Race fitness is anticipated to be the primary advantage Midnight Dynamite carries into his Missile Stakes confrontation with the more highly rated sprinters Angel Capital and Napoleonic, although this edge will be somewhat offset by a reduction in distance.

Having been among the standout performers of the Sydney winter racing season, Midnight Dynamite secured Listed victories in the Civic Stakes (1400m) and the Winter Challenge (1500m), while also achieving a black-type placing in between these events.

Trainer Bjorn Baker made the decision to keep him in work, considering the option of stretching him to a mile in Friday’s Coffs Harbour Cup, or alternatively, freshening him for the Group 2 Missile Stakes (1200m), ultimately settling on the latter.

“We toyed with the idea of running him over a bit further in the Coffs Cup, but just timing-wise and with him being deep into a ‘prep’, we’d rather freshen him and bring him back to the 1200 than go up in trip,” Baker’s racing manager, Luke Hilton, said.

“He’s in great order. The gate is a big advantage now. He can settle in the first half of a field and if he’s sharp enough, I don’t think they’re going to run past him on fitness.”

With the exception of Way To The Stars, who is making his second appearance of the season, Midnight Dynamite’s remaining competitors are all resuming from a spell.

The five-year-old gelding has an undefeated record over the 1200m at Randwick, having won his sole start over the course and distance. Hilton confirmed that the horse is in excellent condition and mentally sharp heading into Saturday’s race.

“He’s in a great frame of mind after his last win. We backed right off him for a week, and we’ve built him back up slowly. He looks fantastic,” he reported.

“His work on Tuesday was probably as sharp as I’ve seen him this preparation.

“It’s hard to go to a race like that confident, but I’m confident the horse is as good as he can be.”

Midnight Dynamite, currently at $9, leads a team of five runners for Baker. Amazing Eagle ($4) is considered the stable’s premier chance for victory in the Ranvet Handicap (1000m).

This five-year-old gelding, who was the victor of the 2024 Brian Crowley Stakes (1100m), was purchased as a tried horse by syndicators Darby Racing – a similar acquisition to Midnight Dynamite – and will be aiming to secure his first win for his new ownership group.

Stardeel ($21) is the most unfancied of Baker’s runners, having performed below expectations in two starts since his impressive first-up win at Rosehill in May.

Hilton noted that the horse had valid excuses for his subsequent run but ultimately underperformed last time, leading them to adopt a slightly different strategy to encourage a return to his best form.

“We rode him back last start and thought he had a good run in the race, but he didn’t really finish it off. He’s better than that. We’ve seen it,” Hilton stated.

“We’ve tried to space his runs a touch more into this race and give him three weeks. Hopefully it might spark something.

“He’s got a good gate where he’ll have no excuses and do no work, so he’s really got to step up to the mark because he has been a head scratcher.”

Consider placing a bet on the Missile Stakes at your preferred online bookmakers.

They are known as “The Incomparables”, a nickname to daunt a group of successors that will find themselves inevitably compared. When Dave Rennie unveiled his New Zealand squad for the tour of South Africa, present were a selection of the 1996 All Blacks who, 30 years ago, conquered the reigning world champion Springboks in their own back yard and launched rugby union’s professional age. Three decades on, the echoes of that series still sound; again, this much-anticipated meeting of men’s rugby’s two ruling powers carries with it a significance beyond simply the sport at its centre.

For while four Tests between the southern hemisphere heavyweights whet the appetite, this is as much a venture born out of mutual commercial benefit as any great demand for more meetings between the pair. Indeed, there is a degree of rankling resentment at the manner in which the two unions have broken away from the Rugby Championship, a competition that has found new life in recent years. But these encounters, titled “Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry”, carry all the hallmarks of that term – genuine history, genuine hostility, genuine best-of-the-best feel.

“With eight matches in six weeks, including a four-Test series against the Springboks, this would have to be the toughest tour in rugby,” All Blacks coach Dave Rennie said. “Every player will be required to play their part across this tour, whether it’s preparing to play or helping their mates prepare.

“It will be an intense seven weeks of touring but an excellent opportunity for us to pit ourselves against the current benchmark team in world rugby, and to build connections with each other in a way that only a tour of this scale can do.”

