According to the German Football Association (DFB), investment in women’s football by professional clubs has risen by 135% over the past six years. In addition, the number of girls in Germany who play the game has increased by about 30% since 2022.

Celia Sasic, the former Germany striker who has been in charge of diversity and inclusion at the DFB since 2022, has helped bring women’s football more into the spotlight in the boardroom.

“We’ve focused on the issue and established new structures, so that there is now a separate department with its own sports director,” the 38-year-old told DW.

“In my view, it’s important that there are very clear responsibilities for the development and professionalization of this sport.”

“I believe it’s important that [women’s football] is recognized within the licensed clubs. And it’s becoming increasingly recognized, so the framework conditions need to be adjusted,” continued Sasic.

“And we’re seeing that if we provide the right framework for the game, there’s huge growth potential there.”

Numbers support growth of women’s game

The most-watched football match featuring a German team in 2025 was the Women’s European Championship semifinal between Germany and Spain. The match drew around 14.26 million viewers—and a market share of about 57.6%. By comparison, the men’s game against Portugal in the Nations League semifinals drew around 10 million viewers.

Sasic, who was part of the German team that won the 2009 and 2013 European championships, regards this as a foundation to build on.

“This is incredibly significant for us as a society and in terms of our influence abroad,” she said.

“There are women who play football, who play for us on the national team, and who inspire us so much that millions of us watch their games.”

‘My biggest role model was Zinedine Zidane’

Sasic is clearly proud of the recent progress. For a long time, women’s football in Germany was not taken seriously.

“I had no choice; I had to look to men for role models,” Sasic recalled.

“My biggest role model was Zinedine Zidane. I had posters of [Luis] Figo, [David] Beckham, and Michael Ballack hanging in my room.”

Posters of women wouldn’t have existed back then, but it’s different now. These days, Germany captain Giulia Gwinn and players like Jule Brand and Lea Schüller smile down from the walls of children’s bedrooms, inspiring girls to dream of a great career in women’s football.

Further investment required to push women’s game forward

Despite the boom, the financial gap between women’s and men’s football remains enormous, as figures from the DFB and the German Soccer League (DFL) show. While the 18 Bundesliga clubs spent €1.72 billion ($1.9 billion) on players and coaching staff alone in the 2024–25 season, the personnel expenses of the 12 Women’s Bundesliga clubs most recently totaled just under €30 million — about 60 times lower.

Salaries also highlight how the professionalization of women’s football is still very much in its infancy. In the 2023-24 season, a women’s Bundesliga player earned an average base salary of around €48,000 per year. Bayern Munich striker Harry Kane is estimated to have earned €25 million during the same season.

This disparity is expected to narrow in the future.

“Football reflects our society — and thus also the gender inequality and the gender pay gap that we see in our society,” former German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told DW earlier this year.

“Unfortunately, this gap in football is even wider in many countries than in other professions. But that is by no means set in stone,” added Baerbock, who also served as the president of the United Nations General Assembly from September 2025 to September 2026. 

“We know from the USA, the United Kingdom, Norway and Spain that if you really want to invest in women’s football, equal pay is an important part of that — especially when it comes to tournament bonuses.”

Young women need professional support

Celia Sasic currently sees significant progress when it comes to women’s football, although it’s still early days in the development process.

“Clubs must provide all the necessary resources to enable this development. Football pitches, medical care, a fitness facility and a coaching staff must be available,” said Sasic. “Investing in this ultimately makes the game much better, too.”

Opportunities for young girls in terms of training also need to improve.

“It’s a crucial step to have youth development centers where players are trained — not only athletically, but also professionally. These are essential factors for the success of the women’s game.”

Education, apprenticeship options must be available

A new DFB rule shows that even basic professional structures still need to be established. Only since the 2025–26 season have teams in the Women’s Bundesliga been required to employ assistant coaches, goalkeeper coaches and athletic coaches on a full-time, professional basis.

