Excitement is building among connections ahead of Sense Of Duty’s crack at the Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes at Ascot on Saturday.
Trained by William Haggas, the daughter of Showcasing racked up four victories on the spin before a setback kept her out of action for over 450 days.
Having looked a sprinter to follow prior to her absence, there was plenty of anticipation ahead of her belated return at Newbury last month.
Although only third when racing over a somewhat inadequate five furlongs on that occasion, the Sense Of Duty team were pleased to get a tune-up into the four-year-old ahead of her Champions Day target where opposition includes defending champion Kinross and Julie Camacho’s dual Group One scorer Shaquille.
“It’s a massive day on Saturday and we’re all very excited,” said Richard Brown, racing manager for owner St Albans Bloodstock.
“Andrew (Stone of St Albans) has most of his family and extended family going and we’re hugely looking forward to it.
“I thought she ran very well at Newbury over the minimum distance which would not have been to her liking, but William was very keen to get a run into her with this being the big aim.
“It looks like it is going to be very soft ground which I don’t think will stop her, I think she will like it and we’re excited but we’re also realistic. It will be a big ask.”
Sara Misir delivered a solid showing to claim a P1 and P2 finishes in the Modified Production 4 Class at the Dover Raceway in St. Ann on Heroes' Monday, October 16.
Misir started strong with the second-fastest lap in qualifying in the biggest meet of the year and the last on the JRDC 2023 calendar.
In the opening race, she claimed a fine victory, overtaking the Modified Production 2 class champion, Nicholas "Tazz" Barnes, who was the fastest in qualifying. Misir recorded the quickest lap of the day by any driver, 1.25.84 seconds, on her second lap.
Torrential rain played a factor in her second race, where Misir registered a DNF as her windscreen fogged up causing her to lose track visibility.
However, she recovered to do well in Race Three. Starting at the back, Misir worked her way through the field into second place behind Jody Gibson, who won the race in a four-wheel-drive Evolution.
"We did well in securing that second place given that we have a rear-wheel drive car, which does not perform as well in rainy conditions," explained Sara’s father and coach Rugie.
For Sara, this was the perfect end to her season.
"After dominating the MP2 class in 2022 and ending on maximum points, I took on the bigger challenge of the MP4 class for 2023. It has been a rough local season where we had engine issues at a few of the earlier meets, but as they say, the race is not always for the fastest, but who prevails to the end, so I'm happy to end with a victory in the MP4 class. The bonus, of course, is recording the fastest lap of the day; I couldn't ask for more from my car, my supporters and my team," she said.
On October 6, Misir competed in the GT Cup final in the United Kingdom, finishing seventh in class at Snetterton alongside teammate Alana Carter. She's making preparations for the Caribbean Clash of Champions in Guyana on November 4.
Captain Siya Kolisi says the daily struggles endured by millions of South Africans is fuelling the Springboks’ quest to retain the Rugby World Cup ahead of a semi-final meeting with England.
Jacques Nienaber’s side are red-hot favourites to progress from a rematch of the 2019 final to set up a winner-takes-all showdown with either New Zealand or Argentina.
Flanker Kolisi, his country’s first black captain, overcame childhood poverty to lift the Webb Ellis Cup four years ago in Japan.
The 32-year-old referenced homelessness and unemployment during an impassioned answer to a question about motivation and believes failing to give 100 per cent would be “cheating” his compatriots.
“I don’t think that will ever change, who we play for, who we represent,” he said.
“When you start playing for others and start doing things for other people it’s not easy to give up, it’s much harder.
“When you think of how many people would give anything to be where we are and the majority of the people in our country are unemployed, some don’t have homes.
“For me, giving up and not giving everything would be cheating not just myself and the team but the rest of the people at home.
“The harder we play, the more we do well, the more we are able to open opportunities for others so that also drives us.
“I believe we are a purpose-driven team, we’re not a trophy-driven team; of course the trophies help you to get more people with you.
“Sometimes you can look at the struggles of what you’re going through and feel sorry for yourself. But we use that pain and those struggles and we carry them with us to drive us through the battles. It helps us to keep on going when it’s tough.”
Three-time champions South Africa defeated hosts France 29-28 in a thrilling quarter-final to keep their title defence on track.
Kolisi will lead out an unchanged team for Saturday’s match against Steve Borthwick’s side at Stade de France in Paris.
“I wish you could see all the supporters back at home,” he continued.
“This is all what people talk about, most of the time, with everything else happening.
“Kids at schools are sending clips of them singing because they know some of us like singing.
“People at work on Fridays wear their green jerseys and the beautiful thing to see is the people who can’t afford the jerseys, they wear anything that’s green, anything that represents the Springboks.
