The severity of forecast rain on Wednesday and Thursday is set to play a key part in determining ground conditions for Saturday’s King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes at Ascot.

The 12-furlong Group One is one of the highlights of the summer and the feature event of the Berkshire track’s two-day meeting, which starts on Friday.

There are over 150 entries for Saturday’s eight-race card, with a stellar cast set to assemble for the King George itself, in which Derby one-two Auguste Rodin and King Of Steel could take on last year’s Epsom hero Desert Crown and the likes of defending champion Pyledriver.

“We’re delighted with how the whole card is shaping up and the entries are excellent,” said Chris Stickels, Ascot’s clerk of the course.

“The King George itself looks like it could be a fantastic renewal.”

Conditions are currently described as good to soft, soft in places following a drying day on Monday.

However, Stickels will be keeping a close eye on the band of rain set to pass through the area later in the week with anything between seven and 15 millimetres forecast to fall – something he believes could be the deciding factor on whether the meeting is held on good or soft ground.

Stickels said: “The going is currently described as good to soft, soft in places.

“That will probably change on Tuesday given we’ve only had 1mm so far on Monday.

“It’s been fairly breezy and will be drying a bit. There was only a little bit of soft first thing this morning in it, we were expecting a little bit more rain, so it’s quite good it has stayed dry.

“I imagine there will be a change in the going on Tuesday to reflect it drying a bit, unless we do get any further rain now.

“The forecast for Tuesday looks generally settled. There is rain again and showers on Wednesday night through Thursday which will soften things up again and then Friday and Saturday look generally dry and blustery, with a chance of a blustery shower.

“We don’t know what to expect because every forecast model is different, but we’re forecast between 7mm and 15mm. If we had 7 or 8mm it would be goodish ground, but if we had the top-end of that forecast it would be slower than that.

“There’s a front coming through late on Wednesday through Thursday and the volume of that will be the factor that will determine what the ground will be like over the weekend.”

Tim Easterby’s Art Power will aim to return to his favourite track after an impressive success in the Sapphire Stakes.

The popular grey is a constant in high-quality sprint contests and is an eight-time winner for owners King Power Racing.

Now six years old, the gelding is unbeaten at the Curragh in four runs having won the Renaissance Stakes twice, as well as the Greenlands Stakes earlier in the season.

Armed with that knowledge, he was well backed as the 6-5 favourite for the Group Two Sapphire Stakes over five furlongs at the track on Saturday.

Under David Allan, he did not disappoint and cruised to an unchallenged four-and-a-quarter-length success to maintain his flawless record at the Kildare venue.

Another trip to the Curragh is now on the horizon for the son of Dark Angel, who holds an entry for the Flying Five Stakes on September 10.

“He’s come home and he’s in great form, he’s come out of it really well,” said Easterby.

“He ran a super race, we were delighted with him and he’s come out of it in great form.

“He’ll probably go back there for the Flying Five in September. He loves it there and he liked that bit of cut in the ground too.

“He just seems to love it, it’s nice ground that often has a bit of cut in it.

“It’s a good, level track for him and he just seems to really enjoy it.”

The British Horseracing Authority has accepted Sean Levey took no prohibited substance following a “non-negative” saliva test at Sandown last year, which was later deemed negative by a laboratory.

Levey was stood down by the raceday stewards on September 14 when an instant saliva test produced a positive result for amphetamine.

The Group One-winning rider requested a urine test within 24 hours and when that returned negative, he was allowed to resume riding.

However, Levey was forced to miss the closing night of the Racing League, for which he was the leading rider ahead of the final meeting. He was subsequently caught by Saffie Osborne, who rode a treble to claim a £20,000 bonus.

In a statement, the BHA said: “The BHA would like to provide the following update on the oral fluid testing pilot, which was paused following a negative laboratory follow-up analysis requested after a point of care racecourse non-negative sample given by Sean Levey at Sandown on September 14, 2022.

“Following that negative laboratory follow-up analysis, the BHA has carried out extensive analysis to ascertain the circumstances behind the original non-negative, remaining in close communication with Mr Levey throughout. The BHA is grateful for his co-operation during this time.

