The Antarctic held on bravely to give Aidan O’Brien his fifth win in the Goffs Lacken Stakes – getting his ticket stamped for Royal Ascot in the process.
The son of Dark Angel has always carried a huge reputation having commanded 750,000 guineas as a yearling and he is a brother to four-time Group One-winning sprinter Battaash.
He won three times from eight starts as a juvenile, only once finishing outside the first three, but despite being sent off the 13-8 favourite for this Group Three event, had to bounce back from a disappointing return when beaten almost seven lengths by Jessica Harrington’s Ocean Quest at Navan.
Having travelled powerfully throughout in the hands of Ryan Moore, it looked as if The Antarctic had the field covered as he began to lengthen inside the final furlong.
However, on the opposite side of the track his Navan conqueror was also beginning to hit top gear and with some of the chasing pack also finding a second wind in the closing stages, favourite backers would have been sweating as the field flashed past the winning post.
The Antarctic returned a head clear of the 5-2 second favourite Ocean Quest with Ocean Jewel (third), Thunderbear (fourth) and Shartash (fifth) all within touching distance at the finish.
“I’m delighted with him. Obviously, he made good progress from Navan and he just needed that as well,” said O’Brien.
“Navan was tough, soft ground, there wouldn’t have been much of an edge put on him but that will leave a lovely edge on him.
“Ryan was delighted with him, he said he got a little bit lonely and idle in the last half a furlong, but we couldn’t be happier with him.
“He had progressed plenty without us really having to chase him. We thought this race would bring him the rest of the way and if everything stays well we should be able to let him coast into Ascot now.”
The Antarctic was cut 10-1 from 33s by Paddy Power for the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot, but it is not certain that the grey will line up in the six furlong Group One, with the Jersey Stakes also a possibility depending how stablemate Little Big Bear performs in the Sandy Lane at Haydock next weekend.
O’Brien continued: “We have a choice at Ascot. Little Big Bear is going to run next week over six at Haydock and he would have the option of going to the Jersey over seven if Little Big Bear went to the Commonwealth Cup.
“This horse is going to come forward again, he’s still a little bit tubby but he’s coming. It will depend on where Little Big Bear goes.
“It always looked like he’d get seven. Ryan said today he was surprised that he quickened as much as he did.”
River Tiber preserved his unbeaten record and booked his ticket to Royal Ascot with a convincing win at Naas.
Aidan O’Brien’s son of Wootton Bassett was sent off the 2-9 favourite for the Coolmore Stud Calyx Race on the back of an impressive 10-length demolition job at Navan on debut – and although momentarily under pressure when Ryan Moore asked his mount to quicken, River Tiber soon exerted his dominance to win going away by two and a half lengths.
O’Brien was delighted with the performance, believing the outing will provide the perfect education ahead of his trip to Ascot next month, and River Tiber heads the market for the Coventry Stakes at the big meeting with Coral going 3-1 and both Paddy Power and Betfair a shade shorter at 11-4.
“I was very happy and very happy that we ran him. He hadn’t been asked to do anything off the bridle at home, then he went to Navan and won very easily in soft ground so he probably doesn’t know a lot,” said O’Brien.
“It was good strong pace today on good ground and before Ascot it’s very important that they do that.
“Ryan had to catch a hold of him and make him get down and stretch, he would have learned an awful lot and he was very happy with him. We were delighted.
“I thought that he might not even come off the bridle as he shows loads at home. Ger’s (Lyons) horse (Tourist, second) is obviously a good horse, he took him off the bridle.
“Ger’s was second to one of ours (Johannes Brahms) here the last day and we liked him as well.
“He’s a horse to look forward to. We thought he would be a Coventry horse.
“We have three Wootton Bassetts, it’s the first time we’ve had them, and two of the colts are very good. It’s unusual that two colts were good out of the three.
“He’s always shown loads, but very much always on the bridle doing his work and before you go to Ascot you have to take them off it and teach them. Hopefully that’s the job done for him now.”
When asked about the quick ground for the winner he added: “Ryan said he had no problem with it.
“Everyone said that the Wootton Basssetts handle soft ground very well so I wasn’t sure about it, but Ryan was very adamant that it was no problem.
“It’s good ground there and you won’t get much quicker at Ascot.”
There was a first winner for Michael Halford and Tracey Collins since joining forces when Cosmic Vega (14-1) knuckled down gamely in the closing stages to hold off Johnny Murtagh’s Sharlouk in the Listed Owenstown Stud Stakes.
“He was all heart and he got a brilliant ride, Ronan is riding out of his skin,” said Halford.
“I’m thrilled for myself and Tracey, it’s a great start. We’ve had to be patient.