“We see that and that will continuously be our motivation and we know what the team has meant in the past – not just in sport, for our country in general.
“It’s more purposeful when you don’t do something for yourself, only when you are aiding other people that you don’t even know or never even met.”
Underdogs England came into the tournament unfancied but are the competition’s only unbeaten team.
Kolisi insists Borthwick’s men will not be underestimated, despite many pundits and rugby fans feeling a final between the Springboks and the All Blacks is a formality.
“Obviously we don’t see it that way because we know how good England is in the seven previous World Cups that they’ve played,” he said.
“It would be silly to be thinking like that and we’ve never been like that.
“We’ve seen in the World Cup, teams not even in the top 10 beating teams in the top 10 so it would be silly to think like that. We’re not in that mind.
“We know exactly what we’re going to bring and the motivation we have.”
South Africa team: D Willemse; K-L Arendse, J Kriel, D De Allende, C Kolbe; M Libbok, C Reinach; S Kitshoff, B Mbonambi, F Malherbe, E Etzebeth, F Mostert, S Kolisi (capt), P-S Du Toit, D Vermeulen.
Replacements: D Fourie, O Nche, V Koch, RG Snyman, K Smith, F De Klerk, H Pollard, W Le Roux.
Freddie Steward returns at full-back in one of three changes made by England for Saturday’s World Cup semi-final against South Africa at Stade de France.
Steward was dropped for the first time in his 29-cap Test career for the last-eight victory over Fiji, losing the number 15 jersey to the more attack-minded Marcus Smith.
But Smith finished the Marseille showdown with a fat lip and bandaged head following his defensive heroics – becoming an injury doubt – and has now been left out of the 23 altogether.
Steward provides high-ball expertise, positional savvy and solid defence and is the safer option in the position given the strength of South Africa’s kicking game.
The remaining two changes are seen in the front five where Joe Marler starts ahead of Ellis Genge and George Martin comes in for Ollie Chessum – both unexpected adjustments.
England field eight survivors from the starting XV that was overrun 32-12 by South Africa in the 2019 World Cup final, the same number picked by the Springboks who named their team earlier on Thursday morning.
Mostahdaf, Paddington and Kinross are among the big names declared for what promises to be an enthralling afternoon for Qipco Champions Day at Ascot on Saturday.
The John and Thady Gosden-trained Mostahdaf leads nine contenders for the Qipco Champion Stakes, in which the five-year-old will be bidding for a third consecutive Group One win having landed the Prince of Wales’s Stakes over the 10-furlong course and distance back in June before adding the Juddmonte International at York to his tally.
However, connections have expressed concerns about the likelihood of testing ground in Berkshire and he could yet bypass the race.
The Champion Stakes field also features last year’s winner winner Bay Bridge and third-placed My Prospero while French raider Horizon Dore is the favourite after winning each of his last four starts.
Frankie Dettori teams up with King Of Steel on what is set to be his final afternoon of European action before embarking on international engagements and an eventual move to America.
He now rides 2000 Guineas victor Chaldean for Andrew Balding in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes after Inspiral was taken out, in what promises to be another intriguing one-mile clash.
The Aidan O’Brien-trained Paddington beat him nearly four lengths in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot and he seeks a fifth Group One win after his unbeaten run came to an end at the hands of Mostahdaf at York.
Tahiyra adds further spice, with Dermot Weld’s filly having won the Irish 1,000 Guineas, Coronation and Matron Stakes on her last three starts.
Nashwa runs over a mile instead of tackling the Champion Stakes, with Big Rock and Facteur Cheval both leading contenders for the French.
The Dettori-ridden Kinross faces 14 in defence of his British Champions Sprint title, although Commonwealth and July Cup hero Shaquille is a notable absentee in the six-furlong contest.
The Qipco British Champions Fillies & Mares Stakes has 14 contenders, with Free Wind another likely favourite for Dettori, who also rides Trawlerman in the opening Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup.
The two-mile affair is the only Group Two on the card but it has drawn a quality line-up with Trueshan bidding for a fourth win in the race for Alan King, although he will have to contend with last year’s Gold Cup winner Kyprios and Lonsdale Cup scorer Coltrane in a field of eight.
Commonwealth Cup and July Cup hero Shaquille was not declared for Saturday’s Qipco British Champions Sprint at Ascot as connections are not completely satisfied with his well being.
Julie Camacho’s three-year-old has been one of the stars of the season, winning his first four starts of the campaign including his top-level victories at Royal Ascot and Newmarket during the summer.
