Ethical Diamond shines in the Ebor as Mullins’ expansion on the Flat continues
Patrick Mullins, son and assistant to his father, Willie, spoke at length after their latest success in the Grand National in April about the champion jumps trainer’s insatiable need to keep pressing on.The stable’s steady expansion into the top staying handicaps on the Flat continued on Saturday as Ethical Diamond, the 5-1 favourite, came home an impressive two-and-a-half-length winner of the Ebor, Europe’s richest Flat handicap.The simple fact seems to be that there is now such a wealth of equine talent in Mullins’s County Carlow yard that it would be a waste to direct it solely towards the winter code.He is, after all, the reigning champion over jumps in Ireland – where he has been unchallenged for nearly two decades – and Britain, since 2024.The Flat can also prove educational for a horse such as Ethical Diamond who, Mullins admitted, had been something of a puzzle since arriving in the yard in late 2023.
“We’ve just been trying to find the right tactics that suit him, it’s taken me 18 months to do that and now he’s won at Royal Ascot [in the Duke Of Edinburgh Stakes in June] and the Ebor,” Mullins said.“Now that we have a way to ride him, he’d probably win a nice race over hurdles, I think tactics have been the making of him.“Winning races on the Flat like this gives me exactly the same buzz as winning big races over jumps, for sure.To come here and win races like this, it’s why you do the game.”The Melbourne Cup – a race where Mullins has come up agonisingly short in the past – is not an option for Ethical Diamond after treatment for an injury earlier in his career, but the gelding still has valuable targets under both codes.
“He won’t go to Melbourne as he won’t pass the vets in Australia, so we wiped that off straight away,” Mullins said.“He’s got a screw in his leg from an old injury and that is a straight no-no from them.“I don’t know if he’s an Irish Cesarewitch horse or we let him run in an Irish Leger, we’ll have to see but I’d definitely like to move him up in grade to a Group Two or a Group Three at some stage.”Earlier, Andrew Balding completed a double worth nearly £500,000 as Tarriance (5-1) edged out Many Men (9-2 fav) in the Melrose Handicap before Never So Brave, a recruit to the yard after Sir Michael Stoute’s retirement at the end of 2024, took the first running of the City Of York Stakes as a Group One event.Rosallion, who had looked to be an unlucky loser behind Qirat, the shock 150-1 winner, in the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood last time, was the even-money favourite for the City Of York, but raced wide and could not pick up the leaders over the furlong shorter trip as Never So Brave took over at the furlong pole and stayed on well to the line.
Goodwood 1.50 Linwood (nap) 2.25 Jennifer Jane 3.00 Alaskan Gold 3.35 Make Me King (nb) 4.
10 Ancient Egypt 4.45 Forever Penywern 5.20 Kitty Foyle Beverley 2.05 Light Speed 2.40 Emeralds Pride 3.
10 Chairmanfourtimes 3.45 Danrana 4.20 This Years Love 4.55 Dr Rio Yarmouth 2.10 Prince Hector 2.
45 Explosion 3,20 Rocking Ends 3,55 Gorgeous Mr George 4,30 Papa Cocktail 5,05 Rusheen BoyNever So Brave was racing in handicap company two months ago, albeit at Royal Ascot where he put up an exceptional performance to win the Buckingham Palace Stakes under 9st 12lb, but is now confirmed as a Group One horse and could step back up to a mile for the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on Champions Day at Ascot in October.
In Ireland, Aidan O’Brien extended his remarkable domination of the Futurity Stakes at the Curragh as the odds-on chance Constitution River gave the trainer his 18th victory in the Group Two contest.O’Brien’s previous winners of the race include subsequent Classic winners Giant’s Causeway, Hawk Wing, Gleneagles and Henri Matisse.Constitution River, who was cut to 14-1 for next year’s 2,000 Guineas by Paddy Power, is now likely to head to the Group One National Stakes at the Curragh next month.
