Frankie Dettori will miss the ride on Coral-Eclipse favourite Emily Upjohn at Sandown next week after failing in his appeal against the nine-day careless riding ban imposed for his ride on Saga at Royal Ascot.
Dettori attempted to switch right-handed towards the rail in the early stages of the Wolferton Stakes and in doing so caused James McDonald to quickly snatch up Cadillac. Certain Lad and Notre Belle Bete, who were behind Cadillac, were also hampered in the scrimmaging.
Owned by the King and Queen and trained by John and Thady Gosden, Saga eventually finished fifth in the 10-furlong Listed event, which was won by Royal Champion.
An independent disciplinary panel of the British Horseracing Authority on Thursday considered evidence from all relevant parties, including Dettori, and elected to uphold the careless riding offence originally decided upon by stewards on the first day of Royal Ascot.
The panel then retired to deliberate over submissions from Dettori’s legal representative seeking a reduction in the penalty, but ultimately decided that nine days was appropriate and made no amendment to the sanction.
The BHA, who called Rob Hornby, rider of Foxes Tales, as a witness, made the case that Dettori had been unaware of the presence of Cadillac on his inside when riding towards the rail on the first bend of the race.
Charlotte Davison, representing the BHA, pressed Dettori on whether or not he would have made the manoeuvre had he spotted his horse on the inside, to which Dettori repeated he was “surprised” that McDonald had taken that line.
Davison put forward that Hornby and McDonald were both entitled to move towards the rail as they did as no orange markers had been deployed to prevent it, and that it was Dettori’s carelessness with regards to his surroundings that had caused the incident.
Rory Mac Neice, representing Dettori, argued the jockey had positioned himself to account for the false rail and that the incident was set in motion by McDonald riding into a gap that would inevitably close when the rail came into play.
Mac Neice agreed that riders were entitled to track across the inside rail as soon as the race began, but said that in doing so Saga was left short of room and unsettled, causing Dettori to seek cover – at which point he submitted that McDonald had ridden into the gap left on the rail, a gap he described as a “cul-de-sac”.
That act “sandwiched” Dettori, Mac Neice argued, and though he was aware of the horses surrounding him, he was in a “no-man’s land” and unable to prevent the incident.
After several hours of listening to each party and their submissions and evidence, the panel confirmed it found the careless riding rule had been breached.
They then considered any change to the penalty imposed after further submissions on either side, but again returned to say they were adhering to the original findings of the stewards on the day and that the nine-day penalty had not been reduced.
James O’Mahony, chair of the panel, said: “Coming to our conclusions, firstly it is clear, and as Mr Dettori has accepted, that he did move laterally right. He said to get cover, and we do find that his lateral movement right was connected with the interference as a matter of cause and effect.
“Secondly, he couldn’t and shouldn’t have moved right if he was aware of the presence of Mr McDonald as he was not clear. He says he was not aware of the presence of Mr McDonald, our conclusion is that he should have been aware.
“It may have come as a surprise to him that Mr McDonald would take that course, and maybe with his experience Mr Dettori wouldn’t have taken that course so close to the rail, but there it is – he did and he was there.
“We have carefully assessed the relevance and question of to what extent, if any, there was pressure on Mr Dettori from the outside, from the presence of other horses, in particular Rob Hornby’s mount.
“We have carefully sifted and worked through the evidence of Mr Hornby and Mr Dettori and our clear conclusion on balance of probabilities is that there were no significant problems in relation to the presence of other horses.
“In our judgement, on the balance of probabilities, Mr Dettori was in breach of the rule preventing careless riding and this appeal, as far as that matter is concerned, is refused.”
Dettori’s dates of suspension are July 4-12, while he will also be out of action from July 13 after picking up an eight-day whip ban for his ride on Queen Anne runner-up Inspiral, which sees him miss the July meeting at Newmarket.
Winner of the Coronation Cup at Epsom, Emily Upjohn is odds-on in places for the Eclipse, which takes place on July 8.
Former world number one Caroline Wozniacki has announced her intention to return to tennis after a three-year retirement.
Wozniacki, who won the 2018 Australian Open and was runner-up in two US Open finals in 2009 and 2014, is targeting her grand slam return at Flushing Meadows later this year.
