Alsakib looks set to head for Qatar during the winter after continuing his steep upward trajectory in the £120,000 bet365 Old Rowley Cup at Newmarket.

The grey son of Kingman had won three of his four previous starts for Andrew Balding, most recently landing a valuable handicap at Ascot last month.

With James Doyle in the saddle, Alsakib was the 100-30 favourite to defy a 9lb rise and land another lucrative prize on the Rowley Mile and he eventually reeled in Shadow Dance to prevail by half a length.

“He’s a lovely horse who has done nothing but improve and stays well, which has slightly surprised me,” said Balding.

“At Goodwood (finished third over a mile and a quarter) it looked like he might stay a bit further and he’s now unbeaten over a mile and a half. He’s definitely going the right way.

“I doubt we’d go again this season in England. The hope, certainly for the owner, is that he might run in the Qatar Derby in December. That would be dropping back to a mile and a quarter, but that was always the intention after putting him in training with me, so we’ll look towards that.

“If he comes back next year, anything is possible.”

Devoted Queen made an impressive start to her career in the first division of the Godolphin Under Starters Orders Maiden Fillies’ Stakes.

A Kingman half-sister to the high-class One Ruler, Charlie Appleby’s youngster was the 15-8 favourite to make a successful debut and quickened up smartly to beat Vicario by two and a quarter lengths in the hands of William Buick.

Appleby and Buick were completing a double following the earlier success of Dance Sequence in the Group Three Oh So Sharp Stakes, and the trainer said: “She (Devoted Queen) is a nice filly, her work has been good at home and she’s from a family that we know.

“There was confidence coming into her today, but as Will said beforehand, she’s a filly for the future and he wanted to ride her the right way round and get the most out of her that way.

“I think we’ll just see how she does mentally before we decide if we run her again this year. She’s a filly who does everything a little bit on her nerves at home, which is why she wore the red hood to post today. We’ll see how she comes out of it and decide whether we give her one more run or put her away.”

Division Two of the seven-furlong contest went to the stoutly-bred Glimpsed (13-8), trained by Ralph Beckett and ridden by Rossa Ryan.

The Night Of Thunder filly is a sibling to several Pattern race performers for owner-breeder Julian Richmond-Watson, including the Group One-winning stayer Scope.

Get The Music On was the 6-4 favourite following a narrow defeat on her Lingfield introduction, but Glimpsed’s stamina kicked in late on and she got up to score by a length and a quarter.

Beckett’s assistant Joe Tuite said: “She’s not the biggest, but she’s well-bred and very tough and showed a great attitude.

“Her work has been good and we’re pleased she’s transferred that to the racecourse.

“She does what it says on the tin, there’s stamina in her pedigree and I’m sure she will stay further.”

The concluding Newmarket Pony Academy Pride Stakes was run in near darkness and driving rain – and it was Gary Moore’s 9-1 shot Novus who emerged from the gloom to secure Group Three honours by two lengths from Veil Of Shadows.

Winning jockey Tom Queally said: “I couldn’t see much, and I knew I was going to give her a great ride because no one else could see anything either!

“All she’s done all year is improve and it’s remarkable because she’s had a few little niggles along the way. She wasn’t quite right a few weeks ago and Gary has done a great job with her.

“She loves dig in the ground and on the dam’s side there’s stamina, so we were quietly confident that would make a difference and it did.”

The New York Giants will be without starting quarterback Daniel Jones Sunday night when they visit the Buffalo Bills.

Jones, who left the Giants’ 31-16 loss to the Miami Dolphins last weekend with a neck injury, was ruled out Friday by New York coach Brian Daboll.

Veteran Tyrod Taylor will make his first start since 2021 in Jones’ place.

Jones was hurt when he was sacked by Miami’s Andrew Van Ginkel, the sixth time he was sacked during the game. Jones has been sacked 28 times this season, the second most in the league (Sam Howell, 29).

Jones missed six games in 2021 with a neck injury, but the fifth-year pro told reporters this week that his current ailment is unrelated.

Jones, who signed a four-year, $160million contract extension in March, has struggled this season with a career-low 71.7 passer rating. After throwing just five interceptions last season, Jones has thrown six already this year.

The Giants (1-4) have lost three straight games and are in last place in the NFC East. New York will also be without left tackle Andrew Thomas, rookie center John Michael Schmitz, outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari and backup tackle Matt Peart on Sunday.

