Andrew Flintoff’s 16-year-old son, Rocky, has scored his maiden century for Lancashire’s second XI.

The teenager conjured up memories of his father’s flamboyant hitting as he peeled off 116 in 165 balls against Warwickshire’s second string, hitting 11 fours and three sixes at Edgbaston.

On the same ground where ‘Freddie’ Flintoff struck 167 – his best Test score – against the West Indies in 2004, Rocky made light of his rookie status with a series of punishing blows into the leg side.

Batting for long periods with Saqib Mahmood and sharing a stand of 39 with his 18-year-old brother Corey, the youngster put in an eye-catching display against an attack featuring highly-rated seamer Che Simmons and former England Lions spinner Jake Lintott.

Rocky Flintoff only made his second XI debut earlier this month, a matter of days after turning 16, and hit a half-century against Durham last week.

While his sons take their first steps in the game, Flintoff senior is stepping up his return to the sport and is set to travel to the T20 World Cup in June as part of England’s backroom team.

Flintoff will also act as head coach of Northern Superchargers this summer, furthering his reintegration into the cricketing fold following the major car crash he suffered while filming Top Gear in late 2022.

Three-time champion Mark Williams admitted he does not know whether he has played his last World Snooker Championship match after he suffered a dramatic 10-9 defeat to Si Jiahui in the first round.

Si continued his love affair with the Crucible as he followed up last year’s surprise run to the semi-finals by knocking out Williams in an epic clash.

Williams resumed with a 5-4 lead but it was the Chinese 21-year-old who hit the ground running on Tuesday, taking each of the opening four frames to go into the mid-session interval 8-5 in front.

Williams then won four of the next five to make it 9-9 and set up a decider, with Si holding his nerve to close out a narrow victory.

While Si will face Jak Jones in the second round, Williams confessed he did not know whether a return to the Crucible is on the cards but appeared to rule out immediate retirement.

When asked whether he will be back next year, Williams said: “Who knows? I’ll be 50 years of age next year.

“I looked around and loved every minute of it. Whether or not I’ll be back again, I don’t know.

“I’m not considering my future really, just it’s a tough game. You keep getting back to these venues and it’s hard.

“Most of the ones for a while now, you’ve just got to treat it as if you’re not going to get back here.

“I’m not retiring, just treating every one as your last one. Fingers crossed you’ll see me playing next year, who knows?”

Si made a lightning-quick start to the session, striking the ball with increasing authority as he reeled off four frames in a row with three breaks in the 60s.

Williams’ fightback began immediately after the mid-session interval as he reduced his arrears to 8-7.

Si bounced back to take the next frame with a nerveless display before Williams battled to victory in the next two to level the match and force a decider.

But Si reeled off a break of 77 to wrap up a memorable win.

He said: “The first half of the match was quite nip and tuck, neither of us had brilliant form.

“But later on he gave me a lot more chances to let me have that lead at 8-5. My opponent was really, really accurate towards the end so it went all the way to the deciding frame.

“I always thought ‘I am the challenger who’s trying to take him down’, so I didn’t really feel the pressure and that’s how I won it.”

World number three Mark Allen built up a commanding 7-2 lead in his encounter with Robbie Williams.

Allen won the first three frames before Englishman Williams hit back with a break of 86.

Allen won a mammoth fifth frame before stretching his advantage to 6-1. After his opponent won the next with a century, Allen made it 7-2 to leave himself three frames from victory.

Earlier in the day Jack Lisowski took a 5-4 lead against 2016 finalist Ding Junhui, while Kyren Wilson put one foot in the second round after storming into an 8-1 lead against Welshman Dominic Dale.

The Philadelphia 76ers may be two games down in their best-of-seven Eastern Conference quarter-finals series but Joel Embiid thinks his struggling side will triumph.

The second-seeded New York Knicks lead Philadelphia 2-0 after Monday's crucial 104-101 win after an impressive late comeback.

Down 101-96 in the final minute, the Knicks scored the game's final eight points to further their lead in the series, which shifts to Philadelphia for Thursday's Game 3.

Yet Embiid still insists the 76ers will progress in the East.

"We're good," a confident Embiid declared. "We're going to win this series.

"We are going to win this. We know what we have to fix. We did a better job today, so we are going to fix it.

"We are the better team. We are going to keep fighting."

