Oxx has sacked Murtagh before at a time when the jockey was putting on weight and glugging away the pain

Oxx has sacked Murtagh before, at a time when the jockey was putting on weight and glugging away the pain. It was poignant then that the victorious rider should meet Walter Swinburn in the small allotment of the Epsom winners’ enclosure, perhaps the most hallowed circle of turf in world racing.Wally has fought the load and the load won It continues to do so. When he gave up on Bogus Dreams at Kempton on 22 April he made 8st 8lb and now he has left 11st behind In seven weeks he has put on the best part of 3st By Christmas he may weigh as much as Shergar Yet he does not look fat He looks normal. It must have been a bad part of hell he was occupying in the latter days of his riding career.It was a throwback too, as Swinburn had ridden two of the Aga Khan’s three previous Derby winners. The green and red colours of the owner have won everything, but the experience has not become commonplace. He was breathless on Saturday as he described his emotions.The Aga Khan may have to get short of puff again, because it is no fluke that he wins the Derby. His immense breeding operation is tilted towards middle-distance horses and there are not many of his ilk, even fewer of his persuasion, these days.

Perhaps Sindapour, Sinndar’s full brother also with Oxx, will be the next.But for now we will have to settle for Sinndar himself, who, like his trainer, is not one for undue ostentation. On the gallops at Creeve Stables at Currabeg in Co Kildare he works with handicappers. “On the gallops he makes ordinary horses look good,” Oxx said On Saturday, Sinndar accomplished quite the reverse.. An abundance of left-handers in the West Indies batting line-up has caused the England selectors to recall Robert Croft and Mark Ealham to the squad for next Thursday’s first Test match at Edgbaston. An abundance of left-handers in the West Indies batting line-up has caused the England selectors to recall Robert Croft and Mark Ealham to the squad for next Thursday’s first Test match at Edgbaston.
In theory, Croft’s off-spin and Ealham accurate swing bowling are there to offer an antidote to that, though the pair will not operate in concert. Discounting injury, Ealham, who last played Test cricket two years ago, will only play if England decide against a spinner.Speaking yesterday, the chairman of selectors, David Graveney, acknowledged that the opposition’s glut of left-handers was a factor in Croft’s selection, but admitted that Ealham’s presence was simply a matter of covering all bases.”Like a lot of grounds where new buildings have gone up, the ball seems to swing much more than it did and Mark has been doing that all season for Kent.”Graveney also revealed that Dominic Cork and Alex Tudor were considered during a meeting with Nasser Hussain and the selection panel last week.Certainly, the combination of Croft’s spin, along with swing into the left-hander’s pads (provided by the bustling Alex Wharf) was a formula that almost worked for Glamorgan against the West Indies last week.

But if the low bounce and crumbling pitch at Cardiff assisted the plan, the return to form of Brian Lara, with a swanky hundred against Zimbabwe, means it could be tested more rigidly in Birmingham.Croft’s inclusion, after being dropped 18 months ago, means Chris Schofield’s place, despite a maiden fifty with the bat against Zimbabwe in the last Test, is at risk. Unless advance information on the pitch proves to be spurious, England are unlikely to field two spinners.As is to be expected from a bowler whose first-class experience is barely into double figures, Schofield’s bowling is still considered something of a luxury. In a series that looks like being nip and tuck all summer, he is likely to become little more than a spectator. If he is omitted, the fact that he is on a central contract will help retain the feeling of involvement.The selectors resisted the temptation to bring back Michael Vaughan following his first match back after breaking his finger six weeks ago. Vaughan hit 94 against Durham, but the general feeling is that he needs more time in the middle for Yorkshire before declaring himself ready for Tests.That delay gives Nick Knight, this time on his home patch, another opportunity to nail his credentials to the dressing-room door. As the most natural athlete, Knight brings a great deal to the England side. However, technical deficiencies, and more importantly an all-consuming awareness of them, means he rarely does his batting talent justice.Like the left-handers England themselves are hoping to undermine in the coming weeks, Knight is susceptible to the ball coming into him, an achilles heel which Heath Streak exposed with a swinging yorker at Trent Bridge.Of his potential opponents at Edgbaston, only Franklyn Rose and Corey Collymore can shape the ball the same way, though the good news for Knight is that only one is likely to play.