Star running back Saquon Barkley, who has missed the last three games with an ankle injury, returned to practice this week and is expected to have a chance to play against Buffalo.

India could welcome back Shubman Gill as they bid to continue their World Cup stranglehold over Pakistan in front of more than 100,000 fans and an audience of up to one billion viewers worldwide.

Fraught relations between the neighbouring countries mean their only showdowns in the last decade have been at multi-team events, with India winning seven out of seven contests at the 50-over World Cup.

They are favourites to extend that record at the 132,000-capacity Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, which will be a sea of blue as thousands of Pakistan fans have been unable to secure Indian visas.

Gill, the leading run-scorer in ODIs this year, may return for the tournament’s marquee fixture, having sat out India’s wins over Australia and Afghanistan after being laid low by a bout of dengue fever.

He batted in the nets on Thursday and India captain Rohit Sharma, a centurion against Afghanistan on Wednesday, said of his fellow opener: “99 per cent he is available. We’ll see.”

If Gill, who possesses an incredible average of 66.1 and 102.84 strike-rate from 35 ODIs, is selected then Ishan Kishan will almost certainly make way as the hosts look to make it three wins from three.

Rohit, though, refused to divulge whether India will restore Ravichandran Ashwin to the line-up and go with a three-prong spin attack also including left-armers Ravindra Jadeja and Kuldeep Yadav.

“I don’t know, honestly,” he said. “We are ready for whatever combination we want to play. If the requirement is there for us to play three spinners, we will play three spinners.”

Rohit also rejected the notion home advantage could count against India, adding: “You feel nice about playing in front of your home crowd. They get behind you no matter what the situation of the game is.

“My overall experience playing, not just in India, even outside India, we get massive support. I look at this as a good advantage, big advantage. But you’ve got to play good cricket to win the game.”

Pakistan captain Babar Azam needed no reminding of the one-sided nature of the rivalry, with India winning by 89 runs under the Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method in their last fixture in Manchester in 2019.

But Babar insisted Pakistan can take comfort from their 2017 Champions Trophy final win over their adversaries as well as a stunning 10-wicket triumph at the 2021 T20 World Cup in Dubai.

“I don’t focus on the past, I try to focus on the future,” Babar said. “Such records are made to be broken and I try to break them.

“We were not able to execute in the past, but we changed it in 2021 and 2017. We won against India in the World Cup. We hadn’t done that before, but we did it.

“We believe that we can do it and we will go with full confidence.”

Babar is the top-ranked ODI batter in the world but has had a modest start to the tournament with innings of five and 10 in Pakistan’s wins over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka.

“My World Cup till right now has not been as it should have been,” he added. “But hopefully you will see some difference in the next matches.”

Sam Tomkins feared his hopes of a fairytale finale to his glittering rugby league career had been dashed when he limped away from Catalans Dragons’ Betfred Super League win over Leigh in Perpignan in February.

The 34-year-old made a painful early morning phone call to Catalans head coach Steve McNamara to concede his decision to extend his career beyond last year’s World Cup in order help the French side towards a second Grand Final had been in vain.

Eight months later, having defied both his own initial fears and those of series of specialists who had delivered dark verdicts on his injured knee, Tomkins is preparing for the final game he always dreamed of, against the club he helped inspire to three previous Grand Final crowns.

It has become increasingly hard to deny that it has been written in the stars for Tomkins, especially since he rolled back the years with a nifty sprint through the defensive line of four-time defending champions St Helens to score the match-winning try in their play-off semi-final last week.

“It’s funny how things turn out,” smiled Tomkins. “My last game for Wigan was winning a Grand Final here in 2018 and now my last ever game on the pitch is against Wigan. I understand how lucky I am to be in this position.

“Everybody has their own personal story of what trophies mean to them. I’ve got a story for every one, but this different. This would be the first Super League title for the club, and the last time I’ll ever lace up my boots.

“The fairytale isn’t playing on Saturday – it’s winning on Saturday.”

Tomkins initially needed some convincing to bring an end to his glittering Wigan career and move to France in 2019, uprooting his young family to join McNamara, the former Bradford coach who harboured persuasive ambitions of turning Catalans into a permanent member of the sport’s elite.

Now his young family speak fluent French and he has no immediate desire to return to the UK, investing in property and a potential vineyard in Perpignan and accepting an offer from club owner Bernard Guasch to continue in a role as a club ambassador.

It is a measure of Tomkins’ gratitude for his improbable late-career surge, and his desire to take the club one step further than their previous Grand Final appearance two years ago, that he was swiftly disabused of the conviction that the match against Leigh could be his last.