He blotted his copybook in the Sprint Cup at Haydock last month – but following a pleasing racecourse gallop at York last week, hopes were high he could show his true colours on Qipco Champions Day.
However, Shaquille will not be making the trip to Berkshire.
Steve Brown, Camacho’s husband and assistant, said: “He wasn’t just tracking through as normal behind with his movement.
“It looks minimal, but given the ground conditions, which are obviously going to be pretty testing, we’re just not prepared to take any chances with him. It’s as simple as that really.”
With options running out, Brown confirmed Shaquille will “probably not” run again this year, while no final decision has been made on the colt’s longer-term future.
Connections of Inspiral will consider a trip to the Breeders’ Cup for their star filly after deciding against running in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot on Saturday.
John and Thady Gosden’s four-year-old was a brilliant winner of the Sun Chariot at Newmarket two weeks ago, her fifth victory at Group One level following previous triumphs in the Fillies’ Mile, the Coronation Stakes and back-to-back wins in the Prix Jacques le Marois.
Owner-breeders Cheveley Park Stud were keen on another tilt at the QEII after failing to fire in the race 12 months ago – but with conditions in Berkshire sure to be testing, Inspiral will sidestep Qipco Champions Day and a decision on both her short and long-term future will be made soon.
“We’ve obviously been monitoring the weather and the rain that’s fallen. I know John Gosden walked the track yesterday (Wednesday), there’s been a subsequent 12 millimetres and it looks like there’s more to come,” said Cheveley Park’s managing director Chris Richardson.
“As we know when she ran on soft ground in the Sussex at Goodwood in the summer, Frankie looked after her as it wasn’t the sort of performance she was enjoying.
“The decision now is whether the Breeders’ Cup (Filly & Mare Turf) is an option. John is going to speak to Mrs Thompson about it and then we’ll know more, but it’s very much up to her to decide whether she wants the filly to go to America.
“They’re liaising between them and there’s decisions to be made on whether she runs again this year and whether she’s kept in training next year.
“She’s a wonderful filly, Mrs Thompson is the owner of the horse and will make the decision.”
England take on Australia on Friday in their first-ever meeting of the WXV, a new tournament that promises to “revolutionise the women’s international rugby landscape”.
Organisers hope it will act as a “springboard” for the 2025 World Cup, which will be hosted in six venues across England, helping to ensure the expanded 16-team tournament is the most competitive yet.
Here, the PA news agency breaks down how the WXV works.
What is the competition format?
The WXV consists of 18 teams divided into three individual competitions: WXV 1, WXV 2 and WXV 3. The top division, WXV 1, includes the top three Women’s Six Nations finishers and the top three from the cross-regional tournament which includes USA, Canada, New Zealand and Australia.
England, who won their 19th and fifth consecutive Six Nations title in 2023, are in the top tier alongside Australia, Wales, Canada, New Zealand and France.
Scotland, whose tournament started on Friday, play alongside Italy, Japan, South Africa, Samoa and USA in the second-tier WXV 2, while Ireland are in the WXV 3 with Colombia, Fiji, Kazakhstan, Kenya and Spain.
The six teams in each competition are further broken down into two three-team pools and only take on teams in the other pool – a “cross-pool format” – to determine rankings at the end of the tournament. Should teams finish level on points, there are a series of tie-breakers beginning with the result of any matches played between the tied teams.
Is there relegation between the levels?
For at least the inaugural season there will be no relegation from WXV 1, but the bottom WXV 2 side will drop to WXV 3, which will see its top side promoted.
Whoever finishes bottom in WXV 3 will face a play-off with the next-highest side in the World Rugby rankings, with the winner booking a place in WXV 3 the subsequent season.
How does this affect World Cup qualification?
While England are already assured of 2025 qualification as both tournament hosts and as 2021 World Cup semi-finalists, the 2024 edition of WXV will serve as a final chance for teams who have not managed to qualify by any other regional means, with a minimum of the top-five ranked sides at the end of that tournament also assuring themselves a place.
Because the Red Roses were 2021 World Cup runners-up, there should be six places up for grabs come the end of the 2024 WXV.
Where are the matches taking place?
One innovation of the WXV is that each tier participates in a standalone tournament in a single location over the course of three weeks. The inaugural WXV will be hosted across New Zealand, with Cape Town welcoming the WXV 2 and Dubai the WXV 3.
There are some obvious advantages to this format. As women’s rugby aims to narrow the gap between its historically dominant nations – some of whom in recent years have turned fully-professional – and those who are still catching up, guaranteeing at least three Tests per year against competition performing at a similar level is a welcome prospect.
