Field Of Gold lights up Flat season by racing to Guineas favouritism

It is 21 years since the winner of Newmarket’s Craven Stakes followed up in the 2,000 Guineas over the same course and distance two‑and‑a‑half weeks later, and 34 years since Mystiko took the Free Handicap at the Craven meeting – a Classic trial that no longer exists – and went on to become the last grey to win the first colts’ Classic.Every statistic, though, is in the queue to be broken, and John and Thady Gosden’s Field Of Gold is the new 7-2 favourite to snap both sequences at once after a convincing success in the Craven Stakes here on Wednesday.On paper this looked like an unusually open running of the Craven and the market struggled to find a favourite before settling on Field Of Gold, at 100-30, just before the start. He travelled smoothly for Kieran Shoemark towards the near side before a sharp turn of foot carried him into the lead with just under a furlong to run, and Field Of Gold then extended his advantage to three-and-a-half lengths at the post.It was a second success in a major 2,000 Guineas trial in the space of five days for the Juddmonte bloodstock operation, as Andrew Balding’s Jonquil, who was with the now‑retired Sir Michael Stoute as a two-year-old, took the Greenham Stakes at Newbury on Saturday

A Boat Race ritual that would bring me joy | Brief letters

I enjoyed the picture of a jubilant Cambridge women’s crew after their tradition dunking of their cox in your print edition (Water winners, 14 April) and congratulate you on choosing to highlight the winning women’s crew rather than the men’s. However, I’d have enjoyed it even more had the image been of the dunking of the entire board of Thames Water in recognition of its outstanding contribution to the fouling of the planet.Anne JohnsDerby Eighteen people in two boats on the Thames have, for nearly 100 years, enjoyed unprecedented national broadcast coverage. In two weeks’ time in the Isles of Scilly, 130 boats with 442 international crews comprising over 2,600 people will compete in the World Pilot Gig Championships, and will barely feature on the local news. Welcome to the “classless” UK

Hampshire’s Barker to return in July after year-long ban for failed drug test

Hampshire’s Keith Barker has said he “feared for the loss of my career” during a nine-month wait to learn his punishment for a failed drug test caused by what he described as “a genuine administrative error”.Barker has been cleared to return to professional cricket on 4 July, 12 months after he was told he had tested positive for the prohibited substance indapamide, which he had been prescribed to treat high blood pressure, and provisionally suspended. The length of his ban was decided last month and announced on Wednesday, one week short of 11 months after he took the out-of-competition test.“Over the last nine months I have been part of a very tense, very gruelling process leading to the results of my hearing,” the 38-year-old said. “Having been forced to step away from my career and the sport I have loved since I was a young child due to a genuine administrative error has been mentally taxing and left me fearing for the loss of my career

Ju Wenjun outclasses rival Tan Zhongyi to retain women’s world chess title

Ju Wenjun has once again proven herself the undisputed queen of the chessboard.On Wednesday in Chongqing, the 34-year-old Chinese grandmaster clinched the 2025 Fide Women’s World Championship, defeating compatriot and longtime rival Tan Zhongyi by a commanding score of 6½–2½. With the victory, Ju becomes only the fourth woman in history to win the title five times, joining a storied class that includes Vera Menchik, Nona Gaprindashvili and Maia Chiburdanidze.The best-of-12-games match ended with three contests to spare after Ju secured a calm, risk-free draw in game nine to punctuate a stretch of four straight wins that all but sealed the result. She takes home the winner’s purse of €300,000 ($340,580) while Tan earns €200,000

Lois Boisson pokes fun at Harriet Dart ‘deodorant’ jibe on social media

French tennis player Lois Boisson has responded to Harriet Dart’s on-court claim that “she smells really bad” with a social media post that pokes fun at the incident.During a change of ends in Tuesday’s match at the Rouen Open, Dart asked the umpire: “Can you tell her [Boisson] to wear deodorant because she smells really bad?” Her comments were picked up by a courtside microphone and quickly attracted attention and criticism on social media.Dart later apologised on Instagram for the comments made during her 6-0, 6-3 defeat by Boisson, who responded on the same platform. The 21-year-old posted an edited image of herself on court holding a can of Dove deodorant. “@dove apparently need a collab,” wrote the Frenchwoman, accompanied by two laughing emojis

The Spin | In defence of the draw: why Ben Stokes and England should take note

The Bazball win-or-bust mantra has proven successful but it is time for captain to embrace grey in black and white world“A tie is like kissing your sister,” Edward J Erdelatz said to the New York Times in 1954. Erdelatz was the United States Navy’s head football coach and his side had just drawn 0-0 against Duke University. “No one asked the mild spoken navy coach to explain,” the report adds. Well, quite. But sister or not, everyone knew what he meant