Lewis Hamilton’s “frustrated and confused” Mercedes team are in survival mode, leading Formula One pundit Martin Brundle has claimed.
Hamilton finished fourth, two places ahead of team-mate George Russell, at Sunday’s Belgian Grand Prix, while Red Bull’s Max Verstappen wrapped up his eighth straight win.
Although Mercedes are second in the constructors’ championship heading into the sport’s summer break, Hamilton appears no closer to ending his 35-race losing streak.
The seven-time world champion was also dealt a major blow in Spa-Francorchamps after an upgrade – which included new sidepods and a revised floor – appeared to contribute to the return of porpoising.
Speaking after the race, Hamilton said his Mercedes was bouncing “everywhere” and said the sensation was reminiscent of last year’s car – a machine which carried him to the poorest championship finishing position of his career.
“Mercedes will be very frustrated,” said Brundle, 64. “Their car is on a knife edge to set up, to understand and to drive.
“They are surviving the season, as they did last year, and making the best of a bad situation because they are a great team.
“But I would imagine they are confused with this car. They promise a great result, get something special, then go to the next race with upgrades and fall off the pace.”
Mercedes have claimed just one victory in the past 19 months. Their poor form is a far cry from the dominance which saw them secure an unprecedented eight consecutive constructors’ titles.
And Russell revealed the Brackley team have been drawing creativity from their once all-conquering machines.
“We are working really hard on the characteristics for next yea, and we are looking a lot at how the previous generation of cars were for Mercedes, the glory years, and using that as inspiration,” said Russell.
“Clearly they were some of the best cars in history. So that is giving us some pointers of where we need to aim for.
“I am sure we will be strong in the second half of the season. We have some little things coming after the break and I am confident we will secure second in the team championship and close the gap to Red Bull.”
Paddington will bid to register a fourth Group One in a row when he takes on Inspiral in Wednesday’s Qatar Sussex Stakes at Goodwood.
Aidan O’Brien’s Paddington began the season in handicap company but has progressed to win the Irish 2,000 Guineas, the St James’s Palace Stakes and the Coral-Eclipse.
His most recent victory came over 10 furlongs but he will drop back down to a mile this week to take on John and Thady Gosden’s three-time Group One winner.
Inspiral was beaten by Triple Time on her only outing to date this season in the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot, but will be looking to give Frankie Dettori another big win in his final season.
A field of six has been declared with William Haggas’ Aldaary, Richard Hannon’s Chindit, Roger Varian’s Charyn and the French challenger Facteur Cheval completing the line-up.
Royal Ascot winner Big Evs faces off against Karl Burke’s speedy Kylian in a fascinating clash in the Jaeger-LeCoultre Molecomb Stakes.
Big Evs, trained by Mick Appleby, was a surprise winner of the Windsor Castle Stakes but there did not appear to be any fluke about his three-length success, while Kylian has won his last two races by an aggregate of 10 lengths after two short priced defeats earlier in the season.
Hannon’s Baheer and Clive Cox’s Shagraan are also among a field of eight.
Sixteen fillies and mares have been declared for the Group Three Whispering Angel Oak Tree Stakes.
Leading contenders include the Karl Burke-trained Fast Response and Jumbly from Joseph O’Brien’s yard.
Northumberland Plate hero Calling The Wind will head to the Sussex Downs on Friday for the £75,000 Coral Goodwood Handicap ahead of a potential Ebor tilt.
Richard Hughes has identified Goodwood’s two-and-a-half-mile contest – which he won two years ago – as a springboard to York as he bids to follow up success in the Pitmen’s Derby.
Calling The Wind gained just reward at Newcastle following near-misses in the Cesarewitch, Queen Alexandra (twice) and the Ascot Stakes, handing the former jockey his biggest success to date as a trainer.
Hughes was not present at Gosforth Park to see Neil Callan produce a superbly-timed ride on the all-too-often luckless seven-year-old, but watched on from home with delight.
“Neil gave him a good ride. I was watching him on my phone and he got to the furlong pole and I thought, ‘he’s run great again, but he’s always placed and never wins’,” said the three-times champion jockey.
“You need to ride him to get beat – and he put it in at the death.”
Six wins and eight runner-up finishes in 35 races have contributed to earnings of £262,000 for owner Jo Wakefield, and Hughes is keen to target the £300,000 to the winner Sky Bet Ebor next month, where victory would earn automatic entry to the Melbourne Cup.
“He is going to end up in the Ebor, but we are going to go to Goodwood if the ground is good,” added Hughes.
“He has 9st 5lb in the Ebor and if he won at Goodwood, he’d get a small penalty. We can’t give up Goodwood then the ground be fast at York.
“There’s plenty of money up for grabs and the timing between Goodwood and York is great. It’s perfect.
“He is in great form and it looks like the ground will be in his favour.”
Carlos De Oliveira, an employee of former president Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, is expected to make his first court appearance on charges of scheming to hide security footage from investigators.
The estate’s property manager was added to the federal indictment of Mr Trump and his former valet Walt Nauta last week.
The case alleges a plot to illegally keep top-secret records at the Florida estate and thwart government efforts to retrieve them.
Mr De Oliveira, who faces charges including conspiracy to obstruct justice and lying to investigators, is scheduled to appear before a magistrate judge in Miami on Monday nearly two months after the former president pleaded not guilty in the case brought by special counsel Jack Smith.
Prosecutors have not alleged security footage was actually deleted or kept from investigators. An attorney for Mr De Oliveira declined to comment on the allegations last week.
Mr Trump was informed by letter that he is the target of another federal investigation into his efforts to cling to power after he lost the 2020 election.
