The defending Super Bowl-champion Kansas City Chiefs open the 2023 NFL season against the Detroit Lions on Thursday, and it's uncertain if All-Pro tight end Travis Kelce will be able to play.
Kelce hyperextended his knee during Tuesday's practice, putting his status in doubt for Week 1.
Chiefs coach Andy Reid did not provide any details about how the injury occurred during Kansas City's final practice ahead of the season opener.
Kelce has not missed a game to injury since his 2013 rookie season and has been indispensable to Kansas City's offense as Patrick Mahomes' favourite target.
Near the goal line, he is Mahomes' go-to receiver, as no player was targeted more in the red zone last season than Kelce with 30.
Widely considered the top tight end in the NFL, the 33-year-old caught a career-high 110 passes for 1,338 yards in 2022, his seventh straight season eclipsing 1,000 yards receiving. He also caught a career-best 12 touchdowns last season, giving him 69 in his career.
In Kansas City's march to the Super Bowl, he caught 27 passes for 257 yards with four touchdowns in three playoff games. He had six receptions for 81 yards with a TD in the Super Bowl.
Should he be forced to sit out, that could spell trouble for Kansas City given his familiarity with Mahomes and the fact the Chiefs are introducing several new receivers this year.
Noah Gray, who is listed as Kelce's backup on the depth chart, had 28 catches for 299 yards with a TD for the Chiefs last season.
The Chiefs are hopeful of having Kadarius Toney available for the opener after the wide receiver missed nearly all of training camp with a torn meniscus in his knee.
The Kansas City defense, however, will likely be without Chris Jones as the All-Pro defensive tackle has been holding out while trying to get a long-term contract.
Coco Gauff became the first American teenager since Serena Williams in 2001 to reach the semi-finals of the US Open.
The 19-year-old dropped just two games as she blitzed Jelena Ostapenko 6-0 6-2 inside Arthur Ashe Stadium.
Latvian Ostapenko, the 20th seed, had blown the women’s draw wide open when she knocked out defending champion and world number one Iga Swiatek in round four.
But she was unable to take advantage of her own handiwork as Gauff raced away with the first set in only 20 minutes.
Ostapenko made more of a contest of it in the second set, finally managing to hold serve at the fifth attempt.
But Gauff completed the job in an hour and eight minutes to reach the last four of her home grand slam for the first time.
“It feels great, I’m so happy,” she said. “Last year I lost in the quarter-finals and I wanted to do better. There’s a long way to go but I’m happy and ready to go back to work.
“Honestly, I didn’t feel comfortable the whole match, even on match point. I know the game she plays. It’s really tough against her – you can’t really be aggressive. She’s a top player and she’s had a great tournament.
“There’s a saying in basketball that ‘defence wins games’. It doesn’t always work in tennis but today that was the case.”
Gauff will face the winner of Tuesday night’s match between Sorana Cirstea and Karolina Muchova in the last four.
Ireland scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park is determined to make the most of his maiden World Cup following his unconventional late rise to Test-level rugby.
New Zealand-born star Gibson-Park was barely on the international radar at the time of the 2019 tournament in Japan, having only just qualified for his adopted nation on residency grounds.
The 31-year-old Leinster player, who represented the Maori All Blacks eight times between 2012 and 2015, had to wait a further year to be handed his debut by head coach Andy Farrell.
He immediately set his sights on a World Cup spot and quickly surpassed Conor Murray as Ireland’s first-choice number nine.
“It will be pretty awesome to get out there and have a run,” said Gibson-Park.
“Obviously a bit of a late bloomer – 31 at my first World Cup. It’s the pinnacle of rugby and you like to test yourself in the toughest environments. I’m looking forward to it.
“As soon as I was in the squad (I was thinking about the World Cup). As a player it’s always something you’re going to target.”
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Gibson-Park gained traction on social media this week by landing an audacious basketball shot from the roof of the team hotel, which was recorded and posted by team-mate Mack Hansen.
Asked how many takes it took, he replied: “The first one, obviously!
“We were there for a while, to be fair. Just messing on Sunday, trying to come up with stuff to do in the hotel and stay out of the heat. A bit of craic.”
Ireland begin their Pool B campaign on Saturday afternoon against Romania in Bordeaux, where Gibson-Park is expected to partner returning captain Johnny Sexton.