A chaotic final 15 seconds proved decisive at Madison Square Garden as Donte DiVincenzo's go-ahead 3-pointer started a furious late rally that propelled the Knicks.

Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse claimed the 76ers had been calling timeout as a frenzied finale played out.

"Well, the first thing is obviously they score," Nurse said. "We take a look at getting it in quick. We don't get it in quick.

"I call timeout. Referee looked right at me. Ignored me. Went into Tyrese [Maxey], I called timeout again. Then the melee started.

"I guess I got to run out onto the floor or do something to make sure and get his attention, but I needed a timeout there to advance it.

"Would've been good, but, couldn't get it."

Embiid echoed his coach's sentiment, adding: "Everybody was trying to call a timeout on the floor, me included. Coach on the sideline. But they didn't give it to us.

"But, forget about the timeout. There's a bunch of fouls. That's unacceptable."

In stark contrast, the Knicks had a wholly different perspective on the ending.

"We're down two, got to be as physical as we can be, try to get the steal," said Josh Hart. "And that's what we did."

Kitty’s Light is taking aim at his usual season finisher in the bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown.

The gelding has been a star for trainer Christian Williams, winning big handicap events like the Eider Chase and the Scottish Grand National and going close in the Charlie Hall and the Coral Trophy.

He has particularly good record in the bet365 Gold Cup on the final day of the season, missing out only due to interference when second in 2021 and coming home third in 2022.

Last year he was completed the set of podium finishes when winning by two and a half lengths under usual jockey Jack Tudor.

The two are well acquainted and teamed up for Kitty’s Light’s Grand National bid at Aintree earlier in the month, where he ran a valiant race to finish fifth behind four Grade-One winning Irish chasers.

Williams was incredibly proud of his stable star and is now hoping the gelding can shine again in the Sandown contest he has found to be lucrative in the past.

“It was wonderful, we trained him to win the race and we thought he could, but you couldn’t be disappointed with what he did,” Williams said of the National performance.

“We were thrilled, the horse tried his best and we were very, very proud of horse and jockey.

“He’s come out of it very well, if the race was run today even then he’d be running, he’s in good form.

“He loves it at Sandown with the big fences, his jumping has come on now but even as a five-year-old he nearly won the race.

“He was third the year after that, it really seems to suit him.

“I think he likes going right-handed, he hangs a little bit right at home and he seems to really enjoy it there.

“We’re taking our chance anyway, he seems well and we’ll hope for the best.”

Olivier Peslier will retire from riding at La Teste on Thursday.

The 51-year-old has enjoyed an exemplary career in the saddle, being crowned French champion on four occasions and claiming a string of big-race successes across the world.

Peslier counts four victories in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe on his CV, as well as Derby success aboard High-Rise in 1998 and a 2000 Guineas triumph with Cockney Rebel in 2007.

He enjoyed a long association with star miler Goldikova, riding the mare to win 17 of her 27 career starts which included a famous Breeders’ Cup Mile hat-trick in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

Peslier also chalked up two Japan Cup wins and victories the Hong Kong Cup, Mile and Vase plus big-races successes in the likes of Germany, Italy, Ireland and Dubai during a truly international career.

He was retained rider for owners Alain and Gerard Wertheimer between 2003 and 2014 with the aforementioned Goldikova and 2012 Arc winner Solemia two of the headline acts of their lengthy relationship.

Peslier will sign off after two rides at La Teste in the south-west of France, bowing out with over 3,700 wins to his name.

“My health is fine, but you need the horses and need the practice and if you don’t have so many horses, it is the time to decide to stop because it is very tricky to ride only a few horses,” Peslier told the PA news agency.

“After a very long career I have had plenty of success. I have had more than 3,700 winners and over 500 Group race wins. I have won with both Arabians and thoroughbreds and 165 Group Ones, so it is amazing when I look at my career.

“I have won everywhere in the world and had great success and great moments. I’ve met so many good people and I’m very happy to stop my career and watch what has happened before.

“I won all the good races in England – the Epsom Derby, the King George and at Royal Ascot. In Japan, I won 12 Group Ones and won the Japan Cup and all the big races over there and also the Breeders’ Cup and all the Derbies in Europe.

“So now is the time and I’m in good form and everything is fine. It’s sad to take the decision but this morning I rode six horses and tomorrow I will ride some horses in training and for sure I will keep riding some horses because everybody loves horses and also I ride for my passion.”

