Graceful Thunder gave owners Amo Racing their eighth juvenile winner from 19 runners when showing plenty of determination to land the Chasemore Farm British EBF Fillies’ Novice Stakes at Sandown.
Trained by George Boughey, the daughter of Havana Grey knew her job on debut, breaking well under Kevin Stott in the five-furlong contest.
Though a little keen early from a wide draw, she settled and travelled well as Miss Show Off set the pace on the far rail.
Having hit the front inside the final furlong, the 7-2 shot was immediately challenged by Flora Of Bermuda, yet knuckled down well to score by a neck from long-time leader Miss Show Off, with Say Hello staying on in eyecatching fashion to snatch third, just a head further back.
Royal Ascot now beckons, as Boughey explained.
“She had only done two or three bits of work since she joined us, but she has pleased us with what she has done. It was not a huge surprise that she won, but we had not asked her any serious questions at home,” he said.
“Drawn where she was looked an inconvenience, but she jumped well from the gate and she showed a super attitude which is something Havana Grey seems to be putting into them.
“We could have gone for an easy option up north and won by four lengths, but these horses need to learn if they are going to go to the Royal meeting and she will have learnt more winning like that today.
“She looks to have plenty of pace and looks a five-furlong filly. We will take it one step at a time, but I’d say we will be looking at the Queen Mary with her and I don’t think there is any point seeing her again before that.”
Cinnodin (3-1) came from last to first under David Egan to take the Athlone Handicap.
Winner of two low-grade all-weather handicaps at Southwell and Wolverhampton, he was foiled by half a length in his hat-trick bid at Wetherby last time, but bounced back to winning ways in style for trainer Richard Hughes.
The 11-8 favourite Roost left his race at the start, when his head was caught over the adjacent stall and when finally extracted by Hector Crouch, his rivals had already gone almost a furlong ahead.
Steven Seagull set the pace before being passed by Enochdhu with two furlongs to race, but Cinnodin lengthened well and swept by to score going away by two and a half lengths.
Hughes said: “I don’t normally like going a mile and three-quarters with a three-year-old this early on, but he would get two miles tomorrow as he is an out-and-out stayer.
“He is pretty one-paced, but I think he will get quicker as he gets stronger. He was getting a stone off the top two, but at the same time I love the way he devoured the hill.”
Sports stars and clubs across the world continue to provide an insight into their lives on social media.
Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the best examples from May 16.
FootballPablo Zabaleta reminisced.
Real Madrid were heading to Manchester to face his old team.
Liverpool were still celebrating their win over Leicester.
The Reds were also looking back.
Tyrone Mings and Aston Villa introduced the world to a special fan.
Manchester United announced they were heading to Scotland.
Tottenham have been finalising their summer plans too.
Inter Milan were getting ready for a huge Champions League derby.
TennisIt’s all starting to come back to Serena.
CricketKP protested his innocence.
Did Kohli pass the test?
CyclingGeraint Thomas kept dry.
AthleticsKatharine Merry cleared the garden.
BoxingNicola Adams reflected on a fun night out.
Sports stars and clubs across the world continue to provide an insight into their lives on social media.
Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the best examples from May 16.
FootballPablo Zabaleta reminisced.
Real Madrid were heading to Manchester to face his old team.
Liverpool were still celebrating their win over Leicester.
The Reds were also looking back.
Tyrone Mings and Aston Villa introduced the world to a special fan.
Manchester United announced they were heading to Scotland.
Tottenham have been finalising their summer plans too.
Inter Milan were getting ready for a huge Champions League derby.
TennisIt’s all starting to come back to Serena.
CricketKP protested his innocence.
Did Kohli pass the test?
CyclingGeraint Thomas kept dry.
AthleticsKatharine Merry cleared the garden.
BoxingNicola Adams reflected on a fun night out.
Sports stars and clubs across the world continue to provide an insight into their lives on social media.
Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the best examples from May 16.
FootballPablo Zabaleta reminisced.
Real Madrid were heading to Manchester to face his old team.
Liverpool were still celebrating their win over Leicester.
The Reds were also looking back.
Tyrone Mings and Aston Villa introduced the world to a special fan.
Manchester United announced they were heading to Scotland.
Tottenham have been finalising their summer plans too.
Inter Milan were getting ready for a huge Champions League derby.
TennisIt’s all starting to come back to Serena.
CricketKP protested his innocence.
Did Kohli pass the test?
CyclingGeraint Thomas kept dry.
AthleticsKatharine Merry cleared the garden.
BoxingNicola Adams reflected on a fun night out.
Denmark’s Magnus Cort won a three-man sprint finish to win stage 10 of the Giro d’Italia in Viareggio and complete a career grand slam.
The 30-year-old EF Education–EasyPost rider edged out Canada’s Derek Gee (Israel Premier Tech) and Italy’s Alessandro De Marchi (Team Jayco-AlUla) to triumph in adverse weather conditions.