Veteran fly-half Sexton is poised for his first competitive appearance in almost six months, having missed Ireland’s three warm-up games through suspension on the back of a groin injury.
“He’s buzzing as you can imagine,” Gibson-Park said of his provincial team-mate.
“He’s been great. Seamlessly back into training like he always does. It will be good to see him back out there.”
German Alexander Zverev had a spectator thrown out of his US Open match against Jannik Sinner for shouting “the most famous Hitler phrase”.
A man could clearly be heard yelling “Deutschland uber alles” inside Arthur Ashe Stadium as Zverev prepared to serve.
Zverev, the 12th seed, approached English umpire James Keothovang and said: “He just said the most famous Hitler phrase there is in the world. It’s unacceptable. This is unbelievable.”
Keothovang turned to the crowd and asked: “Who was the smart guy who said that? Who said that? Put your hand up. We’re going to get him out.”
He then announced to the crowd: “Please be fair and respect the players.”
The man suspected of yelling the slur was ejected by security at the end of the game.
Zverev went on to win the match in five sets and afterwards, the 26-year-old told reporters: “He started singing the anthem of Hitler that was back in the day. It was ‘Deutschland uber alles’ and it was a bit too much.”
Sports stars and clubs across the world continue to provide an insight into their lives on social media.
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German Alexander Zverev had a spectator thrown out of his US Open match against Jannik Sinner for shouting “the most famous Hitler phrase”.
A man could clearly be heard yelling “Deutschland uber alles” inside Arthur Ashe Stadium as Zverev prepared to serve.
Zverev, the 12th seed, approached English umpire James Keothovang and said: “He just said the most famous Hitler phrase there is in the world. It’s unacceptable. This is unbelievable.”
Keothovang turned to the crowd and asked: “Who was the smart guy who said that? Who said that? Put your hand up. We’re going to get him out.”
He then announced to the crowd: “Please be fair and respect the players.”
The man suspected of yelling the slur was ejected by security at the end of the game.
Zverev went on to win the match in five sets and afterwards, the 26-year-old told reporters: “He started singing the anthem of Hitler that was back in the day. It was ‘Deutschland uber alles’ and it was a bit too much.”
Wales boss Warren Gatland has reported a clean bill of health among his World Cup squad heading into the crunch tournament opener against Fiji.
Co-captain Dewi Lake and number eight Taulupe Faletau were among a handful of players who nursed injuries during Wales’ World Cup warm-up Tests.
Number eight Faletau played no part in those fixtures due to a calf muscle problem, while hooker Lake went off after suffering a knee injury during Wales’ defeat against England at Twickenham.
Ryan Elias, Dafydd Jenkins and Gareth Anscombe have also recovered to be available for Sunday’s Pool C clash in Bordeaux.
“The last couple of weeks we’ve had a few niggles – we had eight or 10 players not taking a full part in training,” Gatland said.
“Nothing serious, but just a few bumps. They’ve all been rehabbed and everyone is now fit, which is a positive place for us to be in.
“He (Faletau) has been taking a full part in training for the past three weeks.
“There is no doubt in the first week he was blowing pretty hard in terms of some of the set-piece stuff the boys have been doing for a number of weeks.
“That has taken a little bit of time, but we’ve kept a close eye on his GPS figures and they have been excellent for him.
“Even though he hasn’t been running around, he has done a lot of off-feet conditioning. Some of the work on the side of the pitch is harder than being on the pitch, and he is definitely in contention for the weekend.”
Lake departed during the first half at Twickenham, and the hooker added: “It always plays on your mind when you come off injured 20 minutes into a game.
“I am very grateful to be sat here, to the medical staff who got me through the three weeks at home and the coaching staff for selecting me post-injury.
“A lot of hard work has gone on behind the scenes to get me ready for this weekend.”
Wales trained amid temperatures of more than 30 degrees on Tuesday, while the forecast for Sunday’s encounter is for 28 degrees at kick-off, even though the game does not start until 9pm local time.
It is understood that World Cup organisers are considering water breaks during the opening round of pool fixtures.
“We would like the ball on the park as often as we could. We think we’re in pretty good shape physically,” Gatland said.
“In terms of that, we are not going to push back on water breaks if that’s what is decided. We won’t be arguing with World Rugby on that decision.”
It will be a fifth successive World Cup for Wales and Fiji to meet in the pool stage, and Sunday’s victors will take a significant step towards the quarter-finals.