“We played against Leigh and I had a sleepless night after that game,” recalled Tomkins. “In the early hours of the morning, I called the coach and just said, ‘I can’t do it.’

“In terms of rugby, it was the toughest conversation I’ve ever had. Steve said to just come in the office and we’d chat through it. I was adamant at the time – I know my body and I just said I couldn’t do it.

“I told them they’d be better off bringing in someone else who can play every week. But the club said they didn’t want to do that. They said they’d rather have me here for the important games, and that for me was humbling.

“The performance and medical staff put together a great plan that meant I’ve played more rugby this year than I ever imagined.

“I will forever be in debt to them for the work they’ve done in my last season that means I’ll be able to finish on the biggest stage.”

Tomkins, however, is adamant the inevitable emotion of the occasion will count for nothing unless he is able to lift his current club to what would be an unprecedented first Grand Final win for the French side.

Catalans went toe to toe with Wigan during the regular season, leading the standings for a long period and eventually finishing second on goal difference, before raising their game to sink Saints in front of a near sell-out at the Stade Gilbert Brutus.

Over six planes full of Catalans fans will travel to Old Trafford and both French and Catalonian television channels will broadcast the game live, testament to the strides made by the club in the two years since they came up short against Saints at the same venue.

“We learned a lot a couple of years ago and we certainly learned that you can go to a Grand Final and play really well and can still not be enough,” said McNamara, who has made winning a personal mission since he moved to the club in 2017.

“The experience you gain is the same whether you win or lose and that puts us in a different place.

“We are up against a club who have been one of the juggernauts of rugby league for the last hundred-odd years, but that is how it should be in a Grand Final, and we know we have got to be outstanding.”

Marcus Smith has been backed to deliver on the biggest night of his career after England gambled by picking the Harlequins magician at full-back for Sunday’s World Cup quarter-final against Fiji.

Smith will make only his second professional start in the number 15 jersey and, while he has also banked a number of influential cameos as a replacement, he remains a converted fly-half who is unproven in the position at the highest level.

England believe he will continue to thrive in his new role, providing a cutting edge in attack and a second ball-playing option, and have sacrificed the ultra dependable Freddie Steward to accommodate him.

Another seismic selection sees Owen Farrell replace George Ford at fly-half even though the Sale ringmaster has excelled at the World Cup, delivering man-of-the-match displays against Argentina and Japan.

All eyes will be on Smith, however, in the hope that he can reproduce the fireworks seen in the group match against Chile when he ran in two tries.

Harlequins team-mate Joe Marler has known the 24-year-old since he arrived at Twickenham Stoop as a teenager and quickly realised he was a special talent.

“Marcus is a big-match player. I’m really happy for him to get his opportunity to start again in a World Cup. He’ll thrive,” Marler said.

“He’s shown it off the bench in the moments we’ve needed him and I hope he can do that from the start.

“At the club he was confident early on, even to the point where I turn around and say ‘I’m going to have to say something to this guy, he’s gobbing off at me’. I’ve been at the club 10 years and he’s gobbing off at me.

“I was like ‘he’s a jumped up, entitled, little, private school kid’. And then when you realise how good he is at rugby and why he’s doing what he’s doing, I was like ‘I’m going to listen to him because he’s going to get us into positions where we can win more rugby games because he knows what he’s talking about’.

“He’s done it consistently at club level and now it’s about now doing it consistently at international level. What better place to do that than starting in the quarter-final?”

Farrell will dovetail with Smith in attack with the pair each operating at first and second receiver at different times. England’s captain has noted his team-mate’s appetite to take on the opposition.

“I’m impressed with how much Marcus wants to get after it – how much he wants the ball, how much he wants to make a difference,” Farrell said.

“From what I’ve seen so far the bigger the occasion, the more he wants to do that. It’s not like Marcus hasn’t played in big games – he’s won the Premierships.

“He wants to have a big impact on the game and so far he’s been doing that. I see it being no different this weekend.”

England field eight survivors from the starting XV that took on South Africa in the World Cup final four years ago and it could be a final appearance for several members of Borthwick’s squad – providing additional motivation against Fiji.

“There are definitely a number of us that won’t play for England again after this tournament,” Marler said.

“We have been together a number of years, we have built friendships and bonds. We want to give this our all and finish on a high.

“You never know when your last game is. You’ve got to make the most of what you can.”

