Ever since his exploits at the 2018 ICC Under-19 World Cup, Alick Athanaze was expected to transition well to the senior international level.
In a tournament that included the likes of Shubman Gill, Prithvi Shaw and Harry Brook, Athanaze finished as the leading run-scorer with 418 runs in six matches, including two centuries and two fifties.
Five years later, the 24-year-old was finally given a chance to perform for the West Indies on the biggest stage and he grabbed that chance with both hands.
The left-hander opened the batting as the West Indies pursued 185 for victory in the third ODI against the UAE and played excellently, making a 45-ball 65 to top score.
“It was a really good experience. I haven’t batted much in the night so it was a first for me, actually,” Athanaze said in a post-match interview.
Athanaze also made history at the Sharjah Cricket Stadium. He brought up his half-century off just 26 balls, equaling India’s Krunal Pandya for the fastest ODI fifty by a debutant ever.
“Normally, that’s how I play in the powerplay. I always look to get the team off to a good start,” he said.
“I was a bit nervous but I think they went away when I got my first runs,” Athanaze added.
Athanaze also gave credit to the mentorship he has received from West Indies legend and current performance consultant, Brian Lara.
“For me, it has been really good. Basically, what we spoke about was judging lengths and trying to get ahead of the bowler; try to think about what is to come and pre-meditate balls. It worked really nicely. I got myself into some good positions. It was good to bat out there tonight,” said Athanaze.
Hopefully, this is the start of an excellent career in international cricket for the Dominican.
Arkansas’s Jaydon Hibbert has allayed any fears that he suffered an injury during his fourth-round attempt at the NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Championships on Friday.
Hibbert pulled up limping during his run up and appeared to have suffered an injury after he was seen limping during his walk back. However, the World Under-20 record holder said the limping was due to cramping.
“It was a good competition and I’m really grateful. Anything could have happened. Could’ve gotten injured but I came out healthy,” Hibbert said on social media on Friday.
“Ready for the rest of the season but we have to rest first,” he added.
Earlier on Friday, Hibbert jumped 17.56m to secure the triple jump title at the championships, adding to his stellar season which also saw him take the SEC Indoor and Outdoor crowns as well as the NCAA Indoor title.
At those SEC Outdoors, Hibbert produced a World Under-20 record 17.87m, the furthest jump in the world this year.
Raatea may have earned himself a place on Julie Camacho’s small but select squad for Royal Ascot with victory in the Sky Bet Reverence Handicap at Haydock.
The six-year-old carries the colours of Martin Hughes, a part-owner of the yard’s stable star Shaquille, who is a major contender for Group One honours in Ascot’s Commonwealth Cup.
Raatea is not of that standard, but is undoubtedly a talented sprinter in his own right and following a fifth-placed finish on his reappearance at Newmarket, he stepped up on Merseyside to land odds of 13-2 in the hands of James Doyle.
Camacho’s husband and assistant, Steve Brown, said: “In fairness to Jason Hart, who rode him at Newmarket where he finished fifth in a really competitive race, he said he thought he’d really benefit from cheek pieces and you could see the difference today with how he travelled.
“James said he’d have kicked himself had he got beat as he actually got there too soon and the horse thought he’d done enough.
“There’s no doubt he’s a horse with plenty of ability and he’s done well for us, but we’ve always had it at the back of our minds that he could have done a touch better.
“We’ll have a chat with Martin and see what he’d like to do, but the ability is there to be taking part in good races. He has his own ideas, but when he’s good, he’s good.
“He’s in the Wokingham at Royal Ascot. He’s obviously got a penalty now, whether that’s enough to get in I don’t know, but I’m sure Martin would be delighted if he could run.
“In fairness, the stiff six at Ascot is his gig as he’s a six-and-a-half-furlong horse really.”
The Charlie Fellowes-trained Cumulonimbus (6-1) led from pillar to post in the Better Betting With Sky Bet Handicap under a well-judged ride from Harry Davies.
The four-year-old made every yard of the running when scoring at Newmarket last month and repeated the tactics on Merseyside, dominating from the front and keeping enough up his sleeve to repel the challenge of the long-absent Live Your Dream by half a length.
“The ground is rattling out there today, it was actually a concern for me but it was no problem for him,” said Davies.
