Republic of Ireland boss Stephen Kenny is refusing to bemoan his luck as he prepares to take on the might of France without his emerging star striker.

Irish fans were licking their lips in anticipation when 18-year-old Evan Ferguson plundered a Premier League hat-trick for Brighton against Newcastle on Saturday evening just days before he was due at the Parc des Princes for a showdown with the World Cup runners-up.

However, a knee injury has forced his withdrawal from the squad for the game and the home clash with Netherlands which follows it on Sunday, much to the disappointment of Kenny, whose reign has been punctuated by misfortune ever since he lost frontmen Adam Idah and Aaron Connolly to what proved to be false positive Covid-19 tests in the run up to their Euro 2020 play-off in Slovakia.

Asked if he was due a change of luck, the manager said: “No, I don’t really look at it like that. I’m very privileged to manage Ireland, very privileged.

“The attacking players that are missing, five of them – Michael Obafemi, Troy Parrott, Mikey Johnston, Callum Robinson and Evan Ferguson, of course – the five players are missing, but because we’ve given 18 players their debut in that period over the last two years, it’s increased the level of squad depth and it means that we still have a strong team.

“I’m happy with the team that we have tomorrow night, very happy with it and I’m happy with the options that we have.

“We know many people don’t give us much of a chance – I understand why, we understand that. But we’re going to give ourselves every opportunity to prepare well and perform to the level that we need to to put in a really strong performance tomorrow night.”

The odds are stacked against Ireland as they attempt to resurrect their Group B campaign, which so far has yielded just three points from as many games, a run which includes a 1-0 home defeat by the French in Dublin.

Didier Deschamps’ men are ranked second by FIFA, while the Republic have slipped to 53rd, and they realistically need to win at least one of the two games this week if they are to keep their campaign alive.

Asked if the trip to Paris was his toughest game to date as Ireland boss, Kenny said: “I would say it is, yes. I’d say that’s most likely accurate.

“France have been to the last two World Cup finals. They won the World Cup, then obviously lost last year on penalties to win two World Cups in a row, so they’re definitely within the two best teams in the world, if not the best.

“We obviously respect their talent and to come into their backyard, into their home arena and play them presents a stiff challenge and one that we understand is difficult.

“But we’re very excited by it as well and we understand that it’s an opportunity for us.”

Skipper John Egan is expected to be fit after shaking off knee and ankle problems, while Andrew Omobamidele, who was drafted in as cover for the Sheffield United man, has now joined the squad in Paris after being given compassionate leave following the death of his grandfather.

Aryna Sabalenka flexed her muscles as the incoming world number one by beating Chinese youngster Zheng Qinwen to reach the US Open semi-finals.

The second seed from Belarus will take over from Iga Swiatek at the top of the rankings on Monday, ending the Pole’s 75-week reign.

She cruised into the last four at Flushing Meadows for the third straight year with a commanding 6-1 6-4 victory in an hour and 13 minutes.

Zheng, 20, playing in her first grand slam quarter-final, won just four of the first 24 points of the match as Sabalenka raced into a 5-0 lead.

She stopped the bleeding by holding serve in the sixth game, but Sabalenka wrapped up the first set in only 27 minutes.

Zheng, seeded 23, restored some pride in the second but a break in the seventh game ensured Sabalenka became the first woman to reach the semi-finals of all four grand slams in the same year since Serena Williams in 2016.

The 25-year-old has dropped just 21 games in the 10 sets she has played over five rounds in New York.

She said: “I definitely played great tennis. I’m super happy with the performance tonight and to give myself a chance to do better in the semis.

“I’m going to do everything I can to stay until the end.”

Tottenham captain Son Heung-min says he cannot wait to play with £47.5million deadline-day signing Brennan Johnson.

The two players could be in direct opposition on Thursday when Johnson’s Wales host Son’s South Korea in a Cardiff friendly.

After international duty, the pair are set to line up in the same side for the first time as Spurs seek to build on their promising start under Ange Postecoglou at home to Sheffield United on September 16.

