Royal Ascot day 4 full race card and tips - list of runners on Friday
Royal Ascot has been a battle between Aidan O'Brien and the John and Thady Gosden team so far, with both camps responsible for five winners each heading into the penultimate day of the meeting.
They will both be expected to add to their respective tallies over the next two days, but it is other powerhouse stables who have the market leaders in Friday's two Group Ones - the Commonwealth Cup and the Coronation Stakes.
Charlie Appleby is seeking his first winner of the week and Shadow Of Light could give him it in the Commonwealth Cup. The 2,000 Guineas third is being backed for the first Group 1 of the day, with his jockey William Buick riding brilliantly this week.
Juddmonte are doubly represented in the six furlong contest and Babouche, a recent Group 3 winner at Naas for Ger Lyons, might just be the best of their chances under Colin Keane, while the Andrew Balding-trained Jonquil is partnered by leading France-based Belgian jockey Christophe Soumillon.
Meanwhile, French runner Zarigana looks set to go off favourite for trainer Francis-Henri Graffard in the Coronation Stakes, with Mickael Barzalona taking the ride. The French 1,000 Guineas winner is vying for favoritism with Pretty Polly Stakes victor Falakeyah, while Aidan O'Brien's January is being backed, having finished eighth behind stablemate Lake Victoria in the Irish 1,000 Guineas last month.
Here's a full list of the runners and riders, as well as a tip for each race:
2.30pm: 6f Albany Stakes (Group 3) (Fillies) (Class 1) (2yo)
1 Awaken (IRE) B Loughnane2 Balantina (IRE) Tom Marquand3 Bibi Dahl (USA) U Rispoli4 Fairy Oak Colin Keane5 Fitzella Oisin Murphy6 Gold Digger (IRE) Jamie Spencer7 Green Sense (IRE) Dylan McMonagle8 Indigo Dawn (IRE) Pat Dobbs9 Ipanema Queen (IRE) David Egan10 Magny Cours (IRE) Mickael Barzalona11 Nandita (IRE) William Buick12 Oh Cecelia (IRE) James Ryan13 Senorita Vega (IRE) Richard Kingscote14 Signora (IRE) Ryan Moore15 Spinning Lizzie Kieran Shoemark16 Tahalel (IRE) Sean Levey17 Venetian Sun (IRE) Clifford Lee
Tip: Ipanema Queen
3.05pm: 6f Commonwealth Cup (Group 1) (No Geldings) (Class 1) (3yo)
1 Ain't Nobody (IRE) Tom Eaves2 Arabie Clifford Lee3 Arizona Blaze David Egan4 Berkshire Whisper (IRE) Kieran Shoemark5 Big Mojo (IRE) Hollie Doyle6 Diablo Rojo (IRE) Rossa Ryan7 Ides Of March (IRE) Wayne Lordan8 Jonquil Christophe Soumillon9 Shadow Of Light William Buick10 Soldier's Heart Callum Shepherd11 Strong Warrior Oisin Orr12 Whistlejacket (IRE) Ryan Moore13 Arabian Dusk Harry Davies14 Babouche Colin Keane15 Carla Ridge (IRE) Chris Hayes16 Lady With The Lamp (IRE) Dylan McMonagle17 Leovanni (IRE) James Doyle18 Rayevka (IRE) Mickael Barzalona19 Sayidah Dariyan (IRE) B Loughnane20 Shisospicy (USA) Oisin Murphy21 Sky Majesty (IRE) Tom Marquand22 Time For Sandals (IRE) Richard Kingscote
Tip: Shadow Of Light
3.40pm: 1m4f (1m3f211y) Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes (Handicap) (GBBPlus Race) (Class 2) (3yo+ 0-105)
1 Teumessias Fox (IRE) P J McDonald2 Flight Leader Saffie Osborne3 See Hector (GER) Pat Dobbs4 Caviar Heights (IRE) Tom Marquand5 Mutaawid Jim Crowley6 Naqeeb (IRE) R Sexton7 Hand Of God William Buick8 Mount Atlas Rob Hornby9 Stressfree (FR) Daniel Tudhope10 Max Mayhem Mickael Barzalona11 Siege Of Troy Oisin Murphy12 French Duke (IRE) James Doyle13 War Rooms (IRE) Colin Keane14 Almosh'her Clifford Lee15 Auld Toon Loon (IRE) Pierre Jamin16 Brodure (IRE) Christophe Soumillon17 Blue Lemons (IRE) B Loughnane18 Ethical Diamond (IRE) Ryan Moore19 Satin Shane Foley20 HMS President (IRE) Reserve 121 Crystal Flyer Reserve 222 Cumulonimbus (IRE) Reserve 3
Tip: Mutaawid
4.20pm: 1m (7f213y) (Rnd) Coronation Stakes (Group 1) (Fillies) (Class 1) (3yo)
1 Cathedral David Egan2 Cercene (IRE) Gary Carroll3 Chantilly Lace (IRE) Rossa Ryan4 Duty First Hollie Doyle5 Exactly (IRE) Wayne Lordan6 Falakeyah Jim Crowley7 Flight Oisin Murphy8 January (IRE) Ryan Moore9 Kon Tiki William Buick10 Simmering Dylan McMonagle11 Zarigana Mickael Barzalona