Sasic and women’s football still have a long way to go, but the former player is determined to continue fighting for greater equality. The 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil is a great place to start, and Sasic is hoping for a successful showing for Germany at the tournament as this would likely give women’s football another major boost — and bring broadcasters new record viewership ratings.

This article was originally written in German.

Correction, September 18, 2026: An earlier version of this article misspelled the name of Jule Brand. DW apologizes for the error.

When Jürgen Klopp named his oversized squad for Germany for the upcoming international break, a number of other national team coaches will have taken notice.

Among them was Mohamed Ouahbi of Morocco, who lamented that he had already had Eintracht Frankfurt striker Younes on his radar since last season.

“He had a profile that interested us. I spoke to him on the phone and explained the Morocco project to him—without making any promises,” Ouahbi said.

If the 23-year-old Ebnoutalib sees any action in the UEFA Nations League over the next couple of weeks, as expected, he will be cap-tied to Germany – and ineligible to play for Morocco in the future.

Several players with multiple options

This is by no means a unique situation, as a growing number of Germany players in recent years hold other citizenships through their parents and thus have other options for their international careers.

This applies to several other members of Klopp’s 44-man squad. Vitaly Janelt, whose father moved to Germany to play professional ice hockey, is also eligible to represent Czechia. Bambasé Conté’s father is from Guinea, and Josha Vagnoman has an Ivorian father. Finn Dahmen has an English mother, while fellow goalkeeper Noah Atubolu has Nigerian roots. Said El Mala’s father hails from Lebanon, and Brajan Gruda’s father was an Albania international.

All of them were all born and raised in Germany and have represented the country a tyouth levels. Vagnoman has even made two senior international appearances for Germany, though he has yet to play a competitive match.

High number of dual nationals

There are also numerous established Germany players who could have chosen another nation. These include Felix Nmecha (England), Kevin Schade (Nigeria), Jamal Musiala (Nigeria, England), Karim Adeyemi (Nigeria, Romania), Jonathan Tah and Serge Gnabry (Ivory Coast), Malick Thiaw (Senegal, Finland), Nathaniel Brown (USA), Nadiem Amiri (Afghanistan), Aleksandar Pavlovic (Serbia), Waldemar Anton (Russia), Yann Aurel Bisseck (Cameroon), and Ridle Baku (DR Congo).

The men’s national team reflects German society as a whole; according to the Federal Statistical Office, 21.8 million of Germany’s approximately 83 million inhabitants have an immigrant background.

“More than 40% of children in Germany under the age of five have a migration background. This means they will later have the option to play for one country or the other,” Andreas Rettig, the German FA’s (DFB) outgoing managing director for sport told DW prior to last summer’s World Cup.

This forces the DFB to compete with other countries for talent for its national teams, and it hasn’t always been successful.

A prime example is Ibrahim Maza of Bayer Leverkusen. Born and raised in Berlin to an Algerian father and a Vietnamese mother, he holds not just German but also Algerian and Vietnamese citizenship.

The midfielder possesses many qualities that could help Germany, yet two years ago he opted to play for Algeria and represented the “Desert Foxes” at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and the 2026 World Cup.

Germany also missed out on Paul Wanner and Can Uzun. Wanner, a top prospect developed at Bayern Munich, chose Austria—his mother’s home country. Can Uzun of Eintracht Frankfurt has been playing for Turkey since September 2024. Both took part in last summer’s World Cup. 

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International break a cap-tying opportunity

Had Maza, Wanner, and Uzun chosen Germany instead, each of them would have stood a good chance of being named to Klopp’s first squad as national team coach.

With this international break featuring four instead of the previous customary two matches – and to see as many players as possible, Klopp named two squads for this break – meaning every player selected has a strong chance of getting playing time.

The upcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures—away against the Netherlands, home and away against Greece, and at home against Serbia, are all competitive matches. This means that even if it wasn’t the primary factor in his selection process, over the next couple of weeks, Klopp could wind up cap-tying a few more players for Germany.

This article was adapted from German.

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The Cleveland Browns‘ quarterback situation with Deshaun Watson is the textbook example of living out the sunk-cost fallacy. 

