Tajay Gayle finished second in the long jump at the Diamond League finale in Eugene, Oregon on Sunday during a keenly contested event that saw the top-two tied in terms of distance achieved.

Gayle, the 2023 World Championships bronze medallist, soared out to a distance of 8.22m but had to settle for the runner-up slot to Switzerland’s Simon Erhammer, who also achieved a mark of 8.22 but won on the countback against the 2019 world champion.

Erhammer had additonal marks of 8.12m, 8.10 and 8.06m when compared to the Jamaican, who other best jumps were 8.08m and 8.06m.

Finishing third was Japan’s Yuki Hashioka, who jumped a season-best 8.15m.

Laquan Nairn of the Bahamas failed to break the 8m barrier, finishing seventh with a best of 7.27m.

 

Arsenal boss Mikel Arteta revealed he could substitute his goalkeepers during future Premier League matches after his side’s 1-0 win at Everton.

Arteta handed summer loan signing David Raya his debut in place of England keeper Aaron Ramsdale at Goodison Park and the Spaniard saw little action as Leandro Trossard’s solitary second-half strike proved decisive.

When asked about his decision to start with Raya, Gunners head coach Arteta said: “The same rationale about why Fabio (Vieira) played here or Eddie (Nketiah) or Gabriel Jesus.

“I haven’t had a single question on why Gabriel Jesus didn’t start. He has won more trophies than anybody else, including me, in that dressing room.”

Arteta, whose side were far from convincing as they extended their unbeaten start to the season with a fourth league win, said he would be prepared utilise two goalkeepers in one match.

“I cannot have two players in each position and not play them,” he said. “David has tremendous qualities, like Aaron has, like Karl (Hein) has and we have to use them.

“I am a really young manager and I have only been in the job for three and a half years and I have few regrets in what we have done.

“One of them is that on two occasions I felt after 60 minutes and 85 minutes in two games in this period, to change the keeper in that moment and I didn’t do it.

“I didn’t have the courage to do it. But I am able to take a winger, or a striker and put a central defender back and go to a back five to hold that result.

“And we drew those games and I was so unhappy and someone is going to do it and maybe it (the reaction) will be, ‘oh! That is strange. Why?’

“Why not? Tell me why not. You have all the qualities in another goalkeeper and you want to do something to change the momentum, do it.

“It is a regret that I have and my feeling is to get everyone engaged in the team. They have to play regardless of the competition. Do it. That is my message.”

Everton defended bravely, but offered little going forward and rarely threatened to score their first Premier League goal in three matches at Goodison this season.

The Toffees’ one point from five matches is their worst tally since 1994-95 and manager Sean Dyche admits he expected a greater return at this stage.

“I thought we would have more points on the board by now but you can’t give the ball away that many times,” he said.

“That link on transition was missing and we weren’t effective enough. We are conceding softish goals.

“Our growth is where we are. There is a reality. Last season nothing was solved. I’ve said there is massive work to be done.”

Max Verstappen believes he will be back on top at the Japanese Grand Prix following Red Bull’s off-colour showing in Singapore.

Red Bull have ruled the Formula One roost all year – with 14 victories from 14 prior to Sunday’s round in the city state, while Verstappen had been unbeaten in his last 10 appearances, setting a new record of consecutive wins along the way.

But the Dutch driver and Red Bull finally met their match at the unique, low-speed, high-downforce Marina Bay Circuit.

Verstappen qualified 11th before driving back to fifth, taking the chequered flag 21 seconds behind Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz – the Spaniard becoming the first non-Red Bull winner of the year.

However, Verstappen, victorious at 12 of the 15 rounds so far, expects the fast-flowing Suzkua track will see him return to winning ways.

“Yes, that is the target,” he said. “This track is so different to Suzuka and it doesn’t relate.

“We have learned a bit from today, and have a few ideas with what we got wrong yesterday. I cannot go into details but I feel good about Suzuka.”

Verstappen finished three places ahead of team-mate Sergio Perez to extend his championship lead from 145 points to 151.

Verstappen can no longer secure his third world title at next weekend’s race in Japan, with the Qatar Grand Prix on October 8 a possible destination for his coronation.

Red Bull’s failure to win ends their bid to become the first team in history to go through a season unbeaten.

“We never expected it,” Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said. “To have got through 14 races, in multiple conditions, is beyond our wildest imaginings. It is a hell of a run.