England’s World Cup bolter Harry Brook admits he is still trying to “figure out the format” after being asked to fill a Ben Stokes-shaped gap in the one-day side.

Just six weeks ago Brook was making plans to watch the tournament from home after being left out of the provisional squad, but things have moved fast since then.

He replaced Jason Roy just before the deadline after an eye-catching response to being left out and, when Stokes suffered a hip injury shortly after arriving in India, Brook found himself promoted from reserve batter to first-choice for games against New Zealand and Bangladesh.

Stokes looks set to miss out again on Sunday, when they face Jonathan Trott’s Afghanistan in Delhi, but was running more freely in training at the Arun Jaitley Stadium two days out.

That would give Brook another chance to make the most of his unexpected opportunity in a version of the game that has taken a back seat in the Yorkshire batter’s formative years.

Already a rising star in the Test arena and a T20 world champion, he has played a grand total of 23 List A fixtures, with eight of those on the international stage.

With the advent of The Hundred relegating the Metro Bank Cup’s status, he is representative of a generation of upcoming English talent with limited 50-over experience and finds himself in the unusual position of learning the ropes at the highest possible level.

“I’m very inexperienced in this format. It does make a big difference having not played it, I think,” he said.

“Hopefully I can pick it up fairly quickly after the last couple of games and, if I get another go, then try and make a big score.

“You’ve just got to try to construct an innings better than I have done in the games I’ve played, just keep on trying to learn and figure out the format.”

Brook has made bright starts in both Ahmedabad and Dharamshala only to be dismissed for 25 and 20.

The numbers tell a story – with his 45 runs comprising 34 in boundaries and coming off just 31 balls. In a side famed for its relentless commitment to attack, there is a suspicion that the 24-year-old may have gone too hard, too soon.

“Everybody’s just said ‘you’ve got a lot more time than you think’,” he said.

“It’s almost approaching the start of your innings like a Test match and then, the longer you’re in, the easier it gets and the less the ball’s moving around.

“I’ve played so much T20 cricket over the last couple of years, if you see a ball go above your eyeline your eyes light up and you want to smack it. But I’ll just give myself a bit more time and make a big one soon.”

England are taking Stokes’ fitness on a day-by-day basis, but the next game against an in-form South Africa is likely to be a greater priority than Afghanistan. Either way, there is no question that a place awaits as soon as he gets a green light.

“Obviously Stokesy has to come back in. He’s one of the best players to ever play for England,” was Brook’s assessment. “Whether it’s me or someone else missing out, he’s 100 per cent coming back in the team.”

Chris Woakes was absent from Friday’s floodlit training session due to sickness, with Gus Atkinson and David Willey standing by.

The pacy Atkinson has an even thinner track record in 50-over cricket than Brook, playing just five times in the format and taking just six wickets, but has impressed England with his direct, attacking style and has the pace to trouble top batters.

The Cleveland Browns have ruled out quarterback Deshaun Watson for Sunday's game against the undefeated San Francisco 49ers due to a lingering injury to his right shoulder.

Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski confirmed Friday that P.J. Walker will be activated from the practice squad to start in Watson's place against 5-0 San Francisco. 

Watson has been bothered by a right shoulder contusion that also caused him to miss Cleveland's most recent game, a 28-3 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Oct. 1. The three-time Pro Bowl selection did not practice at all this week despite the Browns coming off a bye in Week 5.

Stefanski said after the Baltimore game that Watson had been medically cleared to play but did not feel he could perform at a necessary level.

“He knows his body. He has played through serious pain before, very serious injuries,” Stefanski said on Oct. 2. ”It wasn’t a matter of pain tolerance or anything. He just did not feel like he had his full faculties.”

Walker started five games for the Carolina Panthers last season and finished the campaign with 731 passing yards, three touchdown passes, three interceptions and a 59.4 per cent completion percentage. The four-year veteran was released by the Chicago Bears in August and signed with Cleveland's practice squad shortly after.

The 28-year-old received the starting nod after rookie Dorian Thompson-Robinson struggled in place of Watson against the Ravens. The 2023 fifth-round pick threw three interceptions and managed just 121 yards on 19-of-36 passing.

Classy hurdler Pied Piper will bid to continue the Irish domination of the Club Godolphin Cesarewitch Handicap at Newmarket on Saturday.

Formally owned by the late Queen when twice a winner on the Flat for John and Thady Gosden, it is over obstacles where the now Gordon Elliott-trained five-year-old has made his name, finishing second and third respectively at the last two Cheltenham Festivals.

