Max Verstappen navigated his way through a chaotic and dramatic rain-hit Dutch Grand Prix to equal Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine victories in a row.
Pole-sitter Verstappen found himself down in 13th place after seven drivers – including Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez – took advantage of a sudden first-lap downpour to move on to wet tyres.
The Dutchman regained the lead on lap 13 of 72 only for the race to be red-flagged with just eight laps to run after Zhou Guanyu crashed out following a second heavy shower.
A 43-minute suspension followed as the tyre barrier at the opening corner was repaired.
But Verstappen beat Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in a six-lap dash to the chequered flag to match Vettel’s streak, set in 2013.
Perez finished third but was demoted a place after he was hit with a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, allowing Pierre Gasly to take the final spot on the podium.
Carlos Sainz finished fifth, holding off Lewis Hamilton, with Lando Norris seventh. George Russell was forced to retire his Mercedes following a late duel with Norris.
Verstappen, whose Red Bull team remain unbeaten this season, extended his championship lead from 125 points to 138 ahead of next weekend’s Italian Grand Prix in Monza.
Dark clouds gathered in the minutes ahead of Sunday’s round in Zandvoort, 30 miles outside of Amsterdam, and just a handful of corners into the start, the heavens opened.
While Verstappen and the leading pack tiptoed their way round the 2.65-mile circuit, Perez – who started in seventh – was called in by his quick-thinking Red Bull team for the intermediate tyres.
With the rain still falling, Verstappen sensibly stopped the next time round but McLaren’s Lando Norris and the Mercedes of Russell stayed out on the slick rubber despite the worsening conditions.
Hamilton, who started 13th, was also sent round for another lap despite the seven-time world champion’s obvious concerns.
“We should have come in, man,” he said over the radio. “It is very wet.”
“Copy, Lewis,” said his race engineer Peter Bonnington. “We’re going to stay out. We’re going to have to brave this.”
But at the end of the third lap, Hamilton was in for wet tyres. He rejoined the track in last place. Russell was still sliding around on slicks before he was changed on to the wet rubber at the end of lap four. When the dust settled, Hamilton and Russell occupied 16th and 18th places.
“I was forecast a podium,” said Russell on the radio. “F***, how did we mess this up?”
By now the rain had relented and dry line was already starting to emerge, and, despite his early handicap, the all-conquering Verstappen was, predictably, on the march.
On lap six he raced past Gasly for third before moving up to second a lap later as he blasted ahead of Zhou. Perez was seven seconds up the road.
Verstappen was taking chunks out of Perez – on one lap as many as four seconds – before he reverted to slicks on lap 11. Perez stopped the next time round but emerged three seconds behind the flying Dutchman, who was now back in the lead, and back in control.
On lap 15, Logan Sargeant was back in the wall a day after crashing out in qualifying. The American was unharmed but the safety car was deployed to retrieve his machine.
Mercedes called Russell in for his third stop of the afternoon, putting him on the hardest, durable tyre in the hope it would see him through to the end of the race.
With Sargeant’s wounded Williams out of the way, the race resumed on lap 21. Verstappen controlled the restart to leave team-mate Perez trailing.
Verstappen raced off into the distance with Hamilton and Russell beginning their fightback through the pack. The Mercedes men were back in the top 10 but with only a dozen laps remaining, the rain returned with vengeance.
The drivers were back in the pits for intermediate tyres before Perez spun his Red Bull at the opening corner and lost second to Alonso.
As the downpour intensified, Alfa Romeo’s Zhou aquaplaned at the first corner and thudded into the tyre wall. Hamilton also ran off at the opening bend but managed to keep his Mercedes out of the barriers and rejoined the track. Race director Niels Wittich red-flagged the race.
After a lengthy suspension the event was back under way at 5.14pm local time with two laps behind the safety car and a rolling start.
Alonso sensed his first win in a decade but despite the tricky conditions, Verstappen kept Alonso behind, crossing the line 3.7 seconds clear of the Spaniard.
Ocean Quest showed her class when storming to Tally-Ho Stud Irish EBF Ballyogan Stakes at Naas.
Jessica Harrington’s speedy daughter of Sioux Nation was an impressive winner of the Committed Stakes at Navan on her three-year-old return and following a narrow defeat over course and distance in the Lacken Stakes, performed with real credit at Royal Ascot when fourth to Shaquille in the Commonwealth Cup.
Freshened up following that outing at the Royal meeting, Ocean Quest was the 10-11 favourite to secure Group Three honours, something she did with the minimum of fuss.