Tip: Zarigana
5.00pm: 1m (Str) Sandringham Stakes (Fillies' Handicap) (Class 2) (3yo 0-105)
1 Tabiti Colin Keane2 Betty Clover William Buick3 Serving With Style Clifford Lee4 Mojave River (FR) Dylan McMonagle5 Bountiful B Loughnane6 Silver Ghost (IRE) Sean Levey7 Sweet Chariot (IRE) Ryan Moore8 Amangani (IRE) Wayne Lordan9 Nancy J (IRE) Shane Foley10 Supermodel (IRE) Tom Marquand11 Miss Nightfall Oisin Murphy12 Never Let Go Kieran Shoemark13 Zgharta (IRE) Hollie Doyle14 Trad Jazz Harry Davies15 Oolong Poobong (IRE) Connor Beasley16 Saariselka Mickael Barzalona17 Cartwheel Andrew Slattery18 Dash Of Azure Richard Kingscote19 Cajole Saffie Osborne20 Sea Poetry (IRE) Trevor Whelan21 Purple Rainbow Warren Fentiman (5)22 Annsar Jack Doughty23 Bassadanza Joe Fanning24 Dancing Teapot (IRE) Chris Hayes25 Alfareqa David Probert26 Ryka (IRE) S D Bowen27 Arabian Leopard Silvestre De Sousa28 Eazy On The Eye Grace McEntee
Tip: Alfareqa
5.35pm: 1m4f (1m3f211y) King Edward VII Stakes (Group 2) (Colts & Geldings) (Class 1) (3yo)
1 Amiloc Rossa Ryan2 Convergent (IRE) Clifford Lee3 Galveston Wayne Lordan4 Green Storm (IRE) B Loughnane5 Minhad Tom Marquand6 Nightwalker Colin Keane7 Opportunity James Doyle8 Puppet Master (IRE) Ryan Moore9 Regal Ulixes Oisin Murphy10 Wimbledon Hawkeye Silvestre De Sousa11 Zahrann (IRE) Ben Coen
Tip: Amiloc
6.10pm: 5f Palace Of Holyroodhouse Stakes (Handicap) (Class 2) (3yo 0-105)
1 Hammer The Hammer (IRE) Tom Eaves2 Mr Lightside (IRE) Kevin Stott3 Jungle Drums (IRE) Saffie Osborne4 Candy George Wood5 Miss Lamai (IRE) Clifford Lee6 Maw Lam (IRE) Jack Nicholls (7)7 Zayer (IRE) Hollie Doyle8 Stormy Impact Warren Fentiman (5)9 Redorange Rossa Ryan10 Bodhi Bear (IRE) Seamie Heffernan11 King's Call (IRE) D Swift12 Realign (FR) James Doyle13 Ruby's Profit (IRE) Kieran Shoemark14 Enola Holmes (IRE) David Probert15 Arctic Voyage Richard Kingscote16 Vingegaard (IRE) R Sexton17 Englemere (IRE) B Loughnane18 Red Sand (IRE) Tom Marquand19 Dark Cloud Rising Daniel Tudhope20 Suhail Star (IRE) Ashley Lewis (7)21 King Of Light Shane Foley22 King Of Bears (IRE) Callum Shepherd23 Adrestia Oisin Murphy24 Jorge Alvares (IRE) Colin Keane25 Brosay Edward Greatrex26 Brighton Boy (IRE) William Buick27 Lexington Blitz (IRE) Sean Levey28 Mearall (IRE) Shane Gray29 An Outlaw's Grace (IRE) Reserve 130 Topwarrior Reserve 231 Gold Star Hero (IRE) Reserve 3
Tip: Realign
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Irish Daily Mirror
3 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Clifford and O'Callaghan two modern legends.. The tale of the tape
It was Coretta Clay, an aunt to Cassius, who first labelled the prize fighting supernova who, as Muhammad Ali, would go on to shake the world, 'the Alpha and the Omega.' The beginning and the end. Those whose knees have trembled before stepping onto a rectangle of grass to spar with David Clifford or Con O'Callaghan would hardly protest the laying of Coretta's sweeping claim onto the shoulders of Kerry and Dublin's respective polestars. For both teams, the sense this weekend is of their world starting and finishing with the fitness and form of their leading men, a photo-finish required to determine which of the pair is, at this moment in time, more critical to their side's fortunes. Charlie Redmond, the former Dublin forward who is one of the game's shrewder observers, offers an interesting take as Tyrone and Armagh loom into focus for football's Old Firm. 'Right now, I would say Con is more important to Dublin than Clifford is to Kerry. Because, with Paul Geaney, Seanie O'Shea and Paudie Clifford, I think Kerry have better supporting forwards. 