“Brennan is another new player. He showed his quality last year at Nottingham Forest and I can’t wait to see him with my eyes,” Son said of his new team-mate who will be expected to fill some of the goals void left by Harry Kane’s summer exit.

“He’s a very good player and he has a very good talent. Welcome to Spurs! I can’t wait to play with him.

“It’s only been four games and we’re looking to keep going in a positive way with our new signing Brennan.

“When he comes to Spurs he wants to improve and go to the next step. He will feel the pressure but I can’t wait to have him in our team playing even better fast and attacking football.”

Son became captain of his country in 2019 and guided them to the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

He was handed the same role at Spurs following Kane’s departure to Bayern Munich last month.

“It’s a great honour and privilege to be captain for club and country,” said Son, who scored a hat-trick in Tottenham’s 5-2 weekend win at Burnley.

“Being a captain is not about words. It’s by actions.

“I have to prove it and show to my team-mates and the team that I can be the leader of the team on and off the pitch.

“I have great players around me with my country and at Tottenham. It was great to score at the weekend.

“But I’m always calm and I never rush when I’m not scoring for a few games because I have 10 players behind me and that’s why we all love football. They help me to become a better person, player and captain.”

South Korea are managed by former Tottenham hero Jurgen Klinsmann and the World Cup winner believes they can end their trophy drought under new boss Postecoglou.

Spurs have not won a trophy since the 2008 League Cup.

The former Germany striker said: “We all know what’s happening in the league and how dominant Man City is at the moment and how difficult it is.

“I look at last year and Arsenal were amazing but I see a team that is not less quality than Arsenal in this Spurs side.

“They have a fantastic coach now, a manager who is a good people person and why can’t they surprise a lot of people this year?

“Son’s goal and his team-mates’ goal is to win trophies. It’s been a long time for Spurs but you start every year with this goal and ambition in mind. The players and coach have that.

“I’m a follower and I keep my fingers crossed as one of their biggest fans. I hope they are successful and win something.”

Forwards coach John Dalziel has challenged Scotland not to let physical South Africa “kill” their natural flair game in what he expects to be a style war in Sunday’s World Cup showdown in Marseille.

The Scots have become one of the most swashbuckling, fast-paced attacking teams on the planet while the Springboks are renowned for their power game.
Dalziel insists the Scots are intent on ensuring their opponents do not squeeze the life out of them at Stade Velodrome.

“We’ve got to meet them on the gain line defensively, and we’ve also got to express our attacking game on them, we’ve got to be able bring the speed we want to play at – the speed we have become famous for – into this match,” he said at a press conference in Nice on Wednesday afternoon.

“Tactically, it’s one against the other. They’re going to slow us down and kill us on the floor and we’re going to look to keep the pace high, and whoever comes out on the best side of that is going to go a long way to winning the game.”

Dalziel has been busy trying to plot the downfall of the on-form Boks, and he believes Scotland – ranked fifth in the world – are now operating at a level where they genuinely fancy their chances of pulling off a victory.

“It is very challenging, very daunting, but it is something we’ve had our mind on for a long time and we have been building towards that,” he said.

“We believe we’ve moved away from being a Scotland team who goes to event with hope, to having genuine belief.

“We believe we have a strong squad but we don’t believe we are anywhere near our potential yet.

“We believe there is huge growth in this young squad, and we’re taking a lot of learning from game to game, which means every game we have we are getting better.

“We believe that everything is ahead of this group, and we genuinely believe we can exit this group (which also contains world number one Ireland, Tonga and Romania) and progress through in this World Cup.

“The Scottish psyche, we like being underdogs. We worry sometimes when we become favourites.

“But I don’t think the players worry about it too much either way – they prepare very well and they know they have the game.

“It is just about being able to spin all the plates at once in total team performance, and I think this is what it is going to take in the pool we’re in – four consistent, high-level performances.”

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 September 6.

