Marco Botti is banking on his decision to skip the Gold Cup at Ascot paying dividends in the Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup for Giavellotto.
Promoted to third in the St Leger behind Eldar Eldarov last season, he beat that rival in the Yorkshire Cup last month, admittedly in receipt of 5lb.
Botti decided against going to Ascot feeling two miles is as far as his stable star wants to go, and an entry in the Irish St Leger suggests he may even be coming back in trip later in the season.
“Giavellotto is very well and the plan was always to go straight for the Goodwood Cup,” said Botti.
“The horse won well at York and then we were keen to give him more time rather than stepping up to the Gold Cup, as we think two miles is his best trip.
“He has matured a lot mentally from three to four and we expected him to improve this season, as most stayers do with age. He used to wear a hood and get quite warm before his races but that was not the case in the Yorkshire Cup.
“We were disappointed on his first run back in the Dubai Gold Cup but he was drawn wide and the race did not pan out for him, so it was nice to see him show what we thought he was capable of at York.
“You never know until you run at Goodwood whether they will handle the track, but he seems a well-balanced horse and the long straight will be in his favour.”
Giavellotto is one of 26 entries for the Goodwood race, which include the Gold Cup winner Courage Mon Ami.
His John and Thady Gosden-trained stablemate and Queen’s Vase winner Gregory, who is so far unbeaten, is another potential rival.
Subjectivist, Coltrane, Eldar Eldarov and Emily Dickinson are others given the option.
Dermot Weld will give the Coolmore America ‘Justify’ Matron Stakes at Leopardstown “serious consideration” for his star filly Tahiyra.
The Aga Khan-owned three-year-old landed the third Group One success of her short career to date when successful in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot last week.
She is currently on a short break at her owner’s Gilltown Stud with a view to an autumn campaign, with the race on Irish Champions Festival taking place on September 9.
“The Matron Stakes would certainly be a race we would definitely consider,” said Weld on the Dublin track’s website.
“Tahiyra has come out of last week well and is going on a short break at the moment and no decision has been made about her autumn campaign, but obviously the Matron Stakes will be given very serious consideration.”
Weld has won the race twice before, with Dress To Thrill (2002) and Emulous (2011), and he could also run Homeless Songs this year.
“Emulous was a very good filly I trained for Juddmonte. She was a very good winner of it. She was a very consistent filly, a multiple Group-winning filly,” he said.
“And of course Dress To Thrill was an unbeaten three-year-old filly that I trained for Moyglare. She was very talented. She won the Matron Stakes, the Sun Chariot at Newmarket and then, with a brilliant ride by Pat Smullen, won the Grade One Matriarch Stakes in California, beating the champion turf mare of America, Golden Apples.”
Above The Curve, Inspiral, Just Beautiful, Laurel, Moon De Vega and Aidan O’Brien’s Statuette, who has not run yet this season, are also among the 46 entries.
Every FIFA Women's World Cup sees young players come to the fore and explode into popular consciousness and Jamaica’s rising goalkeeper Liya Brooks is hoping that next month's showpiece in Australia and New Zealand will present with her moment of glory.
It may seem far-fetched given the fact that she has more experienced counterparts Rebecca Spencer and Sydney Schneider to contend with, but much like Schneider rose to prominence during the Girlz World Cup debut in France 2019, the American-born Brooks knows it is by no means impossible.
In France, Schneider, then a 19-year-old rookie, pulled off a stunning penalty save in the Reggae Girlz opening game against Brazil, though they inevitably lost 0-3.
Brooks, 18, is yearning for a big break like that when the Girlz do battle in Group F against France, Brazil and Panama at the July 20 to August 20 World Cup, but until then, she is focused on putting in the necessary work to continue impressing Head coach Lorne Donaldson and his assistants.
"Of course, there’s a competition, and I'll certainly fight for that spot in the starting team which would mean a whole lot to me at this point in my career, but I just want what is best for the team. So even if I wasn’t the one, then that’s ok," Brooks told SportsMax.tv from her base in the United States.
"I just have to put in the work. Plain and simple and I’ll do that without hesitancy, especially going to college now, I know that will no doubt take my fitness and lifestyle to another level, and I can’t wait for that as well," she added.
Though she is still basking in the fact that she was selected in Donaldson's final squad, Brooks, who earns her Island stripes through her mother Tandi Nelson-Brooks, revealed that celebrations will be low-key, as she braces for her freshman year at Washington State University.
"It’s a great feeling being selected for my first World Cup. There’s nothing like it, because it is the highest stage of competition in both the men and women’s game, so of course it’s a very big achievement.