With attentions turned to the level once again following a long summer absence, Pied Piper finished third on his comeback run at Killarney in late August and the Cullentra House handler has managed to snare the prized booking of Ryan Moore ahead of this main autumn objective.

“It’s very interesting and we’re really looking forward to it,” said Joey Logan, racing manager for owners Caldwell Construction.

“He’s in great form and his prep up to this has been very good, so Gordon is very happy with him.

“He is on a nice mark (96) and he’s after having a good break from jumping last year. He’s come back a bigger, stronger and fresher horse. It’s a big ask in a big field but we’re very happy with him.

“It’s going to be a messy race and it’s a big field as we all know, but hopefully Ryan will be in a nice position and will be happy. We’re very lucky and Gordon has done a great job, we’re really looking forward to having Ryan Moore riding him.”

The Irish have won four of the last five runnings of the Cesarewitch, with Elliott’s great rival Willie Mullins responsible for three of those victories.

Jockey bookings would suggest the William Buick-ridden Lot Of Joy is the pick of the Closutton quintet this time, with Rachael Blackmore getting the leg up aboard Jackfinbar, while hoping to join his uncle on the roll of honour is Emmet Mullins, who will saddle Cheltenham Festival winner The Shunter – who he describes as “Mr Versatility”.

The Grand National-winning trainer is keeping his eye on the weather and said: “Hopefully they get all the rain that is due and he could run a big race.

“He is a very versatile horse and he proved that when picking up the bonus by winning over both hurdles and fences in the space of two weeks. He’s Mr Versatility and obviously this is another avenue we can explore with him.

“He always runs his race and has been training well and hopefully is there to take his chance.”

Noel Meade is another Irish handler more commonly associated with training over jumps and has assembled a two-strong raiding party headed by Galway Hurdle runner-up and Irish Cesarewitch fourth Jesse Evans.

“He’s actually better off in this race than he was in the Irish Cesarewitch,” explained Meade.

“He seems in good shape but had a hard race in the Irish Cesarewitch, so we will have to hope he has recovered from that. But he seems OK and the little bit of work he has done has been good and we’re happy with him.

“He likes fast or fastish ground but the trip is a little bit of an unknown with him. He gets two miles all right, but two-miles-two, I don’t know, we will see.”

Jesse Evans will be joined in the line-up by stablemate Sheishybrid, who tuned up for this by finishing second over track and trip in the Cesarewitch Trial Handicap.

“She was second in the trial there and she is a good bit better off with the one that won it,” continued Meade.

“She stays all day and she will get two and a half miles. She will get the trip no problem and seems to have come out of the race well the last day. The quicker the ground, the better.”

Getting the better of Sheishybrid in the Cesarewitch trial was Andrew Balding’s Grand Providence, who will once again be partnered by Hayley Turner as she edges her way towards 1,000 career winners.

The jockey said: “She’s got a nice light weight and is proven at the distance at the track. Staying has really brought out the best side of her.”

Hughie Morrison saddled Vino Victrix and Not So Sleepy to finish second and third respectively in this 12 months ago and both are back for another crack at the prestigious handicap.

Not So Sleepy arrives after making all in Newbury’s Autumn Cup last month and will now have the burden of a 4lb penalty, while Vino Victrix returns to the Rowley Mile off a mark 2lb lower than when second to Run For Oscar in 2022.

“Sleepy didn’t help his chances by winning that handicap the other day, but that was very pleasurable and now he has a penalty,” said Morrison.

“We haven’t been trying to be cute with Vino, just nothing has really come for him this year. If he comes back to form, he could run into a place again.

“It would be nice to have a nice, big winner at the end of the season, but we’ve had a great year and can’t be greedy.”

Battle-hardened stayer Tashkhan registered his first victory in over two years when thriving in the mud at Chester recently and his handler Brian Ellison is hoping conditions will allow for another bold showing off top-weight here.

“I’m praying we get enough rain and it looks like it’s coming,” said Ellison. “We need it and the owner is keen on running, but obviously he won’t run unless the ground is right.

“He was good last time, top-weight in a handicap and giving weight away and a beating to in-form horses. It was good and we were over the moon with him really, he’s bouncing at the moment.

“I wouldn’t say he has to step up, but the ground is more important to him than the horses he runs against – he needs that soft or heavy ground.”

