Dan Skelton is banking on a big run from L’Eau Du Sud in the Coral Scottish Champion Hurdle to keep him in with a chance of claiming a first trainers’ title.

Runner-up in two of the most competitive handicaps of the season, the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury and the County Hurdle at Cheltenham, the six-year-old has been aimed at this ever since.

Cheltenham week went swimmingly for Skelton and co-owners Sir Alex Ferguson and John Hales, but the feeling was L’Eau Du Sud was mugged by the Willie Mullins-trained Ebor winner Absurde.

“He’s in good order and this is the race we’ve had in mind since Cheltenham, when he was second in the County Hurdle,” said Skelton.

“That was a very good run considering Absurde came from nowhere and showed great Flat speed late on.

“The ground will be perfect for him, the track is no issue, he travels very well and I’d say he’s a very big player, but the prices reflect that.

“If we’ve any chance of overhauling Willie, we need L’Eau Du Sud to figure pretty well, to be honest.

“It looked like we had it won at Cheltenham, but (Paul) Townend had different ideas and used all the Flat speed, so fair play to them, they picked up on the day but we’ll be looking to collect on Saturday.”

Skelton is battling with his old boss Paul Nicholls and Irish champion trainer Mullins, who runs Westport Cove, Bialystok and Alvaniy.

His son and assistant Patrick feels the middle one of that trio may be their best chance.

“Westport Cove is a horse with an awful lot of ability, but he’s a very difficult ride. At Cheltenham, he lost his head and my big worry is that it’s probably too big a field for him, as he has to be dropped out, which is hard to do in a big-field handicap like that,” he said on a Zoom call with the track.

“Bialystok is a Flat-bred horse who I could see winning on the Flat in the summer. There’s a race in this fella. He was unlucky at the DRF, when he got brought down at the second last, and it didn’t happen for him at Cheltenham. If the ground isn’t too soft, he’ll have his chance.

“We also run Alvaniy, who is 8lb out of the handicap but he’s a horse I definitely think is better than his mark. While it will be difficult from 8lb out of the weights, he’s a horse that could pick up place money. There’s a big race in him, but it won’t be easy from out of the handicap.”

Nicholls runs last year’s winner Rubaud off top weight and Afadil.

“Rubaud won this race stylishly last year off a mark of 135 on good ground and has a much harder task this time off 148,” Nicholls told Betfair.

“I don’t think he was right when he ran below par last time on heavy ground at Wincanton. He seems in a good place at the moment but I’d say he has it all to do off top weight on ground that is softer than he prefers.

“Afadil been running at the top of his form this spring and comes here a week after finishing third in a competitive race at Aintree, despite losing ground after a standing start.

“With Freddie Gingell claiming a handy 5lb, Afadil has a lovely light weight of only 10st 3lb and has a sporting each-way chance.”

Thomas Tuchel has insisted Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga season is far from over despite Bayer Leverkusen ending the club’s bid for a 12th successive title.

Leverkusen’s 5-0 home win over Werder Bremen last Sunday left Bayern 16 points adrift with just five games to play, and although Tuchel’s deposed champions soothed their disappointment in midweek when they edged past Arsenal to book a Champions League semi-final showdown with Real Madrid, they still have work to do on the domestic front.

They lead third-placed Stuttgart only on goal difference and with RB Leipzig and Borussia Dortmund still fighting for a top-four finish, cannot afford to relax as they head for Union Berlin on Saturday.

Tuchel told a press conference: “We want to prove our good form tomorrow.”You can celebrate moments like against Arsenal. The fixture list is full, now we’ve got another away trip, but the emotions after a game like that are special. It’s not a given. The team was able to enjoy it.

“I don’t know if it’ll kick-start things – it would be too late in the Bundesliga. We’ll prepare in a professional way. We’ve got a lot to come. The season isn’t over yet in the Bundesliga.”

Tuchel has decisions to make ahead of the trip to Berlin with Leroy Sane unlikely to be involved as he recovers from injury and Serge Gnabry facing a race against time to face Madrid on April 30.

Vastly experienced forward Thomas Muller was an unused substitute against the Gunners and Tuchel admits neither he nor the player was happy about the situation.

He said: “I hope our relationship is good and that it remains. Neither of us like the situation. He doesn’t like that he didn’t play and I don’t like that I had to tell him that.

