International Horse Racing

• Akmal bids for Sandown double

  Akmal will try to emulate staying greats Double Trigger and Persian Punch by landing back-to-back victories in the Henry II Stakes at Sandown on Thursday evening.

   
• Fame And Glory and Passage head Beg possibles

  Fame And Glory and Rite Of Passage feature among 12 possible runners in Sunday’s Saval Beg Stakes at Leopardstown.

   
• Mtoto dies aged 28

  Top-class racehorse and stallion Mtoto has died at the age of 28.

   
• Octet stands firm against Workforce

  Workforce, Sir Michael Stoute’s Derby and Arc hero, will face eight rivals as he makes his seasonal reappearance in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown on Thursday.

   
• Bated Breath has Ascot option

  Roger Charlton is considering a tilt at the Golden Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot with his Windsor winner Bated Breath.

   
• Jubilee beckons for Hitchens

  David Barron’s smart sprinter Hitchens is set to bid for Group One glory in the Golden Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot next month.

   
• Goldikova team hangs fire

  Connections of Goldikova are in no rush to decide whether the brilliant mare will return to Royal Ascot following her comeback victory in the Prix d’Ispahan at Longchamp on Sunday.

   
• Ground key to Turpin plans

  Connections of Dick Turpin will wait for “proper soft ground” before pitching the four-year-old back into racecourse action.

   
• So You Think marches on in Ireland

  So You Think made mincemeat of his Tattersalls Gold Cup rivals at the Curragh, in Ireland on Sunday, to tee up a crack at the prestigious Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Ascot in June.

   
• Gitano Hernando now a Melbourne Cup prospect

  A genuine Melbourne Cup chance has emerged from England via Dubai, Hong Kong and Singapore in the shape of a horse trained by a South African and owned by the president of Chechnya.

   
• Rocket Man to challenge Black Caviar

  Patrick Shaw and his star Singapore sprinter Rocket Man have thrown down the challenge to Australia’s world champion Black Caviar, with the trainer declaring his horse “clearly better”.

   
• Guineas glory for Team O’Brien

  Joseph O’Brien achieved a landmark first Classic success just two days before his 18th birthday on Roderic O’Connor trained by his father Aidan in the Irish 2000 Guineas at the Curragh.

   
• Sole Powers Clear In Temple

  Sole Power has bounced back to his best form to land the Temple Stakes at Haydock as the “Budapest Bullet” Overdose failed to fire.

   
• Freddie Head hoping for Golden return

  Freddie Head’s wonder mare Goldikova bids to show she has lost none of her considerable talent when she makes her seasonal reappearance in the Prix d’Ispahan at Longchamp on Sunday.

   
• Animal Kingdom primed for Preakness Stakes

  Animal Kingdom won’t be sneaking up on anyone – even coming from behind.

   
• So You Think picks up Gold gauntlet

  So You Think will face just four rivals as he bids to open his Group One account in the northern hemisphere in Sunday’s Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh.

   
• Bullet firing on all cylinders

  Andreas Suborics is excited about partnering Hungarian speedball Overdose in Saturday’s Temple Stakes at Haydock.

   
• Michael Freedman at home in Singapore

  When Michael Freedman left Australia to take up training in Singapore, he was venturing largely into the unknown.

   
• Animal Kingdom favourite for Preakness Stakes

  Kentucky Derby winner Animal Kingdom is the 2-1 favourite to claim the second leg of US racing’s triple crown, the Preakness Stakes.

   
• Wigmore Hall back on track for Cup

  English stayer Wigmore Hall is over a minor scare and firmly back on track for the Singapore International Cup on Sunday.