Elena Rybakina was crowned WTA Italian Open champion after Anhelina Kalininia retired in the second set of the final through injury in Rome.

Kalininia started in tremendous fashion as she broke Rybakina following several deuce rallies.

But the Kazakh started to show her quality and hit back with a break of her own in the sixth game before breaking again in the 10th game to claim the opening set.

Rybakina started the second set with a convincing hold as Kalininia took a seat to speak to her doctor and after a very swift consultation, the players shook hands to give the 2022 Wimbledon champion her biggest title on clay which will also see her climb to fourth in the WTA rankings on Monday.

It was the second time in the tournament that Rybakina had won after her opponent retired after Iga Swiatek was forced to retire in the quarter-finals.

After victory, Rybakina said courtside: “I want to wish Kalininia a speedy recovery because she is a really good friend of mine and I am really happy for all of her results. She did a good job and hopefully can recover for the French Open.

“A big thanks to the crowd and everyone who stayed and watched till the end. It was not easy for us but not easy for you with all the rain today so thank you so much for the support.”

Kalininia said: “I’m really sorry I couldn’t play. I was trying to do my best but of course this is sport and I want to congratulate Elena for not only this title but everything you have done this year starting from Wimbledon, it’s really inspiring and hopefully I can get to your level one day. Best of luck for the season, stay healthy and reach your goals.”

Holger Rune will fight for the chance to win his second ATP Masters 1000 title when he meets Daniil Medvedev for the Italian Open title after he came from behind to beat Casper Ruud.

Making his debut in Rome, the Dane was a set down and also came from a break down to get the better of fourth seed Ruud 6-7(2) 6-4 6-2 after previously knocking out world number one Novak Djokovic in the quarter-finals.

Medvedev sunk Stefanos Tsitsipas 7-5 7-5 to reach his maiden ATP Masters 1000 clay-court championship match despite the game being twice affected by rain, with the match starting around 4:30pm local time and finishing more than five hours later.

The pair will clash in the final on Sunday afternoon.

Tommy Fleetwood will take inspiration from previous final-round heroics after playing his way into contention for the 105th US PGA Championship.

Fleetwood defied miserable conditions at Oak Hill to card a third round of 68 and set the early clubhouse target of one over par.

The Ryder Cup star was six shots off the lead when he signed his card, but can call on the memories of his record-equalling final round of 63 in the 2018 US Open as he bids to claim a maiden major title.

“It would be the low round of the day if somebody did do it,” Fleetwood said with a smile when asked by the PA news agency if a 63 was possible at Oak Hill.

“Who knows? Didn’t think it was on at Shinnecock but it happened there and it’s obviously something that happens very rarely.

“But I think you just have to go out and hit your shots and play well and see what score you can get. I played really, really well today in tough conditions and actually gave myself a bunch of chances on the front nine.

“You saw guys going low on the back nine yesterday. Any golf course there’s chances out there if things are going your way and you hole some putts.

“We’ll see what Sunday brings, but always nice to have good memories of being able to go low on a major Sunday in your memory bank and who knows? Start off hot and we’ll see.”

Fleetwood’s entire round was played in persistent rain but as conditions eased for the later starters, Canada’s Corey Conners led the way on five under after starting his third round with seven straight pars.

Conners led by one from Norway’s Viktor Hovland, with Justin Rose and Brooks Koepka a shot further back. Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry were another two strokes back after 12 holes.

Earlier in the day, Jordan Spieth admitted his wrist injury had cost him a number of shots after carding a third round of 71 to lie six over.

Spieth, who needs to win the US PGA to complete a career grand slam, was a doubt for the year’s second major after withdrawing from last week’s PGA Tour event due to “severe pain” in his left wrist.

“I’ve been doing a lot of recovery [on the wrist] every day since I injured it,” Spieth said.

“But on course there’s been a couple of scenarios where I bailed out of a couple shots that if it weren’t a factor I wouldn’t have, and unfortunately those shots did affect my score.

“I was hoping that wouldn’t be the case here but it’s only been a couple of times.

“My normal swings, it’s not an issue. It’s just when you’ve got to really flick under a flop shot or a bunker shot – I had that today where I just don’t have the confidence in it not making it worse, so I just bail a little bit.

“I probably cost myself a few shots on that. But coming in here I kind of figured that might be the case.