“I had to walk the track before I decided to run him or not. It was a close call, but thankfully the owners said that they’d go with my decision. For once we got it right.
“His best form is probably on a turn with a dig in the ground, so I’d be thinking about the Listed race in Killarney for him. I’m not sure about the hustle bustle of Ascot for him.
“Ronan is a very underestimated rider – I don’t think any more, though. He’s a world class jockey and just needs the opportunities as he’s proved with Skitter Skatter and a few other horses. He rode a great race for Jessie (Harrington) during the week in York (on Sounds Of Heaven).
“We’re delighted to have him, he’s a big part of our team and he’s a big team player.”
Porta Fortuna put herself in the Royal Ascot picture when holding on from the fast-finishing Navassa Island to claim the Coolmore Stud Irish EBF Fillies Sprint Stakes at Naas.
Donnacha O’Brien’s youngster was sent off 8-1 for the Group Three contest on the back of a winning debut at the Curragh last month and with many of the market protagonists – including 13-8 favourite Ribchestina – setting a brisk pace, Porta Fortuna was able to track those on the front end and get a good tow into the contest.
When push came to shove at the furlong pole, Porta Fortuna was still full of running as Gavin Ryan urged his mount to take the lead and having shot clear with half a furlong left to run, she kept on strongly when Michael O’Callaghan’s newcomer Navassa Island burst out of the pack and was eating into her advantage with every stride.
“We thought she was a nice filly, but obviously you never expect to win a Group race with a filly that’s had one run. It’s nice to see her handle the step up in class well,” said O’Brien.
“She has a really good pedigree, back along there are a lot of good horses in it.
“She was bought by some American partners, it’s great for them and exciting. We’ll speak to them now, but there is probably a good chance she’ll go to Ascot.”
Having taken the step up to six furlongs in her stride, the Albany Stakes is now the obvious next port of call for the daughter of Caravaggio, with Betfair and Paddy Power both cutting the filly to 6-1 from 20s.
“If she goes it will probably be for the Albany, she looked to get a stiff six furlongs here well,” continued O’Brien.
“She handles all kinds of ground so I wouldn’t be worried either way.
“We’ve had some maiden winners and it’s nice to see that they are improving, even though they are fairly ready early they are able to step up in class. That’s a good sign.”
O’Brien’s hand in the two-year-old races at the summer showpiece could be strengthened by Devious, who is on course to line up in the Coventry Stakes.
A two-length winner at Naas on debut, the son of Starspangledbanner is readily available at 16-1 for the opening day two-year-old contest. However, he is as short as 8-1 with William Hill, and O’Brien holds the colt in high regard.
“We think he’s a very smart horse,” he said. “He’s in good form and the plan is to go straight to the Coventry with him.
“That won’t be an easy task, but we think he’s smart.”
Ronan O’Gara has admitted he wants to coach Ireland after guiding French side La Rochelle to back-to-back Heineken Champions Cup triumphs.
Former Ireland fly-half O’Gara’s La Rochelle defeated Leinster in the final for the second successive season, fighting back from 17-0 down for a thrilling 27-26 win at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin.
O’Gara told the BBC’s Rugby Union Weekly podcast: “Yes, of course, I want to coach Ireland as well but you have got to earn that right.”
The 46-year-old, appointed by La Rochelle in June 2019 after coaching spells at Racing 92 and New Zealand side Crusaders, said the victory was one of the highlights of his career as both player and coach.
“Because it is the freshest it is always the best, isn’t it?” said O’Gara, who as a player won the Champions Cup twice with Munster, helped Ireland win the Six Nations Grand Slam and went on three British and Irish Lions tours.
“I’m just proud of the character of the team, 17-0 down and away from home, they could have easily found a way to find an excuse but these boys have character and character is important in sport.
“We love it. We care a lot for each other. We don’t talk about that but we act and there is no bigger proof in the pudding than back-to-back (Champions Cup wins).
“We are probably beginning to be seen as a special team and I think the boys deserve to be there.”
O’Gara, Ireland’s record points scorer and second-most capped player with 128 appearances, spared a thought for compatiots Leinster, who have lost in three of the last five Champions Cup finals after winning the title in 2018.
“Sport is ruthless,” O’Gara added. “I must admit that as a head coach or leader of this group, you feel for Leinster management and the players, it is horrible. One bus goes happy and the other bus is devastated.”
It is all systems go for the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot as Ladies Church continued her rise up the sprinting ladder with a bloodless victory in the Sole Power Sprint Stakes at Naas.
A Listed winner over track and trip as a two-year-old, Johnny Murtagh’s speedy daughter of Churchill added to her tally during a respectable three-year-old campaign by claiming the Group Two Sapphire Stakes.