"Unfortunately, there are no real celebrations. I’m off to college so an eight-hour car ride is all the celebration I’ll be doing, but I’ll be happy to celebrate a little with my new teammates, who I'm sure are just as happy as I am," she shared.
Still, the sense of pride and accomplishment Brooks feels cannot be understated having successfully transitioned from Under-17 and Under-20 representation, where she showed immense ability, which caught the senior Reggae Girlz coach staff's attention since their historic tour of South Korea late last year.
"It’s extremely massive. It puts my name on the international map at the senior level at an early stage, but for me it just makes me hungrier to strive for more than a spot on the roster next time," Brooks declared.
"I want to play and being around the senior players have shown me that there is always work to be done, but I’ll learn from those around me and use my own experiences along the way to get there. The aim is always to push as hard as possible and to be a better player and these experiences will help me to improve," she noted.
That said, the tall and agile goalkeeper admitted that the initial stages of her transition were nerve-wracking and did indeed test her mettle but credited her more senior counterparts for their guidance in ensuring she held firm.
"It definitely wasn’t easy and still isn’t. The team itself is great and very welcoming, but I personally struggle with my own confidence and that’s what can bring down my performance at times. The team recognized that and encouraged me instead," she explained.
"Becky [Spencer] and Syd [Schneider] are amazing. They are excellent players and even better people. Alyssa [Whitehead], our goalkeeper coach, is as well. All three of them inspire me and push me to be a better player whether they know it or not. That made it really fun, and they got me through even my physically tough training," Brooks ended.
Mick Appleby’s Big Evs is Goodwood-bound after a memorable victory at Royal Ascot.
The Blue Point colt had a second-placed debut run under his belt when he lined up at 20-1 in the Windsor Castle Stakes at Ascot last Wednesday, but under Jason Hart he was a decisive winner when defeating Aidan O’Brien’s 100-30 favourite Johannes Brahms by three lengths.
The Molecomb at Goodwood’s headline meeting is next on the agenda, a Group Three run over five furlongs, with a trip to the Knavesmire at York also pencilled in later in the season.
Appleby said: “I did quite fancy him because he worked well with Annaf (King’s Stand third) the Saturday before.”
“I was pretty confident he would finish in the first three but I didn’t think he would win like that. Obviously he is a very good horse.
“I had plenty of messages of congratulations afterwards which I was very appreciative of. It is what we do it for and Royal Ascot is where everyone wants to have winners.
“He is more than likely to now go for the Molecomb at Goodwood. I think that is the most obvious target for him and then we will go from there.”
At York the two-year-old could stick to five furlongs for the Nunthorpe, but there is also a chance he could step up a furlong and take on the Gimcrack Stakes instead.
Appleby said: “We’ve said we will possibly look at the Nunthorpe afterwards but Goodwood is next on the agenda. We did half think about going for the Gimcrack at York after Goodwood as well.
“Whether he will get six furlongs I don’t know, but it didn’t look like he was stopping at Ascot.
“At York I think he probably would get six furlongs, but we will get Goodwood done first then make a decision which route we take after that.
“The owner has had a few offers on the table for him but he is not interested in selling him which is good to see.”
Mick Appleby’s Big Evs is Goodwood-bound after a memorable victory at Royal Ascot.
The Blue Point colt had a second-placed debut run under his belt when he lined up at 20-1 in the Windsor Castle Stakes at Ascot last Wednesday, but under Jason Hart he was a decisive winner when defeating Aidan O’Brien’s 100-30 favourite Johannes Brahms by three lengths.
The Molecomb at Goodwood’s headline meeting is next on the agenda, a Group Three run over five furlongs, with a trip to the Knavesmire at York also pencilled in later in the season.
Appleby said: “I did quite fancy him because he worked well with Annaf (King’s Stand third) the Saturday before.”
“I was pretty confident he would finish in the first three but I didn’t think he would win like that. Obviously he is a very good horse.
“I had plenty of messages of congratulations afterwards which I was very appreciative of. It is what we do it for and Royal Ascot is where everyone wants to have winners.
“He is more than likely to now go for the Molecomb at Goodwood. I think that is the most obvious target for him and then we will go from there.”
At York the two-year-old could stick to five furlongs for the Nunthorpe, but there is also a chance he could step up a furlong and take on the Gimcrack Stakes instead.
Appleby said: “We’ve said we will possibly look at the Nunthorpe afterwards but Goodwood is next on the agenda. We did half think about going for the Gimcrack at York after Goodwood as well.
“Whether he will get six furlongs I don’t know, but it didn’t look like he was stopping at Ascot.