Away well in the hands of Shane Foley, she was always forcing the pace on the far side and came home in splendid isolation to record a decisive three-and-three-quarter-length victory over Aussie Girl who finished best of those on the near side.
Paddy Power handed winner was handed quotes of 12-1 from 16s for Haydock’s Betfair Sprint Cup on September 9 and the same price from 18-1 for the Qipco British Champions Sprint Stakes (Ascot, October 21), with Harrington indicating both Group One races would be on Ocean Quest’s radar.
“That’s great. She hasn’t run since Ascot, we gave her time. We know she likes a bit of give in the ground and that’s why we put her away after Ascot,” said Harrington.
“I think she’ll go on anything actually and she’s a very classy filly.
“Ascot in October is the main target and she’s in at Haydock in the Group One sprint there.
“We didn’t put her in Irish Champions Weekend because it’s five furlongs, but apparently she gets a free entry now. If it came up heavy maybe.
“This summer we’ve had no idea what ground we’re going to get. You can have good to firm in the morning and abandoned in the afternoon.
“We know she goes on heavy, she’s won on heavy and she’s gone on good to firm so she’s a very versatile filly. She’s classy and speedy.”
There was earlier success for Harrington on the card when Matter Of Fact landed the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies Maiden at 22-1.
The daughter of No Nay Never was well held on debut earlier in the season, but showed how much she has flourished in the interim with a stylish display which brings loftier targets into the picture.
“That was nice. She ran in May and has grown an awful lot since then,” said Harrington.
“Nathan (Crosse) said when she was in behind she was behind the bridle, whether it was the kickback or what. It wasn’t until he pulled her out that she absolutely flew up the hill.
“She did it well. She was still very green and she’ll have learned a lot, which is great.
“I’d say she could step up in trip but the dam only got six, even though she’s by Galileo. She has got a beautiful pedigree.
“My two-year-olds are only just starting to come to themselves. They were all good in the spring and then they all started growing. She was small in May but now she’s a fine big filly.
“We’ll see what comes up and see where we go from here. I’d hope we’d be going for stakes race next. She’s got the pedigree and she’s done that well.
“I’d say it was a good maiden, my other filly didn’t seem to get home.”
There was a shock in the opening Irish EBF Median Sires Series Fillies Maiden when Kitty Rose denied Dermot Weld’s 11-10 favourite Tannola.
Sent off at 25-1, Natalia Lupini’s filly made the perfect start, travelling powerfully on the front-end and running on strongly to score by a length and three-quarters.
The trainer’s partner Craig Bryson said: “We were hoping for a nice run but you never know first time out.
“She’s a filly that we’ve liked a lot at home, she did it well and she’ll progress plenty. She’s big and she’s a nice filly.
“She likes to go forward, she likes to gallop and I’d imagine as you step her up in trip she’ll be better. She’s one to look forward to.
“I’ll talk to the lads but we might look at the Ingabelle Stakes at Leopardstown, that might suit her. If she comes out of it well that’s probably the race to go for.
“We had a filly (Highly Desirable) that was third in this race last year and went on to finish third in the Ingabelle. You’d be happy to go and take your chance in it and hopefully get black type.”
The afternoon’s other two-year-old contest went the way of Joseph O’Brien’s McTenett who justified 9-4 favouritism in the Irish EBF Auction Series Maiden.
“He had a nice run the first day and he learned a good bit, he was more professional today. He looks like a nice horse going forward,” said O’Brien.
“We were happy that he’d get the six up here well. It was a nice straightforward ride by Dylan and it’s nice to have a winner for Neil (Sands) and the Bronsan team.
“There is plenty of money in those auction races and there is a winners race in Roscommon in early September.”
Max Verstappen navigated his way through a chaotic and dramatic rain-hit Dutch Grand Prix to equal Sebastian Vettel’s record of nine victories in a row.
Pole-sitter Verstappen found himself down in 13th place after seven drivers – including Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez – took advantage of a sudden first-lap downpour to move on to wet tyres.
The Dutchman regained the lead on lap 13 of 72 only for the race to be red-flagged with just eight laps to run after Zhou Guanyu crashed out following a second heavy shower.
A 43-minute suspension followed as the tyre barrier at the opening corner was repaired.
But Verstappen beat Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso in a six-lap dash to the chequered flag to match Vettel’s streak, set in 2013.
Perez finished third but was demoted a place after he was hit with a five-second penalty for speeding in the pit lane, allowing Pierre Gasly to take the final spot on the podium.