“The BHA completely accepts that Mr Levey did not take amphetamine or any other prohibited substance and has not committed any offence under the rules of racing, with the cause of the non-negative appearing to have been a supplement that those administering the test were not aware of at the time.

“A further update regarding the resumption of the oral fluid testing pilot will follow in due course.”

Billy Loughnane says he will be “pushing to be back as soon as I can” after a thumb injury suffered at Nottingham has left him facing a spell on the sidelines.

The 17-year-old has established himself as one of the rising stars of the weighing room since bursting onto the scene over the winter and is bearing down quickly on a century of winners having continued to have success throughout the summer.

However, his quest for three figures has been halted following the injury sustained in a stalls incident aboard the Ed Dunlop-trained Lucidity on Friday night and although Loughnane is unsure how long he will be out of action, he is keen for a quick return.

He said: “I will be pushing to be back as soon as I can.

“I’m taking it day by day and I’ll be back as soon as I can. It’s obviously frustrating and hard at the minute, watching the horses you could have been on run, but I have had over 500 rides now and been lucky not to pick anything up so far.

“It’s annoying, the timing of it, but it’s just one of those things.”

Upon his return, Loughnane could represent Ireland in the Racing League where his 3lb claim could be a vital asset for Kevin Blake’s team as they bid to climb the table after two years rooted to the bottom of the standings.

Despite his injury, Loughnane is still 14-1 joint favourite with William Hill to be the competition’s top jockey.

He added: “I am looking forward to it, to be part of the Racing League is great. Hopefully I’ll be there for a few of the meetings.

“I was born in Ireland and class myself as Irish, so I’m looking forward to representing Ireland.

“Hopefully it can boost me a little bit and give me the chance to ride for a few different trainers and get myself to the next level a little bit. It’s hopefully going to be a good place to build contacts and there’s great prize-money as well.

“Fingers crossed, I get a bit of luck and can ride a couple of winners.”

David Menuisier’s exciting Sunway could have his potential put to the test at Ascot on Saturday in the Flexjet Pat Eddery Stakes.

The son of Galiway created a taking impression when winning at Sandown on debut and is now being thrust straight into Listed company as one of 17 possibles for the seven-furlong Listed event.

Since his Sandown bow, Qatar Racing have become involved on the ownership side alongside Guy Pariente and Thomas Lines and his handler is keen to see how the colt has progressed from his first start.

“It has been the plan pretty much since Sandown and the rain that has arrived shouldn’t be a problem,” said Menuisier.

“The horse is well and al being well between now and Saturday he will line-up.

“I am not quite sure of the form of the race at Sandown being critical, but he did it in good style and we hope he has improved and he can put on another good display.

“Qatar Racing have decided to buy into the horse which is always very flattering, so lets hope he can run up to the standard they are expecting.”

Charlie Appleby has won this contest the last two years and could be represented by the unbeaten Ancient Wisdom, while Charlie Hills’ Iberian skipped the Superlative Stakes at Newmarket and looked a youngster full of potential in his Newbury debut.

Aidan O’Brien could saddle three, while the Ballydoyle handler could also be represented by Brighter in the Princess Margaret Keeneland Stakes.

Other names to note amongst the 17 entries for that Group Three contest include George Boughey’s Albany third Soprano and recent Anglesey Stakes scorer Kairyu.

Jonathan Portman could also be represented by Cry Fiction who showed plenty of greenness when second in the Empress Fillies’ Stakes but is backed to improve with experience by her handler.

He said: “We’re very happy with how she has been progressing. She was still a bit green at Newmarket having only had the one run.

“She’s come on again for that run and we’re looking forward to running her again and I think she deserves a go.”

A maximum of 19 will head to post for the Longines Valiant Stakes where Ed Walker’s Random Harvest could attempt to bounce back from her disappointing run in the Falmouth Stakes over a course and distance she finished second over during Royal Ascot in the Duke of Cambridge.

Walker also has Sea Of Thieves and Rose Pick entered as he bids to add to his 2021 victory in the race, while Random Harvest’s regular rivals Prosperous Voyage and Grande Dame also feature amongst the list of possible runners.

