Wales head coach Warren Gatland says he is “not 100 per cent convinced” that Welsh regional rugby will undergo the proper reset he feels it requires.

Wales face runaway Guinness Six Nations title favourites Ireland in Dublin on Saturday – and the contrast between two long-standing rivals could hardly be greater.

On the field, Ireland have lost just two of their last 40 home Tests, while victory over Wales would see them equal England’s record of 11 successive Six Nations wins.

Wales, meanwhile, have lost nine of their last 10 Six Nations fixtures, and off the field it is a similar case of chalk and cheese.

Ireland are thriving from a system of centrally-contracted players that underpins vibrant, successful provincial teams, while Wales’ four professional regions are each preparing for significant budget cuts that will take effect from next season.

Asked to assess the key difference between Irish and Welsh rugby, Gatland said: “I think they (Ireland) have just got the right structures in place.

“Probably, if I look at the previous time I was here (between 2008 and 2019), we were kind of papering over the cracks of the things that were happening in Welsh rugby.

“We have got an opportunity for a reset, which unfortunately I am not 100 per cent convinced we will have a proper reset within our regions.

“It has probably felt sometimes like you are in a sinking ship and you are trying to plug the holes a little bit. So there is still lots of work for us to do.

“It took a long time (in Ireland), but that has benefited from the performances of their provincial teams, which has transferred into their international team.

“We were probably the other way around. We were the reverse. Right now, we are probably reflective of where our regions are. We have got to look at closing that gap.”

Gatland believes having the correct infrastructure at Wales’ four professional regions – Cardiff, Scarlets, Ospreys and Dragons – is key.

“I continue to speak about infrastructure, getting the right infrastructure, the right environment, the right S&C (strength and conditioning) coaches, medical staff, quality coaches. training facilities, grounds and stuff,” he added.

“Forget about the players. Get that (infrastructure) right, and then you start building your squad.

“We have tended to do it the other way around – or a bit of 50/50 – and then it just feels like you are plugging up the holes of a sinking ship.

“The only way we are going to do it as a group is if we work together and we support each other.

“Everyone talks about the finances, and I understand that, but it is (about) making the right decisions.

“The short-term fix is to go and buy two or three players that might plug a couple of holes.

“But if we don’t think about the long-term benefit of the game and the infrastructure we’ve got, we are just going to be behind the eight-ball continuously.

“My advice to all the regions is don’t worry about players. If it means picking young players to your squad, make sure you spend the money on your facilities, make sure you spend the money on the right people within your environment.”

On Saturday’s Aviva Stadium encounter, Gatland said: “There has been a lot said about us being underdogs, but that is not a motivation for us.

“The motivation is the pressure we are putting on ourselves to get better from game one and two.

“We have spoken all week about having no fear to go there. It is going to be a huge challenge for us, but you have got to embrace that, you have got to be excited about that.”

England have rolled the dice in their bid to reclaim the Calcutta Cup from Scotland by dropping Freddie Steward in favour of George Furbank at full-back.

Steward has been an ever-present under successive England regimes because of his unrivalled ability under the high ball, but having started the opening two rounds of the Guinness Six Nations he is jettisoned from the 23 completely.

The inclusion of Furbank could pay dividends as the Northampton playmaker will provide more of a cutting edge in attack than Steward, but even in the dry conditions expected at Murrayfield on Saturday the selection is gamble.

Furbank has yet to convince in his six caps dating back to 2020 but the 27-year-old, who can also operate at fly-half, is a classy ball player whose skills have helped Saints take the Gallagher Premiership by storm this season.

The decision at full-back is influenced by Ollie Lawrence’s return at inside centre in an injection of ball-carrying clout into the backline.

England have lacked a runner capable of breaking tackles and drawing in defenders as a decoy but Lawrence will perform that role in the pivotal round-three clash in Edinburgh.