“We knew it had to come to an end at some point. Max has won 10 in a row and that is insanity.

“The only driver who has done nine is Sebastian (Vettel) in one of our cars so to have the first and second most winningest drivers in F1 is great – even if statistics apparently don’t matter. This kind of dominance is testimony to everyone involved.”

Great Britain must win a deciding doubles rubber against France to keep alive their Davis Cup hopes for this season after Cameron Norrie was beaten by Ugo Humbert in Manchester.

Dan Evans fought back from a set and a break down to see off teenage debutant Arthur Fils 3-6 6-3 6-4 to give Britain the lead in front of a 13,000 sell-out crowd at the AO Arena, a single day record for the competition in this country.

An out-of-form Norrie also battled from behind to force a deciding set against Ugo Humbert but was unable to take it, the Frenchman winning 7-6 (5) 3-6 7-5.

It will therefore come down to the final match of the week to decide who joins Australia in qualifying for the final eight event in Malaga in November.

Team selection has been one of the most intriguing aspects of this week and here it was France springing a surprise by turning to 19-year-old Fils ahead of the experienced Adrian Mannarino, against whom Evans has a great record.

Smith opted for his two highest-ranked singles players, overlooking Jack Draper, who made his own impressive debut in beating Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis on Wednesday, and Andy Murray.

Fils is the highest-ranked teenager in the world at 44 and the most exciting of a crop of young French players.

It was immediately clear this was not a comfortable match-up for the 5ft 9in Evans, who struggles to impose his finesse-based game against power hitters, and he was in deep trouble when he was broken for a second successive game at the start of the second set.

Fils had been landing everything but he played a poor game serving at 3-2 to allow Evans back into the contest and from there a combination of the crowd, smart play by the British number two and his opponent’s inexperience turned things around.

Fils managed to stay in touch in the deciding set and Evans had to come through a tense final game, leaping and punching the air before expressing annoyance at his opponent for a very perfunctory handshake.

“He’s a super nice guy,” the 33-year-old said later. “I understand it now.

“Obviously I’m a bit fired up when I was at the net as well. It’s fine, he’s a little younger than me.

“I’ve been in that situation, you just want to get off the court.

“He played very good at the start. A very unorthodox forehand.

“It took me a little while to get into it. It’s been a pretty long week. Maybe I was a tiny bit flat at the start but I got the crowd involved.

“It’s an amazing crowd today. You really helped me get through when I was a set and a break down and not feeling exactly how I wanted to be playing.

“To be playing in front of such a big crowd for the country again, it’s everything to me.”

Evans’ victory gave Norrie the chance to clinch the tie, with Smith keeping faith with his number one despite his disappointing last few months and a loss to Stan Wawrinka on Friday.

Norrie saved a set point to force a tie-break in the first set against his fellow left-hander Humbert but blazed a backhand wide after fighting back from 2-6 to 5-6.

Norrie was not playing badly, though, and he secured the first break of the match to take a 2-0 lead in the second set.

Against Stan Wawrinka on Friday he had wilted from a similar position but here Norrie passed a real test by saving two break points at 4-2 and then another at 5-3 after three set points had come and gone.

It was the sort of gritty tennis that carried Norrie to the top 10 not so long ago, and he clinched his fourth chance to send the match to a deciding set.

Norrie seemed in the ascendancy for much of it but could not force a break and it was he who cracked serving to stay in the match, a double fault handing Humbert  a victory the Frenchman described as one of the best of his life.

A “heartbroken” George Russell struggled to hold back the tears after he believed victory slipped through his hands in Singapore on a frenetic night when Red Bull’s winning streak finally came to an end.

Max Verstappen arrived in the city-state on a record run of 10 straight victories, with his Red Bull team unbeaten this season. But Formula One’s all-conquering team were nowhere here – dashing their hopes of becoming the grid’s first ‘Invincibles’. Verstappen finished fifth.

Instead it was Carlos Sainz, who was crowned the first non-Red Bull winner of the year.

The Ferrari driver took the chequered flag just eight tenths clear of McLaren’s Lando Norris, following another fine drive by the British star, with Lewis Hamilton third for Mercedes. Russell’s bid for victory ended in the wall on the last lap with only nine corners left.

“In the moment you want to curl up in a ball and be with nobody,” said Russell as he cleared his throat and his eyes red.

