If ever a horse was aptly named it is Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes winner Live In The Dream, who propelled trainer Adam West and jockey Sean Kirrane into the limelight at York.
West is far from one of the smallest trainers around with around 45 horses – but he is certainly not one of the biggest, either.
For Kirrane, though, based in the north of England and who principally rides for Tim Easterby, he will be hoping this is the success that takes his career to the next level.
Just like former champion Paul Hanagan, who retired on Friday, the 22-year-old is from a non-racing background. But he certainly had some connections as his uncle managed to get him his first job in racing with none other than the all-conquering Willie Mullins.
“I’ve got no background in racing. I lived about a 10-minute walk from Leopardstown where I’m from in Dublin. My parents took me there as a child and that is where my interest came from,” said Kirrane.
“I had lessons on ponies, but my first opportunity to ride out was at Willie Mullins’ when I was 15. I took an apprentice licence out with Johnny Levins on the Curragh when I was 17 or 18 and still at school and that was when I realised it was what I wanted to do after my first couple of winners.
“It was a chance contact through my uncle how I got to Willie’s, he knew someone there who got me the job and that was where I learned to ride a racehorse, that was the very start of it and it’s the old cliche, I got bitten by the bug there.”
As with so many young jockeys starting out in Ireland, they become attracted to the sheer volume of racing in the UK which opens up so many more opportunities.
He went on: “I had a conversation with my boss Johnny Levins as he had about 25 horses, but he had a stable jockey and I was a 10lb claimer at the time. He thought when I finished at school there’d be more opportunities for me in England with more racing.
“I came over and the rest is history.”
That only tells half the story of how he came to pick up the ride on what is now one of the fastest horses in Europe.
“My association with Adam is strange I suppose, a northern-based jockey riding for a trainer from Epsom,” said Kirrane.
“I was riding down south one day and stayed over as I had a ride at Goodwood the next day so I rang Adam on the off chance he needed someone to ride out.
“I went in and rode two lots and the first horse he put me on won three or four on the bounce and the association has grown from there.
“I rode this lad a couple of years ago, it went well and then I got back on him earlier this year. Let’s not beat around the bush, he probably had lots of opportunities to get a top jockey on but he stayed loyal to me, despite my inexperience, and I’ll be forever grateful.”
Quite often the Nunthorpe, more than any other top sprint, is simply won by the fastest horse.
While that may sound a quite simplistic thing to say, York’s flat five furlongs seems to lend itself to out-and-out speedsters. Think of Sharpo, Lochsong, Dayjur, Oasis Dream, Mecca’s Angel and Battaash.
Not many would have argued had you said Live In The Dream would be leading at halfway, as he showed great pace in the Palace House at Newmarket earlier this year, but his 28-1 starting price showed not many thought he would hang on.
“It’s a surreal feeling and it hasn’t really sunk in yet, it just feels like winning another race at the moment,” said Kirrane.
“The feeling in the last 60 yards when I could hear the cracks of the whips behind me but I knew I wasn’t going to get caught was like nothing I’ve ever felt before.
“A massive amount of credit goes to the horse, he’s really stepped up this year and it’s been an incredible journey for all of us.
“Adam has produced this horse brilliantly in top form today. He needed the run out in France last time in a Listed race as he’d had a month off. It brought him forward perfectly.
“Every time you go out on him you quietly fancy him as he is so effective over a fast five and York can play into the hands of front runners on this ground.
“It’s no secret how we ride him. We make lengths out of the gate and ride him aggressively, but he has a turn of foot as well. We try to take them off their feet in the closing stages, but today I was able to keep him on the bridle longer than I ever have as nothing ever came to me at the furlong pole. When I took him off it he found another gear again. What a performance.
“It’s lovely fast ground here today and he just skips across it, he’s amazing and is obviously a seriously talented animal.”
Victory in the Nunthorpe has earned Live In The Dream an automatic spot at the Breeders’ Cup – and Kirrane feels he will be perfectly suited to American sprinting.
“Adam is talking about America. I’d probably have to get in the sauna to lose a couple of pounds to ride him over there, but that would really suit him as he’s won around Chester and won at Lingfield. He was obviously good here today, but he’s better round a bend,” he said.