Cort has added his latest Grand Tour stage win to the six he has won at the Vuelta Espana and two at the Tour de France.
He is the second Dane at the 2023 Giro d’Italia to achieve a stage win in each Grand Tour after Mads Pedersen.
Cort said: “I’m extremely happy to complete my trilogy, winning a stage of the Giro d’Italia after the Tour de France and La Vuelta.
“But it’s been one of the hardest days I’ve spent on the bike. Firstly I had to get back to the front.
“Then my radio wasn’t working because of the rain so I was never sure where the chasing peloton was. But we kept pushing hard. It was worth it. It’s hard to believe that it happened though.”
The trio had been part of a four-man breakaway, which also included Italy’s Davide Bais, 60 kilometres into the 196km-stage which started in Scandiano.
After Bais fell away, the breakaway group extended their lead over the peloton to four minutes, 30 seconds with 106km to go and although that closed to just 46 seconds with 10km remaining, they held on to their advantage entering the closing stages.
Race leader Geraint Thomas, who finished over 11 minutes behind Cort, retained his two-second advantage over Slovenia’s Primoz Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) in the general classification, with fellow Briton and Ineos Grenadiers team-mate Tao Geoghegan Hart five seconds behind in third.
Thomas took the leader’s pink jersey on Sunday after previous leader Remco Evenepoel withdrew from the race after testing positive for Covid-19.
It was Thomas’ first day in the jersey after Monday’s rest day, and he said: “It was nice but obviously not ideal conditions to be leading the Giro.
“It was a solid day with lots of attacking. It was pretty cold on top of the hill and crazy in the descent. I’m happy with getting through this stage alright. In this race anything can happen, especially with the weather.”
Belgian Evenepoel had reclaimed the pink jersey hours earlier after edging out Thomas by a second in the stage-nine time trial.
Such were the adverse weather conditions before the stage-10 start, race organisers discussed with riders whether the route would be shortened.
Freezing temperatures at the top of the main climb, the Passo delle Radici, plus high winds and rain gave cause for concern, but the stage went ahead as planned.
Russia’s Aleksandr Vlasov (Bora-Hansgrohe), who started the day in overall sixth place, struggled in the early stages on Tuesday and became the ninth rider to pull out after testing positive for Covid.
Doc Rivers became the latest coaching casualty after his team underachieved in the playoffs.
The Philadelphia 76ers fired Rivers on Tuesday, two days after the team's Game 7 loss to the Boston Celtics, which saw them blow a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Overseeing a talented roster led by 2022-23 MVP Joel Embiid, Rivers had coached the 76ers for three seasons and only the Phoenix Suns (160) and Milwaukee Bucks (155) racked up more regular-season wins than Philadelphia (154) over that time.
Each of those Sixers' seasons, however, ended with an exit in the conference semis.
Sunday's ouster was the second time Philadelphia was eliminated with a Game 7 loss, in addition to 2021, when the top-seeded 76ers lost to the Atlanta Hawks.
Rivers is 6-10 all-time in Game 7s. No other NBA coach has more than five such defeats.
In Sunday's 112-88 loss, Philadelphia was outscored 57-36 in the second half and managed just 10 third-quarter points to tie an NBA playoff record for fewest points in a quarter in the shot clock era.
This came after the Sixers were outscored 24-13 in the fourth quarter of a 95-86 home loss in Game 6.
Rivers joins Mike Budenholzer, the 2019 coach of the year and 2021 title-winner with the Bucks, and Monty Williams, the 2022 coach of the year with the Suns, to be fired in the last two weeks after their teams were knocked out of the playoffs.
Rivers won the NBA title as coach of the Celtics in 2008, and was named coach of the year with the Orlando Magic in 2000.
He also coached the Los Angeles Clippers and has amassed a 1,097-763 (.590) record in the regular season over his 24 seasons as a coach.
Despite his regular-season success, he has not coached a team past the conference semifinals since 2012.
Nick Kyrgios is expected to be fit for the grass-court season as he continues his recovery from knee surgery.
The 28-year-old is yet to play a match this season, having pulled out of the Australian Open on the verge of the tournament with a cyst in his left knee that required an operation.
The hope at that point was he could be fit to return in Indian Wells at the start of March but, more than two months on, Kyrgios is still working his way back.
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A vocal hater of clay, he had planned to play the French Open for the first time since 2017, citing his girlfriend’s wish to go to Paris, but he will not be ready in time.
The PA news agency understands Kyrgios is, though, on course to be fit for his favourite part of the season, the grass-court swing, and could make his return at the BOSS OPEN in Stuttgart beginning on June 12.
Last year Kyrgios had the best season of his career, establishing himself as a grand slam contender and reaching his first singles final at Wimbledon, where he was beaten by Novak Djokovic.