Fiji are fresh from an outstanding away victory over England, and they are fancied by many to defeat a Wales side with just three wins from 13 Tests.
“I thought they were excellent at Twickenham,” Gatland added. “They have got some great athletes, we are aware of that.
“They are a lot more structured now as a team than they would traditionally have been in the past.
“We’ve got to impose our game on them as well. We know they are a good side at the moment, and a lot of their side play in Super Rugby and in France as well. It’s going to be an exciting challenge.
“They have always had incredibly world-class individual athletes who could open up a game. But bringing that organisation and structure makes them more dangerous.
“I think from a coaching perspective, the ultimate pinnacle is the World Cup. It’s the one time in international windows that you get full preparation.
“It feels like you’re working with a club side in having a pre-season. We’ve been able to work on a lot of things in the last few months in terms of the detail and putting together a strategy.”
William Haggas’ Doom became the shortest-priced loser since 1948 when beaten at 1-25 by Karmology in a two-runner race at Ripon.
Doom looked to have been found a great opening in the William Hill Ripon Champion Bonus 2023 Maiden Fillies’ Stakes, her fifth career outing after a juvenile season that saw her finish second to subsequent Oaks winner Soul Sister last autumn.
She had scared off all bar Karl Burke’s unraced Golden Horn filly Karmology, who was ridden by Pierre-Louis Jamin.
At the furlong marker of the one-mile affair victory seemed to be assured for Tom Marquand and Doom, but Karmology began to gain on her outside and streaked past her with half a furlong to run to cross the line a length ahead.
Doom now joins Royal Forest as the shortest-priced loser in British history, the latter being sent off at the same odds of 1-25 for Clarence House Stakes at Ascot in September 1948.
Burke told Sky Sports Racing: “She’s a nice filly but she’s a work in progress, very much one for next year over a longer trip.
“I really only entered her for the race because it was on our doorstep and there wasn’t many entries.
“I said to the owners there were no races over a mile and a quarter for her until the end of the month so we may as well run for the education.
“I think all the Newmarket trainers, apart from William, must have had a late night and never followed the (declaration) tracking so it worked out really well.”
Other prohibitively priced losers in recent years include Tree Of Liberty, beaten at 1-20 in a novice chase at Ludlow in 2018 and Broadspear, who was second at 1-16 at Chepstow last year.
England are ready to start Tom Curry in Saturday’s seismic World Cup opener against Argentina if there are no setbacks in his recovery from an ankle injury.
Curry missed all four warm-up Tests after spraining the joint during training in early August, but is now poised to make his first appearance since the Gallagher Premiership final in May.
The influential 25-year-old is so valuable to England – especially in defence – that they are willing to slot him straight into the back row, most likely at openside flanker.
“It’s great to see Tom out there training, he’s been really good. He’s been excellent,” said defence coach Kevin Sinfield, who revealed the squad has a clean bill of health.
When asked if Curry could be recalled immediately, Sinfield replied: “We’ve got no doubt about that.
“He’s got a number of caps under his belt now and he’s been doing it for years. He can play a number of positions across the back row for us too. We’re delighted he’s available.”
England will need to be armed with every possible string to their bow when they clash with Argentina in Marseille having complied a record of five defeats in six Tests.
Defence has been an alarming area of vulnerability with 30 tries conceded in the nine games since Sinfield took charge as part of Steve Borthwick’s coaching team.
Sinfield pinpoints the recent high injury count, plus the bans issued to Billy Vunipola and Owen Farrell for dangerous tackles last month, as two of the reasons for the malaise.
“It really helps having Tom Curry back available. Some of the suspensions that we’ve had over the last couple of weeks haven’t helped. The back row changes we’ve had to make probably haven’t helped too,” Sinfield said.
“I do see a team here that are improving and getting better. I also understand and I’m very realistic that we’ve not been good enough so far.
“We are working incredibly hard to be better this week and I have complete confidence and belief in the group over where we’re going.
“I’ve seen a very slight change in how we’ve gone about our business this week. We needed to have that change and make that adjustment.
“I have to say I’ve really enjoyed my time with the guys. I’ve not been happy with the results and I’ve not been happy with the tries we’ve conceded, but I understand where we are going.
“We’ve just got to better across the board. I won’t hide or shy away from that. We need to be better across the board in our defence. We missed too many tackles last time out and that’s something we’ve got to rectify.