He missed the victories over Italy and Wales because of a hip injury but has been preferred ahead of Manu Tuilagi to provide physical presence in the number 12, resulting in Fraser Dingwall being axed from the midfield.

Dingwall’s strength is as a link player and in a nod to the ball skills and game management he provided in the opening two rounds, England feel the all-round game of Furbank is needed at full-back.

LeBron James has been ruled out of the Los Angeles Lakers' road game against the Golden State Warriors on Thursday as he continues to nurse an ankle problem.

James has been suffering from peroneal tendinopathy in his left ankle, and the issue caused him to miss the Lakers' 138-122 road win over the Utah Jazz before the All-Star break.

The NBA's all-time leading scorer did feature in Sunday's All-Star Game, but he was limited to just 14 minutes on the court as the Western Conference All-Stars lost 211-186 to their Eastern Conference counterparts.

James said before Sunday's game that he would use the break to undergo treatment on his ankle, also suggesting his status for Thursday's trip to Chase Center was uncertain.

On Wednesday, the Lakers announced he had officially been downgraded to out, causing him to miss his eighth game of the season.

James had 36 points, 20 rebounds and 12 assists as the Lakers beat the Warriors in a double overtime classic last month, and the 39-year-old is averaging 24.8 points, 7.2 rebounds and 7.8 assists per game this season.

Prior to the trade deadline earlier this month, the Warriors reportedly enquired about James' availability, only to be knocked back by Lakers general manager Rob Pelinka.

James said last week that he wishes to finish his glittering career in Los Angeles, though he is yet to decide whether to take up his $51.4million player option for 2024-25.

Thursday's matchup could prove crucial to the playoff hopes of both teams, with the Lakers emerging from the mid-season hiatus at 30-26 and the Warriors having a 27-26 record. 

England have rolled the dice in their bid to reclaim the Calcutta Cup from Scotland by dropping Freddie Steward in favour of George Furbank at full-back.

Steward has been an ever-present under successive England regimes because of his unrivalled ability under the high ball, but having started the opening two rounds of the Guinness Six Nations he is jettisoned from the 23 completely.

The inclusion of Furbank could pay dividends as the Northampton playmaker will provide more of a cutting edge in attack than Steward, but even in the dry conditions expected at Murrayfield on Saturday the selection is gamble.

Furbank has yet to convince in his six caps dating back to 2020 but the 27-year-old, who can also operate at fly-half, is a classy ball player whose skills have helped Saints take the Gallagher Premiership by storm this season.

Shishkin has been unshackled and is ready to make his mark in the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup, with Nicky Henderson having no fears about either the stamina-sapping trip or tackling the might of defending champion Galopin Des Champs.

Henderson has come to the defence of his blue-riband contender, who he believes has been treated like a “criminal let out of prison” at times over the course of the current season.

However, despite failing to start at Ascot and cruelly unseating Nico de Boinville with the King George at his mercy, he heads to Prestbury Park as Britain’s leading hope of Gold Cup glory and with a fine chance of handing the master of Seven Barrows his third success in the highlight of the meeting.

“It’s funny how going into Newbury the other day he was treated like a criminal who was let out of prison,” said Henderson.

“People were saying if he doesn’t turn up today, where is he? He did nothing wrong and the King George wasn’t his fault. He didn’t fall, he just knocked his leg and anyone can do that, it’s just pure bad luck.

“I’ve got to say Ascot was his fault and he was a naughty boy, but that doesn’t make him a criminal and that’s what it felt like heading into Newbury.”

Shishkin produced a foot-perfect performance in Newbury’s Denman Chase and having navigated that Gold Cup prep with flying colours, it is full steam ahead to the Cotswolds.

He has also resisted the temptation to repeat his Ascot misdemeanours at both Kempton and Newbury, with the master of Seven Barrows confident there will be zero issues at the start of the Festival’s feature contest.

“If he turns round, he will always go left and at Cheltenham if he does that, there is nowhere to go,” continued Henderson.