Another award for Bukayo Saka.

Port Vale were not happy with boyhood fan Robbie Williams changing his allegiance to Tottenham.

Jordan Henderson was back on England duty.

Aaron Ramsdale turned on the style.

Gary Neville received a gift.

Erling Haaland linked up with Norway.

The World Cup countdown was on.

George North was looking forward to his fourth World Cup.

Uruguay checked out the local area.

Romania had one voice.

Ireland were hard at it in the gym.

Harry Brook was added to England’s ODI squad.

Jason Roy reflected on the Hundred.

Promoter Frank Warren has launched an appeal to have Daniel Dubois’ world heavyweight title defeat to Oleksandr Usyk last month declared a no-contest and force an immediate rematch.

Dubois floored Usyk in the fifth round of their fight in Poland but it was declared a low blow, giving the Ukrainian time to recover before he went on to stop the Londoner in the ninth round.

The WBA confirmed receipt of the appeal in a short statement, which read: “Daniel Dubois’ team sent a formal appeal for last August 26 fight, in which he lost by knockout in nine rounds against Oleksandr Usyk in Wroclaw, Poland.

“The WBA, now that it has received a formal appeal from Dubois’ team, will proceed with a review as per the regulations.

“Any decision made regarding this situation will be made under WBA rules and communicated in a timely and appropriate manner.”

Usyk was given almost four minutes’ recovery time by Puerto Rican referee Luis Pabon following the blow, which Dubois and his team insisted was legal as it appeared to land on the champion’s belt line.

Dubois, who later tired and was stopped by Usyk, subsequently failed to attend the post-fight press conference at which both Warren and his trainer Don Charles criticised the referee’s decision.

Even if the WBA determine the result of the contest should not change, Dubois and his team hope they will mandate an immediate rematch in order to settle the controversy.

Scotland back-rower Matt Fagerson is savouring the “special” experience of finally being at a World Cup alongside his big brother Zander after the agony of being left at home in 2019.

The 25-year-old Glasgow forward was a notable omission from Gregor Townsend’s squad for the global showpiece four years ago but quickly cast aside his own disappointment to support his sibling – two years his senior – who got the nod to go to Japan.

This time the pair are in France together, representing their family on the sport’s biggest stage of all. Their loved ones are due to arrive in the host nation later this week ahead of Sunday’s first pool match against South Africa in Marseille.

“It’s pretty special,” said the younger Fagerson. “I was gutted in 2019 but obviously I had to change that when Zander was there. I was cheering on the squad from home.

“To finally get the call from Gregor this time was pretty special and it was an emotional time with what happened four years ago so I’m hugely excited to be here, especially with Zander being here as well.

“He has his kids coming out, and my fiancee is coming out so to be able to share this experience with the family will be huge.

“There are not many times you’ll get to play with your brother at a World Cup so any time we get the opportunity it will be a very special occasion.”

Fagerson is almost certain to be in the 23-man squad for the showdown with South Africa and appears to be vying with his in-form Glasgow colleague Jack Dempsey for the number eight jersey.

The Sprinboks go into the tournament in scintillating form and having climbed to second in the world rankings following recent thumping wins over Wales and New Zealand.

“Everyone is super-excited as we have all been gearing up for this game through the whole of pre-season and now we are a couple of days away,” said Fagerson.

“They are obviously a great team and are second in the world at the minute and reigning world champions so it will be a huge task for us but one we are very much looking forward to.

“We will need to be on it from minute one as we know what they can bring. They are a very physical side and they showed that against the All Blacks but the way this group has grown over the last two to three years and particularly over this last pre-season, it’s a challenge we are ready for.”

After finishing third in an encouraging Six Nations campaign, Scotland won three of their four summer Tests, with their only defeat a narrow one away to France last month in which they came agonisingly close to winning after being 27-10 down.

Fagerson feels the Scots – ranked fifth in the world – have arrived at the tournament with momentum and resilience. 