'Look at Dublin's two-pointer total. It's terrible and that's down to a lack of confidence in their forwards. Without Con, the attack can lose all cohesion.' With Clifford, the Fossa master who seems to deliver a Mona Lisa almost every time he steps behind the easel, the Alpha and Omega argument is not one that can easily be trampled underfoot. He glided into our world as a wunderkind, a teenage divinity, scorer of 4-4 in an All-Ireland minor final, his reputation dwarfing even Carrauntoohil. Somehow, even the ear-splitting drumroll that accompanied the Chosen One onto the stage, understated his ability to cause our eyeballs, as one observer of Roger Federer famously commented, to protrude like novelty-shop eyeballs. The sense of irresistible menace that accompanied his latest eruption – a 3-7 avalanche that swiftly interred Cavan even as he squandered three further goal chances - offered just the latest illustration of how the Kingdom's fortunes remain so inextricably wedded to their generational supe talent, an avatar of the impossible-made-flesh. Many are the days he walks in a special light, unmarkable, unstoppable, a force of nature, a trick of the light, a killing machine. On the days he falls a little short of his impossibly high standards (2024) or when injury diminishes him (extra time v Tyrone in 2021, after an otherworldly 70 minutes) Kerry tend to crash and burn, Many have to come to regard Clifford and Kerry as one and the same, his supporting cast, to borrow Hugh McIlvanney's memorable depiction of Ali's heavyweight predecessors, no more than 'blurred figures dancing behind frosted glass.' If that does an enormous injustice to the profound influence asserted by his exceptional playmaking sibling, Paudie, to Seanie O'Shea's ball striking or the growing authority of Joe O'Connor, still one truth remains cast in bronze. It is the one that says it is impossible to imagine Kerry winning an All-Ireland without their pilot light fully aflame. You might as well ask a 747 to soar across the Atlantic's mighty expanse having just clipped away the mighty beast's wings. As a point of reference, perhaps Diego Maradona carrying a moderate Argentine team to the World Cup through the sheer breadth of his genius (and the bypassing the game's handball laws) might come closest to explaining Clifford's task. Joe Brolly, never a man to run from an inflammatory soundbite, is unequivocal as Kieran McGeeney's All-Ireland kingpins ready themselves for battle: '[Kerry's] problem is that they only have one forward. If you could call David Clifford a problem.' Tomorrow, as Kerry's summer arrives at a point of no return and they seek to unseat Armagh's increasingly impressive champions, their superstar, as he does each time he dons that storied uniform, will shoulder the burden of an entire tribe's hopes. Imagine the psychological weight he carries on his back, immense even for a player apart, one who long ago (his first 20 championship outings yielded 5-58 from play) made the suspension of disbelief among his audience a defining calling card. O'Callaghan has had to learn to bench press similarly substantial dumbbells of expectation. In Dublin's post-Fenton, post-McCarthy time of need, the old sheen of invincibility a distant memory, facing Tyrone without Con would represent the pulping of confidence. If, as many have feared all week, O'Callaghan's ongoing hamstring issues – he sat out last week's workman like victory over Cork - sideline or restrict him tonight, many of Sky Blue disposition would be inclined to saddle up the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and have them gallop across Hill 16 just ahead of throw-in. It is that stark. Even while clearly hobbled, Con contributed five invaluable points, a game-altering spearhead as Dessie Farrell's side kept their season alive in a tense taking down of Derry a fortnight ago. James McCarthy, for the first time in 15 summers of absurdly high achievement looking on from outside the white lines, spoke for a county under siege from its misgivings: 'Every Dublin fan is praying Con is going to be fit.' Aaron Kernan, the Armagh player turned pundit went further, believing the result hinges on whether O'Callaghan can handle 70 minutes against opponents who number Donegal among their summer of 2025 victims. 