“I’m firmly in there with the players. I’m accountable, I’m responsible.”
Marco Ghiani is confident Mill Stream is capable of providing him with a breakthrough Group One winner in Saturday’s Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock.
The former champion apprentice has built up a good rapport with Jane Chapple-Hyam’s three-year-old, who has won his last two races at Deauville in impressive style.
While Ghiani has ridden at the highest level before, this weekend undoubtedly provides him with his best chance yet of claiming Group One glory.
“I’m looking forward to this weekend. I’ve ridden in the King’s Stand Stakes and the Coronation Stakes so riding in a Group One is not new, but Mill Stream is around third-favourite, whereas the others were outsiders so it makes things a bit spicier,” he said.
“It is quite a big challenge, but I’m ready to take it. It would be like winning at the Olympic games if I won my first Group One on Saturday.”
Mill Stream’s Deauville victories came at Listed and Group Three level and there is no doubt he will face a much sterner test on Merseyside.
“I thought he could win at Listed and Group race level, but I didn’t expect him to bolt up twice. I thought he would have to work a bit harder than that,” Ghiani continued.
“I think for a sprinter it is harder to get them to race the right way around. Sometimes they are keen, and they don’t finish off their races.
“At home he was a bit keen, but now he is settling down and he seems more relaxed. He is in good order, and he has been much more settled in his last two races in France as he wasn’t over racing in the early stages of those race, which has been key to his last two results.”
Standing in his way is the not insignificant threat of fellow three-year-old Shaquille, already a dual Group One winner having landed the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot and the July Cup at Newmarket.
Ghiani added: “Shaquille is always slow out of the gates, but he finds another gear late at the end. My lad jumps out fast and then he finds another gear at the end so it will be very interesting to see what will happen.
“Obviously Shaquille is a Group One winner, and my horse isn’t yet. If they both find their turn of foot, and my lad is a good way in front, and he stays there, it will be interesting to see what Shaquille can do.
“Shaquille is favourite, but my lad has a good chance. He seems in good order and Jane’s horses are running well. I just have a vision in my head and hopefully that can come to life.”
Shane Lowry believes Europe have the best 12 players available as they bid to regain the Ryder Cup from the United States.
Lowry received one of captain Luke Donald’s six wild cards on Monday having finished 11th on the European points list and eighth on the world points list, with only the top three on each qualifying automatically.
The former Open champion won the first qualifying event – and will defend his BMW PGA Championship title next week – but his sole top-10 finish in 2023 came in February’s Honda Classic.
That has led to criticism of Lowry’s selection, with former British Masters winner Richard Bland among those believing that Adrian Meronk’s consistent form – including May’s Italian Open victory at the Ryder Cup venue – meant the Pole “deserves a pick over an out-of-form Lowry.”
“Well, people have their opinion,” Lowry said ahead of the Horizon Irish Open at The K Club.
“Adrian has had a great year and obviously he’s unfortunate to miss out, but somebody has to miss out.
“I’m not going to sit here and disagree with Luke Donald. It was his decision at the end of the day, if he thinks that somebody else is better for this team than he (Meronk) was.
“If you look at the way the team was picked, there’s not many players playing that weren’t in the top 12, myself included. And that’s why you have six picks, so you have the chance to pick the 12 best players.
“I personally think that’s the right way to go about it and I think we have the best 12 players from Europe coming to play this Ryder Cup, and I think we’re in form.
“A lot of players are in very good form, as you’ve seen over the last few weeks, and I think we’re going to give it a great go this year.
“I’m very confident in my own ability, and I know what I can bring. My form probably has not been the greatest, but in some of the bigger events I’ve played some of my best golf and there’s nothing bigger than the Ryder Cup.
“Hopefully I can go to Rome and show people what I’m made of.”
Lowry also needed a wild card to make his Ryder Cup debut at Whistling Straits two years ago and has unsurprisingly received the backing of the man who picked him then, three-time major winner Padraig Harrington.
“There’s no doubt about Shane, he’s a big-time player,” Harrington said.
“He likes the big occasions, the majors, and at the Ryder Cup he loved it. He was very comfortable, wasn’t like a rookie at all. He loves the pressure-filled occasions.
“It’s strange, I’ve seen the odd thing from people that aren’t in the know saying maybe somebody else should have got picked but it’s not even close.
