Dubai Mile will be aimed at the Grand Prix de Paris with the possibility of a run at Royal Ascot in between.
The Ahmad Al Shaikh-owned colt, a son of Roaring Lion, won twice last season – including in Group One company – and then finished an excellent fifth to Chaldean in the Qipco 2000 Guineas at Newmarket on his three-year-old debut.
Sent off a 25-1 chance on Daniel Muscutt’s first Betfred Derby ride at Epsom on Saturday, he was prominent on the inside rail before fading into ninth once the pace quickened.
Trainer Charlie Johnston said: “I think it was a great position to have got into and saving ground.
“I didn’t think they were going that quick, so you have to be handyish – that is what I felt at the time. The winner (Auguste Rodin) and the second (King Of Steel) have come from a long way back.
“I could feel he was in a bit of trouble about six to five (furlongs) out, just as the pace started to lift.
“He wasn’t sitting there full of horse under him. He was hitting that flat spot he hits and whereas on other tracks you can hit a flat spot and get away with it, here you hit a flat spot and the race happens, then you run on when it is all over.
“The pacemaker couldn’t decide whether to go inside or outside and that didn’t help him, but only cost him a length or two – it wasn’t a significant reason for where he finished.
“Albeit we have had and have plenty of confidence in the horse, he was still a 25-1 shot in the Derby.”
Dubai Mile holds engagements in the Group Two King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot on June 23 and also the Irish Derby at the Curragh on July 2.
However, Johnston is keen to head to ParisLongchamp for the Grand Prix de Paris, over the same mile-and-a-half trip on July 14.
“We will see about Ascot and I’ve always thought the Grand Prix de Paris was a race that would really suit him,” said Johnston. “I’d like to have that as part of his plans.
“Whether or not he goes to Ascot in between, we’ll see.
“If he did everything, it would be three weeks and three weeks – it is six weeks until Paris.”
A man has been charged after he was seen wearing a football shirt at Wembley which appeared to make an offensive reference to the Hillsborough disaster.
James White, 33, of Warwickshire, was charged on Sunday with displaying threatening or abusive writing likely to cause harassment, alarm or distress, Scotland Yard said.
The Metropolitan Police Events Twitter account retweeted a picture on Saturday of a man wearing a Manchester United shirt that had the number 97 on the back and the words “Not Enough”.
Wembley was hosting the FA Cup final, where Manchester City beat local rivals Manchester United 2-1.
The Met said White was arrested “after being seen wearing a shirt which appeared to refer in offensive terms to those who died in the Hillsborough tragedy”.
He was bailed to appear at Willesden Magistrates’ Court on June 19.
Meanwhile, police said a further 22 people were arrested during the course of the policing operation for offences including assault, affray, possession of drugs, and drunk and disorderly behaviour.
Inquiries continue in respect of an item thrown on to the pitch shortly after the Manchester United goal, and there has been no arrest at this stage in relation to that matter.
On Sunday, the FA said in a statement: “The FA strongly condemns the actions of the individual who wore a shirt referencing the Hillsborough disaster ahead of the Emirates FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium.
“We saw a photograph of the offensive shirt on social media and immediately started working to identify the perpetrator.
“Our security team were able to quickly locate the individual based on the image, and we welcome the swift action which was then taken by the police.
“We will not tolerate abuse relating to Hillsborough or any football tragedy at Wembley Stadium and we will continue to work with the authorities to ensure strong action is taken against perpetrators.”
Ninety-seven football fans died as a result of a crush at a match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield on April 15, 1989.
An inquest jury ruled in 2016 that they were unlawfully killed amid a number of police errors.
King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes winner Pyledriver is on course for the defence of his title and could use the Hardwicke Stakes as a stepping stone as he nears a return from injury.
William Muir and Chris Grassick’s stable star has not run since taking the all-aged midsummer Group One highlight last July.
He was being prepared for a tilt at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe when he suffered setback and plans for a return to the Dubai Sheema Classic, in which he finished fourth in the spring of 2022, were similarly scotched when he met with an injury to his near foreleg.
Pyledriver, who runs in the colours of the La Pyle Partnership, also won the Coronation Cup in 2021 and finished second in that race to Hukum last year.
Muir is hopeful the six-year-old can return to Ascot for the Group Two Hardwicke on June 24.
“Pyledriver is just starting to come along now,” he said. “He did his first piece of work on Friday.
“We have brought him along nice and gently this time and he’s doing it really nicely. He is doing plenty of cantering.