Having started the year with a pair of pleasing efforts in Meydan, she returned to home soil with aplomb and after tracking the pace set by Adrian Nicholls’ raider Tees Spirit, the 4-1 third-favourite surged clear in the hands of Ben Coen in the closing stages to register a three-length victory over the keeping on Moss Tucker.
“We think the world of this filly and brought her to Dubai during the winter as she likes fast ground,” said Murtagh.
“She was second in a Group two first time out there and I thought she had a real chance on World Cup night. It didn’t happen for some reason, she got a bit of a bump out of the stalls. Ben said she was on the bridle but just didn’t finish off. I think she was on the wrong side of the track as well.
“Since she’s come home her work has been good. It’s hard for three-year-olds to compete in top sprints, she’s four now and I was hoping she’d do something like that today.”
Murtagh had previously indicated this would be a stepping stone to the King’s Stand and confirmed that would be Ladies Church’s next assignment, with Coral, Betfair and Paddy Power all trimming the four-year-old to 14-1 for the five-furlong contest.
“We’re delighted and I think she deserves her place in the King’s Stand,” he continued.
“Even in her work, she works behind, goes to the front and pulls up. I put the cheekpieces on today just to freshen her up and if she did get to the front it might help Ben. She probably didn’t need them today, but it was something different to help her.
“Ben said she pulled up in front and as soon as Billy Lee came to her pulling up she went again.
“We think a lot of her and turned down a lot of money for her. It’s hard to get Group One horses and we think we have one.
“Anyone who has ridden her work always thought she was a high-class filly and could be the real deal. It’s a good start to the season, it’s a big step up to the next level but five furlongs on fast ground at Ascot is made for her.”
Murtagh tasted King’s Stand success twice at Royal Ascot as a jockey, first winning the race aboard Choisir in 2003 before adding to his tally 10 years later with Sole Power.
A further 10 years have passed, but it is somewhat fitting that Murtagh will bid to win the race as a trainer with a horse tuning up for the summer showpiece by claiming a contest named after his former ally.
He added: “She reminds me a little bit of Sole Power, she’s very responsive. She’s very relaxed in behind, but if you sneeze on her she quickens up really well and does things really quickly.
“There are lots of good horses, but the great ones can sit in behind and when you pull them out you just squeeze them and they accelerate.
“It’s like putting your foot on the accelerator. Not a lot of them have it, that’s why the Group One horses are the Group One horses.
“It’s a great feeling for a jockey and it’s not a bad feeling for a trainer as well! I’m pretty happy with that.
“Ben gave her a great ride, he said he was always in control and it was just a matter of when he let her go, and when he let her go she opened up.”
Paddington and Cairo look like spearheading Aidan O’Brien’s Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas team at the Curragh on Saturday.
Siyouni colt Paddington has won three of his four starts to date, including two impressive victories this term at Naas and the Curragh.
O’Brien experimented with running Cairo on dirt in the UAE Derby last time out, but the son of Quality Road was well beaten. Prior to that he had shown smart form at two, winning the Killavullan Stakes.
“Paddington and Cairo are probably the two mains ones, that’s what we are thinking at the moment,” said O’Brien.
Mediate could try again for Classic honours after finishing sixth in the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket.
As the ground was riding soft at Newmarket, O’Brien will be hoping for a dry week to help Meditate’s cause on Sunday.
O’Brien is also considering supplementing the lightly-raced Jackie Oh, beaten in an Oaks trial last time out.
“Meditate is the main one for the 1,000 Guineas and Jackie Oh, who was beaten in the fillies trial over a mile and a quarter at Navan, could come back in trip,” he said.
Nikola Jokic remains "worried" about the Denver Nuggets' chances of reaching the NBA Finals despite Saturday's Game 3 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers, warning LeBron James is "capable of everything".
Jokic combined with Jamal Murray to guide the top-seeded Nuggets to a 119-108 win at Crypto.com Arena, giving them a 3-0 series lead and putting them on the brink of a first NBA Finals appearance.
The two-time NBA MVP added 24 points to Murray's game-high 37, leaving Denver heavily fancied to advance ahead of another road game on Monday.
However, Jokic is unwilling to start the celebrations early, saying: "To be honest, I'm not going to say that I'm scared, but I'm worried.
"Because they have LeBron on the other side, and he is capable of doing everything.
"We're going to come here with the same mindset, same focus, and I think that's going to put us in a situation to win a game.
"We never know. They're going to be aggressive. Of course, they're going to be extra physical.
"They're going to run more, everything is going to be on a different level, more of anything. So, we will see."
Murray echoed his team-mate's cautious tone, stressing the importance of the Nuggets remaining grounded.
