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Boom imported stayer The Euphrates wins 2026 Kingston Town Stakes

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The Euphrates, a former charge of Aidan O’Brien in Ireland, made a significant impression in his second start for Tulloch Lodge, achieving an impressive all-the-way victory in the Group 2 $300,000 Kingston Town Stakes (2000m) at Royal Randwick on Saturday.

Displaying superior staying power, The Euphrates maintained a strong gallop, stopping the clock at a rapid 2m 0.48s for the 2000m. This time is considered one of the fastest ever recorded at Randwick and was only slightly slower than the long-standing course record of 2m 0.30s set by Hampton Court in 2013.

Co-trainer Bott indicated that he was not surprised by the convincing nature of The Euphrates’ win.

“To be honest, I would have been disappointed if he didn’t win today – he’s a very, very good horse,” Bott said.

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“He put the writing on the wall with a great return over the mile (fourth in the Chelmsford Stakes) earlier this month and he backed that up today,” Bott said.

“The Metropolitan has always been the plan but we have been thinking further ahead.

“The big picture is the Caulfield Cup and the Melbourne Cup with him. He has two mile form in Europe and certainly stays the trip at a higher level, and he showed that today.”

Ridden by Tim Clark, The Euphrates ($5) led from start to finish, comfortably fending off his rivals to win by close to a length from Juja Kibo ($7). The favourite, Soul Of Spain ($3.90), finished a length behind in third.

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Clark reported that despite the quick tempo and fast overall time, The Euphrates gave the impression he was racing comfortably.

“He has been off the scene for such a long time but he ran pretty well first-up and credit to Gai and Adrian who were able to put the ground work into him that he could still bounce off that and not put in a flat run,” Clark said.

“He is starting to get out to a distance range that suits him now. He galloped all the way through the line and was last to pull up.

“We’ve seen so many imports come to Australia, especially with Gai and Adrian, just put that speed into their legs. He has that great stamina and I look forward when he gets over further.”

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The six-year-old gelding, a son of the undefeated Frankel, who achieved a Timeform rating of 147, has added to the impressive record of Waterhouse and Bott with the stallion’s progeny, following Group 1 winners Sir Delius and Converge.

The Euphrates’ previous record included four wins from 13 starts for O’Brien, including the Listed Marble City Stake, and a fourth in the Group 1 Irish St Leger behind champion Kyprios and Vauban. He had not raced for almost two years before his Chelmsford Stakes return.

His victory in the Kingston Town Stakes confirms his strong return to racing.

“He will go to The Metropolitan next run and the further we get with him the better,” Bott said.

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“Today was a dominant performance, it was great to see him stick it out as well as he did.

“He hasn’t been racing for two years so I would like to think there is further improvement to come.

“He has that brilliant tactical speed, that cruising speed, and that ability to sustain it which is going to open up some great staying feature races for him.”

The Euphrates has subsequently firmed to $5 second favouritism for the Group 2 $750,000 The Metropolitan (2400m) at Royal Randwick on October 3. He is behind Aethelwulf ($3), the winner of the Newcastle Gold Cup on Friday.

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Carrying 52.5kg for the Group 1 $6.5 million Caulfield Cup (2400m) on October 17 and 54kg for the Group 1 $10 million Melbourne Cup (3200m) on November 3, The Euphrates remains eligible for handicap penalties in both major races. Those interested in the Caulfield Cup can find competitive racing betting markets from various online bookmakers.

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‘Glum-faced’ Man Utd forward labelled Michael Carrick’s weak link by former teammate

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Marcus Rashford has failed to register a single goal or assist since his return to Manchester United – and he has now been labelled as the ‘weak-link’ in the attack

Marcus Rashford is the ‘weak-link’ in the Manchester United forward line, following a difficult start to life back at Old Trafford, according to Michael Owen.

The 28-year-old has started four of United’s last five Premier League matches since returning to the club, after spending time out on loan at Aston Villa and Barcelona, including Sunday’s 1-1 draw against Fulham. Rashford has shown glimpses of brilliance at times this season, but still hasn’t registered a single goal or assist in more than 400 minutes of football in all competitions.