So, too, will be the decision to host each competition in a single location, allowing teams to maximise their long-distance travel rather than flying across the world to meet just a single opponent.
The “event”-like nature of the tournaments and rotating hosts should also allow organisers to capitalise on regional excitement and enthusiasm and, ideally, bring more women’s rugby fans into the fold.
Will it be aired?
ITV will air all three England and Wales matches on ITVX, with S4C also showing the Wales games.
Victor Wembanyama overcame a slow start to score 15 points in 21 minutes as the San Antonio Spurs posted a 117-103 preseason victory over the Houston Rockets on Wednesday.
The No. 1 draft pick missed all five of his shots from the field in the first half but made 7 of 8 from the free throw line. He hit 3 of 5 shots in the second half, including a pair of 3-pointers, and finished with six rebounds and two blocks.
Devin Vassell scored 25 points with five 3s and Zach Collins had 11 points, nine rebounds and three assists for San Antonio.
Houston’s Amen Thompson, the fourth overall pick in June’s draft, was limited to five points in 21 minutes.
Curry's late 3 lifts Warriors
Stephen Curry drained a long 3-pointer – his eighth of the game - with 5.5 seconds remaining to cap the Golden State Warriors’ 116-115 comeback win over the Sacramento Kings.
Curry scored 16 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter as the Warriors erased an 18-point deficit.
Jonathan Kuminga had 18 points and Andrew Wiggins added 16 for Golden State, now 4-0 in the preseason.
De’Aaron led the Kings with 25 points and Keegan Murray had 24.
Poole scores 41 in Wizards' win
In New York, Jordan Poole poured in 41 points with six 3-pointers in the Washington Wizards’ 131-106 rout of the New York Knicks.
Poole, entering his first season with Washington after four with Golden State, hit 10 of 19 shots and sank 15 of 16 free throws – in three quarters – as the Wizards improved to 3-0 in the preseason.
Julius Randle led the Knicks with 20 points and 10 rebounds.
Yordan Alvarez and Martin Maldonado each had two-run singles and the Houston Astros roughed up Max Scherzer in an 8-5 victory on Wednesday to cut their deficit in the AL Championship Series to 2-1.
Jose Altuve homered and Maurico Dubon added three hits for Houston, which rebounded on the road after losing the first two games at home.
The defending World Series champion Astros will try to even the best-of-seven series in Game 4 on Thursday.
Josh Jung hit a pair of two-run homers, but Texas suffered its first postseason loss in eight games.
Scherzer, making his first start in more than a month, lasted only four innings after allowing five runs and five hits with one walk and four strikeouts.
Cristian Javier was far more effective, yielding two runs and three hits in 5 2/3 innings.
He extended his postseason scoreless streak to 20 1/3 innings before it ended in the fifth on Jung’s first home run.
Hector Neris surrendered Jung’s second home run before Bryan Abreu gave up a run in the eighth on Adolis Garcia’s RBI single.
Ryan Pressly pitched the ninth and got Jung to hit into a game-ending double play for his third save this postseason.
The Las Vegas Aces have won back-to-back WNBA titles by beating New York Liberty in four games.
The Aces, the first team to defend the crown since 2002, took the fourth game in New York 70-69 to seal a 3-1 series victory.
With the sides level at 64-64, Jackie Young and Aja Wilson put the Aces six points up with one minute 26 seconds left on the clock.
New York cut that to a single point, but were unable to land the winning basket on the buzzer.
Wilson, who finished with 24 points and 16 rebounds, was named the MVP of the Finals series.
Only the Los Angeles Sparks in 2002 and Houston Comets, who took the title from 1997-2000, have previously managed back-to-back championships.
Nicole Aiken-Pinnock, head coach of Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls concedes that without some the team’s best players, campaigning in next month’s Fast5 World Series Netball Tournament in New Zealand next month will be challenge.
However, she believes the coaching staff will get the available players ready for what are expected to be stern tests against Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Malawi and England in New Zealand.
Jamaica recently named its team for the tournament set for November 11-12 and notably absent were the experienced Shamera Sterling and Latanya Wilson, key defensive stalwarts for reigning Suncorp Super Netball champions Adelaide Thunderbirds. Also missing is Jhaniele Fowler, arguably the best shooter in the world, who represents the 2022 Super League champions West Coast Fever.
However, the team that will be led by New South Wales Swifts’ star shooter Romelda Aiken-George will include Adean Thomas, Gezelle Allison, Theresa Beckford, stand out U21 player Amanda Pinkney, Kimone Shaw, Crystal Plummer, Abigale Sutherland and former England U21 Rhea Dixon, the Loughborough Lightning attacking player, who recently became eligible to represent Jamaica.