“At York I think he probably would get six furlongs, but we will get Goodwood done first then make a decision which route we take after that.
“The owner has had a few offers on the table for him but he is not interested in selling him which is good to see.”
Royal Ascot winner Waipiro will continue his career in Hong Kong, trainer Ed Walker has announced.
The three-year-old has made huge strides in four starts this term, winning a Newmarket novice in April before going on to finish second in the Lingfield Derby Trial and a respectable sixth in the Epsom Classic itself.
Dropped back to 10 furlongs for the Group Three Hampton Court Stakes last week, Waipiro posted his best performance to date when triumphing by a cosy two and a half lengths from Exoplanet.
A half-brother to Waikuku, a multiple Group One winner in Hong Kong, Waipiro will not run again for Walker and will be campaigned towards the Hong Kong Derby in March for owners the Siu family.
Walker told Racing TV: “The reason I have horses for the Siu family, and they are such great supporters, is for that reason, to produce horses for Hong Kong.
“He’s the perfect horse for the Hong Kong Derby. Mr Siu tries to buy one or two horses for the Hong Kong Derby every year and why would you not take Waipiro and try to buy another one.
“Every owner in Hong Kong wanting a European horse for the Derby would want Waipiro. He’s the perfect horse – loves fast ground, has a high cruising speed, huge talent, 10 furlongs, he’s the right horse for the job.”
Texas senior, Julien Alfred, has been named among three finalists for the prestigious Women’s Bowerman Award alongside Florida’s Jasmine Moore and Arkansas’ Britton Wilson.
The St. Lucian dominated the sprints all year. It started during the indoor season when she entered the year with the 60m collegiate record, only to break her own record six times en route to the NCAA title. Alfred also added a collegiate record during the indoor 200 meters during an NCAA-title winning race, scoring 20 points to lead Texas to a second-place team finish.
During the outdoor season, the fireworks continued as the reigning Commonwealth Games silver medalist kicked off her season with three collegiate records in the relays as the leadoff runner in the 4x100, 4x200 and sprint medley relays. It wouldn't be the last time Alfred set a collegiate record in the relays, ultimately setting the standing record in the DI championship semifinals.
She might've set more collegiate records in the outdoor 100 and 200 meters at the DI championships too if not for a windy day during the finals.
Nonetheless, Alfred ran the fastest all-conditions times in NCAA history to win the outdoor 100 and 200m crowns. Alfred scored 22.5 total points at the DI championships to lead Texas to the team title on its home track, the first for the Longhorns in 18 years.
She becomes the fourth female Longhorn to be named a Bowerman finalist, hoping to become the second Longhorn to take home the award after Courtney Okolo did so in 2016.
The winner will be announced at the USTFCCCA Convention in Denver on December 14.
The full squads for the Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) and Massy Women’s Caribbean Premier League (WCPL) will be revealed during the draft show which will be broadcast on the tournament’s Facebook and YouTube pages at 10:30am Eastern Caribbean Time on Friday 30 June.
During the show the drafted players as well as the overseas signings for both tournaments will be revealed. The show will be hosted by Alex Jordan and will feature Ian Bishop, Daren Ganga and Anisa Mohammed giving their expert opinions on the squads for both the CPL and WCPL.
You will be able to view the Draft Show in the following places:
CPL’s Facebook and YouTube – Worldwide
Star Sports – India
Fancode - India
SportsMax – Pan Caribbean
TV6 – Trinidad & Tobago
Willow – USA
BT Sport – UK
Sky Sports – New Zealand
The show will be broadcast on the CPL’s social media pages at the following times:
10:30am ECT
2:30pm GMT
3:30pm BST
8:00pm IST
Azure Blue is on course for the Darley July Cup at Newmarket, as long as the ground is suitable for Michael Dods’ new sprinting star.
The four-year-old is on a steep upward curve, winning four of her last five races, the most recent of which was in the Group Two 1895 Duke of York Stakes.
She beat Highfield Princess there, albeit in receipt of 5lb, and with John Quinn’s mare performing with extreme credit in both the King’s Stand and the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot, the form looks strong.
“Azure Blue is in the July Cup and that is the plan as long as the ground doesn’t firm up,” said Dods.
“She is in good form and obviously it will be a tough race, but the plan is to go to Newmarket with her. She seems to love it at both tracks at Newmarket (three wins on the Rowley Mile and one on the July course to date).
“She didn’t go to Ascot and part of the reason for that was that the entries closed too soon so we came up with the plan of going for the July Cup.