The Browns put a lot of effort and money into landing the three-time Pro Bowler, and they certainly have 230 million reasons to keep him as QB1. However, there comes a time when you can’t ignore what your eyes tell you: Watson is not the answer in Cleveland.

But with a 0-1 start in the 2026 season, a poor showing at the Jacksonville Jaguars, and ex-quarterback Baker Mayfield on deck in Week 2, it begs the question: What are the Browns getting at here? With their quarterback situation so clearly in disarray, what is their plan moving forward? 

Let’s take a look.

How did we get here?

Cleveland paved the way for Watson in 2022 by trading away the 2018 first-overall pick, quarterback Baker Mayfield, to the Carolina Panthers in exchange for a 2024 conditional fifth-round pick. They then sent the Houston Texans a trade package highlighted by three first-round picks for the then-three-time Pro Bowl quarterback Watson. Despite his lengthy off-field legal issues, Cleveland also made Watson the recipient of the most guaranteed money on a single contract in NFL history: a fully guaranteed five-year, $230 million extension. 

Fast forward to Week 2 of the 2026 season, and the Browns are rolling with Watson as their starting quarterback despite his performance as one of the league’s two worst quarterbacks (by multiple efficiency metrics) during his Cleveland career. In Week 1 road defeat against the Jacksonville Jaguars, Watson absorbed five sacks, threw an easy interception and had the Browns trailing 31-0 at one point. Watson’s teammates have clearly had it with him. When asked if he likes the continuity at the Browns quarterback position, safety Ronnie Hickman simply told reporters, “That’s above my pay grade.”

First-year head coach Todd Monken firmly backs the decision to keep Watson starting despite all the on-field and off-field evidence that he shouldn’t.

“Really, to be honest, [the players in the locker room] don’t have a choice,” Monken said on Monday. “This isn’t a debate. … Our job is to put the best player on the field that we think gives us the best chance to win.” 

* Only Zach Wilson ranks worse 
** Only Cam Ward ranks worse
*** Only Justin Fields ranks worse

Now, they’re set to face Mayfield, who has led the Buccaneers to two NFC South division titles in three full seasons in Tampa Bay and just re-signed with the franchise on a three-year, $165 million contract with $120 million guaranteed. In his Browns career, he produced the most wins (29), passing yards (14,125) and passing touchdowns (92) by a Cleveland quarterback since Bernie Kosar (1985-1993). Mayfield is also one of three Cleveland quarterbacks with a playoff win since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger, along with Kosar and Vinny Testaverde. Since departing Cleveland in 2022, he’s thrown for the seventh-most passing yards (14,616) and the fifth-most passing touchdowns (105) in the entire NFL. The Browns have started 10 different quarterbacks in that time, tied for the most in the NFL with the Las Vegas Raiders and the New York Jets. 

The most damning part of the whole situation is everyone with eyes can see Watson isn’t the answer, but since the franchise has to pay Watson whether or not he’s on the team, they’re letting him start instead of cutting him. What’s tough about keeping him under center is that he’s stunting the growth of Cleveland’s young playmakers.

First-round rookie wideout KC Concpetion had an average separation score of 0.182, the eighth-best among wide receivers on Sunday of Week 1, per Fantasy Points Data. Second-round rookie Denzel Boston’s separation score was 0.111, the 15th-best in the league among wide receivers. Second-year tight end Harold Fannin’s separation score was 0.095, the seventh-best in the league among tight ends. Yet, this trio combined for just 123 yards on eight catches with only 12 total targets between them.

So what’s their plan? 

It seems obvious the Browns intend to use Watson as their tank commander, with quarterbacks like Texas’ Arch Manning and Oregon’s Dante Moore likely to be available in the 2027 NFL Draft, in which Cleveland has two first-round picks. Monken told reporters “there were some really good things on film” when talking about Watson’s performance in the team’s 24-point Week 1 defeat. According to Fox Sports’ Ralph Vacchiano, the plan is to keep Watson as the starter for at least the first half of the season. Not only does Watson seem determined to wreck the Browns’ on the field with subpar performance, but he intends to kill the vibes off the field by taking zero accountability for his lack of production.