Karl Burke’s Electric Eyes and Johnny Murtagh’s unbeaten Cadeau Belle will fly the flag for the three-year-olds in the Group Three event, while in the Moet & Chandon International Stakes, defending champion Fresh and Bunbury Cup winner Biggles are the headline acts as 36 stood their ground for the fiercely-contested handicap at Monday’s confirmation stage.

Michael Dods’ Commanche Falls could be set for a Curragh return after his tough success in the Hackwood Stakes at Newbury.

The six-year-old is enjoying a fine season and was third in the Duke of York before winning the Listed Dash Stakes at the Irish track in early July.

That run set him up for a Group Three outing in the Hackwood at the weekend, though wet weather left the ground softer than ideal as he left the stalls the 4-1 favourite.

The gelding did not look to be enjoying conditions early on under Connor Beasley, but as the race reached the final furlong, he edged through a gap to lunge over the line in a group finish.

Commanche Falls had prevailed by a head from Clive Cox’s Diligent Harry and could now head back to the Curragh as he holds an entry for the Rathasker Stud Phoenix Sprint Stakes in August.

“He’s been out in the paddock every day since, he’s eaten up and he looks good,” Dods said.

“The ground really wasn’t to his liking as you could see, he looked beaten at halfway but Connor switched him and asked him a few questions and he showed a lot of guts and bravery to go through the gap and put the race to bed.

“There didn’t look to be a lot of a gap but he dug very deep, he showed his guts to get through it and win.

“He’s been unbelievable to be honest, he keeps surprising us. He never does anything the easy way because he’s usually the first horse off the bridle.

“He looks beaten and then he digs deep, once he gets into gear he motors to the line.”

Of the Curragh trip, which would be dependent on suitable ground, Dods added: “That is the plan, all things being well. I don’t think I would travel over there if it was very soft ground, we’d have to have a rethink.

“All things being well and on decent enough ground, the plan is to go there in August.”

Dods also has another classy sprinter in Azure Blue, who beat Commanche Falls and Highfield Princess to land the Group Two Duke of York on the Knavesmire in May.

The grey then headed for the July Cup at Newmarket but came home sixth under Paul Mulrennan having pulled hard in the early stages.

A York comeback could be on the cards now as the filly holds an entry for the Group One Nunthorpe over five furlongs in late August.

“We’ve given her an easy week, I thought she ran a bit free at Newmarket. Whether it was the sticky ground or what, but she seems well,” said Dods.

“She’s been out in the paddock and we’ll probably start her off this week again cantering and build her up to go again.

“I’ve got to discuss with the owners, she’s got quite a few entries, so we’ll have to decide where to go but she’s in good fettle anyway.

Of the Nunthorpe entry, the trainer said: “It’s definitely in the picture, she’s got other entries as well but I’d like to think she could end up going there.”

Desert Crown is poised to return from his latest injury setback in Saturday’s King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes as last year’s Derby winner is one of 15 confirmed for the £1.25million Ascot contest.

Trained by Sir Michael Stoute, the son of Nathaniel stormed to Classic glory at Epsom in 2022 before spending almost a year on the sidelines and made his return in the Brigadier Gerard in May where he finished second to Owen Burrows’ reopposing Hukum.

A further setback ruled him out of an intended Royal Ascot engagement but having worked on the Limekilns gallop at Newmarket on Sunday morning, he is now on course for a belated appearance at the Berkshire track in search of one of the season’s most prestigious prizes.

“He’s going OK. He worked yesterday morning and he worked nicely,” said Bruce Raymond, racing manager for owner Saeed Suhail.

“He doesn’t do a lot now, but everyone was very pleased. It was good to see him on the grass.”

There could be a rematch of this year’s Derby as Roger Varian’s Royal Ascot scorer King Of Steel will attempt to gain his revenge over his Epsom conqueror Auguste Rodin.

The dual-Classic winner is one of six in the mix for Aidan O’Brien, who could also be represented by Luxembourg, Point Lonsdale, Adelaide River, Broome and Bolshoi Ballet.

Defending champion Pyledriver will bid to enhance his fine Ascot record having landed the Hardwicke Stakes following almost a year off the track during the Royal meeting, while John and Thady Gosden’s Eclipse runner-up and Coronation Cup champion Emily Upjohn adds further spice to a race which looks like being a high-class renewal of the 12-furlong showpiece.