“Had she had a run before the entries closed at Ascot then we would have probably entered her, but then it went pretty quick so whether she would have run is questionable.
“I think at the moment the speediest horse we had was Mecca’s Angel, but at this stage of her career I would put her up there with the best of them like Mabs Cross and Mecca’s Angel.”
Commonwealth Cup one-two Shaquille and Little Big Bear, older horses such as Kinross and Art Power and the likes of Lezoo and Meditate, remain in the mix.
A total of 19 stood their ground, although the American-trained Big Invasion was subsequently scratched, leaving 18.
Frankie Dettori’s hopes of winning the one particular race missing from his CV before he retires appear to be over after he was handed an eight-day whip ban for his ride on Inspiral at Royal Ascot.
The Darley July Cup, at his home course of Newmarket, is the one domestic Group One to have eluded the 52-year-old, who will retire at the end of 2023.
He was hoping to have a final crack at it aboard Ralph Beckett’s dual Group One winner Kinross, but was found by the British Horseracing Authority’s Whip Review Committee to have used his whip seven times in the Queen Anne Stakes on John and Thady Gosden’s filly when second to Triple Time.
That is one over the allotted number of six on the Flat, which triggers a four-day ban – and as the race is a Group One that penalty is doubled.
With Dettori already due to be serving a nine-day ban due to run from July 4-12 inclusive for causing interference on Saga in the Wolferton Stakes – which he is appealing – his whip ban would begin after that suspension has been served, ruling him out of the July Cup on July 15. His dates of suspension for his whip ban are July 13-15 and 17-21.
Bluestocking showed enough in her performance at Royal Ascot last week to put herself in the picture for a tilt at the Juddmonte Irish Oaks later this month.
An impressive winner on her sole juvenile start at Salisbury, Ralph Beckett’s filly was being considered for the Betfred Oaks at Epsom prior to her narrow defeat by Warm Heart on her reappearance in a Listed contest at Newbury last month.
With the daughter of Camelot still showing signs of inexperience, the decision was made to bypass Epsom in favour of a tilt at the Ribblesdale Stakes – but while she again ran well in defeat, this time she was beaten almost four lengths into third place by the reopposing Warm Heart.
Barry Mahon, racing manager for owner-breeders Juddmonte, is of the opinion there should be more to come from Bluestocking and she could now head for the Curragh on July 22 in a bid for Classic glory.
“I was absolutely delighted with how Bluestocking ran,” he said.
“We saw how green she was in Newbury and Frankie (Dettori) said she was still a bit green the other day – he said it took her a bit of time to get used to the hustle and bustle of having horses around her.
“She then settled into a lovely rhythm and fell asleep under him. He tried to wake her up again coming round the bend and it just took her half a furlong too long to get into top gear. With a few horses coming back on top of her, she just couldn’t get competitive, but you’d love the way she hit the line.”
Considering future plans, Mahon added: “I think if she’s fit and well we’ll definitely consider the Irish Oaks. The fractions suggest they went very slowly at Ascot and I think a strongly-run mile and a half will be more her cup of tea.
“The Curragh would suit her and if we got a little bit of rain between now and then all the better.”
While Bluestocking and St James’s Palace Stakes runner-up Chaldean had to make do with minor honours, Juddmonte did get on the Royal Ascot winner’s board with Coppice in the Sandringham Stakes.
John and Thady Gosden’s filly was supplementing a comfortable victory at Newcastle, having previously failed to fire in the Nell Gwyn at Newmarket, and the success came as no surprise to Mahon.
He said: “It was a great performance. We started the year with high hopes – as Frankie alluded to after she won we thought she was a Guineas filly in the spring, but for obvious reasons she was just slow to come to hand.
“John and Thady went the patient route and it paid off. It was nice to get the winner on the board and she’s definitely an exciting filly for the remainder of the year.
“I don’t really know where she’ll go. The Falmouth would be a big step and if Laurel gets over her little setback in time that’s where she’ll go, all going well.
“For Coppice it would be nice to get black type with her, so we could look at a Listed race or a Group Three with her to get some black type in the bank.”
The Juddmonte team did suffer a couple of notable disappointments at the Royal meeting, with Arrest and Covey both performing below expectations.
Arrest was bidding to bouncing back from a Derby no-show in the King Edward VII Stakes, but finished fifth of sixth, while Covey was a well-beaten favourite in the Jersey.
“We were worried about the ground for Arrest, we took a chance and it didn’t pay off. We’ll freshen him up and bring him back for an autumn campaign when there’s a bit of juice in the ground,” Mahon added.
