Duntle, winner of the Sandringham Stakes at Royal Ascot in June, earned a valuable Group 3 bracket when getting the better of in-foal Ballybacka Lady and Requisition in the featured Desmond Stakes at Leopardstown last night, where the ground turned soft after rain before and during racing.

Former US president Gerald Ford could be released as soon as tomorrow after responding well to treatment for the pneumonia that put him in hospital over the weekend.

Gerald Ford, the oldest living former US president, was undergoing treatment for pneumonia, his chief of staff said. He was said to be doing well.

Former US President Gerald Ford, suffering from “a horrible cold”, was in the hospital in California today for what his chief of staff called routine medical tests.