Others bringing strong form to the table include Ralph Beckett’s Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud winner Westover and Stephane Wattel’s French raider Simca Mille, while William Haggas’ recent York scorer Hamish and James Ferguson’s Deauville Legend complete the line-up.

Kadeena Cox is dreaming of the day she no longer feels the need to use her trailblazing sporting success as a reminder of the continued struggle for equality faced by disabled and minority athletes across the country.

The 32-year-old became the first British Paralympian to win gold medals in two separate sports in Rio in 2016 and is targeting a repeat of that momentous feat in Paris next year after narrowly missing out on an athletics medal in Tokyo.

But Cox feels the slow pace of change means she will once again be impelled to hijack her own headline-grabbing sporting feats to ensure that crucial messages about inclusion and acceptance are not snuffed out once the Paralympic flame is extinguished.

“It’s frustrating that we still feel like we have to take a stance, and that rather than our success being about success, it has to be about how we can change the sporting landscape for others,” Cox told the PA news agency.

“I love having the opportunity to help create those changes and I feel privileged to do so, but I’m hoping we have to take less of those moments. Hopefully years from now when I’ve got kids or my kids have got kids, they won’t ever have to think about these things.”

Cox, who was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2014, shot to fame in the wake of her exploits in Rio, in which she won gold medals in both the Velodrome and the athletics track.

She seized a string of high-profile opportunities, including appearances on Celebrity Mastermind, Celebrity Masterchef and I’m a Celebrity, in a bid to sustain the focus on the challenges facing ethnic minority and disabled athletes.

Cox is also working with the Sporting Equals charity as it prepares to relaunch its Sporting Equals Awards, previously the British Ethnic Diversity Sports Awards, in October for the first time since the covid pandemic.

It marks a significant moment for Cox, who believes much of the momentum regained in the wake of the covid pandemic has begun to slow.

“I feel like there was a really big push in the right direction post-lockdown, but we just seem to be going through a stagnant phase,” added Cox.

“Now that we’re not in that intense (pandemic) period and things have got back to normal, people seem to have forgotten about the struggles that some of us are facing, and have kind of gone back to being ignorant.

“Unfortunately, there’s still a lot more that needs to be done, whether that’s for a person who is from a black background, or from a disabled point of view. I still see issues from both of those perspectives.”

It is a message Cox knows she will be projecting for the remainder of her career, and if she realises her ambitions in Paris she will once again ensure plenty of opportunities to spread the word.

Despite undergoing hip surgery at the start of the year which forced her to sit out this month’s World Para Athletics Championships in Paris, Cox is determined to make up for the relative disappointment of missing out on a second double at the delayed Games in Japan.

“I want to do the double again in Paris because I want to put doing two sports to bed, because I’m getting older and it’s getting harder,” laughed Cox.

“I know I have the potential still to go out there and be the best in the world. The cycling is going well and I’m just getting back into running. Fingers crossed if I believe in myself and give my all for the next 12 months, it will be enough.”

:: The Sporting Equals Awards will take place on October 21 at the Royal Lancaster Hotel in London

There will be a continental flavour to the Qatar Sussex Stakes next week as French raider Facteur Cheval is set to take his chance in the red-hot Goodwood contest.

It will be a long journey to the Sussex Downs for the four-year-old, with trainer Jerome Reynier based near Marseille in the south of France.

However, having produced a career best when denied by a head in the Prix d’Ispahan in May, connections are keen to pick up a share of the £1million prize-fund on offer, en-route to their main objective for the second half of the campaign, the Woodbine Mile on September 16.

“Our main goal for the fall is the Woodbine Mile and we needed something to tick him over,” said Barry Irwin, CEO of Team Valor, who own the gelding in partnership with Gary Barber.

“We know this is going to be an insurmountable task, but the timing is right and he is improving, so we are going to send him and see what happens.”

Facteur Cheval has won five of his 10 career stars with his biggest victory coming in the Prix Perth on his final outing last year.

Although he has failed to add to his tally this season, the son of Ribchester has held his own in three high-class events and connections retain plenty of faith in Facteur Cheval, who will be partnered for the first time by Maxime Guyon in the Qatar Goodwood Festival contest.

