was difficult against Leipzig, even though we created a lot of chances.

“We have to improve on that and be more dangerous because it’s going to be a different game tomorrow.

“They will look to play more in transition than us. Dealing with that defensively is going to be very important.”

Ancelotti reported no fresh concerns from the weekend, with captain Nacho Fernandez in contention to return to the side having missed some training with a minor issue which saw him start on the bench at Valencia.

England midfielder Bellingham, making his own return from an ankle injury, was sent off after the players surrounded the referee in the wake of his disallowed goal, with Madrid having earlier fought back from 2-0 down.

Ancelotti, though, feels there is no need to add further fuel to the situation, with his side now seven points clear at the top of LaLiga.

“I have not spoken to Bellingham about this matter,” the Italian coach said.

“He is someone who tries to give everything on the pitch and he is doing very well.

“The red card the other day was a mistake. He was a bit frustrated, but he didn’t insult anyone.”

Leipzig head to Madrid on the back of a 4-1 win at Bochum which left them fifth in the Bundesliga.

Defender Mohamed Simakan is suspended for the second leg, while Lukas Klostermann is doubtful because of a hip problem.

Leipzig coach Marco Rose said: “We are going to travel to Madrid and try everything.

“We want to be the most difficult opponent possible for Madrid so that they really have to stretch.”

Gavin Cromwell is leaning towards the Stayers’ Hurdle with two-time former champion Flooring Porter.

The nine-year-old won the contest in both 2021 and 2022 before finishing fourth behind Sire Du Berlais last season.

He began his steeple chasing career this term, beating Broadway Boy on debut at Cheltenham and then finishing third in both the Florida Pearl and the Neville Hotels Novice Chase.

It has not been guaranteed that he will stick with the discipline at the Cheltenham Festival, however, and with the withdrawal of Constitution Hill from the Champion Hurdle picture there has been a ripple effect on other races.

Gordon Elliott’s Irish Point now looks likely to start in the Champion Hurdle and in his absence Cromwell is minded to bid for another Stayers’ Hurdle with Flooring Porter.

Speaking on a stable tour for Attheraces.com, the trainer said: “We are leaning towards the Stayers’ Hurdle. That isn’t 100 per cent confirmed, but with Irish Point looking likely to go for the Champion Hurdle, that might just seal it.

“We had a really tough preparation for Cheltenham with him last year as he missed a month after Christmas, but he still ran really well. We’ve had a much better preparation with him this year.

“It’s a very competitive race, but if he brought his best form to the table, he’d be entitled to be in the mix with the best of them.”

Perceval Legallois is the second favourite for the Kim Muir at present. but will not line up for the race as Cromwell feels the mark of 144 he has been allocated is prohibitive.

He said: “We’ve decided not to run him at the Cheltenham Festival. The British handicapper was very tough on him, so we’ll stay at home with him.”

My Mate Mozzie holds entries for both the Grand Annual and the Arkle and is most probably going to run in the latter race, especially considering Marine Nationale has been ruled out of the contest.

“He’s more than likely going to run in the Arkle,” said Cromwell.

“He’s going to have to run a career-best to win it, but he shaped really well right on the tail of the current favourite Found A Fifty at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting and that form has worked out well since.

“Maybe the winner was idling, but we got further back than was planned and finished off very well, so we have reasons to rate him better than the bare form too.

“Marine Nationale coming out can only help him too. The better the ground, the better his chance.”

Pep Guardiola claims winning the Champions League is getting tougher every season.

Guardiola finally ended Manchester City’s long wait for European glory when he guided the club to success in the competition last season.

It had been City’s 12th successive campaign in the Champions League and their seventh under Guardiola, who had previously won it twice as Barcelona boss.

City will look to cement their place in the quarter-finals of this year’s competition on Wednesday when they go into the second leg of their last-16 tie against FC Copenhagen holding a 3-1 aggregate lead.

City manager Guardiola said: “It’s getting better and tougher. Always I had the feeling, when I arrived in Barcelona in the first years that OK, we arrive in semi-finals.

“Now to reach the semi-finals is so difficult. The teams are better, managers are better.

“Everything is even more difficult than when I was a football player.

“But at the end, the better teams always go through. When you play two good games, you have more chance to go through.”

Guardiola insisted, however, his triumphs with City were no more special than those he achieved with a Lionel Messi-inspired Barca side in 2011 and 2013.

He said: “I would not say that. Otherwise we would undermine what we achieved in Barcelona and I would not like that.

“Every moment is every moment. Every title you win is difficult. It’s not taken for granted.”

City outplayed Copenhagen in the first leg at the Parken Stadium three weeks ago and could have won more comfortably than the scoreline suggests.

Yet Guardiola maintains the tie is not over and will not allow focus to switch to Sunday’s crunch Premier League showdown with title rivals Liverpool yet.

He said: “Selection will depend on how people recover from the last game and that’s all.

“In this competition it is so really important to be focused because in football everything can happen and you have to be aware of that.”

Erling Haaland has refused to rule out a move from Manchester City despite stressing his happiness at the club.