“I was a little disappointed with Covey, he ran a little too free, Frankie just said he ran with the choke out the whole way.
“I think he’s definitely a better horse than we saw the other day and what came out of it is that on a straight track he just tends to over-race a little bit.
“He can still be a nice horse, but maybe he needs to go around a bend.”
Jessica Harrington is well aware of the task facing Sprewell in this weekend’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby.
Harrington is revered in the equine world, and having won the Gold Cup at Cheltenham and Classics on the Flat, she has mastered both of the racing codes.
She would, though, love nothing more than to win an Irish Derby. Sprewell has seven lengths to find with the odds-on favourite Auguste Rodin from the Betfred Derby, but back on a more conventional track and with less runners, Harrington hopes the Epsom fourth may be able to close the gap on Sunday.
“I’m very happy with his preparation. He came out of Epsom very well and we’ve just slowly built him up,” she said.
“He’s a very laid-back character and it’s quite easy to keep the preparation going.
“Auguste Rodin is going to be very difficult to beat. He’s proved himself to be an exceptional horse, to come back from what was a disaster really in the English 2000 Guineas.
“It was a great training feat for Aidan (O’Brien) to get him back and to win so easily, as he did in Epsom.
“He’s got to go out and do it again, but I’m presuming he’ll be in good order. He’s got it on the board and he beat us a fair way.
“You’re always hoping. You don’t go into those races thinking, ‘I’ll be grand being second’. I want to go in there thinking, ‘I’ll be grand if I can win’.”
When asked if she thought the Curragh would suit him better, the Moone handler added: “I’m hoping it will. He hasn’t run there, but he’s gone both ways around so I don’t think that’s going to be a problem. He’s been left-handed three times now and also right-handed at Gowran.
“It looks like it’s going to be lovely ground, perfect good ground which will be ideal – no extremes in any direction.”
Harrington reported herself in good form, having come through treatment for breast cancer in recent months, and has her sights set firmly on the future.
“We’ve got through it all and I’m feeling great now, really good. I think I’m nearly back to normal because I’ve got my energy back now,” she said.
“I’m lucky I’ve got through it all and that’s the main thing. I’m only looking forward, not back. Keep looking forward to what you are going to do and don’t be looking back.
“It’s very easy to look back and get negative so you want to keep looking forward. What motivates me is that I like succeeding, I like winning, doing well and I like to get better at what I do.
“Having had the cancer I’m probably more focused now and wanting to do things. In a way it raised the question that you could get ill and then the answer was that I’m going to beat this. That makes you want more because that keeps you going.
“I hoped that if I talked about it other people would too, instead of pushing it under the carpet and going about their treatment with their heads down.
“My attitude was to go about the treatment, and that I’m going to beat this.
“There are an awful lot of things left on my list to achieve. The Irish Derby is definitely one of them, that’s on the bucket list as it were.
“There are loads of international races I’d like to win and I’d like to win more races in Ireland, you always want to win more. When you get so far you like to keep your standards up.”
Auguste Rodin will face a maximum of 10 rivals if he is to complete a Derby double in the Dubai Duty Free-sponsored Irish version at the Curragh on Sunday.
Aidan O’Brien’s Deep Impact colt bounced back from a disappointing run in the 2000 Guineas to win at Epsom and confirm once again the undeniable skills of his trainer.
Three of the first four home from Epsom are still in the mix, with subsequent Royal Ascot winner King Of Steel, second at Epsom, the only one not heading to the Curragh. Auguste Rodin is set to go off the long odds-on favourite and will aim to give Ryan Moore a first win in the Classic.
O’Brien could also run Adelaide River, Covent Garden, Peking Opera and San Antonio.
The third and fourth home from Epsom, White Birch and Sprewell, are both also on course with young jockey Dylan Browne McMonagle booked to partner the John Murphy-trained White Birch.
He Racing TV: “I’m delighted to get the leg-up, massive thanks to connections and Mr Murphy and all the gang down there. It is a great ride to pick up and I’m just blessed to get the leg over him.
“It’s my first ride in the race, so hopefully we will have a bit of luck. He has got good form coming into it. I think the Curragh will suit him well.
“He’s a bit awkward away from the gates, but I think if it happens again we won’t be worrying because in the Curragh you have got plenty of time to get into it. There’s a long straight there, so hopefully he has got a live chance and can run a big race.”
Dermot Weld’s once-raced Knight To King, Joseph O’Brien’s Up And Under, Donnacha O’Brien’s Proud And Regal and Salt Bay, the only UK-based entry left in by last year’s winning trainer Ralph Beckett, complete the list.
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