“It was a sporting decision and no depreciation of his sporting status. He’s professional enough to put it behind him.”

Sane found himself the centre of attention the last time the sides met in January when Union coach Nenad Bjelica was sent off after pushing the Germany winger in the face as he attempted to retrieve the ball on the sideline and was subsequently handed a three-match ban and fined 25,000 euros.

Tuchel said: “I’d forgotten about that. I’m pleased for my colleague that there was no further impact. It was a one-off. They’ve become more solid under him and taken a step forward.”

Bjelica’s men, who have won just one of their last seven games, face a very different challenge to Bayern as they attempt to increase the three-point gap which currently separates them from the danger zone at the foot of the table.

The head coach told a press conference: “Of course it’s a big challenge to play against Bayern, but we expect to have a chance against any opponent. The entire squad is highly motivated.”

Mikel Arteta has challenged his Arsenal team to show “what they are made of” after seeing their Premier League title bid stutter and their Champions League hopes dashed.

The Gunners crashed out of Europe at the hands of Bayern Munich on Wednesday as the German side earned a 3-2 aggregate quarter-final victory.

That loss came hot on the heels of a 2-0 home defeat to Aston Villa in the league, but Arsenal have the chance to return to the summit by beating Wolves on Saturday, with leaders Manchester City in FA Cup semi-final action against Chelsea.

Speaking ahead of the trip to Molineux, Arteta said: “It’s been an experience, not the best one.

“We’re fully focused on the times we have ahead of us with six games to go.

“The context is clear, if we win we go top of the league, you don’t need anything else to be motivated.”

Arsenal are without a win in their last three games in all competitions, having drawn the first leg against Bayern.

“It is what it is and we have to accept it,” Arteta added.

“The Bayern one at home at the beginning, it could have been different. Against Villa we were the better team, but in the second half we paid the price for the chances we gave them and we have to move on from there.

“Now it is about showing against Wolves what we are made of and turning the situation around.”

Arteta thanked his players for all they have achieved so far this season.

He said: “I’m fully behind them. Thank you so much for the journey together, thank you for being in the quarter-finals of the Champions League and being so close.

“Thank you for competing against the best team in Premier League history (Manchester City) and the best team in the competition in the last eight years with Liverpool and we’re in with a chance to win it.

“Thank you so much for everything they have done, because it is unbelievable.”

At Molineux, Arsenal will face a Wolves side who are without a win in their last four league matches, but Arteta praised the job manager Gary O’Neil has done since taking over last summer.

He said: “He’s done unbelievable, so well. You can see by the way they’re coached, the spirit of the team, the difficulty they create for every opponent, they’re a really good side and it will be tough tomorrow.”

With the British trainers’ title on the line, Willie Mullins sends a six-strong squad to contest the Coral Scottish Grand National at Ayr on Saturday.

Mullins is not only seeking his first win in the £200,000 feature, he has never had a single winner at the track. But that could all change this weekend, as he saddles 18 runners across the afternoon.

His National team consists of Macdermott, Mr Incredible, Spanish Harlem, Ontheropes, Klarc Kent and We’llhavewan and assistant trainer Patrick Mullins ran the rule over the sextet in a Zoom call organised by the racecourse.

“Macdermott is an improving horse, he was always going to be a big chaser, he’s a strong type and was always going to improve for a fence and over a trip,” he said.

“He was good the last time out at Fairyhouse and he’s the kind of horse who improves with racing, we struggle to get him fit at home, to be honest, he needs racing to get the weight off him.

“He’s running off a much higher mark (12lb) and that’s going to be a big ask in a far more competitive race.

“I ride Mr Incredible, he didn’t get very far at Aintree, he’s fresh and well, so he’ll take his chance.

“Off a mark of 153, with 11st 9lb, it’s going to be difficult but if he could run into a place, that would be fantastic. We’re hoping he jumps off, that’s the first thing!

“Paul (Townend) was keen to ride Spanish Harlem and he’s a horse we’ve always thought an awful lot of. He has disappointed us a little because his work at home has been far superior to his form on the track.

“It’s his first handicap, so he’ll have to jump pretty sharp, but we’d like to think he’s better than a mark of 140. Paul just thought he had more room for improvement than Macdermott.

