Jessica Harrington is well aware of the task facing Sprewell in this weekend’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby.

Harrington is revered in the equine world, and having won the Gold Cup at Cheltenham and Classics on the Flat, she has mastered both of the racing codes.

She would, though, love nothing more than to win an Irish Derby. Sprewell has seven lengths to find with the odds-on favourite Auguste Rodin from the Betfred Derby, but back on a more conventional track and with less runners, Harrington hopes the Epsom fourth may be able to close the gap on Sunday.

“I’m very happy with his preparation. He came out of Epsom very well and we’ve just slowly built him up,” she said.

“He’s a very laid-back character and it’s quite easy to keep the preparation going.

“Auguste Rodin is going to be very difficult to beat. He’s proved himself to be an exceptional horse, to come back from what was a disaster really in the English 2000 Guineas.

“It was a great training feat for Aidan (O’Brien) to get him back and to win so easily, as he did in Epsom.

“He’s got to go out and do it again, but I’m presuming he’ll be in good order. He’s got it on the board and he beat us a fair way.

“You’re always hoping. You don’t go into those races thinking, ‘I’ll be grand being second’. I want to go in there thinking, ‘I’ll be grand if I can win’.”

When asked if she thought the Curragh would suit him better, the Moone handler added: “I’m hoping it will. He hasn’t run there, but he’s gone both ways around so I don’t think that’s going to be a problem. He’s been left-handed three times now and also right-handed at Gowran.

“It looks like it’s going to be lovely ground, perfect good ground which will be ideal – no extremes in any direction.”

Harrington reported herself in good form, having come through treatment for breast cancer in recent months, and has her sights set firmly on the future.

“We’ve got through it all and I’m feeling great now, really good. I think I’m nearly back to normal because I’ve got my energy back now,” she said.

“I’m lucky I’ve got through it all and that’s the main thing. I’m only looking forward, not back. Keep looking forward to what you are going to do and don’t be looking back.

“It’s very easy to look back and get negative so you want to keep looking forward. What motivates me is that I like succeeding, I like winning, doing well and I like to get better at what I do.

“Having had the cancer I’m probably more focused now and wanting to do things. In a way it raised the question that you could get ill and then the answer was that I’m going to beat this. That makes you want more because that keeps you going.

“I hoped that if I talked about it other people would too, instead of pushing it under the carpet and going about their treatment with their heads down.

“My attitude was to go about the treatment, and that I’m going to beat this.

“There are an awful lot of things left on my list to achieve. The Irish Derby is definitely one of them, that’s on the bucket list as it were.

“There are loads of international races I’d like to win and I’d like to win more races in Ireland, you always want to win more. When you get so far you like to keep your standards up.”

England’s mission to reclaim the Women’s Ashes for the first time since losing them in 2015 has grown harder after defeat in the one-off Test at Trent Bridge.

With Australia building a 4-0 points lead, England face having to win at least four and almost certainly five of the white-ball matches to come out on top of this multi-format series.

Here, the PA news agency looks at what they could do to boost their chances of ending Australia’s one-sided dominance in this contest.

Australia started as favourites and after prevailing in a see-saw Test they will be cock-a-hoop as the ODI and T20 world champions head to their white-ball comfort zone.

England unquestionably have a mountain to climb. They have not beaten Australia in any format in four years while their last win when the Ashes was still in the balance was back in October 2017.

However, it was palpable how relieved Australia were at the end in Nottingham, with Tahlia McGrath confessing the tourists were frequently “panicking” as England landed several meaningful blows.

Recent history may be against them but England cannot be discouraged by the events of the last few days and more importantly they must believe that all-conquering Australia can be toppled.

Head coach Jon Lewis has attempted, alongside captain Heather Knight, to hard-wire an attacking mindset into the DNA of this side.

The approach is yet to have tangible success with early signs of promise at the T20 World Cup followed by a deflating semi-final exit, while they had Australia on the rocks a couple of times only to let them off the hook.

Lewis has promised England will “go harder” in the three T20s – the first of which is at Edgbaston on Saturday – and three ODIs that follow.

It is high-risk, high-reward strategy, but frankly what do England have to lose by going with this template?