Carlos Sainz finished fifth, holding off Lewis Hamilton, with Lando Norris seventh. George Russell was forced to retire his Mercedes following a late duel with Norris.
Verstappen, whose Red Bull team remain unbeaten this season, extended his championship lead from 125 points to 138 ahead of next weekend’s Italian Grand Prix in Monza.
Dark clouds gathered in the minutes ahead of Sunday’s round in Zandvoort, 30 miles outside of Amsterdam, and just a handful of corners into the start, the heavens opened.
While Verstappen and the leading pack tiptoed their way round the 2.65-mile circuit, Perez – who started in seventh – was called in by his quick-thinking Red Bull team for the intermediate tyres.
With the rain still falling, Verstappen sensibly stopped the next time round but McLaren’s Lando Norris and the Mercedes of Russell stayed out on the slick rubber despite the worsening conditions.
Hamilton, who started 13th, was also sent round for another lap despite the seven-time world champion’s obvious concerns.
“We should have come in, man,” he said over the radio. “It is very wet.”
“Copy, Lewis,” said his race engineer Peter Bonnington. “We’re going to stay out. We’re going to have to brave this.”
But at the end of the third lap, Hamilton was in for wet tyres. He rejoined the track in last place. Russell was still sliding around on slicks before he was changed on to the wet rubber at the end of lap four. When the dust settled, Hamilton and Russell occupied 16th and 18th places.
“I was forecast a podium,” said Russell on the radio. “F***, how did we mess this up?”
By now the rain had relented and dry line was already starting to emerge, and, despite his early handicap, the all-conquering Verstappen was, predictably, on the march.
On lap six he raced past Gasly for third before moving up to second a lap later as he blasted ahead of Zhou. Perez was seven seconds up the road.
Verstappen was taking chunks out of Perez – on one lap as many as four seconds – before he reverted to slicks on lap 11. Perez stopped the next time round but emerged three seconds behind the flying Dutchman, who was now back in the lead, and back in control.
On lap 15, Logan Sargeant was back in the wall a day after crashing out in qualifying. The American was unharmed but the safety car was deployed to retrieve his machine.
Mercedes called Russell in for his third stop of the afternoon, putting him on the hardest, durable tyre in the hope it would see him through to the end of the race.
With Sargeant’s wounded Williams out of the way, the race resumed on lap 21. Verstappen controlled the restart to leave team-mate Perez trailing.
Verstappen raced off into the distance with Hamilton and Russell beginning their fightback through the pack. The Mercedes men were back in the top 10 but with only a dozen laps remaining, the rain returned with vengeance.
The drivers were back in the pits for intermediate tyres before Perez spun his Red Bull at the opening corner and lost second to Alonso.
As the downpour intensified, Alfa Romeo’s Zhou aquaplaned at the first corner and thudded into the tyre wall. Hamilton also ran off at the opening bend but managed to keep his Mercedes out of the barriers and rejoined the track. Race director Niels Wittich red-flagged the race.
After a lengthy suspension the event was back under way at 5.14pm local time with two laps behind the safety car and a rolling start.
Alonso sensed his first win in a decade but despite the tricky conditions, Verstappen kept Alonso behind, crossing the line 3.7 seconds clear of the Spaniard.
Al Riffa has a choice of engagements for his next outing, with Joseph O’Brien sure “the best is yet come” from his lightly-raced colt.
Winner of the National Stakes last season, the son of Wootton Bassett did not make his three-year-old return until the Curragh in July, finishing second to Mashhoor in the International Stakes.
He went from there to Deauville for the Prix Guillaume d’Ornano – and gave unbeaten French Derby winner and Arc favourite Ace Impact a real race in going down by just three-quarters of a length.
“He’ll either go to the Irish Champion or the Prix Niel, I’d say,” said O’Brien.
“He came out of his last run well. It was a great run, the winner is one of the best three-year-olds in Europe and we were right in the mix with him.
“Hopefully the best is yet to come with him.”
O’Brien also had news on his high-class filly Above The Curve, who has been placed in Group One company three times so far this campaign, most recently in the Prix Jean Romanet.
He said: “She may go back to France for the Prix Vermeille. She’s come out of the Prix Jean Romanet well.”
Rodri’s late winner clinched Manchester City a hard-fought 2-1 win at Sheffield United and lifted them top of the Premier League.
The City midfielder crashed home a shot from inside the area less than three minutes after Blades substitute Jayden Bogle had cancelled out Erling Haaland’s second-half header with an 85th-minute equaliser.