'He makes that big of a difference to Dublin. Not just his skillset. It's his presence, calmness, the composure and then the ability to put scores on the board whenever he's under pressure.' Among the little known facts about Dublin's paramount power is that he is a serious student of the game of cricket. Con, then, would appreciate the American writer Wright Thompson's evocative portrayal of the celebrated Indian batsman Sachin Tendulkar towards the end of his innings as a titan of the game. 'His artistry he now holds as a part of himself, like a chamber of his heart.' In truth, it is Clifford, as balletic and elegant and beautifully balanced as he is cold-eyed and predatory, who is immediately summoned to mind as the Tendulkar of an Irish summer. O'Callaghan is more about explosive power (though Clifford, too, is a physical beast comfortable seeking his own ball), razor-edged conviction and carnivorous intent, qualities which elevate the three-time All-Star to the highest rank of forwards to have played the game. One verbal-portrait tracing Erling Haaland's assault on the Premier League single season scoring record fits O'Callaghan as snugly as Dublin's Sky Blue number 14 shirt. 'A footballer who expresses power, edge and certainty more clearly than any at being lethal.' Scarcely out of his teens in 2017 yet already equipped with the precise GPS coordinates of Tyrone and Mayo's jugular vein, he devoured both those opponents, his early goals the launchpad from which Dublin and his own career blasted into orbit. There was the two-goal 2019 afternoon when he did everything bar place a crown of thorns on Mayo's tormented leader, Lee Keegan; later, the conjuring from nowhere of a devastating 2020 All-Ireland final goal. Lethal at being lethal. The heavyweight ordnance of King Con's artillery fire can be weighed by the statistic which announces him as the only player in 130 years of competition to have scored a hat-trick of goals against Kerry. That 3-4 in a 2024 league game an illustration of why he has become so vital to the big city psyche. Remembering his freshman years of unforgettable alchemy, it is sobering to think that if Dublin lose tonight, Con - to many still a youthful figure, a boy prince of Croke Park – will not play another championship match before celebrating his 30th birthday. O'Callaghan (29) and Clifford (26) are often compared and contrasted. Much as Messi and Ronaldo, like Federer and Nadal, pushed each other to even wilder feats of jaw-dropping achievement, so these GAA bluebloods have, perhaps, propelled each other to high-water marks of invention and flair and murderous intent. Because Dublin under Jim Gavin and in Farrell's early years enjoyed perhaps the greatest accumulation of talent the game has known, their reliance on the Cuala forward was not as acute as Kerry's dependency on Clifford. How could it be when they had gamechangers and generals in such glorious abundance? Fenton, McCarthy, Mannion, Connolly, Brogan, Rock, Macauley, Flynn, McCaffrey, McManamon, McMahon and his own indestructible clubmate (and Clifford's 2023 All-Ireland final nemesis), Mick Fitzsimons, amounted to virtually a dressing-room packed with alpha males. From the cast of towering attacking talents from those days of plenty, only the inestimable Ciaran Kilkenny, who turns 32 in nine days time but who gave one of the performances of the summer in Galway, remains alongside Con. O'Callaghan's presence has become as soothing and settling and vital for Dublin as Clifford's has long been for Kerry. His absence – as in the five point group stage loss to Armagh, when the Sky Blues fired 18 wides – sets off a shrill chorus of alarm bells. This weekend – assuming O'Callaghan plays, perhaps even more so if he doesn't – might illustrate which of the two is the weapon that brings summer sovereignty more sharply into focus. Who is the more expert at turning a key in the lock of hope? Who, in the high summer of 2025, is football's Alpha and Omega.