“If they go out there off the back of this he’d be seriously competitive.”
Lando Norris denied Max Verstappen a practice double by setting the pace for Sunday’s Dutch Grand Prix – after Daniel Ricciardo crashed out and was taken to hospital.
More than 300,000 spectators will descend on the coastal town of Zandvoort, 30 miles outside of Amsterdam, as Formula One emerges from its summer slumber.
The majority of whom will do so in the expectation of watching Verstappen march to his ninth consecutive victory – equalling a record set by Sebastian Vettel for Red Bull in 2013 – as he closes in on a hat-trick of world championships.
But McLaren’s Norris raised the suggestion he could spoil Verstappen’s homecoming party after he ended the day with the fastest time.
While practice speed is treated with caution, the British driver edged out Verstappen, who was fastest in the first running, by just 0.023 seconds. The impressive Alex Albon finished third for Williams, one place ahead of Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton.
The seven-time world champion finished three tenths adrift in his Mercedes with team-mate George Russell only 14th in the order.
The second session was suspended after just 10 minutes when Norris’ team-mate Oscar Piastri and AlphaTauri’s Ricciardo crashed out at the same corner.
Australian Piastri, who has enjoyed an impressive rookie campaign, lost control of his McLaren through the banked left-handed Turn 3 before slamming into the barriers.
Moments later, Ricciardo, who appeared distracted by the sight of Piastri’s wounded McLaren, locked up under braking before following his compatriot into the tyre wall.
“Ah f***, my hand, f***,” the 34-year-old said over the radio after the incident.
Both men played no further part in the running as their damaged cars were towed back to their respective garages.
Ricciardo was still holding the steering wheel as he hit the wall, and he was taken to the medical centre. He was then pictured leaving with his left arm in a sling, and was subsequently taken to a nearby hospital for further checks on his wrist, raising some doubt over his participation for the remainder of the weekend.
Ferrari have endured a lacklustre campaign and there was little for the Italian giants to cheer on Friday, with Charles Leclerc 11th and team-mate Carlos Sainz 16th.
Ricciardo’s team-mate, Yuki Tsunoda, finished fifth with Pierre Gasly sixth and Sergio Perez, 125 points behind Verstappen in the drivers’ championship, seventh.
Epsom trainer Adam West enjoyed a breakthrough big-race victory as Live In The Dream blazed his way to a shock Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes success at York.
The progressive four-year-old was steadily improving through the ranks this term, having started the season by winning a pair of handicaps, but he was lining up in Group One company for the very first time on the Knavesmire.
Pinging the gates and sent straight to the front in the hands of Sean Kirrane, the son of Prince Of Lir surged his way up the five-furlong track and was not for catching as defending champion and 7-5 favourite Highfield Princess tried in vein to hunt down the surprise 28-1 scorer.
It was not only a first Group One triumph, but a first Group-level victory of any kind for both West and Kirrane as they enjoyed their finest hour in one of the season’s fastest-run contests.
West said: “I never thought it was possible to win. We were laughing about there being six places and how his odds were so skinny. We should have backed him to win!
“I’ve had a Group One winner, it’s amazing. I think we’ll go to the Breeders’ Cup as I think he’s 10lb better on a turning track. That’s a big statement, but I do. He can get a breather round a bend whereas on these straight courses he usually can’t, but he just nicked enough today.
“We were going to take him for a race at Del Mar but we costed it, we’re not a big yard and it was too expensive to go.”
Pace has always been Live In The Dream’s number one asset and following placed efforts when getting a taste of Group action earlier in the season in both the Palace House Stakes and Temple Stakes, York was tailor-made for the Epsom-based speedster.
West added: “In the Temple Stakes we think the ground might have been a touch too quick for him and he hung a little bit away from the rail. Today with that tiny bit of rain he has been able to fully let himself down and keep straight.
“This is incredible I never thought anything like this would happen. Seven years I’ve been training and we’ve had him from a yearling and the journey has been incredible.
“I have to do what I have to do and if a horse shows the ability I will stick them in the races. That’s what I have always done. It’s a really tough game at the moment and you look at how things are and you think ‘is this a future’ and then you get something like this and it changes everything.