"We're just keeping everybody in the moment, not letting it slip away," Murray said.
"You need 16 wins to win a championship and we've got five more to go and the Lakers are in our way, and they are going to do everything in their power to come back and fight."
James finished Game 3 with 23 points, 12 assists and seven rebounds but missed with 11 of his 19 shots, including four of six in the fourth quarter.
Despite the Lakers' season hanging by a thread, the four-time NBA champion is refusing to give up hope.
"We've got to get one, just get one at a time," James said. "Just focus on Game 4, that's all you can think about.
"Obviously, this game is over with. We had some opportunities and we didn't come through. It's a one-game series for us."
River Tiber preserved his unbeaten record and booked his ticket to Royal Ascot with a convincing win at Naas.
Aidan O’Brien’s son of Wootton Bassett was sent off the 2-9 favourite for the Coolmore Stud Calyx Race on the back of an impressive 10-length demolition job at Navan on debut – and although momentarily under pressure when Ryan Moore asked his mount to quicken, River Tiber soon exerted his dominance to win going away by two and a half lengths.
O’Brien was delighted with the performance, believing the outing will provide the perfect education ahead of his trip to Ascot next month, and River Tiber heads the market for the Coventry Stakes at the big meeting with Coral going 3-1 and both Paddy Power and Betfair a shade shorter at 11-4.
“I was very happy and very happy that we ran him. He hadn’t been asked to do anything off the bridle at home, then he went to Navan and won very easily in soft ground so he probably doesn’t know a lot,” said O’Brien.
“It was good strong pace today on good ground and before Ascot it’s very important that they do that.
“Ryan had to catch a hold of him and make him get down and stretch, he would have learned an awful lot and he was very happy with him. We were delighted.
“I thought that he might not even come off the bridle as he shows loads at home. Ger’s (Lyons) horse (Tourist, second) is obviously a good horse, he took him off the bridle.
“Ger’s was second to one of ours (Johannes Brahms) here the last day and we liked him as well.
“He’s a horse to look forward to. We thought he would be a Coventry horse.
“We have three Wootton Bassetts, it’s the first time we’ve had them, and two of the colts are very good. It’s unusual that two colts were good out of the three.
“He’s always shown loads, but very much always on the bridle doing his work and before you go to Ascot you have to take them off it and teach them. Hopefully that’s the job done for him now.”
When asked about the quick ground for the winner he added: “Ryan said he had no problem with it.
“Everyone said that the Wootton Basssetts handle soft ground very well so I wasn’t sure about it, but Ryan was very adamant that it was no problem.
“It’s good ground there and you won’t get much quicker at Ascot.”
The Jockey Club is taking every possible precaution to prevent the Betfred Derby at Epsom being disrupted by protesters, saying it has “robust security measures” in place.
The Grand National at Aintree was delayed a little over 10 minutes by animal rights group Animal Rising, with attempts to disrupt the Scottish National at Ayr the following weekend thwarted by police and security staff.
Epsom is owned and run by the Jockey Club and meetings with Surrey Police have taken place to make sure everything possible is done to ensure the two-day fixture runs smoothly.
However, the vastness of the area which needs securing, including public areas where people do not require tickets, presents obvious challenges. A handful of protesters made it onto the track before last year’s race, but were swiftly dealt with.
Nevin Truesdale, chief executive of the Jockey Club, said: “As part of our planning for the Derby Festival, we have been working with Surrey Police to ensure we have a range of robust security measures in place to protect the safety of everyone at the event, especially our equine and human participants, which will always be our number one priority.
“While we completely respect anyone’s right to peaceful and lawful protest, we would condemn illegal and reckless plans to breach security in an effort to disrupt the action on the track and endanger the safety of the participants in the strongest possible terms.
“Thousands of people look forward to attending the Derby every year and millions more will be watching at home and around the world, so we look forward to staging what is not only an important event for the sport but an iconic moment in the British summer and a celebration of the Thoroughbred.”
Hugo Palmer describes Hackman as “the fastest two-year-old I’ve ever had anything to do with” as he eyes up a tilt at Sandown’s National Stakes with his Chester winner.
Success on the Roodee is a given for the tenant of Michael Owen’s Manor House Stables and having hit the crossbar with the fittingly named Balon D’Or in the Lily Agnes, it was Hackman who got Palmer and the former England international Owen on the scoresheet at Chester’s May Festival with a taking display over five furlongs.
Having advertised his blistering speed on that occasion, his handler will now keep the precocious son of Mehmas at five furlongs for his next start, with stablemate Balon D’Or potentially moving up in trip for the Woodcote Stakes at Epsom on June 2 despite also holding an entry for Sandown on Thursday.