“Sean O’Keeffe rides Klarc Kent, very much an old-fashioned chaser, a horse who really should come into his own over four miles. He’s a novice off a low weight but he needs to improve.

“Brian Hayes rides Ontheropes. He got a leg after he won the Munster National and has been disappointing since but he was coming back to form last time and could be just coming to form at the right time.

“We’llhavewan was second in the Grand National Trial at Punchestown and ran well in the Irish National when perhaps he didn’t get home, but I think he just made some crucial jumping errors which just knocked him back.

“We’ve put the cheekpieces back on and that should help him jump sharper. He’s a little out of the handicap but Kieran Callaghan is our claiming rider, a local guy and he’s very good. I could see him running into the money.”

Dan Skelton is battling with Mullins for the title and is represented by Ballygrifincottage.

“He’s a horse that just recently has done really well. He had a bad autumn and winter but his form as a novice hurdler and early novice chaser looked very good,” said Skelton.

“For whatever reason, we lost him completely and everything just went to pot but he’s back in great form now and it was a good run at Ascot on his comeback and an even better run at Sandown when second the last day.

“I don’t think four miles will be a problem, but you never actually know until you try it – there is a slight unknown with that, but I go into it with the expectation that he’ll stay the trip.”

Trying to cling on to his title is Paul Nicholls, who runs top-weight Stay Away Fay and Broken Halo.

Nicholls told Betfair of the former: “He’s a class horse but life isn’t going to be easy for him running off top weight of 12st off a mark of 158.

“It just didn’t happen for him in the Turners at Cheltenham, where he was never happy, didn’t travel in the ground and his jumping let him down.

“We’ve removed the cheekpieces he wore there, as they didn’t seem to work, and I’ve felt for some time he would be suited by marathon trips. The track at Ayr should be much more suitable for him.

“Broken Halo was in with a shout when falling two out in the London National at Sandown in December and won at Taunton last month. He looks an interesting outsider.”

Brian Ellison’s Anglers Crag arrives chasing a five-timer and proved his stamina when winning the Eider Chase.

“This has been the plan since the Eider and he’s in good form. He’s been blood tested and scoped, everything looks clean and he looks a million dollars, so we just want a bit of luck in running now,” said Ellison.

“A bit of soft ground would help keep the job right for him. He’s gone up again in the weights, but you deserve to when you win, don’t you? It’s when you finish second and you go up that I don’t like!

“Willie Mullins obviously runs six, he’s struggling for winners!”

The form choice is arguably Jamie Snowden’s Git Maker, second to subsequent Grade One winner Inothewayurthinkin at Cheltenham.

“He ran a blinder to finish second at Cheltenham, pulling a long way clear of the third horse, and the winner has obviously come out and won a Grade One at Aintree, so the form has certainly been franked,” said Snowden.

“We’re up 1lb for that and we go there in good form. Obviously, it’s a highly competitive race, as you’d expect, but we couldn’t be happier with our chap and he gets in off 10st 3lb.

“I think he’ll stay well. They’ve had a bit of rain there and you would certainly hope the ground would be on the softer side, as he would definitely want a bit of cut in the ground.

“With a little bit of luck in running, hopefully he’ll have a chance.”

Emma Lavelle’s My Silver Lining has been consistent in long-distance chases all season, winning the Classic Chase at Warwick.

“She seems in great order. I was sort of looking for reasons not to go – was she flat, or was the ground not soft enough, or whatever, and none of the reasons came,” said Lavelle.

“I’m really happy with her, of course it’s a competitive race and with the championship the way it is, it’s probably more competitive than some years, but she’s really well, she’s as honest as they come, she’ll keep galloping and jumping and we’re just hopeful that she’ll put up another personal best.”

The last time Willie Mullins had a chance of winning the British trainers’ title, Paul Nicholls landed the Coral Scottish Grand National with Vicente before going on to secure top spot in the table at Sandown.

This time around, the all-conquering Mullins is throwing everything at it, with 18 runners on the big card at Ayr on Saturday, as he attempts to emulate the legendary Vincent O’Brien, something the Closutton handler’s son and assistant Patrick acknowledges would be “incredibly special”.