“It’s nothing major, but it’s significant enough that I would have liked to have had two or three weeks off before this event just to feel like I got prepared.”

England’s Tyrrell Hatton had defied the conditions to card an impressive 69, a round compiled alongside 2021 winner Phil Mickelson, who had made the cut for the 100th time in his major championship career.

Mickelson is the fourth player to achieve that feat after Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson and also tied the record for the most cuts made in the US PGA, joining Nicklaus and Ray Floyd on 27.

The six-time major winner may have wished he had not made the weekend however, carding a birdie-free 75 which left him on 10 over par.

The New York Yankees have decided to cut ties with struggling outfielder Aaron Hicks.

The Yankees designated Hicks for assignment on Saturday before their game against the Cincinnati Reds.

Through 28 games this season, Hicks is slashing just .188/.263/.261 with one home run, two doubles and five RBIS.

Among the 315 major league hitters with at least 75 plate appearances, Hicks' .524 OPS ranks 299th.

It is a costly decision for the Yankees, as Hicks' contract runs through 2025 and the team will be forced to eat nearly $30million remaining on the seven-year, $70m contract he signed in 2019.

The sides agreed to that deal after Hicks enjoyed a career year in 2018, when he hit 27 homers and drove in 79.

In almost four-and-a-half seasons since then, however, the 33-year-old Hicks has managed just 31 home runs while batting .218.

In a corresponding move Saturday, the Yankees selected the contract of outfielder Greg Allen from the minors.

The 30-year-old Allen was acquired in a trade from the Boston Red Sox on Friday and is beginning his second stint with the Yankees after appearing in 15 games for them in 2021.

Leo Cullen spoke of Leinster’s “devastation” as they were beaten 27-26 by La Rochelle in Saturday’s Champions Cup final at the Aviva Stadium.

The Irish province led 23-7 on the half hour mark after making a sensational start but they were unable to sustain the pace and the holders took charge after the interval to repeat the outcome of last season’s final.

Replacement prop Georges Henri Colombe scored the match-winning try in the 72nd minute to leave Leinster distraught in front of a home crowd in Dublin, mourning their third successive loss in a European final.

“Devastation is probably the word,” Cullen told BT Sport.

“The occasion, the amazing atmosphere in the crowd, both sets of supporters and two sets of players going full at it – everything you want in a final which goes down to one point. Unfortunately we’re the losers.

“We started the game really well. We could have been further in front. I thought we gave up a couple of softish tries. In the second-half although we had the lead we struggled to get out of that end of the field.

“La Rochelle got over in the end and you’ve got give them a huge amount of credit. Bitterly disappointing.

“It was two really good teams going at it and it was always going to go down to little moments.

“We were so close and at the end we just lacked a little bit of composure. It’s an agonising defeat. All the players were here in front of their friends and family, so it’s hard one.

“It’s painful when you reach this point and you know it means so much to everybody. We just haven’t quite been good enough to finish the job.”

La Rochelle head coach Ronan O’Gara revealed that during his half-time talk he reminded his players of Leinster’s recent record in Champions Cup finals, including last season when the rivals clashed in Marseille.

“It’s fantastic. It’s an incredibly special day at Lansdowne Road, a very special ground. It was a very difficult task that got even more difficult at 17-0!” O’Gara said.

“There was a bit of me going at half-time ‘is my speech going to be about playing for pride or do we have a chance’? 23-14 felt like a great half-time result for us.

“One of the staff reminded me we were minus eight in Marseille and today we were minus nine, so we built a little story about that to get the boys pumping.

“We had the internal energy and we had a great grip on the second-half. We won the hard way which is very, very pleasing.

“Unfortunately for the opponents, they haven’t got over the line in a long, long time, so that was always going to play.

“Of course it is (a psychological thing for Leinster) but it’s not respectful for me to go there. I was a coach grasping at straws trying to give his team hope at half-time, you have to tap into that.”

Jordan Spieth admitted his wrist injury had cost him a number of shots after battling miserable conditions on day three of the 105th US PGA Championship.

Spieth, who needs to win the US PGA to complete a career grand slam, was a doubt for the year’s second major after withdrawing from last week’s PGA Tour event due to “severe pain” in his left wrist.

The former world number one received intensive treatment and was able to compete at Oak Hill with the wrist heavily strapped, carding rounds of 73 and 72 to make the halfway cut on the mark of five over par.

