Sheikha Hissa’s Shadwell operation went to 1,600,000 guineas to purchase a Frankel filly on the final day of the Book 1 sale at Tattersalls in Newmarket.

Consigned by Watership Down Stud, the chestnut is out of the Group One-winning Millisle, who took the Cheveley Park Stakes for Jessica Harrington in 2019.

It is the second-highest figure commanded by a yearling over the three-day sale and the buyers were delighted to get their hands on such regally-bred young stock.

“She is a lovely first foal, I saw her on the farm and loved her, I loved her every time we saw her here as did Sheikha Hissa,” long-standing Shadwell racing manager Angus Gold told Tattersalls.

“We knew she’d make a lot of money, but we need some fillies for the stud and a first foal out of Cheveley Park Stakes winner and by a great stallion, it was sort of fairly self-explanatory.

“She seems very athletic, very well-balanced and has a very good mind, so now she has got to be able to run!”

Shadwell have achieved notable on-track success this season with Hukum, Mostahdaf, Al Husn and Anmaat all registering Group One victories in the famous blue with white silks.

All four of those horses are aged five or six, showing a willingness of Shadwell’s Sheikha Hissa to extend a horse’s career beyond the typical three or four.

Their latest buy is part of the Shadwell rebuilding process and Gold added: “It is a period of rebuilding, it is a long-term project for Sheikha Hissa.

“We have been lucky this year with the older horses, and Sheikha Hissa is happy to take a different route to her father Sheikh Hamdan who did not like to keep the older horses and she is prepared to if we think there is more to come, and she has been rewarded with a Group One winner.

“It is exciting times for the stud, but you have to keep regenerating.”

He added of Sheikha Hissa’s ever-growing passion for the sport: “She has loved coming here, she can stand looking at the horses all day if someone did not come and move her!

“She loves coming to see the yearlings, we saw them all Monday and she has been back over the three days to see horses again. She is picking it up very quickly, like her father, and really enjoys the business.

Gregor Townsend said Scotland are “ready to play their best rugby” as he backed his team to rise to the challenge of having to beat Ireland for the first time in more than six years and prolong their World Cup campaign.

The Scots must either secure a bonus-point victory or deny the world’s top-ranked side a losing bonus point in the Stade de France on Saturday night if they are to get out of formidable Pool B and reach the quarter-finals.

Townsend billed it as one of the biggest matches his team have ever been involved in but feels they are equipped to deliver when it matters most and knock the rampant Irish – who have won 16 consecutive games – out of the tournament.

“We have got to deliver what we feel we are capable of which is their best performance as a team when it counts,” he said.

“They are in great physical shape, they have been training really hard for weeks and months and I believe we have had enough experiences now – both good and bad – to handle this occasion. We are really behind this team.”

Asked what makes him believe that Scotland can defeat a team who have beaten them in their last eight meetings, a run stretching back to 2017, Townsend said: “Well, why not? The players have performed in massive games before.

“We were underdogs but we have broken records before, whether it was not winning in Paris (for 22 years, before doing it in 2021), not winning at Twickenham (for 38 years, before doing it in 2021), we hadn’t beaten England for 10 years (before doing it in 2018).

“This is another opportunity to break another record. We believe in them, we believe in where they are mentally as a group and where they are physically. They are ready to play their best rugby.”

Scotland will either have to win by at least an eight-point margin or by scoring at least four tries. Townsend insisted that his team will not alter their game-plan significantly because of that situation.

“Our approach would be similar if we were just looking to win the game,” he said.

“There are two scenarios for us to get through, one is eight points and one is to score more tries so it suits how we would approach normal games, which would be to aim to score tries when we are in the opposition 22.

“It’s important that we get those opportunities, Ireland have been very good at not giving up too many opportunities inside their 22 over the last two to three years and that’s a goal for us, to make sure we are in there a few times this weekend.

“We definitely want to be the team that goes out there fearless with nothing to lose. That’s the way we’ve been thinking and planning this week.”

Several permutations could come into play as the match evolves, but Townsend has trust in his players to be able to make the right decisions about how to negotiate the business end of proceedings if the qualification situation remains in the balance.