“He did his first gallop on Friday and he swims every night, which is something a bit new, because we have not done that before, but we thought we would try to get him to the Hardwicke, which is just under three weeks away.
“He swims like a natural. It scares me, because I don’t like going swimming, but he doesn’t mind it.”
However, the Lambourn trainer is mindful the gelding’s primary targets are towards the end of the year and the option of missing his King George prep is still on the table.
“It is not a big issue if he doesn’t go there, but he’ll only go if I’m happy he’s 90-95 per cent straight fitness-wise,” Muir added.
“Those type of races are big races. The object was to go to the King George again, then prioritise getting to the Arc. Then you have all these international races at the back-end of the year.
“The Hardwicke, though it sounds stupid to say it, is a race to bring him on for the King George.
“The best races for him, and for the prize-money, are later on in the year, so the longer I wait now, he won’t be over the top when we get to the end of the year.
“You can over-do it by racing a lot, and when you get to internationals like Kong Kong and the Breeders’ Cup, you can go past your best.
“If in the next two weeks we can get him where we want him – which we can do, as when we were getting him ready for Lingfield I thought I was struggling to get to the Winter Derby, he had two gallops and then ‘bang’ he was there and he was bouncing – if he says to me ‘yes’, he’ll be there.
“And if he says ‘no’, he won’t be. We’ll see how he gets on, but there’s no big issue if he doesn’t go to the Hardwicke.”
The Football Association has condemned the actions of a fan at Wembley who wore a jersey referencing the Hillsborough disaster.
The Metropolitan Police Events Twitter account retweeted a picture on Saturday of a man wearing a Manchester United shirt that had the number 97 on the back and the words “Not Enough”.
Wembley was hosting the FA Cup final where Manchester City beat their rivals Manchester United.
Police said a man was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence and taken into custody.
On Sunday, the FA said in a statement: “The FA strongly condemns the actions of the individual who wore a shirt referencing the Hillsborough disaster ahead of the Emirates FA Cup final at Wembley Stadium.
“We saw a photograph of the offensive shirt on social media and immediately started working to identify the perpetrator.
“Our security team were able to quickly locate the individual based on the image, and we welcome the swift action which was then taken by the police.
“We will not tolerate abuse relating to Hillsborough or any football tragedy at Wembley Stadium and we will continue to work with the authorities to ensure strong action is taken against perpetrators.”
Sharing a tweet which featured a photo of the man wearing the jersey, the Met’s events Twitter account said on Saturday: “We are aware of this and have worked proactively with officials at @wembleystadium to identify the individual.
“He has been arrested on suspicion of a public order offence and taken into custody.”
Ninety-seven football fans died as a result of a crush at a match between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield on April 15, 1989.
They were unlawfully killed amid a number of police errors, an inquest jury ruled in 2016.
Australia pace bowler Josh Hazlewood will miss the World Test Championship final against India at the Kia Oval – little more than a week before the Ashes begins.
Hazlewood has been managing an Achilles issue as well as a side injury that flared up during the recent Indian Premier League, but Cricket Australia insists the 32-year-old will be fit for the start of this summer’s showdown with England at Edgbaston on June 16.
“Josh was very, very close to being given the green light but we are cognisant that our upcoming schedule means this is not a one-off Test match for us,” Australia chair of selectors George Bailey told cricket.com.au.
“This will give Josh an ideal preparation leading into Edgbaston. With six Test matches in a little over seven weeks we will need all of our fast bowling assets.”
Hazlewood has played just four Tests in the past three years due to a series of injuries but shared a stint of new-ball bowling with five-day skipper Pat Cummins during the team’s preparation in England.
He returned early from his recent spell in the IPL due to a side issue, having been ruled out of the preceding Test campaign in India with a recurrence of the Achilles problem he sustained in the final five-day match of the Australia summer.
Speaking on Saturday about the close proximity of the India decider, which starts on Wednesday, and the first Ashes Test, Hazlewood said: “It’s probably one or the other for me at this stage.
“Just being over here for the last week and bowling in England, it does feel a lot easier on the body compared to Australia or India where it can be hot, the wickets are really hard and you’ve got to bend your back to get something out of them.
“In England it feels like you can just take that couple of per cent off, bowl a bit within yourself and the wicket does enough for you.”
Michael Neser has joined the official 15-man Australia party, but Scott Boland is likely to partner Cummins and Mitchell Starc at the Oval.