While the victory of I Am Maximus in the Grand National at Aintree put Mullins in the driving seat, the team are taking nothing for granted, based on what happened in 2016.

This year, they are involved in a three-way battle with Dan Skelton joining the fray, and Mullins jnr thinks if any of the three manage to win either the National or the Scottish Champion Hurdle this weekend, it will go a long way to deciding the outcome.

“We find ourselves in a position we weren’t particularly expecting, so we’re going to be putting everything we can towards it now,” he said.

“It’s 70-odd years since Vincent O’Brien was the only Irish trainer to win the British jumps title, so to emulate him would be something that would be incredibly special.

“In 2016, we actually came into this weekend ahead as well, I think, but Paul Nicholls pulled a rabbit out of the hat and won the Scottish National with Vicente at 14-1 and that was the difference in the end.”

Despite Mullins’ total dominance over the National Hunt scene, his victory last weekend was only his second Grand National, 19 years after Hedgehunter provided him with his first.

“There were a few sore heads on Wednesday after the (homecoming) parade, but you have to celebrate the good days,” Mullins told a Zoom call organised by Ayr Racecourse.

“It was 19 years since we won the Grand National and to win a second is great. We had seven runners, but if I Am Maximus had come down, we wouldn’t have had any in the first six, so you need a bit of luck. I wasn’t sure if he’d adapt to the course, but he did very well.

“We’ve celebrated but we’re back on track now and focussed on Ayr, trying to bring home some sterling.”

There has never been an Irish-trained Scottish National winner since the race moved from Bogside to Ayr and Mullins has never had a winner at the track either.

He went on: “It’s an incredible statistic. I can’t wait to come over to Ayr, it always looks a brilliant crowd for the big racedays there.

“Every year, I watch the Scottish National and it looks a fantastic race with a huge crowd, we’re very excited to be coming over and hopefully we can break one, if not two of those statistics.

“We’ll be stopping off in Perth and one or two other places during the week before Sandown.

“I think Saturday will be a pivotal day. I keep thinking back to 2016 when Paul won the National. If we can get out of Ayr still ahead, that is going to be huge for us.

“If Paul or Dan win the Champion Hurdle or the National, that’s going to make it squeaky bum time as such, but if we can get out ahead, that will be huge.”

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta set out to remind his team that they still have something “beautiful” to play for despite their Champions League exit.

The Gunners slipped out of UEFA’s flagship club competition in midweek when they went down 1-0 to Bayern Munich, losing 3-2 on aggregate.

That defeat followed on from a 2-0 loss to Aston Villa last Sunday – a reverse that significantly dented Arsenal’s title hopes, with the Gunners now two points behind Manchester City who, after this weekend, will have a game in hand.

Arsenal face Wolves on Saturday and, with City in FA Cup action, a win would see them move back to the top of the table, at least temporarily, so Arteta offered a reminder that all is not lost.

“I can guarantee you we are fully focused on Wolves and everybody's lifted,” he said following the loss in Munich.

“What we still have to play is beautiful and I said before, it's time to be next to our players and in this moment, not when you win 10 in a row and a draw, that's easy to prize our players and to be behind them and to say really nice things. The moment is now to be next to them.”

On Friday, in his pre-match press conference, Arteta added: “As an experience, [the Champions League was] the best one.

“I am now fully focused on the times ahead of us. We are now behind Manchester City and will give it a good go. The context is clear. If we win we are top of the league.”

Wolves sit 11th, though they could do with snapping a four-game winless streak in order to get their European hopes back on track.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Wolves – Matheus Cunha

Cunha has been involved in nine goals in his last nine Premier League games, scoring six and assisting three. His 11 goals overall this season is the fourth most by a Wolves player in a single Premier League campaign after Raul Jimenez (17 in 2019-20, 13 in 2018-19) and Steven Fletcher (12 in 2011-12).

Arsenal – Bukayo Saka

Saka has been involved in eight goals in his last seven Premier League away games, scoring seven and assisting one. His 13 away goal involvements overall this term (eight goals, five assists) is the most by an Arsenal player in a single Premier League campaign since Alexis Sanchez’s 20 in 2016-17.

MATCH PREDICTION: ARSENAL WIN

Arsenal lost a Premier League game for the first time in 2024 against Villa last time out. Since the start of last season, only twice have the Gunners suffered consecutive league defeats, doing so in May 2023 (v Brighton and Nottingham Forest) and December this season (v West Ham and Fulham).