Australia won all of them in Nottingham.

Consider that they were 238 for six in their first innings while England had 448 on the board before they lost their seventh wicket, yet it was the visitors who banked a 10-run lead.

Or openers Beth Mooney and Phoebe Litchfield taking advantage of some England fatigue to pile on 82 in 19 overs, laying the foundations for a total that proved out of reach.

Or the coup de grace that saw England lose four top-order wickets in 29 balls on the penultimate evening, which left too much to do for the other batters.

The limited-overs matches will not ebb and flow as much – but if England get on top, they cannot allow Australia to wriggle free again.

England’s premier all-rounder worryingly collapsed to the turf at the end of her ninth over in Australia’s second innings – restricted to bowling just 14 in the Test after jarring her right knee.

It might be that she can fulfil her four-over quota as the bowlers’ workload comes down drastically but why take the risk?

England need her batting far more – she probably has the highest ceiling while Australia will still remember her unbeaten 148 in last year’s World Cup final, the most recent ODI between the teams.

Lauren Filer was able to unsettle Australia stars Ellyse Perry and McGrath with extra pace, regularly climbing into the mid-70mph range.

Filer looks set to miss out, at least on the T20 portion of the series, because England deem her more suitable for Tests so Wong should come into the reckoning.

The 21-year-old has never come up against Australia but has shown a flair for the big stage, including a hat-trick in the Women’s Premier League, where she also took three crucial wickets in the final.

Ryan Moore hailed the “genius” of Aidan O’Brien, as he prepares to partner hot favourite Auguste Rodin in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at the Curragh on Sunday.

Despite O’Brien having won the Classic a record 14 times, Moore has never managed to find himself on the right one since linking up with the Ballydoyle trainer.

Idaho in 2016 was as close as he has come, being beaten half a length by Dermot Weld’s Harzand, who was completing the English-Irish Derby double that Auguste Rodin will be attempting at the weekend.

And the fact the Deep Impact colt was able to bounce back in the Betfred Derby at Epsom, after finishing 12th of the 14 runners in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket, once again underlined O’Brien’s special talent, according to Moore.

“Aidan has shown for the last 30 years what an unbelievable talent he is,” said the rider, who was crowned leading jockey at Royal Ascot for 10th time last week.

“Genius gets bandied around an awful lot but how he prepares his horses and gets them to that day, to do it as many times as he has is a very special thing to do.

“I know the horse was disappointing at Newmarket, but there were reasons for that and Aidan always had complete belief in the horse.

“He is a horse that everyone always held in the highest regard from a very early stage.”

O’Brien could also run Adelaide River, Covent Garden, Peking Opera and San Antonio.

The third and fourth home from Epsom, White Birch and Sprewell, are both also on course with young jockey Dylan Browne McMonagle booked to partner the John Murphy-trained White Birch.

He Racing TV: “I’m delighted to get the leg-up, massive thanks to connections and Mr Murphy and all the gang down there. It is a great ride to pick up and I’m just blessed to get the leg over him.

“It’s my first ride in the race, so hopefully we will have a bit of luck. He has got good form coming into it. I think the Curragh will suit him well.

“He’s a bit awkward away from the gates, but I think if it happens again we won’t be worrying because in the Curragh you have got plenty of time to get into it. There’s a long straight there, so hopefully he has got a live chance and can run a big race.”

Dermot Weld’s once-raced Knight To King, Joseph O’Brien’s Up And Under, Donnacha O’Brien’s Proud And Regal and Salt Bay, the only UK-based entry left in by last year’s winning trainer Ralph Beckett, complete the list.

England have thrown rookie seamer Josh Tongue into his first Ashes Test after concerns over the readiness of spinner Moeen Ali and paceman Mark Wood.

Tongue, who took five wickets on his international debut against Ireland earlier this month, replaces Moeen in a four-strong seam attack at Lord’s in what will be easily the biggest game of the 25-year-old’s career.

Moeen recovered well after a burst blister on his right index finger reduced his ability to bowl effectively in the series-opening defeat at Edgbaston, but some concerns of a recurrence still lingered.