Irish Daily Mirror
3 hours ago
- Irish Daily Mirror
Curragh Saturday tips and race card - list of runners for Pretty Polly Stakes
The Andrew Balding-trained Kalpana is expected to land the Group 1 Paddy Power Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh. The only Group 1 winner in the field, the Juddmonte filly,– progressive last season – will be ridden for the first time by her owner's new retained rider Colin Keane and might prove too strong for her six rivals – which include two classy three-year-olds, Twirl and Wemightakedlongway. A daughter of Study Of Man, Kalpana improved through the ranks last season, winning a Newmarket handicap off 78 in April, and ended her campaign with victory in the Group 1 Qipco British Champions Filly & Mares Stakes at Ascot in October, beating AidanO'Brien's Wingspan by two lengths. In between, she finished third in Royal Ascot's Ribblesdale before making her stakes-race breakthrough in the listed Glasgow Stakes at Hamilton – which she followed up by proving a wide-margin winner of the Group 3 Unibet September Stakes at Kempton Park. Her Ascot success, in soft ground, proved the filly's improvement. And on her 2025 seasonal debut, she performed creditably over this course and distance when, having led early, she stayed on late to finish third – beatena a length and a half behind Los Angeles and Anmaat in theTattersalls Gold Cup last month. A Group winner over a mile and a half, Kalpana boasts rock-solid form over 10 furlongs and, having performed well against the boys last time, she should prove very tough to beat in this fillies-only contest. The Nicolas Clement-trained Survie, a Group 2 winner, carries French hopes. But the biggest threat to Kalpana should be O'Brien's Betfred Oaks runner-up Twirl, bidding to give her trainer a first Pretty Polly success since Minding in 2020. A Group 3 winner last autumn and successful in the Musidora at York ahead of her Oaks bid, she forced the pace at Epsom and was only collared by stable-companion Minnie Hauk inside the final furlong – going down by just a neck. Clearly progressive, Twirl boasts a rating of 113 and is a serious contender. But the older Kalpana is preferred. Joseph O'Brien's Wemightakedlongway, a Group 3 winner in Navan before being beaten over five lengths when fifth in the Epsom Oaks, will have her supporters too, along with the Munster Oaks (Group 3) heroine Magical Hope, representing Paddy Twomey. And Henry de Bromhead's Higher Leaves, successful at listed and Group 3 level in France last year, probably needs to step-up Here's a list of the runners and riders, as well as a tip for each race: 1.15pm: 7f Barronstown Stud Irish EBF (C & G) Maiden (2yo) 1 Al Haarith (IRE) Dylan McMonagle2 All Hail (IRE) Billy Lee3 Benvenuto Cellini (IRE) Wayne Lordan4 Dorset (IRE) Ryan Moore5 Hamiyan (FR) Chris Hayes6 Jordi Bear (IRE) Seamie Heffernan7 Mr Vettori (IRE) Shane Foley8 New Zealand (IRE) Ronan Whelan9 Palace Tyne (IRE) James Ryan (3)10 South Island (IRE) Gavin Ryan11 Swinging The World (IRE) Ross Coakley12 The Holy Apostle (IRE) Luke McAteer13 Unbreakable Duke (IRE) K J Leonard Peter O'Hehir's tip: Dorset 1.45pm: 6f Airlie Stud Stakes (Group 2) (Fillies) (2yo) 1 Artista (IRE) Dylan McMonagle2 Beautify (IRE) Ryan Moore3 Lady Iman (IRE) Colin Keane4 Leblon Queen (IRE) Chris Hayes5 Luna Mia Ronan Whelan6 Skydance Billy Lee Peter O'Hehir's tip: Lady Iman 2.20pm: 6½f (6f63y) Jebel Ali Racecourse And Stables Anglesey Stakes (Group 3) (2yo) 1 Flushing Meadows (USA) Ryan Moore2 Killourney Reigns (IRE) Ben Coen3 Stop The Nation (IRE) James Ryan4 She's Too Kool (IRE) Rory Cleary5 Suzie Songs (IRE) Colin Keane Peter O'Hehir's tip: Flushing Meadows 2.55pm: 1m2f Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai International Stakes In Honour Of Kevin Prendergast (Group 3) (3yo+) 1 Trustyourinstinct (IRE) Dylan McMonagle2 Deepone Billy Lee3 Layfayette (IRE) Colin Keane4 