“We had to be mindful at Kempton he could and Newbury he was no bother, he just walked straight in.”

Many questioned whether the application of first-time cheekpieces played a part in Shishkin’s refusal to start on his seasonal return at Ascot and although the thought of reapplying the headgear for the 10-year-old’s Gold Cup tilt has crossed Henderson’s mind, he reveals it was Ruby Walsh who first put the idea into his head.

“I won’t say I haven’t thought about cheekpieces and we’ve thought about it since Newbury, but I would say it is very unlikely. I can’t see us doing it,” added Henderson.

“It had nothing to do with why he didn’t start at Ascot, despite what may have been written.

“He races a little bit behind the bridle sometimes and Ruby was at me the whole time that I had to put cheekpieces on this horse. He was telling me the whole time and I did what Ruby told me to do and look where it got us!”

If the Festival’s most successful rider was playing the role of mole in the camp for the Festival’s most successful trainer Willie Mullins, then Henderson is unperturbed.

The Lambourn handler recently went on a scouting mission to the Dublin Racing Festival to watch the defending Gold Cup champion in the flesh and although suitably impressed by what he witnessed, he is willing to concentrate solely on his own horse in the build-up to Friday, March 15.

Henderson said: “Galopin Des Champs is very solid and sometimes I don’t think he’s as flashy as some. He’s a big, fine, good-looking horse and he’s very classy. He gets the job done. There are moments (in a race) when you wonder, but he’s one of these horses.

“When Constitution Hill is doing his real thing – and I hope he will do it again – he’s commanded the performance from beginning to end really. Shishkin doesn’t do that and a lot of them don’t.

“But Galopin Des Champs has won a Gold Cup, he’s come into it via some good prep races and I think we just need to concentrate on what we’ve got, rather than anyone else.

“You’ve got to have a tactical plan and going into the race we invariably will, but those often get thrown out the window after a furlong and you have to be doing something different, but we won’t be riding Shishkin any differently because of Galopin Des Champs – he’s going to do his thing and we are going to do ours.

“I’m sure Willie will have his plan and we’ll have our plan and the jockeys will probably have a completely different plan and not listen to either of us!”

Shishkin undoubtedly ticks many boxes ahead of his tilt at racing’s most treasured prize, but the former two-mile champion will have to prove he stays every inch of the lung-busting Gold Cup trip when he takes his stamina reserves past three miles for the very first time.

It is ultimately a question that will not be answered until the race itself, but Henderson is taking comfort from the mid-race move made by Shishkin’s big-race pilot De Boinville in the King George as proof the three-and-a-quarter-mile yardage will be well within his compass.

He explained: “It was interesting that if you go back to the King George, good old Frodon is bashing away at the front there and he goes a good gallop.

“I don’t think he’s the old Frodon, but Nico saw fit to actually go and push things along halfway down the back straight and often Frodon will still be in front when they are turning in.

“Nico was happy to let him rock and roll from halfway down the back and he was in command from there – he had beaten the others.”

Constitution Hill has one more serious piece of work left to complete as Nicky Henderson builds up National Hunt racing’s superstar performer for the defence of his Unibet Champion Hurdle crown.

With just under three weeks to go before the Festival in the Cotswolds that has become ever more consuming in recent years, Henderson has had far from a straightforward season with the unbeaten seven-year-old.

He was supposed to begin his campaign in the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle but that meeting was abandoned due to frost and while the race was rescheduled for the following week at Sandown, very testing ground persuaded Henderson to opt against running him.

That meant he went to Kempton on Boxing Day for his first – and so far only – run of the season, where he won effortlessly, but any thoughts of going to Cheltenham on Trials day were scuppered by a dirty scope.

Speaking at a Jockey Club-organised press morning which took place in pouring rain, Henderson’s annoyance at the wet winter was referenced.