The Australian also reached the quarter-finals of the US Open before pulling out of his most recent tournament in Tokyo last October with knee pain.
Jon Rahm hopes he can “ride the wave” of his brilliant form this season to more major success.
Rahm has won four times in 11 events in 2023, the most recent seeing him replace Scottie Scheffler as world number one after succeeding the American as Masters champion at Augusta National.
The former US Open champion is now halfway to completing a career grand slam and, with the majors coming thick and fast since the US PGA Championship moved from August to May in 2019, Rahm admits he is relishing the prospect of adding to his tally at Oak Hill this week.
“I’m confident. I feel good,” Rahm said. “It’s been a great year. It’s been an amazing year. I’m just hoping to keep adding more to it. It’s been a lot of fun, and hopefully I can keep riding that wave.
“There’s always little things we all want to improve, but I think at the end of the day it’s all what’s going on between the ears on the golf course more than technique at this point of the season.
“It doesn’t happen often that a player wins more than one major in a year, so it would be amazing to be able to join my name to that list. Latest to do it that I can remember was Brooks (Koepka), was it 2018?
“Before that Jordan (Spieth) in 2015. It just doesn’t happen often so I would love to.”
Spieth needs to win the US PGA to complete a career grand slam, although he is doubtful this week with a wrist injury, while Rory McIlroy’s latest attempt to become the sixth player to have won all four majors ended with a dispiriting missed cut in the Masters.
Asked about his own prospects of joining golf’s most exclusive club, Rahm said: “Obviously if I were to win this week or the Open Championship it really becomes a true reality, but winning two majors is not easy, and picking which ones you win is a little ludicrous to think about.
“I think obviously winning the grand slam would absolutely be amazing, but I think, without sounding too conceited or arrogant, I’d rather focus on the number of majors you win than having the grand slam per se.
“Obviously it would be amazing, but the more you put yourself in the position to be able to win majors, the more likely you might be to get it done.
“But it’s a very small number of players to do it, last one being Tiger (Woods). It’s obviously not an easy thing to accomplish.”
Breeders’ Cup fourth Midnight Mile and Fillies’ Mile runner-up Novakai head a strong Yorkshire-trained challenge for the Tattersalls Musidora Stakes at York.
Richard Fahey trains Midnight Mile, who lost her unbeaten record but still ran with credit in the Juvenile Fillies Turf having been slowly away, after previously landing the Oh So Sharp Stakes at Newmarket.
From the family of Quarter Moon and Yesterday, who were both second in the Oaks, Midnight Mile does not hold an entry for the Classic but given her connections, it would not be a surprise if she was added to the Epsom field should she run well.
“We are very pleased with her. She has wintered extremely well and we are very happy with her,” said Fahey.
“She has filled out and I should imagine this trip will probably suit her well. But this is a good Musidora, a very good race and it will be a good filly who wins it.
“She started late last year and she took a little time to come to herself, so I haven’t rushed her this year.
“We skipped the Guineas and all that carry on and decided this was the route to go.
“She got some nice experience last year and we’ve always felt she would make a better three-year-old, so fingers crossed.
“I’ll tell you after the race where we think she’ll get to!”
Novakai, who was also second in the May Hill Stakes, is much the highest-rated filly in the field.
Trained by Karl Burke, the daughter of Lope De Vega chased home the now-retired Commissioning in the Fillies’ Mile and is bred to improve for middle distances this season being out of a Nathaniel mare.
While the two aforementioned fillies bring plenty of Pattern form to the table, the favourite is Sir Michael Stoute’s Infinite Cosmos, a Newmarket maiden winner.
Andrew Balding’s Sea Of Roses has also only won a maiden, but she beat Infinite Cosmos on that occasion and has finished second in a French Group Three already this term.
Jack Channon’s Gather Ye Rosebuds won her only start to date by nine and a half lengths on soft ground at Newbury.
The form has not been tested as yet, but she could not have created a better impression.
“It was a great result first time and she put in what looks like an outstanding performance. She’s comfortably beaten a well-touted field, albeit on softer ground than she’ll encounter on Wednesday. But she couldn’t have been more impressive,” said Channon.
“I feel like, mentally and physically, she’s improved from that run. And if she can replicate that sort of level of form, then you’d like to think that she goes there with a great chance.
“She’s a big filly that’s maturing day in, day out. She hadn’t quite lost her coat at Newbury, but she’s really shining now. She’s started to flourish in the last three weeks and I couldn’t be happier with the way all her work and everything like that’s gone.
“She hasn’t proven she’s stakes class yet, albeit it being a very impressive maiden win. So she’s got a lot of questions to answer – but hopefully she’s got the answers.
“Whether she’s good enough or not, it’s exciting to at least have a horse that you feel like you might be able to compete a bit with the big boys. It’s just nice to hopefully have something good enough to highlight the fact, given the opportunity with the right stock, that you can produce the goods.”