“If it’s a tight game and defences are on top it’s likely to be the eight points gives us the best opportunity,” he said.

“The most important element is scoring points. If things change and go in our favour we have plenty of time to talk about that at half-time or in a huddle during the second half.

“We’re able to communicate with people on the sideline, whether they’re medics or water-carriers, but you want to create an environment where the players are making the decisions.

“We’ve got some very intelligent rugby players and very intelligent people in our team so they won’t need instruction from us. They’ll be coming together and nailing what needs to be done in that next action.”

Townsend expects a box-office occasion to illuminate the World Cup in Paris.

“There have been so many Scots at our last few games and there were a lot of Irish in Paris for their game against South Africa so it will be a cracking atmosphere,” he said. “And there’s jeopardy, there’s something at stake, so it will be one of the best games of the World Cup, I’m sure.”     

England have encountered their first injury setback since arriving in France for the World Cup after Jack Willis was ruled out of the remainder of the tournament.

Willis suffered a neck problem in the 71-0 victory over Chile on September 23 – his only appearance of the group phase – and on Wednesday night England learned he would be ruled out for several more weeks.

Head coach Steve Borthwick will call up a replacement for the Toulouse back row, to be named in due course, who is likely to join up with the squad in Marseille for quarter-final week.

“We’re really disappointed for Jack because he’s been an important member of this team,” Borthwick said.

“He’s done really well, played an important role in the Chile game and is an important member of this squad over the last period of time.

“We anticipate the injury will be just a few weeks but given the timescales we’re operating to it means he will be replaced in the 33.”

Palmar Bay could have a bright future having shown a game attitude to claim the feature British EBF Radcliffe & Co Conditions Stakes at Salisbury.

The Ralph Beckett-trained colt claimed the scalp of subsequent July Stakes scorer Jasour when getting off the mark at the Wiltshire track in May, but missed out on an intended run in the Listed Rose Bowl Stakes at Newbury during the heart of summer when breaking out of the stalls prior to the off.

Sent off the 3-1 joint-favourite among a smart cast of juveniles, he produced a professional display in the hands of Hector Crouch to edge out fellow market principal Solar Aclaim by three-quarters of a length.

Palmar Bay was joined on the Salisbury scoresheet by stablemate La Pasionaria (8-1) who made a winning debut in division one of the Byerley Stud British EBF Novice Stakes, as the Kimpton Down handler enjoyed a double at a venue he enjoys both notable and regular success at.

Beckett said: “I like La Pasionaria, she has shown up well at home and really got her head down and toughed it out I thought. She will probably be put away for next year.

“Palmar Bay, ditto really. Off a break he did really well to overcome the pacesetter who is a nice horse as well and he could run in a stakes race before the end of the season.

“I don’t know where at this stage because he could go seven (furlongs) and I think he probably wants that.”

Elsewhere on the card there were maiden victories for Clive Cox’s Finbar Furey (9-2) and Ed Walker’s Ten Bob Tony (6-4 joint favourite), who both claimed divisions of the Radcliffe & Co British EBF Novice Stakes in eyecatching fashion, while the other juvenile contest went the way of David Menuisier’s debutant Goodwood Odyssey (20-1).

Iain Henderson revealed Test centurion Peter O’Mahony has been dubbed the “Haggard Badger” by his Ireland team-mates.

O’Mahony will become only the 10th Irishman to earn 100 caps after being selected to start Saturday’s crucial Rugby World Cup clash with Scotland in Paris.

Head coach Andy Farrell and captain Johnny Sexton were among those to pay tribute to the Munster skipper ahead of his landmark outing.

Lock Henderson also offered a glowing testimony but could not resist divulging an unflattering nickname based on O’Mahony’s well-worn features and greying hair, which was reportedly invented by prop Dave Kilcoyne.

Asked about the 34-year-old, Henderson replied: “The Haggard Badger?

“The Haggard Badger, I think he’s been coined. I’m not 100 per cent sure where that came from.”

Scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park, who was sitting next to Henderson, confirmed Kilcoyne was responsible, before the Ulster skipper continued: “Pete’s a massive leader for our group.