Neser, who has been training with the Australia squad alongside another reserve quick bowler Sean Abbott, has been playing for Glamorgan in the LV= County Championship and taken 19 wickets at 25.63.
Australia coach Andrew McDonald said the tight turnaround between the WTC final and the five-Test Ashes series has to be taken into account in managing their fast bowlers.
McDonald said: “Definitely consideration for (the schedule) – we don’t want to go too far ahead.
“We’ve got the WTC final to play, which we are excited about, but on the back of that we have to quickly turn our attention to England and the Ashes.
“There are short turnarounds there. That’s nothing we’re not used to.
“So, there’ll always be considerations around management. I’d say there’d be some moving parts amongst the quicks.”
A doubles pair were defaulted from the French Open on Sunday after Japanese player Miyu Kato hit a ball girl in the head with a ball.
Kato and her Indonesian partner Aldila Sutjiadi, the 16th seeds, were leading Marie Bouzkova and Sara Sorribes Tormo 7-6 (1) 1-3 in the third round of the women’s doubles when the Japanese player hit the ball down to the other end of the court at the end of a point.
Unaware that the ball was coming, the ball girl was struck directly on the head and began crying.
The umpire originally gave Kato a warning but, with Czech Bouzkova and Spaniard Sorribes Tormo pointing out the girl’s distress, the supervisor and referee were called to Court 14.
Kato apologised to the ball girl and lengthy discussions took place before the decision was made to disqualify the pair, who appeared incredulous, amid booing from the crowd.
The incident comes a day after 16-year-old Mirra Andreeva admitted she feared she would be defaulted after she angrily swiped a ball into the crowd during her singles match with Coco Gauff.
It is three years, meanwhile, since Novak Djokovic was defaulted from the US Open after hitting a line judge in the throat with a ball swatted away in annoyance.
Kia Joorabchian has likened King Of Steel’s Betfred Derby near-miss akin to “missing the last penalty in a Champions League final”.
The high-profile football agent and founder of Amo Racing saw the 66-1 chance collared late on by the Aidan O’Brien-trained Auguste Rodin at Epsom on Saturday, with the pair well clear of White Birch in third.
The Roger Varian-trained King Of Steel, an imposing son of Wootton Bassett, was having the first run of the season, having previously finished almost 10 lengths behind the winner in the Vertem Futurity Trophy over a mile at Doncaster last October.
He missed his intended Derby prep when failing to load into the stalls ahead of the Dante Stakes at York.
Kevin Stott, having his first ride in the Classic, poached a lead with two furlongs to run, only for Ryan Moore’s mount to overcome the deficit inside the last half-furlong.
It was the second big-price runner-up finish in the last three renewals of the blue riband for the owner, whose distinctive purple colours had come close to landing the Derby with Mojo Star, a 50-1 runner-up to Adayar in 2021.
“I was delighted,” Joorabchian said King Of Steel’s half-length defeat. “Although I feel like I’ve done a few rounds with Mike Tyson!
“It was great. He had a fantastic run. We loved him from the first day we found him in Keeneland.
“He was a big horse – he looked bigger than everything else there and he still is. Roger loved him all this year.
“We had an unfortunate incident in the Dante, but we knew what we had on our hands at home.
“He was a big price. Mojo was a big price. Maybe the next Derby they won’t price us out at 100-1.”
He added: “You have got to remember this was just the third run in his life – and actually it was Mojo’s third run in his life, so maybe there’s something about that. You know a good horse when you have one and this is a good horse.”
Asked to compare his emotions with his football experiences, he laughed: “It is like missing the last penalty in a Champions League final – that’s what it felt like!”
Royal Scotsman has a major Goodwood target in his sights but could head to Royal Ascot before that if he recovers from sore feet which caused his lacklustre run when favourite for the Irish 2,000 Guineas at the Curragh
The Paul and Oliver Cole-trained colt was a well-supported 6-4 chance after finishing a fine third to Chaldean in the Newmarket version.
However, he never looked on good terms with himself under Jamie Spencer and post-race tests showed the Fitri Hay-owned son of Gleneagles had an excuse.
Oliver Cole said: “He came back from Ireland and his front feet were a bit sore.
“Going down to post, he never picked the bridle up and coming up the straight, when racing, he never picked the bridle up. Clearly, it wasn’t his day. We will put a line through it. It was just one of those things.”
Twice a winner at Goodwood last term, including when breaking the six-furlong track record, connections are confident he can still make his mark over a mile, although he has the option of dropping back to seven furlongs for the Jersey Stakes as well as staying in top-class company for the St James’s Palace Stakes.