The prolific Norwegian was linked with Real Madrid earlier this season and he did not dismiss the idea he may one day move at a press conference on Tuesday.

Showing an awareness of media operations, the 23-year-old even said this could be the main news line to come from his appearance in front of reporters to preview Wednesday’s Champions League clash against FC Copenhagen.

He was therefore especially keen to point out how satisfied he is with life at City, for whom he has scored a staggering 80 goals in 84 appearances since joining in the summer of 2022.

Haaland said: “I’m really happy, especially with the people that I’m surrounded with – the manager, the directors, the board, they are a group of amazing people and I’m really happy, I have to say.

“If I say this now it’s probably going to be a massive headline – tomorrow you never know what the future brings. But I’m happy. You can write this but you also have to write everything I said before! I’m happy.”

Haaland is contracted to 2027 but refused to comment on whether he might sign a new deal.

The former Borussia Dortmund striker said: “My focus mainly now is on the pitch, there’s a lot of games.

“Two days ago was the Manchester derby, now Champions League. Sunday is Liverpool. I think I should focus on that. I don’t think I should focus on anything else at the moment.”

Haaland helped City win a glorious treble in his remarkable first season at the club but getting his hands on so many trophies has not dulled his appetite to win more.

He said: “You can think about it in two ways. One thing, I came here and won it all, and the other thing, I’m 23 years old and I won everything and I got the taste of it, how it is to win everything.

“How I work is that when I feel this is, I want to win it again. Easy as that.”

Such has been Haaland’s stunning impact at City that him missing a chance can now create headlines.

This was the case on Sunday when he contrived to volley over an open goal from close range against Manchester United, although he did later get on the scoresheet in a 3-1 win.

Haaland said: “People say I’m good at scoring goals but I missed the biggest chance in the world ever a couple of days ago.

“Yes, I’ve been missing, I missed a lot of chances. I will still keep on missing chances, but I will still keep on scoring goals.

“I’ll probably miss a big chance in the future as well, and people are going to criticise me, but what can I do then? Should I think of that? No, just focus on scoring more goals and to help the team.”

Haaland admitted when he was younger such a miss would have bothered him a lot but now he has learned to bounce back from disappointments.

“It’s been a challenge for me,” he said. “I remember when I was young I would start crying if we lost and I missed a lot of chances.

“I’ve been working on it a lot and in the end everything is in here (taps head).”

Red Bull’s controversy-hit Formula One team will be back in the spotlight on Wednesday when superstar driver Max Verstappen faces the media for this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.

The triple world champion, whose father, Jos, claimed Red Bull will “explode” if team principal Christian Horner is not removed from his post, is due to answer questions in Jeddah on Wednesday.

Verstappen, 26, will not appear in the FIA’s official press conference to preview the second round of the Formula One season, but he is set to face questions – as per his normal media duties – at Red Bull’s hospitality suite.

Horner, who is understood to currently be in Dubai with wife Geri, is set to be back on the Red Bull pit wall for practice on Thursday.

He will also feature alongside a number of other F1 team principals in an FIA press conference between practice sessions at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.

Horner, 50, held clear-the air-talks with Verstappen’s manager Raymond Vermeulen in Dubai on Monday.

Neither Max nor his father were present at the summit which took place after Verstappen Snr claimed that Red Bull “is in danger of being torn apart”.

A source told the PA news agency that discussions between Horner and Vermeulen “went well”.

The intra-team tensions will be eased in Saudi Arabia, with Verstappen Snr absent as he participates in a Belgian rally.

Verstappen’s victory in Bahrain was overshadowed by continued controversy surrounding Horner.

Following the race Horner said he was “absolutely confident” he would stay on as Red Bull boss for the remainder of the season.

Horner has faced intense scrutiny in recent weeks following allegations made against him by a female colleague. He has always denied the claims.

Verstappen has won 18 of the last 19 F1 races and will be the favourite to claim another victory on Saturday night – despite the ongoing controversy surrounding Red Bull.

Garry Ringrose, Hugo Keenan, Iain Henderson and Oli Jager are in contention for Ireland’s Guinness Six Nations clash with England after training on Tuesday.

Leinster centre Ringrose is yet to feature in this year’s championship because of a shoulder injury.

Full-back Keenan and lock Henderson missed the round-three win over Wales due to a knee issue and a dislocated toe respectively.

Munster prop Jager made his Test debut as a replacement in that 31-7 success on February 24 before sustaining a knee problem.

Grand Slam-chasing Ireland, who play at Twickenham on Saturday before completing their campaign at home to Scotland seven days later, reported a clean bill of health ahead of holding a more physical training session on Wednesday.

“We were all on the field today, it was great,” scrum coach John Fogarty told reporters.

“Garry and Hugo, Hendy, all trained today, Oli as well.

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“So, yeah, it’s such an important day for us to be on the field. A healthy squad training today is important for selection and it was great they were all on the field.”

Ciaran Frawley deputised for Keenan against Wales and marked his first international start with one of four tries for Andy Farrell’s side.