He said: “This weather is frustrating. What we would normally do, and would like to do, is being dictated to by the weather, which is rather boring. We like to do a lot of our work on grass and that is not so easy at the moment, there’s no pleasure in all this racing in heavy ground.

“The only horse that has got any major work left to do is Constitution Hill because he hasn’t run since Christmas, which is exactly the same as last year, but we had a couple of weeks off in the middle when he wasn’t quite right.

“Consequently, I’d like an away day, but nothing else needs one as they’ve been running.

“I’d say we’re exactly where we were this time last year, his weight is good, his mind is good – his mind is always good.

“I thought he worked exceptional last Saturday, admittedly it was very foggy, but I thought he moved beautifully. The ground was beautiful, and that is what we want – it was last week, but it won’t be tomorrow.

“When he was wrong, we had to leave him alone for three weeks. You could obviously do without it but he was very fit going into it.

“He had a course of antibiotics and a couple of quiet weeks. He had three different scopes. It’s the sort of thing that happens to all horses all the way through the season. It was probably only a two out of 10, but you can’t ignore it.”

Henderson has often referenced Constitution Hill’s rock-solid temperament and it is for that reason the fact he has only run once this season is of no concern to a trainer who is chasing a record-extending 10th Champion Hurdle.

The Seven Barrows maestro added: “Nothing worries him, he’d run on Friday the 13th if he had to. We’re in good shape, I’d be pretty happy that we are where we were this time last year, or coming into Christmas. He’s in good form.

“At Christmas, he was very ready, as he should have gone to Newcastle, so he was very well prepped for the Christmas Hurdle, but he is again here because straight after Christmas he was back in work because we were trying to get him ready for Trials day, but he hasn’t really missed anything.

“I would still like one good away day, though.”

Last year, Constitution Hill was nine lengths too good for State Man and while Willie Mullins’ chestnut has been mopping up more Grade Ones in Ireland this season, Henderson is content in the knowledge that he has a lot of ground to make up.

He said: “Willie and I have plenty of fun, we’re all good mates. I don’t know what they’ll do (differently), the main thing is we know what we are trying to do.

“So, we can concentrate on what we’re doing, there’s no point concentrating on what everyone else is up to. They’ve got their plans to make and we’ll concentrate on ours.

“State Man looked the same horse to me; he’s a very good horse, there’s no doubt about it, he gets his job done every time.

“But we’ve beaten him once, so let’s hope we beat him again. He only beat First Street a length in the County Hurdle, and we were giving him weight – we know where he is!”

Henderson had mooted running three in the Champion Hurdle but it now appears First Street will step up in trip for the Coral Cup. Luccia will join her stablemate on the first day, however,

“It sounds like Luccia is going to run. Paul Stanley is a real enthusiast, he’s been in the game for years and he’s very keen to run her. Ratings tell you it’s not a great idea but there’s a lot of prize-money,” said Henderson.

“Poor old First Street got put up 4lb for his run behind Lossiemouth, as if he wasn’t high enough in the first place. We’ve just been chasing prize-money with him but he keeps going up in the weights, he wants another half a mile (Coral Cup).”

Ciaran Frawley will make his first Test start in Ireland’s Guinness Six Nations clash with Wales after being selected in place of injured full-back Hugo Keenan.

The versatile 26-year-old won his two previous caps as a replacement, including playing the final four minutes of the championship curtain-raiser away to France.

Keenan has been virtually ever-present in his country’s number 15 jersey during the past three years but will miss Saturday’s match in Dublin due to a knee injury suffered in the round-two victory over Italy.

Head coach Andy Farrell, who has included uncapped Munster prop Oli Jager among the replacements, has made seven personnel changes to his starting XV from the 36-0 win over the Azzurri Italy on February 11.

Captain Peter O’Mahony, prop Tadhg Furlong and centre Bundee Aki return following injuries, while lock Tadhg Beirne, scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park and flanker Josh Van Der Flier are also recalled.