“I’ve always joked that we had the fastest horse in the south of England and we’ve just gone and proved it I think.”
The Nunthorpe serves as a ‘win and you’re in’ for the Breeders’ Cup Turf Sprint and West is now relishing a trip to Santa Anita in early November.
“I can’t wait, let’s take them on,” he said. “It is an amazing opportunity and something we never ever thought we would get.
“Trying to make ends meet to try to get that money together and both get him over there and get him back is just all taken care of and it’s some rollercoaster.”
Although securing a first top-level success, West does not envisage it causing a massive upturn in his fortunes and he is more than content to continue plying his trade on the smaller scale in Epsom.
He explained: “Epsom is the perfect mix of town and country for me, I can be out with my ferrets in 20 minutes one way and out in town with my owners 20 minutes the other.
“It’s the perfect place for me and I’m very happy. The owners in that tight-knit community have been fantastic. All this week and the last six months Epsom has been quoted saying it needs a Group One winner and they have just had one.
He went on: “It’s not viable (training), it is simply not viable. The BHA do their best to govern and mind us as trainers, but realistically unless you are on the top, top scale, training is not a viable option.
“But money is not why any of us do it, we do it because we love the animals and we love the whole sport. Ultimately grassroots will always be there because of the passion, but we are under serious strain and any help we would be grateful of.
“But we will take this as one of the peaks.”
Fallon Sherrock has made more darting history by becoming the first female to produce a televised nine-dart finish.
The 29-year-old rose to prominence in 2019 by winning two matches at the PDC World Championship, becoming the maiden woman to taste victory at Alexandra Palace.
She then achieved the best result by a woman at a major tournament by making the quarter-finals of the 2021 Grand Slam of Darts and reached the Nordic Darts Masters final the same year before losing to Michael Van Gerwen.
After becoming the first female to hit a perfect leg in PDC history at the Winmau Challenge Tour event in Germany in March, she did it again in front of the cameras at the Modus Super Series on Friday.
Sherrock hit back-to-back maximums to leave 141, which she checked out by following a seventh consecutive 180 with a treble 19 and double 12.
That levelled up her match with Adam Lipscombe at 3-3 before she took the deciding leg to secure a 4-3 victory in Portsmouth.
John Quinn was making no excuses for Highfield Princess after the superstar mare had to make do with minor honours in her bid for back-to-back victories in the Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe at York.
Success in the five-furlong contest was the middle leg of a Group One treble for the the six-year-old last summer, with her Knavesmire triumph sandwiched by two other top-level wins in the Prix Maurice de Gheest in France and the Flying Five in Ireland.
Having twice run well in defeat at Royal Ascot in June, Highfield Princess enjoyed a confidence-boosting win at Goodwood three weeks ago and hopes were high that she could successfully her crown – but in Live In The Dream she faced a rival who had failed to read to script.
With her regular partner Jason Hart in the saddle, Quinn’s ace looked to be perfectly positioned throughout as she tracked a fierce pace set by the Adam West-trained outsider.
But try as she might, Highfield Princess was unable to reel in the all-the-way winner, with a length separating them at the line.
“She ran a great race, well done to the winner – that’s racing,” Quinn said.
“The winner got away and well done to them. She’s run a fantastic race and she’s a horse of two lifetimes.
“As long as she’s all right we’ll go to the Curragh (Flying Five), that’s the plan.”
Three-quarters of a length behind Highfield Princess in third was her Royal Ascot conqueror Bradsell, who had been kept fresh by Archie Watson since that victory in the King’s Stand.
There is every chance the pair will lock horns again before the season is out.
Watson said: “Probably the draw has probably worked against us, because the winner has blazed a trail and stuck on really well and that has probably favoured Highfield Princess in our battle for second.
“Hollie (Doyle) was very happy when the two-year-old has gone quick on our side, Big Evs, but she’s had to tack across to try and latch on to the other two.
“He’s rUn a huge race and I would imagine the Flying Five and possibly the Abbaye, but we will see and the Flying Five will be next.”
On the possibility of encountering more testing conditions in France, the trainer added: “The Abbaye would probably be my less favoured race, I would prefer to go Ireland and then America (Breeders’ Cup), but we’ll see.