“I managed to get a very easy lead on the front end. I hacked round really until we got to the four-furlong marker and I just sprinted away.
“He’s very gutsy and he’s improving, so it’s great.”
Midnight Affair is Royal Ascot bound after a neat performance in the Hilary Needler Trophy Fillies’ Conditions Stakes at Beverley.
The Richard Fahey-trained bay was denied a clear passage on her debut at Newmarket in May, but still ran with promise and was highly fancied on the Westwood as a result.
Starting as the 5-6 favourite under Danny Tudhope, she made light work of the five-furlong event and was not stretched in crossing the line a length and a quarter ahead of Andrew Balding’s Flora Of Bermuda.
Royal Ascot is next on the agenda, with owner Steve Parkin of Clipper Logistics aiming for the Queen Mary Stakes to retain the trophy Dramatised landed for him 12 months ago.
He said: “Richard has been saying he likes her a lot and she’s done that really well there. He says that he can’t get her off the bridle at home and she gets all the others off the bridle.
“She must be quite good and it’s lovely to see her do that on the track.
“We’ll go for a crack at the Queen Mary now as it’s a race we haven’t done too badly in!
“I won that with Dramatised last year and we hope she can develop into another really nice filly like her.”
Fahey echoed his words, adding: “We do like an her an awful lot at home, she always works really well.
“We feel she’s still learning. The better ones don’t always come off the bridle, but she’s learning and that was a good performance. She’s very uncomplicated, we’re very happy with her.
“Steve’s very keen to go for the Queen Mary and that’s where we’ll aim with her. He won it last year, it’s his race now!”
Paddy Power make Midnight Affair an 8-1 chance from 11s for the Queen Mary.
A tilt at Group One glory in the Nunthorpe at York is on the agenda for Regional following a clear-cut victory in the Sky Bet Achilles Stakes at Haydock.
Placed on multiple occasions last season, including a runner-up finish in a valuable race in Qatar before finishing third in the Stewards’ Cup at Goodwood, Ed Bethell’s speedster made a successful start to his five-year-old campaign in handicap company at York last month.
He faced a rise in class in this five-furlong Listed event, but proved more than up to the task in the hands of Callum Rodriguez.
The 5-1 shot blazed a trail down the centre of the track and while Frankie Dettori did his best to get 3-1 favourite Equilateral on terms against the stands’ rail, Regional was ultimately well on top as he passed the post with a length and a quarter in hand.
“He’s a really fun horse and fast ground and flat tracks are his thing, so we’ll just try to keep him at that now,” said Bethell.
“We took him to Qatar last winter and finished second and he never really came back the same horse after that. I appreciate he came second at Doncaster and third in the Stewards’ Cup, but he wasn’t the same horse he is this year.
“We gave him a winter out and he’s just thrived. He’s enjoying his racing and Callum is riding out of his skin for me.”
With Regional not entered at Royal Ascot later this month, the North Yorkshire handler plans to give his stable star another run elsewhere before sending him back to York in August.
The trainer’s father James saddled Moss Gill to finish third in the Nunthorpe three years ago and Bethell junior is keen for Regional to head down the same path.
He added: “I’d imagine we’ll look at the Nunthorpe, that looks like a logical target. What we do in the meantime is between me and the guys (owners). We’ll sit down and have a chat, but I’m just delighted for everyone at home.
“They’re very different types of horses. Moss Gill had the most economical stride I’ve ever seen in our yard, whereas this fellow doesn’t have an economical stride at all, he’s just quick!
“It’s very exciting for everyone to be involved in a horse like this. He’s not entered at Ascot. He was in the Wokingham, but is probably too quick for that so I took him out.
“I could tell the owners they could supplement (for the King’s Stand), but it’s probably quite a lot of money, it’s a deep race this year and I think the Nunthorpe is more his race.
“In the interim I might go to York for the City Walls with a penalty and I might enter him in the King George sprint at Goodwood, those are two options.
“What I want to do is make sure there is a good gap between his next race and the Nunthorpe, that’s the imperative thing.”
Such is the impressive form of triple jump sensation Jaydon Hibbert that he only required two attempts to win the event and end his freshman year of college undefeated.