Spieth then carded four birdies, three bogeys and a double bogey in a third round of 71 played in persistent rain on Saturday, adding to the challenge on a course where just nine players were under par at the halfway stage.

“It’s just really difficult to keep everything dry,” Spieth said.

“It starts with the grip and then from there, if you get water on the ball or the driver face, the ball can really go anywhere. I was holding my driver face down as I was getting ready to hit and I would set up and hit it pretty quickly.

“I’ve been doing a lot of recovery [on the wrist] every day since I injured it but on course there’s been a couple of scenarios where I bailed out of a couple shots that if it weren’t a factor I wouldn’t have, and unfortunately those shots did affect my score.

“I was hoping that wouldn’t be the case here but it’s only been a couple of times.

“My normal swings, it’s not an issue. It’s just when you’ve got to really flick under a flop shot or a bunker shot – I had that today where I just don’t have the confidence in it not making it worse, so I just bail a little bit.

“I probably cost myself a few shots on that. But coming in here I kind of figured that might be the case.

“It’s nothing major, but it’s significant enough that I would have liked to have had two or three weeks off before this event just to feel like I got prepared.”

England’s Tyrrell Hatton had defied the conditions to card an impressive 69, a round compiled alongside 2021 winner Phil Mickelson, who had made the cut for the 100th time in his major championship career.

Mickelson is the fourth player to achieve that feat after Jack Nicklaus, Gary Player and Tom Watson and also tied the record for the most cuts made in the US PGA, joining Nicklaus and Ray Floyd on 27.

The six-time major winner may have wished he had not made the weekend however, carding a birdie-free 75 which left him on 10 over par.

Scottie Scheffler, Corey Conners and Viktor Hovland shared the halfway lead on five under, with Bryson DeChambeau and Justin Suh two shots behind.

England’s Callum Tarren was another stroke back alongside four-time major winner Brooks Koepka, with Justin Rose on one under and Rory McIlroy and Shane Lowry on level par.

Leinster were left shattered after their stunning start to the Heineken Champions Cup final failed to prevent La Rochelle defending their crown in a 27-26 defeat at Twickenham

Targeting a record-equalling fifth European title, the Irish province ran in three tries inside the opening 12 minutes to leave the holders reeling in one of the great halves of European rugby.

Dan Sheehan crossed twice and Jimmy O’Brien also touched down in a spellbinding opening quarter, but when the second half arrived Leinster had clearly punched themselves out.

The second wind arrived too late, coming in response to Georges Henri Colombe’s match-winning 72nd-minute try, and it ended when Michael Ala’alatoa was sent off for a dangerous clear out.

The rematch of last year’s showpiece produced the fastest ever try scored in a final when Sheehan went charging over after 40 seconds and O’Brien was the next to score.

Both scores bore the hallmarks of meticulous preparation, with Sheehan profiting from the homework done on La Rochelle’s line-out and O’Brien diving over at the end of well-drilled play.

Leinster’s ruck speed was devastating and there were other wins across the field, with James Lowe executing a 50-22 and a turnover on the ground frustrating the Top 14’s second-placed side.

The problems mounted as Tawera Kerr Barlow was shown a yellow card for offside, and soon after a defensive lapse allowed an unmarked Sheehan over for his second try.

Trailing 17-0, La Rochelle hit back when Jonathan Danty used his power to bump off Garry Ringrose and touch down after pressure mounted at a five-metre scrum.

Frenzied defence enabled Leinster to secure a penalty that Ross Byrne sent between the uprights – his second in seven minutes – but the heroics came at the cost of losing captain James Ryan to a failed HIA.

La Rochelle were now a different proposition as they started carrying with menace and offloading to support runners, and having stretched the blue wall to breaking point shortly before the interval, they struck to send Ulupano Seuteni over.

Seuteni opened the second-half with an electric break, and when Antoine Hastoy kicked a penalty Leinster’s lead was down to six points.

The fireworks that had gone before were replaced by an exchange of penalties and the sight of La Rochelle camping in the Irish province’s 22, grinding away in search of the next score.

Leinster’s defensive resolve was admirable but they were running on fumes, their attack no longer functioning, and at times they rode their luck with referee Jaco Peyper.

The yellow tide finally prevailed in the 72nd minute through hard yards from Colombe and the score was compounded by a yellow card for Ronan Kelleher.

Leinster poured forward in the closing stages but their hopes ended when Ala’alatoa received his marching orders, forcing them to mourn a third successive loss in finals.