Wolves are winless in their last four Premier League games (D2 L2), though they have won their last two at Molineux against sides starting the day in the top two of the table, beating Man City 2-1 in September and Spurs by the same score in November.

Arsenal have scored in their last 32 meetings with Wolves in all competitions.

Wolves have now lost each of their last five against the Gunners, failing to score in both home defeats in that run.

OPTA WIN PROBABILITY

Wolves – 21.5%

Arsenal – 51.2%

Draw – 27.3%

Royal Ascot could beckon for Richard Hannon’s Hawaiian following a smooth winning debut in the Dubai Duty Free Golf World Cup EBF Maiden Stakes at Newbury.

A field of eight unraced juveniles lined up from some of the biggest yards in the country, with Hannon’s Kodiac colt sent off the 11-8 favourite.

Sean Levey was always in command on Sheikh Mohammed Obaid’s homebred, and while the winning distance over Clive Cox’s Star Anthem was only a neck, he never truly looked in any danger of being beaten.

Fresh from winning the Craven Stakes with Haatem on Thursday, Hannon clearly has his string in good order at this early stage of the season.

“He did a bit of work at Kempton and I thought it was a little bit too good to be true,” said Hannon.

“He’s done everything so easily at home he hasn’t learned anything and he might have just learned something today.

“Sean said if he had made the running it might have made it easier, but we think a fair bit of him and he’s a fast horse who we will stick to five furlongs with at the moment.

“It’s a bit early doors to be talking about Royal Ascot, but we might look at a Lily Agnes or something on the way. He will need one more run before Ascot just to be sure.

“He’s very fast, knows his job and that will do him good. I hope he is an Ascot horse and he travelled great. That experience under his belt will do him good and I think he will improve a lot from that, like all ours do.”

Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer insists Russian athletes will be competing under “the strictest neutrality conditions possible” at the Olympic Games amid accusations of a Government U-turn on the issue.

The Government has faced criticism after International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach revealed earlier this month he had received a letter from UK Sports Minister Stuart Andrew saying the Government now accepted the conditions under which Russian and Belarusian athletes could compete at the Games in Paris, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

The Government did not issue any public statement ahead of Bach’s revelation making clear it felt the conditions were now acceptable.

Frazer said in April last year that IOC conditions on neutrality did “not go far enough” and said any athlete who had been in receipt of state funding was a “de facto representative of those states”.

Britain is part of a coalition of like-minded countries which had called for a ban on such athletes due to this funding.

The IOC’s conditions mean any athlete with links to the military, or who have expressed support for the war, will be banned from competing in Paris, but still do not preclude athletes who have received state funding.

Despite this, Frazer and the Government now feel the IOC and International Paralympic Committee’s neutrality conditions have reached an “accepted baseline”.

In a statement issued to the PA news agency, Frazer said: “We continue to vigorously oppose Russian and Belarusian state participation. Our policy has never been a complete and total ban on neutral athletes from Russia and Belarus participating at all.

“Athletes from Russia and Belarus have been able to compete in the UK as neutral athletes since the invasion. For example, our guidance allowed athletes from Russia and Belarus to compete at tennis competitions under strict neutrality conditions.

“Instead, our efforts – and the efforts of our international coalition – have been focused on urging the IOC and IPC (International Paralympic Committee) to change their approach, apply the strictest neutrality conditions possible and ensure they are implemented rigorously.

“After two years of concerted lobbying, they have done that. And the result is that the number of athletes from Russia and Belarus expected to participate in the Olympics is in the tens, not hundreds.

“As a result, we have written to the IOC and IPC noting that their final neutrality rules for Paris achieve the widely accepted baseline of ensuring that Russia and Belarus are not represented as states in international sport.

“Our focus now turns to ensuring these rules are stringently enforced and maintained as long as the war goes on.”

The IOC has said it expects 36, and possibly as many as 54, Russian athletes to be involved in Paris. Athletes will not be able to compete in team events, will not compete in Russian colours or under the Russian flag and any medals will not be collated together in a table.

The IOC is leaving it up to the individual sports to make decisions on whether to allow Russian and Belarusian athletes to compete even as neutrals – World Athletics, for instance, has imposed an outright ban.