John and Thady Gosden’s Soul Sister finished last of 12 in the Fred Darling at Newbury and is expected to appreciate the better surface on the Knavesmire.
“She won well first time at Doncaster on her debut at the back end of last season and obviously the ground at the Greenham meeting at Newbury was very, very testing indeed,” said Thady Gosden.
“She didn’t handle the ground, as many didn’t. We’ve always thought she is a filly with plenty of class and obviously it is a very competitive race, but she should like the track.
“We certainly think she’ll take a step forward.”
Lambada represents Aidan O’Brien, winner one of her three starts so far and a relatively rare Dubawi runner for the Ballydoyle team.
“I have a lot of time for a few of these, and obviously I rode Infinite Cosmos to win her maiden in decisive fashion at Newmarket earlier in the month and she is a filly I rate, but hopefully Lambada can hold her own,” her jockey Ryan Moore told Betfair.
“I haven’t ridden her in a race before but she won a decent maiden over an extended nine furlongs at Gowran Park in good style on her reappearance and the further they went, the better she looked there.
“We are obviously dealing with a lot of unexposed fillies here, so it is hard to be anything other than hopeful, but the trip certainly looks as if it will suit.”
David Simcock’s once-raced Empress Wu completes the field.
A subdued Rory McIlroy admitted he has been working on lowering his expectations ahead of the 105th US PGA Championship following his miserable Masters experience.
McIlroy spoke confidently of having all the ingredients to win a green jacket and complete the career grand slam ahead of the year’s first major at Augusta National, with Tiger Woods even claiming it was just a matter of time.
Yet while Woods played through the pain barrier to make a record-equalling 23rd consecutive cut before being forced to withdraw, McIlroy made an early exit without speaking to reporters following a second round of 77.
The world number three then withdrew from the RBC Heritage at Hilton Head, meaning he missed his second ‘designated event’ of the year on the PGA Tour and lost 25 per cent of his Player Impact Program bonus (£2.4million).
McIlroy felt the break was necessary for his “mental and emotional wellbeing” after a taxing 12 months in which he juggled on-course competition with his role as an unofficial spokesman for the PGA Tour in its battle against LIV Golf.
And he tellingly revealed that he had allowed himself to think about becoming just the sixth player to have won all four major titles after shooting five under par on the back nine of his Wednesday practice round at Augusta.
It was a complete contrast on Tuesday at Oak Hill, where questions related to LIV Golf received short shrift but he tellingly revealed what he was working on with regards to the mental side of the game.
“Less expectations,” McIlroy said. “Just sort of trying to be in a good spot with taking what comes and not thinking about things too much, not getting ahead of myself.
“Just trying to go out there, play a good first hole of the tournament, and then once I do that, try to play a good second hole and just sort of go from there.
“Golf is golf, and it happens and you’re going to have bad days. It wasn’t really the performance of Augusta that’s hard to get over, it’s just more mental aspect and the deflation of it and sort of trying to get your mind in the right place to start going forward again, I guess.
“I think I’m close. I think I’ve made some good strides even from Quail Hollow a couple weeks ago.
“I’m seeing some better things, better start lines, certainly just some better golf shots. A little more sure of where I’m going to start the ball and sort of a more consistent shot pattern.
“But yeah, we’ll get out there and see and play. If I can execute the way that I feel like I can, then I still believe that I’m one of the best players in the world and I can produce good golf to have a chance of winning this week.”
McIlroy is a two-time US PGA champion and finished eighth in defence of his title at Oak Hill in 2013, since when he married Rochester native Erica Stoll and became a member of the golf club.
The 34-year-old is also a fan of the recent renovation of the East Course and believes discipline will be the key to success as he bids to end a major drought stretching back to the 2014 US PGA at Valhalla.
“You’ve got to keep it out of those fairway bunkers. They’re very, very penal,” McIlroy added.
“It’s a long golf course, and power and length is going to be an advantage. But I think even more of an advantage is making sure that you’re hitting into these greens from the fairways.
“It’s a combination of everything, but I think discipline is going to be a huge factor this week.”
Jamaican rally cross sensation, Fraser McConnell, maintained his top qualifying form to help X44 Vida Carbon Racing take the win in Round 3 at the Hydro X Prix, in Scotland on Saturday.
The victory marks McConnell's first win in Extreme E and the Season 2 champions' first win of the 2023 campaign.
McConnell and Cristina Gutiérrez crossed the line in second place, but a penalty for on-course winners Andretti Altawkilat Extreme E dropped British-star Catie Munnings and team-mate Timmy Hansen down to second place.
“It's amazing to get my first win for X44. It’s been something that I’ve been working towards not just for me but for the whole team,” McConnell said.