Peslier is unsure what the future holds, intending to spend the summer months enjoying time with family and friends before finalising plans for the next stage of life, while he highlighted the talents of both Goldikova and Prix du Jockey Club and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Peintre Celebre as notable memories from his decorated career.

“I will take a little break and see some friends and see what happens over the next few months,” continued Peslier.

“After a holiday, September will be a new life, and I think I need a little bit of time to see what will happen in the future. I’m going to spend some time with my kids and enjoy life, then it will be a new life.

“Normally when I go to say Hong Kong and England it is for work, now I can go and visit people I know and take the time to enjoy it.

“Goldikova won 14 Group Ones and Peintre Celebre won the French Derby and Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe and were both really, really good.”

Adil Rashid believes England’s World Cup blowout in India will have no impact on the defence of their T20 crown this summer, claiming they still have “the mindset of champions”.

Jos Buttler’s side surrendered their ODI title meekly last year, crashing out in the group stage after six defeats from nine games, but still hold the 20-over title they claimed in 2022.

Competition is likely to be fierce again in June when the T20 World Cup takes place in the West Indies and United States of America, but Rashid is confident there is no scarring from their tournament trouble last time around.

Instead, the leg-spinner trusts a change of format will help unlock his side’s winning mentality.

“We are not thinking of what has gone on in the past, we’re not thinking about the poor World Cup or people not being in form. That’s a completely different format,” he said.

“Yes, we had a poor run or whatever and we didn’t play well: bat, ball, as a team, as a unit, everything. But I think this is a completely different format where we’re currently world champions. You have the mindset of champions.

“We’re confident. We’ve got the team, we’ve got the mindset, we’ve got the players, we’ve got the experience. If we go out there having that same belief, I think we’ll hopefully go all the way.

“Prior to that we may not be playing well but as soon the tournament comes, people can turn up, teams can turn up and just switch on and win the World Cup.”

England have one warm-up series against Pakistan in May before they fly to the Caribbean and are expected to name a squad, as well as the provisional World Cup group, next week.

Jofra Archer is highly likely to be included, 14 months on from his last international appearance and with the usual lofty expectations, but captain Buttler and head coach Matthew Mott look set to rely on many of the same players who came crashing down in India.

Rashid held his head above water amid those poor results, leading the wicket charts with 15, and will once again be a central part of the plans. At 36, he may not have too many more World Cups left, but he is already doing his bit to help lay a line of succession.

Rashid funded the building of the cricket centre that carries his name in his native Bradford and can often be found mentoring aspiring players alongside a coaching staff led by brother Amar and including the likes of former England seamer Sajid Mahmood.

He was also on hand to help the England and Wales Cricket Board launch a new national tape ball competition in Birmingham last week, and is passionate about helping those in communities like his own prosper.

“It’s only 10 minutes from my house. When I’m at home, I pop in, see how things are, have a little train, have a little bowl myself with whoever’s there,” he said.

“There’s a lot of youngsters where we’re from in Bradford, a lot of people who want to play cricket with good talent. We’ve had many youngsters come through that are already playing for Yorkshire academy, playing under-11s, 13s, 15s, second XI.

“One of the main reasons for opening the cricket centre is to give that next generation of cricketers coming through the opportunity to potentially make it to professional cricket, but that’s just one part of it. The other part is to make sure you’re getting people off the streets and creating a community where people can come and play.”

German players are unlikely to make any major political statements at Euro 2024 after their World Cup protest in Qatar was met with a tepid domestic reception, ex-international Thomas Hitzlsperger has predicted.

Seven European nations at the 2022 global showpiece – including England – initially planned to wear ‘OneLove’ anti-discrimination armbands but were dissuaded following the threat of sporting sanctions from FIFA.

Instead, the Germans covered their mouths for a World Cup team photograph in protest, while the tournament remained overshadowed by the host nation’s record on human rights, from its treatment of migrant workers to the criminalisation of same-sex relationships.

Hitzlsperger, who bookended his playing career with spells at Aston Villa and Everton and a decade ago became the first former Premier League player to come out as gay, said: “It ended for the German team not in a good way. Funnily enough, back home a lot of people criticised it whereas abroad it was seen as a big statement.

“After the tournament, some of the representatives of the German national team just said, ‘look, at the Euros we talk about football, nothing else’. So I don’t expect much from the team similar to the World Cup.