In fact, it was on his very first jump that Hibbert cut the sand at the winning mark of 17.56m, in a negative 0.3 metres per second wind, on Friday's third and penultimate day of the NCAA Division 1 Outdoor Track and Field Championships in Austin, Texas.
Hibbert representing University of Arkansas followed that with another big leap of 17.38m, but later pulled out of his run up for a third and fourth attempts, as he suffered what appeared to be cramps or some discomfort in his right leg.
However, the damage was already done, as his initial mark which bettered the previous Facility Record of 17.13m and was just shy of the Meet Record of 17.57m, ensured that the former Kingston College stalwart added another accolade to his South-eastern Conference indoor and outdoor titles, as well as the NCAA indoor honours. The 18-year-old, also smashed a number of records, including the World Under-20 mark for indoor and outdoor, along the way.
Hibbert won ahead of University of Miami's Russell Robinson (16.94m) and Florida State senior, Jeremiah Davis (16.67m).
Owayne Owens (16.36m) of University of Virginia and Malik Cunningham (16.17m) of Villanova, were sixth and seventh, while Hibbert's Arkansas teammates Carey McLeod (15.99m), who won the long jump in a Jamaican sweep, and Ryan Brown (15.89m), finished 11th and 12th respectively. Apalos Edwards of Louisiana State, did not turn up.
On the track, Phillip Lemonious of Arkansas capped his college career in style with victory in the men’s 110m hurdles to claim his first individual national title and in the process became the first Arkansas athlete to win the event since 2006.
Lemonious, who clocked a personal best 13.28 seconds in qualifying, lowered that time when he stopped the clock in 13.24s, running in a positive 1.8m/s wind. He maintained his composure over the 10 obstacles from a good break in lane five, to stave off the late challenge of De'Vion Wilson (13.26s) of Houston and Jaheem Hayles (13.28s) of Syracuse.
Giano Roberts of Clemson was fifth in 13.31s.
It was sweet redemption for the 24-year-old Lemonious, who endured a rough patch last season.
"To be honest, I try so hard. Last year took a toll on me and coming back this year was also hard battling injuries, but I just had to trust my coach, who told me that this is my championship to win so I went out there and got it," Lemonious said shortly after the race.
University of South Florida junior, Romaine Beckford, also showed good form on the night to win the men’s high jump and successfully complete the double, adding this outdoor championship to his indoor title.
Beckford soared to a new personal best height of 2.27m on his way to victory, denying Oklahoma senior, Vernon Turner, who also cleared 2.27m, but had to settle for second on the count back. Roberto Vilches of Missouri was third with a season's best leap of 2.24m.
Former St George’s College student Zayne Palomino of Southern Mississippi finished down the pack after he only managed to clear 2.06m.
Elsewhere in the field, Roje Stona of the University of Arkansas, who placed 14th in the shot put, produced a stronger showing in the discus, placing second behind the vibrant Turner Washington of Arizona State.
Stona, launched the instrument to a big fourth round mark of 65.55m and seemed well on his way to the gold, before Washington snatched victory with his very last effort of 66.22m, a season’s best.
Former Petersfield standout Kevin Nedrick of Liberty University was fifth with a mark of 61.93m, while Stona's Arkansas teammate Ralford Mullings was 16th at 57.68m.
Meanwhile, Jevaughn Powell, finished seventh in the men’s 400m final in 45.32s, as his University of Florida teammates Emmanuel Bamidele and Ryan Willie both clocked personal best times of 44.24 and 44.25 in a close one-two finish. Emmanuel Bynum of Tennessee also clocked a personal best 44.49 for third.
Powell later joined forces with Bamidele, Jacory Patterson and Willie to clinch victory in the 4X400m relay, to retain the Men’s Team crown.
There were no signs of tired legs on display as all four athletes clocked blistering splits, with Powell on the third leg being clocked at 44.94s, passing to Willie, who closed in 44.28s to stop the clock in 2:57.74, a new Facility, Meet and Collegiate Record.
Arizona State (2:57.78) and UCLA (2:59.82) were second and third respectively.
The Mike Holloway-coached Gators tallied 57 points, four ahead of Arkansas, with Stanford (44 points) and Louisiana State University (43 points), placing third and fourth.
Jamaica will send a 19-member field-events heavy team to the 2023 CAC Games to be held in San Salvador from June 23 to July 8.