“We had a really good Six Nations this year which led into the Tests in the summer,” he said. 

“We’ve shown that even when we do go down on the scoreboard we can claw it back. We obviously don’t want to be going behind in the first 20 minutes on Sunday but we are a team with a lot of fight.

Scotland have been training in sweltering heat this week but Fagerson feels his team – who visited their World Cup base on the Cote d’Azur twice previously over the summer – are prepared for what promises to be an intoxicating occasion inside Stade Velodrome.   

“The heat will make the ball a bit more greasy, playing in the UK it’s colder, but the hot conditions make it more greasy,” he said.

“The crowds will play a huge part as well, we know the French are pretty loud, especially when we go out to play in Marseille.”

BBC’s director of sport Barbara Slater has announced she will be retiring next spring after 14 years in the role.

Slater, a former Olympic gymnast, made history at the corporation when she became the first female appointed to the top sports executive position.

During her time in the role, she has overseen 14 men’s and women’s football World Cups and European Championships, seven Olympic Games and was in charge during the boycott by sports presenters and pundits in support of Match Of The Day host Gary Lineker earlier this year.

BBC director-general Tim Davie hailed Slater as a “pioneer, innovator and outstanding leader” who kept the broadcaster at the “forefront of sport for a generation”.

Reflecting on her four decades at the BBC, Slater said: “It was this week 40 years ago that I first walked through the doors at Broadcasting House.

“A career in BBC Sport has been an absolute passion, never just a job.

“Since joining in 1983 I’ve been privileged to have had such amazing opportunities and the delight of working with such talented colleagues and partners.

“There are a huge number of people to thank, and so many magical memories to reflect upon.”

The sport’s director noted a number of standout moments in the role included leading BBC’s Sports relocation to Salford and overseeing the company’s drive towards digital.

She added: “I also hope that in showcasing the brilliance of women’s sport the BBC has played its part in changing attitudes, increasing its profile and inspiring the next generation.

“I must also make special mention of the Olympic Games having been a competitor in 1976 and then leading the sport teams covering a home Games in 2012.

“It was a monumental achievement for the BBC and everyone involved, as the UK hosted a sensational Olympics in London.

“I will be following the BBC’s coverage of Paris next summer, this time as a proud sports fan.”

In March, Slater issued an apology to staff after the sports schedule was disrupted by presenters and pundits boycotting their shows in solidarity with Lineker after he was temporarily taken off air after tweeting a criticism of the language used by the Government to promote its asylum plans, saying it was not dissimilar to that used in 1930s Germany.

Lineker later returned to air and Davie said the corporation had commissioned an independent review of its social media guidelines, particularly for freelancers.

Following the announcement of Slater’s departure, Davie said: “Barbara has had an extraordinary career at the BBC, a pioneer, innovator and outstanding leader, she has kept the BBC at the forefront of sport for a generation.

“I wish her well.

“She will leave the BBC with a tremendous legacy.”

The BBC’s chief content officer Charlotte Moore added: “Barbara has had an extraordinary career at the BBC and leaves a legacy few will ever be able to replicate.

“She is a much-respected leader, a real trailblazer for women in the industry who can proudly say she has inspired the next generation.”

Slater joined the BBC in 1983 as a trainee assistant producer in the natural history unit before moving into BBC Sport, specialising in outside broadcasts and overseeing the production of a range of sports, including tennis and golf.

She moved up the ranks to roles including becoming head of production and head of general sports before being appointed as director of sport in April 2009.

In 2014, she was awarded an OBE for services to sport broadcasting following on from the BBC’s broadcast of the 2012 London Olympics.

Hollie Doyle has thrown her hat in the ring for the ride on Chris Waller’s Soulcombe in the Melbourne Cup.

The jockey partnered the gelding on his final start for former trainer William Haggas, with the duo winning the Melrose Handicap at York’s Ebor meeting last year.

Soulcombe then changed hands and is now trained in Australia for a group of owners that includes Ozzie Kheir, who Doyle has reached out to in order to put herself forward for the Melbourne Cup opportunity.