"It just goes to show that prioritising opportunity and inclusivity doesn’t have to come at the cost of performance, and we're proud to be showing what's possible here in Extreme E. We didn't have the best starting position - second from the outside - so I knew I was going to have to do something a little risky to get in front which I managed. Then I went a little wide and they got the better run, but that’s racing. We were able to stay close enough to capitalise on their [Andretti Altawkilat Extreme E] penalty. A win is always a win and very happy to do this one for X44," he added.
Instead, McConnell hung back from the pack, turning early to undercut the ODYSSEY 21s in front and using his Hyperdrive late to storm from fifth to first.
The Jamaican carried this pace into the first steep ascent of the course, but his speed caused him to run wide, opening the door for Andretti Altawkilat Extreme E’s Hansen to pull up alongside and exit the climb in the lead.
Coming in third were Carl Cox Motorsport, scoring their maiden podium in the championship after just three rounds and at International DJ Carl Cox's home X Prix.
McConnell is in 4th of 10 teams in the overall standings, on 51 points with the third event set for July 8-9 at the Island X Prix in Sardinia, Italy.
Indeed, MConnell’s X44 team are the reigning champions having taken the 2022 title with Gutierrez and Sebastien Loeb behind the wheel. They will be looking to defend their crown with seven more rounds to come in the season.
Novak Djokovic accused Cameron Norrie of unsportsmanlike behaviour after a frosty encounter in the fourth round of the Italian Open.
The world number one ultimately eased to 6-3 6-4 victory but there was a flashpoint where Norrie hit Djokovic with a smash, and the handshake at the net lacked any warmth.
The main talking point came in the fourth game of the second set as Norrie sought to retrieve an early break.
Djokovic turned his back on the play after presenting his opponent with an easy overhead, only for Norrie, seemingly unintentionally, to drill the ball into the Serbian’s legs, who responded with an extremely hard stare.
Speaking to reporters afterwards, Djokovic was less bothered by that incident than Norrie’s overall demeanour coupled with a medical timeout he took prior to the final game.
“I did watch the replay when he hit me,” said the six-time champion. “Maybe you could say he didn’t hit me deliberately. I don’t know if he saw me.
“I mean, (in your peripheral vision) you can always see where the player is positioned on the court. The ball was super slow and super close to the net. I just turned around because the point was over for me.
“It was not so much maybe about that, but it was a combination of things. From the very beginning, he was doing all the things that were allowed. He’s allowed to take a medical timeout. He’s allowed to hit a player. He’s allowed to say ‘C’mon’ in the face more or less every single point.
“Those are the things that we players know in the locker room it’s not fair play, it’s not how we treat each other.
“I got along with Cameron really well all these years that he’s been on the tour. Practised with each other. He’s a very nice guy off the court, so I don’t understand this kind of attitude on the court, to be honest.
“But it is what it is. He brought the fire, and I responded to that. I’m not going to allow someone behaving like this just bending my head. I’m going to respond to that. That’s all it is. What happens on the court, we leave it on the court, and we move on.”
Norrie, who had lost both his previous meetings with Djokovic, dropped serve at the start of the contest and was kept at arm’s length through the rest of the opening set, with the Serbian putting on a tactical masterclass.
Norrie withstood pressure after the smash incident to hold his serve until 4-4, when Djokovic, who has never failed to make the quarter-finals in Rome, made the decisive move.
The 35-year-old was serving noticeably slower than usual but he was coy on the reason for a visit to the treatment room that delayed the start of the match.
“Every day is something,” he said. “Thankfully I was able to play and finish the match, so hopefully tomorrow I will feel even better.”
Djokovic next faces a quarter-final clash with seventh seed Holger Rune, who defeated Alexei Popyrin in three sets, while fifth seed Stefanos Tsitsipas completed a delayed 6-3 7-6 (3) victory over Italian Lorenzo Sonego.
John Quinn feels Highfield Princess faces a “tough enough” test in her bid for back-to-back victories in the 1895 Duke of York Clipper Stakes.
The six-year-old was fit from a winter campaign on the all-weather when landing the Group Two prize 12 months ago, a victory which proved a springboard to a fantastic campaign.
Highfield Princess completed a hat-trick of Group One wins, landing the Prix Maurice de Gheest, the Nunthorpe and the Flying Five Stakes in little over a month before rounding off 2022 with an honourable fourth at the Breeders’ Cup.
Quinn is pleased with how his stable star is training ahead of her reappearance, but is more hopeful than confident about her chances of registering a comeback victory due to the fact she lacks race sharpness and must concede weight all round.
He said: “She’s in good shape, I’m pleased with her. She thrives on racing and I would have liked to have got a run into her, but that wasn’t possible because there wasn’t a race there.
“All her life she’s been getting the mares’ allowance off these horses. You look at a horse like Creative Force, he finished in front of us in America and finished in front of us at Royal Ascot last year when we were getting the mares’ allowance, whereas now she’s got the Group One penalty to carry.