Elizabeth Jane (IRE) Chris Hayes5 Roosevelt Wayne Lordan6 Gotomylovely (IRE) Seamie Heffernan Peter O'Hehir's tip: Trustyourinstinct 3.30pm: 1m2f Paddy Power Pretty Polly Stakes (Group 1) (Fillies & Mares) (3yo+) 1 Higher Leaves (IRE) Shane Foley2 Jancis (IRE) Ben Coen3 Kalpana Colin Keane4 Magical Hope Billy Lee5 Survie (IRE) Stephane Pasquier6 Wemightakedlongway (IRE) Dylan McMonagle7 Whirl (IRE) Ryan Moore Peter O'Hehir's tip: Kalpana 4.05pm: 1m2f Sherry FitzGerald Country Homes Ladies Derby Handicap (4yo+) 1 Longbourn (IRE) Sorcha Woods (7)2 Masoun (FR) Elizabeth Gale (7)3 Final Voyage (IRE) Miss Georgie Benson (7)4 Bear Profit (IRE) Nicola Burns (7)5 Fiver Friday (IRE) Miss S A Carter (7)6 Solomon Sadhbh Tormey (7)7 Tatateo (IRE) Miss J Townend8 The Real Screamer (IRE) Miss A B O'Connor (3)9 Moonlit Mist (IRE) Neve Bennett (7)10 Secret World (IRE) C J Worrell (7)11 Loingseoir (IRE) Gabriella Hill (7)12 Hemight (IRE) Sylvia O'Donnell (7)13 Desert Friend (IRE) Miss H M Smullen (7)14 Breathe Again (IRE) R Donaghue-Leahy (7) Peter O'Hehir's tip: Masoun 4.40pm: 6f Fitzpatrick's Mercedes-Benz Handicap (3yo+) 1 Daamberdiplomat (IRE) Ben Coen2 Collective Power (IRE) Colin Keane3 Jon Riggens (IRE) James Ryan (3)4 Back Down Under (IRE) Leigh Roche5 Brigid's Cloak P McGettigan (7)6 Airspeed (IRE) Sorcha Woods (7)7 Never Shout Never (IRE) J Kearney (3)8 Cold Hearted (IRE) Shane Foley9 Saturn Seven (IRE) Chris Hayes10 Gordon Bennett (IRE) Niall McCullagh11 Rappell (IRE) Dylan McMonagle12 Tawaazon (IRE) Keithen Kennedy (5)13 Manhattan Chute (IRE) Wayne Lordan14 Verified (IRE) R M Mulligan (7) Peter O'Hehir's tip: Back Down Under 5.15pm: 6f Keadeen Hotel Irish EBF Maiden (3yo+) 1 Bennu (IRE) Leigh Roche2 Best Suggestion (IRE) Gary Carroll3 Colter Bay (FR) A Browne-Souza (10)4 Describe Donagh O'Connor5 Dreaminthejungle (IRE) James Ryan (3)6 Eichan San (IRE) Ronan Whelan7 Men Of Honour (IRE) Andy Slattery8 Naples (IRE) Billy Lee9 Radient Man (IRE) Shane Foley10 Sun Soldier (IRE) Ben Coen11 Washington Street (IRE) Colin Keane12 Angel Of Promise (IRE) Joseph Sheridan13 Charasson (IRE) Seamie Heffernan14 Grown Ups (IRE) R M Mulligan (7)15 Lady Crossing (IRE) Gavin Ryan16 Mise Freisin (IRE) Chris Hayes17 Stella Alpina (IRE) Nathan Crosse18 Suerte (IRE) Rory Cleary Peter O'Hehir's tip: Sun Soldier
RTÉ News
4 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Cathal Doyle is desperate to race after 'crazy' Faith Kipyegon pacing duties
The old and somewhat tiring joke goes, that you can find the Irish at everything, and Faith Kipyegon's 'Breaking4' project was no exception. Kipyegon didn't manage to become the first woman to break the four-minute barrier for the mile, but she did achieve the fastest time ever run with a 4:06.42 clocking and in the process has inspired one of her Irish pacers from the bid. Cathal Doyle, Olympian, multiple national record holder and probably the gutsiest man in Irish athletics, was one of a long list of pacers to assist Kipyegon in the 1609m exhibition run at the Stade Charlety in the French capital on Thursday evening. Doyle says running three laps with Kipyegon is up there with one of the best experiences he has had in his 27 years. "It was probably just one of the coolest things you'll probably ever do, it was just a bit crazy because I've never paced a race before, especially at that kind of level," Doyle told RTÉ Sport. Doyle walked down the tunnel onto the track in the French capital that just ten months ago saw him progress to the Olympic semi-final, to be the tip of the 'shield' formation for Kipyegon after some gruelling training with the Nike team leading the project. "Training was actually pretty intense… We had two sessions every day in the morning and evening. We were shown on a laptop the formation. And I was like, 'Oh, I've kind of drawn the short straw here'." The five-time national champion explains that he ran in the middle of lane