“Not only in terms of rugby but in terms of what we stand for as players, the social side of things, how well knitted together we are, he’s a massive part of that.

“Obviously I’m sure a lot of the cliches will come out now, but Peter rings true to most of them. He’s deserving of every minute of the jerseys he’s played in and, to this day, still nailing that down.

“You can see in Faz’s (Farrell’s) selections and how highly Faz speaks of him, I think that all rings true to the type of person he is. And long may that continue.”

O’Mahony is poised to join Ireland greats Brian O’Driscoll, Ronan O’Gara, Rory Best, Paul O’Connell and John Hayes on the select list of centurions, plus current team-mates Cian Healy, Sexton, Conor Murray and Keith Earls.

The flanker, who made his international debut against Italy in 2012, will seek to mark the milestone appearance by helping his country avoid an upset against the Scots to reach the knockout stages in France.

“We can sit here all day the two of us and talk about what he brings, what he means to us all, what type of bloke he is, what type of family man he is,” Farrell, sitting alongside Sexton, said of O’Mahony.

“But we’d be here the whole press conference. To sum him up, he’s selfless.

“You guys would see the performance on the pitch and it’s heroic from Pete. You can see what it means for him to play for Ireland.

“But we obviously see behind the scenes and he’s definitely, 100 per cent, one of the best I’ve ever seen at making the dressing room feel right.

“And it’s not just a skill. It’s him being himself because it’s genuine and I’m sure Johnny would echo this that there’s no better man that you would want sat at the side of you in the dressing room at the weekend than Peter O’Mahony.”

Sexton added: “I don’t think you guys get to see the real Peter O’Mahony.

“He gives very little away when he sits up here, one word answers, but he’s the life and soul of the dressing room behind closed doors and it’s a privilege to play with him all the time.

“We’ll be playing for him as much as we are for ourselves on Saturday.”

Jos Buttler admitted his England side were “completely outplayed” after their World Cup title defence began with a crushing nine-wicket loss to New Zealand.

The 2019 champions were well beaten across all three facets by the Black Caps in Ahmedabad, with a mammoth stand of 273 between unbeaten centurions Devon Conway and Rachin Ravindra putting them away emphatically.

The pair’s poise and power put England’s 282 for nine firmly in the shade and there will be questions over soft top-order dismissals, patchy bowling and inconsistent fielding.

For a team who have repeatedly set the standard in white-ball cricket over the last eight years and hold both limited-overs titles, it was a chastening start to a long trek around India.

And Buttler made no attempt to sugarcoat the manner of the defeat.

“I’m disappointed. We were completely outplayed,” he said.

“I thought we were a long way short of our best with the bat, we were probably looking at 320, 330. We had a lot of starts but I thought we were just a bit off in our execution. We weren’t quite clinical enough with our shot making and gifted New Zealand a few wickets.

“But we’re not robots. Sometimes you don’t play as well as you would like. Everyone’s working hard, everyone’s prepared well and we were just a bit off it. In international cricket when you’re a little bit short and the opposition play very well, you’re going to lose the game of cricket.”

England are jetting straight off to the Himalayan mountain region of Dharamsala on Friday for their next group game against Bangladesh and, while they are sure to have plenty of doubts and misgivings to mull over on the journey, Joe Root urged them not to second guess themselves too much.

Root, who ended a run of indifferent ODI form with a measured knock of 77, insisted the result was not a dramatic setback to the wider ambitions. England lost key games on their way to winning the trophy in 2019 and also backed themselves into an early corner before lifting the T20 crown last year.

“It’s important that we stay calm. I don’t think there’s ever been a World Cup-winning side that hasn’t had a bump in the road or a stumble along the way,” he told BBC’s Test Match Special.

“Look at us in 2019, we had hiccups throughout that. We’ve just got to stay level and authentic to what we are as a team. When we do hit a bump in the road, we are a team that comes back strong and we double down on our identity as a team. So you can expect that when we get to Dharamsala.

“We’ve got to be able to withstand a bit of pressure, soak it up. We are aware of that, we know that is part and parcel of any World Cup journey. We’ve got evidence that our method works, because it has done over a long period of time so we’ve got to stay true to that.”