Palmer explained: “The initial feeling with Balon D’Or was to go to the National Stakes and we still might. But the speed Hackman showed and the knowledge that Balon D’Or really is ready for the step up to six furlongs, we might just wait a week for the Woodcote with Balon D’Or and then run Hackman in the National.
“It’s a stiff five and he has always showed so much speed my initial worry would be will he get the five furlongs? But he got five furlongs in ground that was very soft at Chester, so you would hope he would stay. He’s the fastest two-year-old I’ve ever had anything to do with.”
Royal Ascot is on the agenda for both Hackman and Balon D’Or and Palmer is hoping both talented youngsters can get their tickets to the summer showpiece stamped via their next assignments.
He continued: “It’s the same for every speedy early-season two-year-old but I would be hopeful that if Hackman could win the National we would head to the Norfolk and if not we would probably go to the Windsor Castle.
“Similarly with Balon D’Or, if he won the Woodcote, the Coventry would very much be on the radar for him, but he also has the Windsor Castle as an option as well.
“I hope they will very much be involved at Ascot but we will see – they have to step forward and they have to perform on their next starts.
“It is all very jolly saying we’ll go to Royal Ascot, but the also-rans enclosure is a very boring and lonely place at Royal Ascot so we have to go there thinking we can be competitive. There is nothing more dreary than waking up on the Tuesday of Royal Ascot excited about your chances and realising you are 100-1.”
Westover will be given the chance to erase his Epsom demons when he returns to the Surrey Downs for the Coronation Cup.
Ralph Beckett’s charge was somewhat an unlucky loser in the Derby 12 months ago when seeing his passage up the home straight blocked as Sir Michael Stoute’s Desert Crown was charging towards the winning post.
Westover had to settle for third on that occasion, but did get a Classic in the bag when romping to victory in the Irish equivalent at the Curragh on his next start.
Although disappointing in the King George, the Juddmonte-owned Frankel colt ran an encouraging race on unsuitable ground in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and then made a fine reappearance when bumping into the imperious Equinox in the Dubai Sheema Classic.
That Meydan second was the near-perfect way to kick off Westover’s four-year-old campaign and his trainer is now looking forward to “physically a more mature horse” returning to Epsom on June 2.
“We are not really going back because we feel we have unfinished business, it is more so that Epsom clearly suited him last year,” said Beckett.
“He handled the track really well for a big horse. It is more the fact I’m looking forward to taking him back there as much as anything else.
“As long as we are in the right place with him then I will be happy. I think inevitably he is physically a more mature horse this year and you can see that in him.
“I think in the long term going to Dubai will make a difference. We will look back at it in helping make him the horse that he is.
“His work has always been good but it has never been stunning. I would be fairly relaxed about what happens at home now.
“It is important that he reaches his ceiling on the track. Whether he has I’m not entirely sure.
“You would hope that he would be a better horse this year because of his size but he has already run to a pretty high level. In that sense it is about maintaining that progression.”
Following the Coronation Cup, the Kimpton Downs handler is eyeing further middle-distance riches and is even toying with the idea of a drop back to 10 furlongs for Sandown’s Coral-Eclipse – where Westover could lock horns once again with his Derby conqueror Desert Crown.
“What I would really like to do, if he were to win the Coronation Cup, would be to drop him back to 10 furlongs for the Eclipse,” continued Beckett.
“He likes Sandown. He won his maiden around there as a two year old and the Classic Trial last year.
“I think the track really suits him. I’d be keen to go back to a mile and a quarter there as it would really play to his strengths.
“It would probably be the only time we go a mile and a quarter this year, but that would depend on whether he won or not at Epsom as he would need to win realistically to go to the Eclipse.”
Defending Suncorp Super Netball League champions West Coast Fever rebounded by last weekend’s loss with a record-breaking performance against the Queensland Firebirds on Sunday.
Having lost to New South Wales Swifts by a single goal last week, and three of their last four to slip to third in the league table, the Fever responded by crushing the Firebirds 97-63 at the RAC Arena. The 97 goals scored was the highest number of goals scored in a single match in the league.
Led by Jhaniele Fowler’s 52 goals from 56 attempts and Sasha Glasgow’s perfect 15 of 15, the Fever led by 10 (27-17) at the end of the first quarter and extended the lead to 20 at half time after outscoring Queensland 23-13 in the second.
The Firebirds managed to rally in the third quarter in which they were outscored 21-18 but the Fever put their foot back down on their necks in the final quarter 26-15 to win by a massive 34 goals.
Donnell Wallam led the scoring for the Firebirds with 37 goals from 40 attempts.
Fowler scored her 500th goal of the season and ended the match with a tally of 552, 75 more than Wallam.