“It is the most horrendous feeling in the world when you are so physically and mentally drained and you miss out on an opportunity for victory. I made a mistake. It is truly heartbreaking.”

At a circuit where overtaking is almost impossible, Mercedes rolled the strategy dice by putting both Russell and Hamilton on fresh tyres on lap 45 of 62.

Russell left the pits 17.5 seconds behind Sainz. On lap 53, he swatted Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc aside and victory – which would have been only the second of his career – looked possible.

Sainz, on old tyres, was eight seconds up the road. Norris was nibbling at the Ferrari gearbox, as Russell and Hamilton, in the other black-liveried Mercedes in tow, set about hunting them down.

Russell was soon on the back of Norris’ papaya McLaren. With Norris out of the way, Sainz would surely be easy prey.

With three laps to run, Russell was handed his golden opportunity. The Mercedes man got better traction out of Turn 14 and nearly drew alongside Norris before slipping back into his tow and attempting to plant his machine around the outside of his countryman under braking for Turn 16.

But amid of a flurry of orange sparks, Norris could not be dislodged. And Russell’s chance was gone.

Then, on the last lap of a race which ran for one hour and 46 minutes in the intense heat and humidity and is regarded to be the most challenging of the year, Russell was out. He brushed the barrier on the entry to Turn 10 and crashed into the barrier.

“No, no, f***, f***,” the breathless Briton yelled over the radio. “What the f***.”

“I had half-a-chance with Lando,” said Russell. “Half-a-car’s length difference and I think we would have won the race.

“I would have got ahead of Lando and Carlos would have been stuck without DRS and I would have flown by him. Instead, I ended the race in the wall.

“I don’t know how it happened, maybe a lack of concentration, frustration knowing that was the last lap and the opportunity had gone and a one centimetre mistake has clouded the whole weekend.

“It was such a nothing of a mistake. If I span off, or locked up and ended up in the wall I would be feeling very different. But to clip the wall on the last lap is such a pathetic mistake which is why it feels so strange right now. I put everything on the line, I was knackered at the end.

“I will have a tough night and a tough morning, but I will put it behind me and go again. I can only apologise to the team because they deserved more, but s*** happens.”

Hamilton tapped Russell on the midriff to offer his sympathy as the seven-time world champion conducted his interviews.

Russell wore dark sunglasses as he walked off into the glaring light of the paddock – perhaps to hide the pain.

Hamilton, who claimed his 196th podium, said: “For George, it was really unfortunate to finish that way, but he continues to grow and improve.

“I know he will get stronger and faster, and if can help him, I will naturally be part of that over the next couple of years. It can happen to any of us and it it just one of those things.”

Leandro Trossard’s goal ended Arsenal’s woeful run at Goodison Park but the nature of their 1-0 victory over Everton was far from convincing for would-be Premier League title contenders.

The Belgium international’s second league goal for the club he joined in January was a paltry return for the dominance the Gunners enjoyed but it proved enough to halt a sequence of four defeats and a draw in L4.

But it was enough to extend this season’s unbeaten run and lift them back to within two points of leaders Manchester City and behind only Tottenham and Liverpool on goal difference.

For a team who enjoyed so much possession, Mikel Arteta’s side created very little with it until Trossard’s 69th-minute breakthrough – highlighted by starting centre-forward Eddie Nketiah’s paltry 10 touches before he was withdrawn three minutes before the goal.

Arsenal will have wished he had one fewer as it was his lay-off returning from an offside position which resulted in Gabriel Martinelli’s first-half goal being ruled out for offside.

On-loan Brentford goalkeeper David Raya was similarly underemployed having been handed his debut as part of Arteta’s rotation policy between the posts and the manager will not have learned much about his fellow Spaniard against an Everton side short on shots and attacking intent.

However, squeezing out a win on a ground which has recently proved a huge stumbling block for the north Londoners will have at least given the Gunners boss some satisfaction and the travelling support sang their appreciation of a scoreline with which they have become synonymous.

Not so his Everton counterpart Sean Dyche, whose side have now lost all three home matches this season, have only one point and remain in the bottom three and facing a third successive relegation dogfight.

While they posed little realistic threat, they did not do much wrong in frustrating their opponents for long periods and the return of Dominic Calvert-Lewin as a second-half substitute and winger Dwight McNeil starting his first game of the season should offer some grounds for optimism.