Since leaving England Soulcombe has gained valuable experience of the track at Flemington, winning the Group Three Queen’s Cup on debut for his new connections and then finishing second in the Listed Lexus Roy Higgins in March.

More recently the bay was a winner at Caulfield, landing the Listed Heatherlie Stakes on Saturday.

Doyle told racing.com: “I won the Melrose on him when he was trained by William Haggas, so I do know the horse.

“I don’t have high expectations to get the ride but if you don’t ask, you don’t get I suppose.

“Obviously, he won at the weekend, and it was just an idea, an ambitious one, but who knows?

“To just get a ride in the Melbourne Cup would be great let alone on a chance with a horse like Soulcombe.

“We’ve got a few people trying to help out, but I do know how hard it is to get rides at that (Cup) meeting, so I’m just hoping.”

James Doyle is relishing the prospect of being reunited with Shaquille as Julie Camacho’s speedball goes for a Group One hat-trick in the Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock on Saturday.

Doyle rode the Charm Spirit colt in his first two starts of a whirlwind three-year-old campaign, winning a Newmarket handicap before taking the Listed Carnarvon Stakes at Newbury.

The jockey’s Godolphin commitments meant he missed out on riding Shaquille in the Commonwealth Cup and the July Cup when he completed a huge double, with Oisin Murphy on board at Royal Ascot and Rossa Ryan in the plate at Newmarket’s July Festival.

On both occasions he missed the break – rocking backwards in the stalls as they opened – and it is a measure of his remarkable ability that he still managed to recover and ultimately reel in his rivals at Ascot and Newmarket after giving them a significant head start.

Doyle is now free to take the ride again and following a pleasing stalls session at Camacho’s North Yorkshire base last month, with specialist horsemen Craig and Jake Witherford on hand to assist as a stalls rug was used, the leading rider is optimistic his big-race mount can cement his status as the season’s top speedster.

“I went to sit on him during York week and we just popped him in the stalls on the Malton gallops there,” he said on a press call organised by QIPCO British Champions Series.

“It was nice to sit on him at home, the guys have all said he’s completely different at home which was kind of hard to imagine.

“It was nice to experience that, he really is a calm and collected character in his own environment, it was nice to see him like that.”

Doyle added: “On the track he’s great in the prelims, he’s really grown up in that regard. He’s been foot perfect in terms of going to post, really relaxed and doing all those things right.

“In the stalls he can get a bit tricky and he’s just bunny-hopped out the last twice but thankfully the twice I’ve ridden him he’s actually broken fairly cleanly.

“On the track he’s a big, boisterous sprinter who knows he’s quick and he wants to be fast, whereas at home he knows his environment, he knows his routine and he’s so relaxed.

“The other week we popped out of the gates the first time and I had to squeeze away to get him to do even a half speed. The second time we jumped out was upsides another horse and I had to ask him to go past horses. He is a complete puppy dog at home.”

Doyle is hopeful that the schooling will ease Shaquille’s difficulties at the start, though of course the horse has demonstrated that a steady start is not enough to stop him from winning Group One races.

He said: “Going into Saturday the weight-for-age allowance is catching up with us – he got 6lb off the older horses in the July Cup and that’s brought back to 2lb. That does tighten things up, but you pray that you can jump off and get a clean start.

“Do I think he could still do it if he missed the break and gave them a bit of a lead early on? I genuinely believe in the engine this horse has, but it would certainly make things a lot trickier given we’re not getting so much weight.”

Naturally Doyle was disappointed not to be on board during Shaquille’s two previous wins and followed him home at Royal Ascot as his mount, Charlie Appleby’s Noble Style, finished ninth behind him.

The rider could not look on so closely in the July Cup as he was required to ride at Ascot and therefore had to rely on updates from the stalls handlers whilst he prepared to load for another race.