It was a breathless finish to a game City had dominated – Haaland missed a first-half penalty – but Rodri’s strike finally ended the Blades’ brave resistance and sealed absent manager Pep Guardiola’s 200th win in the English top flight.
With City assistant coach Juanma Lillo in charge of the visitors’ dugout as Guardiola recovers from back surgery in Barcelona, it took 12 minutes for his side to carve out their first chance as Haaland headed straight at Blades goalkeeper Wes Foderingham.
The home side, forced to replace Ben Osborn with summer signing Yasser Larouci in the 17th minute, stuck resolutely to their task as City hogged the ball and patiently probed for an opening.
Foderingham denied the visitors again in the 26th minute by deflecting Alvarez’s shot for a corner.
City were gifted the chance to take a first-half lead when Alvarez’s cross struck John Egan on the arm as the Blades skipper slid in to block and referee Jarred Gillett pointed straight to the spot.
But Haaland failed to convert as his low, left-footed penalty struck Foderingham’s left-hand post.
Blades defender George Baldock was booked for his juddering challenge on Jack Grealish before the interval and the home fans gave their side a standing ovation at the half-time whistle with the score at 0-0.
Lillo stepped out into the technical area for the first time shortly after the restart to see Haaland shank Kyle Walker’s cross inches wide.
There was now more urgency to City’s approach play. Rodri pulled a low effort wide, Foderingham rescued the Blades again by palming Haaland’s dinked effort for a corner and Alvarez lashed Grealish’s lay-off just wide.
Walker then blazed over before City made the breakthrough in the 63rd minute.
Grealish was marshalled by Baldock on the left edge of the area, but made space to clip the ball to the far post and Haaland powered home his third league goal of the season with a towering header.
The Blades responded as substitute Oli McBurnie headed wide from a corner and at the other end Foderingham kept out Mateo Kovacic’s free-kick.
Bramall Lane erupted in the 85th minute when substitute Bogle arrowed a shot inside the far post to haul his side level following an earlier error by former Blade Walker.
But before a crowd of 31,336 could catch breath, Walker made amends by out-muscling Larouci out wide and his cross was lashed home by Rodri after Phil Foden had mis-controlled.
The Blades almost snatched another equaliser when Anel Ahmedhodzic just failed to latch on to McBurnie’s cross, but City held firm to maintain their 100 per cent start.
Matty Cash’s first Aston Villa goals in over a year inspired Unai Emery’s side to a 3-1 victory over Burnley at Turf Moor.
Cash came into the side as the only unenforced change from Villa’s 5-0 midweek Europa Conference League play-off win over Hibernian, and ensured there was no European hangover for his side as he scored twice in the opening 20 minutes.
Lyle Foster gave Burnley hope with a powerful strike two minutes into the second half, but Moussa Diaby restored Villa’s two-goal advantage just after the hour as they ended a five-match winless league run on the road.
Burnley built their Sky Bet Championship title on the back of a 21-match unbeaten run at home, but have started life back in the Premier League with back-to-back defeats at Turf Moor.
Cash, playing in an advanced role on the right side of Villa’s midfield, needed only eight minutes to break the deadlock, sliding in to poke home Ollie Watkins’ cross after John McGinn’s lofted ball over the top had left Burnley goalkeeper James Trafford caught in two minds.
It was the Poland international’s first goal since the final day of the 2021-22 season and the drama of Manchester City’s title-winning come-from-behind win over Villa, but there would soon be another with Cash at the heart of a slick passing move.
Cutting in from the right to collect Watkins’ pass, Cash laid the ball off for Diaby on the right side of the box, then charged into the centre to lash home the resulting cross.
Burnley looked rusty after the postponement of last weekend’s trip to Luton left them with an enforced rest and were being overrun defensively as the chances kept coming.
Cash, brimming with confidence, tried a spectacular volley from Lucas Digne’s deep cross in the 35th minute, but Hannes Delcroix, making his Burnley debut after arriving in midweek from Anderlecht, got in a block to send it over the crossbar.
Cash again linked up with Diaby, whose deflected cross found Watkins, but Trafford was in the right place to deny him from point-blank range.
Burnley had done little to threaten the goal of Robin Olsen, making his first Premier League start since New Year’s Day with Emi Martinez sidelined by a calf strain, but things changed immediately at the start of the second half.