Orville Byfield has been appointed head coach and will have Dwayne Jarrett, Michael Vassell and Grace Bourah as his support staff that will marshal the squad that mainly features US-based collegiate field-event athletes.
The 13-member men’s team includes, hammer thrower Daniel Cope, long jumper Jordan Turner, triple jumpers O’Brien Wasome and Owayne Owens as well as high jumper Raymond Richards and javelin thrower Elvis Graham.
Giano Roberts and Odario Phillips will compete in the 110m Hurdles while Jevaughn White is the lone representative in the 100m. Rajay Hamilton and Tarees Rhoden are down to contest the 800m and Troy White is set to take on the 400m hurdles. Zidane Brown will participate in the 400m.
Among the women, Adrienne Adams and Marie Forbes will contest the discus throw while Danielle Sloley competes in the Shot Put.
Erica Belvit and Forbes will contest the Hammer Throw.
Lashanna Graham has double duty in the 400m and 400m hurdles while Yanique Dayle will challenge for medals in the 100m and 200m.
The delegation is also comprised of a support team that includes team manager Brian Smith, assistant manager Marva Samuels, physiotherapists Dionne Bennett, Kamla Forbes and Rockecia Wynter.
Alick Athanaze and Kevin Sinclair played starring roles to help the West Indies beat the UAE by four wickets in the third ODI at Sharjah on Friday.
The hosts, after winning the toss and choosing to bat, got off to an excellent start, reaching 142-2 inside 23 overs before the West Indies took control of proceedings.
The UAE lost their final eight wickets for 42 runs to eventually be dismissed for 184 in just 36.1 overs. The bulk of the scoring was done by Vriitya Aravind who got a 75-ball 70 including eight fours and one six. Captain Muhammad Waseem also contributed 43.
Kevin Sinclair was excellent in his 7.1 overs, taking a career-best 4-24 while Yannic Cariah took 2-34 from eight overs.
The West Indies then lost six wickets on their way to 185 in 35.1 overs.
The successful chase was led by debutant, Alick Athanaze, and Shamarh Brooks.
Athanaze hit nine fours and three sixes on his way to a rapid 45-ball 65 at the top of the innings while Brooks made a composed 58-ball 39.
The Dominican's fifty came off just 26 balls, tying the record for fastest ODI fifty by a debutant, equaling India's Krunal Pandya against England in 2021.
Things got a bit tricky for the tourists when Karthik Meiyappan dismissed Keacy Carty (20) and Kavem Hodge (0) off consecutive balls in the 26th over to leave them 145-5.
Stand-in captain, Roston Chase, who ended 27*, as well as Raymon Reifer (15) and Keemo Paul (2*) ensured the Windies avoided a historic collapse.
Aayan Khan, Muhammad Jawadullah and Karthik Meiyappan all took a pair of wickets, each.
Sporting Kansas City are unlikely to make another move to try and sign Cristiano Ronaldo in an attempt to compete with Inter Miami bringing in Lionel Messi.
That is according to SKC coach Peter Vermes.
Sporting were interested in signing Ronaldo after the five-time Ballon d’Or winner left Manchester United late last year.
However, the MLS side could not make a deal work that would compete with the offer Ronaldo received from Saudi Arabian side Al Nassr.
It was confirmed this week that Messi would be joining SKC’s league rivals Miami, but Vermes shrugged off the chance of signing Ronaldo.
“No, he’s wrapped up for two years on a significant amount of money. I think the transfer fee would be a little out of our range,” he said ahead of SKC’s meeting with Austin FC.
“At the time when we were thinking about doing that deal, [Messi going to Miami] was in the back of our head, because there was talk of him going to Miami at the end of the world cup. It could have been – could have, should have, would have – those are all kinds of things in life. The fact that [Messi] is coming is tremendous.”
Vermes explained he is thrilled to see Messi come to MLS, comparing the Argentine to NBA icon Michael Jordan.
“I thought when David Beckham came to the league he had an incredible impact on our league, and the notoriety that got worldwide, he helped achieve a new bar in how people perceived our league,” he said.
“Messi’s the best player in the world, so to be able to have the best player in the world playing in the league that you’re involved in, that’s tremendous. It’s a huge opportunity for our league, it’s great in so many ways and from the fans’ perspective too. It’s like watching Michael Jordan play basketball – he’s from another planet that guy, when he plays.”