But with only two goals, both scored at Sheffield United immediately before the international break, and with summer signing Beto showing every inch of the “rawness” Dyche claimed he had, something has to improve up front.

The same could have been said for Arsenal on this occasion as they did not really pick up the pace until the start of the second half when Martin Odegaard forced Pickford to parry a fierce shot.

But desperation was started to show on the hour when the players frantically appealed for handball after Oleksandr Zinchenko’s drive from distance hit the diving James Tarkowski but his arm was tucked into his body.

Both managers decided a change of strikers was what needed to change their luck in the 66th minute and Calvert-Lewin – wearing a protective mask after a recent facial injury – and Gabriel Jesus arrived at the same time.

But it was first-half substitute Trossard who made the difference from an Arsenal short corner.

The ball was worked between Zinchenko and Odegaard to Bukayo Saka whose cutback was cleverly steered in left-footed via the far post by the Belgian for his first goal since February.

However, it was not much of an improvement on a forgettable first half, in which Everton matched the visitors for shots on target (one) despite having only 20 per cent possession, and the only real talking point was Martinelli’s disallowed 19th-minute goal.

Beto, making his home debut, charged down Gabriel and the ball rebounded to Nketiah, who laid off to Fabio Vieira to thread a pass in for his team-mate to curl a shot past Jordan Pickford only for VAR to chalk off the effort.

It was Martinelli’s last involvement as injury forced his replacement by Trossard.

Abdoulaye Doucoure wanted a penalty after breaking from midfield, lobbing Declan Rice, and cutting inside onto his right foot only to be clipped by William Saliba but referee Simon Hooper saw no infringement.

New Zealand’s Ryan Fox staged a brilliant comeback to win the BMW PGA Championship as rising star Ludvig Aberg was brought down to earth at Wentworth.

Fox began the final round three shots behind leader Aberg and looked out of contention after running up a triple-bogey seven on the third, but covered his last 13 holes in eight under par for a closing 67.

An 18-under-par total gave Fox a one-shot victory over playing partner Aaron Rai and England’s Tyrrell Hatton, Rai agonisingly missing a long eagle putt on the 18th which could have given him the title or at least forced a play-off.

Jon Rahm, who had been runner-up on each of his two previous appearances at Wentworth, carded an erratic 68 to claim fourth on 16 under as seven members of Europe’s Ryder Cup side packed the top 10, with Rory McIlroy surging through the field with a 65.

Aberg, who had been seeking back-to-back victories in just his 10th event as a professional, held a two-shot lead after 54 holes but slumped to a closing 76 which included two double bogeys in the space of three holes.

“I don’t really know what to think at the moment to be honest,” Fox said.

“It’s not a tournament that has treated me very well in the past, although I’ve loved coming here. I don’t know what changed today but it’s pretty special to make a birdie on the last to win.

“To have a back nine like that, especially after how I started the day, it’s amazing. I played great and pretty much didn’t miss a shot from the third hole onwards.”

Fox, who is the first New Zealander to win the title, added: “It’s such an iconic tournament. I know Michael Campbell won the World Match Play here and to add to that history with my family here to support me just made the week.

“We have been through a pretty tough year as a family. Lost my father-in-law in June after a really, really short battle with cancer and that kind of rocked the family.

“To have them here and have number two with us, little Margot who is four months old, is very, very special.”

Hatton had started the day five off the lead but birdied the second and third, almost made a hole-in-one on the fifth when his tee shot clattered into the pin and then holed out from a bunker on the sixth.

After dropping a shot on the eighth, further birdies on the 10th and 11th gave Hatton a four-shot lead before Fox began his charge with four birdies in five holes from the 10th to get within one.

Hatton then drove out of bounds on the 15th and was facing a seven-foot putt for bogey before play was suspended due to the threat of lightning, a putt he duly made after an 82-minute delay.

Fox was fortunate that a wayward drive on the same hole did not run deep into the trees but took full advantage, hitting a superb second shot from the pine straw to 10 feet and converting the birdie putt to lead outright.

Hatton birdied the last to set up the prospect of a play-off but, after Rai’s eagle attempt agonisingly caught the edge of the hole and stayed out, Fox calmly holed from six feet to seal a fourth DP World Tour title.

Hatton, who won the title in 2020 when fans were absent due to Covid restrictions, said: “It’s definitely mixed emotions.