“I think the media has this expectation that I’m supposed to throw 400 yards and five touchdowns every week,” Watson told reporters on Wednesday. 

Across his 20 starts in his four seasons with Cleveland, Watson has never thrown for 300 yards in a game.

Shedeur Sanders, a 2025 fifth-round pick who is the son of Pro Football Hall of Fame cornerback Deion Sanders, injected much more life into the team across seven starts last season. Perhaps he can get some run in the second half of 2026 as he did in 2025. Until then, it will be a slog to the finish line of the 2026 season, with Browns fans praying for Manning or Moore in April next year. 

The flag-hoisting ceremony at the Asian Games, involving India and five other contingents, was delayed for more than an hour before eventually taking place on Friday with “trouble” related to “miscommunication” between the Olympic Council of Asia and the local organising committee (ANAGOC) cited as the reason for the disruption.

The ceremony, which was scheduled to commence at 1:30pm Japan time at Garden Pier, close to the container-style lodging for the athletes, initially began with a 20-minute delay. The ceremonial band took the stage, while performers dressed like Ninja warriors also waited to showcase their skills.

India’s chef-de-mission Sahdev Yadav and four deputy chef-de-missions — A Sharath Kamal, Lijo David Thottan, Alaknanda Ashok and Anjali Bhagwat — were present at the venue.

But before the six contingents — Yemen, North Korea, Palestine, India, Chinese-Taipei and Timor-Leste — could step onto the stage, they were asked to stay put. After waiting for more than 15 minutes, the contingents were eventually asked to return to the resting area.

“We are sorry for the delay. There is some trouble with a team. We will try to restore (the ceremony) in another 15 minutes,” a senior ANAGOC official briefed the media through an interpreter, saying that it was the official statement.

The “trouble”, however, remained unexplained for some time, while the disruption stretched beyond an hour. With international media repeatedly questioning whether a political issue was behind the delay, the organisers later offered a different explanation, saying it was a case of miscommunication.

“The communication between the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) Executive Board and Organising Committee was not well, that’s why this happened,” stated another ANAGOC official after the ceremony.

The official stuck to that explanation despite persistent questioning over whether any political issue had caused the disruption.

“It’s not like that somebody (team) delayed the ceremony. The trouble mentioned in the earlier statement was that there was a miscommunication between the OCA and the ANAGOC,” the official said, while asserting that the delay nothing to do with Taiwan (Chinese-Taipei).

“It’s just lack of communication between OCA and ANAGOC.” The explanation came after another ANAGOC official had said the “delay had been due to the chief guest’s arrival getting delayed.” As the contingents waited, they were told to remain in the resting area until the organisers were ready to proceed.

When the much-delayed ceremony finally resumed and the flags were hoisted, only deputy chef-de-missions Anjali Bhagwat, a former rifle ace, and Lijo David Thottan, a former 4x400m relay athlete, went on stage as representatives of the Indian contingent.

India’s Sports Minister Mansukh Mandaviya and Indian Olympic Association President PT Usha also came in briefly, as the IOA office for the Games is located nearby. They too eventually left.

“I have not seen such a scene before,” Sahdev Yadav told PTI.

Flag-hoisting ceremonies are the official welcome events for travelling contingents at multi-sport events and are generally held a day before the official Games opening.

Friday’s disruption adds to the organisational challenges surrounding the mega-event, where athletes have also complained about delayed and cramped lodging facilities.

The organisers have made accommodation arrangements at container-style huts, a docked cruise ship and hotels instead of building a traditional Games village to cut costs.

The traditional venue for Flemington’s Derby and Oaks preview races has undergone a change this year.

This year, the two classic previews have been amalgamated into a single event, scheduled to be run at Caulfield on Saturday, maintaining the established 1800-meter journey.

