Lorna Fowler intends to roll the dice and send Colonel Mustard to the Unibet Champion Hurdle after his second-placed Kingwell Hurdle run.
The nine-year-old has been consistently hitting the frame over both hurdles and fences in recent seasons, winning only twice in his career but placing second on nine occasions.
His CV includes a third place behind State Man in the 2022 County Hurdle and again in the Paddy Power Champion Hurdle at Punchestown last April.
At Wincanton he was reverting to hurdles at Grade Two level after a brief spell over fences before Christmas, and in a field of five he started at 5-1 under Daryl Jacob.
He was ridden patiently in heavy conditions and although he had ground to make up in the home straight, he did his level best and chased home Nemean Lion to go down by a length and a half with Goshen 15 lengths behind him in third place.
“We were so proud of him, that is undoubtedly the best he has ever finished in a race,” said Fowler.
“The horse that won is vastly improving, we missed at the second-last but we were gaining on him.
“All credit to the winner, of course, but I think he ran a huge race and although it is frustrating to come second again, if you look at the other side of the picture we have a horse that has run out of his skin for the last four years.
“He’s done it in the best company on I don’t know how many occasions, lest we forget how lucky we are to have him.
“He’s completely genuine, 100 per cent, but he’s always had a little look around him to see what everyone else is doing, whereas this time he really had his eye on the one in front and he put his head down and battled.”
Colonel Mustard has an entry for the Champion Hurdle and after his Wincanton run connections are keen to take on the challenge, especially given the chestnut has run some of his best races at the big meetings.
“We’re going to go for the Champion Hurdle, it’s not easy to find races for him to win,” said Fowler.
“How often do you have a chance to run in a Champion Hurdle?
“People are talking about the race cutting up and yes, it isn’t a winning opportunity on paper at all, but does he have a chance of getting a place? Absolutely.
“I’m not saying he will be placed, of course, but he does have a chance in my opinion and we have to take it.
“He is the kind of horse that just loves a big occasion, he does raise his game.
“At the end of the day, horse racing is unpredictable on every single level, we’ve got to get there but so does every other horse – Constitution Hill has got to get there, State Man has got to get there.
“You’re on a tightrope at all times and little things can happen and change the landscape, so you’ve got to take the opportunities that are staring you in the face.”
Rasmus Hojlund’s goals against Luton on Sunday made him the youngest player ever to score in six consecutive Premier League games.
The 21-year-old Manchester United striker broke Joe Willock’s record and here, the PA news agency puts his achievement in context.
Six of the best
Hojlund’s scoring run began with the winner against Aston Villa on Boxing Day. That was his first-ever Premier League goal, having failed to score in his first 14 appearances, but he has not let up since.
He opened the scoring after three minutes in a 2-2 draw with Tottenham, netted against Wolves, West Ham and in the return fixture with Villa and then scored twice in the first seven minutes in the win over Luton.
Aged 21 years and 14 days, he is 260 days younger than Willock when he netted for Newcastle against Sheffield United in May 2021 to break the record previously held by Romelu Lukaku.
Willock extended his streak to seven games three days later against Fulham, who will also be United’s opponents on Saturday as Hojlund has the chance to break that record.
The Dane also has Manchester United’s longest scoring run since Cristiano Ronaldo’s first spell at the club. Marcus Rashford managed five in a row in January and February 2023 but Hojlund is the first United player to score in six consecutive league games since Ronaldo in 2013.
Willock’s run, while on loan from Arsenal, earned him a permanent move to Tyneside – but in a warning that nothing can be taken for granted, he has scored only five Premier League goals in 67 games since.
In good company
The list of the youngest players to achieve each goalscoring streak in the Premier League sees Hojlund join a high-profile group of names.
The early entries are players whose goalscoring impact came at a young age – James Vaughan and Danny Cadamarteri failed to build on their early promise with Everton while James Milner, who scored in back-to-back Leeds games as a 16-year-old, has had a long and successful top-flight career but rarely as a prolific marksman.
Beyond Cadamarteri’s three-game scoring run, the other names on the list are some of the league’s elite strikers – starting with Robbie Fowler, who scored in four straight games for Liverpool as a 19-year-old.
Nicolas Anelka scored in a fifth successive game for Arsenal in 1998 aged 19 years and 239 days, with an age gap of more than a year to Hojlund.
Willock still has the seven-game record, while Daniel Sturridge netted in eight in a row for Liverpool in 2014 aged 24.