“Either we go for the Jersey Stakes, the Group Three, or the St James’s Palace Stakes, we’ll play it by ear,” added Cole.
“I suppose if you take the softer option, there’s more chance of winning. He has got plenty of speed – he broke the track record over six (furlongs, Richmond Stakes at Goodwood) – and is in the July Cup.
“I think you have got to say he is potentially a very good miler. We have just got to hope that everything falls into place.
“The Sussex Stakes is the plan. It is whether we go Jersey or St James’s Palace, then Sussex, or he could even go straight to Goodwood. We will see what he is like. It is just getting over the setback – he was just sore on the soles of his feet.
“It was amazing, because before the race I had so much confidence. He is such a consistent horse, so to do that… but it’s horse racing.”
Jack Channon is in no rush to determine the next move for Caernarfon following her Epsom endeavours on Friday.
The 1000 Guineas fourth was trying a mile and a half for the first time and produced a huge display to finish third, hitting the front in the hands of Connor Beasley at the two-furlong pole and battling to the line gamely to finish just two lengths adrift of winner Soul Sister and only a head away from Savethelastdance in second.
Sent off at 40-1, it was the second Classic in a row the daughter of Cityscape has outrun her odds and having tired in the closing stages, the obvious next port of call would appear the Prix de Diane at Chantilly on June 18.
However, Channon will not hurry to cross the Channel with Caernarfon and will allow her time to get over her Oaks exertions before firming up future running plans.
He said: “She’s come out of it really well, she had a pick of grass on the lawn and her legs are good.
“It would take a proper recovery this week for her to be considered for the French Oaks which is two weeks away.
“She would need to be really bouncing to go to Chantilly and there are other options down the line, including the Nassau.
“When she quickened and went nearly a length clear it looked possible, but Frankie’s (Dettori) horse went past and then Ryan’s (Moore) filly came back and just outstayed us.
“It was a great run from our filly, with the first three finishing clear. I’m immensely proud of her, but as Connor said she didn’t quite get home.”
England started this eagerly-anticipated Ashes summer with a 10-wicket victory over Ireland in three days at Lord’s.
Ollie Pope’s 205 and a second Test century for Ben Duckett saw England declare on 524 for four and despite a spirited third-day display with the bat by Ireland, they were all out for 362 to set an easy target of 11 following their below-par 172 on day one.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at how much we learned from this one-off Test.
Josh gets Tongues wagging
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Josh Tongue passed his Ashes audition with five for 66 in Ireland’s second innings to put his name on the honours board and leave an impression on his captain. Ben Stokes revealed ahead of the four-day fixture that Tongue was selected due to his extra pace and he hit 91mph during an impressive first spell. Tongue, who came close to retiring from cricket during a 15-month absence from the game due to a nerve problem in his shoulder, eased between an enforcer role and pitching it up as England’s third seamer. With 11 County Championship wickets to his name, including a certain Steve Smith, he is now a genuine option for the Ashes after being included in the squad for the first two Tests.
Duckett set for a bucket full?
An England bucket hat featured regularly throughout this Test but fittingly it was Duckett who plugged the new must-buy item of the summer on England’s official Twitter account. Duckett wore the hat after his masterful 182 that saw him set a new record for the quickest Test 150 at Lord’s, beating Don Bradman’s effort in the 1930 Ashes series. Since his December recall, Duckett has scored 50 or more six times in six Tests. He cut, drove and flicked off his pads for boundaries all around the wicket to back up the 177 he hit for Nottinghamshire at Lord’s in April. After finally being given the chance to play his natural red-ball game in international cricket, the 28-year-old looks set for a key Ashes role.
Has Bazball peaked?
England rattled along at six runs an over on their way to 524 before they declared after tea on day two. Duckett and Pope scored 174 in the morning, but that was bettered in the afternoon with 178 runs plundered before captain Stokes ended the run-fest after 82.4 overs. If Harry Brook, Jonny Bairstow and the England skipper himself had batted for a significant amount of time, who knows what records could have fallen? While it was another excellent batting display for England, the asterisk on it will be Ireland’s one-paced attack. There is no doubt England’s achievement of scoring 500 on day one in Rawalpindi was a better feat and Pat Cummins and co will not provide so many freebies come June 16 at Edgbaston.
Under-cooked? That’s old skool!