There was drama at Brighton on Friday when only two of the six declared runners in the sixth race on the card were permitted to take part.
The race conditions for the one-mile Follow @attheraces On Twitter Handicap stated it was for horses “for four yrs old and upwards, rated 46-65 which have not won more than two races”.
However, Kondratiev Wave, Rivas Rob Roy, Spirit Warning, Vitesse Du Son had all won more than two and were scratched less than an hour before the race was due off at 4.30pm, following what the British Horseracing Authority said in a statement was a “systems and administrative error”.
Shaun Parker, the BHA’s head of stewarding, told Sky Sports Racing: “Once the meeting started concerns were raised that in the sixth race certain runners were not eligible to run due to the conditions of the race.
“We then held discussions with representatives from Weatherbys, the BHA racing department as well as ARC (Arena Racing Company, owners of Brighton) and followed up with an inquiry with the trainers.
“When we ascertained having gone through all the documents that these horses weren’t eligible to race, we only have one option but to take them out at that stage.
“In terms of the conditions, there were two that qualified correctly so it was only fair to them to take the others out.
“I think what has happened, looking at the discussions we’ve had with representatives from Weatherbys, there has obviously been a glitch somewhere along the line, it is not the way we like to see a race taken apart but I’m sure there will be investigations under way and we will forward our findings to the BHA.
“We looked at everything to see if there was something we could do, but unfortunately there was not. It’s very strange and Weatherbys say it’s the first time they can recall something like this happening.”
Tony Carroll, trainer of Kondratiev Wave, said: “Everybody is very disappointed as it seems to have slipped through the system without anybody noticing.
“I’d have to go back and see what was printed in the Racing Calendar, but mine and a couple of the others could have run in other races. They generally come up as not qualified so I don’t know how it has slipped through but it has so there’s four or five very unhappy people.
“I’m sure we’ll be compensated but there’s a bit of sadness about the whole thing, I’ve not seen it before. There’s four of us that have not got it right, which is unusual.”
In a statement Brighton racecourse said: “Following the stewards’ inquiry regarding the declarations for race six this afternoon, Brighton Racecourse will make a goodwill payment to the owner and jockey of each of the four horses affected.
“They entered the race in good faith, and will have expected to run. As such, we can only apologise for the inconvenience that they have experienced.
“We will, of course, be in touch with colleagues at the BHA and Weatherbys to get to the bottom of the issue.”
In the race itself 3-1 chance Roscioli beat the 1-4 favourite Girl Inthe Picture.
Regional will bid for the first Listed win of his career when he lines up in the Sky Bet Achilles Stakes at Haydock.
Ed Bethell’s five-year-old has been an ultra-consistent performer in the handicap ranks for the Middleham-based handler and produced arguably a career best on his seasonal return, making all to claim a competitive York heat in fine style.
He showed plenty of pace when dropping back to the minimum distance on the Knavesmire and connections believe he can now repeat the dose in Merseyside.
“He looked pretty quick at York last time and was pretty exciting then and I’m hoping we might be able to emulate that on a similar track in Haydock,” said Bethell.
“I’m hopeful that the forecast thunderstorms don’t hit before 1.15pm because he likes rattling fast ground. He is in great nick at home and I would be hopeful for a good run.”
It will be the first time Regional has competed in Pattern company since his juvenile days, but he was given a career-high rating of 105 following his York triumph and his handler is excited to see if he can continue climbing the sprinting ladder.
Bethell continued: “He’s always promised that (to be a stakes-level performer) and if you go back to his two-year-old form, he was only beaten a one and a half lengths by Winter Power so on the basis of that form he should be bang there in these types of races.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how he gets on, he’s a bit of a stable legend so fingers crossed.”
It was Karl Burke’s Korker who played second fiddle to Regional at York and the Spigot Lodge handler is hoping the four-year-old can make a snappy exit from the stalls in order to make his presence felt.
He said: “He makes his own problems messing around in the stalls, unfortunately. We’ve done a bit of work with him and if he jumps off anywhere near them he should run well.
“He’s got a lot of ability, but you can’t give three, four, five lengths away in these tough races.