Root also channelled the ‘Bazball’ philosophy which has carried England’s Test team forward over the past 18 months, suggesting that the batting unit could respond to defeat by upping the ante and going even harder next time around.

“We won’t be seeing guys chipping it to mid-wicket or mid-off next game, they’ll be hitting it 20 rows back,” he said.

“That’s one example in a number of different areas where we can remind ourselves of how good we are and how intimidating we can be as a batting group. We want to double down on that, put sides under pressure and get those massive scores that blow teams away.”

England have reunited playmakers George Ford and Owen Farrell in their backline for Saturday’s final World Cup group match against Samoa in Lille.

They start together for the first time since the 2021 Six Nations as Steve Borthwick revives the creative axis that has excelled for England in the past as he assesses his options for the quarter-final.

Ford starts at fly-half having produced man-of-the-match displays against Argentina and Japan while Farrell shifts to inside centre to accommodate his rival for the 10 jersey.

Farrell needs two more points to become England’s highest scorer of all time, eclipsing the mark of 1,179 set by Jonny Wilkinson.

Manu Tuilagi is picked at 13 to provide a ball-carrying threat in what will be a special occasion for the Sale powerhouse, who faces the nation of his birth for the first time.

Joe Marchant is squeezed out of the midfield but finds a home on to the right wing, meaning there is no place for Henry Arundell despite his five-try haul against Chile.

Arundell drops out of the 23 altogether, as does Elliot Daly with Jonny May winning the race to start on the other wing as part of a back three that sees Freddie Steward replace Marcus Smith.

The urge to give Smith another run at full-back has been resisted but the rapid Harlequins ringmaster is poised to complete another cameo off the bench at Stade Pierre-Mauroy.

England are at full strength against Samoa and evidence of Ben Earl’s rise as a force on the Test stage is seen in his selection at number eight ahead of Billy Vunipola, who features on the bench.

Tom Curry is restored at openside after playing just 179 seconds against Argentina, at which point he was sent off for a dangerous tackle that resulted in a two-match ban which he completed against Chile.

A surprise pick in the front row sees Dan Cole preferred ahead of Kyle Sinckler at tighthead prop.

England qualified for the quarter-finals as Pool D winners on September 28 when Japan beat Samoa, allowing them to advance to a knockout appointment with likely opponents Fiji despite having a match to spare.

Borthwick said: “Whilst we are of course pleased with our results and qualification into the pool stages, we want to continue our improvement with a positive performance against a difficult and in-form Samoa team.

“Samoa are renowned for their physicality and this last game in the pool stages will be an excellent test for us as we continue in our World Cup journey.”

Celtic right-back Alistair Johnston believes they can be a “really top team” if they sharpen up in both boxes but he accepts they are running out of chances in the Champions League.

The Scottish champions suffered defeat by the narrowest of margins against Lazio on Wednesday night.

Luis Palma was ruled offside by the VAR officials after thinking he had put Celtic 2-1 ahead in the 81st minute after it was decided that the ball skimmed off the leg of Daizen Maeda on its way to the winger.

Then Lazio got the crucial third goal of the night five minutes into stoppage time after former Chelsea and Barcelona forward Pedro won the ball back and headed home seconds later with the VAR officials ruling him just onside.

Celtic are on zero points from two matches after going down to nine men in an opening defeat by Feyenoord and now face a pivotal double-header against Atletico Madrid, who visit Glasgow on October 25 after beating the Dutch champions 3-2 to move on to four points.

Johnston said: “We still believe. I think we have shown we can play with anyone. That was a top team and we had a lot of spells with the ball where we were comfortable.

“But you need to find a way to turn that into wins because every match, especially when you go away in the Champions League, is going to be difficult.

“Our mind is still on getting out of this group and I still think there’s a chance but this next match becomes all the more important. We know that. You lose again and the ride is probably done.

“We need to really dig in and find a way in these next two games against Atletico to get some points on the board.”

Celtic took an early lead through Kyogo Furuhashi after a penetrating move but conceded an equaliser from a corner.

Johnston added: “We just need to get a little more ruthless in both boxes, in terms of defending our box and set-pieces, and just be a little more clinical.