Johann Berg Gudmundsson, on as a substitute, headed a deep ball back into the box and Foster had the power to hold off Pau Torres, spinning to fire beyond Olsen.
Burnley were suddenly on top. Sander Berge sent in a cross begging for a touch, then Zeki Amdouni caused panic between Torres and Olsen.
More confusion between Olsen and Boubacar Kamara allowed Berge to run into the box, winning a corner from which Olsen did well to deny Delcroix a debut goal.
Having coped with the pressure, Villa hit Burnley on the break just after the hour. McGinn shrugged off a shirt pull from Ameen Al-Dakhil to play in Digne, who pulled the ball back for Diaby to find the bottom right corner – the goal surviving a VAR check for offside.
Watkins should have made it four in the 67th minute when he beat Delcroix to a low cross but Trafford again denied him from close range, holding smartly.
Nicolo Zaniolo replaced Diaby to make his Villa debut and almost scored with his first involvement, seeing his shot deflected wide, but the Italy international should have squared for the unmarked Watkins.
Cash, still fancying a hat-trick, shot narrowly wide with 10 minutes left while Zaniolo flashed a powerful effort just over.
Burnley substitute Jay Rodriguez twice threatened Olsen’s goal late on, but there was no way back for the hosts.
Valerien Ismael explained he dropped key midfielder Imran Louza for disciplinary reasons ahead of Watford’s 1-0 defeat at home to Blackburn.
The Morocco midfielder is understood to have been punished for poor time-keeping, arriving late for a training session.
Louza was introduced as a half-time substitute but it was from his error that Ryan Hedges went on to score the game’s only goal.
Ismael made it clear afterwards that stamping down on lax discipline was top of his agenda as Watford’s new manager.
“When we came we set rules with the players and everyone has to respect the rules, it’s as simple as that,” he said.
“Imran knows exactly why he was on the bench today. You have to understand as well I’m not happy to take some decisions but I have to take action when people don’t respect the rules.
“I want to play my best team in the league. It was an internal situation, now everything is clear so we move on. I don’t need to go into details, it is enough to say he was on the bench.”
Hedges won it for Rovers in the 72nd minute. Louza misplaced a pass that allowed Rovers substitute Sam Gallagher to send captain Lewis Travis sprinting goalwards.
Hornets defender Ryan Porteous stopped him with a fine tackle but Hedges seized on the loose ball and, having juggled it on the top of a boot to get it under control, lashed high past Daniel Bachmann from a tight angle on the right.
“I’m delighted with the result and the performance,” said Rovers manager Jon Dahl Tomasson.
“We knew that coming to Watford with those quality players they have it could be difficult to dominate the game on the ball. We showed great organisation and discipline and I think we defended really well.
“We had five or six good moments in the first half where the quality of our passing and decision-making was not good.
“I was disappointed that we were not leading two or three-nil by half-time because there were some key moments. We spoke about those moments and in the second half we scored from one of those moments and could have scored a couple more.”
Matheus Martins, Watford’s Brazilian wideman, was the game’s outstanding individual and came closest to ending a Hornets league goal drought.
First he forced Rovers goalkeeper Aynsley Pears into a parry before smacking the crossbar before half-time. Later, after Hedges had fired Rovers in front, he saw Pears tip a goal-bound effort on to a post.
The win lifted Rovers up to ninth and left the Hornets stuck in 15th, without a goal in Championship action since the 43rd minute of their opening game.
“We missed making the goal to have that opener and the confidence and relief we needed,” Ismael added.
“We shot on the crossbar, we shot on the post, had dangerous situations and in my opinion we should have had a penalty as well.
“We tried to do the right things so my feeling is as long as we have the feeling that we are going the right way we have to stay calm and keep working hard.
“This is the Championship and we know that in two or three months it can look completely different. It is difficult to take that with their only chance of the second half the opponent wins the game.”
Impressive York winner Dragon Leader is likely to stick to chasing the big money for the time being rather than being stepped up in class.
Trained by Clive Cox, the Kennet Valley Syndicates-owned maintained his unbeaten record in scintillating style on the Knavesmire, winning almost £150,000 in the Goffs UK Harry Beeby Premier Yearling Stakes.
In winning by four and a half lengths he evoked memories of Mums Tipple, who streaked away with the same contest in 2019. But rather than take the plunge against Group horses next like he did, Dragon Leader’s connections are happy to stay in similar company for now.
“We’ll let the dust settle, but he is in the Doncaster and the Redcar sales races – both of those are worth a fair few quid – and we’re well weighted in both,” said Kennet Valley director Piers Winkworth.