The 32-year-old Dane wrote on Twitter: “Over these past three years away from the game I got to make up for lost time with my family, I became a mother and now have two beautiful children I am so grateful for.
“But I still have goals I want to accomplish. I want to show my kids that you can pursue your dreams no matter your age or role. We decided as a family it’s time. I’m coming back to play and I can’t wait!”
Wozniacki won 30 tour-level titles and played her last match in the third round of the 2020 Australian Open, where she was beaten by Ons Jabeur.
Wozniacki told Vogue: “I’m going to play the US Open. There’s just an electric atmosphere in New York that I can’t get enough of.
“I’ll start out playing in (the Canadian Open in) Montreal just to get back into the groove, and then we’ll all head to New York.
“After that, I’ll have a couple of months to prepare for Australia, and we’ll take it from there. The Paris Olympics are definitely a goal too.”
Gareth Davies is enjoying the grind of Warren Gatland’s Rugby World Cup training camp as the Wales scrum-half turned heads with photos posted on social media.
The 32-year-old has been working to get into peak physical shape since the end of the season with Scarlets.
Gatland’s approach to World Cup warm-ups have become famous in recent times for how hard he likes to push his players to prepare them for the challenge ahead.
Wales face Fiji on September 10 in their first game of Pool C, with Davies and his team-mates aiming to be at their best for the clash in Bordeaux.
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The official Welsh Rugby Union Instagram accounts have been posting images from training sessions, with Davies’ physique catching the eye.
“I’m not on Twitter or anything like that, so I’ve not seen too many comments,” he said.
“But the boys have given me a bit of stick. They think there’s a few filters on the pictures. Maybe the cameraman has put some filter on it!
“I’m feeling pretty good. We’re only four or five weeks in, but from day one, I’m feeling fitter than where I was. I’m working really hard and hopefully I can keep improving.”
In a change to routine training sessions, the squad spent a day at ‘The Green Mile’ – a health and wellness centre where the players were also subjected to other, psychological challenges – something Gatland has since defended.
“It was a good day,” Davies said of the different approach as he explained the activities undertaken.
“We really enjoyed getting off site. We didn’t really know what we were in for to be honest before we got there. It was a tough couple of hours physically – running up a steep hill with a log and jumping in a pool trying to do a lap under the pool without breathing.
“There was a lot of breathing work – trying to recover quicker and stuff like that. We did that for a couple of hours with some power endurance and some wrestling and some circuits and stuff like that.
“That was the first block and then we had a mental challenge where they put us in some stressful positions. We weren’t allowed to talk for an hour. They put a bag over our head so we couldn’t see where we were and they moved us around the camp.
“There were some weird stressful noises in the background. It was good, quite challenging. We knew it was going to be around the hour mark but it felt like we were there for three or four hours.
“We felt really good after it. We bonded well as a team and got some good positives from it.”
Culture secretary Lucy Frazer is confident Russian and Belarusian players will abide by strict neutrality rules allowing them to return to Wimbledon.
Players from the two countries were banned from competing at the All England Club in 2022 following the invasion of Ukraine.
They are permitted to take part in this year’s Championship, which begins on Monday, but must follow a series of guidelines outlined by the government.
Frazer, who is in charge of the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, believes it would have been “totally inappropriate” to not impose conditions in relation to the ongoing war.
“We’re really looking forward to Wimbledon, it’s one of the most important competitions in the calendar,” she told the PA news agency.
“We’ve made our position very clear: there are certain circumstances in which it would be totally inappropriate for Russian and Belarussian tennis players to take part.
“We put that in our guidance and that is being followed by Wimbledon.
“There are procedures in place to ensure that they don’t (breach the rules) and I’m confident that those will be followed appropriately.”
Wimbledon will fall in line with the other three Grand Slams by allowing Russian and Belarusian players to compete.
Men’s world number three Daniil Medvedev and Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka, ranked second by the WTA, are among those set to return.
Participation was dependent on players signing a personal declaration of neutrality, meaning they cannot express support for the invasion of Ukraine, or for the leadership of Russian president Vladimir Putin or his Belarusian counterpart Alexander Lukashenko.