“If we were playing a small tournament in the middle of nowhere with no adrenaline maybe Shane wouldn’t be the right pick, but when it comes to the Ryder Cup I’d definitely be trusting him.”
Lowry won one point from his three matches at Whistling Straits as Europe suffered a record 19-9 defeat to a home team whose lowest-ranked player at the time was world number 21 Scottie Scheffler.
Scheffler went on to win four times in six starts in 2022, including the Masters, and is the current world number one.
“I think we just caught them on our downturn and their upturn,” Harrington added. “That one extra year due to Covid, our team went from peaking to slightly off.
“Many of the US players were probably at their very peak at that stage and the Europeans are only coming into that now. Europe has got a lot stronger in those two years.
“It ebbs and flows in the game of golf and I think the flow is with Europe now.”
Ireland trio Jack Conan, Dan Sheehan and Dave Kilcoyne have been ruled out of Saturday’s Rugby World Cup opener against Romania in Bordeaux.
Back-rower Conan, who suffered a foot problem against Italy a month ago, was the only member of Andy Farrell’s 33-man squad to sit out training on Tuesday morning.
Hooker Sheehan took part in the session at the team’s training base in Tours but will not be rushed back into action following the foot injury he sustained against England on August 19.
Prop Kilcoyne is returning to fitness following a hamstring issue.
Ireland forwards coach Paul O’Connell said: “Everyone’s going well, there are a few guys still finishing their rehab and they won’t be involved at the weekend.
“But by and large we’re close to a full bill of health.
“Dan and Jack Conan (will not be involved). David Kilcoyne as well is struggling a little bit but should be OK next week.”
City Of Troy puts his Classic credentials on the line in Sunday’s Goffs Vincent O’Brien National Stakes at the Curragh.
Aidan O’Brien’s colt is favourite for next year’s 2000 Guineas following a scintillating display in the Superlative Stakes at Newmarket and is a red-hot market leader to remain unbeaten.
He will face a colt who has achieved more to date, however, in the shape of Adrian Murray’s Bucanero Fuerte, a four-length winner of the Group One Phoenix Stakes.
His only defeat in four outings came at Royal Ascot when third to River Tiber in the Coventry Stakes.
Jessica Harrington’s Givemethebeatboys is also one of 12 entries.
Hamish, Eldar Eldarov and Kyprios are on course to meet in a strong renewal of the Comer Group Irish St Leger.
William Haggas’ Hamish is unbeaten in three this term but would prefer to see an end to the current heatwave, while Roger Varian’s Elder Eldarov needs to return to the form which saw him win the St Leger at Doncaster last season.
All eyes will be on Kyprios, though, with last year’s champion stayer due to make his first outing of the season for O’Brien following injury.
John Quinn’s admirable Highfield Princess heads the betting to repeat her victory of last year in the Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai Flying Five Stakes.
While she headed there off the back of winning the Nunthorpe 12 months ago, this year she was second at York but she appears to be running up to the same level.
Archie Watson’s Bradsell, third at York but winner of the King’s Stand, is also one of 16 entries, along with Curragh specialist Art Power.
The fourth Group One on the card is the Moyglare Stud Stakes for the fillies for which O’Brien’s unbeaten Ylang Ylang appears to hold all the aces among 18 possibles.
England are ready to start Tom Curry in Saturday’s seismic World Cup opener against Argentina if there are no setbacks in his recovery from an ankle injury.
Curry missed all four warm-up Tests after spraining the joint during training in early August, but is now poised to make his first appearance since the Gallagher Premiership final in May.
The influential 25-year-old is so valuable to England – especially in defence – that they are willing to slot him straight into the back row, most likely at openside flanker.
“It’s great to see Tom out there training, he’s been really good. He’s been excellent,” said defence coach Kevin Sinfield, who revealed the squad has a clean bill of health.
When asked if Curry could be recalled immediately, Sinfield replied: “We’ve got no doubt about that.
“He’s got a number of caps under his belt now and he’s been doing it for years. He can play a number of positions across the back row for us too. We’re delighted he’s available.”
England will need to be armed with every possible string to their bow when they clash with Argentina in Marseille having complied a record of five defeats in six Tests.
Defence has been an alarming area of vulnerability with 30 tries conceded in the nine games since Sinfield took charge as part of Steve Borthwick’s coaching team.