The Fever’s seventh win of the season saw them maintain third place in the league standings despite Adelaide Thunderbirds falling to a massive 21-point loss to Melbourne Vixens on Saturday.
The league leaders suffered only their second loss of the season 60-39 due mainly to outstanding defensive play by the Vixen’s mid-court.
Shamera Sterling had a strong start for the Thunderbirds, with a rebound, two intercepts, and a deflection in a formidable first term. Her performance spurred the Thunderbirds to a three-point lead (14-11) over the Vixens as the first quarter came to a close.
However, the Vixens defense were relentless. Emily Mannix had an impressive display with five intercepts, four deflections as the Vixens stamped their authority on the encounter.
Mwai Kumwenda (21/22) and Kiera Austin (23/30) led the scoring for the Vixens while Eleanor Cardwell scored 21 of 24 and Georgie Horjus scored eight goals for the Thunderbirds.
In another lop-sided match on Saturday, Romelda Aiken-George scored 26 from 32 attempts, Helen Housby 14 from 17 and Sophie Fawns 17 from 22 as the New South Wales Swifts swamped Collingwood Magpies 85-56 at the Ken Rosewall Arena despite Shimona Nelson’s 35 goals from just 37 attempts.
It was the Swifts’ largest margin of victory this season.
Andy Murray has withdrawn from this year’s French Open, the PA news agency understands.
The second grand slam of the year begins next week, but after struggling to find his best form on clay in recent weeks, the Scot will prioritise a busy grass-court schedule in the build-up to Wimbledon.
Murray was beaten in the first round of the Italian Open and earlier this week made another early exit on clay after losing to Stan Wawrinka at an ATP Challenger event in Bordeaux.
The 36-year-old is understood to still be considering which tournaments to target and they may include Surbiton from June 4-11 and then Queen’s from June 19-25. Wimbledon is scheduled to start on July 3.
Murray had struggled for his best form on clay after proving he was physically in condition to take on the world’s best players with some marathon matches at the Australian Open at the start of the year.
The former world number one, bidding to revive his career after major hip surgery in 2018, came through two five-set victories over Matteo Berrettini and Thanasi Kokkinakis before losing to Roberto Bautista Agut in the third round.
Murray beat Tommy Paul in the final of the ATP Challenger event in Aix-en-Provence at the start of this month – his first title in nearly four years – after first-round exits in Monte Carlo and Madrid.
But that was followed by his disappointments in the Italian Open in Rome and another Challenger event in Bordeaux.
Andy Murray has withdrawn from this year’s French Open, the PA news agency understands.
The second grand slam of the year begins next week, but after struggling to find his best form on clay recently, the Scot will prioritise a busy grass-court schedule in the build-up to Wimbledon.
Murray was beaten in the first round of the Italian Open and earlier this week made another early exit on clay after losing to Stan Wawrinka at an ATP Challenger event in Bordeaux.
Zandre Roye enters Sunday’s play in the Jamaica Golf Association's National Amateur Golf Championship with a three-stroke lead following a second round score of 72 for an overall score of 143.
Roye, who opened the championship on Friday at the Caymanas Golf Club in St Catherine with a 71 leads William Knibbs who shot a 72 after an opening round of 74.
Dr. Mark Newnham occupied the third spot after posting scores of 78 and 72 for an overall total of 152, nine strokes off the lead.
The defending champion Oshae Haye was 18 strokes behind the leader after a rough first round of nine over par 81 and eight over par 80 in the second round for a combined total of 161.
In the Men Super Senior Category, Robert Chin was the sole leader with scores of 80 and 78 for 158 overall. He sits four strokes ahead of his brother and former Jamaica Golf Association president Peter Chin, who has an overall score of 162 on the back of 85 in round one and 77 on Saturday.
Radcliff Knibbs and Dorrel Allen were joint third on 163 each.
Sunday starts with 7:00 am tee time.
The top three golfers - Roye, Knibbs and Dr. Newnham will tee off at 9:20 am.
A change of scenery was all the magic required to turn Wise Eagle from a 0-65 handicapper into an Ascot Gold Cup contender.
Trained by Adam Nicol and owned by six friends in the Seahouses Syndicate, the six-year-old has progressed through the ranks since being bought for 7,000 guineas at the 2020 Tattersalls Autumn Horses-In-Training Sale, improving by 40lb.
He has won 11 races since finishing runner-up on his stable debut as a 66-1 chance in Catterick juvenile hurdle and his latest run, when second to Coltrane in the Sagaro Stakes at Ascot, has connections dreaming of a fairytale return to the Berkshire track.
Former jockey Nicol, who has just eight horses in his Northumberland yard, insists there was no magic formula for the improvement.