David Pipe’s Wordsworth was purchased with this race in mind and was seen to good effect over hurdles at Bangor 10 days ago, while Gary Moore’s Goshen and the Alan King-trained Tritonic are other names jumps fans will be familiar with.

The latter will attempt to give King and owners the McNeill family a second win in the race after combining with Grumeti in 2015 and Tritonic’s jockey Rossa Ryan believes he will be right in the mix.

He said: “I love him and I would put a line through Goodwood. It was sticky ground there and he didn’t like it.

“It either needs to stay dry and become nice, good ground or it stays raining and becomes loose. I think in the middle of that, he’s not in love with it.

“Alan’s are in good form and he will have a chance, he won’t be bringing him for the sake of it.”

Aidan O’Brien expects City Of Troy will gain some valuable experience as he makes his eagerly-anticipated return in the Native Trail’s Dewhurst Stakes.

The son of Justify made a winning debut at the Curragh in July and then blew the field away to take the Superlative Stakes by six and a half lengths later in the same month.

The National Stakes was then bypassed due to unsuitable ground and while the going was officially described as soft on Friday, connections are happy to take up their Rowley Mile engagement as they look to get another run in before the end of the campaign.

City Of Troy currently heads the betting for next year’s 2000 Guineas and Derby, with O’Brien viewing the Dewhurst as a perfect ending to the colt’s campaign.

O’Brien said: “He’s ready for his third run. Obviously he was due to the go the Curragh three weeks ago and that didn’t work, but everyone is happy with him.

“We always loved him and he’s done everything we’ve asked him so far. This should be a lovely run to finish him off for the year and give him more experience.

“Everything is well with him. He is a beautiful moving horse.”

Also entered is Owen Burrows’ Alyanaabi, a Shadwell-owned colt who was last seen winning the Group Three Tattersalls Stakes over course and distance in late September.

Of that performance, Burrows said: “I felt he had to quicken at a few stages in the Group Three last time. He had to quicken down the hill and he had to quicken going up the hill.

“I’m not concerned if there is lack of pace in the race as this horse has won over six furlongs, so if it did turn into a sprint late on I wouldn’t be concerned. He is pretty versatile.

“We always felt he was this level and the fact I pitched him in a Listed race on his second start (Pat Eddery Stakes) instead of going for a novice race under a penalty suggested that.

“He has always shown a fair level and it wasn’t out of the realms of possibility he would be rocking up in a race like this.”

Charlie Hills’ Iberian was a winner last time out when taking the Champagne Stakes under Tom Marquand, the same jockey who takes the rides at Newmarket on Saturday.

He said: “I’m looking forward to riding him and obviously he will have to take another step forward, but he holds all the credentials for a horse that you are going into a race like that on.

“It’s a different task but one he looks ready to go and tackle.

“I was very impressed (at Doncaster) like everyone else who was watching him and he showed a good turn of foot, which is what you need over seven in a Group One. There’s obviously been Group One winners behind him, albeit on different ground. He’s in top order so fingers crossed.”

On the threat of City Of Troy, the rider added: “We’ve only seen him on a racecourse twice and he’s off a three-month absence since the Superlative. While he was impressive in that, if ever there is a day to take on a horse like that, this is it. Circumstances are probably as ever in our favour as they can be and I’m looking forward to it.”

Juddmonte and Andrew Balding have supplemented Mill Reef winner Array into the race where he will be ridden by James Doyle.

Juddmonte’s Barry Mahon said: “It’s a big task, but he’s in good form and won the Mill Reef well.

“No Nay Never’s progeny seem to excel at two and there wasn’t a whole lot left for him this year, so the owners were keen to give it a go and so was Andrew and we said we’d give it a rattle.

“I think we’re confident enough about the trip – Oisin (Murphy) was pretty confident that he’d stay the seven the last day.”

Eve Johnson Houghton has an entrant in Indian Run, a dual winner this term who made his Group debut when landing the Acomb Stakes at York by a length and a half in August.

“He’s got a big day and obviously it’s a hot race, it’s a championship race,” the trainer said.

“He goes there in great form and we go there very hopeful. He’s done everything we’ve ever asked of him, so let’s hope he keeps on going that way.”

Completing the field is John and Thady Gosden’s Eben Shaddad, third in the Tattersalls Stakes, Richard Hannon’s Vintage Stakes winner Haatem and O’Brien’s Henry Adams.

Northern Ireland will hope the visit of San Marino to Windsor Park on Saturday is the opportunity they need to end their long losing run in Euro 2024 qualifying.