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The England international was substituted during the second half of the game against Fulham due to a hip problem, with Joshua Zirkzee coming on in his absence. He has since pulled out of the England squad for the upcoming international break and is instead set to spend the next three weeks recovering ahead of United’s next game. against Tottenham on October 10.

In the meantime, Owen has delivered his verdict on Rashford’s start to his return back at United and voiced his concern about the output the forward is producing right now.

“On the left, Marcus Rashford has been probably the quietest of those attackers,” Owen said on Premier League Productions. “He was quiet again today in his body language, just the glum face.

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“He just doesn’t seem to be loving his football which has been a permanent frustration with Marcus. It does look like the weight of the world is on his shoulders and you just think how? Why? He’s living everybody’s dream. Surely there’s something behind the scenes that is making him look as if he’s not enjoying his football at the moment.”

Rashford scored 14 goals and provided 11 assists in 49 appearances across all competitions during an impressive short stint at Barcelona last season. But the confidence he gained during his time at Camp Nou appears to be dropping already, despite Michael Carrick praising him and giving him another chance.

Owen added: “Last chance saloon was Barcelona. I couldn’t believe his luck in getting a team like Barcelona.

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“He does reasonably well out there, but not well enough for them to keep him and then they end up spending fortunes to replace him by buying Anthony Gordon. So, it wasn’t all perfect. It wasn’t all rosy despite any spin that people put on it.

“And then he comes back to Manchester United. He’s done okay, but only okay. And he needs to probably do a little bit better in that front three because his is the position in the attack that would be vulnerable.

“There’s a bit of a demand for Benjamin Sesko to come back in and start, injury permitting of course. But if that happens, Cunha is going to go on the left and Rashford would be the weak link in that attack as things stand.”

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SPOILER: Huge match set to headline tonight’s WWE RAW

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A huge match is reportedly set to be the main event of tonight’s episode of WWE RAW. This week’s show will air live from the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas.

According to Viper Reports, tonight’s episode of WWE RAW will be headlined by the men’s Money in the Bank qualifying match. Solo Sikoa, Dragon Lee, and Dominik Mysterio are scheduled to compete in a Triple Threat MITB qualifying match tonight. The winner of the match will compete in the Men’s Money in the Bank ladder match at the PLE next month in New Orleans.

Solo Sikoa refused to rejoin The Bloodline earlier this year and is currently in an alliance with LA Knight on RAW. Knight is scheduled to challenge Roman Reigns for the World Heavyweight Championship at Money in the Bank 2026, and his exact words to The Tribal Chief following his attack last week on RAW were revealed earlier today.

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Dominik Mysterio lost the AAA Mega Championship to El Grande Americano in the main event of TripleMania 34 earlier this month. Dragon Lee challenged Chad Gable for the Intercontinental Championship last week on WWE RAW but came up short in the title match.

WWE Hall of Famer sends message to Dominik Mysterio

WWE icon Rey Mysterio recently reacted to Dominik Mysterio claiming that he wanted his father to give him his mask and apologize to him.

In an interview with Outkick, Rey Mysterio reacted to his son’s claims by suggesting that he never should have helped him get into the wrestling business.

“That’s pretty deep for him to say that,” Rey Mysterio said. “At the end of the day, I believe I have much more tricks up my sleeve than he does. If he thinks he’s going to step all over me, retire me, take my name and have me apologize to him for what apparently I have done, maybe I shouldn’t have helped him break into the business. Maybe he should have grinded on his own and scratched and clawed just like I did at the age of 14 when I first broke into the business, which was really tough back then. Now, it’s much easier to get into the business. It’s not like before,” he said. (H/T: Outkick)

DOMINIK MYSTERIO PULLING UP WITH THE REY MYSTERIO MASK WAS TOO COLD WHAT A MOMENT #AAATripleMania

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It will be interesting to see if Dominik Mysterio can win his Money in the Bank qualifying match later tonight on WWE RAW.