“She deserves it, don’t get me wrong, but it’s not going to be simple.”
Win, lose or draw, Quinn hopes his star mare’s outing on the Knavesmire will put her right for a trip to Royal Ascot, where she has the option of running in the King’s Stand and/or the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes.
“We’ll get her going, I’m sure she’ll run well and whatever she does we’ll move on,” he added.
“Every year it has taken her a run or two and now she’s swimming in deeper waters.
“She’s in very good nick and I’m not being negative, but when one looks at it, it’s tough enough.”
Chief among her rivals is Creative Force, who suffered a short-priced defeat on his seasonal debut in Newmarket’s Abernant Stakes, but bolted up in a four-runner conditions race at Haydock on Saturday.
The Dubawi gelding’s trainer Charlie Appleby is happy to send him back into battle quickly.
“Creative Force enjoyed himself at Haydock in a race that rode like a piece of work for him,” the Moulton Paddocks handler told www.godolphin.com.
“He was bucking and kicking on Monday morning, while we feel conditions at York could suit him again.
“We will keep an eye on him ahead of the race and, if we continue to be happy with him, he will be good to go.”
Australian sprinters invariably do well on British soil and hopes are high for another Antipodean challenger in The Astrologist.
Beaten just a head when runner-up to Danyah in the Al Quoz Sprint on Dubai World Cup night at Meydan, the Newmarket-based six-year-old will be ridden by Ryan Moore in his warm-up for the Royal meeting.
Troy Corstens, who trains the Zoustar gelding in partnership with his father, Leon, said: “I’m really looking forward to seeing him run at York. I think he’ll run a super race if we get conditions to suit. It’s always been on my bucket list to have a runner over there and I’m very excited.
“Originally the UK trip was sort of pie-in-the-sky stuff and we booked in to go to Dubai for World Cup night. And he ran so well at World Cup night, Nick Smith (director of racing at Ascot) was speaking to us and just said, ‘Would you be interested in coming over?’
“We talked about it and after he ran so well, we thought let’s hit the ‘go’ button and head over. He’s a very good traveller – he travelled a little bit in Australia and really adapted well.
“We were very keen to get a run into him before the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee and the race at York is just an absolute perfect one for him.”
Michael Dods fires a twin assault, with recent Newmarket Listed race winner Azure Blue joined by dual Stewards’ Cup hero Commanche Falls, who finished third behind Creative Force last weekend.
“Azure Blue came out of Newmarket well and obviously likes plenty of cut in the ground. It’s a big step up in class, but she deserves the chance,” he said.
“The problem Commanche Falls has got is he’s too high in the ratings to get in handicaps and he’s probably not quite good enough for a race like this, but we’ve got to run and see how he can cope.
“Ideally he’d be better off in big handicaps like the Wokingham and the Stewards’ Cup, but he can’t get in those off 112.
“He’s in good form and the race was run a bit slow for him on Saturday. He’s come out of it well, so we’ll let him take his chance again.”
Karl Burke’s Gimcrack runner-up Marshman adds extra spice, coming here instead of waiting for Haydock on Saturday week.
“We could have gone for the Sandy Lane, but I just thought those three horses that ran in the Guineas – Sakheer, Little Big Bear and Noble Style – they all might decide to go for the Sandy Lane, so I thought this could be a better place for Marshman,” said Nick Bradley of the owning Nick Bradley Racing syndicate.
“He’s ready to go and we’re keen to see where we are. He’s run really well at York before and it’s a race a lot of my owners would love to win, so I thought we’d give it a go and see what happens.”
Roger Varian has indicated Sakheer is likely to head straight to the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot after finishing sixth in the 2000 Guineas.
Although beaten on debut at Windsor, the Zoffany colt proved himself to be a high-class two-year-old – shedding his maiden in style at Haydock on his second start before putting in a most impressive display to claim the Mill Reef Stakes at Newbury.
Despite racing over no further than six furlongs as a juvenile, Sakheer was upped to a mile for his return in the opening Classic of the season and while making promising progress at one stage, the testing conditions at Newmarket ultimately seemed to take a toll in the closing stages as he finished seven lengths adrift of Chaldean.
Having recovered well from his Rowley Mile exertions, Sakheer’s handler has now taken the decision to revert back to the distance he made his name over at the Royal meeting and a race for which he is currently at the top of the ante-post lists at a best price of 11-2.
“He’s come out of the race well and most likely he will go straight to the Commonwealth Cup,” said Varian.
“It was such a messy race the 2000 Guineas, it was almost a non-event for us. He made quite an eyecatching move in the race, but it was all happening away from him and maybe he just didn’t get home the final 100 yards.
“We imagine a stiff six furlongs at Ascot is tailor-made for him.”