The training partnership of Trent Busuttin and Natalie Young, based in Cranbourne, will have a dual presence in the HKJC World Pool Classics Preview (1800m) on Saturday, with Arashi Flash and Icy You prepared to compete.

Both horses are coming off recent wins and are on a trajectory towards the Group 1 Victoria Derby (2500m) at Flemington next month.

Arashi Flash improved with the increased distance, winning over 1547m at Geelong on August 28. Icy You, after debuting with a second place on the synthetic track at Pakenham, scored over 1600m at Echuca on August 30.

“This race is a nice lead-up,” Young said.

“Arashi Flash, he won really nicely at Geelong, and he’s ticked over nicely through it.

“If you are heading towards a Derby trip, and he is a horse that is out of a Zabeel mare, it is a nice progression.

“Icy You, he ran second on the synthetic at his first start and then won well at Echuca.

“He may not have beaten great competition, but he did it easy and Froggy (Craig Newitt) was looking back over his shoulder.

“He’s worked up super and he has to get around Caulfield, but he’s bred to get out to that sort of trip.

“It’s nice to have those sorts of horses at this time of year heading down that Derby path.”

Young stated that the stable would use the results from Saturday’s race to gauge whether it would be advantageous to pursue other Derby lead-up races in the coming weeks with the pair.

“There is the Super Impose Stakes coming up, there is the Caulfield Classic, there’s the Geelong Classic,” Young said.

“They are all nice races, and this is progression to those, but they have to put their hands up to show they are up to city grade.

“You can’t win it, if you’re not in it.”

Want to get involved with the HKJC World Pool Classics Preview? Explore top online bookmakers for your bets.

The consequences of a demanding initial run appear to have affected Idle Flyer, who was beaten as the favourite last start. The mare is now set to aim for a return to form in her spring campaign at Randwick.

While she is not anticipated to challenge the prohibitive favourite, Autumn Glow, in The 7 Stakes (1600m), jockey Zac Lloyd is looking for an improved effort. Idle Flyer failed to show her customary enthusiasm when finishing fourth in the Tramway Stakes (1400m).

This performance followed a solid return behind the leading mare in the Winx Stakes (1400m), a race where the strong tempo undoubtedly tested several participants.

“I honestly think she just had a bad day,” Lloyd stated regarding Idle Flyer’s performance in the Tramway Stakes.

“She had a hard first-up run off a really solid tempo in a Group One and a two-week back-up.

“I was a bit worried going to the gates because she didn’t feel like her normal self. She was a bit flat cantering to the gates. But in saying that, they didn’t go hard the other day so although she got beaten, she had a much easier day out.

“Hopefully she can bounce back to a bit better form.”

Autumn Glow was quoted at $1.15 on Friday, with Idle Flyer the rank outsider among the five runners at $23.

Lloyd acknowledged that finding a flaw in the favourite’s record is difficult. He is not approaching the race with expectations of a surprise result, but rather hopes Idle Flyer can produce her best work in the closing stages to set herself up for a more suitable target later in the spring.

“She’s very hard to ride against because she does everything so right. She jumps well, she puts herself in a winnable position,” Lloyd said of Autumn Glow.

“I think Idle Flyer, we’ll be riding a bit cold on the weekend and then see if she can step up to the better races.

“If I can get on the back of Autumn Glow and then get as close as I can up the straight, that will be my goal.”

The 7 Stakes (1600m) is seen as an important stepping stone for Idle Flyer, with trainer Matthew Smith indicating the Cox Plate (2000m) as a potential target.

The mare has yet to race beyond a mile, and Lloyd’s feedback on Saturday will be crucial in Smith’s determination of whether to extend her campaign to middle-distance races this season.

The talented young jockey will also partner Headwall for Smith in The Shorts (1100m), expressing confidence that the seven-year-old gelding can build upon his impressive second place in the Concorde Stakes (1000m) on his return after 12 months off.

“It was good for him to show people that he’s had a year off, but he’s come back even better,” Lloyd commented. “He’s only lightly raced. He’s a horse who gets back and he’s going to need a bit of luck, a bit of pace on. But he’s ready to go again.”