Players may also not be in receipt of state sponsorship, while they cannot be seen with any item containing a symbol which might indicate support for the war, or the Russian and Belarusian regimes.
With the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on the horizon, Frazer believes it is important there is a unified international stance on the situation.
“As a country we are working with other countries in relation to, for example, the Olympics,” she said, speaking in Eastbourne as part of a £30million investment by the government and LTA to refurbish 1,000 public tennis courts across the UK.
“I held a summit with around 35 other countries to set our position in relation to the Olympics because we need to ensure that across the world we’re taking the same international stance.”
LTA chief executive Scott Lloyd says guidelines for Russian and Belarusian players have been respected at warm-up competitions for Wimbledon, such as Queen’s and the ongoing Rothesay International at Eastbourne.
“We’ve worked extremely closely with the government and indeed the international tennis tours – the ATP, the WTA, the ITF – to ensure that there is a process in place that follows the UK government guidance and makes sure that players are able to play on the specific terms that that lays out,” he said.
“It’s worked well so far over the last few weeks of grass court tournaments here in Britain and I’m certain that will continue into the Championships next week.
“Those relationships with the tours are extremely strong and we are all aligned in making sure that the tournaments go according to plan.”
Former champion Justin Rose justified his position as pre-tournament favourite with a superb opening round in the Betfred British Masters.
The world number 31, the top-ranked player in the field, carded eight birdies and a solitary bogey to record a seven-under-par 65 at The Belfry.
That gave Rose a one-shot lead over former Ryder Cup team-mate Jamie Donaldson, who birdied five of the last six holes in his 66, with Germany’s Yannik Paul and English amateur John Gough two shots further back.
“I felt very comfortable with my game from the first shot,” said Rose, who won the British Masters in 2002 and hosted the event in 2018.
“I hit a beautiful little wedge into the 10th hole, made a nice birdie there and I think that’s the cleanest round of golf I’ve played in a long, long time.
“I really drove the ball well, the irons were being struck pretty cleanly and I actually hadn’t made many putts through the front nine to be four under so it was great to manage to make a few coming in.
“It all amounted to a very good day’s work.”
Asked about being a short-priced favourite to win the £2.7million event, Rose added: “I haven’t really paid any attention to that, even though I played with the Betfred lads [in the pro-am] and they were telling me about the pricing of the field.
“It’s obviously somewhat of a compliment but it doesn’t mean anything, does it? You have to go and play well.
“Quality players, if they play well, they are going to be hard to beat, but the hard part is playing well. Obviously I’ve done the first step, got off to a good start, but got a long way to go this week.
“Coming off a missed cut at the US Open and a week off without too much practice, the beginning part of this week was important for me to get tuned back in to my feels and it’s nice to get off to a good, positive start.”
Donaldson, who sealed the winning point at Gleneagles in 2014, was just one under par after 12 holes of his round before picking up shots on the 13th, 15th, 16th, 17th and 18th.
“Nothing was going in, it was all a bit slow at the start and suddenly it all kicked in on the back nine,” the 47-year-old Welshman said. “Five in six holes to finish, so yeah, fantastic.
“I was just trying to be patient. There were a lot of downwind holes towards the end there, so it made it easier to have birdie chances and hit a few good shots.”
Rachael Blackmore has spoken of her pride at being made an honorary MBE for her services to sport.
Blackmore has become a household name in recent years after turning professional relatively late in jockey terms.
From Tipperary, Blackmore had her first winner in 2011, winning the conditional riders’ title as recently as 2017, becoming the first woman to do so.
Since then it has been one success story after another for the 33-year-old, with a first Cheltenham Festival victory coming on A Plus Tard in in 2019.
It was in 2021 that her achievements reached the front pages, though, winning the first of two Champion Hurdles on Honeysuckle and being crowned leading rider at Cheltenham with six winners.
A month later her fame reached new heights when she won the Grand National on Minella Times, then in 2022 she added the Gold Cup on A Plus Tard.
Honorary MBEs are awarded to those who are from outside of the UK but who excel in their field in Britain.