“This tournament means a lot to me. Would have been nice to win with fans, especially my dad being here, that would have been cool.

“Not sure I’ll even be disappointed with the tee shot on 15, it had started raining pretty heavy. It is what it is. Tried my best and it was a great week.”

Aberg, whose victory in the final qualifying event earned him a Ryder Cup wild card, admitted failing to close out victory would “sting for a long time”.

“This was the first time I was leading a tournament and I felt like I handled it quite well, to be honest,” the 23-year-old Swede said.

“It was quite difficult out there and I made a few stupid mistakes where I missed on the wrong side and was a little bit too cute with the chips.

“It cost me today and I’m trying to learn from it and I’m looking forward to the next time I’m in that same position.”

McIlroy was pleased to shoot 12 under par over the weekend after only making the cut with a birdie on the 18th on Friday evening, but disappointed not to birdie either the 17th or 18th to put more pressure on the leaders.

Defending champion Shane Lowry finished in a tie for 18th after running up a quadruple-bogey nine on the 17th in a closing 71.

Mauricio Pochettino said he cannot control Chelsea fans’ reactions after a section of the away support appeared to boo Ben Chilwell at the end of the team’s drab 0-0 draw at Bournemouth.

Chilwell was a second-half substitute at the Vitality Stadium but failed to substantially alter the team’s fortunes as they laboured in vain to break the hosts down in wet conditions.

Pochettino named three outfield players aged 19 or under on the bench as well as two goalkeepers as the club’s injury crisis continued to deepen.

Marc Cucurella and Noni Madueke were fresh additions to the absentee list at Bournemouth, taking the total number of players unavailable to the manager to 12.

Chelsea threatened only sporadically, looking to use the channels to attack but only rarely finding a final ball to open up the home side.

Raheem Sterling hit the crossbar with a fiercely hit free-kick whilst Nicolas Jackson also struck the woodwork in the first half but it was Robert Sanchez who was called upon to make the save of the game when he spread himself low at the feet of Dango Ouattara as the striker bore down on his goal.

It leaves Pochettino’s side 14th in the table with just one win from five matches, and with an uneasy sense that last season’s problems in front of goal are a long way from being fixed.

And some fans seemed to vent their frustrations when England international Chilwell went over to applaud the away end at full-time.

“What can we do?” said Pochettino. “For me, I have nothing to say. The fans can do whatever they want.

“We know what we need to do, we are strong in our belief. We have 12 injured and today we had three or four young guys and two keepers on the bench.

“I’m going to cry? I’m going to complain? To who? I need to accept this, the challenge and keep being positive.”

The Argentinian continued: “Bournemouth is a good team, they are going to compete. Every team is going to compete and be difficult.

“But these are the circumstances we need to accept and be positive, patient. We are not going to change in the way we do things.

“What can I do? Only to keep believing. If you say to me we have today all of our players, all of our signings, no injuries, and maybe we cannot win this game? Then maybe I can tell you we need to see (it) in a different way. But we cannot lie to the people.”

Chelsea have failed to score in their last two Premier League outings and have won just twice in the league since March, at the Vitality Stadium late last season when Bournemouth were already safe and last month at home to newly-promoted Luton.

Pochettino was asked whether he was sympathetic to the reaction of those supporters that booed the players off.

“What I can tell the fans is the circumstance that we cannot change,” he said. “The reality that we cannot change. We have too many players (injured). We’re a team that would be strong if we are together.

“Even Manchester City, Arsenal, when they have all the squad fit, they can compete for everything. Why is it different for us? It’s because of what? We don’t have all the squad available from the beginning of the season.”

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola reflected on a performance that showed promise despite the winless run at the start of his tenure now stretching to five league matches.

“I’m really happy with the performance,” he said. “The game was quite level. Both teams had their chances. Overall, we had very good individual performances and finished the game even better.

“There were moments later on where we thought the game could be ours.”

Mauricio Pochettino said he cannot control Chelsea fans’ reactions after a section of the away support appeared to boo Ben Chilwell at the end of the team’s drab 0-0 draw at Bournemouth.

Chilwell was a second-half substitute at the Vitality Stadium but failed to substantially alter the team’s fortunes as they laboured in vain to break the hosts down in wet conditions.

Pochettino named three outfield players aged 19 or under on the bench as well as two goalkeepers as the club’s injury crisis continued to deepen.