Here, the PA news agency looks at the key talking points ahead of the game.

Back to the start

Northern Ireland’s win away to San Marino in the opening fixture of this qualifying campaign back in March feels a long, long time ago now. Back then optimism was high that the return of Michael O’Neill as manager and what was seen as a favourable draw, certainly from pot five, in Group H could offer Northern Ireland a chance of challenging for qualification. But since their 2-0 win in Serravalle, nothing has gone right for O’Neill and his players, as a seemingly never-ending injury list and a string of narrow 1-0 defeats has doomed this campaign.

A must-win game

Qualification is now beyond them but the visit of San Marino is a must-win game for Northern Ireland, who have the opportunity to reset the narrative of this campaign and deliver a performance in front of the Windsor Park crowd. Even with their problems, anything short of a victory at home against the traditional whipping boys of European football would nudge a struggling team towards a crisis.

Home doubleheader

Northern Ireland have enjoyed few home comforts of late – winning only two of their last 17 fixtures in Belfast – but after the logistical challenges of last month’s away doubleheader against Slovenia and Kazakhstan, back-to-back games at Windsor is a welcome reprieve and a chance for O’Neill to get more work done with his players in the absence of long transfers. There is also a pressure of expectation from the sell-out crowd heading to Saturday’s match, but the players already expect nothing but a win anyway.

Marshall’s moment?

Since O’Neill announced his squad for these fixtures, much of the buzz has been around the return to the senior squad for West Ham striker Callum Marshall. The 18-year-old was denied a dream international debut by VAR in June when his late equaliser against Denmark in Copenhagen was ruled out for offside, but is now expected to get another chance in green against San Marino. Northern Ireland have been desperately seeking a reliable finisher for several years and although O’Neill is reluctant to put pressure on the teenager, many have already compared Marshall to record goal-scorer David Healy.

Euro 2028

This might be the Euro 2024 qualifying campaign but after UEFA confirmed this week that the 2028 edition will be hosted by the United Kingdom and Ireland, there has been talk all week of Northern Ireland potentially getting the opportunity to play on home soil in five years’ time. O’Neill is about the only person not keen to get involved – he has more pressing concerns as he tries to mould a young squad into one that might be more competitive by then – but there is now a massive carrot dangling for Northern Ireland’s players. “It’s a big thing that’s going to be coming here, it’s fantastic,” said the 35-year-old Jonny Evans. “Who knows? I might still be knocking about.”

Steve Borthwick has urged his England players take advantage of a precious moment in their careers by claiming a place in the World Cup semi-finals.

A dangerous Fiji side block England’s path to a last-four appointment with France or South Africa at Stade Velodrome on Sunday and for many of Borthwick’s squad it is last dance territory.

Courtney Lawes and Jonny May have publicly stated this will be their final World Cup, while other senior players such as Danny Care, Dan Cole and Manu Tuilagi are approaching the end of their Test careers.

It provides additional motivation to avenge August’s shock defeat by Fiji and former England captain Borthwick knows from personal experience of how rare these moments are.

“You’ve got to take the opportunities that are presented to you. Rise to the occasion of this game because you never know what’s around the corner,” head coach Borthwick said.

“As a rugby player I thought I had an opportunity in 2003 and didn’t get picked. I went in 2007 and thought I’d be there in 2011, but I wasn’t so I played in one tournament.

“I want the players to embrace this challenge and have the time of their lives representing England. I want them to have a fantastic memory of this World Cup.

“There’s a lot of players here who have experienced knockout rugby before. There’s a lot of players who have lifted a lot of trophies at different times in their careers.

“It is quite clear that this is knockout rugby. I think that these players will embrace this challenge and I think they will really rise to the occasion.

“That’s my expectation and I think that’s what they have done throughout this tournament. I am expecting them to rise again on Sunday against Fiji.”

Millie Knight, Great Britain’s most successful Paralympic downhill skier, had not envisioned a trip to the Karate World Championships when she decided to take up the martial art as “just a hobby” while studying for her degree.

Yet that is precisely where the 24-year-old, who on Thursday announced she was hanging up her skis after winning four medals on her sport’s biggest stage, will find herself later this month after her hobby transformed into the next phase of her journey in elite sport.

Knight turned to karate after a leg injury sustained during the Beijing 2022 Paralympics and having suffered four career concussions.

By that summer she had been crowned both British and Commonwealth visually-impaired karate champion.