For those interested in the racing betting markets, exploring Australian betting sites will provide the latest odds.

Man Utd have lost three of their first six games of the season and Michael Carrick is under pressure as head coach.

Michael Carrick laughed off speculation over his Manchester United future as “ridiculous” and said he would get more than a couple of games to prove to the club’s ownership that he is the man to turn it around, but he is happy to continue taking the blame for a dismal start to the campaign.

United have lost three of their six games in all competitions this season and a dramatic collapse against Brighton in the Carabao Cup in midweek has piled the pressure on the 45-year-old.

Carrick’s side led 2-0 against the Seagulls but surrendered the advantage and lost from that position at Old Trafford for the first time in 50 years. United were booed off the pitch and Carrick and the players faced derogatory chants from the Stretford End.

It feels like they need a result at Fulham this weekend, but Carrick shot down the idea that he needed results quickly to convince Sir Jim Ratcliffe and the Glazers that he remained the right man for the job.

“I think that’ll be a lot longer than one or two games of results,” he said. “I understand, first of all, taking away all that, that’s irrelevant for me.

“I know the club, I know the role, I know what’s expected here in terms of playing to a certain standard, playing at a certain level, achieving certain things on the pitch, so I get all that.

“In terms of future and ownership and how long I’ve got in the job, I’m thinking one part of it, like how long have I got, it’s ridiculous to think that way in a position that I’m in, that’s just not on the radar.

“I understand what we need to achieve and where we need to be as a football club for the owners, what they expect, for the supporters as much as anything, I get all that.

“It’s two or three games that we haven’t had certain results, and two or three games too many because I really hate losing, but that doesn’t mean that the world caves in. In some minds it does, it can’t for us, because we’ve got to perform.”

Carrick has taken the responsibility for United’s rocky start to the season on his own shoulders rather than deflecting criticism and told critics he should continue to be the lightning rod for any brickbats thrown United’s way.

“That’s why I’m here,” he said. “It’s my responsibility. I’m fine with that. It’s not a blame game. It’s not a blame game. We all search for things to look at and point at and find a blame.

“Sometimes it gets almost like too much of a thing to want to find someone to blame or something to blame. Blame me, no problem. I’ll take the responsibility, whatever it is.

“But it’s not about blaming people, it’s about finding solutions and being better, and that’s as a whole football club, as a group of players, as staff, as owners, supporters, it’s a whole collective thing, and you can put it in different directions, you can worry about different things, it’s about what you focus on.

“‘I’m totally happy taking responsibility, absolutely no problem with that, it doesn’t bother me. I just know where we want to get to and we want to get there fast.”

Carrick is a veteran of 464 games as a player for United and has remained a fan of the club, and as difficult as things feel right now, he maintains the belief that it is a “great football club” and that he is in the right place to turn it around.

“One hundred per cent it does, yeah,” he said. “I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else, genuinely. It’s the best place for me to be, so in part of the times when it’s maybe not going to plan, that’s sometimes the best times to work your way through, find out a few things and come out an awful lot stronger.”

The Northwestern Wildcats are staying the course for years to come.

Northwestern announced on Thursday morning that it has extended head coach David Braun to a deal that keeps him in place through the 2031 college football season.

“David Braun is the right leader today for Northwestern Football and for the years to come,” Combe Family Vice President for Athletics and Recreation Mark Jackson said in a statement on Thursday morning about the extension. “He recruits young men of high character who embrace our elite academic environment and who compete in the most competitive conference in the country. David develops our student-athletes at a time when retaining talent has never been harder, and they choose to remain Wildcats when other options appear. He does it with a rare combination of relentless competitiveness and integrity.

“He is everything that we need in a head coach. With our continued investments in our Football program and with the opening of New Ryan Field in just a few weeks, the future of Northwestern Football is bright with David at the helm. We look forward to having David, Kristin and their family in Evanston for the seasons ahead.”