Second-row James Ryan, flanker Ryan Baird, number eight Jack Conan and centre Stuart McCloskey drop to a bench containing a six-two split of forwards and backs.

Prop Finlay Bealham and scrum-half Craig Casey have been left out of the matchday 23 after starting against Italy.

Lock Iain Henderson, who suffered a foot injury playing for Ulster last weekend, is not involved, while centre Garry Ringrose remains absent after missing the opening two rounds with a shoulder issue.

Frawley has been battling Jack Crowley and Harry Byrne for action at fly-half but Farrell has limited back-up options at full-back due to Jimmy O’Brien and Mack Hansen being ruled out of the entire tournament.

The full debutant has played a total of just 44 minutes of international rugby, during cameos in last summer’s World Cup warm-up win over Italy and the 38-17 victory over Les Bleus at the start of the month.

Crowley continues in the number 10 role, partnering Gibson-Park, with Aki and Robbie Henshaw in midfield and Calvin Nash and James Lowe retained on the wings.

In the front row, returning tighthead Furlong will pack down alongside Leinster team-mates Andrew Porter and Dan Sheehan, ahead of the second row pairing of Joe McCarthy and Beirne.

Caelan Doris, who stood in as skipper last time out, reverts from openside flanker to number eight. Van der Flier returns to the number seven role, while O’Mahony is back in at blindside flanker.

Hooker Ronan Kelleher, prop Cian Healy and scrum-half Conor Murray complete the bench.

Ireland are seeking a third successive win in this year’s championship – and an 18th in a row at home – after launching their title defence with back-to-back bonus-point victories over France and Italy.

Opponents Wales began with narrow defeats to Scotland and England and have not won a Six Nations fixture in Dublin since 2012.

Jamie Ritchie has been restored to Scotland’s starting XV for Saturday’s Calcutta Cup showdown with England a fortnight after being dropped from the squad altogether for the Guinness Six Nations home defeat by France.

The recently deposed captain is back in the side as one of three changes made by Gregor Townsend, with experienced duo Blair Kinghorn and Kyle Steyn returning to the back three.

Kyle Rowe, Harry Paterson and Matt Fagerson – all of whom started against Les Bleus – drop out of the squad altogether, with the bench unchanged.

Ritchie – who lost the captaincy to Finn Russell and Rory Darge earlier this year – started the first match of the Six Nations away to Wales before being left out against France, but the 27-year-old Edinburgh flanker is back in the number six jersey in place of Fagerson this weekend.

Toulouse full-back Kinghorn returns after missing the opening two matches with a knee injury sustained days before the championship began, while Glasgow wing Steyn – who started against Wales – is back in the mix after having to withdraw from the team on the morning of the France game when his wife went into labour.

Rowe, who started the first two matches in the absence of Kinghorn, has not made the squad this weekend, while 22-year-old Edinburgh back Paterson, who was drafted in at the last minute to start against France following Steyn’s withdrawal, is also out.

Richard Krajicek believes it will hurt Carlos Alcaraz's career if he compares himself too much to Rafael Nadal.

Alcaraz is being hailed as Spanish tennis' next big hope with Nadal nearing the end of a hugely decorated career, one that has seen him win 22 grand slam titles, two behind Novak Djokovic at the top of the all-time list.

Alcaraz himself has claimed two grand slams at the age of 20, winning the US Open in 2022 before following it up by claiming Wimbledon glory the following year.

Despite the comparisons, Krajicek hopes Alcaraz doesn't think too much about comparing himself with his countryman Nadal.

"If he starts to think about it or live up to it or try to beat it, then it will hinder his career, I think, a little bit," said Krajicek, speaking to Stats Perform at the Rotterdam Open. "But no, his name is Carlos Alcaraz. He said it himself. And he's not a new Nadal.

"Nadal is a legend. And he's going to do what he has to do. And I think by winning two grand slams, being number one, I don't think he [Alcaraz] feels any pressure or like, I have to do this or this.