“We’ll probably go that way, rather than something more ambitious in Pattern company for now, which we might have to do at some point because he looks like a proper, proper racehorse, this Dragon Leader.
“I think for now we will target the money of the sales races rather than Pattern company.”
Brendan Rodgers faced dissent from the stands and apparent disquiet from within his squad following Saturday’s goalless home draw with St Johnstone.
Celtic followed their Viaplay Cup exit at Kilmarnock with another setback as they saw their early-season cinch Premiership advantage over Rangers cut to one point before travelling to Ibrox next Sunday.
Celtic were booed off the park after failing to break down a team who had lost their last four matches.
There was further acrimony as Rodgers joined his players as they walked round the stadium to show their appreciation to the fans who had stayed behind.
Many of those in the standing section, which had expressed opposition to Rodgers’ reappointment in June, reacted angrily when the group reached them.
There was another issue for Rodgers to ponder on Sunday when Sead Haksabanovic appeared to express dissatisfaction with his situation on the fringes of the team.
Writing on his verified Instagram account, Haksabanovic posted a photo of himself in a Celtic strip and said: “If they don’t see your value maybe you’re not at the right place.”
The Montenegro international has only started 13 games since joining Celtic 12 months ago, four since the World Cup, and has made two substitute appearances under Rodgers.
The comment quickly drew criticism from former Celtic striker Chris Sutton, who wrote on Twitter: “Haksabanovic may have a point but he’s out of order making his point in public.
“Just go and knock on the managers door and tell him if you’re unhappy… and playing well also helps!”
Haksabanovic came close to breaking the deadlock against Saints with a long-range strike that was turned round the post by Dimitar Mitov.
The Bulgarian goalkeeper made a hat-trick of excellent stops from Matt O’Riley but was otherwise untroubled by Celtic, who needed Joe Hart to be on top form to deny Dara Costelloe and Stevie May in the second half.
Celtic failed to score in consecutive domestic games for the first time in five years, the previous time coming after they had clinched their second title under Rodgers.
Some players appear to have lost their edge since the departure of Ange Postecoglou and Rodgers could not explain the reasons for their flat display in the immediate aftermath of Saturday’s game.
Rodgers said: “We obviously had a couple of good chances, the keeper made some really good saves and we got into some good areas, but we lacked craft and that extra wee bit of imagination when we got in there.
“I’m not sure (why). I think it’s something I need to go away and analyse in the game. We arrived into some good positions but whether it was the finesse on the pass, or giving it away, or just couldn’t quite beat our man.”
Despite the setback, O’Riley feels they are getting greater cohesion.
The midfielder, who is playing a deeper role than he normally fulfilled under Postecoglou, said: “I think structurally we were better in terms of our understanding on the pitch.
“We could have been a lot cleaner with our passes but in terms of understanding the system, today was the most comfortable I’ve felt within it. I think that showed with the chances we did create.”
St Johnstone manager Steven MacLean hopes the point will kick-start their campaign after a difficult start to his first full season in the job which saw his side lose five of their first six matches and suffer a 4-0 home defeat by Stirling.
“This was the first week that we had a proper squad,” said MacLean, who handed out three debuts. “We had 12 players fit for pre-season and four of them were young players who’d never played for the club before.
“I had 10 players injured at Ross County, and had to play a left centre-half at left-back and a central midfielder at right-wing.
“The things that have happened in the off season, you couldn’t write it. You go on all these courses to learn about coaching and managing but nothing like that gets brought up.
“There have been some tough days but you come through it and you are better for it. Hopefully my team can kick on now.”
Desert Hero continues to please William Haggas, as the build-up to a royal runner with a real chance in the Betfred St Leger continues to gather pace.
Haggas, who guided Horse of the Year Baaeed with such expertise last season, is well aware of the attention that will be on the Royal Ascot and Gordon Stakes winner as Doncaster on September 16 draws ever nearer.
The Newmarket trainer took the decision to eschew another outing in the Great Voltigeur at York in preference for keeping the three-year-old fresh.
Having already provided the King and Queen with their first Royal Ascot success, were he to land them a Classic, his name would be etched in Turf history forever.
The King would also be emulating the late Queen as the owner of a St Leger winner, after Dunfermline won at Doncaster in 1977, which was Silver Jubilee year.
“Desert Hero is absolutely fine, he worked Thursday morning and I’m very happy with him,” said Haggas.
“We toyed with the idea of York for the Voltigeur, but in the end we just felt what was the point.”