Marc Cucurella and Noni Madueke were fresh additions to the absentee list at Bournemouth, taking the total number of players unavailable to the manager to 12.

Chelsea threatened only sporadically, looking to use the channels to attack but only rarely finding a final ball to open up the home side.

Raheem Sterling hit the crossbar with a fiercely hit free-kick whilst Nicolas Jackson also struck the woodwork in the first half but it was Robert Sanchez who was called upon to make the save of the game when he spread himself low at the feet of Dango Ouattara as the striker bore down on his goal.

It leaves Pochettino’s side 14th in the table with just one win from five matches, and with an uneasy sense that last season’s problems in front of goal are a long way from being fixed.

And some fans seemed to vent their frustrations when England international Chilwell went over to applaud the away end at full-time.

“What can we do?” said Pochettino. “For me, I have nothing to say. The fans can do whatever they want.

“We know what we need to do, we are strong in our belief. We have 12 injured and today we had three or four young guys and two keepers on the bench.

“I’m going to cry? I’m going to complain? To who? I need to accept this, the challenge and keep being positive.”

The Argentinian continued: “Bournemouth is a good team, they are going to compete. Every team is going to compete and be difficult.

“But these are the circumstances we need to accept and be positive, patient. We are not going to change in the way we do things.

“What can I do? Only to keep believing. If you say to me we have today all of our players, all of our signings, no injuries, and maybe we cannot win this game? Then maybe I can tell you we need to see (it) in a different way. But we cannot lie to the people.”

Chelsea have failed to score in their last two Premier League outings and have won just twice in the league since March, at the Vitality Stadium late last season when Bournemouth were already safe and last month at home to newly-promoted Luton.

Pochettino was asked whether he was sympathetic to the reaction of those supporters that booed the players off.

“What I can tell the fans is the circumstance that we cannot change,” he said. “The reality that we cannot change. We have too many players (injured). We’re a team that would be strong if we are together.

“Even Manchester City, Arsenal, when they have all the squad fit, they can compete for everything. Why is it different for us? It’s because of what? We don’t have all the squad available from the beginning of the season.”

Bournemouth boss Andoni Iraola reflected on a performance that showed promise despite the winless run at the start of his tenure now stretching to five league matches.

“I’m really happy with the performance,” he said. “The game was quite level. Both teams had their chances. Overall, we had very good individual performances and finished the game even better.

“There were moments later on where we thought the game could be ours.”

Rogue Lightning looks a sprinter going places and could take his chance in Prix de l’Abbaye following a cosy victory in the Betfred Scarbrough Stakes at Doncaster.

Tom Clover’s three-year-old is improving at a rate of knots and since being gelded is unbeaten in three outings.

His last victory came in a valuable Ascot handicap and upped to Listed class on Town Moor he faced only three rivals.

However, one of those was Raasel, a very solid 110-rated sprinter who arrived off the back of a good win at Haydock last week. But he was always fighting a losing battle as Danny Tudhope coaxed Rogue Lightning (9-4) home for a three-quarters of a length success from the even-money favourite.

“He’s always been a horse that we’ve liked,” said Clover. “It’s just fantastic for The Rogues Gallery (winning syndicate) as we’ve got 55 of them here today, Doncaster have been brilliant with them and gave them a box.

“To have a runner at the St Leger meeting with so many here, it means an awful lot.

“We actually put him in the Prix de l’Abbaye with the five-furlong division looking so open. He’s very fast, he’s got so much speed and he’s just a lovely horse. Gelding has obviously helped, he was very keen but relaxes a bit better now.

“If he gets in the Abbaye we’ll probably go.”

Poet Master (9-2) looks another very nice prospect for Karl Burke and took his record to three wins from just four outings in the Betfred City Of Doncaster Handicap.

Well beaten on his handicap debut at Haydock, he seemed suited by dropping back down to seven furlongs from a mile.

Always handy under Sam James, he saw off his rival for the lead, Dark Thirty, and held the challenge of Zouky by two and three-quarter lengths.

James said: “It felt like we went a good gallop, but I was always travelling comfortably the whole way, in my comfort zone.

“I think the better the race he runs in the better he’ll be but he still needs to learn about the game, he was a little bit on it and I struggled to pull him up afterwards but he’s obviously got plenty of ability.