Charlie Appleby earned his first Al Shaqab Lockinge Stakes with Modern Games powering to glory at Newbury and the most consistent of trainers was generous with his praise for the team effort.

Modern Games arguably has not received the credit his career has deserved thus far and the Godolphin handler was keen to make the point on a sun-drenched afternoon.

The facts are quite phenomenal. Born in the same year as stablemates Coroebus and Native Trail, both Classic winners, Modern Games had already proved himself as a juvenile, landing the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf on his final start in a six-race campaign.

While Coroebus was defeating subsequent Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Native Trail in the Guineas at Newmarket, Modern Games was sent to France. He duly did his duty, landing the French equivalent and giving Appleby a clean sweep in the colts’ mile division.

A runner-up effort to Baaeed in the Sussex Stakes was followed by Group One success at Woodbine in Canada. A QEII runner-up to Bayside Boy, then it was off to America, where he won around a two-turn mile at Keeneland.

Now a domestic Group One has fallen his way – in great style it has to be said, with William Buick having to “keep him interested” near the front end, according to Appleby.

A career at stud beckons at the end of the year for Modern Games and he will doubtless be popular with breeders.

Yet Appleby was not only happy to heap praise on the horse. His first call was from fellow handler Saeed bin Suroor, these days often overlooked as a key cog in Godolphin’s Newmarket operation.

He served notice a couple of weeks ago that he is still a player when Mawj won the 1000 Guineas – a fact not lost on Appleby.

“I am delighted for His Highness Sheikh Mohammed, for Godolphin and for the team back at Moulton Paddocks, but more for this horse – he deserves it,” said Appleby.

“Coming into the race, he was a four-time Group One winner, but to win one on the domestic scene is a huge testament to him and his sire, Dubawi.

“He is his son – there’s no doubt about it.

“There was strength in depth and they have gone a good gallop. I said to William (Buick) to keep him up in the van and keep him interested. He is an older horse now, so you have to keep the interest there and give him a target.

“From William’s point of view, it wasn’t the easiest thing to do, but he has given him a fantastic ride and the jockey knows the horse so well, he knew exactly when to deliver the challenge.

“Ultimately we want to head back to the Breeders’ Cup Mile.”

Yet such is the mark of the man, who has largely turned Godolphin’s fortunes around, he was also eager to acknowledge Bin Suroor and the essence of Team Godolphin.

“I was delighted for Saeed to win the Guineas,” said Appleby. “He was the first person calling me there after the Lockinge.

“Everyone looks at us as working against each other, but we work for His Highness Sheikh Mohammed and that is what myself and Saeed and everyone does, but we do it as a team.

“He was the first to call. That’s nothing new. Whether I win or he wins, we are winning for His Highness and that is what we all do it for. There is no rivalry – we are a team aiming to achieve the best.

“For him to have that Classic winner was brilliant. Everyone will say ‘Charlie, how well you are doing’, but as I always say to Saaeed, I’m about two championships behind you and about a thousand winners!

“I don’t think I should be trying to take any plaudits. It’s great to see Saeed win these type of races and great for the team. It was just brilliant for Modern Games, too. He deserves that.”

Geraint Thomas surrendered the Maglia Rosa in the Giro d’Italia to Bruno Armirail as Nico Denz secured his second stage triumph within three days.

Denz, who claimed his maiden Grand Tour stage win on Thursday, reacted quickly after Alberto Bettiol attempted to breakaway in the final kilometre on the approach to Cassano Magnago in Italy.

And in a gripping sprint finish, the German Bora–Hansgrohe rider just about held off the advancing Derek Gee to cross the line first in the 194-kilometre stage 14 race, with Bettiol finishing third.

“I felt supergood and so I managed to get again into the breakaway,” Denz said. “We were lucky to close the gap just inside the final kilometre.

“I felt very good and when Bettiol launched his sprint I followed him and then I went full gas until the line. It was a very tough day but it ended well for me.”

Armirail finished 40 seconds down on the leading pack but will be in pink in Sunday’s 195km mountain stage from Seregno to Bergamo after going to the top of the general classification.

Thomas, who has held the leader’s jersey for the last four stages following Remco Evenepoel’s withdrawal after a positive Covid test, is now one minute and 41 seconds behind Armirail.