“It was tough. In the lead up to Ascot it looked like we would only run one horse in the Commonwealth and it looked like I’d be free, I remember being really excited for him and documented in the media that he was my best ride of the week,” he said.

“I was so delighted (when he won), I remember after the line catching up with him to gave him a pat on the head. I know how much this means to Julie and her whole team, they’re nervous before he runs and they’re elated when he wins – they really show all the emotions that make this sport so great.

“I didn’t get a chance to watch the race live at Newmarket, but when I cantered to the start (at Ascot) I asked the guys down at the stalls what happened and the first thing I heard was that he’d missed the break by five lengths and then they said he absolutely bolted up. I thought ‘well, he’s some machine’!”

Whilst Doyle is regaining the ride on Shaquille, next week he will miss out on partnering last season’s 1000 Guineas heroine Cachet when she is scheduled to make her long awaited return in the Sceptre Stakes at Doncaster, as he is otherwise engaged.

“I have spoken to George (Boughey) and I’ve seen pictures of Cachet and she looks in great form,” he said.

“Unfortunately I’m on duty that weekend, Martin Harley is getting married on the Sunday after the Leger so I’ll be over at Adare Manor for Martin’s wedding.

“It will be really sad to miss out on the ride but I think Martin would kill me if I wasn’t there!”

John ‘Shark’ Hanlon would “love to have another crack at the Gold Cup” with Hewick, as connections finalise plans for the upcoming season.

Famously purchased for just €850, Hewick has made a phenomenal rise through the ranks from useful staying handicap chaser to a bona fide Grade One contender over the past few seasons.

He enjoyed a fine 2022-23 campaign and having kicked off with Galway Plate success in the summer, would make a heroic raid on Far Hills to claim the American Grand National before being saved for the Cheltenham Gold Cup, in which he was still going well when falling two from home.

He gained big-race compensation for that Prestbury Park tumble when claiming the Grade Two Oaksey Chase at Sandown before going on to contest the Grande Course de Haies d’Auteuil.

Hewick is currently enjoying a break at Hanlon’s County Carlow base after unsuccessfully trying to defend his Galway Plate crown and connections now need to weigh-up another trip Stateside or tailoring the eight-year-old’s campaign around a Gold Cup bid.

“He’s still having a break and we’re making decisions on which way we’re going to go with him,” said Hanlon.

“We might go back to America with him, but if not then I will just train him for a Gold Cup. I need to sit down and talk to the owner and see what he would like to do.

“He was a great horse last season for us and he came home from Galway perfect, the ground was just too soft there for him.

“We’ll either go to America or we’ll make a plan for the Gold Cup because he was running a cracker in the race last year. He was definitely going to be in the money and he wasn’t really trained for a Gold Cup last year because he went to America so we’ll have to make a decision.

“Do we want to go to Leopardstown at Christmas or in February and go for a Gold Cup? Or do we go to America? If we go to America, we probably won’t go for a Gold Cup so we have to make up our minds one way or the other.”

Hewick was sent off 40-1 for his shot at Gold Cup glory in 2023 but was massively outrunning his odds in the hands of Jordan Gainford as he was still in the mix, leading the runners into the straight, and only headed just before his challenge came to an end two out.

That huge effort came on soft ground and Hanlon is taking plenty of encouragement from that performance as he eyes up a return to Prestbury Park on a sounder surface.

“I would love to have another crack at the Gold Cup and when you have a horse of his class it is the race that everybody wants to win,” he added.

“He was running a cracker last year and the ground was the softest it has been in Cheltenham in years. The better the ground for us, the better the horse is so you have to take that into consideration.”

Full-back Hugo Keenan insists in-form Ireland must lift their performances “up a notch” as they chase glory at the Rugby World Cup.

The 27-year-old Leinster player has been virtually ever-present since his Test debut just under three years ago and has barely tasted defeat in the green jersey.

Ireland have beaten each of their major rivals in that time, including a historic series success in New Zealand last summer.