“I think the England team were the first ones to play, and they decided against the One Love armband. A lot of the German players, they felt a responsibility, they felt ‘we’ve got to make a statement’.

“They couldn’t rely on the other teams. I think there were seven teams in the end that tried to stick together and wear the armband, and then they all collapsed, basically. And that’s when the Germans were like, ‘We still have to do something’.”

The former midfielder, who is now serving as an ambassador for this summer’s tournament in his home country, agrees that Germany’s poor showing likely influenced negative sentiment around the protest.

He said: “Football can be brutal. If you win, you set the tone and whatever you do it’s accepted and people look up to you. If you don’t win, you lose football matches, then you better not say anything.”

Even before the tournament, said the 42-year-old, the German public was already divided over whether or not the national team – or anyone – had a responsibility to act.

“It was a very difficult debate and it never came to a conclusion,” said Hitzlsperger.

“Some said it’s too much politics, others said it was right what we did, and that’s where we ended. That was our opportunity to say ‘we’re hosting a European Championship, let’s have a really good time together’, talk about responsibility when it comes to sustainability but don’t teach the world what to do.”

Organisers hope the tournament itself will instead do the talking, with ambitions to become be the most sustainable European Championship of all time through the use of entirely pre-existing stadia run by 100 per cent renewable energy sources, a zoned match schedule reducing travel distances for teams and fans, and the creation of a climate fund dedicated to projects focused on mitigating tournament-related unavoidable emissions.

It is also the second major football tournament, following in the footsteps of last summer’s Women’s World Cup, to sign a human rights declaration.

UEFA has stated EURO 2024 “embraces gender identities and expressions as a spectrum that is not limited to a binary concept”, with gender-neutral toilets available at all venues and similarly neutral lanes outside the stadia to accommodate a range of gender expressions for procedures like body checks.

Ultimately, says Hitzlsperger, “the German FA, UEFA, the German government and the foreign ministry, (will do) everything we can do, without putting the team under too much pressure to say ‘every game you have to make a statement’.

“You have to know who is responsible for what, and unfortunately what happened in Qatar really made the players aware of the consequences if you take a stance on human rights.”

Feyenoord coach Arne Slot has emerged as a leading candidate to succeed Jurgen Klopp when he leaves as Liverpool manager at the end of the campaign.

Slot guided the Dutch club to their first title in six years last season and currently has them in second place in the Eredivisie table having won the Dutch Cup at the weekend.

The PA news agency understands Liverpool consider Slot to fit all the criteria set out in their recruitment process, although they are still looking at other contenders.

Fraser Brown declared himself “hugely proud” of his Scotland career as he announced his retirement from professional rugby.

The 34-year-old Glasgow hooker has not played since rupturing his anterior cruciate ligament while playing for the World XV against the Barbarians at Twickenham last May and he has now conceded defeat in his bid to return to action.

Brown won 61 Scotland caps, with the first of them coming against Italy in 2013 and the last in the Six Nations match at home to Ireland in 2023, the same game incidentally in which Stuart Hogg won his final cap. The front-rower went to both the 2015 and 2019 World Cups.

“When you have a serious injury like I did with an ACL at the end of your career, it is always going to be hard to come back from,” Brown told Scottish Rugby.

“That probably made it a little easier to announce my retirement but it’s still a surreal and strange feeling.

“I’m hugely proud to have played so many times for Scotland during my career. To get one cap was great, but then my second one came against the All Blacks at Murrayfield which was such a special occasion.

“To reach 50 caps was a big moment as I had to deal with a lot of injuries throughout my career and to be part of the growth process of the team which has resulted in where they are now has been cool.”

At club level, Brown made 141 appearances for Glasgow after joining from Edinburgh in 2011.

The hooker helped them win the Guinness Pro12 in 2015 with victory over Munster in the final in Belfast, while his last appearance for Warriors proved to be last season’s Challenge Cup final defeat by Toulon in Dublin.

Glasgow head coach Franco Smith paid tribute to Brown, saying: “Fraser is the epitome of a modern professional and someone who should serve as a role model to any young player starting their journey.

“The respect with which he is held, not only within the Glasgow Warriors community but within the wider rugby family, should serve to underline the achievements he has earned throughout his career and the manner in which he has achieved them.