Braun originally joined Northwestern as its defensive coordinator for the 2023 season but was promoted to interim head coach in July of that year in the wake of head coach Pat Fitzgerald’s dismissal against the backdrop of a hazing investigation into the program.

After a 1-11 season in 2022, Northwestern went 8-5 overall and 5-4 in Big Ten play in Braun’s first season at the helm, capped off by defeating the Utah Utes in the Las Vegas Bowl. Braun won 2023 Big Ten Coach of the Year honors and was named the Wildcats’ full-time head coach during the season. The eight wins, which included Northwestern snapping a 14-game road losing streak, were the most for the Wildcats since finishing 10-3 overall and 7-2 in conference play in 2017.

Since taking over in 2023, Northwestern is a combined 20-19 overall, 11-16 in Big Ten play and has made two bowl games under Braun (2023 and 2025).

“I am so honored to have the opportunity to lead a storied football program at an institution that demands and expects excellence, instills character, and provides a transformative experience for its student-athletes on and off the field,” Braun said in a statement about the extension. “I am grateful to President Chiang and to Mark Jackson for the continued investment into our program, for their support of my family and our tremendous staff and for sharing in our belief of what Northwestern Football can become.

“Northwestern is a special place. Kristin and I are proud to call it home for many years to come.”

Prior to landing in Evanston in 2023, Braun was the defensive coordinator and safeties coach of the North Dakota State Bison from 2019-22, a stint preceded by two years as a defensive assistant with the Northern Iowa Panthers (2017-18), among other coaching positions. 

As for the present, Northwestern opened the 2026 season with a 34-18 win at home over the South Dakota State Jackrabbits on Sept. 5. Next up for the Wildcats is a Saturday night home matchup against the Colorado Buffaloes (2-0) at 7:30 p.m. ET, which can be viewed on FOX.

Trainer Chris Waller’s strategy of entering multiple fillies in feature races is a common occurrence, and his four contenders for the Tea Rose Stakes present an intriguing proposition for the third leg of the Princess Series.

The market currently favours Striking Alibi, a former Perth three-year-old, following her notable third-place finish in her Sydney debut in the Furious Stakes (1200m) last month.

This performance was the key factor that led leading jockey James McDonald to select her as his mount for the Tea Rose Stakes (1400m) on Saturday, choosing her over stablemate Sing Your Song.

“That’s the reason James opted to ride her because he’s got a very good opinion of (stablemate) Sing Your Song,” stated Charlie Duckworth, Waller’s Sydney-based assistant.

“He was given the option as a race-by-race proposition to ride whichever one he wanted in the race, and he chose to go with Striking Alibi, so that’s a pretty good push.”

Waller’s remaining three runners – Sing Your Song, Kototo, and Sequinned – have been kept sharp with recent runs in midweek company, and Duckworth considers them all promising.

Sing Your Song, a full sister to stakes winner Matias, achieved her maiden win over 1400m at Warwick Farm in her last start.

Her primary objective remains the Group 1 Flight Stakes (1600m), scheduled two weeks after this Saturday’s event, but Duckworth expects a strong showing from her at Randwick.

“She hasn’t missed a beat. She galloped really well on Tuesday morning, and 1400 on a big track will be right up her alley,” he commented.

“And beyond that, a mile in the Flight, she’ll be ready to peak. She is learning with each and every gallop, each and every race. She has just taken a bit of time to mentally put it all together.”

Kototo is also exceptionally bred, being a half-sister to last Saturday’s Sheraco Stakes winner Savvy Hallie, by Wootton Bassett. Sequinned, described as “pretty speedy,” is a half-sibling to the successful sire Bivouac.

Duckworth anticipates Kototo, who placed in stakes races in Brisbane over the winter, will be well-suited by Saturday’s 1400m journey after finishing a close fourth to Sequinned on resumption over a shorter distance.

“She’s one we’ve always held in really high regard. She is thrown in the deep end on Saturday, but she won’t disgrace herself,” Duckworth concluded.

Check the racing betting markets for the Tea Rose Stakes.