Sinfield pinpoints the recent high injury count, plus the bans issued to Billy Vunipola and Owen Farrell for dangerous tackles last month, as two of the reasons for the malaise.
“It really helps having Tom Curry back available. Some of the suspensions that we’ve had over the last couple of weeks haven’t helped. The back row changes we’ve had to make probably haven’t helped too,” Sinfield said.
“I do see a team here that are improving and getting better. I also understand and I’m very realistic that we’ve not been good enough so far.
“We are working incredibly hard to be better this week and I have complete confidence and belief in the group over where we’re going.
“I’ve seen a very slight change in how we’ve gone about our business this week. We needed to have that change and make that adjustment.
“I have to say I’ve really enjoyed my time with the guys. I’ve not been happy with the results and I’ve not been happy with the tries we’ve conceded, but I understand where we are going.
“We’ve just got to better across the board. I won’t hide or shy away from that. We need to be better across the board in our defence. We missed too many tackles last time out and that’s something we’ve got to rectify.
“I’m firmly in there with the players. I’m accountable, I’m responsible.”
Dermot Weld appears keen to mark the 30th anniversary of Vintage Crop’s famous Melbourne Cup success with a runner in the Flemington showpiece after Harbour Wind appeared among the nominations for this year’s race.
Weld became the first European-based trainer to win the prestigious race – and did it again for good measure with Media Puzzle in 2002.
Since then Alain de Royer-Dupre, Mikel Delzangles, Andreas Wohler, Joseph O’Brien twice and Charlie Appleby have all won the ‘race that stops a nation’ and Harbour Wind is one of 15 international entries out of 132 this year.
The Moyglare-owned Harbour Wind would need to rise significantly in the weights to stand a chance of getting a run but the Listed winner will get the chance to improve his rating this weekend at Leopardstown.
Racing Victoria’s general manager Paul Bloodworth told www.racing.com: “I think Dermot is really keen to have a horse running in the 30th anniversary of him winning the Melbourne Cup with Vintage Crop.
“We went and saw Dermot in Ireland in late July and he actually had a filly that he was interested in bringing in Shamida, who had just won a Group Three race in Ireland.
“He has changed plans for that horse, but he also showed us Harbour Wind and he said ‘Look, he hasn’t done anything yet, but I really like him and he’s going to the Vinnie Roe and we’ll see how we go from there’.”
Bloodworth went on: “He won the Vinnie Roe very impressively, but he probably needs to get his rating up a little higher. He might be a little too low to be confident of securing a start.
“He (Weld) contacted us after he Vinnie Roe and said ‘Where are we?’. We’ve had to wait until the horse got re-rated and he’s still a bit lower than what he needs to be. A win on the weekend would do that and even a placing would probably do it.”
As expected the Willie Mullins-trained duo of Vauban and Ebor winner Absurde, William Haggas’ Desert Hero, owned by the King and Queen, were entered along with last year’s winner Gold Trip, one of 17 entries for Ciaran Maher and David Eustace.
Jack Draper has been added to Britain’s Davis Cup team for next week’s matches in Manchester following his run to the fourth round of the US Open.
The 21-year-old again showed his huge potential by outperforming the rest of Britain’s singles players in New York, pushing eighth seed Andrey Rublev to four sets before bowing out on Monday.
Draper has struggled with injuries throughout the season and was a doubt for the US Open because of a shoulder problem so it was encouraging that his body held up through four best-of-five-set matches.
He joins Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans, Andy Murray and Neal Skupski in the side for matches against Australia, Switzerland and France beginning next Wednesday at the AO Arena.
It is the second time Leon Smith has called up Draper, who stayed on the bench during February’s victory over Colombia.
His inclusion presents captain Smith with a tricky selection decision given Norrie, Evans and Murray are significantly more experienced but none of the trio have had a great season, with British number one Norrie in particular in something of a rut.
Calling up Draper also indicates that Smith will rely on Wimbledon champion Skupski and Evans as his doubles partnership having overlooked Joe Salisbury, who is in the quarter-finals in New York with American partner Rajeev Ram.
Britain need to finish in the top two of the four-team group to make it through to the final stages of the competition in Malaga in November.
Alflaila is set for his first shot at Group One glory at Leopardstown on Saturday after being supplemented for the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes.
Having won a Listed prize at Pontefract and Group Threes at York and Newmarket last season, the Owen Burrows-trained colt made a triumphant return from nine months on the sidelines when powering home to lift the Group Two York Stakes in July.