Aiken-Pinnock revealed that the players have been undergoing rigorous training in preparation for the campaign.
"Fast 5 is tough,” she explained. “I have been to so many Fast 5s as a player and it’s really challenging. You’re playing five teams over two days. Even though it is a shortened version of the game, it still requires a lot more thinking. You truly have to understand what is it that you're about. You have to be ready at all times. So there is a lot that is required of you. There's no trying to feel sorry for yourself. So we're trying our best with the resources, with everything that we possibly have with the players.”
Providing some insight into how tough the sessions have been, Aiken-Pinnock drew reference to a shooter Gezelle Allison, who is returning to the national set up since giving birth to her first child mere months ago.
“Saturday morning we had a training session and literally we pushed them. We really, really pushed them a lot,” Aiken Pinnock revealed.
“I remember Gezelle, she was down on her knees and she was like “Coach” because it was really tough. They found this session to be one that was really, really tough for them. And I just had to remind them that this is exactly how you're going to be feeling when you get there. So they we have to bring them through the regime of what will be.”
Turning her attention to the absence of the defensive stars Sterling and Wilson, Aiken-Pinnock explained that after a busy schedule that included the Netball World Cup and the Suncorp Super Netball League, the players requested the time off.
"The senior girls, after the world championship they really needed the time off the rest and recover and we know how well all of them play Down Under and so they're also have to get their recovery in and going back down to their job. So we have to take all of that into consideration,” the coach explained.
"They have requested the time off from the association there's nothing we can do about that. And so for me, I try not to spend too much time thinking about that situation that because we can't fix that. So we just have to ensure that we pay close attention to the ladies who we are going to be working with and trying to get the best out of them so that they can perform and represent Jamaica.”
What this means is that the defensive players in the squad have big shoes to fill but the coach expressed confidence that they will deliver.
"So we definitely don't have any of our experienced defenders who would have gone to World Championship or any of the players who are playing Down Under. In terms of the defensive line up, definitely it's a challenge but we have to have faith in the ladies that we have and so while the time frame for preparation is also very short we are putting in as much work as we can,” she said.
“We have Kimone Shaw, she was at the World Championship in the squad of 15 as a reserve and she too went to the CAC Games. There's Teresa Beckford and Abigail Linton. So we just have to work on the confidence of these ladies and just getting them to be a bit more aware, getting them to be hungrier, getting their netball marks up and ready for what is to come.”
Linton will be playing in her first Fast 5 team but was a member of the Sunshine Girls gold-medal winning team at the CAC Games earlier this year.
Aiken-Pinnock shared her thoughts on what Dixon will bring to the Sunshine Girls line-up. The former England 21 qualifies to represent Jamaica through her grandmother with the move sanctioned by World Netball.
Aiken-Pinnock said she brings significant skills to the set up and has been working hard to achieve the required fitness standards.
"She put her hand up about expressing an interest in representing Jamaica. She has gone through interviews and that sort of thing. We have met with her, we have discussed with her. She's actually in training too at the moment. She has been in training for a little while too,” the former player turned coach revealed.
"It's an opportunity that I'm sure she's grateful for and she and she's very much excited about it. We just have to give her that platform for her to showcase her skills and wanting to represent Jamaica."
Aiken-Pinnock revealed that the Loughborough Lightning player, who is likely to be a starter, has been spent the past few weeks in the United Kingdom preparing for the competition.
“She's been training for a little while, weeks, because one of the things that we have done with her is that there's a test, a fitness test that she basically has to do on a weekly basis, just like our girls. She recorded herself doing the tests. She's in commission mode, not at the elite level in England, but I know that she's representing her university at the moment.
" She did pretty well on the fitness tests. So it's just about maintaining that consistency until she gets here to be with us, which is in a couple of days’ time. She has some experience with regards to high level competition and I'm sure that she's going to bring that same energy and effort to the Jamaica squad.”
Ollie Chessum insists that while Saturday’s World Cup semi-final against South Africa leaves no margin for error, it is also “scary” how much England can improve.
Only England still possess an unbeaten record amongst the teams in the last four after they came through a tense encounter with dangerous Fiji to set-up a rematch of the 2019 final.
They face one of the great Springbok sides who are aiming to clinch successive world titles – an achievement only New Zealand have managed in the past – but Chessum believes the best is yet to come from Steve Borthwick’s men.
“It’s as simple as if you don’t turn up you haven’t got a shot – not against these big teams, teams in the semi-finals,” Chessum said.
“If you’re anything less than 100 per cent they’re going to walk all over you. For me I just know I’ve got a job to do and if I don’t do it I’m letting the team down.