Sources within Government say the decision to accept the criteria had nothing to do with an IOC threat to withdraw the UK’s right to hosting Olympic qualifier events.

The decision to scrap FA Cup replays is further evidence of the EFL and its clubs being “marginalised”, the league has said.

The Football Association announced on Thursday it had reached an agreement with the Premier League on the future format and funding of the competition, which would include all replays from the first round being abolished.

A number of EFL clubs have criticised the changes and insisted they were not consulted, with the FA releasing a statement on Friday saying it understood those concerns and would share details with them about how any shortfall in lost replay revenue may be made up.

However, the EFL said this was just the most recent example of how the league and its clubs were being sidelined, with the Premier League clubs having also decided to halt discussions over a new financial settlement with the EFL.

“This latest agreement between the Premier League and the FA, in the absence of financial reform, is just a further example of how the EFL and its clubs are being marginalised in favour of others further up the pyramid and that only serves to threaten the future of the English game,” the EFL’s statement on Friday afternoon said.

“The EFL today calls on both the Premier League and the FA, as the governing body, to re-evaluate their approach to their footballing partnership with the EFL and engage more collaboratively on issues directly affecting our clubs.”

Ballymount Boy will cut his teeth as a three-year-old in the Watership Down Stud Too Darn Hot Greenham Stakes at Newbury.

The Adrian Keatley-trained Camacho colt enjoyed a good juvenile season, taking a Hamilton maiden before showing a great deal of promise when finishing just a length behind Vandeek in Goodwood’s Group Two Richmond Stakes.

Vandeek subsequently went on to score twice at Group One level in the Prix Morny and the Middle Park, while Ballymount Boy was runner-up in the Acomb and then the winner of the Listed Prospect Stakes at Doncaster.

He will be seen for the first time this term at Newbury on Saturday, competing over seven furlongs at Group Three level before the rest of his season is mapped out.

“We’re looking forward to running him, the draw hasn’t been very kind to us (stall 11) but he won’t mind the ground,” said Keatley.

“Hopefully it’s a good starting off point and we’ll know where we’re at for the first half of the season after Saturday anyway.

“He has form on firm ground and he has form on soft ground, even from his worst run in France last year (eighth in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere), his form has worked out, with Brian Meehan’s horse (Jayarebe) who finished in front of us that day and won well on Thursday.

“He’s good, solid form from last year, he’s only a length off the highest-rated three-year-old in England in Vandeek, so he’s very much entitled to take his chance in this.”

Wathnan Racing acquired Ballymount Boy midway through last season and also own Mister Sketch, trained by Eve Johnson Houghton and also set to run in the Greenham.

The Territories colt ran three times last year and was beaten just a neck on debut before winning a Salisbury novice by nine and a half lengths in mid-August.

From there, he stepped up in grade to contest the Mill Reef and was beaten only half a length by Andrew Balding’s Array on heavy ground.

“He’s in great form, he’s done some nice work,” Johnson Houghton said.

“At this stage, this is a stepping stone to know which direction we’re going to go with him.

“He’ll love better ground but I think this ground will be OK, he is a lovely horse but he’s very much still a work in progress.

“He’s improving all the time, I thought he ran really well in the Mill Reef and I think we’ve got a very nice horse on our hands.”

David O’Meara runs Esquire, a Harry Angel gelding owned by Cheveley Park Stud.

A Hamilton winner on debut, he was then second to a very useful horse in the Balding-trained Purosangue in the Listed Rockingham Stakes at York in October.

His next run came in the Prospect Stakes at Doncaster, where he was sixth as Ballymount Boy came home in front.

“I think he’s a progressive horse, trip-wise he may be more suited to six furlongs, going forward,” said Chris Richardson of Cheveley Park.

“He prefers a bit of ease in the ground, so we’ve got our conditions.

“Like all these races at this time of year, it’s very much a fact-finding mission, whether he’s good enough or not, we will learn a huge amount about his potential, so we’ll roll the dice.”

Another notable contender is Ralph Beckett’s Zoum Zoum, a chestnut son of Zoustar who was unbeaten last year when winning two novices and the Listed Prix Herod at Saint-Cloud.