“Obviously we’re probably going to be running against Paddington and you can’t go into it thinking we’re going to win,” added Irwin.

“But we’ve got a lot of faith in this horse, he’s had a lot of bad luck and we’re hoping we’re going to get a better go of it this race.

“He’s going to be ridden by Maxime Guyon and he has a lot of ability. He just needs the space to run in, once he gets going he’s pretty good.”

Irwin hopes Facteur Cheval will fare better than Star Of Cozzene, who was sent to the Sussex Stakes in the early 1990s in search of testing ground and found the undulations of Goodwood too hot to handle.

“I ran a horse there in the same race in 1992 called Star Of Cozzene,” he added. “He was one of the best horses we have ever had.

“He was fantastic over here in America and I got the bright idea to send him to Europe because he loved heavy ground. He never won a race there, he placed a couple of times but it just never happened.

“When we ran him at Goodwood, he had never run without toe wraps before and he just slid down the hill, he must have been 25 lengths off the lead at one stage and ran sixth. So I know what a difficult place Goodwood is.”

Commissioner Don Garber says Major League Soccer is on a “rocket ship” and believes Lionel Messi’s move to Inter Miami will take the competition to new heights.

After Pele’s move to New York Cosmos in 1975, MLS kicking off in 1996 and David Beckham’s 2007 switch to the LA Galaxy, this summer saw another seismic moment in North American football.

Global star Messi’s move to Miami just seven months after lifting the World Cup with Argentina in Qatar sent ripples across the footballing world.

The 36-year-old’s last-gasp free-kick winner on his debut against Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup on Friday only increased attention on a move that Garber is thrilled about.

“MLS has been on this sort of rocket ship for a while,” said the league’s commissioner since 1999.

“Every day that you think they don’t maybe there’s a quiet period and you can settle in, something else happens that gives you even more momentum, more energy and more sort of optimism about where things are going.

“I think the time is going to come where these great things become expected, special moments are going to be expected and it’s not going to be ‘boy, is this the most special time in the history of the league?’”

Garber takes great pride in the fact “the best player in the history of the game made MLS his league of choice” when he could have gone anywhere.

The commissioner says the Argentinian’s arrival underlines the league’s “unending ambition”, perhaps meaning that one day the best players on the planet will move to North America at 26 rather than 36.

“I think you need to start with getting the best of all time choose us now,” Garber said when that potential change was put to him.

“What will that look like in the years to come and perhaps it will because I think the perception of Major League Soccer is going to change dramatically over the next number of years.

“I think our own ambition is going to change as we all see how all of this plays out.

“But I think because there are a handful of really big names who come at the end of their career, everyone has this label that they put on.

“I mean, David Beckham was 31. He went to Milan and PSG after.

“Yet nobody was saying to Zlatan when he left LA and then he played for Milan for two years and was leading scorer for a while that AC Milan is a retirement club.

“So, I think that’s what all you international pundits like to say but we actually feel really good about the dynamic of our player rosters.

“This concept of a designated player – someone who is outside the (wage) cap who is internationally renowned – that you do need someone who has a legacy of popularity.”

The designated player rule was brought in when Beckham arrived in MLS, with his unique deal allowing him the option to purchase an expansion club at a discounted price.

That team was Miami and the England great looked emotional when Messi made his debut 16 years to the day after he stepped out for his Galaxy bow.

“It fulfilled a dream that he had to really make an impact and follow up on his commitment from the earliest press conference in 2014,” Garber said of the Inter co-owner.

“David stood up there and said ‘I’m going to bring the best players in the world here to Miami – this is a city I love, it’s a team that I’m going to build, I’m going to make it great and I love the league’.

“It’s just not often that things align, and you sort of deliver on the things you say you’re going to deliver. I think that’s cool.

“David is a special guy. People don’t understand how smart David Beckham is, how thoughtful he is and how hard working he is.

“Obviously, you know that he’s very accessible and he’s very humble, but he had a laser focus from the very beginning when he walked off the field: ‘this is what I want to do and this is what it’s going to look like’.

“And it isn’t often where it all aligns and I was emotional with him when I saw him on Sunday night (at Messi’s unveiling).

“Very happy for him and really proud of him. It’s cool.”