“We know what is coming. There is an awareness of their ability, the threats that they pose.
“They play against top-class teams, they play against top players that will target them week-in, week-out and yet they are still able to do what they do. It’s our job to stop that.
“We are improving week-by-week as a group. We were in a strange place in the warm-up games in August.
“But we are starting to figure ourselves out and find our identity. We know what we bring as a team.
“The set-piece is a big part of England’s game and has been for years. And then working for each other.
“Steve has a thing of never stopping and that’s something we’re trying to do.
“We are growing as a team and I think that is a scary thing for any team. We are not the complete article yet but we are winning games.
“It’s been a real growing process and it’s not finished, but we feel like we’re more than capable of doing the job.”
Playing for a nation scarred by a history of racial division, the Springboks are driven by a powerful sense of purpose as revealed by their captain Siya Kolisi, who stated before the 2019 World Cup that “we represent something much bigger than we can imagine”.
England’s ‘why’ may be less profound, but for Chessum it is every bit as motivational heading into a match which South Africa are strong favourites to win.
“We’re doing it for ourselves. We owe it to each other. It has been a long campaign – June 12 was when the group started training. That’s a long time to be together,” Chessum said.
“We’ve seen what we’ve had to go through to get here, the hard work behind the scenes, the things that everyone does for us.
“We’re doing it for ourselves as a group, our families back home and we’re doing it for the country. We’re representing England and we take massive pride in doing that.
“The big motivating, rev-up factor for me is that I’m playing for England, I’m playing for my country at a World Cup, and we’re facing South Africa.
“Every time you’re playing for your country it shouldn’t be that hard to rev yourself up. You’ve got to rise to the challenge.”
Borthwick names his starting XV and bench at lunchtime on Thursday, with the duel between Marcus Smith and Freddie Steward at full-back the biggest talking point.
Connections have confirmed that Nashwa will run in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot on Saturday.
John and Thady Gosden’s multiple Group One winner is to be aimed at the mile contest, rather than the Qipco Champion Stakes over 10 furlongs.
Owner Imad Alsagar’s Blue Diamond Stud posted on Twitter, now known as X: “Confirmed: Nashwa will run in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes @Ascot on Saturday.”
The five-year-old secured her latest elite-level success in the Falmouth Stakes over a mile at Newmarket in July.
She has since been placed in the Nassau Stakes, the Juddmonte International and the Irish Champion Stakes, all over an extra two furlongs.
However, jockey Hollie Doyle has no fears about dropping back in distance.
She said this week: “I think she’s very versatile and very effective whatever the ground and whatever the trip.
“You need horses like her, she’s carried me now for the past two years and she always produces the goods.”
Doyle will also partner another old favourite in Trueshan in the Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup, who has won that race for the past three years.
He heads to Ascot on the back of victories in the Doncaster Cup and the Prix Du Cadran at ParisLongchamp.
“It would be pretty remarkable to do it for the fourth time but he seems better than ever, so fingers crossed,” the rider told Sky Sports Racing.
“The way the year started out, it was a bit touch and go at one point with his performances early on, but they sorted him out, found the key to him again and he’s had a new lease of life.
“In the Cadran, we found another way of being able to ride him and that’s great. I think all of my rides won’t mind any cut in the ground and he’ll be happy even if it’s a deluge.
Doyle’s Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes mount Saint Lawrence is a longshot but reported to be in fine spirits.
She added: “He won the Wokingham very nicely and he was just touched off in a Group One in France which was heartbreaking, but that was on quite slow ground, so hopefully the soft ground won’t be too much of an issue for him.
“We know he’s got a good race in him and he just needs things to fall right. He’s in excellent form, his work’s been really solid and he looks a picture.”
The Philadelphia 76ers practiced at the team's facility on Wednesday.
James Harden, meanwhile, was reportedly in Houston.
Harden skipped the team's latest training session, and has been away from the 76ers since Sunday, according to ESPN.
He attended a team meeting in New York on Sunday, but was not at Philadelphia's shootaround the next day or at Monday's game against the Brooklyn Nets.
The disgruntled star has been frustrated with 76ers president of basketball operations Daryl Morey for months and has demanded a trade since picking up his $35.6million player option for the 2023-24 season in late June.
Despite his bitterness, Harden has still been attending training camp and practices. He has yet to play in a preseason game, but said last week he could play in the 76ers' final exhibition game on Friday against the Atlanta Hawks.
First-year Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse said he didn't know why Harden was a no-show at practice, and was still expecting him to play in Friday's game.