No player has had a scoring streak of exactly nine games, meaning Ruud van Nistelrooy holds that record as well as the 10-game mark aged 27, while Jamie Vardy was 28 when he set the league’s record scoring run of 11 games for Leicester in their 2015-16 title-winning season.
Newcastle have placed sporting director Dan Ashworth on garden leave as Manchester United prepare to formalise their efforts to take him to Old Trafford.
The PA news agency understands the 52-year-old has stepped away from his duties at St James’ Park having told the ownership group that he wants to accept the Red Devils’ overtures.
New Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe has identified the former Football Association technical director as the man he wants to lead an overhaul and now faces the prospect of striking a deal to prise him from the Magpies’ grasp.
It is understood there has been no formal contact between the clubs as yet but there is little doubt that both will want the matter resolved swiftly to their satisfaction after a week of speculation.
Magpies head coach Eddie Howe has already expressed his concern over the potential for Ashworth to take his inside knowledge with him and that fear is likely to have a major say in Newcastle’s willingness to cut short a stipulated period of inactivity before he can take up a role with a competitor.
In the circumstances, Manchester United may have to bite the bullet on a significant compensation package if they want to get their man in time for an important summer transfer window.
Ashworth was drafted in by Newcastle’s Saudi-backed owners in June 2022 after they paid Brighton substantial compensation to secure his services.
They had identified him as the man they wanted to knit together the various arms of the club’s football operations and not just to oversee its transfer dealings.
He was at the helm as the Magpies surged to a top-four Premier League finish and earned a return to Champions League football after an absence of two decades.
Along the way, they also reached the Carabao Cup final, where they were beaten 2-0 by Erik ten Hag’s men at Wembley.
Howe has enjoyed a close relationship with Ashworth, who was in the stands at St James’ Saturday’s for 2-2 draw with Bournemouth, but admitted after the game he had not spoken to him since voicing his fears about the confidential information he has about the club’s future planning.
Asked on Friday if the sporting director knew the details of Newcastle’s summer recruitment mission, he said: “Yes, and that’s why I say he’s in a position of power, with a lot of intelligence and information.”
Newcastle have not commented on the situation, but are sure to drive a hard bargain as they attempt to protect themselves while at the same time looking for a talented administrator to replace a key member of the hierarchy.
Tom Cannon is confident Edwardstone can play a major role in the Betway Queen Mother Champion Chase if reproducing his resurgent Game Spirit heroics at the Cheltenham Festival.
Alan King’s star chaser bounced back to his very best to produce a blistering front-running display at Newbury earlier this month, a victory that gave the Barbury Castle handler his second win in the Grade Two event alongside Sceau Royal.
It was Edwardstone’s first triumph since the 2022 Tingle Creek and having snapped a six-race losing run, the 10-year-old is now the general 8-1 third-favourite for the Champion Chase behind Willie Mullins’ El Fabiolo and regular adversary Jonbon.
Cannon said: “He must have put himself right in the mix. Hopefully he will be a bit closer to Jonbon given a change of tactics and anything more than that is a bonus, I think.
“If he turns up in the same form as he did at Newbury, we know he acts round Cheltenham so we keep our fingers crossed to get there in A1 condition and anything after that is in the lap of the gods.”
Edwardstone gave Cannon one of the biggest days of his career when waltzing to Arkle glory at the Festival in 2022, but there was disappointment 12 months later when sent off 15-8 second-favourite for the Champion Chase, tailing home in fifth and beaten 64 lengths by an imperious Energumene.
However, the jockey feels Edwardstone is heading for his second bite of the Champion Chase cherry in much better form and has been extremely encouraged by the feel his partner has given him throughout the current campaign.
“He probably wasn’t going into it in as good a form as he is this year, last year. So if he can continue the form he is in now, hopefully he will be thereabouts,” continued Cannon.
“He’s been a different horse since he has come back in this year. The first race at Cheltenham in the Shloer Chase he felt back to himself and the couple of times he had run at Cheltenham the season before he had never really picked the bridle up.
“In the Shloer, he picked the bridle up and pulled my arms off like he used to and then obviously ran very well in the Tingle Creek. Two-mile-four wasn’t to his liking at Kempton, but back to two miles at Newbury seemed to suit him, so you have to look forward to it (the Champion Chase).
“If we can get into a nice rhythm, then the best horse will win at the end of the day.”
Brendon McCullum insisted England’s best chance of turning the tide in India is to keep trusting in their methods as he resists calls to adapt despite a humbling defeat in Rajkot.