“It’s an honour to see my racing achievements being recognised in this way,” said Betfair ambassador Blackmore.
“I have had some of the best days of my career racing in England. Cheltenham and Aintree have provided me with incredibly special days that I will never forget.
“I feel so lucky to get to ride the horses that I do, this award really is a privilege to receive.”
Alan King is preparing Trueshan for an autumn campaign after missing Royal Ascot for the third year in succession, with an eventual switch to hurdling still being “seriously considered”.
While victories in the Goodwood Cup, the Prix du Cadran and two wins in the Long Distance Cup have cemented Trueshan’s status as a top-class stayer, aspirations to bid for Gold Cup glory at the Royal meeting have now been scuppered by unsuitable conditions in each of the past three seasons.
King has resisted the temptation to enter his stable star for this year’s Goodwood Cup on August 1, instead electing to give him a mid-season break before sending him back to France in October.
“He’s fine and he’s going to have a break now, I didn’t even enter him for the Goodwood Cup. We’re just going to give him a little break for a few weeks and then train him for the autumn,” said the Barbury Castle handler.
“We’ll probably train him for the Cadran again and then possibly Ascot on Champions Day or the Prix Royal-Oak, depending on how he is.
“If you keep on going all summer you’re praying for rain and I’d rather just give him the time now.
“No doubt Goodwood will probably come up soft to heavy and I’ll be kicking myself, but that’s the decision we made.”
Trueshan has been a beaten favourite in each of his two starts so far this season, since when he has undergone wind surgery.
It was in the immediate aftermath of his most recent defeat in Ascot’s Sagaro Stakes that King raised the intriguing possibility of sending him over obstacles at some stage, and it remains on the cards.
King said: “We’ll see how we get on come the autumn, but it will certainly be seriously considered.
“Giving him the break now helps in that regard too because otherwise you keep going all summer and all winter, which is difficult.”
Despite Trueshan’s absence King still saddled three runners at Royal Ascot, with both Tritonic and HMS President picking up minor honours.
Tritonic finished a creditable third in the two-and-a-half-mile Ascot Stakes, while HMS President was beaten just a neck into second place by Okita Soushi in the Duke of Edinburgh Stakes.
Outlining future plans for the duo, King added: “Tritonic will go to Goodwood for the two-and-a-half-mile race, I think it’s on the Friday, and there’s a possibility HMS President will go to Newmarket next week over a mile and six (furlongs).
“After that hopefully he might go for the Ebor. He’s rated 101 now and that rating has got in for the last two or three years, I think. It’s going to be tight, but hopefully he might get in.”
Stephen Robinson is excited about the “raw pace” he has added to the St Mirren attack after entering the Israeli market once more to sign Stav Nahmani on a season-long loan from Maccabi Haifa.
The 20-year-old forward has made 62 appearances in the top division in his homeland, the majority of which came in three loan spells with Hapoel Nof HaGalil, Beitar Jerusalem and Hapoel Hadera over the past two seasons. He has been capped five times by Israel at Under-21 level.
Nahmani, who has managed only 13 appearances for his parent club since making his debut aged 18 in May 2020, has now taken the opportunity to move to Scotland on another temporary deal. St Mirren have an option to turn it into a permanent arrangement.
The cinch Premiership club signed Australian defender Ryan Strain from Maccabi Haifa a year ago and Robinson is hopeful that his latest recruit from the Israeli club will have a similarly positive impact.
“Stav came to us through the same contacts that we got Ryan Strain from Maccabi Haifa,” the manager told the St Mirren website.
“He’s a young player that’s come through the Israeli age groups.
“He’s got a great work ethic and he gives us real raw pace running in behind.
“We hope he can add goals to our team and pace in the forward areas. He’s a real exciting one that can play in a couple of areas across the forward areas.”
Nahmani becomes the second new signing by St Mirren in consecutive days after they announced the arrival of Middlesbrough goalkeeper Zach Hemming on a season-long loan on Wednesday.
Frankie Dettori will miss the ride on Emily Upjohn in the Coral-Eclipse after failing in his appeal against the nine-day careless riding ban imposed for his ride on Saga at Royal Ascot.