"From the last discussions I've had with him and from everybody, yeah,” Nurse told reporters. "I'm still going on what he said the last time I talked him, that he was going to ramp up and get ready to play Friday. We'll see how it goes."
The 76ers open the regular season Thursday against the Milwaukee Bucks.
Harden's disdain for Morey all comes down to his belief that he wasn't offered a long-term max deal that he thought he deserved this past offseason.
The 2017-18 NBA MVP and three-time league scoring champion could have declined the option and become a free agent, but was hoping by exercising his option it would facilitate a trade.
Harden said last week there was no way his fractured relationship with Morey could be repaired.
While attending a promotional event in China in August, Harden eviscerated Morey, calling him a liar.
"Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organisation that he’s a part of," Harden said at the event. "Let me say that again: Daryl Morey is a liar and I will never be a part of an organisation that he’s a part of."
Harden's comments were in response to the 76ers telling Harden's agent, Mike Silverman, that Morey was unable to find a trade for the 10-time All-Star and the franchise wouldn't deal him unless it could find a trade that would help the team contend for a championship.
Acquired in a trade with the Nets in February 2022, Harden averaged 21.0 points and a league-leading 10.7 assists in 58 games last season to help the 76ers to the third-best record in the Eastern Conference.
For his career, the 34-year-old Harden has averaged 24.7 points, 5.6 rebounds, seven assists and 1.5 steals in exactly 1,000 regular-season games.
New Zealand boss Ian Foster has warned his players “not to get softened” by the acclaim which followed their thrilling World Cup win over Ireland ahead of a semi-final showdown with Argentina.
The All Blacks booked a last-four spot by upsetting Andy Farrell’s men with a pulsating 28-24 victory in Paris.
New Zealand return to Stade de France on Friday evening and are red-hot favourites to progress to a final against either England or reigning champions South Africa.
Head coach Foster feels “being patted on the back” following a statement last-eight victory over the Irish derailed the Kiwis in the 2019 tournament and is eager to avoid history repeating itself.
“The best way to recover is to refocus really quickly on what the next challenge is and not to listen too much to any praise you’re given as a group for a performance,” said Foster, who was assistant to Steve Hansen four years ago when New Zealand lost to England in the semi-finals.
“Not to go down that path, not to get softened because everyone’s patting you on the back saying you played well.
“That’s not a good place to be as a team.
“I love the way the team has buckled down, we’ve redefined the challenge for us as a group, we’re not satisfied with where we are now and when you’re clear about your goal for the week the recovery comes along pretty quickly.
“You know that if we’re not right on Friday night at Stade de France, it’s going to be a sad old night and we don’t want it to be like that.
“You get people talking to you about tomorrow and trying to take your eyes off today.
“In 2019 we probably didn’t stop being patted on the back after the quarter-final, hence some of my language today and we’re just trying to dial this back, keep things simple and let’s just worry about Friday.”
New Zealand’s starting XV shows two changes, with wing Mark Telea and lock Sam Whitelock in for Leicester Fainga’anuku and Brodie Retallick.
Telea was dropped for last weekend’s clash with Ireland due to a breach of team protocols.
Foster says the 26-year-old, who has scored three tries in the tournament, has served his punishment.
“That’s the team we think is best for this week,” he said.
“Mark’s done his time. He made a mistake, he accepted what was happening.
“But you don’t linger in that space. He’s been our form winger through this tournament and we really have a lot of faith in him and believe he’s in a good place to play this game.
“It’s a chance for us to get Mark back on the park and I know he’s excited.”
Underdogs Argentina have won two of the past seven meetings between the nations, including a landmark first success on New Zealand soil – 25-18 in Christchurch – in last year’s Rugby Championship.
Foster is braced for a “heck of a game”.
“You’ve never heard us say we’re favourites,” he said. “We know that these games are do-or-die.
“It’s the best team on the night that wins it. We know Argentina has done that to us. We’re not buying into anything about favouritism or underdogs.
“They are perhaps an underrated team worldwide that has got a really rich history of perhaps overachieving at World Cups.
“They have done a fantastic job to get here at the same level as we are. It’s going to be a heck of a game.”
Dual Champion Chase hero Energumene is likely to be out for the season, trainer Willie Mullins has revealed.
The nine-year-old, who has won 10 of his 12 appearances over fences, first tasted success at the Cheltenham Festival in 2022 and defended his Champion Chase title in imperious style earlier this year, registering a 10-length victory in the two-mile chasing feature.
He followed that up by also winning Punchestown’s version of the Champion Chase for the second year running and was widely expected to dominate the two-mile division once again over the winter.