“If we can add that element in both boxes I think we can be a really top team because we showed in the middle third that we can play with these teams.”

Celtic had looked the likelier team to get in front for most of the second half.

The Canada international said: “It felt really good second half, like we could move the ball around, we were comfortable, breaking through their press. We probably didn’t create as many clear-cut chances as we would have liked but we weren’t really conceding much.

“With the crowd behind us, we always felt like we were going to get one, and it felt like we did with Palma finishing it off.

“That’s football, isn’t it? Sometimes it goes your way and sometimes it doesn’t but we want those ones to start falling our way because it feels like there have been a couple now that have gone against us and we need to find a way to get the win.

“The margins are so slim, one slip and this level of players will punish you. I mean, that’s Pedro with the header at the back post, for crying out loud, from one little thing.

“We need to be extra cautious and that’s part of my role in the Champions League, to be really defensive-minded. There was one moment where I kind of get caught out and all of a sudden they are scoring at the back post. That’s what is frustrating for myself personally and I think for the team as well.

“I would love to say we are going to learn from this and we will but at this stage you just don’t even want to make that mistake, we feel we are past that.

“It’s frustrating but we have to move on and bounce back.”

Ireland centre Robbie Henshaw is expected to be unavailable until at least the semi-finals of the Rugby World Cup due to a hamstring injury.

The Leinster centre sustained the issue in training this week, ruling him out of Saturday evening’s pivotal Pool B clash with Scotland in Paris.

Ireland will monitor Henshaw’s fitness for the time being but head coach Andy Farrell is weighing up his options and could eventually make a change to his 33-man squad.

“He pulled up with a hamstring unfortunately at the end of the session on Tuesday and the diagnosis with hamstrings, they want to see how things settle down,” said Farrell.

“It probably takes about five days for that type of thing to happen but it looks like it could be a minimum of a couple of weeks at this stage.”

Asked if Henshaw will remain in France, Farrell replied: “Obviously, we’ll assess that as we go.

“Certainly he’ll be around rehabbing and we’ll see how the weekend goes with other injuries, etc, and assess how Robbie’s going along the way also.”

Ulster’s Stuart McCloskey has taken Henshaw’s place among the replacements for this weekend’s Stade de France showdown, while hooker Dan Sheehan and lock Iain Henderson have been selected ahead of benched pair Ronan Kelleher and James Ryan.

Vice-captain Ryan suffered a wrist injury in Ireland’s 13-8 success over South Africa a fortnight ago.

Farrell insists the Leinster second row is fully fit and has trained well, including coming close to flattening captain Johnny Sexton on more than one occasion.

“He’s fit,” Farrell said of Ryan.

“He had a bit of a niggle on a wrist but that’s fine and he trained the house down, actually trained the best I’ve seen him train in a good amount of years yesterday.

“He actually nearly took Johnny’s head off three or four times so he’s fit and raring to go, there’s no doubt.”

Ireland will progress to the knockout stages with a win or draw, while a defeat will leave them reliant on Scotland’s margin of victory and bonus points gained.

Farrell suggested the recalled Henderson, who came off the bench in the victories over Romania, Tonga and the Springboks, could be handy in calculating the permutations.

“We want to win,” said Farrell. “It’s a massive game. It’s so important to us and certainly obviously to them.

“But to the travelling fans and the people back home it’s a huge game.

“We have Iain Henderson in our group who is good at maths, so we’re across everything as far as that’s concerned.

“But the easiest way is to make sure that we perform well and deserve to win the game outright.”

Skipper Sexton will start for the fourth successive match following his return from injury and suspension at the beginning of the tournament, while flanker Peter O’Mahony will win his 100th Ireland cap.

“It is a knockout game,” said 38-year-old fly-half Sexton.

“We’ve viewed it as a last 16, we’ve spoken about it and that’s why it’s important we got our preparation right.

“We need to go out and get our performance right now.”

England manager Gareth Southgate is hoping for a positive update on Bukayo Saka after selecting the Arsenal star despite fears over his fitness.

Having failed to finish the matches against Tottenham and Bournemouth, the 22-year-old again left the field early in Tuesday’s 2-1 Champions League defeat at Lens.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta admitted afterwards that it “didn’t look good” for Saka, yet the forward was still named in Southgate’s 26-man squad two days later.