Dettori attempted to switch right-handed towards the rail in the early stages of the Wolferton Stakes and in doing so caused James McDonald to quickly snatch up Cadillac. Certain Lad and Notre Belle Bete, who were behind Cadillac, were also hampered in the scrimmaging.
Owned by the King and Queen and trained by John and Thady Gosden, Saga eventually finished fifth in the 10-furlong Listed event, which was won by Royal Champion.
An independent disciplinary panel of the British Horseracing Authority on Thursday considered evidence from all relevant parties, including Dettori, and elected to uphold the careless riding offence originally decided upon by stewards on the first day of Royal Ascot.
The panel then retired to deliberate over submissions from Dettori’s legal representative seeking a reduction in the penalty, but ultimately decided that nine days was appropriate and made no amendment to the sanction.
Frankie Dettori is still deemed to have ridden carelessly after his appeal against the nine-day ban imposed for his ride on Saga at Royal Ascot.
Dettori attempted to switch right-handed towards the rail in the early stages of the Wolferton Stakes and in doing so caused James McDonald to quickly snatch up Cadillac. Certain Lad and Notre Belle Bete, who were behind Cadillac, were also hampered in the scrimmaging.
Owned by the King and Queen and trained by John and Thady Gosden, Saga eventually finished fifth in the 10-furlong Listed event, which was won by Royal Champion.
An independent disciplinary panel of the British Horseracing Authority on Thursday considered evidence from all relevant parties, including Dettori, and elected to uphold the careless riding offence originally decided upon by stewards on the first day of Royal Ascot.
The panel then retired to deliberate over submissions from Dettori’s legal representative seeking a reduction in the penalty.
England rallied with the ball on the second morning of the second Ashes Test, bowling out Australia for 416 to stay alive at Lord’s.
The home side’s day one efforts drew stinging criticism from a host of notable players, with Kevin Pietersen branding them “absolutely shambolic” and Michael Vaughan labelling some of their bowling “utter dross”.
But they bounced back impressively to take five wickets for 77 runs in the opening session and deny their rivals the mammoth total they had looked on course for at 316 for three midway through the previous evening.
Steve Smith converted his overnight 85 into a knock of 110, his 12th Ashes century and an eighth behind enemy lines, but he could not halt a much improved English effort.
Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett then safely negotiated four overs before lunch to reach 13 for nought and begin the job of chipping away at the scoreboard.
In need of a big response, England tossed the ball to their two oldest stagers, James Anderson and Stuart Broad. The pair sent down 33 wicketless overs between them on Wednesday but made good on their captain’s show of faith as they made early inroads.
Broad’s first two balls of the morning disappeared for four but he ended the over with a beauty, jagging back into Alex Carey and flicking the front pad on its way over middle stump. England need DRS to change umpire Ahsan Raza’s mind, but the end result was exactly what they needed.
Anderson picked up the baton at the Nursery End, angling the ball towards the cordon and drawing a thick edge from the newly arrived Mitchell Starc. Jonny Bairstow, 24 hours on from his starring role as a bouncer in the Just Stop Oil protest, leapt in front of first slip and held the catch.
Smith was watching calmly from the other end, making his way to 99 before lashing a cover drive to the ropes to bring up his latest Ashes ton. It was an excellently judged innings, but England had the bit between their teeth now and wrapped things up with admirable efficiency.
Josh Tongue, who dismissed Smith for Worcestershire earlier in the season, had the centurion well caught in the gully by Duckett as he swung hard and lost his balance. Ollie Robinson then swept up Nathan Lyon and Josh Hazlewood in successive overs.
Starc and Pat Cummins had two overs each to land a blow in return, but England’s top order pair reached the break without offering a chance.
Ross County have completed the permanent signing of Eamonn Brophy from St Mirren for an undisclosed six-figure transfer fee.
The 27-year-old striker spent the second half of last season on loan at the Staggies and scored three goals in eight appearances before having his campaign prematurely ended by injury in April.
County have now moved to bring Brophy back to the Highlands.
“We are delighted to welcome Eamonn back to the club,” said manager Malky Mackay.
“His impact during his spell last season was significant and he became a popular member of the squad. His experience in the Scottish game is clear to see and he is another great attacking option added to the squad.”