AI lovers grieve loss of ChatGPT’s old model: ‘Like saying goodbye to someone I know’
Linn Vailt, a software developer based in Sweden, knows her ChatGPT companion is not a living, breathing, sentient creature. She understands the large language model operates based on how she interacts with it.Still, the effect it has had on her is remarkable, she said. It’s become a regular, reliable part of her life – she can vent to her companion or collaborate on creative projects like redecorating her office. She’s seen how it has adapted to her, and the distinctive manner of speech it’s developed
Hundreds of TikTok UK moderator jobs at risk despite new online safety rules
TikTok has put hundreds of UK content moderators’ jobs at risk, even as tighter rules come into effect to stop the spread of harmful material online.The viral video app said several hundred jobs in its trust and safety team could be affected in the UK, as well as south and south-east Asia, as part of a global reorganisation.Their work will be reallocated to other European offices and third-party providers, with some trust and safety jobs remaining in the UK, the company said.It is part of a wider move at TikTok to rely on artificial intelligence for moderation. More than 85% of the content removed for violating its community guidelines is identified and taken down by automation, according to the platform
There’s an app for that: finding a sunny cafe in Paris, the city of light
In August, Paris is uncharacteristically quiet as hordes of residents scatter to the country’s beaches and coasts for a yearly month of vacation. Businesses close and the city nearly grinds to a halt. Among those who remain, there is an eternal, quintessentially Parisian quest: hunting for a balmy terrasse bathed in sunlight for an evening apéritif.Finding the perfect seat on the pavement outside a cafe may be a matter of a chance stroll or a timely text from a friend. This summer, though, a digital solution has gained popularity in an extremely French instance of the old Apple slogan “there’s an app for that”: Jveuxdusoleil, an app that tracks the sun’s movement through the city’s maze of buildings to pinpoint exactly where you can claim a sunny spot on a terrace for your coffee
Australian livestreaming platform Kick broadcast a man’s death – could it face repercussions from regulators?
The death of a man in France that was livestreamed on online platform Kick has sparked a police investigation and calls for regulators to examine what happened and how it was allowed to be beamed out live on the internet. What is Kick, what happened, and what could happen next?Raphaël Graven, 46, from southern France and known online as Jean Pormanove, had built a profile on Kick, where he had reportedly gained over a million followers.He died during an extended live stream on the platform this week. Leading up to his death, he was allegedly physically assaulted and humiliated by co-streamers as viewers watched. Excerpts of hours-long videos, which the Guardian has seen, appear to show Graven being hit, insulted, strangled, and shot at with a paintball gun
Google launches Pixel 10 with AI tools that anticipate users’ needs
Google’s latest Gemini AI upgrades attempt to anticipate what useful information you made need from your life to address a potential issue, make you to better photographer or become your personalised health and sleep coach.Shipping on the just-announced Pixel 10 Android phones, the new Magic Cue feature enables the chatbot to comb through your digital life and pull up relevant information on your phone just when you need it.Placing a call to an airline will automatically display your booking information from Gmail in the phone app. Or when a friend texts about brunch on Sunday Gemini will suggest a suitable coffee shop and show your calendar in line with your messages.The feature is part of a series of artificial intelligence upgrades for the newly announced Pixel 10, 10 Pro and 10 Pro Fold phones
Microsoft workers occupy HQ in protest against company’s ties to Israeli military
Dozens of Microsoft employees occupied the company’s east campus in Redmond, Washington to protest against what they say is the use of its software by the Israeli military to carry out operations in Gaza and enable the surveillance of Palestinians.Less than a week after the company said it was launching an independent investigation into the use of its Azure software, current and former staff occupied a space they declared the “Free Zone”, holding placards that read “Join The Worker Intifada – No Labor for Genocide” and “Martyred Palestinian Children’s Plaza”.The protests, organised by the No Azure for Genocide group, has demanded Microsoft divest from Israel. Earlier this year, employee Joe Lopez interrupted a speech by CEO Satya Nadella at the annual developer conference.“Satya, how about you show how Microsoft is killing Palestinians,” said Lopez
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