One of those novice runs was a two-and-a-half-length victory over Kikkuli at Newmarket, an interesting piece of form as that horse is a Kingman half-brother to Frankel and subsequently won a maiden at the same track earlier in the week.

John and Thady Gosden’s promising Regal Jubilee makes her seasonal reappearance on Saturday in what promises to be an informative running of the Dubai Duty Free Stakes at Newbury.

The three-year-old is by Frankel out of the mare Regal Realm, making her a half-sister to Sir Michael Stoute’s multiple Group-race winner Regal Reality.

The Cheveley Park Stud-owned bay made her debut at Newmarket in September, but ran no race when hampered in a one-mile fillies’ novice – a performance she put firmly behind her in October when running away with a Windsor novice to prevail by seven lengths.

She then stepped up to Listed level back at Newmarket in the Montrose Fillies’ Stakes, where she shone again in winning by two lengths on heavy ground.

Now returning to action at Newbury, Regal Jubilee will make another step up as she tries her hand on soft ground at Group Three level, in the seven-furlong feature registered as the Fred Darling.

“The stiffer seven at Newbury will suit her, the ground will certainly suit her from what we saw last autumn,” said Cheveley Park’s Chris Richardson.

“I think the trip is the minimum, really, she’s probably bred to be more of a mile-and-a-quarter filly. But it makes sense to go for a trial and see where we go after that.

“Her action favours the more rain-softened conditions we think, but we haven’t got much to go on.

“We’ll take advantage of the slightly easier ground now and see what happens.”

Marco Botti has a fascinating contender in Folgaria, a Due Diligence filly who makes her British debut after joining Botti’s yard from the Italian stable of his brother, Stefano.

She was unbeaten in five starts for Botti’s brother, working her way through Listed, Group Three and Group Two level when taking contests such as the Premio Primi Passi by six lengths and the Premio Dormello by two and a quarter.

Botti said: “She’s unbeaten in Italy, she won over six (furlongs), seven and a mile.

“She joined us about two and a half months ago, the owner decided to see what she can do abroad and it seems a good race to start her off in.

“The ground won’t be an issue, she’s been in good form and her work at home has been pleasing us.

“Of course it’s hard to transfer that form in Italy to England, but it seems the right race to start her off in and see where we are.

“She’s in the French Guineas and this will tell us a bit more about how to compare what she did in Italy to here.

“She won the Premio Dormello in good style, a Group Two, she’s facing a good field at Newbury though it has cut up a little bit.

“We’ve been happy and we will find out whether she’s up to this level.

“She was trained by my brother and we’ve been in touch, she’s been a straightforward filly since she joined us.”

William Haggas is represented by Relief Rally, a Kodiac filly who proved herself to be high quality when meeting with defeat just once in five runs during her juvenile season.

That defeat was a nose loss in the Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot, after which she went on to win the Super Sprint at Newbury and the Lowther Stakes at York.

She was subsequently sold by Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, fetching 800,000 guineas at Tattersalls and staying in the Haggas yard for new owner Zhang Yuesheng.

Roger Varian runs Elmalka, with Richard Hughes set to saddle Oh So Sharp third Star Music and the field completed by Andrew Balding’s Topanga.

John and Thady Gosden’s promising Regal Jubilee makes her seasonal reappearance on Saturday in what promises to be an informative running of the Dubai Duty Free Stakes at Newbury.

The three-year-old is by Frankel out of the mare Regal Realm, making her a half-sister to Sir Michael Stoute’s multiple Group-race winner Regal Reality.

The Cheveley Park Stud-owned bay made her debut at Newmarket in September, but ran no race when hampered in a one-mile fillies’ novice – a performance she put firmly behind her in October when running away with a Windsor novice to prevail by seven lengths.

She then stepped up to Listed level back at Newmarket in the Montrose Fillies’ Stakes, where she shone again in winning by two lengths on heavy ground.

Now returning to action at Newbury, Regal Jubilee will make another step up as she tries her hand on soft ground at Group Three level, in the seven-furlong feature registered as the Fred Darling.

“The stiffer seven at Newbury will suit her, the ground will certainly suit her from what we saw last autumn,” said Cheveley Park’s Chris Richardson.

“I think the trip is the minimum, really, she’s probably bred to be more of a mile-and-a-quarter filly. But it makes sense to go for a trial and see where we go after that.