"He's proved so much already. I don't think he has too much to prove. And he's just playing for the love of the game. He's going to win many more grand slams and be number one for many weeks also."

Krajicek thinks Alcaraz's all-round game has the potential to take him to the top, if he hasn't reached it already.

"I like everything about his game," Krajicek added. "I mean he's physically good, he's fast, I love his mentality on the court."

"Also like Rafa, [he is] a very humble person and he can do it all. He can play serve and volley, he plays from the base, he's got a big forehand, he's got a very good touch on the drop shot, he can volley."

Krajicek pointed to Alcaraz's affection for the sport of tennis as a particularly infectious part of his game.

"He really loves the game," Krajicek continued. 

"I think when he played the US Open, there was a huge point in the final and it was a really important point. And they were playing for number one in the world.

"It was one set all, and Alcaraz loses the point, but the point was unbelievable. And Alcaraz smiles to his box like, 'Wow, I just played a great point, and I love this game'.

"So for me, then I became a fan. I'm like, 'Wow, you really love this game'. That's so great to see."

Christian Horner wants his Red Bull future to be resolved “as soon as possible” as the embattled team principal fights to save his Formula One career.

Red Bull Racing’s parent company Red Bull GmbH announced on February 5 that Horner is being investigated following an accusation of “inappropriate behaviour” by a female colleague. Horner denies the claim.

Horner addressed the media alongside four other F1 team principals on the second day of this week’s three-day test in Bahrain on Thursday. The new season starts in the Gulf kingdom next Saturday.

Asked why he has not moved aside as team principal and chief executive of Red Bull Racing with the investigation under way, Horner replied: “As you are well aware there is a process going on which I form part of, and as I form part of that process, I am afraid I cannot comment on it.”

Horner was then asked if he could provided a timeline as to when the investigation might be over.

The 50-year-old added: “I am dreadfully sorry but I really can’t comment on the process or the timescale.

“Everybody would like a conclusion as soon as possible. But I am really not at liberty to comment about the process.”

Sources have indicated to the PA news agency that there could be a resolution before the opening race on March 2.

On Wednesday, Mercedes boss Toto Wolff called for Red Bull’s probe to be transparent, and said the controversy is “an issue for all of Formula One”.

McLaren chief executive Zak Brown, speaking in the same press conference as Horner on Thursday, echoed Wolff’s comments.

“The allegations are extremely serious,” said Brown. “McLaren hold themselves to the highest standards of diversity, equality and inclusion.

“These are extremely important to us and our partners, and to everyone in Formula One.

“Red Bull Corporation has launched an investigation, and all we hope and assume is that it will be handled in a very transparent way, and as the FIA and Formula One has said, swiftly, because these are not the headlines that Formula One wants or needs at this time.”

Red Bull won all but one of the 22 races last year as Max Verstappen stormed to the world championship.

The Dutch driver, in his heavily upgraded machine, set an impressive pace on the opening day in Bahrain, finishing 1.1 seconds clear of anyone else.

Mercedes’ George Russell said: “Red Bull are definitely the favourites and definitely a step ahead of everyone here in Bahrain. They have had an impressive winter, no doubt.

“Hopefully Red Bull are already in that sweet spot, and we can close the gap, but it is going to take a lot of hard work to do so.”

It is only a "matter of time" until Carlos Alcaraz is the number one tennis player in the world, according to Richard Krajicek.

At the age of 20, Alcaraz has already won Wimbledon and the US Open, becoming world number one in September 2022.

He was defeated in the quarter-finals of the Australian Open to kick off this year's grand slams, though, failing to win any of the three tournaments in which he has played in 2024.

However, former world number four Krajicek believes Alcaraz is on his way to becoming the best, despite dropping to number two in the world rankings.

"His potential is very high," Krajicek told Stats Perform. "I think he's the future number one.