There will be touring teams of old that may scoff at the schedule facing the All Blacks but this is a gruelling itinerary for modern times. New Zealand will criss-cross the Rainbow Nation with four games against the United Rugby Championship (URC) franchises interspersed among four fully-fledged Tests, with half of each played at altitude. They will not need reminding of the strength and depth of South African rugby, or the hunger of those on the fringes to force their way into Springboks contention.

Still, though, it feels as if these All Blacks have plenty to prove. There were encouraging early signs at the start of the Rennie regime in July’s Nations Championship fixtures, but New Zealand are clearly playing catch-up after two ultimately wasted years under Scott Robertson. An initial evolution is clear – more ball in play, less kicking, more expression – but one can easily fall back on bad habits against a side like South Africa. Successive sides and successive head coaches have been destabilised by galling days against the Springboks: Mbombela in 2022; Twickenham in 2023; Wellington, most strikingly, last year. Five of the last six meetings, including the World Cup final, have gone South Africa’s way.

There is a difference here to 1996: then, South Africa’s World Cup success a year prior had felt a shock sprung in part by a unique confluence of political and personal motivation. Now, the Springboks are clearly the world’s best, and at the forefront of the rugby’s orthodoxy – a position occupied by their tourists for most of the last three decades. It can be seen in the board rooms and back rooms that govern the game.

Senior figures at World Rugby have noted that at their most recent “Shape of the Game” conference in south-west London, it was Rassie Erasmus to whom the room generally looked when the Springboks supremo was present; Felix Jones, his whip-smart assistant and key lieutenant, has also been described as a prominent voice of late.

A strong delegation from the South African hierarchy was out in force in March for that conference amid suggestions of a push to de-power the scrum and maul from other areas of the game. World Rugby denied any such talks taking place – and a key takeaway from the conference was a moratorium of sorts on the type of rule tweaking and tinkering that has been too common within the sport – but a slight schism over the future has opened up.

Where South Africa and France, particularly, boast relatively buoyancy at Test and domestic level, Australia and New Zealand perhaps feel rugby union is under greater duress, with the continuing threat of the NRL’s largesse again creating headlines in the Pacific in recent weeks. More than 30 years since the dawn of professionalism, rugby union is still figuring out how best to sell itself.

It is notable that Mark Robinson, the former CEO of NZ Rugby, has stepped in to an overarching role with the global governing body as the organisation sets a subtly different direction over a crucial period leading up to two World Cups in the United States.

This is a key series in that regard, with the fourth Test held in Baltimore – a city likely to be a strong contender to host games at those tournaments. Commercially, there is significance here, too, with the Springboks known to be keen to build their global brand in a manner similar to that of the All Blacks. As previously detailed, though, NZ Rugby is not necessarily flush with cash – for each, four marquee and lucrative Tests like these are timely.

It is perhaps fitting that the first match of the All Blacks’ tour, against the Stormers on Friday night, takes place in Cape Town. New Zealand boast significant support in the city dating back to the days of apartheid, when many from the Cape Coloured community turned away from the all-white Springboks.

A shared kinship was further established during the 1981 South Africa tour to New Zealand, which was met with strong protests. Into that rich historical tapestry more thread is about to be woven.

Nigeria’s representatives in the 2026/27 CAF Champions League, Rangers International and Rivers United, have discovered the teams standing between them and a place in the lucrative group stage.

The draws for the preliminary rounds were conducted by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) in Cairo on Thursday, with both Nigerian clubs handed different challenges.

Rivers United, who have a stronger CAF ranking from their recent performances in continental competitions, have been seeded for the competition.

The Port Harcourt club, ranked 24th in Africa with 15 CAF coefficient points, will face Côte d’Ivoire’s FC San Pedro in the first preliminary round.

Rivers United will be favourites on paper, with FC San Pedro ranked 60th in CAF’s latest club coefficient standings.

If Rivers United progress, they will face either Uganda’s Vipers SC or Mauritania’s FC Nouadhibou in the second preliminary round, with a place in the group stage at stake.

For Rangers International, the road to the group stage looks more difficult.

The reigning Nigeria Premier Football League champions were not seeded because of their lower CAF ranking and have been drawn against Benin Republic champions SOBEMAP.

The Enugu-based club must overcome the West African side to set up a second-round meeting with either Niger Republic’s ASN Nigelec or Algerian giants MC Alger.