Captain Ben Stokes admitted he would have liked to call on Wood, one of the fastest bowlers in the world, to freshen up the attack but the Durham quick has not played red-ball cricket since December and there were worries over his readiness to fire over the course of five days.

“With how Mo’s finger was last week – it’s actually recovered really well – but we just thought we would get more out of our fourth bowler being Josh Tongue this week,” Stokes explained.

“We wanted to play Mark Wood. We felt that he could definitely start the game, but with conversations we felt the extra week of build-up and getting his loads up would give him a better chance and an opportunity to play a full part from Leeds (the third Test at Headingley) onwards.

“We brought Tonguey into the team as a like-for-like with Woody. I’m looking forward to seeing Tonguey continue the great start he had against Ireland here. The only thing that’s different is the occasion for him.

“He’s had his first Test match, his debut game, which he’s had huge success from. Coming in and being able to use him in a fourth seamer role is something that I’m very much looking forward to him being able to do and I think he’s really looking forward to the challenge as well.”

Stokes commended the Worcestershire seamer for his willingness to take on different roles against the Irish, hinting England saw him as a potential enforcer alongside the subtler skills of James Anderson, Stuart Broad and Ollie Robinson.

“His first spell was just running up and bowling, trying to bowl wicket-taking deliveries, then we used him in a different way where we attacked the Ireland batters with our short-ball plan,” Stokes said.

“Broady, Jimmy and Robbo will tell you it’s always nice having someone who can bowl at 90mph doing it. Just having that versatility as a bowler this week is going to be very useful.”

Tottenham have no intention of selling Harry Kane this summer, the PA news agency understands.

The club’s record goal-scorer is approaching the final 12 months of his contract and reports on Tuesday indicated Bayern Munich had bid 70million euros plus add-ons for the England captain.

PA understands Spurs have not received an official offer from the Bundesliga champions and any bid would be immediately rejected.

Tottenham’s stance on Kane remains consistent with the last few transfer windows despite continued interest in the 29-year-old, who was heavily linked with a move to Manchester City in 2021.

Kane subsequently stayed with his boyhood team and broke the club’s all-time scoring record in February with the winner against Pep Guardiola’s side.

It saw Kane move beyond Jimmy Greaves’ tally of 266 goals for Spurs, which had stood since 1970.

The next target in Kane’s sights is Alan Shearer’s record Premier League haul of 260 goals.

After a fine individual campaign in which Kane scored 30 goals, despite the north London club finishing eighth and having three head coaches, the forward is now only 48 away from passing Shearer’s tally.

Discussions between Spurs and Kane’s camp over a new contract were set to be pushed back until the end of the 2022-23 campaign, but the club are yet to appoint a director of football and Kane’s own season only finished on June 19 following England commitments.

Auguste Rodin will face a maximum of 10 rivals if he is to complete a Derby double in the Dubai Duty Free-sponsored Irish version at the Curragh on Sunday.

Aidan O’Brien’s Deep Impact colt bounced back from a disappointing run in the 2000 Guineas to win at Epsom and confirm once again the undeniable skills of his trainer.

Three of the first four home from Epsom are still in the mix, with subsequent Royal Ascot winner King Of Steel, second at Epsom, the only one not heading to the Curragh. Auguste Rodin is set to go off the long odds-on favourite and will aim to give Ryan Moore a first win in the Classic.

O’Brien could also run Adelaide River, Covent Garden, Peking Opera and San Antonio.

The third and fourth home from Epsom, White Birch and Sprewell, are both also on course with young jockey Dylan Browne McMonagle booked to partner the John Murphy-trained White Birch.

He Racing TV: “I’m delighted to get the leg-up, massive thanks to connections and Mr Murphy and all the gang down there. It is a great ride to pick up and I’m just blessed to get the leg over him.

“It’s my first ride in the race, so hopefully we will have a bit of luck. He has got good form coming into it. I think the Curragh will suit him well.

“He’s a bit awkward away from the gates, but I think if it happens again we won’t be worrying because in the Curragh you have got plenty of time to get into it. There’s a long straight there, so hopefully he has got a live chance and can run a big race.”