Michael Vaughan described a 434-run loss in the third Test – their heaviest since 1934 – as a “wake-up call” on X, while Nasser Hussain indicated in the Daily Mail that “tweaks” to the ‘Bazball’ approach are a must.
The suggestions of two former England captains are likely to fall on deaf ears as McCullum sticks to his guns despite going 2-1 down in a five-match series which resumes in Ranchi on Friday.
McCullum, who has won 14 of 21 Tests as England head coach after taking charge of a team triumphant in one of their preceding 17, accepts criticism will come his way but he and skipper Ben Stokes feel that putting limitations in place can only have a disruptive effect.
“The positivity and confidence within the environment needs to remain,” McCullum said. “If we do that we give ourselves the best opportunity with the talent we possess to bounce back.
“That messaging that comes from myself and the skipper will never change regardless of how we’re going. I don’t want our guys to ever doubt themselves otherwise we go back to where it was beforehand.
“When you start retreating a little bit on what you’ve done before and what you’ve said you’re trying to achieve, you’re literally living and dying every day by your results and that’s not what this team is about.
“This team is about trying to keep pushing the game forward, to try and entertain and ultimately win. It didn’t work this time around but you can only do that by providing an environment where the guys feel safe and feel they can take on the world.”
Joe Root spilled a catch in the first innings of the Test that would have left India 47 for four before they made 445 and was then out to a reverse ramp as England crumbled from 224 for two to 319 all out, with the tourists out of the game from that point on.
Root, left nursing a sore thumb that is not thought to be serious, is yet to reach 30 in this series, while fellow Yorkshireman Jonny Bairstow is also struggling, out for nought and four in recent days.
The pair average around 50 under Stokes and McCullum, with Bairstow setting the template for the era in the summer of 2022 with four hundreds in six Tests at a jaw-dropping strike-rate of 96.59.
“Jonny’s not scored the volume of runs he would have wanted and a couple of times he’s got out kind of mildly for someone who’s got the power game he’s got,” McCullum said.
“I don’t have concerns over him. I’m not blind but he’s done so well for us. We know that a top-quality Jonny Bairstow is as good as anyone in any conditions so we’ve got to keep on giving him confidence and block out a lot of the external noise.
“Joe will be fine. It’s a great compliment to be in a funk after three Test matches. He just has to keep backing himself and wait for the luck to turn his way.
“The fact he’s missed out in three Tests, does that surely not just mean that he’s closer to getting a big score? It’s Joe Root, crikey. I mean, seriously? The law of averages suggests he’ll fill his boots in the next two Tests.”
Stokes has opened the door to resuming bowling competitively for the first time since last summer’s Ashes although McCullum admitted he may have a role to play in reining him in.
“Ben is clever,” McCullum added. “He won’t bowl unless he thinks he’s legitimately able to bowl. The problem would be if he starts getting into a spell and then he can’t get out of the spell.
“If he does get that bit between his teeth, let’s see where the danger lies and try and pull him away from it. But it’s good that he’s actually getting into a state where he thinks he might bowl.”
Dejan Kulusevski has acknowledged Tottenham were “too open” against Wolves and insisted they must work harder to get their top-four charge back on track.
Spurs slipped to a 2-1 loss at home to the Midlands club on Saturday, which allowed Aston Villa to leapfrog them and take back fourth position, while sixth-placed Manchester United are only three points behind.
Tottenham lacked fluency against Wolves and while Kulusevski levelled 34 seconds into the second half, the visitors continued to cause Ange Postecoglou’s team problems on the break and it ultimately resulted in Joao Gomes’ second goal after a superb Pedro Neto run.
“Nothing worse than losing so very tough,” Kulusevski said.
“We had a lot of chances, we can’t score them and then not enough discipline when we lost the ball.
“They had two or three counter-attacks where we’re not good enough and they made us pay. After that it is difficult to come back again in the game.
“We were too many guys up front. Too open and not running back as hard as we should. They could score a couple and that’s not good enough.”
Tottenham have shipped chances all season and only kept five clean sheets in the Premier League, but have missed first-choice defenders Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven for chunks of the campaign.
The absence of speedy full-backs Pedro Porro and Destiny Udogie also curbed Spurs’ creativity against Wolves and they face a two-week wait to put things right as Friday’s scheduled fixture at Chelsea was postponed due to the Blues’ Carabao Cup final involvement.
Postecoglou stated hard work would get Tottenham back to the free-flowing football they produced during the opening months of the season and Kulusevski echoed his sentiments ahead of Crystal Palace’s visit on March 2.