“He’s just got his own ideas a bit and even though he’d won a couple, he’s still green. To me it didn’t feel like he was in love with the ground, but he was still able to travel.

“He’s probably a very decent horse and he’d have to be black type now, the faster they go the easier he’ll win.”

Swift Salian (7-2) ran out a very easy winner of the I Love Julie Parkes Nursery Handicap for David and Nicola Barron.

Fresh from winning a Grade One in Canada on Saturday evening, it looked like William Buick had come to Town Moore especially for Charlie Appleby’s State Of Desire but he was a major disappointment.

Swift Salian kicked clear under Connor Beasley well over a furlong out to win by three and a quarter lengths.

Ala Kaifi justified 100-30 favouritism under Kieran Shoemark in the Hippo Carpet Protector Handicap for Ismail Mohammed.

New Zealand’s Ryan Fox staged a brilliant comeback to win the BMW PGA Championship as rising star Ludvig Aberg was brought down to earth at Wentworth.

Fox began the final round three shots behind leader Aberg and looked out of contention after running up a triple-bogey seven on the third, but covered his last 13 holes in eight under par for a closing 67.

An 18-under-par total gave Fox a one-shot victory over playing partner Aaron Rai and England’s Tyrrell Hatton, Rai agonisingly missing a long eagle putt on the 18th which could have given him the title or at least forced a play-off.

Jon Rahm, who had been runner-up on each of his two previous appearances at Wentworth, carded an erratic 68 to claim fourth place on 16 under as seven members of Europe’s Ryder Cup side packed the top 10, with Rory McIlroy surging through the field with a 65.

Aberg, who had been seeking back-to-back victories in just his 10th event as a professional, held a two-shot lead after 54 holes but slumped to a closing 76 which included two double bogeys in the space of three holes.

Hatton had started the day five off the lead but birdied the second and third, almost made a hole-in-one on the fifth when his tee shot clattered into the pin and then holed out from a bunker on the sixth.

After dropping a shot on the eighth, further birdies on the 10th and 11th gave Hatton a four-shot lead before Fox began his charge with four birdies in five holes from the 10th to get within one.

Hatton then drove out of bounds on the 15th and was facing a seven-foot putt for bogey before play was suspended due to the threat of lightning, a putt he duly made after an 82-minute delay.

Fox was fortunate that a wayward drive on the same hole did not run deep into the trees but took full advantage, hitting a superb second shot from the pine straw to 10 feet and converting the birdie putt to lead outright.

Hatton birdied the last to set up the prospect of a play-off but, after Rai’s eagle attempt agonisingly caught the edge of the hole and stayed out, Fox calmly holed from six feet to seal a fourth DP World Tour title.

Frankie Dettori was out of luck in the feature event at Bro Park on Sunday – but still managed an undercard winner as he continued his international farewell tour.

The weighing-room great, who is planning to retire at the end of the campaign, made the trip principally to partner Hard One To Please for trainer Annike Bye Hansen in the Stockholm Cup International.

Run over just short of a mile and a half, Hard One To Please won the Group Three last year, when he beat the Archie Watson-trained Outbox in a photo.

That rival was in the field once again and chased along early he took an early lead for Hollie Doyle, with Dettori settling in early before eventually letting his mount stride on to challenge Outbox.

However, Doyle was eager to cling to the initiative and Hard One To Please dropped away before the home turn, leaving Outbox to go for home.

French raider Big Call tried his best in the final furlong, but it was Espen Hill who finished best of all down the middle of the track to grab victory for rider-trainer Madeleine Smith.

For Outbox it was a third successive runner-up spot having also been beaten in 2021, while Hard One To Please trailed home in ninth.

Dettori shook off that disappointment to team up again with Hansen in the following Listed Lanwades Stud Stakes, with Takeko coming home a cosy winner over a mile.

Doyle and Outbox’s owners Hambleton Racing also enjoyed a measure of compensation for their Stockholm Cup reverse, as the Kevin Ryan-trained Washington Heights won the Listed Bro Park Sprint Championship earlier on the card.

Chelsea’s indifferent start to the Premier League season continued as they were held to a drab goalless draw by Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium.

Mauricio Pochettino’s side were again short on creative threat as the hosts dealt comfortably with what their opponents could muster in attack, only once looking genuinely troubled when Raheem Sterling’s second-half free-kick cracked the underside of the crossbar.

For Chelsea it was a familiar case of failing to find the critical pass, as possession and overall control of the match counted for little.

