Shenanigans in store
SHENANIGANS will not be winning out of turn if coming good in the Weatherbys General Stud Book Pipalong Stakes at Pontefract.
Roger Varian’s filly was thoroughly impressive in decent handicaps at Goodwood and Newmarket last summer, before rounding off her campaign with a perfectly respectable runner-up finish on the Rowley Mile.
Although she has failed to add to her tally of three career wins after three starts this season, she has actually enhanced her reputation, filling the runner-up spot in Listed events at Kempton and Goodwood and placing third in the Group Three Princess Elizabeth Stakes at Epsom last month.
That latest effort was arguably a career-best and the form looks rock solid with the winner Wilamina having since run a blinder at Royal Ascot.
Shenanigans has her sights lowered a shade for her latest assignment and looks sure to give her backers a good run for their money.
Highly Sprung bids to complete a course and distance hat-trick in the King Richard III Handicap.
Having already won five races during a three-season spell with Mark Johnston, the five-year-old joined Les Eyre last October after being snapped up for a relatively modest 13,000 guineas.
Although his first two efforts for his new connections were nothing to write home about, he looked to relish the drop to six furlongs on a fast surface when scoring here last month and proved that was no flash in the pan when following up in some style a week ago.
Given the manner of that victory, he can expect a significant rise in the weights, so it is no surprise Eyre has decided to turn him out quickly under the 6lb penalty.
With champion jockey Silvestre de Sousa on his back, Highly Sprung will take plenty of beating.
Gainsay can continue a fine season by landing the Bet Online Now! starsports. bet Fillies’ Handicap at Brighton.
The Jonathan Portman-trained threeyear-old has already struck gold three times in 2018, including an emphatic course and distance success at the end of May.
She is 12lb higher in the weights on her return to the seaside, but only 5lb higher than when winning at Lingfield last time out. JOHN Stones says a proven strength in adversity has united the England squad ahead of their World Cup semi-final against Croatia in Moscow on Wednesday.
Celebrity endorsements and millionaire wages mask the reality that Stones and the majority of his teammates had to overcome significant battles to reach the professional game at all.
In the case of Stones it meant being held back and told to prove himself in lower-age teams before he was finally handed his first professional contract with Barnsley in 2011.
Stones told England’s ‘Lion’s Den’ podcast: “I’ve been through some tough patches when I was younger when I was 14 or 15 I had to play with the age below and it took its toll.
“I had to stick at it but I never gave up and stopped believing in myself.
“People don’t realise - they might see that everything is going in one direction but when you’re younger there’s a lot of things that happen and a lot of adversity to overcome.”
Stones believes the remarkable bond which has been forged within Gareth Southgate’s squad - with the encouragement of the manager - has also proved crucial in defying pretournament expectations to reach the last four.
“We’ve worked hard on getting to know each other off the pitch and creating that togetherness and understanding with each other,” added Stones.
“He (Southgate) has been a big part of that and wanting us to spend an extra 10 minutes getting to know each other and creating a bond that you don’t normally get with everyone spending so much time at your club - and for me that’s been a massive factor.
“I’ve been there going out to the pubs to watch England back in the day and it’s surreal to see everyone doing that. We’re putting the smile back on people’s faces and making them feel proud about England again.”
Meanwhile birthday boy Ashley Young is hoping to end the holiday of a lifetime with a World Cup winners’ medal.
“I think not just the players but the staff behind the scenes, making the hotel feel like you are at home - pictures of family in rooms, things to do in the hotel,” said Young, who missed a penalty in the quarter-final shootout defeat to Italy at Euro 2012.
“If you said to any player that we were going to be together for seven weeks, there was a lot of talk of being bored, but it’s not like that at all.
“It’s felt like a good holiday we’ve been on, and we’re enjoying every moment of it. No boredom at all.
“Everyone gets on well and if you’ve got that off the pitch you can take that onto the pitch. Fans, staff, players, everyone can see how well we click together.”
There is a spirit among a squad low in terms of international experience but brimming with confidence and potential.
Young is the oldest member of Southgate’s group and turned 33 on Monday, but the celebrations are on hold - just as they were after the comfortable 2-0 quarter-final win against Sweden.
“We haven’t won anything yet so there’s no point in celebrating,” the attack-minded left-back said.
“It was nice to get the victory but I think the celebrations were muted because there’s still big games to come up.
“There’s still a lot to play for. I’ve said all along that the team spirit we have got here has been fantastic and I think you see that in the way we celebrate after a game.
“We get ourselves back to the hotel, recover, prepare the right way and go for the next game.”
Young believes England have a “great chance” to go on and win the World Cup this week, but there is little chance of Southgate’s men taking semi-final opponents Croatia lightly.
“I think it is one of them things as a kid that you always dream of playing in a World Cup and you dream of winning the World Cup,” the Manchester United man said.
“But we are not going to get too far ahead of ourselves and get carried away.
“The boys’ feet are on the ground and everyone is pulling in the same way.
“We have just got to prepare in the same way as we have for all other games. It’s another game coming up and that is how we have got to see it.
“Croatia are a very good team. They are not in the semi-final for no reason. Obviously, we’ve got to be prepared for them.
“They have the likes of Luka Modric in the team - he’s a fantastic player - but they have other players around the squad that are going to be difficult opponents.”