Kulusevski added: “We are not playing good enough, especially first half. We are not playing good enough and losing too many balls, so we have to get better.
“We have two weeks to work on that and come back much better.
“We found a couple of solutions (against Wolves) so it is there and we just have to get better and practice in training.
“We are football players, we want to play a lot and two weeks is a long of time, but we have to do the journey. We have to train and get better, so we have to see it as a positive thing.”
Formula One’s governing body, the FIA, said it will not comment on Christian Horner’s future until Red Bull’s investigation has been concluded – but added it “remains committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity, fairness and inclusivity within the sport”.
Horner’s role as Red Bull team principal remains in the balance following a claim of “inappropriate behaviour” by a female colleague. Horner emphatically denies the allegations.
On Sunday, F1 bosses called for the controversy to be “clarified at the earliest opportunity”. The new season gets under way on March 2.
A statement from the FIA on Monday read: “In relation to the independent investigation currently being undertaken by Red Bull GMbH, the FIA reiterates that until such time as the investigation has concluded and the outcome is known, we will not be commenting further.
“The FIA remains committed to upholding the highest standards of integrity, fairness and inclusivity within the sport.”
Speaking at Red Bull Racing’s car launch in Milton Keynes last Thursday, Horner, 50, insisted he would be in Bahrain for the opening race.
Horner said he was unable to provide a timeline as to when the investigation by the racing team’s parent company, Red Bull GmBH, will be completed.
It is understood both Red Bull and Horner are keen for a swift resolution and sources have indicated to the PA news agency that there could yet be a conclusion by the end of the week.
However, it is thought unlikely that a verdict will be found before this week’s three-day test in Bahrain which starts on Wednesday.
An F1 spokesperson said: “We have noted that Red Bull has instigated an independent investigation into internal allegations at Red Bull Racing.
“We hope that the matter will be clarified at the earliest opportunity, after a fair and thorough process, and we will not comment further at this time.”
Last season Red Bull won all but one of the 22 races, with Max Verstappen taking his third world championship in as many years.
Bayern Munich’s shock defeat to Bochum on Sunday means they have lost three games in a row for the first time since 2015.
England captain Harry Kane’s late goal was not enough to avoid a 3-2 defeat, with Kevin Stoger’s penalty proving decisive.
That followed their 3-0 setback at title rivals Bayer Leverkusen, who now lead the Bundesliga by eight points, and 1-0 Champions League first-leg loss to Lazio.
Coach Thomas Tuchel insisted the Bochum result was “not deserved” after an improved performance but the losing run is the worst, excluding friendlies, since May 2015.
Pep Guardiola’s side on that occasion suffered through a very similar run starting with a 2-0 league defeat to Leverkusen.
Again a Champions League defeat followed – 3-0 to Barcelona in the semi-final first leg, with two late goals from Lionel Messi and one from Neymar – and they then suffered a Bundesliga shock against Augsburg.
Possibly the more appropriate post-match quote came from midfielder Leon Goretzka, who told the club’s website: “It feels like a horror film that doesn’t stop. Everything is going against us.”
The central protagonist in that storyline is defender Dayot Upamecano – remarkably, he has been sent off for conceding the penalties that led to the winning goals for both Lazio and Bochum.
Newcastle have placed sporting director Dan Ashworth on gardening leave as Manchester United prepare to formalise their efforts to take him to Old Trafford.
The PA news agency understands the 52-year-old has stepped away from his duties at St James’ Park having told the ownership group that he wants to accept the Red Devils’ overtures.
New Manchester United co-owner Jim Ratcliffe has identified the former Football Association technical director as the man he wants to lead an overhaul and now faces the prospect of striking a deal to prise him from the Magpies’ grasp.
It is understood there has been no formal contact between the clubs as yet but there is little doubt that both will want the matter resolved swiftly to their satisfaction after a week of speculation.
Magpies head coach Eddie Howe has already expressed his concern over the potential for Ashworth to take his inside knowledge with him and that fear is likely to have a major say in Newcastle’s willingness to cut short a stipulated period of inactivity before he can take up a role with a competitor.
In the circumstances, Manchester United may have to bite the bullet on a significant compensation package if they want to get their man in time for an important summer transfer window.
Sheffield United’s fifth defeat of the season by five goals or more leaves Chris Wilder’s side facing the prospect of setting several unwanted Premier League records.
Here, the PA news agency looks at how their defensive record compares to the worst in the top flight’s modern era.