Yet Keenan concedes previous statement results count for little as the Six Nations champions seek to substantiate their status as the sport’s top-ranked nation over the coming weeks in France.

“You have to respect all the teams in the competition,” he said.

“I suppose you have to gain a bit of confidence from what we’ve built on in the past by beating the top teams around and let that build your confidence and belief going into it.

“But you can’t take anything for granted. A lot of teams will have improved in this big block they’ve had together, so we’ve got to take it up a notch ourselves.”

A post shared by Hugo Keenan (@hugokeenan96)

Former rugby sevens player Keenan has been victorious in 25 of his 31 caps to date, with just two of the losses coming since the end of the 2021 Six Nations.

International team-mate Iain Henderson last month said Ireland’s new cohort of stars, such as Keenan, Caelan Doris and Dan Sheehan, have made pushing the top teams the “norm”.

Andy Farrell’s side arrived at their training base in Tours on the back of a national record 13 consecutive victories, albeit having failed to hit previous heights during warm-up wins over Italy, England and Samoa.

“Every team is going to have improved and going to have added little bits and pieces to their game,” continued Keenan. “We’ve got to do the same to ours.

“I don’t think we’ve shown our best in the Test games leading up to the World Cup so far. There’s been some good bits, but then a lot of work-ons.

“We’re ready to show an improvement on what’s gone before.”

Farrell’s men begin their campaign on Saturday afternoon against Romania in Bordeaux.

Ireland beat their upcoming opponents at the World Cup in 1999, 2003 and 2015 but have not faced them since the last of those matches – a 44-10 success at Wembley.

Keenan, who was present as a fan when Ireland exited the 2015 tournament with a quarter-final loss to Argentina in Cardiff, is braced for the team ranked 19th in the world to “throw the kitchen sink”.

“I wouldn’t have known too much about them but you have to do your homework on them, you have to get up to speed pretty quickly,” he said.

“We’ve known the schedule of games for a while now so we’ve been able to prepare for this for a bit.

“They’re a big powerful pack, they back their set piece, a few physical boys in the back line as well. It’s going to be a tough challenge. They’re going to throw the kitchen sink at us.”

Down Royal racegoers are in for a rare treat on Friday with Frankie Dettori set to make his first ever appearance at the Lisburn circuit.

The 52-year-old might be preparing to bring his glittering career in the saddle to an end later this year but he has shown absolutely no signs of slowing down, riding a whole host of big-race winners both at home and abroad in 2023 so far.

His farewell tour made an unlikely stop in Hungary last weekend, with Dettori performing his trademark flying dismount twice after riding a double at Kincsem Park in Budapest, and next on his agenda is a first competitive outing in Northern Ireland.

Down Royal’s chief executive Emma Meehan has been working on getting the legendary Italian to the track since the spring and is delighted those efforts have paid off.

She said: “We’ve been trying to get him in before his swansong as it will be the first time he’s ridden in the north of Ireland.

“In April of this year I reached out and we got confirmation that he’d welcome the visit and thankfully the interest from his camp hasn’t waned.

“It’s lovely for punters in the north to have him here at their local track and it’s great for us at Down Royal to have him here as part of our history.”

The first of Dettori’s two mounts at Down Royal is the Matthew Smith-trained No Thanks, who contests the two-and-a-quarter-mile Grant Thornton Ulster Cesarewitch Handicap.

In the following Children’s Heartbeat Trust Handicap he will partner Evening’s Empire for the father-son team of Eddie and Patrick Harty before sitting down for ‘An Evening with Frankie Dettori’ event in one of the track’s suites.

Meehan added: “He’s riding in two races and then after racing from 7.30pm we’re having an event which Kevin O’Ryan and Fran Berry are hosting. They’ll catch up with him about his career and there’ll be an audience, with tickets pre-sold.

“Sales are going well and we’re hoping to get a few more people through the doors as the weather looks like being on our side.

“It will be a great evening and it’s a special day for us. We’re just delighted he could attend.”