The French Groupama rider said: “The plan was more about the stage win (on Saturday). We thought one day the Maglia Rosa could be up for grabs. But we didn’t think it would be today.

“I had tried on stage four and I was disappointed that I wasn’t on a good day. Only once Geraint Thomas crossed the line, it became a reality in my mind but it’s hard to realise.”

Warm Heart narrowly outpointed hot favourite Bluestocking to secure Listed honours in the Haras De Bouquetot Fillies’ Trial Stakes at Newbury.

Aidan O’Brien’s daughter of Galileo made progress with each of her first three starts, building on a debut fourth at Dundalk with a runner-up finish at Leopardstown before making it third time lucky at the same track a fortnight ago.

Stepping up in class, she was second best in the betting at 5-2, with Ralph Beckett’s Camelot filly Bluestocking all the rage at 11-10 following a hugely promising and successful start to her career at Salisbury in September.

The two market principals came to the fore at the end of the 10-furlong contest, with Bluestocking and Rossa Ryan doing their level best to reel in Warm Heart, but try as she might, she could never quite get on terms with the Irish raider, who clung on by a head.

Crack Of Light was a couple of lengths further behind in third.

Winning rider Ryan Moore said: “She is a straightforward filly who has improved for every run. Those Irish maidens she was running in, the form is very good.

“The filly she beat last time (Leopardstown third Shamida) won last night. I think she has a great attitude and she is a 10-furlong filly. The Oaks is 13 just days away.”

Paul Smith, son of part-owner Derrick, said: “The Oaks comes up very quick. She is an improving filly, who has won on the soft in Ireland and now the ground is pretty quick.

“She stays a mile and two well. She is improving and something like the Ribblesdale off the top of my head – that would give her a little bit more time.

“She is a 10-furlong filly at the moment, but once those fillies get on a roll…

“I think at the moment, it is only 13 days to the Oaks, so possibly we will go to Royal Ascot. The lads will discuss it.”

Willie Mullins has two darts to fire as he aims to become the first Irish trainer to land the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris since 1919.

Troytown won the prestigious Auteuil event for Algy Anthony and in the 103 years that have followed there has been no further Irish success despite the nation being such a dominant force in National Hunt racing.

Mullins is Ireland’s leading jumps trainer and has an exhaustive CV that includes almost every notable prize worthy of mention, but France’s best and most lucrative steeplechase is a rare blank space.

Last year the master of Closutton enjoyed a share of the €900,000 prize fund when Franco De Port came home in third place and the same horse travels over to Paris in an attempt to improve on that gallant run this year.

The eight-year-old has run in France three times since that effort, placing fifth in both the Prix la Haye Jousselin and the Prix Georges Courtois and then coming home third in an established Grand Steep trial in the Prix Ingre.

The 12 months since last year’s race have revolved around Sunday, and Mullins has had the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris pencilled in for Franco De Port since he took well to the task in 2022.

“He surprised me and we came out of Auteuil last year saying we were coming back again and we would try to gear his year around the Grand Steep,” he said.

“We thought he was an Arkle Chase horse, a professional two-mile horse and the more we went out in trip, the better he got.

“When he went out to France, I think as he’s a very keen horse and very free, the French fences settled him down hugely. I think it brought about huge improvement in him and that’s why we’re back here again.”

Mullins has taken heed from French trainer Guillaume Macaire, who follows the same route to the race and is the leading trainer with seven titles to his name, but is mindful that the travel is an added trial for horses not based in France.

“From watching how Guillaume Macaire does it, he always comes to this race so we thought we’d do what the top guys do,” he said.

“I hope it works, however for us coming from Ireland and having to come over and back again, it might be too near the Grand Steep compared to a horse living in France.

“That’s my worry, we’re doing the time honoured way of going to the Grand Steep but I would traditionally like a longer run-in. I’d like a six-week run-in for a chase of this length. But we will see what happens.

“I think he will improve from that race (Prix Ingre), he came home, he travelled well. He’s a seasoned traveller so I don’t expect any problems, we’re very happy with him going into the race.”

Mullins’ second runner is Carefully Selected, an 11-year-old who returned this season after a two-year injury absence.

His comeback has been a successful one with a win in the Thyestes Chase and a fourth place in the Bobbyjo, after which he completed the Grand National at Aintree and was 14th of the 17 finishers at 50-1.