“His work ethic and determination to bring the best out of the people and players around him has been clear to all throughout his career.

“I wish him the very best for whatever comes next and I know he will apply that same work ethic and determination that made him one of this club’s most distinguished Warriors.”

Brown becomes the second experienced Scotland front-rower to announce his retirement in the space of a month after Edinburgh prop WP Nel recently revealed he would be hanging his boots up at the end of this season.

Atalanta head coach Gian Piero Gasperini acknowledges that his club are enjoying a “fantastic” season after reaching two semi-finals and challenging for Champions League qualification from Serie A.

But the campaign’s business end has now arrived, with Atalanta putting their Coppa Italia hopes on the line in Wednesday’s semi-final second leg against Fiorentina.

They have a Europa League semi-final against Marseille ahead of them next month, but their first task is to try and overturn a 1-0 deficit when Fiorentina arrive in Bergamo.

“This year is extraordinary,” Gasperini told Gazzetta dello Sport.

“Now let’s see in the next matches between the Italian Cup and the recoveries. The season is fantastic, now we are in the final verdicts.”

Asked if the season would only be a good one if Atalanta win a trophy, he added: “Winners only if you win a trophy? No, it’s idiocy.

“We each have to reach our own goals, otherwise we would all be losers in life and that’s not how it works. I consider myself lucky for what I’ve done in the various places I’ve been in.”

Atalanta’s solitary Coppa Italia success in the final came 61 years ago with a 3-1 victory over Torino, and they have lost on four successive return visits.

Fiorentina, meanwhile, last lifted the trophy in 2001, and they head to Bergamo on the back of a 2-0 Serie A win against Salernitana.

Andrea Belotti, Nico Gonzalez, Luca Beltran and Giacomo Bonaventura all missed that game with knocks, but should return in an anticipated much-changed team.

Gasperini also rotated his squad for the league clash against Monza, but he is likely to field a more familiar starting XI, with Gianluca Scamacca and Marten de Roon among those recalled.

Fiorentina boss Vincenzo Italiano said: “We have the merit of arriving in May and still being in certain matches, which cannot allow us to switch off.

“We must all be ready and motivated to give 100 per cent, because in these close matches it doesn’t take much to not being able to perform at our best. But we all have guys who always respond when called upon.”

Bellum Justum halved in price for the Derby after Andrew Balding’s colt won the Betfred Blue Riband Trial at Epsom.

While he took four attempts to get off the mark as a juvenile, the form of his win over Kevin Ryan’s Inisherin now looks much stronger than it did at the time and he took another leap forward here.

Ridden by Oisin Murphy, he was content to take a lead off Ryan Moore on Aidan O’Brien’s Chief Little Rock and with those in behind struggling to get on terms, it soon developed into a battle.

Bellum Justum held a narrow advantage for much of the final furlong but while he was well on top of the Ballydoyle runner close home, Roger Varian’s Defiance began to stay on strongly.

Without looking like winning, he closed to within three-quarters of a length of the 9-1 winner, looking promising for the future on just his third outing.

Bellum Justum was cut to 25-1 from 50s for the Derby by both Coral and Paddy Power.

“He had a setback about a month ago and he missed 10 days, so he’s entitled to come on for that today,” Balding told Racing TV.

“His form looked pretty strong and he improved a lot with racing last year and he’s entitled to improve from two to three, so we were fairly sure he’d be there or thereabouts but we’re expecting him to come on for it.

“He’s in the Dante and if he was going to run again that would be the likely target, we’ll just see how the Guineas goes and the other trials and we might end up coming back here.

“He’s out of an Oasis Dream mare but he’s closely related to Fox Tal who stayed a mile and a half.

“He’s up there with our best three-year-olds but unfortunately the one we were really excited about, Anzac Day, has had a setback.”

Crystal Delight (5-2) made a winning debut for Harry Eustace when leading home stablemate Ziggy in the Lilley Plummer Risks City & Suburban Handicap.

Previously trained by the now-retired William Jarvis, he was sent straight to the front by Jim Crowley and controlled matters from the outset.

He kicked clear over two furlongs out and came home five and a half lengths ahead of Ziggy, who stayed on without ever looking a danger.

“William came as he’s good friends with dad (James Eustace) and we ended up with a couple off him, this one and Duke Of Verona and it’s going well so far,” said Eustace.