It leaves the team assembled for more than £1billion by co-owner Todd Boehly languishing in 14th place with just one win in their first five league games.

Andoni Iraola saw the winless streak with which his Bournemouth tenure has started stretch to five matches but also witnessed moments of genuine attacking intent from his team, most notably when Dango Ouattara was denied brilliantly in the first half by Chelsea goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.

Sterling had the first sight of goal in the 10th minute when he darted into the box to latch onto Conor Gallagher’s chipped pass but his shot was horribly miscued and rolled away to safety.

Nicolas Jackson made better use of his first opportunity, striking the outside of the post from Mykhailo Mudryk’s through-ball, but on the whole the opening exchanges passed with little incident.

It took a superb sprawling save from Sanchez to keep out Ouattara, the goalkeeper diving at the striker’s feet after Bournemouth had caught Chelsea out with a quick free-kick.

Sterling looked in the mood to continue the rich vein of form with which he has started the season. In the 22nd minute, Malo Gusto linked up well with Gallagher down the right and sent over a low cross that Sterling was first to react to, but his shot was deflected to safety.

Neto got a strong right hand down to beat away Gallagher’s effort from 18 yards after he had been set up by Mudryk. For Chelsea, the first half had traced a familiar pattern; plenty of possession and probing balls into the channels, but little to suggest they had fathomed how to break Bournemouth down.

Sterling nearly gave them the perfect start to the second period, his free-kick from 20 yards crashing off the bar and down onto the goal line. Levi Colwill tapped home the rebound but was rightly called offside.

The Blues had conceded five goals in their first four league games, and there were again signs of defensive frailties in Dorset.

Axel Disasi failed to get height or distance on his clearance from the edge of the box, heading the ball to the feet of Ryan Christie who curled a well-struck effort into the palms of Sanchez.

Chelsea’s breakthrough looked to have arrived after 65 minutes when Sterling slid a ball in behind for Jackson, whose low cross was almost turned home by the stretching Colwill – with Neto clawing the ball to safety.

But the visitors were looking increasingly desperate in their approach. Gusto and Sterling each epitomised the dearth of creative ideas that has dashed Pochettino’s early ambitions, lashing speculative shots high and wide from distance when there were options on.

At the other end, Bournemouth were increasingly a threat. First Philip Billing saw a free-kick deflected narrowly wide, before Dominic Solanke’s low drive was well saved by Sanchez.

Cole Palmer was summoned from the bench to help find Chelsea’s rhythm, but the summer signing from Manchester City had little more success than the player he replaced, Mudryk.

Ben Chilwell also came on and made one good burst forward and crossed for Jackson, but the striker’s header was easy for Neto.

The exciting Ile Est Francais is set to be campaigned in Britain later in the year following a dominant success on his chasing debut at Auteuil.

The five-year-old was a Grade One winner over hurdles at the Parisian track last year for Tom George and is now trained in partnership by his son Noel and Amanda Zetterholm.

He returned from a summer break for his first start over fences on Tuesday and could hardly have been more impressive in the hands of James Reveley.

“Auteuil is not easy to jump round for your first time and he jumped round like he’d been round there a hundred times. He was very impressive,” said Noel George.

“We’ve been waiting to run him over fences for a while and now we’ve been able to do it, he impressed us as much as we thought he would. Hopefully he’s got a big career over fences ahead of him.”

Ile Est Francais is set for one more run at Auteuil this autumn before potentially being readied for major meetings on UK soil.

George added: “We have to discuss it with the owners, but I think he’ll probably run at the beginning of November at Auteuil – there’s a Listed race for a five-year-old chasers, which I’d like to think would be a penalty kick for him.

“After that we’ll maybe consider the Coral Gold Cup meeting at Newbury or Kempton at Christmas. He’ll be travelling over to the UK this year, that’s for certain, but when and where that will be, I can’t say for certain yet.

“Newbury would be a nice place for him to start for his first run in England as it’s flat with a nice, long straight.

“I think we’ll probably start him over two and a half miles because he runs over two and a half a lot over here and we can then make a decision on whether he needs to go up or down in trip.

“He’s very versatile and for me, with his speed and jumping, he could easily be a two-miler in England, but we’re dreaming of winning a French Gold Cup with him one day and that is over three and a half miles, so we don’t want him going the wrong way.”

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