Mullins is expecting the gelding to take well to French fences due to his unflappable temperament and does not harbour any concerns about the trip for such a proven stayer.

He said: “He’s a big, old-fashioned chaser. He had leg trouble, we gave him all the time he needed and he came back and won the Thyestes Chase, which is a traditional Aintree Grand National trial, in very heavy ground over three miles at our local racetrack in Gowran.

“He’s a traditional Irish staying chaser, he’s very calm. These different fences, they won’t bother him so we’d decided to let him take his chance.

“He hasn’t run much in the last few years and we’re always looking for three-mile plus races for him.

“This was always on the cards provided that he stayed sound and he’s been very sound all season.

“The trip suits and he’s a good jumper, at 11 years of age we might as well take our chance.”

Roger Varian’s Jabaara will follow a familiar path to Royal Ascot after a taking success on debut at Newmarket.

The Exceed And Excel filly contested the British Stallion Studs EBF Fillies’ Novice Stakes as the 2-1 favourite under David Egan, a race previously won by both Cachet and Mawj – subsequent 1000 Guineas winners in 2022 and 2023 respectively.

Varian has also enjoyed success in the contest before as Daahyeh came out on top in 2019 and then went on to land the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot, the same route Jabaara is now likely to take after her three-quarter-length success.

Varian said: “She has always looked smart. I thought she did well there as she was a touch green and he (David Egan) had to take her off heels, switch and start his run again.

“I thought she was a filly with a lot of ability to be able to do that on debut. She pricked her ears as she crossed the line. I think she is quite nice.

“We have been fortunate to win the Albany twice before and I think this filly should go straight there as I think she is quite good and she looked it there today. Time will tell us what the form is worth.

“I thought for a few weeks that she could be an Albany horse. I nearly got her started a few weeks ago but that was only a five furlong option and she has shaped at home as if she has wanted this six.

“A strong pace at Ascot over a stiff six on decent ground would suit her, I would have thought.”

Ladies Church can book her ticket to Royal Ascot when she lines up in the Sole Power Sprint Stakes at Naas on Sunday.

A high-class cast of sprinters have assembled for this five-furlong contest and Johnny Murtagh’s filly brings track-and-trip form to the table as she bids to continue her rise up the sprinting ranks.

Last seen in the Al Quoz Sprint on Dubai World Cup night, she secured Group Two honours when accounting for the reopposing Mooneista in the Sapphire Stakes last term, and her handler is eyeing the King’s Stand Stakes at the big meeting for the speedy daughter of Churchill.

Murtagh said: “We were happy with her first run back in Meydan when she finished second and she probably ran better than her finishing position on World Cup night. So with the ground drying up – she wants good, fast ground – the drier the better the chance she will have and everything leads to the King’s Stand.

“It is always tough for three-year-olds and she’s a year older now. We’re really happy with her and looking forward to her.”

Another aiming for Ascot is Ken Condon’s Moss Tucker, who built on his reappearance to claim the scalp of Tenebrism over course and distance last month.

“He came forward from his first run of the year and we were delighted with him the last day,” said Condon.

“It will be contrasting ground this time but he has shown in the past, albeit in handicap and conditions company, that most ground is all right for him. He’s particularly effective when it is soft, but I don’t think the ground will be an issue.

“He has obviously won at Naas and that is encouraging when you go back to these places and he’s been in good form since. It’s a competitive heat, as you would expect, but he seems to be still improving which is the nice thing about him.

“He will go for the King’s Stand and he ran very well in the Prix de l’Abbaye last year – he just made a bit of a tardy start, so he did very well to run as well as he did. I think that would be on the agenda as well if he remains in good shape.

“He didn’t run at two so it’s only his third season racing. He certainly looked in the second half of last season that he was on the improve and hopefully we can find a bit more improvement from him.”

There is British interest in the form of Robert Cowell’s Arecibo and Adrian Nicholls’ Tees Spirit, with the latter looking to add to the Abergwaun Stakes he secured on his travels last term.

“They are never easy races, but you’ve got to start somewhere in these Pattern races,” said Nicholls.

“I know the track well from when I was riding and I think it will suit him. There’s a couple of nice ones in there and he carries a penalty like Moss Tucker, but it’s a nice starting point and we’ll find out where we are.

“He’s in really good form and I think he’s improved again this year again. I’m looking forward to seeing him out on the track, the horses are running well so I don’t see why he won’t.