“He has won 11 for us, but when he ran at Yarmouth for Tom Clover, I think he had blinkers. He was going everywhere bar forward and he just looked like he was hating life.
“Tom said when we bought him he wasn’t enjoying Newmarket and a change of scenery would help and get him on the beach.
“We got him here and we didn’t do anything. Didn’t check blood, didn’t even scope him. We just wormed him and then started riding him out.
“What we did do was give him plenty of turn-out. Every day, he gets a minimum of an hour every day, maybe more.
“I feel like even if you give them half an hour, they come in and switch off, because they have been ridden out, had their pick of grass and then they sleep and rest.
“Another thing we don’t do is gallop this horse a lot. We do a lot of steady work. I just think he enjoys it.
“I’m not really putting him under too much pressure. He comes alive at the races and gets that spring in his step. He certainly didn’t look out of place in the Sagaro Stakes, walking around the paddock he looked fantastic. He is a horse enjoying himself.”
Wise Eagle’s victories included the Queen’s Cup at Musselburgh on his seasonal debut and that form was further boosted when Metier, to whom he was conceding 4lb, won the Chester Cup.
“I got some buzz out of the Musselburgh race, beating the likes of Harry Fry and Paul Nicholls in the Queen’s Cup,” said Nicol, a relatively fresh face in the training ranks aged just 33 and who enjoyed memorable days in the saddle with top-class mare Lady Buttons.
Having finished four and three-quarter lengths behind Coltrane in the Sagaro, Nicol hopes the additional half-mile at the Royal meeting will help the son of Free Eagle.
“Some people say he looked like he was only just getting home at Ascot, but you have one turn of foot with this horse.
“Push the button once and he will go for you – he has a hell of a turn of foot. But once he’s used that, he’s done enough and he’ll not come again for you.
“The Sagaro got a bit tactical. I would prefer 10 or 12 runners, where they go a nice, even gallop, which I’m hoping they usually do in a Gold Cup, and then just slot in. Danny (Tudhope) knows him inside out.
“I’m glad we ran him there. We know he handles the track and it was a case of running him in that to know if we were punching a bit, if he was good enough for that level. And I think he is. He definitely deserves a crack.
“I know the owners and Andrew Balding will be going there thinking Coltrane has a great chance, as Wise Eagle has never beaten him, but plenty of horses have reversed the form.
“We’ve already beaten Trueshan and it is an open race.”
Though there was an option of heading to York and then Goodwood, the Wise Eagle’s owners have decided to take their chance at the showpiece meeting instead.
Nicol explained: “There is a mile-and-five Listed race at York. I thought there was a good chance of him winning that and York wouldn’t take as much out of him, and then we’d go to the Goodwood Cup.
“But the lads felt that you don’t forgo perhaps a once-in-a-lifetime chance of even placing in the Gold Cup, plus the prize-money is fantastic.
“I do think that the level he is running at, should he go and run a blinder again in the Gold Cup, I think maybe abroad there are winnable races. They are not going to be any better than the Gold Cup or the Sagaro, so we will think about that.”
Nicol is still pinching himself about the horse who has come from humble beginnings to be a flagship for his burgeoning yard and he hopes the journey will continue a while yet.
“This lad cost 7,000 guineas. We went down to Tattersalls during Covid, there was nobody really there,” he said.
“In normal circumstances, he would have been at least 15 or 20 grand. He was a winner over a mile, he was only three, not badly bred – and I just think, because of Covid, we were lucky to get him.
“His first win for us was in a jumpers’ bumper, and we have gone from running in a 0-65 at Catterick to running in the Ascot Gold Cup. It doesn’t happen very often, does it?
“It’s almost as good a story as the Dream Alliance film. Everyone likes the underdog to run well and we go there with no pressure.
“The owners want to have a day out. Half of them haven’t had a horse before. They are first-time owners.
“I think they think the game’s easy; buy a horse and make money. They haven’t had to pay a bill yet – the prize-money has paid for it all.”
All that is needed is a Hollywood-style ending, as was the case when unheralded chaser Dream Alliance rose from being reared on an allotment in South Wales to winning the Welsh National.
“Having a chance to have a horse good enough to run and be competitive doesn’t come along often,” added Nicol.
“We have one bullet to have a go – and it’s a good one – so we’ll have a good crack.”
Matthew Tkachuk played the role of hero again, scoring 1:51 into overtime to lift the Florida Panthers to a 2-1 win over the Carolina Hurricanes and a 2-0 lead in the Eastern Conference final.
Less than two days after scoring the winner in an epic four-overtime thriller, Tkachuk roofed a feed from Sam Reinhart past Antti Raanta on the power play for his third OT goal in the playoffs.