Asked about the progress of Ireland’s first-choice number 15, Fogarty said: “Well, he trained today.

“Again, they are on the road to recovery, training on the field today live was important for them. We’ll see how they got through the session.

“We’ve another session tomorrow, which is the most physical session of the week where we’ll properly test our plan and the players so we’ll see how he gets through tomorrow and then Andy will select his side.

“(Today) it’s full speed, there’s no huge contact in it, it’s kind of a coaching day.

“Monday is forming a plan, Tuesday we put it on the field and we’ll see the timings of our launch plays and how our defence works, and tomorrow we’ll test that full contact.

“We want to get as live as possible, ready for what’s going to be a huge test in Twickenham.”

Connections of L’Homme Presse are metaphorically applying the bubble wrap as they anxiously count down the days to the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup.

Venetia Williams’ nine-year-old gave co-owners Andy and Pam Edwards and Peter and Patricia Pink a day to remember when scooping the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase on a wet Wednesday in 2022, but they were forced to watch on as he missed the blue riband through injury 12 months ago.

Seen as one of Britain’s best chances of Gold Cup success, L’Homme Presse is now close to finally getting his chance to bid for glory in the week’s feature event.

Having shown no signs of any reoccurring injury worries since returning from a long 391-day lay-off, connections will soon be able to dream of a second triumph at National Hunt racing’s showpiece meeting.

“We haven’t had any little niggles or anything so far, touch wood, but we still have 10 days or so to go and that is plenty of time for a racehorse to do something silly,” said Edwards.

“It’s a slightly anxious time, rather than a nervous time. At this time (of year), everyone is in the same boat and they are trying to wrap their horses in cotton wool, while keeping the horses ticking over – and it’s a massive effort to get them to any race, never mind the Festival.

“The beauty of any other race is, if you don’t get them to a said race, there is always another one. But if you don’t get them to the Festival, that is it until next year, so the pressure is on all the staff and trainers at the moment.”

He went on: “From our point of view, we just want to get him there and what chance he has and all the rest of it, right now that is immaterial. Once we are there on the day, that’s when we can start thinking about what sort of chance we have.

“I’m very relaxed and he will get there or he won’t. What will be, will be, and I’m very relaxed about that side of things.”

It was an emotionally-charged afternoon when L’Homme Presse returned from injury in imperious style in Lingfield’s Fleur De Lys Chase, but the gelding failed to read a similar script when tuning up for his Gold Cup bid in the Ascot Chase.

Sent off the 5-4 favourite, L’Homme Presse’s usual zest was lacking as he struggled to hunt down the boldly-ridden Pic D’Orhy on ground quicker than ideal – and over a trip shorter than optimum.

However, connections are taking encouragement from the way their charge finished the race and with two runs now under L’Homme Presse’s belt, they feel he is in the ideal spot to challenge for top honours in the Cotswolds on Friday week.

“He came out of the race really well and we were really happy with him,” continued Edwards.

“I think Ascot has put him right, but not by design. We went there to win it and for whatever reason, he just wasn’t quite himself.

“He didn’t jump with the same sort of passion that he had at Lingfield and Charlie (Deutsch, jockey) had to kick him in the belly twice to get him started. He was just always slightly behind the bridle going into the fences and in his racing style.

“The result of that is he ran below his best, but he ran through the line and it’s brought him on nicely, which means we have a nice fresh horse going to Cheltenham.”

With the Ascot Chase contested over two miles and five furlongs, the L’Homme Presse team can look forward to a much more suitable stamina test in the Gold Cup for their staying star.

And while the current ground updates coming out of Prestbury Park may be unnerving for some connections ahead of the Festival, Edwards will be willing the rain to keep falling for a repeat of the soft conditions L’Homme Presse has previously relished.

“Everyone is desperate for a bit of sunshine but I only want sunshine on March 16,” he added.

“Soft ground is in our favour and we would be happy with it being soft. We are going to enjoy the moment and we will always keep the faith.”

England and the Republic of Ireland have been drawn together in the same group for Euro 2025 qualifying.

Sarina Wiegman’s defending champions and Eileen Gleeson’s Girls in Green will also play against France and Sweden in Group A3, with matches to take place from April to July.

Scotland are in Group B2 with Serbia, Slovakia and Israel, while Wales will face Croatia, Ukraine and Kosovo in B4 and Northern Ireland take on Portugal, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Malta in B3.

The winners and runners-up from the four League A groups will qualify automatically for the Euros finals, joining a Switzerland side already assured to be there as hosts.

The third and fourth-placed teams will enter the play-offs, along with teams finishing in the top three in each of the four League B groups.

If Switzerland finish in the top three of Group B1, the best-ranked fourth-place team from League B will go into the play-offs.

There will also be five group winners and three best-ranked runners-up from League C, making 28 teams in total, in a two-round play-off system that will start in October and see seven sides advance to the finals.

The Lionesses claimed the first major trophy in their history when they won the Euros on home soil in 2022 under Wiegman.