However, Energumene – who is owned by Brighton and Hove Albion supremo Tony Bloom – is set for a spell on the sidelines having suffered an injury setback and is unlikely to get the chance to make it a hat-trick of Cheltenham Festival victories in the spring.
“Unfortunately Energumene has a hind leg injury and he will probably be out of action for the season,” Mullins told the Sporting Life.
Energumene’s absence opens up a vacancy at the top of the two-mile chasing division with Closutton stablemate and Arkle hero El Fabiolo installed as Paddy Power’s new even-money favourite for the Champion Chase next March.
Nicky Henderson’s Jonbon, second to El Fabiolo at Prestbury Park in the Arkle earlier in the year before winning at both Aintree and Sandown’s Celebration Chase, is next best at 5-1.
Ascot clerk of the course Chris Stickels feels it is “pretty likely” the races scheduled to be run on the round course at Ascot on Champions Day will take place on the inner track.
With Storm Babet set to batter the country in the coming days, the going is expected to turn testing.
Contingency plans are in place that allow officials to move the Long Distance Cup, Filly & Mares Stakes and the Champion Stakes to the inner hurdles track when situations like this arise, with switch last made in 2019.
“I walked it this afternoon with John Gosden at about 3pm when it had only just started raining and the current description is good to soft on the straight track and soft in places on the round course. We are describing the inner track as good, good to firm in places,” Stickels told Racing TV.
“If we have heavy ground on any part of the round course, we can move the round course races to the inner track and we have to decide that before 8am on Saturday.
“Looking at the forecast for Friday, I would say that is quite likely (for the races to move). I think the rain we will get overnight will turn us back to soft on the round course and maybe even if we get the top end, some heavy places on the round course.
“Thursday we might only get three to four millimetres, it is mainly a windy day but the forecast for Friday is a similar amount of rain as that we are due tonight again, so if we are not heavy in places by then, it would be highly likely to be by Friday.
“I think it would be pretty likely that we will end up on that inner track. If we can make a decision on that before 8am on Saturday that would be favourable, we’d like to make it Friday but we don’t want to be hasty and suggest that now before we have much rain.
“There is no ability to run the two races scheduled to be run over a mile and the sprint on the round course. There are no start positions and it isn’t wide enough to accommodate the scheduled 20 runners.
“It’s a shame we are a week later in the calendar this year and even today, John Gosden said if we were racing today the ground would have been perfect.”
Valvano followed in some illustrious hoofprints as he made an impressive start to his career in the British Stallion Studs EBF Maiden Stakes at Nottingham.
The top-class King Of Steel made a successful debut in a division of the the extended one-mile contest 12 months ago, while his St Leger-winning stablemate Eldar Eldarov was in the winner’s circle in 2021.
And while Valvano has a long way to go to scale those heights, the son of Night Of Thunder looks certain to go on to better things judged on this facile success in the hands of Hector Crouch.
Plenty was expected of the Ralph Beckett-trained youngster as an 8-11 favourite, but those who took the cramped odds will have had few concerns as after moving to the lead entering the final furlong, Valvano fairly sprinted clear in the testing conditions to pull six lengths clear of his toiling rivals.
Beckett, who won a division of the race with subsequent Derby participant Artistic Star last year, said of his latest victor: “He’s a nice horse who loved the ground and it was a good effort.”
On whether he could run again this season, the trainer added: “We’ll see what happens next, he could.”
Crouch was clearly impressed by the performance, telling Racing TV: “He’s very raw. He made it look straightforward because he’s got a lot of natural ability, but he took a bit of managing and organising and he’s keen to get on with things.
“He ran a little bit green, but once we straightened up he’s very talented. Amongst all the greenness he’s very responsive and he’s keen to learn.
“I think he’s got a bit of a fiery streak in him and is not short of speed, so I wouldn’t be in a rush to step him up to a mile and a quarter in his immediate future, but I’m sure he will stay that far.”
Beckett completed a quickfire double with another newcomer in the following EBF Maiden Fillies’ Stakes, with Treasure carrying the King and Queen’s colours to a clear-cut win under Ben Curtis.
“She was immaculately behaved and has a great mind. She was a little bit behind the bridle, it’s tough going out there, but she learnt as we went around,” said the jockey.
“She loved the ground and the further she went, the better she went.”
George Boughey’s Mr Alan (3-1 joint-favourite) landed the Watch Irish Racing On Racing TV Handicap for the second year in succession, pipping Belhaven by a nose under William Buick.
Hollie Doyle enjoyed a double on the card, booting home William Stone’s Tipsy Tiger (15-2) in the Join Racing TV Now Nursery and the Jack Channon-trained Desperate Hero in the Watch On Racing TV Handicap.
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