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Stokes acknowledged after England’s 10-wicket victory that he knew when he declared after tea on day two that he would face questions over failing to let Brook, Bairstow and himself get time in the middle before the Ashes opener. It felt justified, especially for someone like Yorkshire batter Brook who enjoyed a phenomenal winter and even hit a maiden century in the Indian Premier League in April, only to be dropped after a string of ducks. But Stokes does not prescribe to that opinion and laughed off the “old skool” view his players need “game practice” given the volume of cricket they play. Maybe a fair point!
Prestige a Little lost
Josh Little’s name dominated the build-up from an Ireland perspective after the seamer was “rested” ahead of his nation’s 50-over World Cup qualification tournament later this month following his IPL exploits. Among a catalogue of reasons behind the decision, Cricket Ireland’s Richard Holdsworth worryingly admitted the Lord’s Test was a “special occasion but not a pinnacle event.” The rewards for Ireland qualifying for the World Cup are great but Little’s absence hurt a bowling attack lacking variation. With his stock high in franchise circles, Little may never play Test cricket.
Andy Robinson returned to the cauldron of Test rugby after being appointed Scotland head coach on this day in 2009.
Two and a half years after his dismal reign as England boss came to an end, the former Bath flanker took over a Scottish side that had managed only one victory in each of the previous Six Nations.
Robinson said he was the right man to induce a revival and described himself as a “better coach, a better leader and a better manager” after presiding over just nine victories in 22 Tests during his Twickenham stewardship.
He signed a three-year deal after being prised away from Edinburgh, where he impressed during two seasons in charge.
“One of the key things for me is developing that winning mindset, not necessarily at times how we play. It’s about winning and understanding how to win,” Robinson said.
Scotland’s outlook failed to improve under Robinson and after only two wins in 15 matches, he resigned in 2012 following a 21-15 home defeat by Tonga.
Michael van Gerwen clinched his second US Darts Masters title with a victory over North American Champion Jeff Smith at Madison Square Garden in New York on Saturday.
The Dutchman and three-time World Champion beat Smith 8-0 in the final only hours after the Canadian knocked out two-time world champion Peter Wright in the first round and won the North American Championship event during the afternoon session.
Van Gerwen scooped the £20,000 top prize and secured a record-extending 18th World Series of Darts title by demolishing Smith.
Smith spurned three darts at double to level in leg two and he paid a heavy price, with Van Gerwen converting clinical 89 and 80 combination finishes to stretch his lead to 5-0.
The Canadian veteran was unable to open his account in leg six and was denied another dart at double, before Van Gerwen sank a two-dart 76 kill in leg eight to complete the whitewash.
Saturday’s victory was fresh off the back of Van Gerwen winning a record seventh Premier League title in London last week.
Smith had earlier defeated 2019 champion Nathan Aspinall after landing a brace of ton-plus finishes and pinned six of his seven attempts at double to triumph.
Canadian veteran Jim Long had earlier caused a huge upset during the quarter-finals on the opening night with victory over world champion Michael Smith.
Earlier during Saturday’s afternoon session at The Theater, Canadian Smith won the North American Championship for a second time after edging out World Cup partner Matt Campbell 6-5 in a last-leg decider.
Zach Whitecloud snapped a third-period tie and Adin Hill made a highlight-reel save for one of his 33 stops to lift the Vegas Golden Knights to a 5-2 win over the Florida Panthers in Game 1 of the Stanley Cup Final.
Whitecloud’s long-range goal with just over 13 minutes left put Vegas ahead 3-2, and captain Mark Stone extended the lead with 6:19 remaining with a goal that was reviewed for a high stick and confirmed. Jonathan Marchessault and Shea Theodore also scored for the Golden Knights, who rallied for their ninth comeback win this postseason.
The Panthers got goals from Eric Staal and Anthony Duclair as their eight-game road winning streak was snapped.
Hill came up with arguably the save of the playoffs in the second period with Vegas holding a 2-1 lead. He reached across the crease with his stick to make a desperation save on Nick Cousins on what would have been a sure goal.
The Golden Knights are in the final for the second time in its six years of existence after making it in the inaugural 2017-18 season.
Florida also has reached the final for the second time but first since it was swept by Colorado in 1996.
Game 2 is Monday in Las Vegas.
THE VEGAS GOLDEN KNIGHTS HAVE TAKEN A 1-0 LEAD IN THE STANLEY CUP FINAL!!!!!!! #UKnightTheRealm pic.twitter.com/Hk9ImREfdb
— z - Vegas Golden Knights (@GoldenKnights) June 4, 2023
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