She told the PA news agency: “I started karate and absolutely loved it, but I never had the opportunity to pursue it further, and when we came back from Beijing last year I decided I would join a proper club and pick it back up again and take it more seriously.

“I didn’t expect to take it this seriously. It was going to be just a hobby, but I love it. It’s the most incredible sport.

“I won the English championships and then was selected for the Commonwealth, and it was kind of at that point that it was like ‘oh, wow, this is more than a hobby’.

“When I won the Commonwealths that was just bizarre, and now I’m off to the world championships.”

At 15, Knight became the youngest British athlete to compete in a winter Paralympics, being named Great Britain’s opening ceremony flag-bearer that year for the 2014 Sochi Games, a memory that still remains a contender for the highlight of her competitive skiing career.

Four years later, at Pyeongchang in 2018, Knight picked up three Paralympic medals – downhill and super-G silver as well as slalom bronze. Her fourth – a downhill bronze – came at the Beijing 2022 Games.

On Thursday, Knight – ranked world number 10 in her karate discipline – announced she was retiring from skiing, a decision she is relieved to be making on her own terms.

She said: “I’m very grateful, and now I’m really happy. It really has taken some time to come to this decision, but (now) I can talk about it with a smile on my face.”

Knight is working towards a degree at the Open University, where she is writing her dissertation on a topic close to both her heart and head: concussions in sport.

The Canterbury native, who lost the majority of her sight due to an infection when she was six, was hospitalised four times for concussions during her skiing career.

She said, “I would never wish (concussions) upon anybody. By far the worst injury that I have ever had.

“The recovery process itself is horrendous. There’s no set time-frame. It’s not something that is spoken about enough.”

The Concussion in Para Sport (CIPS) Group of medical experts and researchers in 2021 released a consensus statement, coming to the conclusion that “there is a paucity of concussion research related to para sport”.

The commonly-used Sport Concussion Assessment Tool 5 diagnostic test, for instance, includes criteria like assessing whether or not an athlete has double-vision – something someone with total vision loss would not be able to report, while balance tests may not be applicable to those with lower-limb or other disabilities affecting mobility.

The group has developed recommended guidelines intended to help assessors adapt the tool to individual athletes, but Knight, who last year spoke at the International Concussion Consensus, hopes her dissertation will help spark more much-needed progress.

For now, she is enjoying the freedom of her new, non-contact sport where her risk of concussion has significantly lowered.

Knight added: “It’s far safer for your brain. I’m very much safe. It’s really nice that I can step out on the tatami and know that I’m going to be safe.”

Ireland hooker Dan Sheehan plans to ignore the hype and treat Saturday’s blockbuster World Cup quarter-final against New Zealand like any other Test match.

Andy Farrell’s men will make history as the first Irish team to progress to the last four of the tournament by downing the three-time champions in Paris.

Ireland’s previous World Cup failures are well documented but Sheehan is among the younger generation of players unburdened by the baggage.

The self-confident 25-year-old feels there is a stronger mentality among the class of 2023 and will not become distracted by the media fanfare surrounding a titanic Stade de France showdown.

“Our mindset is different,” said Sheehan. “I obviously have no experience of earlier squads but the more experienced lads have shared their thoughts on it.

“I think you just treat it like another game.

“It’s knockout rugby, you can build these games up as much as you want but it can end up affecting you if you give it too much attention.

“We need to stick to our preparation, we’ve been doing that for the last three years pretty consistently at a good level.

“In my head and in most of the squad’s heads, it’s going to be pretty much same old Test rugby, you’re in an Irish jersey and you go out and perform.”

Ireland are seeking a record-equalling 18th successive win and have made little secret of their ambition to become world champions.

Farrell’s side have topped the global rankings for more than a year and go into the New Zealand game as favourites.

Sheehan, who only made his international debut in November 2021, has already beaten the All Blacks twice after helping secure last year’s milestone tour triumph and believes Ireland can go all the way in France.

“Growing up, you want to be in these big games,” he said.

“Ireland hasn’t been past these kind of stages so it’s obviously a big motivation to get one up.

“We said at the start of the competition that we want to go the whole way, we think we have the squad to do it.

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“We can’t look past tomorrow but the pride of being in this squad, it extends further than me, it goes to family and friends.

“It’s great to bring a bit of enjoyment and pride to the Irish people. Something I always think about is how many people it touches back home.

“It’s great but you can’t really get lost in it. I have a job to do, we have to go out and perform. We can think about that after.”