Proud And Regal is set to come back in trip for the Irish 2,000 Guineas, with trainer Donnacha O’Brien looking to the Betfred Derby with Dee Stakes runner-up Alder.
A son of Galileo, Proud And Regal won three of his five starts as a juvenile – which included the Group One Criterium International at Saint-Cloud – and was third to Sprewell in the Derby Trial at Leopardstown on his return.
A general 33-1 chance for the Derby, his Ballyroe handler felt Proud And Regal showed enough speed for the mile of the Tattersalls-sponsored Irish Guineas on Saturday week.
“I thought the winner won very well,” said O’Brien. “It was kind of a hard race to read. I came away scratching my head a little bit, but the more I saw it, I think we’re going to step him back down in trip for the Irish Guineas.
“I thought he travelled really well. There’s definitely a chance that he will get 10 furlongs and we could be going back there after the Guineas, but the plan is to go to the Curragh for the Irish Guineas.”
Given his pedigree, by champion three-year-old Galileo, who was a dual Derby and King George winner, Proud And Regal is bred to get a mile and a half.
He won on heavy ground at Saint-Cloud over a mile, but O’Brien is uncertain whether the 10-furlong trip at Leopardstown suited.
He said: “I wasn’t sure.
“There is a chance he will definitely be going back up in trip, but two-year-old races are a lot different than older horse races. You can get away with an inadequate distance a lot more at two than you can at three.
“We’ll see how he comes out of the race, but the plan is to go to the Curragh.”
Alder, who was beaten a length and three-quarters by the Aidan O’Brien-trained San Antonio, will be heading to Epsom.
The son of Australia is a 25-1 chance with Betfred for Epsom glory.
O’Brien confirmed: “We’re aiming at the Epsom Derby. I think it is an open race. I think he got in a poor position at Chester off a very slow pace, on ground he wouldn’t like, and he just hung in behind the winner in the last furlong.
“But I think it was a very decent run from him. We think he’s a good horse and he’s going to be a much better horse on better ground over a mile and a half.”
Piz Badile, who was runner-up in last season’s Irish Derby before a somewhat disappointing run when seven lengths behind Onesto in the Grand Prix de Paris at ParisLongchamp, will bid to break his Group One duck at the Curragh on Sunday week.
He made his return from a 10-month absence when a three-length third to Visualisation in the Group Two Mooresbridge at the Curragh two weeks ago.
“The plan is to go to the Tattersalls Gold Cup on Guineas weekend,” O’Brien added. “Again, I thought it was a very adequate comeback from him.
“It was a mess of a race. They went very slow, so the plan is to go to there and there’s a chance he could be going back to a mile and a half after that, but we’ll see.
“He was probably a little bit backward at two and three. He ran very well in the Irish Derby and then he went to France, which was another case of a typical French race that didn’t suit him.
“I thought his comeback was a good run. When things do go right for him, then I think we’ll get a feel for whether he is going to be proper Group One horse, but I just don’t think he has had the chance to show if he is.”
Connections of Anmaat are toying with the idea of running in France if he does not take up his intended engagement in the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh on Sunday week.
The hugely-consistent Owen Burrows-trained five-year-old, who won the Group Two Prix Dollar at ParisLongchamp in October, opened this season with a runner-up effort behind 2021 Derby winner Adayar in the Gordon Richards Stakes at Newmarket earlier this month.
The son of Awtaad, who stayed on well under Jim Crowley to get within two and a half lengths of the classy winner, has won six of his 11 starts and placed on the other five occasions.
Now Anmaat could take the step into Group One company for the first time.
Angus Gold, racing manager for the gelding’s owners Shadwell Estates, said: “He has come out of the Gordon Richards well.
“The original plan was always to look at the Tattersalls Gold Cup in Ireland at the end of next week.
“Either that, or the Prix d’Ispahan (May 29). We will look at those, as long as he is in good shape.”
Plans are similarly fluid for the William Haggas-trained Mujtaba, who was beaten a neck by Point Lonsdale in last week’s Huxley Stakes at Chester.
“I don’t know what the plans are as yet,” said Gold. “I thought he ran a good race. Jim (Crowley) was a bit annoyed with himself. He said if he sat right up Ryan’s backside, he thought he would have won it.
“I think that is being a bit harsh. That was only his first run of the season and he is a big, galloping horse.
“I know he has won at Chester, but he’s also run badly there before. I don’t think it suits him. He wants a more galloping track ideally.
“For me, at least it showed he belongs in that sort of company and I thought he ran a very good race.
“He’ll go anywhere where there is a bit of decent ground. He wouldn’t want quick ground.”
Cameron Norrie left his mark on Novak Djokovic but saw his Italian Open run end in the fourth round.
The world number one was simply too solid for Norrie in a 6-3 6-4 victory that maintains his record of never having lost before the quarter-finals in Rome.