Blades cut down
United have lost 18 of their 25 league games this season, with only three wins, to prop up the table on 13 points – but even those figures do not fully illustrate their struggles.
They were beaten 8-0 by Newcastle at Bramall Lane in September and have lost their last two home games 5-0 to Aston Villa and Brighton, with further defeats by that scoreline at Arsenal in October and relegation-rivals Burnley in December – after which they sacked manager Paul Heckingbottom and reappointed Wilder.
Only two teams in Premier League history have previously conceded five goals or more on five occasions in the same season, though both went on to add a sixth.
Swindon’s 1993-94 relegation season included them losing 5-0 at home to Liverpool and Leeds as well as away to Villa, 5-1 at Southampton, 6-2 at Everton and 7-1 at Newcastle. Among Derby’s 29 defeats – in their 11-point season in 2007-08 – they lost 6-0 at Liverpool and at home to Villa, 5-0 at Arsenal and at home to West Ham, 6-1 at Chelsea and 6-2 to Arsenal.
The Blades had Mason Holgate sent off against Brighton when the game was still goalless to add to his nightmare season.
The defender is on loan from Everton, having spent the first half of the campaign at Championship side Southampton. In both loan spells, Holgate made his debut in a 5-0 defeat for his side – for Saints at Sunderland and the Blades against Villa.
Record pace
United have conceded the most goals ever through 25 games of a Premier League season, 65, and will need to improve to avoid breaking records for defensive futility set by the aforementioned Swindon and Derby teams.
The most goals conceded in a Premier League season is 100, by Swindon in their 42 games that season. Derby set the worst of the 38-game era, 89, as they also recorded the worst points total (11) and goal difference (-69) in any Premier League campaign.
The Blades have conceded an average of 2.60 goals per game, worse than Derby’s 2.34 and Swindon’s 2.38. Indeed, they are on course to concede 99 goals this season (98.80 at their average of 2.60) so are even at risk of breaking Swindon’s 42-game record.
An average goal difference of -1.72 per game over a 38-game season equates to -65.36, within four of Derby’s record.
They have at least already passed the Rams’ 11-point tally but they – and Burnley, also on 13 – could join only six previous teams who finished with under 20 points.
Their current 0.52 average per game equates to 19.76 over a full season, so any further drop-off would see them in the unwanted company of the Sunderland sides who managed just 19 points in 2002-03 and 15 in 2005-06, Portsmouth’s 19 in 2009-10, Villa (17 in 2015-16), Huddersfield (16 in 2018-19) and that history-making Derby team.
LeBron James has outlined his desire to finish his storied career with the Los Angeles Lakers, despite recent reports linking him with a trade.
While James' average of 24.8 points per game this season is down on last term's 28.9, the NBA's all-time leading scorer has continued to impress while playing through a niggling ankle injury in his 21st season in the league.
He has only missed seven of Los Angeles' 56 games thus far in 2023-24, helping the team win the inaugural NBA in-season tournament in December.
James has a $51.4million player option for 2024-25 with the Lakers, but he recently said he was undecided on whether to take up that option.
That led to speculation that he could be available, with his current team fielding calls from the Golden State Warriors and the Philadelphia 76ers ahead of the trade deadline earlier this month.
However, the 39-year-old stayed put, and speaking before his record-extending 20th appearance in the NBA's All-Star Game on Sunday, he gave his clearest indication yet that he sees his future in Los Angeles.
"I am a Laker and I'm happy. I have been very happy being a Laker for the last six years and hopefully it stays that way," James said.
"I don't have the answer to how long it is or which uniform I'll be in, but hopefully it is with the Lakers. It's a great organisation with so many greats, but we'll see."
Warriors forward Draymond Green reportedly lobbied team owner Joe Lacob to enquire about a blockbuster trade for James, but he says he played no part in any talks with Golden State.
"I actually heard about it when everybody else heard about it," James told TNT Sports of their interest.
"Sometimes there's conversations that happen behind closed doors that you don't even know about, I guess until it's real or not, then they'll bring it to you. It never even got to me."
Looking further ahead, James knows the curtain will soon come down on his glittering career, but he is yet to make any decisions regarding the nature of his NBA farewell.
Asked whether he would announce his retirement in advance in order to receive a proper send-off, as opposed to quitting in the offseason, James said: "I'm 50-50, to be honest.
"I was asked this question a couple of days ago; 'Will you take the farewell tour, or will you just Tim Duncan it?'
"There's times when I feel like I owe it to my fans that have been on this journey with me for two decades, to be able to give them that moment where it's every city and they give you flowers or whatever the case may be. That seems cool.