“He has a little pony called Scooby who travels over with him and he doesn’t mind travelling. The Irish look after us well. It’s not easy, but it’s a nice starting point and we can see where we go from here.”

Also on a raiding mission is Ziggy’s Dream who runs for Alice Haynes in the Coolmore Stud Irish EBF Fillies Sprint Stakes on the back of a fine second in an above-average renewal of the Lily Agnes at Chester last week.

This Group Three was won by Meditate last year before going on to land the Albany Stakes, and Haynes sees this step up to six furlongs as the perfect chance for Ziggy’s Dream to to test the waters at this level before she potentially makes her own appearance at the summer showpiece.

“She came out of Chester very well,” said Haynes. “She didn’t really have a race early on after missing the break and then finished like a trooper.

“The step up to six furlongs on better ground will suit and drawn 13 straight down the rail is ideal. We go there hopeful.

“The winner of this last year went on to win at Royal Ascot and I’m sure if she wins then she will be near enough favourite if she goes for the Albany.

“This is the first really nice horse we’ve had for Middleham Park, who are keen supporters and even though there are a couple of unexposed ones in there, she definitely deserves to be there.”

Shartash was a regular in the top two-year-old events last season and with the decision made to stick to sprinting distances for the time being, is out to get his Commonwealth Cup ticket stamped in the Group Three Goffs Lacken Stakes.

“We think he is a sprinter,” said Murtagh. “We were a bit disappointed with his first run back at Navan, but the ground was very soft. Ben (Coen) said he never got going – he jumped sluggish and never got into the race.

“We’re looking forward to a much improved performance and the ground should be ideal for him. Six furlongs at Naas, I think he’ll get up the hill well.

“I think six is a good trip for him and maybe later in the year he will be able to step up to seven. But we’re going to see how he goes over six first.”

Connections also hold strong claims in the Owenstown Stud Stakes where Sharlouk steps up to Listed class having shed his maiden tag in style at Leopardstown two weeks ago.

Murtagh added: “I think he deserves to step up. He ran well on his penultimate start and perhaps didn’t stay the mile on heavy ground and then broke his maiden well last time.

“It’s a big step up and looks a very competitive race, but we want to see how good he is and he should be well tested.”

Chindit and Berkshire Shadow are likely to renew rivalry with Modern Games at Royal Ascot next month after chasing home the dual Breeders’ Cup winner in the Lockinge Stakes at Newbury.

The Richard Hannon-trained Chindit does not yet have a Group One victory on his CV, but it has not been due to a lack of effort.

Last season the son of Wootton Bassett had to chase the shadow of the brilliant Baaeed on a couple of occasions, but did win the Group Two Summer Mile at Ascot and made a successful start to the new campaign in the Paradise Stakes at the same track earlier this month.

Just for a brief moment it looked like the 22-1 shot might cause an upset after striking the front in the Lockinge, but he ultimately had no answer to the Modern Games’ potent finishing kick, with Chindit attempting to bite the winner as he passed by.

Hannon said: “I’m delighted with him. He travelled great and was a happy horse. He has improved physically. He has a middle to him now, which he didn’t have earlier in his career.

“There is one of these coming his way. He goes to the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot.”

Another horse to outrun his odds was Andrew Balding’s Berkshire Shadow.

The grey has largely struggled to make an impact in Pattern company since his memorable success in the Coventry Stakes at the Royal meeting two years go, but returned for another stab at Group One honours following a couple of confidence-boosting wins on the all-weather.

Those victories appear to have reignited the fire as he was beaten just two and a half lengths as a 33-1 shot, leading Balding to also target a rematch with the winner in the Queen Anne.

He said: “He’s a grand horse. He ran very well in the 2000 Guineas last year. His form tailed off a bit, but he’s a different horse this year.

“I think he will win us a decent race, because he really likes fast ground. Yesterday’s rain wasn’t that helpful for him.

“He’ll go for the Queen Anne and then we can decide where we go down the road after that.”

My Prospero, not seen since finishing a close-up third in the Champion Stakes at Ascot in October, is also bound for the Royal meeting – but he will revert to a mile and a quarter for the Prince of Wales’s Stakes instead of sticking to the mile.

His trainer, William Haggas said: “He needs further. He was going to get stuffed and then he stayed on again.

“It was a good run. He is just not quick enough for these, but he should come on for that.

“He will be a player in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes. That will just do him good.”