“He the maker of his own downfall I’m afraid, but he doesn’t have a lot to find on ratings and I don’t think we’ve seen the best of him yet.”
Mick Appleby’s Raasel claimed this prize 12 months ago but was disappointing in the Temple Stakes over course and distance most recently – a race in which Charlie Hills’ Equilateral showed there was plenty of life in his eight-year-old legs when second to Dramatised.
“Equilateral is one of the yard favourites and I was delighted with his run at Haydock last time,” said Hills.
“It was a hot race although it did look to favour those drawn near the stands side rail. However, he seems to have come out of that race really well and we are going to give it another go up there.
“Frankie (Dettori) rode him last time and he has won on him before out in Dubai so he knows the horse well enough. He doesn’t like the ground too soft and looking at it the ground at the weekend should be perfect for him.”
Keith Dalgleish’s Prince Of Pillo produced some fine efforts over this trip as a two-year-old and is one of two for Middleham Park Racing in the contest alongside Robert Cowell’s Clarendon House, who makes a quick return to the track following his third in the Dash at Epsom last weekend.
Clarendon House is joined by stablemate Arecibo, with Mondammej (Anthony Britain), Fine Wine (Scott Dixon) and Makarova (Ed Walker) the others heading to post.
Don't wish for it. Work for it.
That is the motto that United States-born Barbadian gymnast Olivia Kelly lives by, as she has always been motivated to turn her thoughts into actions.
In fact, at 17 years old, Kelly has her eyes set on accomplishing a goal which, if successful, will propel her budding career to higher heights. The goal? To be the first gymnast to represent the Eastern Caribbean Island at the Olympic Games.
Achieving such a dream is by no means impossible and Kelly, also known as "Storm," in gymnastics circles, positioned herself to bring it to fruition when she placed 10th at the PanAm Gymnastics Championships in Medellin, Colombia recently, and earned a spot to the World Gymnastics Championships for a second year consecutively.
The championships scheduled to begin late September in Antwerp, Belgium, serves an Olympic qualifier and, as such, Kelly is focused on ensuring her performance quality and the details of her routine are on point, while staying physically and mentally healthy.
"I’m not really aiming to do anything much different other than to stay healthy and keep training hard. My goals this year were always to just train hard, trust my training at Worlds, and hopefully qualify for the 2024 Olympics," Kelly, who has a number of first for Barbados, declared.
"I've devoted a lot to this sport and so I always want to be competitive, but my best is all I can do and if I do that, I will always be satisfied," she added.
At the PanAm Championships, Kelly, who earns her Barbadian stripes through her father, Tori, scored 12.867 for her vault routine, 11.867 on uneven bars, 12.267 on the balance beam and 12.467 for her floor routine, for an All-Around total of 49.468.
"Colombia, was so much fun and I’m very pleased with the performance. I definitely feel like I can work on little things for Worlds, but I think this was a great meet for me," Kelly noted.
That performance, she said, was a reflection of the lessons learnt from last when she made her debut appearance on the international stage.
"I gained a lot of experience from last year which was a learning year for me in the international field. At both the Pan American Championship in Rio and the World Championships in Liverpool, I fell on bars, but even then, I still had a great experience. So, coming into this year, I felt way more prepared and confident because of my 2022 season.
"That season taught me that I can be resilient and bounce back in the next event. I’ve learned that I can push that negative energy back and really focus on what’s happening now instead of the past," Kelly reasoned.
While she is clearly identified as one of, if not the best young gymnast for her country, Kelly, who got involved with the sport at two years old, when she took tumbling and mommy-and-me classes, knows she still has some ways to go.
As such, the North Stars Gymnastics Academy stalwart, guided by coach Ashley Umberger, a former member of the United States senior international gymnastics team, is determined to continue working over 30 hours per week to improve physically and mentally challenges to realize her dream.
"The aim is always to be better than you were before. So, I am going to add some skills for Worlds and clean up my routines, as well as build up my mental toughness and my confidence a little bit more," Kelly, who is homeschooled with Florida Virtual Global School, ended.
Just Beautiful will miss the Duke of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot as connections plot a course to the Breeders’ Cup.