“Ground-wise, until he runs on it we don’t really know, but when I was at William Haggas’ we had Tasleet (SIRE) and he loved it heavy so until he runs in it and tells us he doesn’t like it we don’t know.”
Andrea Atzeni has a fantastic chance of signing off with a farewell winner when he links up with Group One scorer Lezoo at Newmarket on Saturday.
The Classic-winning jockey will put a halt on his 16-year riding career in the UK after the meeting on the July course ahead of an initial six-month switch to Hong Kong where the new season kicks off at Sha Tin on September 10.
The Italian was granted a part-season licence in the Far East which will last until February 12, and fresh from Group One glory aboard Vandeek in Deauville’s Prix Morny, he can say goodbye in style having picked up the spare ride aboard last year’s Cheveley Park Stakes heroine as his final mount.
The Zoustar filly was last seen finishing down the field in the Commonwealth Cup, but has won four of her seven career starts and connections are delighted to have Atzeni aboard as the three-year-old attempts to bounce back to her very best in the Jenningsbet Hopeful Stakes over a course and distance she has previously thrived.
“Andrea is a great guy and the way he’s ridden over the last couple of months is as well as he’s ever ridden. We’re very happy to have him riding on Saturday,” said Jamie McCalmont, racing manager for Marc Chan, who owns Lezoo together with Andrew Rosen.
“It’s an exciting day Saturday. There’s a couple of days we’ve wanted to run her but we didn’t want to run her back on soft ground again, we’ve just been waiting for the ground really.
“This is a good stepping stone back, she loves the course, we get her ground and she’s fine over the distance, so fingers crossed.”
Epsom trainer Adam West enjoyed a breakthrough big-race victory as Live In The Dream blazed his way to a shock Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes success at York.
The progressive four-year-old was steadily improving through the ranks this term, having started the season by winning a pair of handicaps, but he was lining up in Group One company for the very first time on the Knavesmire.
Pinging the gates and sent straight to the front in the hands of Sean Kirrane, the son of Prince Of Lir surged his way up the five-furlong track and was not for catching as defending champion and 7-5 favourite Highfield Princess tried in vein to hunt down the surprise 28-1 scorer.
It was not only a first Group One triumph, but a first Group-level victory of any kind for both West and Kirrane as they enjoyed their finest hour in one of the season’s fastest-run contests.
Manchester City assistant boss Juanma Lillo says he will be in continuous contact with absent manager Pep Guardiola this weekend.
Lillo is set to take charge of the champions’ next two fixtures – starting with Sunday’s trip to Sheffield United – as Guardiola recovers from back surgery in Spain.
Guardiola underwent the procedure earlier this week and is not due to return until after next month’s international break.
However, Lillo – who rejoined the City backroom staff this summer after a year away – insists all his direction will still come from his fellow Spaniard.
The 57-year-old, who took the club’s pre-match press conference, said: “The contact is continuous. Telephone, video call – everything.
“He is watching Sheffield United right now. What’s important is his health – that’s what matters – but that doesn’t keep him from being who he is.
“He’s fully focused on the team, fully focused on the match.
“We’re not going to do a video conference because he doesn’t want that. He wants us to have a face to face here but he is within the messages that are going to be relayed.”
Lillo says Guardiola is in good spirits after what the club described as an “emergency” but “routine” operation.
“What he is telling us is that the surgery has been successful, but that his recovery has to take the necessary time,” Lillo said. “He feels fine and I’m happy to see him. He’s recovering correctly.”
After winning the treble last season and starting the new campaign with back-to-back Premier League wins, the set-up Guardiola has left in Lillo’s hands seems well-tuned.
The experienced Lillo, whose coaching career has taken him to countries including Mexico, Colombia, Mexico, Japan and China, said: “If Pep is here he directs the sessions, he is focused and there are certain habits but plenty of the staff have been working here for a while and we’re trying.
“Nevertheless whenever Pep is here it’s so much better.”
City have bolstered their squad this week with the signing of highly-rated Belgium winger Jeremy Doku but Lillo is wary of expecting too much of the 21-year-old too soon.
He said: “Every time a new player arrives we think that they’re going to bring something, they’re going to help the team.
“But right now it’s not about him and placing responsibility upon him.”