"I'm not saying anything special because he's beaten everybody. He beat Djokovic three times out of the last four times they played. He beat Medvedev from being two sets to love down, which shows how mentally and physically strong he is.

"So for me, it's a matter of time until he becomes number one. I think he can play on all surfaces, maybe clay is his worst surface but all the other surfaces you would say he's a title contender."

With the 'Big Three' of Roger Federer, Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic already retired or nearing the end of their storied careers, there's been much discussion over who will fill their boots.

Alcaraz has already proved his abilities, while 22-year-old Italian Jannik Sinner claimed Australian Open glory to kick off this year having reached the semi-finals of Wimbledon in 2023.

Krajicek feels those two will lead the way for the next era of men's tennis, saying: "It's difficult to say who the next generation will be, but I think Alcaraz and Sinner will have a good rivalry. They already have played unbelievable matches.

"Of course, Alcaraz has already been number one, won two Grand Slams. Sinner is now slowly coming also to that level. He is number four, maybe number three after this week."

However, Krajicek has reservations over whether the likes of Alcaraz and Sinner can reach the legendary status of the 'Big Three'.

"To really have the same kind of rivalry, I don't know if that's possible," Krajicek added. "I mean, together, Federer, Nadal and Djokovic won 66 Grand Slams. That's incredible. In every Grand Slam, they were in the final or winning. It's just amazing.

"I don't know if it's possible to have two players or three players that basically win every Grand Slam they play. But I believe those two are going to be the two biggest names for the next couple years."

Multiple Group One winner Luxembourg starts his season in the Howden Neom Turf Cup in Riyadh on Saturday, with trainer Aidan O’Brien expecting him to return better than ever this year.

The five-year-old was last seen finishing a close second to Romantic Warrior in the Hong Kong Cup, prior to which he was runner-up in both the Irish Champion Stakes and the Prince of Wales’s Stakes.

His season did include a win, however, and a significant one at that, as he landed the Tattersalls Gold Cup at elite level at the Curragh in May.

There had been discussions about starting his campaign in the Saudi Cup itself and experimenting with running the son of Camelot on dirt for the first time, but it was ultimately decided that he would stick to turf for now.

“We’re looking forward to it, we were surprised at the way he got over the (dirt) track,” said O’Brien.

“Everyone’s very excited to see him. He’s a big, powerful, long-striding horse. A good, scopey horse, with a good mind and very sound.

“We think we haven’t seen the best of him yet, all through this year and next year he’s going to be a horse to really look forward to.

“He’s big with a long stride and often those types of horses take until four or five to really become strong enough to use their stride.

“He had a lean enough body, but his body is getting stronger all the time.”

“We were in two minds about it, the Saudi Cup is probably the most exciting race in the world. We were going to go there and take our chance, but then last minute we thought it was the wrong thing for the horse this early in the season.

“It’s the race everyone wants to win and we nearly did it, maybe we thought it might be safer to do it the other way and maybe we could go there with him next year.

“We will experiment, maybe we should have done it this time but we definitely will, he could go to Dubai and it’s very possible he’ll go there on the grass as well.

“Then we might think about switching over for the second half of the year, something like that.”

Also in the race are Daniel and Claire Kubler’s Astro King and Andrew Balding’s The Foxes, with John and Thady Gosden running Jack Darcy and Richard Fahey represented by Bahrain International Trophy winner Spirit Dancer.

O’Brien has a further hope at the meeting in Tower Of London, who lines up in the Red Sea Turf Handicap over a mile and seven furlongs.

The four-year-old was twice a winner last term and was unlucky to miss out on a Group Three success when going down by just a head in the Bahrain Trophy Stakes at Newmarket.

His three-year-old season ended in September, so he returns from a significant break, but his trainer has been pleased with his preparation for the race and expects him to perform well.

“He’s been off a good while and he’s carrying a little bit of weight, but he’s been working very well,” O’Brien said.