He added: “I realise that we might be getting a phone call a day from the press, I can feel it coming, but I’d rather that than nothing at all.”
Mikel Arteta has backed Kai Havertz to win over the fans and come good at Arsenal after the summer signing from Chelsea endured a tepid start to his career at the Emirates.
Havertz arrived for £65million in June and has started all three of the team’s Premier League games as part of a midfield three this season.
He was withdrawn after 56 minutes of Saturday’s 2-2 draw with Fulham having struggled to help Arsenal back into a match in which they trailed to Andreas Pereira’s first-minute goal.
He had one glorious chance to level early in the first half when he got his head to Bukayo Saka’s clever flick back across goal but badly miscued his effort.
And there was audible discontent from sections of the home support in certain moments when the Germany international was in possession.
His struggles were thrown into stark relief by the impact of the player who replaced him, Fabio Vieira, who won a penalty from which Saka equalised in the 70th minute and then set up fellow substitute Eddie Nketiah to fire Arsenal into the lead moments later.
Arteta insists he has been pleased with Havertz’s contributions so far and said he remains confident he will settle in north London.
“I saw an action when he played it backwards and he could have turned,” said the manager. “But that’s more I think the demands of everybody, to play forward and to impact the game in the final third, because we had the urgency to win it.
“Yes, I think (he will win the fans over). I think he’s done already really good things today. It was tough for him in certain moments, he got in great areas again and the ball didn’t arrive.
“He’s had a lot of situations, he should have scored already a lot of goals this season, and that’s the thing that is missing there.”
The introduction of Vieira and Nketiah in the second half had a transformative effect on Arsenal after a first half in which they dominated play but rarely extended Fulham goalkeeper Bernd Leno.
Vieira in particular succeeded in galvanising the team in midfield after the ineffectual Havertz had departed, playing a decisive role in the goals that looked to have won it for the hosts before Joao Palhinha’s late strike for 10-man Fulham.
But Arteta reserved special praise for Nketiah, a surprise omission from the starting line-up after performing well during Monday’s win against Crystal Palace, winning the penalty from which Martin Odegaard secured a 1-0 victory.
“(Nketiah) looks a real threat at the moment,” said Arteta. “He’s in a good moment, I think he’s full of confidence. I saw when he came on in the second half the fire in his eyes, and he’s got an eye for goal. The way he finished the action, it was top.
“It’s difficult to leave (any) player out. When I see the bench there are players that still haven’t played. But we’ve (played once a week (so far). In two weeks, that’s going to be a completely different scenario and we’re prepared for that.”
Hibernian are looking for what will be their sixth manager in less than five years after sacking Lee Johnson.
Hibs confirmed Johnson had departed less than 24 hours after a 3-2 home defeat by Livingston meant they had lost their opening three cinch Premiership matches.
Chief executive Ben Kensell said on the Hibernian website: “The club has taken the tough decision to relieve Lee Johnson of his duties following a disappointing start to the domestic campaign.
“We wish Lee and his coaching staff all the best for the future and thank them for their efforts.”
Hibs confirmed that coaches Jamie McAllister and Adam Owen had also left with immediate effect.
The change comes ahead of Thursday’s Europa Conference League play-off second leg against Aston Villa with Hibs 5-0 down from the first leg.
Former skipper David Gray will assume caretaker charge for the “immediate future”, for the third time since December 2021, and will be supported by Stuart Garden.
Johnson twice survived four-game losing streaks and poor cup form in his first season at Easter Road before finally leading Hibs to fifth place and a spot in the Conference League qualifiers.
Hibs have had highs and lows in Europe this season with travelling fans venting their fury in Andorra following a first-leg defeat by Inter d’Escaldes before the Leith side won 6-1 at home.
Victory over Luzern in the third qualifying round was followed by a Viaplay Cup triumph against Raith Rovers, but then came defeats against Villa and Livi.
After earlier league losses against St Mirren and Motherwell, Hibs were left alone on zero points at the foot of the table.
Johnson acknowledged that he was under pressure immediately after Saturday’s Easter Road defeat against a Livingston side who had not scored in their previous nine Premiership away games.
The former Bristol City and Sunderland manager said: “I genuinely do apologise because I didn’t want to start like this.
“I was full of beans – I still am – going into the season and this has caught us out a little bit.
“I hope they (the board) stick with me, I really do, because I want to be here. I’d never throw the towel in.