Kinross will go toe-to-toe with Isaac Shelby once again as he defends his Sky Bet City of York Stakes at York on Saturday.
Ralph Beckett’s six-year-old began a four-race winning run in this contest 12 months ago, and arrives at the Knavesmire in rude health having got back to winning ways in the Lennox Stakes at Goodwood.
He had to knuckle down to repel the challenge laid down by Isaac Shelby on the Sussex Downs and things will be far from straightforward here as a strong cast of opponents have assembled to attempt to knock Kinross off his perch.
The Group Two event has a hefty £500,000 prize fund and Jamie McCalmont, racing manager for Kinross’ owner Marc Chan, believes York racecourse should be rewarded for providing such a valuable opportunity to participants.
He said: “It’s amazing that York can put up that much prize-money for a Group Two race. They deserve the race to get upgraded to a Group One when they can come up with that sort of money.
“It’s a competitive race for sure, but the win at Goodwood will have given him some confidence.
“He certainly doesn’t owe us anything right now, but as Frankie says, he’s like an ATM machine so let’s hope that will continue.
“It’s a very exciting day for Marc to have three horses (Kinross, Lezoo and Angel Bleu) of that quality running at three different meetings.”
Meanwhile Kinross’ vanquished Goodwood rival is reported to have bounced out of the Lennox Stakes in peak condition and although Isaac Shelby has already achieved a great deal in his short career to date, trainer Brian Meehan thinks the best is still to come.
He said: “He came out of Goodwood in tremendous shape and we’re very much looking forward to it.
“I guess Kinross will be the one to beat, but Sacred is in the race as well and Al Suhail, there are a number with chances and it’s quite rightly a well-supported race as it’s very valuable.
“He is in great shape, he came out of Goodwood the best he has come out any race so far and he’s really starting to mature now. Whatever ground turns up on the day isn’t going to inconvenience him and we’re very happy.”
Sacred failed to land a blow when sent off favourite for this race 12 months ago, but William Haggas’ five-year-old produced a fine effort in defeat when second in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot.
However, having elected to head here over last week’s Hungerford Stakes on account of ground conditions, connections could be left frustrated once again if forecast showers alter the state of things underfoot.
“I’m a little bit worried by the forecast of rain which wouldn’t suit her because the last time she ran at York she didn’t act on the loose surface. It would be frustrating as we had to miss Newbury,” explained Chris Richardson, managing director for owners Cheveley Park Stud.
“She’s in great form but we’re getting a little bit of a kick in the teeth every time we try to get her conditions.
“Her track record here isn’t ideal. She’s a very talented and maybe a year older she may handle things a bit better. She seems in good heart and the intention is to run, but if we had a deluge we may review it.”
Further down the field behind Sacred at Royal Ascot was Charlie Appleby’s Al Suhail who is a Group Two winner at this distance and will be suited by the return to further, while Charlie Hills’ Mutasaabeq drops back in trip having failed to sparkle in two runs since landing the Group Two bet 365 Mile earlier this term.
Olivia Maralda (fifth) and Covey (ninth) have both been on the sidelines since running in the Jersey Stakes at Ascot, with the later one of two in the race for John and Thady Gosden alongside Audience.
The son of Frankel was sent off favourite when flopping in that Group Three event at the Royal meeting, but Barry Mahon, European racing manager for owners Juddmonte, is hoping for a different outcome this time.
He said: “He’s had a nice break from Ascot, it just didn’t pan out for him that day. He went too quick, he went too free on the front end. It’s a big step into a Group Two but John and Thady are happy with him and we’re looking forward to seeing what he can do over a fast seven (furlongs).
“He got too warm beforehand and Frankie (Dettori) said he just hit the gate and was running too free, hopefully we’ll be able to be a little bit more patient with him on Saturday and he’ll show up a bit better.”
Lake Forest highlighted his potential star quality when storming to Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Gimcrack Stakes at York.
William Haggas’ charge was sent off 16-1 for the Group Two contest, but he arrived at the Knavesmire with some smart form in the book having finished second to Jasour in the July Stakes earlier in the season.
Archie Watson’s Action Point had led the field along for the majority of the six-furlong event, but it was those on the near side that came to the fore in the closing stages with the son of No Nay Never and Aidan O’Brien’s Windsor Castle second Johannes Brahms bursting clear to dispute the outcome.