Dermot Weld’s once-raced Knight To King, Joseph O’Brien’s Up And Under, Donnacha O’Brien’s Proud And Regal and Salt Bay, the only UK-based entry left in by last year’s winning trainer Ralph Beckett, complete the list.

Burnley have signed goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux on a free transfer from Leyton Orient, the newly-promoted Premier League club have announced.

The 29-year-old has signed a three-year contract at Turf Moor and becomes the Clarets’ second signing since they secured their return to the top flight.

Camden-born Vigouroux, who has previously had spells at Brentford, Tottenham and Liverpool, was a key part of the Orient side that won Sky Bet League Two last season.

Manager Vincent Kompany told the club’s website, burnleyfc.com: “We are looking forward to Lawrence being part of what we are building here at Burnley.

“He has come through top Academy systems to become the player he is today with standout performances in recent years.

“He is a very talented goalkeeper with a good personality and someone we will enjoy working with.”

Vigouroux played youth football at Brentford and Spurs before joining Liverpool in 2014. He did not break into the first-team at Anfield and joined Swindon permanently in 2016 after a successful loan spell.

Having pledged his international allegiance to Chile, for whom he qualifies through one of his parents, he later had a short stint at Everton de Vina del Mar in the South American country.

He returned to the UK and joined Orient in 2020. He has excelled for the London club since, and last season kept 24 clean sheets in their successful league campaign.

His arrival comes after Burnley’s capture of Republic of Ireland defender Dara O’Shea from West Brom.

Vigouroux said: “It’s amazing to be here, an unbelievable training ground to be a part of and I’m really happy.

“You only have to look around where we’re working and training every day. This was the right step and the right way to go. Hopefully I can leave an impression here.”

With Premier League clubs travelling far and wide to fulfil commercial commitments as well as prepare for the upcoming campaign, the 2023-24 pre-season diary is packed full of fixtures across the globe.

Here, the PA news agency looks at what the top teams will be doing, who they will face and how they will be ramping up to challenge for honours.

Mikel Arteta’s Gunners will head off to a training camp at adidas headquarters in Nurnberg on July 9 and will face the second-tier side as part of their preparations before travelling to the United States.

The trip includes high-profile friendlies against the MLS All-Stars, managed by Wayne Rooney, in Washington DC, Manchester United in New Jersey and Barcelona in Los Angeles, before they return home to host an Emirates Cup clash with Monaco on August 2 and take on Manchester City in the Community Shield four days later.

Mauricio Pochettino begins work on July 3 with the squad beginning to trickle back into Cobham from the following day, depending on recent international commitments, before flying out to the United States on July 17 to begin a two-week tour.

The first match comes against Wrexham on July 19 in North Carolina, with further games against Brighton, Newcastle and Fulham also scheduled before the team return home to prepare for their Premier League opener against Liverpool.

Having missed out on Champions League qualification, Reds boss Jurgen Klopp will be keen to get the ball rolling on a new season.

A training camp in the Black Forest scheduled for mid-July, followed by two friendlies in Germany against Karlsruher and Gruerther Furth before they come up against relegated Leicester and Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich at the Singapore Festival of Football.

The treble winners will get a chance to parade their three trophies in the Far East as Pep Guardiola gears his players up to defend their crowns.

Yokohama F Marinos and Guardiola’s old club Bayern are the two opponents they will face at the Japan National Stadium in Tokyo before taking on Atletico Madrid in Seoul and jetting back in time to face Arsenal at Wembley in the Community Shield on August 6.

Erik ten Hag’s Red Devils have a packed pre-season schedule as the Dutchman aims to add to the Carabao Cup he delivered in his first year at Old Trafford.

United face old foes Leeds in Oslo before a fixture against Lyon at Murrayfield ahead of the US leg of their tour which pits them against Arsenal, Hollywood-owned Wrexham, Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund before a final friendly against Athletic Bilbao in Dublin on their way home.

A local clash with neighbouring Gateshead and a trip to Ibrox to face Rangers will open Newcastle’s pre-season.

The Magpies then jet off to the US where, like Chelsea, they will compete in the Summer Series as Eddie Howe’s men come up against Aston Villa in Philadelphia, the Blues in Atlanta and Brighton in New Jersey.