two, where there were markers for him to follow, meaning he ran marginally further than the rest, which can make pacing trickier. The Nike team, meticulous in their planning, attempted to cover every possible scenario that the athletes learned through dozens of repetitions. "There was just scenario after scenario, there must've been about six different scenarios. The front five of us around Faith were the shield. And then the guys around near her were the 'spoiler'. "Luckily for my job, I actually didn't have to think. All I had to do was just run hard and stay in line where I was…it was just a lot of practice." "Luckily for my job, I actually didn't have to think. All I had to do was just run hard and stay in line where I was… It was just a lot of practice." Doyle reveals the call to be involved came only last week, thanks to some intervention from training partner and fellow Nike-sponsored athlete Elliot Giles. "He (Giles) asked if he could bring a training partner, and then they realised this guy can pace when they looked up my personal bests. "I only knew I was doing it less than a week ago, there wasn't even a second thought." For any athlete racing on the circuit, it can become monotonous quickly. Doyle is no exception, running almost 25 races last season and 12 already this year, so the 'Breaking4' project offered a change from the continuance of the track season. "You never get a chance to do stuff like this, running meets is cool and it's fun and all, but at the same time, they're all the same. So, this was a little bit different." "You never get a chance to do stuff like this, running meets is cool and it's fun and all, but at the same time, they're all the same. So, this was a little bit different." There were doubts from both fans and media of the sport as to whether the goal was achievable, but Doyle details that there was no question of its feasibility among the 13 pacers, and it was vital those around Kipyegon believed. "Everyone was just so focused on their role. There wasn't even a question of, will she do it or not? "In there, you're starting to believe that maybe she could do it, but apparently a 3:59 mile for a woman equates to a 1:58 men's marathon. "So, it was even more difficult than the 'Breaking2 ' project with (Eliud) Kipchoge. But everyone was fully invested." The event, organised by the shoe brand that has become synonymous with technology, development and science-backed projects like the one Doyle took part in, also specified that the pacers didn't tell Kipyegon the exact time per lap, allowing her to focus only on the task. "She didn't actually know the paces either. We were strictly told 'don't tell her'. "No talk of splits on the warm-up - zero talk, do not mention splits. She hadn't a clue so all she had to do was hold on for dear life." The stadium had a sizeable crowd, not full, but not bad for realistically four minutes of entertainment. The Irish Olympian explained he wasn't sure how a visibly nervous Kipyegon kept it together, knowing that it would be a rare scenario in which all eyes are exclusively on her. "I don't even know how she could pull it together. You walked out and a couple of thousand people there and they're all cheering for just her on the line." "I don't even know how she could pull it together. You walked out and a couple of thousand people there and they're all cheering for just her on the line." Doyle is now excited to get back racing after six days in the French capital working towards something "crazy" which has changed his perspective on his own goals. Which is exactly why Kipyegon attempted the near-impossible feat in the first place. "I'm actually pretty buzzing now to race again and train, even though I was just among the 10 others, it's just being around really good people and really successful people. It does rub off on you and then you kind of feel like, 'oh, I want to be that as well now'."