The preliminary draw featured 61 clubs, three short of the 64 required for a full Round of 64.

As a result, CAF gave automatic places in the second preliminary round to the three highest-ranked clubs: South Africa’s Mamelodi Sundowns, Tunisia’s Espérance and Morocco’s RS Berkane.

The other 58 clubs will compete in the first preliminary round, with the 29 winners joining the three exempted clubs in the second round.

CAF based the seeding on each club’s coefficient ranking, which is calculated from their performances in continental competitions over the last five seasons. Geographical proximity was also considered to help reduce travel costs and other logistical challenges.

Elsewhere, defending champions Mamelodi Sundowns will face either Angola’s Wiliete Benguela or Seychelles’ Foresters FC.

Espérance will meet the winner between Libya’s Swehly SC and KVZ FC, while RS Berkane will face either Sierra Leone’s Star Sport Academy or Gambia’s Medina United.

Egyptian giants Zamalek could face DR Congo’s Les Aigles du Congo or Rwanda’s APR FC, while fellow Egyptian side Pyramids will meet either South Sudan’s El Merriekh Bentiu or Somalia’s Heegan FC.

Tanzania’s Simba SC will play either Angola’s 15 de Agosto or Comoros’ Fomboni FC. Their rivals Young Africans will face the winner of the preliminary tie involving Madagascar’s CFFA, Lesotho’s Lijabatho FC and Botswana’s Gaborone United.

South Africa’s Orlando Pirates will meet either Gabon’s AS Manga Sport or Namibia’s African Stars, while Sudanese giants Al Hilal could face Chad’s Aiglons FC N’Djamena or Ethiopia’s Sidama Bunna.

Former African champions TP Mazembe have been drawn against Ghana’s Medeama SC, while Djoliba AC will face either Tunisia’s Club Africain or Côte d’Ivoire’s Rahimo FC. Guinea’s Horoya will take on Algeria’s JS Saoura.

The first preliminary-round matches will be played over two legs, with the first legs scheduled for September 4–6 and the return legs from September 11–13.

The second preliminary round will take place from October 16–18, with the return legs scheduled for October 23–25.

The winners of the second preliminary round will qualify for the 16-team CAF Champions League group stage, where Africa’s top clubs will compete for continental honours, prize money and greater international exposure.

Veteran batter and vice-captain KL Rahul came out for the toss in India’s warm-up game against the Sri Lanka XI, with regular skipper Shubman Gill unavailable on Day 1 (Friday, August 7) due to a finger injury. The 26-year-old sustained the blow during India’s practice session on Thursday, August 6, and has been rested as a precautionary measure.

The official statement from the BCCI on Gill’s injury read:

“Update: Captain Shubman Gill sustained an impact injury to his right ring finger during India’s practice on Thursday. As a precautionary measure, he will not take the field on Day 1 of the warm-up game against SLC XI. The BCCI Medical Team is monitoring his progress. KL Rahul will lead the team in Gill’s absence.”

Shubman Gill has been troubled by injuries over the past year. During India’s November 2025 home series against South Africa, he had to leave the first Test midway through due to a neck injury and subsequently missed the second game. He also went on to miss the ODI series, before suffering a foot injury during the T20I leg.

Shubman Gill-less India to field first against SLC XI in warm-up game

Sri Lanka XI skipper Sonal Dinusha won the toss and opted to bat first at the NCC Ground in Colombo. The game will provide the visitors with an ample opportunity to get some much-needed game time ahead of the two-match Test series, as they also look to finalise their best XI for the first Test, which is set to commence on August 15 in Galle.

Look at the squads of both teams below:

India: Shubman Gill (unavailable to take the field on Day 1), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Devdutt Padikkal, KL Rahul (captain), Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper), Ravindra Jadeja, Dhruv Jurel, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Kuldeep Yadav, Saransh Jain, Auqib Nabi, Manav Suthar, Gurnoor Brar.

Sri Lanka XI: Nishan Madushka (wicketkeeper), Nipun Dhananjaya, Ravindu Rasantha, Pavan Rathnayake, Ahan Wickramasinghe, Sonal Dinusha (captain), Ramesh Mendis, Dilum Sudeera, Vishwa Fernando, Lahiru Kumara, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Isitha Wijesundera, Asanka Manoj, Anjala Bandara, Keshara Nuwantha.