New head coach Ange Postecoglou will return home to Australia as Spurs rack up the air miles on their pre-season tour.

After returning to training, Tottenham will travel to face London rivals West Ham in Perth before facing former boss Jose Mourinho’s Roma in Singapore and rounding off their travels with a clash against Leicester in Thailand on July 23.

Manchester United have projected record annual revenue of up to £640million in the current financial year as the takeover saga surrounding the club rumbles on.

United’s owners, the Glazer family, are weighing up offers for the club from Qatari banker Sheikh Jassim and Sir Jim Ratcliffe, the founder of chemicals firm Ineos.

The Glazers first indicated they could sell by initiating a strategic review last November but the bidding process has dragged on.

Reports have suggested Sheikh Jassim’s bid – which is for 100 per cent of the club – is now the most likely to be accepted. Sources close to the Qatari bid have indicated their eagerness to close the deal, with the summer transfer window now open.

Supporters staged fresh protests against the Glazers at Old Trafford on Tuesday as the club launched the kit for next season.

Revenue guidance for the current financial year was raised to a record £630m to £640m in the third quarter financial results for the period ending March 31, 2023, which were released on Tuesday.

This is driven by record match attendance and matchday revenues. Ticket sales for the 2022-23 season surpassed the previous record set in 2016-17, with 2.4m sold.

Global memberships also hit 360,000, which United said was the largest paid membership programme in world sport.

Revenue for the third quarter was up 11 per cent on the same period last year.

Broadcasting revenue was slightly down on the corresponding period due to the club being in the Europa League rather than the Champions League, but was partially offset by the club’s performance in domestic cup competitions.

Cash and cash equivalents are at £73.7m, down from £95.8m in the same period last year, reflecting the investment that has been made in the team.

However, the figure is £31m higher than in the second quarter, boosted by money coming in from sponsorship and ticket sales.

Summer recruitment will not be affected by the results, according to sources close to the club, with enough cash available to enable United boss Erik ten Hag to invest in the team.

The limiting factor is understood to be the requirement to stay within financial sustainability rules.

Watford have announced the signing of Tom Ince for an undisclosed fee from Sky Bet League One side Reading.

The 31-year-old arrives at Vicarage Road having signed a two-year contract with the option of a further season.

Ince has a wealth of experience in the Championship having featured for Derby, Nottingham Forest, Stoke, Luton and most recently Reading. He has also played in the Premier League for Hull and Crystal Palace before joining Huddersfield during the 2017-18 season.

Ince’s nine goals in 38 games last season was not enough to save Reading from being relegated to the third tier.

The son of former England and Manchester United midfielder Paul Ince has scored 96 times in the Championship over 365 games and becomes Valerien Ismael’s second signing of the summer after Rhys Healey joined the club last week.

Jon Lewis insisted optimism is higher than ever within the England dressing room despite defeat in the lone Test leaving them with an uphill struggle in the Women’s Ashes.

Australia’s 89-run triumph at Trent Bridge handed them a 4-0 points lead, meaning England have to win at least four and more likely five of the six white-ball matches to prevail in the multi-format series.

The last time England beat Australia when the Ashes was still in the balance was in October 2017 – they also won twice the following month and in July 2019 but those games were effectively dead rubbers.

History might be against them but England head coach Lewis believes many of his players see Australia, the ODI and T20 world champions and Commonwealth Games gold medallists, through a different lens.

“I think the belief has grown,” Lewis said. “We came in with a little bit of unknown and trepidation, not quite sure how things were going to pan out.

“Four or five players reflected to me that one of the biggest things they’ve learned is how close they are to beating this Australia side.

“We played some really exciting cricket across the five days and Australia just did it for a little bit longer and a little bit better. But we’re encouraged by that performance.

“I know it sounds strange when we lost the game but I can really sense the belief in the dressing room that we can win both white-ball series.”

Lewis – who worked briefly as a bowling coach for the England men’s side under Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes – and captain Heather Knight have tried to foster a more proactive mindset in recent months.

Knight lamented England had been “too aggressive” in their pursuit of wickets in Australia’s second innings which ultimately allowed the tourists to get to a total that was out of reach.

