Who is the best jockey in the world right now? With a nod to a popular Danish lager, Brian O’Connor says: “Ryan Moore….. probably”.
After witnessing the Englishman’s “mini-masterclass of flint-eyed calculation” on board Auguste Rodin in last Saturday’s Derby, Brian concludes that “watching him ride this season is to watch a supreme sporting talent at the peak of their powers”.
In Gaelic games, Joe Canning, a bit of a supreme talent himself in his playing days, looks ahead to Sunday’s Munster and Leinster hurling finals. While Limerick’s form has, he says, improved of late, he wouldn’t be surprised if their meeting with Clare went all the way to penalties. And he’s predicting a Kilkenny four-in-a-row in Leinster ... if Galway’s Cathal Mannion and Brian Concannon aren’t fit to start.
Ian O’Riordan, meanwhile, talks to New York’s Tiernan Mathers ahead of their Tailteann Cup preliminary quarter-final against Carlow, the team still on a high after that famous victory over Leitrim in the Bronx at Easter.
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Joanne O’Riordan tells us about the efforts to drive the amalgamation of the Camogie Association, the GAA and the Ladies Gaelic Football Association, talking to Conor Meyler, one of three academics who worked on a policy brief setting out proposals for how this can be achieved.
And Seán Moran brings news of an event at the Royal Irish Academy next week where “Ireland and the Covid-19 pandemic” will be discussed by a number of panels, among them one examining how the GAA coped through it all.
In soccer, Gavin Cummiskey looks at how the Football Association of Ireland intends on spending the €517 million over 15 years in funding that it is seeking from the Government, the chief target to improve “chronically outdated facilities across the country”.
Gavin also tells us about the increase in prize money for this summer’s women’s World Cup, with players now guaranteed at least €28,000 from participation. But which 23 Irish players will be on the plane to Australia? Vera Pauw’s task in choosing that squad is an unenviable one.
PS If subscribers to our rugby newsletter The Counter Ruck are wondering why it’s disappeared, it’s taking a break for the next month after a hectic season. Fear not, its contributors aren’t on a beach with their buckets and spades, they’re undergoing strength and conditioning work ahead of the new season and that World Cup business in September. They will return toned and ready for action.
Telly watch: Carlos Alcaraz against Novak Djokovic in the French Open semi-finals (Eurosport, 1.45)? Ah here, mouth-watering. And that’s followed by the meeting of Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud. Sky Sports Golf continues its coverage of the Canadian Open (5.0-11.0) while in athletics, BBC3 brings us the Paris IAAF Diamond League (8.0 – 10.0). The meeting boasts a star-jammed field, the women’s 5000m alone featuring four world record holders.
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