The England boss is awaiting news on the national team’s back-to-back men’s player of the year and has not given up on him being available for this month’s double-header against Australia and Italy.

“He’s still being assessed,” Southgate said of Saka, who faces a race to be involved for Arsenal against Manchester City on Sunday before attention turns to international matters.

“Obviously, they’ve got a big game this weekend and then there’s another seven days before we play Australia and 10 days before we play Italy as well.

“So, everybody will monitor everything as we go forward.”

England could wrap up their place at Euro 2024 this month, with the Wembley qualifier against Italy following their friendly under the arch against Australia.

Uncapped Levi Colwill and Eddie Nketiah got the nod along for the October fixtures, while Ollie Watkins received his first call-up since March 2022 and Jarrod Bowen returned for the first time since that September.

But there was no place for Mason Mount, James Ward-Prowse or Raheem Sterling, with the latter having not added to his 82 caps since the 2022 World Cup.

Asked if he spoke to Chelsea forward Sterling like he did last month, Southgate said; “No, we spoke before the last squad.

“As I said, we’ve been happy with the wide players and the performances in the last four games, in particular, and the two in March. The team are playing really well, so clearly there’s some stability there.

“We have added Jarrod Bowen in those wide areas – I mean, he scored five in seven games, he’s playing really well.

“With the Australia game as well, there’s an opportunity to learn some different things as well.”

On Watkins, who Southgate saw score a hat-trick for Aston Villa against Brighton at the weekend, he said: “There’s a little bit with Callum Wilson as well, so he’s carrying an injury.

“Not certain he’d be available. Ollie has started the season well. He’s hit a bit of scoring form in the last couple of weeks.

“You have to be careful with that because you can’t just go on recency bias when you’re looking at selection, but he is in good form.

“He’s obviously coming in on a high and he’s been with this before.

“We know his character, we know his personality. He’s a good guy around the around the group.

“Team are playing well, he’s playing for a club that are really well coached and the team are in a good moment.”

Ben Chilwell and Eberechi Eze join Wilson in missing this month’s matches through injury, while Harry Maguire, Jordan Henderson and Kalvin Phillips retain their place despite questions over their spots.

John Stones returned having missed a September camp that ended with a 3-1 win in Scotland, who are vying with England for Elliot Anderson’s international future.

The 20-year-old left the last Scottish camp after two days following his first call-up to the full squad and last week indicated he wanted more time to consider his international future.

“I haven’t (spoken to him),” Southgate said of the Newcastle talent. “I mean those things (Football Association technical director) John McDermott deals with that, really.

“So, I think we’re the same as Steve. We’re respectful that those sorts of decisions are big decisions and we don’t want to pressure anybody.

“We like Elliot, we think he’s a very good player, got high potential.

“He’s obviously at a club that are absolutely flying, so, yeah, we’ll just have to wait and see.

“But we’re very much respectful that if he needs time to think that through we completely understand.”

England boss Gareth Southgate insists he has never been a fan of VAR and would prefer just to accept referees’ decisions.

The off-field decision-making process has come under renewed fire this week after Liverpool were denied a fair goal in their defeat at Tottenham when VAR Darren England mistakenly thought the on-field decision was onside, but instead validated the linesman’s offside call.

There has been a huge fallout from the gaffe, with Reds boss Jurgen Klopp calling for the game to be replayed while the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) has announced a review into VAR.

Southgate’s side were victims of a contentious call in the early days of VAR when Jesse Lingard had a goal disallowed in the semi-final of the Nations League in 2019 after a questionable offside decision.

And the manager’s fondness for the system has not grown since then.

“Well, when you say I was at the forefront of it, I wasn’t for it,” Southgate said.

“My first experience of it…we’re still not sure if the Jesse Lingard goal that knocked us out of a semi-final was legit or not.

“I don’t like it. I think we should just accept referees’ decisions, but I also know that we’re unlikely to go back to a world where we don’t have technology as part of that decision-making process.

“It was never going to resolve every issue and I don’t think there is any solution that will achieve that.”