“I don’t think (Heather) was too aggressive at all,” Lewis said. “We could have executed our skills better. What happened is the girls just tried too hard, which can happen in games of multi-day cricket.

“Is that the thing that cost us the game? I don’t think so. We said we were going to take the game on at every opportunity and at times you have to absorb pressure from the opposition in long games.

“I couldn’t be happier with the mindset the girls went out to play with.”

England have little time to lick their wounds with the first of three T20s – each worth two points, the same as the three ODIs that follow – at Edgbaston on Saturday evening.

While Lauren Filer made an impression on international debut as her pace troubled Australia’s batters at Nottingham, her inexperience and raw ability means she is unlikely to be included in the T20 squad.

“She’s left a couple of scars on the Australian team,” Lewis said. “I think she’s really well suited to Test cricket – being able to bowl multiple short balls and to have the field a bit more spread.

“You’ve got to remember she’s 22 years old, I don’t know how many games of cricket she’s played, I can’t imagine it’s many more than 20-25 in her professional career.”

Similarly, Tammy Beaumont’s exclusion from the sprint format team – she was dropped last year because of a 108.37 strike-rate – seems set to continue despite a historic double century at the weekend.

However, Lewis added: “She’s moved very much further forward in our thinking. Tammy’s really turning the screw on everyone in this side because she’s pretty vocal that she wants to play T20 cricket.”

England forward Alessia Russo felt she was not strong enough to play football at the highest level after losing weight during the coronavirus pandemic.

The 24-year-old is set to play a key part for the Lionesses at this summer’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.

However, in an interview with Women’s Health magazine, the former Manchester United player opened up about her “low point” after losing weight using a calorie-counting app.

She told Women’s Health: “In lockdown, it was tough. I was training on my own, I was home and I lost quite a bit of weight. Then I signed for Man United soon after lockdown.

“And within about six weeks, I completely tore my hamstring, (which I) could only relate back to losing a lot of weight because I’ve never had a muscle injury before.”

Russo, who scored four goals in England’s victorious European Championship campaign last summer, revealed she would track calories and macros on an app.

She said: “I wanted to make sure I hit (my numbers) really, but it was also about really low calories.

“So (my diet) was high protein, but I was sacrificing all the carbs and the fats… and then that would be my calories for the day.

“I used to track everything (on an app). I know some people still use (it), but…I was at a low point with my food and with my weight.

“I wasn’t strong enough. I wasn’t robust. I thought I looked great… but really, on the football pitch, I wasn’t strong enough to compete.”

The launch of Premiership Women’s Rugby has been hailed as a “new era” with the aim of making England home to the most “competitive, progressive and sustainable” domestic rugby competition in the world, says chief executive Belinda Moore.

PWR is replacing the Premier 15s and will manage the Allianz Premiership Women’s Rugby club competition, which kicks off in the autumn.

PWR has been established to deliver a 10-year strategy for women’s rugby in England, which includes starting a new 10-team league in partnership with the Rugby Football Union (RFU) and the clubs.

Women’s rugby is already seeing a steady rise in popularity with a record crowd of 9,668 watching Gloucester-Hartpury beat Exeter 34-19 in the Allianz Premier 15s final at ‘Queensholm’ – Kingsholm having been rebranded for the day – on Saturday.

Additionally, a record-breaking crowd of 58,498 watched England lift their fifth successive Six Nations crown after beating France at Twickenham in April, and PWR chief Moore has outlined the aims for the new competition.

She said: “Our ambition is to transform the league into the world’s most competitive, progressive, and sustainable domestic rugby competition.

“Elite women’s rugby in England has never been in a stronger place. We have just seen Gloucester-Hartpury win the Allianz Premier 15s with a thrilling victory over Exeter Chiefs, in front of a record crowd at the newly-named Queensholm.

“The final was the culmination of a season which has confirmed that we have strong player talent depth as the foundation to grow the league over the next decade.

“The new era starts today, and the competition’s new look and feel is designed to be powerful, dynamic, and eye-catching.

“It aims to capture the excitement and high energy of the league, the players, the fans, and the sport as a whole.”