“Her action favours the more rain-softened conditions we think, but we haven’t got much to go on.

“We’ll take advantage of the slightly easier ground now and see what happens.”

Marco Botti has a fascinating contender in Folgaria, a Due Diligence filly who makes her British debut after joining Botti’s yard from the Italian stable of his brother, Stefano.

She was unbeaten in five starts for Botti’s brother, working her way through Listed, Group Three and Group Two level when taking contests such as the Premio Primi Passi by six lengths and the Premio Dormello by two and a quarter.

Botti said: “She’s unbeaten in Italy, she won over six (furlongs), seven and a mile.

“She joined us about two and a half months ago, the owner decided to see what she can do abroad and it seems a good race to start her off in.

“The ground won’t be an issue, she’s been in good form and her work at home has been pleasing us.

“Of course it’s hard to transfer that form in Italy to England, but it seems the right race to start her off in and see where we are.

“She’s in the French Guineas and this will tell us a bit more about how to compare what she did in Italy to here.

“She won the Premio Dormello in good style, a Group Two, she’s facing a good field at Newbury though it has cut up a little bit.

“We’ve been happy and we will find out whether she’s up to this level.

“She was trained by my brother and we’ve been in touch, she’s been a straightforward filly since she joined us.”

William Haggas is represented by Relief Rally, a Kodiac filly who proved herself to be high quality when meeting with defeat just once in five runs during her juvenile season.

That defeat was a nose loss in the Queen Mary Stakes at Royal Ascot, after which she went on to win the Super Sprint at Newbury and the Lowther Stakes at York.

She was subsequently sold by Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, fetching 800,000 guineas at Tattersalls and staying in the Haggas yard for new owner Zhang Yuesheng.

Roger Varian runs Elmalka, with Richard Hughes set to saddle Oh So Sharp third Star Music and the field completed by Andrew Balding’s Topanga.

Emile Cairess hopes he can follow training partner Phil Sesemann on the next step of their journey by also qualifying for the Olympics when he tackles the London Marathon again on Sunday.

Sesemann secured his place on the British squad for Paris after running inside the qualifying standard of two hours, eight minutes and four seconds at the Seville Marathon in February.

Cairess came sixth on his London Marathon debut last year, producing the best finish among the home athletes and also recording a third-fastest British men’s time.

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The 26-year-old Yorkshireman feels in good shape to produce another solid display as he bids to join Leeds City club-mate Sesemann in the Team GB squad for Paris, with two more spots still to be taken.

“It was a great feeling to see Phil run 2:08.04. We have been training together for a long, long time,” Cairess said.

“When we first started training together, if somebody told us we could go to the Olympics together, it would have probably looked pretty unrealistic.

“We started training together nine years ago, so we have been on a long journey.

“Getting to go (to the Olympics) with Phil would be really special and I am so happy that he has been able to do it and secure his place.”

Cairess finished ahead of both Sir Mo Farah and Sesemann in the 2023 event, and has his sights firmly set on improving upon that display.

“My preparations have gone well. I have done everything I wanted to do in training and I am hoping for a good race on Sunday,” he said.

“I just want to progress from last year and think with the marathon, you have to take it step by step.

“I want to take the next step forward and make that progress again to be near the front of these big races.”

Cairess added: “I learnt a lot (from last year) in the build-up as well as the race.

“The main thing was just having patience – even if you feel good, just be patient and there is still quite a long way to go.

“I have had a full year really of training for the marathon now, rather than just 12 weeks. I have progressed a long way, so I am hoping to show that on the weekend.”

Olympian Marc Scott will be making his London Marathon debut on Sunday as he looks to build on strong track performances, taking bronze in the 3000m at the 2022 World Indoor Championships.

Although he won the Great North Run in 2021, Northallerton-born Scott knows he will be heading into a completely new challenge on Sunday.

“It is nerve-wracking because it is an unknown for me, obviously I have not done the distance before,” the 30-year-old said.

“Sunday might give us a bit of an idea on potential, but for me, the main goal is to knock out that Olympic standard first and foremost.

“It is good to see Phil already put the time away and be selected. It just gives all the other athletes out there a bit of confidence, seeing how hard he has worked, that we can emulate that and have similar success.”