Trained by Paddy Twomey, the five-year-old built on a comeback run in the Athasi Stakes to claim the Group Two Lanwades Stud Stakes from the front in great style at the Curragh last month, a victory that saw Just Beautiful trimmed to 5-1 for the Duke of Cambridge behind general favourite Inspiral.
However, with the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita highlighted as the mares’ main objective at the back-end of the season, a trip to Ascot is off the cards with Newmarket’s Tattersalls Falmouth Stakes (July 14) or a cross-Channel raid to Deauville entering the agenda as a potential next port of call.
Twomey said: “She’s not going (to Ascot). I would say she will go to Deauville maybe. We may look at the Falmouth, but she might go to France for the Prix Maurice De Gheest (August 6) or Prix Rothschild (July 30).
“The long-term aim would be the Breeders’ Cup Mile at Santa Anita.”
While Just Beautiful will not be sighted at the Royal meeting, one who looks to have a fine chance of breaking Twomey’s duck at the summer showpiece is well-regarded two-year-old Noche Magica.
An impressive winner at Cork on debut, he was agonisingly rUn down when sent off favourite for the Marble Hill over six furlongs next time, a reverse that will see him drop back in trip for the Norfolk Stakes at Ascot.
Twomey continued: “We’ll run Noche Magica in the Norfolk Stakes. He’s a nice horse with a high cruising speed and we’re looking forward to running him.”
Mimikyu bids to open her account for the season in the Sky Bet Lester Piggott Stakes at Haydock.
The daughter of Dubawi saw off the reopposing Time Lock to land a novice event over this course and distance 12 months ago and went on to win a Newmarket handicap and the Group Two Park Hill Stakes at Doncaster before the end of her three-year-old campaign.
She was narrowly beaten by River Of Stars in the Bronte Cup at York a fortnight ago and joint-trainer Thady Gosden is expecting her to take a step forward in a race his father John and owner George Strawbridge won in 2016 with Mimikyu’s sister and subsequent Group One heroine Journey.
He said: “She ran a very nice race first time out this year in the Bronte when just denied.
“She’s come out of that well. She’s obviously dropping back down in trip two furlongs at Haydock and she’s got the hood off, which will help we think.
“It was fast ground at York last time and she’s won on soft, so she’s not ground dependent, and Haydock is a nice, even track for her.”
Following her neck defeat to Mimikyu at Haydock in June last year, Time Lock went on to push fellow Juddmonte-owned filly Haskoy close in the Galtres Stakes at York.
The winner went on to go close in the St Leger and won a Group Three on her recent reappearance, while Time Lock again finished second on her comeback in a Listed race at Goodwood.
Juddmonte’s racing manager Barry Mahon is hoping for a sound surface on Merseyside to give Time Lock the best chance of running up to her best.
He said: “Hopefully we get good to firm ground as we want proper summer ground for her, so hopefully there’ll be no over-watering going on.
“I think she’s going to develop into a good filly this year. She’s a big, scopey filly and hopefully she could develop into a very good filly.”
Roger Varian switches Modaara to the turf following a 13-length victory on the all-weather at Kempton, while German hopes are carried by the Peter Schiergen-trained Nachtrose.
William Haggas won last year’s renewal with Sea La Rosa and would love to follow up in a race now named in honour of his legendary late father-in-law with Sea Silk Road.
Haggas said: “I think it is a great honour that officials at Haydock Park have named the race in memory of Lester. The family are absolutely thrilled.
“Haydock was the place where Lester had his first winner and rode his last winner so there is no more appropriate venue to have a race run in his memory.”
He added: “It would be lovely if Sea Silk Road could win on Saturday. She is a filly that has not yet won a Group race but she won a Listed race last year and was second in the Ribblesdale at Royal Ascot.
“First time out this year in the Middleton they went too slow for her over that extended mile and a quarter and she didn’t really relax.
“She has come forwards for that run though and going back to a mile and a half I think will suit her. We are hopeful she will go well.”
The field is completed by Poptronic, who finished third behind the Gosdens’ Free Wind in the Middleton Stakes and trainer Karl Burke feels she may have been underestimated in the market.
“She ran a good, solid race first time up and will improve for stepping up to the mile and a half. I think they’re making her the outsider of the field, but she’ll run a good race, she’s a good filly and she’s in good form,” said the Spigot Lodge handler.
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