It was Tom Marquand’s mount who pulled out extra and powered home to score by a length from the Ballydoyle challenger, with Ralph Beckett’s King’s Gamble a further length back in third. Kylian was the strong-travelling 9-4 favourite, and while ultimately disappointing he twice found trouble in running.
It was the Somerville Lodge handler’s second juvenile winner of the week following Relief Rally’s Lowther success on Thursday and Lake Forest was cut to 10-1 by both Paddy Power and Betfair for the Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket next month.
Jamaican middle-distance runner Aisha Praught-Leer, the 2018 Commonwealth Games 3000m champion, is among the newly elected members of World Athletics’ Athletes Commission. The took place during the ongoing 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
Praught-Leer, who got 559 votes joins New Zealand’s Valerie Adams (NZL), who garnered 627 votes, Frenchman Renaud Lavillenie (FRA) who polled 604 votes, Spain’s Diego Garcia Carrera, who took in 553 votes, the USA’s Jasmine Todd (USA), who had 546 votes and Great Britain’s Adam Gemili, who got 542 votes on the commission that is tasked with empowering athlete representation in Olympic Movement decision-making processes as well as supporting athlete development in their sporting and non-sporting careers.
Six additional Athletes' Commission members will be appointed by the World Athletics Council over the course of the next month to bring the number back to its intended 18. The Chair and Deputy Chair positions will be voted on by the Athletes’ Commission once the membership is finalised.
All athletes accredited for the World Athletics Championships Budapest 23 had the right to vote in this year’s elections.
To be eligible for election, athletes needed to have competed in at least one of the past two editions of the World Athletics Championships, or in the most recent Olympic Games, or be a competitor at this year’s World Athletics Championships.
This year’s elections introduced a new method of voting. For the first time, voting was done electronically, on portable voting devices, rather than via paper ballots. This transition to electronic voting is in line with World Athletics’ commitment to sustainability, and was introduced to enable a more efficient polling and counting process.
Since 2019, the Chairperson and one other member of the Athletes’ Commission – one woman and one man – have been full voting members of the World Athletics Council.
Tottenham are set to have James Maddison fit for Saturday’s trip to Bournemouth, but head coach Ange Postecoglou has fired a warning to the players on the fringes of his bloated squad.
Maddison trained for the first time this week on Friday after he sat out a number of sessions with a sore ankle sustained during last weekend’s impressive 2-0 win over Manchester United.
Spurs have handed minutes to 18 members of their squad during the opening two Premier League games of the season but face a busy final week of the summer transfer window, with outgoings a priority for the club.
Offers will be listened to for former captain Hugo Lloris, Djed Spence, Eric Dier, Japhet Tanganga, Sergio Reguilon and Tanguy Ndombele while Davinson Sanchez, Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg and Bryan Gil could exit if the right bid comes in.
Youngsters Alfie Devine and Troy Parrott have departed on loan to Port Vale and Excelsior Rotterdam respectively during the past 24 hours, but Tottenham still have 31 players aged 21 or over and will need to submit a list of 25 to the Premier League on September 13.
“At the moment you can see by doing the maths, we have got too many players,” Postecoglou said.
“In terms of when we submit our final list, there will be guys here who won’t be on that list if nothing changes so I am pretty sure that will change.
“From now until the end of the window I am sure there will be some movement.”
Postecoglou was asked specifically if Lloris could remain at the club despite the Frenchman stating back in June his desire for a new challenge.
The Australian did not completely rule it out but referenced the fact Guglielmo Vicario is his number one and Fraser Forster will be his back-up goalkeeper.
He added: “You can’t just have any number of players you want. There is a list and it is unlikely we will have three goalkeepers on our final Premier League list.”
Spurs look set to be boosted by Maddison’s presence for the Saturday lunchtime kick-off at Bournemouth despite fears of a potential injury lay-off.
The summer signing left Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on crutches and in a protective boot last Saturday night after he took a blow to his ankle during a challenge with Manchester United’s Antony in the second-half.
But Postecoglou said: “Madders trained today unrestricted. We’ll see how he pulls up but at this stage it looks like he will be available. We’ll assess how he feels but, yeah, he trained.