The main talking point came in the fourth game of the second set as Norrie sought to retrieve an early break.
Djokovic turned his back on the play after presenting his opponent with an easy smash, only for Norrie, seemingly unintentionally, to drill the ball into the Serbian’s legs.
Djokovic gave the British number one an extremely frosty stare and there was an edge to the contest thereafter, but Norrie never really threatened to land more than a glancing blow.
The 27-year-old, who had lost both his previous meetings with Djokovic, dropped serve at the start of the contest and was kept at arm’s length through the rest of the opening set, with the six-time champion putting on a tactical masterclass.
Norrie withstood pressure after the smash incident to hold his serve until 4-4, when Djokovic made the decisive move to reach the last eight.
“It was an early start today, strange conditions,” Djokovic said on Amazon Prime Video.
“I finished my warm-up 10 minutes before I went on court so I was rushing a bit with everything. I’m just glad to overcome today’s challenge in straight sets and move on.”
The 35-year-old was serving noticeably slower than usual but he was coy on the reason for an early morning visit to the treatment room.
“Every day is something,” he said. “Thankfully I was able to play and finish the match so hopefully tomorrow I will feel even better.”
Flying Honours will take on 11 rivals as he tries to forward his Betfred Derby claims in Thursday’s Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Dante Stakes at York.
Stablemate Military Order is to the fore in the Epsom betting following his Lingfield victory last week and Flying Honours looked a potential Classic contender when winning the 10-furlong Zetland Stakes on his final juvenile start last year.
Canberra Legend makes the switch to Group Two company after an impressive start to his career, winning each of his two starts this term, firstly on the all-weather at Newcastle in February before making a seamless switch to Listed level in the Feilden Stakes at Newmarket for James Ferguson.
Sir Michael Stoute won the Dante with subsequent Epsom hero Desert Crown last term and this time he relies on Passenger, winner of the Wood Ditton on his only start to date. The son of Ulysses is not currently entered in the Derby, however.
Epictetus already has one Derby trial win under his belt after scoring in the Blue Riband Trial at Epsom last month and he represents John and Thady Gosden, while The Foxes switches up in trip for Andrew Balding after finishing second in the Craven on his reappearance.
Aidan O’Brien relies on French Group Three winner Continuous, who is unbeaten in two starts so far, with the John Murphy-trained White Birch enhancing the Irish challenge after his narrow Ballysax Stakes verdict last time out.
Charlie Johnston is double-handed with Newcastle Listed winner Dear My Friend and likely outsider Killybegs Warrior with Roger Teal’s Dancing Magic, the Karl Burke-trained Liberty Lane and King Of Steel, who will be making his first start for Roger Varian completing the line up.
Free Wind makes her long-awaited return to action for the Gosden team in the Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Middleton Fillies’ Stakes on the same card.
The five-year-old won the Lancashire Oaks on her only start last term, sustaining an injury when she was badly hampered but still managing to recover and secure the victory.
Eight runners go to post with Varian’s Toksana Belle an interesting contender on her British bow having landed last year’s German Oaks when trained by Andreas Wohler.
Wesley Ward’s American Rascal will aim to emulate the success of his dam as he heads for the meeting at which she thrived – Royal Ascot.
The colt is out of Ward’s fantastic sprint mare Lady Aurelia, a Royal Ascot favourite who made the journey from Keeneland to Berkshire three times throughout her career.
As a juvenile she lined up in the Queen Mary Stakes and routed the field to come home seven lengths of her nearest rival under Frankie Dettori.
The following season she returned to take on older horses in the King’s Stand and again she was a decisive winner when crossing the line three lengths ahead of the runner-up.
Her third trip to Ascot may have ended in defeat when she contested the King’s Stand again in 2018, but she retired to stud with a superb reputation and the arrival of the first of her progeny on the track was much anticipated.
American Rascal, a bay colt by Curlin, was the first of her offspring to run and he did not disappoint when triumphing in a Keeneland event over four and a half furlongs in April.
The youngster won by 10 and a half lengths in an effort reminiscent of his mother’s Keeneland debut almost seven years to the day.
Just like his dam, American Rascal is now headed for the Royal meeting and will be aimed at the Group Two Norfolk Stakes over five furlongs on the Thursday of the showpiece fixture.
“He’s doing great, we’re just getting ready for our workout here on the grass at Keeneland,” said Ward.
“We’re moving forward, everything’s great. I sure was delighted with his debut, that was exciting.”
American Rascal will set sail for England in early June and settle in with a few pieces of work on turf before his date with the Ascot track looms.
Ward said: “He’s pulled up dead sound, no issues at all. We’re looking forward to getting his breeze workouts in and then we’re coming for you!
“We’ll probably get there a little early, just after the first week in June.
“We’ll have a workout or two on English soil, everybody over here is all smiles and very, very excited for this.”
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