The four-year-old had the option of returning to the Knavesmire for last month’s Juddmonte International, but owners Shadwell already had a leading contender for that prestigious contest in the eventual winner Mostahdaf and decided to split their aces.
Alflaila has therefore been added to the feature event on day one of the Irish Champions Festival at a cost of €75,000, and his connections are relishing the challenge.
“The other choice was the Juddmonte International, but we were lucky enough to have Mostahdaf there and we chose not to run the two of them against each other,” said Shadwell’s racing manager Angus Gold.
“Alflaila wasn’t in the Irish Champion initially because he obviously had a little injury at the end of last year and we hadn’t seen him back on the track when the entries were made, but it now makes sense to have a go at this.
“It’s a very high-class race, as you would expect, but we’ll have a go and see what happens.”
While Alflaila’s ticket is booked, Mostahdaf will not be making the trip across the Irish Sea after being taken out of the 10-furlong showpiece at Tuesday’s forfeit stage.
Gold added: “To be honest I don’t think Mostahdaf was ever really going to come here. Straight after the race at York it was an obvious one to mention, but realistically we said we’d give him a bit of time between his races and we’d love to go to Ascot for the Champion Stakes.
“It is unlikely he’ll run there if the weather has turned by then, so let’s hope we get a dry autumn, otherwise it will probably be the Breeders’ Cup (Turf).”
Alflaila is one of 13 horses still in contention for the Irish Champion Stakes, with John and Thady Gosden’s Nashwa – runner-up to stablemate Mostahdaf at York – another intended British challenger.
Roger Varian’s King Of Steel is a leading hope off the back of his third in the King George, while Sir Michael Stoute could saddle Bay Bridge and William Haggas could send My Prospero.
Aidan O’Brien has whittled his team down to four, with last year’s winner Luxembourg and dual Derby hero Auguste Rodin joined by Broome and Point Lonsdale.
French raider Onesto (Fabrice Chappet), Al Riffa (Joseph O’Brien), Sprewell (Jessica Harrington) and White Birch (John Murphy) are the other hopefuls.
The other Group One on the card is the Coolmore America “Justify” Matron Stakes, in which Dermot Weld appears to have a particularly strong hand.
The master of Rosewell House could give Homeless Songs her first run since April in the one-mile contest and she could be joined by Tahiyra, who emulated her stablemate by winning the Irish 1,000 Guineas in May before following up in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Above The Curve (Joseph O’Brien) and Just Beautiful (Paddy Twomey) are also among 21 possibles.
The O’Brien family dominate the entries for the KPMG Champions Juvenile Stakes, with Joseph interestingly supplementing impressive Curragh maiden winner Atlantic Coast.
Frankel colt Diego Velazquez and course and distance winner Chief Little Rock are two of six contenders for O’Brien senior.
Fourteen horses are in the mix for the €200,000 Dullingham Park Stakes, formerly known as the Boomerang Mile, while the Haggas-trained Al Aasy heads 13 entries for the Paddy Power Stakes.
The gambling regulator has told MPs that a customer’s postcode can only be used “in combination” by betting firms to assess their financial risk.
The heads of the Gambling Commission appeared in front of the Culture, Media and Sport Committee as controversy grows over the introduction of affordability checks on bettors as part of the development of the gambling White Paper.
Chief executive Andrew Rhodes, his deputy Sarah Gardner and executive director Tim Miller are facing questions from members of the committee as part of its inquiry into gambling regulation.
The industry watchdog is in the middle of a consultation about its proposals for implementing the White Paper and has attracted intense criticism for its interpretation of the Government’s plans around financial checks.
Discussing the use of credit agencies with MPs, Mr Miller said: “We’ve worked incredibly closely with the Information Commissioner’s Office to ensure that this is compliant with data protection legislation, and they will continue to work with us as this is developed further.
“Importantly, the rules will be very clear that any data that is collected through this can only be used for the purposes of helping to protect consumers and cannot be used for commercial purposes.”
Asked what other type of agency could be used, Mr Miller said: “At the moment it will primarily be credit reference agencies, but clearly there’s a range of other data that can be publicly available that can be useful here.
“So, for example, postcode data can be really useful in terms of helping you understand where areas of deprivation exist.