“I think it was the incident when (Cristian) Romero got brought down. He had a shot and it was a block-tackle. His ankle was a bit sore after that but the medical team looked after him.
“There was no real push to have him available. It was down to him.
“People would have seen him in a moon boot but it was more precautionary. He has felt good and probably could have trained yesterday.
“He trained today unrestricted, so obviously nothing serious.”
Coltrane gained Royal Ascot revenge on Courage Mon Ami as he delivered a decisive blow in the Weatherbys Hamilton Lonsdale Cup Stakes.
A standing dish in the top staying contests, Andrew Balding’s Sagaro Stakes winner had to play second fiddle to John and Thady Gosden’s new staying star in the Gold Cup at Ascot, but came home strongest this time around to go one better than last year.
Both Coltrane and Courage Mon Ami had no answer to front-running Quickthorn in the Goodwood Cup most recently and the defending Lonsdale Cup champion found himself in his customary position at the head of affairs as the runners rounded the first bend.
Although Frankie Dettori had Courage Mon Ami anchored in rear, the field as a whole were keen not to give Hughie Morrison’s charge too much rope on this occasion and Oisin Murphy in particular took up a stalking position travelling smoothly in mid-division.
Tom Marquand upped the tempo aboard Quickthorn swinging the turn for home but the pack were wise to the move and soon a whole host of contenders emerged to lay down their challenge.
Murphy hit the front abroad Coltrane (11-4) passing the two-furlong pole and although Yorkshire Cup winner Giavellotto and Courage Mon Ami refused dug deep in the closing stages, Coltrane finished full of running to register a one-and-a-half-length success over the staying-on Gold Cup winner, who edged out Marco Botti’s four-year-old for the runner-up spot.
Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta has called for the Saudi Pro League transfer window to close in line with Europe’s – but refused to rule out selling players beyond September 1.
Some of football’s top names have made the move to Saudi Arabia this summer as PIF investment in four of the country’s top clubs has allowed for a vast increase in transfer fees.
Arsenal host Fulham in the Premier League on Saturday and, while the Gunners have not lost any of their squad to Saudi, their visitors will be without talismanic forward Aleksandar Mitrovic, who moved to Al-Hilal last week.
Head coach Marco Silva rejected overtures from the Gulf before the start of the new season while winger Willian was also unsettled by transfer speculation.
The Premier League window closes next Friday but Saudi clubs will be able to sign and register new players until September 20, something Arteta believes needs to be addressed.
Asked if the extra two and a half weeks to conclude business was fair, the Spaniard replied: “No, because it is a competitor now. No, I think we have to change that.”
Pushed on whether the Pro League deadline should fall in line with Europe, Arteta continued: “That is my opinion, yes.
“It is another competitor and it brings other opportunities for players, for managers and for people that work in the industry to decide.
“In the end, we are free to decide when clubs, players or whoever has to agree to something, you have to have the intention to go and find agreements, that is why there are contracts.
“If people agree to go it is because someone agrees to go there but that someone agreed to sell him, so it goes two or three different ways.”
No Arsenal players have headed to the Middle East this summer but there has been reported interest from Saudi clubs in both Gabriel Magalhaes and Thomas Partey.
While he wants to see a uniform transfer deadline, Arteta stopped short of saying Arsenal will refuse to sell players beyond the Premier League’s window closing on September 1.
“Well, the principle would be that (we would not consider offers),” he said.
“But I cannot make the decision for the club. It is a lot of people involved in that process and they would have for sure a say, the ownership, would do the same.
“It would be on the table like with any offer and you have to look at it. The only thing I’m saying is it’s not ideal because they are a competitor.”
Asked if losing a player after the window closed would be destabilising, he added: “Yes, very much. Yes.”
Arsenal welcome their London rivals having won their first two league games and could welcome Gabriel Jesus back from knee surgery to play a part on Saturday.
The Brazil forward went under the knife for a minor procedure before the start of the campaign but Arteta is hopeful he could feature against Fulham.
“It was a big blow for him after the pre-season he had to have another surgery. He’s looking really sharp. He trained the full week good. He’s ready to go, that is great,” he added.
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