"But on the other side, I've never been that great with accepting praise. It's a weird feeling for me. I don't know how it's going to end, but it's coming. It's coming, for sure."
Birmingham manager Tony Mowbray will temporarily step down from his role to undergo medical treatment, the Sky Bet Championship club have announced.
Mowbray will be absent from the touchline for approximately six to eight weeks, with assistant manager Mark Venus taking charge of first-team affairs.
The 60-year-old said: “Following my recent LMA Health Assessment I have received a medical diagnosis that will require me to receive treatment.
“Undergoing treatment will necessitate that I temporarily step away from the technical area as manager of Birmingham City Football Club.
“Until I return, my assistant manager, Mark Venus, will take temporary charge of the team, supported by coaches Ashley Cole, Pete Shuttleworth and Maik Taylor. I will continue to provide advice and counsel while undergoing treatment.
“The club has been incredibly supportive of me and my family and we are very grateful. I know that everyone will be respectful of our privacy at this time.”
Birmingham have won four, lost three and drawn one of their eight games in all competitions since Mowbray was appointed in January following the departure of Wayne Rooney.
His last game in charge resulted in a 2-1 win over former club Sunderland, who sacked Mowbray in December.
Birmingham chief executive officer Garry Cook, said: “Our thoughts are with Tony, his wife Amber, and family.
“We wish him a speedy recovery and look forward to welcoming Tony back to the club to continue the excellent work that he has started.”
LeBron James said the All-Star game is "something we need to figure out" as NBA commissioner Adam Silver hit out at the players.
Silver had promised a competitive All-Star game after a damp squib last year.
And although Sunday's game proved to be the highest-scoring All-Star encounter in NBA history, with the East beating the West 211-186, Silver was unimpressed with the level of competitiveness on show.
Rather flatly, Silver said: "To the Eastern Conference All-Stars, you scored the most points. Well ... congratulations."
James only played in the first half of his record 20th All-Star appearance, as he manages an ankle issue.
And while seeing Silver's side of the argument, James said it is a "deeper conversation".
"I think it's something we need to figure out," said James, who scored eight points for the West.
"Obviously from a player's perspective, it's fun to get up and down. But at the end of the day, our competitive nature don't like to have free-flowing scoring like that.
"But I think the good thing that came out of tonight was none of the players were injured, and everybody came out unscathed or how they were before the game started. So it's a deeper conversation."
James' Los Angeles Lakers teammate Anthony Davis said: "Obviously the fans and the league and everybody wants to be competitive, but then you also as players think about trying not to get hurt. Obviously injuries are a part of the game, and no one wants to get hurt in the All-Star Game.
"All these guys here are very valuable to their teams. So it's some mixed emotions about it.
"You try to go out there and compete a little bit and not just be a highlight show. But at the same time, do you guys really want to see somebody going down for a dunk and somebody going to contest it and, God forbid, something happens in the All-Star Game when it could have been avoided?"
However, Anthony Edwards, of the Minnesota Timberwolves, suggested he has no interest in playing too fiercely in an exhibition match.
"For me, it's an All-Star Game, so I will never look at it as being super competitive," he said.
"It's always fun. I don't know what they can do to make it more competitive. I don't know. I think everyone looks at it [like] it's a break, so I don't think everyone wants to come here and compete."
Chris Waller has paid tribute to Australian champion Verry Elleegant after the mare died due to foaling complications.
Waller handled the New Zealand-bred runner for the majority of her superstar career, saddling the daughter of Zed to win 11 Group One contests, including the 2020 Caulfield Cup and the 2021 Melbourne Cup.
Following that Flemington victory, Verry Elleegant was sent to race in Europe in the summer of 2022, joining Francis-Henri Graffard in France.
She had four starts for Graffard, with her best effort coming when third in the Prix Foy and she signed off with an unplaced effort on Champions Day at Ascot in October 2022.
The eight-year-old remained in Europe following her career swansong and was covered by Sea The Stars last year.
“It is incredibly sad that we pass on the news on behalf of the ownership group that Verry Elleegant has passed away due to complications giving birth to her foal,” Waller said in a statement on social media.
“The news is just filtering through to stable staff now and other close connections who are coming to terms with this tragic news. She was in fantastic hands on a farm who did all they could for her, and we would like to thank them for their efforts which we will be forever grateful for.
“We all saw the courage she had on the racetrack over many seasons, and she will never be forgotten by those close to her as well as the wider racing public who followed her career and loved her so much.”
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