“I thought he’d run well as he’s been training well at home. It was a small field and he likes making the running, so I thought we’d be able to set our own fractions and that’s what Jim did, it worked out well.

“I had a mile-and-a-half handicap at York in mind so we’ll see how we go.”

Eustace had to settle for third with Duke Of Verona in the Weatherbys Global Stallions App Great Metropolitan Handicap as Champagne Piaff (5-2 favourite) ran out an easy winner for Gary and Ryan Moore.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp accepts results are all that matter at this stage of the season as he looks to end his final Merseyside derby with a rare victory at Goodison Park.

Klopp has lost just one of 18 matches against the Toffees – the behind-closed-doors game at Anfield in February 2021 – but across Stanley Park his record is just two wins and five draws.

He was surprised by some of the reaction to Sunday’s 3-1 win at Fulham, which attracted criticism for not being the most fluent, but insists winning was the main objective, with no margin for error in a title race in which they are currently third favourites.

“I know this is the last part of the season: it is not about playing the freshest football of the whole year – that would be strange if that works out with the schedule all the teams have,” said Klopp, who will be without Diogo Jota for at least a fortnight after the forward injured himself scoring at Craven Cottage.

“But you have to win games and I think we know how to do that and we have to make sure everybody understands the way we want to try (on Wednesday).

“I wouldn’t say it was straightforward but until two weeks ago everything was probably better than anyone would have expected.

“Then you have this week (losing to Atalanta and Crystal Palace) when the performances were not as bad as the results felt afterwards.

“And then it is like, ‘Why don’t you score enough? If you look at our numbers, yes, there are two teams who have scored more than us (Arsenal and Manchester City) but it is not like there are two teams who scored 50 goals more than us.

“It is always about how you can get the right feeling again for the situation and the next game and we usually do that. I am really happy now with the response.”

Liverpool’s disappointing run of games at Goodison stretches beyond Klopp’s arrival in 2015, with nine of the last 11 encounters ending in draws.

Klopp’s five draws are more than at any other away ground, but that has to change on Wednesday night if they are to maintain the pressure on Arsenal and Manchester City.

“I don’t know exactly when my first derby was, 2016, but when I (first) came here it would not be honest if I said that is my game of the year. It wasn’t, I knew how important it was for the people, but didn’t feel it then.

“Now I know it and feel it. My understanding developed over the years. They are always difficult games, especially there, but it is not too important, what we had in the past.”

Losing Jota will not help in unlocking what is likely to be a determined Everton defence, especially as Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz have all looked below their best in recent weeks.

“Unfortunately Diogo scored the goal, felt a little bit and now we found out it’s a little bit more so he will be out for two weeks,” said Klopp, who revealed Jota had complained of a hip problem in the last couple of weeks.

“It’s a small one but we are late in the season, so obviously now it’s not a great moment for each injury pretty much.

“When I say two weeks, actually really it’s pretty much nothing but enough to not be available.”

Harry Fry is excited to see what Gidleigh Park can achieve over fences next season following his sixth-place finish in the Albert Bartlett at the Cheltenham Festival.

Impressive on his racecourse debut in a Chepstow bumper in the spring of last year, the six-year-old this term established himself as one of Britain’s leading novice hurdlers with a hat-trick of victories.

Having claimed Grade Two honours on Festival Trials day at Cheltenham in January, the son of Walk In The Park lost his unbeaten record on his return to the Cotswolds last month, with Fry blaming a combination of three miles and heavy ground for his slightly disappointing effort.

“He’s fine, it just didn’t happen for us on the day,” said the Dorset-based trainer.

“Obviously, the ground went testing from Thursday night into Friday and suddenly we were encountering what we’d been trying to avoid, which was running him over three miles on testing ground.

“It just meant they went steady, sensibly in the conditions, which didn’t suit us and he just overraced through the early and middle part of it and didn’t give himself a chance to really see it out.

“Hindsight is a wonderful thing and I don’t think we’d have beaten Ballyburn in the other race anyway (Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle). Probably the race we should have run in was the Supreme as it turned out, given the conditions.

“He’s fine and he’s been schooling away over fences since Cheltenham, which has gone very well, ahead of a novice chase campaign next season.

“We’ve always had half an eye on the day this horse goes novice chasing and he won’t be the first novice hurdler to get beat at the Festival and go on to better things over fences.”