“We always thought the trip would suit him well and this type of race would suit him well.

“He has plenty of weight but he’s a classy horse, we think that ridden a little bit patiently and gently we will see a very big run from him.”

Sir Alex Ferguson “never dreamed” that he would have a horse good enough to take on the best in the world on the international stage. But in Spirit Dancer – a horse he bred – that is exactly what he is doing.

The former Manchester United manager has become immersed in the racing world since his retirement, enjoying several high-profile victories in the National Hunt sphere.

To date, his Flat exploits had not reached the same heights. But the Richard Fahey-trained seven-year-old Spirit Dancer has started to change all that.

Winning the Strensall Stakes at York last summer earned him an invite for the Bahrain International Trophy, which he won, and he was last seen finishing a respectable fourth in the Group One Jebel Hatta at Meydan in Dubai.

He now runs in the Howden Neom Turf Cup on Saturday in Riyadh, a race worth almost £1million to the winner.

“One of the great advantages of having a really good horse is international racing. We never dreamed, when I bred Spirit Dancer, that he would end up getting as far as this,” Ferguson told The Saudi Cup.

“We’re so excited about it and after Bahrain we are quite optimistic.

“He had a little problem when he was three years of age, he got over that and he’s just got better and better. He’s not had a lot of racing. That’s what Richard keeps saying, that he can race a lot more than he’s been doing. So we’re getting the benefit.

“The international element is something we didn’t expect. I’d been to Dubai some years back and I was saying to myself I wonder what it’s like to have a horse involved in it – now we’ve got one, I’m enjoying it.

“Competing with the likes of Aidan O’Brien and the Japanese, you know you are up against the best, and we’re enjoying it.”

Ferguson’s racing interests stretch back almost 30 years now, and it is fair to say he is more involved than at any time in his life.

“It was round about 1995 that I remember my wife saying I was going to kill myself because my whole day was absorbed with the (football) club,” he explained.

“One day, I said to my wife ‘shall we go to the races?’. She asked where that had come from and I told her it was her who said I needed to start doing something else.

“We were at the races one day when I met John Mulhern and Dessie Scahill and I got hooked. She once said ‘you want to buy all the right horses’, well, I’m trying!

“I got into breeding by accident, I was in Germany visiting Andreas Wohler and he put the idea in my mind, I bought a horse from him, the mare Queen’s Dream (Spirit Dancer’s dam).

“A friend of mine then put the idea in my head about buying the stud in Hemel Hempstead. I said we’d have a go and it’s been great. They are fantastic people there, we had a foal there last week by Stradivarius, so it’s great.”

It is Ferguson’s second trip to Saudi Arabia, the first was in 2008 when Manchester United played in a testimonial to honour local player Sam Al Jaber, who played over 150 times for his country.

“We came to Saudi about 15 years ago to play in a game to celebrate a famous player who had 150 international caps. The King bought 80,000 tickets and gave them all away to the people and it was fantastic,” said Ferguson.

Spirit Dancer is co-owned by bookmaker Fred Done and Ferguson’s big friend, Ged Mason, with whom he is involved with most of his horses – and who initiated a rather painful celebration in Bahrain.

“Ged broke my rib celebrating in Bahrain, I won’t mind him breaking another if it means we win!” said Ferguson.

Mason is loving being involved in the ride and is thrilled at the enjoyment Ferguson is getting from the game.

“When he came round the bend at Bahrain, it was a fantastic sight and the way he pulled away was a pinch yourself moment, to be honest,” said Mason.

“He got the invite to Bahrain because he’d produced the goodies at York. I’m so proud for Sir Alex because he bred him and he’s out of Frankel.

“I think our first venture into ownership was What A Friend and what a friend he was to us, he got our appetite for winning. Clan Des Obeaux won King Georges and Irish Gold Cups, it’s been a fantastic journey and we don’t want it to stop.”