Aleksander Barkov had a highlight-reel goal for Florida, which heads home for Game 3 on Monday having swept both games in Carolina.
The Panthers are halfway to reaching the Stanley Cup Final for the first time since 1996, which also marks their last appearance in the East final.
The eighth-seeded Panthers won their eighth straight road game in the playoffs and remained perfect in six overtime games this postseason.
Jalen Chatfield scored Carolina's only goal early in the first period. The Hurricanes had won their first three overtime games this postseason before dropping two straight in this series.
While Sergei Bobrovsky continued his stellar playoffs with 37 saves and improved to 9-2, Carolina decided to switch to Raanta in net after Frederik Andersen's heavy workload in Game 1. Raanta, who started the first five games of the postseason, stopped 24 of 26 shots.
Charlie Appleby is full of hope Military Order can record what would be a notable family double in the Betfred Derby.
The Lingfield Derby Trial victor is a full-brother to 2021 Epsom hero Adayar, being by Frankel out of Anna Salai.
Adayar also went to Lingfield before Epsom, although he had to settle for the runner-up spot there to Third Realm.
As a result he was a 16-1 winner of the blue riband, while in contrast Military Order is set to go there as favourite and will be the only runner for Moulton Paddocks.
Appleby – who first won the Derby with Masar in 2018 – said: “I’ve only left Military Order in the race on the back of his win in the Lingfield Derby Trial which I was very pleased with.
“He has come out of that race well and it is all systems go hopefully into a Derby now. His preparations have been faultless to date and he ticks a lot of boxes as they say.
“At the end of the day you have to say his profile is most similar to Adayar given they are brothers.
“Although Adayar wasn’t a black-type winner going into the Derby, he had been placed in the Classic Trial at Sandown Park and the Lingfield Derby Trial.
“It was a completely different ball game with Masar, who was a Group winner at two and three even before he went into the Derby so I couldn’t put them in the same sort of profile.
“As respects to Military Order and his brother I would say he is marginally in front of him and he is a worthy favourite on what we have seen to date.”
The Lingfield race was staged on the all-weather rather than turf due to ground conditions, but Appleby feels that should not distract from his winning effort.
He went on: “Everyone is allowed an opinion at the end of the day and some people will say it was only an all-weather win at Lingfield.
“What I loved about it, and the most important part that I took out of the race, was when William (Buick) made that manoeuvre, for a mile-and-a-half horse, and a horse of his stature, he did it very effortlessly.
“A lot of horses can get tangled around Lingfield whether it be on the turf or the all-weather coming down that hill into that turn. They can sometimes need time to find their legs and he did it very quickly and smoothly.
“I do genuinely feel he has still got that potential to find more improvement over the mile and a half and he is going in there as one of the least exposed horses at the top of the market.
“You can never have enough horses in the Derby as Aidan (O’Brien) has proved down the years.
“We have been lucky enough to have a couple of runners in the Derby when Masar won and we had three runners in the race when Adayar won.
“It is one of those unique races that you have to go there with the right horse. If you haven’t got the right horse it is pointless really turning up.
“It is a fantastic race but one you have to be good enough to turn up in as if you aren’t you can become lost in it all very quickly.”
Jamal Murray dominated the first half and Nikola Jokic came alive in the fourth quarter as the Denver Nuggets moved within one win of a sweep with a 119-108 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers in Game 3 of the Western Conference finals.
Murray scored 30 of his 37 points in the first half and Jokic shook off a slow start with 15 of his 24 in the fourth quarter to give Denver a 3-0 lead in the series.
The top-seeded Nuggets can complete the sweep in Game 4 on Monday and secure the franchise's first-ever NBA Finals appearance.
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope added 17 points, Bruce Brown had 15 and Michael Porter Jr. tallied 14 points, 10 rebounds and six assists for the Nuggets, who trailed by one before outscoring the Lakers 26-14 over the final 7 1/2 minutes.
Anthony Davis had 28 points and 18 rebounds and LeBron James and Austin Reaves each added 23 points, but it wasn't enough to prevent Los Angeles from its first three-game losing streak since early February.
The Lakers, who had a nine-game home win streak snapped, are faced with trying to become the first team in NBA history to rally from a 3-0 playoff series deficit.
Jeff Green, Brown and Murray hit consecutive 3-pointers as part of a 13-0 run by the Nuggets that turned a 94-93 deficit into a 106-94 lead with less than five minutes remaining.
The Lakers responded with the next four points, but Jokic sank two free throws and hit a 3-pointer and Murray made a layup to push the advantage to 113-101 with 2:47 to go.
James made three 3-pointers after starting the series 0 for 13 from long range.
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