“And I understand there will be fans calling for my head. But I genuinely believe that we’ll do it. I think we’ve got a good squad, I think we’ve had a few issues – and we’ve got to tidy up our defensive stuff.
“It’s unacceptable, I understand that. I’m okay to take responsibility for that knowing I still have belief in the squad.
“I’m disappointed because I love it here and I believe in us. But at the same time I’ve experienced this before in my career.”
Hibs were behind for the vast majority of the game with Jordan Obita scoring an early own goal before Martin Boyle levelled. Bruce Anderson headed Livi back in front and Mo Sangare’s wonder striker made it 3-1 before Josh Campbell pulled on back late on.
Johnson said: “We will turn it. The season and the league settles down when it becomes week to week.
“I hope that when we do turn it around, and we will, that those fans accept that and come back onside.
“That’s all I ask, humbly, and I accept the criticism and responsibility but I want to do very well for this football club and we’re pushing it in all directions.”
Johnson lasted slightly longer than his immediate three predecessors – Paul Heckingbottom, Jack Ross and Shaun Maloney – with Hibs looking for stability they last had when Neil Lennon spent two-and-a-half years in the hotseat.
Oleksandr Usyk maintained his unbeaten record with a knockout victory over Daniel Dubois in Poland on Saturday night.
The Ukrainian put down Dubois in the ninth round to retain his WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight belts, although there was controversy over a punch deemed a low blow by the British fighter in the fifth round that left Usyk on the canvas.
Here, the PA news agency looks at what comes next for Usyk.
Could there be a rematch?
There was no rematch clause included in the contract but Dubois and his team were furious about the low blow decision and promoter Frank Warren has already said they will push for the fight to be declared a no contest, or a rematch ordered.
What about Tyson Fury?
Usyk was asked immediately after the fight about the prospect of facing WBC champion Tyson Fury in a unification contest and said he would be ready for it “tomorrow”. Fury is due to fight Francis Ngannou on October 28 in Saudi Arabia, and predicting the 35-year-old’s next move is notoriously difficult.
Who else?
Filip Hrgovic is the mandatory IBF challenger and believes he should be ahead of Fury in the queue to take on Usyk. The undefeated Croatian defeated Demsey McKean on the same card which saw Anthony Joshua knock out Robert Helenius.
Could it be Joshua?
Usyk and Joshua have gone toe-to-toe in two of the most high-profile fights in recent years, with the Ukrainian causing an upset in the first contest and then narrowly retaining the titles he won. A third fight does not appear to be on the cards, though, with Joshua eyeing a clash against Deontay Wilder in a double bill with Usyk-Fury.
Any other options?
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At 36, there must be questions about Usyk’s future in the sport and, if the Fury fight does not happen soon, how long will he hang on? The Ukrainian took up arms in the early stages of the war against Russia and events in his homeland could also be a factor in his next move.
Connections are willing to bide their time after Passenger served a reminder of his quality to give Sir Michael Stoute his 10th win in the Winter Hill Stakes at Windsor.
Owned by the Niarchos family, the son of Ulysses was considered a Derby contender earlier this season and was supplemented for the premier Classic after backing up an impressive debut in the Wood Ditton by finishing third in the Dante at York – a race where many saw the colt as the moral winner following a luckless run on the Knavesmire.
Off the track since disappointing at Epsom, Passenger was dropped back to 10 furlongs for the Windsor Group Three on Saturday evening and showed his class when hitting the front approaching a furlong out in the hands of Richard Kingscote and knuckled down to hold off the challenge of Simon and Ed Crisford’s West Wind Blows.
“We were happy with his performance after a nice break,” said Alan Cooper, racing manager for the owners.
“He’s a Group winner now and hopefully will have learnt a lot from the race.
“It’s too soon to speak about plans and we’ll take our time and go from there.”
In winning the Winter Hill Stakes, Passenger went one better than his illustrious sire who was beaten a short head in the race in 2016.
Like Passenger, Ulysses was both trained by Stoute and contested the Derby during his three-year-old season and having gone on to strike twice at the highest level the following year, it provides plenty of optimism his talented son could follow in his footsteps and still have his best days ahead of him.
“I think it’s a good point and there are definitely similarities in their race programme, the sire and him,” continued Cooper.
“It’s a case of seeing what Sir Michael would like to do. He’ll take his time and nothing is set in stone.
“He’s a horse that has done very well this year and hopefully he will also have a very good year next year.
“He’s a 10-furlong horse that’s for sure. The Dante form is working out well and it is always good to have form working out.”
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