Brophy joined St Mirren from Kilmarnock in January 2021 – initially on loan – and he went on to make 58 appearances for the Buddies, scoring eight goals.
Sir Busker is on the mend with a York return pencilled in after his right eye was saved by veterinary staff at the Dubai Equine Hospital.
The highly-popular gelding is trained by William Knight and owned by Kennet Valley Thoroughbreds and gave connections a day to remember when winning the Group Two York Stakes last season.
He was then a gallant third at 100-1 in the Juddmonte International, before starting out with a second-placed run in the Tandridge Stakes early this year and then flying out to the Middle East.
Ninth in the Neom Turf Cup at Riyadh and 10th in the Dubai Turf at Meydan, the bay then suffered from an eye injury that required him to stay put in Dubai and undergo an operation.
The procedure – which took flesh from his haunches and grafted it onto his eye – was a success and prevented the eye from being removed and from his vision being completely lost on the right side.
Sir Busker has since returned home and has been eased back into work by Knight, who is hopeful he can be back for the Ebor meeting on the Knavesmire in August.
“We’ve just had to take it steady with him, but I would love to try and have him back for the York August meeting – maybe something like the Strensall Stakes,” he said.
“That’s what I’m thinking about, we’re not going to rush him to get there but we hope he gets there in his own time.
“It’s been a long road back but we’ve managed to save the eye and he’s got vision in there, it’s nice to have him back and have him in work.”
Knight feels a return to the routine of training has done Sir Busker the world of good, and by the time he takes to the track again his wounded eye should bear very few signs of the operation.
“He was quiet for a good period of time when he got back, not his usual self, but he’s just started to perk up in the past couple of weeks,” he said.
“By getting him back into work we’ve got the whole system moving again and that’s what has done him good, rather than just going on the walker and being led out, when that happens they start to lose a lot of condition. Now he’s back in work and I think he’s done very well for it.”
Of the healing process of the eye, he added: “It’s a bit pink but by the time it gets to racing I would hope it will have gone, aesthetically it doesn’t look great but actually it is offering the eye protection in a way.
“It’s quite bizarre, the whole thing, but it is an amazing procedure.
“The first thing was saving his eye and then making sure he’s still got vision in it, which he definitely has though the percentage is hard to gauge until the skin graft properly disappears.
“Then we can get a proper look, but if you wave your hand on that side he blinks, so there’s definitely some vision there.”
Josh Ginnelly admitted it was “one of the toughest decisions” he has ever had to make after ending his three-year stint at Hearts.
The 26-year-old Englishman joined the Tynecastle club initially on loan from Preston in 2020 and then made the move permanent a year later.
After finishing as Hearts’ second-top scorer last season, however, he has decided, following several weeks of deliberation since the campaign ended, that he will not be renewing his contract.
Hearts said in a statement on Thursday morning: “We can confirm that Josh Ginnelly will not be returning to the club.
“His contract expired last month and despite the club making the best possible offers to retain his services, he has decided his future lies elsewhere. We wish him all the best with his next move.”
Ginnelly made 89 appearances for Hearts and scored 22 goals, 13 of which came in his final season. The forward, who has other options on the table, posted a farewell message on Instagram after his departure was confirmed.
“This has been one of the toughest decisions I’ve had to make but after taking time to reflect I’ve decided it’s time for a different challenge,” he said.
“I’m so proud to have played for this amazing club and I feel so proud to look back and see how far we’ve come over the last three years. I’ve made friends for life in the teammates that I’ve met along the way and it’s been an absolute pleasure to have played alongside you all.
“Thank you to all of the staff who coached me through injuries and helped me through one of the toughest times of my career.
“I also wanted to say a special thank you to (long-serving club employee) Clare Cowan. Hearts wouldn’t be Hearts if it wasn’t for you. I wanted to say publicly that I hope you know how appreciated you are.
“Finally, thanks to all of the fans that have stuck by me throughout. You’ve made my time at Hearts and I’ll forever be grateful for the uplifts and constant support. Some fan base. ALL THE BEST FOR THE FUTURE. THANK YOU FOR EVERYTHING. GINO.”
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