“Now, that won’t necessarily immediately tell you that for that customer that lives in that postcode that they are at greater risk. But if they’re living in an area of greater deprivation then, actually, I think it is right that we say there is greater onus on the operator to really understand whether that customer can afford the sort of gambling that they are engaged with.
“So that sort of publicly available data would supplement what you’d have from credit reference agencies.”
Mr Rhodes added: “It’s important to say that these things are taken in combination.
“I can almost guarantee someone’s writing a tweet now saying ‘The Gambling Commission says whether you can gamble or not depends on whether you live in a poor area or not’.
“And what we’re actually saying is there’s a whole wealth of data that can be used that builds a risk picture. It’s not one thing on its own. You take things in combination.
“So there is no guarantee that because someone lives in an area that they have a particular income, but you take it in combination with something from credit reference agencies, other public information, other information we can gather – you start to build a risk picture.”
The White Paper proposes that “enhanced financial checks” will be triggered by a spend of £1,000 in 24 hours or £2,000 in 90 days, but politicians have repeatedly promised the checks will be frictionless.
Writing in the Racing Post in April when the White Paper was released, gambling minister Stuart Andrew said: “(For) the very few players who undergo checks, these will happen in the background against information already publicly available so the process is completely frictionless.”
Culture minister Lucy Frazer, speaking in the Commons when the White Paper was unveiled, also said: “Most people will not know that the checks … are happening. They will be frictionless and happen behind the scenes: 80% of people will have to do nothing at all and 20% will have a simple check on whether they have been made bankrupt or have a county court judgment against them.”
It is poised to be a huge weekend for owners Amo Racing as their high-class colts King Of Steel and Bucanero Fuerte fly the flag at the Irish Champions Festival.
The purple silks of Kia Joorabchian’s racing operation have become a regular sight in some of the calendar’s biggest races and will be front and centre at both Leopardstown and the Curragh respectively during a top-class weekend of racing in Ireland.
It is the Roger Varian’s King Of Steel who gets the first shot at glory and the Royal Ascot winner, who has made the podium in both the Derby at Epsom and the King George, finds himself at the top of the market for Saturday’s Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes in Dublin.
“It’s a very exciting time of the year and to be going to the Irish Champions Festival with two live contenders in two Group Ones is what we’ve been striving for over the last 18 months,” said Tom Pennington, racing and operations manager for the owners.
“It’s a culmination of real hard work from everyone involved, we’re excited and I know the boss is really looking forward to it.”
Having enjoyed his finest moments up at a mile and a half, the son of Wootton Bassett will be dropping back to 10 furlongs at Leopardstown.
But connections are confident King Of Steel has all the attributes to thrive in his latest assignment.
“We’ve been looking for an option to drop King Of Steel back to 10 furlongs all year, but so far it has just not presented itself and we’re very much looking forward to it,” continued Pennington.
“There’s no such thing as an easy Group One, but we’ve been waiting for this race to present itself.
“The horse is in great form, I saw him at the weekend and he did a routine piece of work and did it very nicely and let’s hope he gets there in one piece now.”
Bucanero Fuerte will always hold a special place in Amo Racing folklore having provided the owners with a first Group One success when winning the Phoenix Stakes last month.
Also sired by Wootton Bassett, it was the youngster’s second successive Group-level victory having also finished third in the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot before that.
Now Adrian Murray’s talented youngster will attempt to extend his winning thread as he steps up to seven furlongs for the Goffs Vincent O’Brien National Stakes at the Curragh on Sunday.
Pennington said: “He has always been a strong stayer at six furlongs and looks as if he’s been crying out for seven. His last furlong has been his best in his last in his last couple of races.
“At the beginning of the season he was a big frame of a horse with an engine, now he is really maturing into the horse we hoped he would.”
If Bucanero Fuerte is to add another big-race victory he will have to lower the colours of Aidan O’Brien’s City Of Troy, who is currently odds-on at the head of the betting.
The imposing son of Justify made it two from two in imperious style in the Superlative Stakes at Newmarket – and connections of Bucanero Fuerte are under no illusion they have a mammoth task on their hands.
“Bucanero Fuerte does like to get his toe in, but we wouldn’t be overly concerned stepping up to seven – the one concern we do have is obviously City Of Troy,” added Pennington.
“You can’t be frightened of one horse, but what he did at Newmarket, to the eye, was visually impressive.
“We know he will take a lot of beating, but we think we’re going there with a live chance.”
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