He has denied any wrongdoing over the Mar-a-Lago security tapes and said they were voluntarily handed over to investigators, posting on his Truth Social platform last week that he was told the tapes were not “deleted in any way, shape or form”.
Mr Nauta has also pleaded not guilty.
US district judge Aileen Cannon had previously scheduled the trial to begin in May and it is unclear whether the addition of Mr De Oliveira to the case may alter the case’s timeline.
The latest indictment, unsealed on Thursday, alleges Mr Trump tried to have security footage deleted after investigators visited in June 2022 to collect classified documents he took with him after he left the White House.
He was already facing dozens of felony counts — including willful retention of notional defence information — stemming from allegations that he mishandled government secrets that as commander-in-chief he was entrusted to protect.
Prosecutors allege Mr De Oliveira lied in interviews with investigators, claiming he had not even seen boxes moved into Mar-a-Lago.
Justin Verlander pitched the Mets to a 5-2 win over the Washington Nationals on Sunday for his 250th career victory in what could be his final start for New York.
Verlander permitted one run and five hits while striking out five over 5 1/3 innings to become the 49th pitcher in MLB history to reach 250 wins.
Signed through next season, the three-time Cy Young Award winner improved to 4-1 with a 1.69 ERA in six starts this month but could become expendable with the underachieving Mets sitting 6 1/2 games out of playoff spot.
New York traded fellow three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer to the AL West-leading Texas Rangers in deal officially completed earlier Sunday, but Mets general manager Billy Eppler insists the team is not holding a "fire sale."
The Mets have won eight of 13 but still must pass five teams in the NL wild-card race.
New York took three of four from last-place Washington, as Francisco Lindor hit his 21st homer and reached base four times, while Pete Alonso drove in two runs to give him 75 RBIs on the season.
Seven-run first inning propels Orioles in win over Yankees
The Orioles got off to a sizzling start against the New York Yankees, plating seven runs in the first inning en route to a 9-3 win in the final meeting of the season between these AL East rivals.
Adam Frazier's three-run homer gave Baltimore a 6-0 lead before New York starter Luis Severino had even recorded an out, and Adley Rutschman had a pair of singles in the first inning - his second driving in Jordan Westburg to put the Orioles up by seven.
With the win, the Orioles remained 1 1/2 games ahead of the second-place Tampa Bay Rays atop the AL East.
The Yankees, who went 6-7 against the Orioles to lose the season series for the first time since 2016, are 3 1/2 games out of a playoff spot.
New York had its chances in the series finale, rapping out nine hits, but the team went just 2 for 11 with runners in scoring position and struck out 18 times - its most in game since also whiffing 18 times in a 2-1 loss to the Detroit Tigers on April 3, 2019.
Anthony Rizzo struck out in all five of his plate appearances.
Reds rout Dodgers to take over NL Central lead
Elly De La Cruz and Joey Votto each homered in the Cincinnati Reds' 9-0 rout of the Los Angeles Dodgers to take over sole possession of first place in the NL Central.
The 21-year-old De La Cruz went 4 for 5 for his first multihit game since July 8, the 39-year-old Votto had a pair of hits and drove in three runs and Graham Ashcraft kept the Dodgers off balance, allowing five hits over six innings to improve to 3-1 with a 1.75 ERA over his last six outings.
The Reds outhit the Dodgers 14-6 to take two of three in the series and move one-half game ahead of the Milwaukee Brewers, who were swept by the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves over the weekend.
The Los Angeles Angels acquired first baseman C.J. Cron and outfielder Randal Grichuk from the Colorado Rockies on Sunday.
The Rockies are receiving minor league pitchers Jake Madden and Mason Albright, along with $2million from Los Angeles for the two former Angels first-round draft picks.
With the MLB trade deadline just days away, Los Angeles sits four games out of a playoff berth and has its sights set on reaching the postseason for the first time since 2014.
Last week, the Angels, whose streak of eight consecutive seasons without a playoff berth is tied with the Detroit Tigers for the longest active stretch in MLB, announced Shohei Ohtani would not be traded. The team also acquired right-hander Lucas Giolito and reliever Reynaldo Lopez from the Chicago White Sox.
The 33-year-old Cron, who was selected 17th overall in the 2011 draft, made his MLB debut in 2014 for the Angels and spent his first four seasons with Los Angeles before being traded to the Tampa Bay Rays in 2018.
Cron has been with the Rockies since the start of the 2021 season, and is batting .259 with 11 home runs, 12 doubles with 32 RBIs in 56 games this season. He's hit 186 career home runs, with 59 coming in an Angels uniform.
The 31-year-old Grichuk was selected 24th overall in the 2009 draft - one pick ahead of Mike Trout - but was traded to the St. Louis Cardinals before reaching the majors.
Like Cron, Grichuk also made his MLB debut in 2014, and spent his first four seasons with the Cardinals before playing his next four with the Toronto Blue Jays.
Grichuk, in his second season for Colorado, can play all three outfield positions and has been swinging a hot bat lately, slashing .375/.417/.750 with six home runs, nine RBIs and 13 runs in his last 15 games.
Both Grichuk, who is making just over $10.3million this season, and Cron, who signed a two-year, $14.5million deal with the Rockies prior to the 2022 season, will be free agents at the end of the season.
The Texas Rangers aren't staying quiet as the MLB trade deadline approaches, acquiring left-hander Jordan Montgomery and reliever Chris Stratton from the St. Louis Cardinals on Sunday.
The AL-West leaders made the move one day after trading for three-time Cy Young Award winner Max Scherzer from the New York Mets.
Montgomery, who can become a free agent after this season, is 6-9 with a 3.42 ERA in 21 starts, with 108 strikeouts against 35 walks in 121 innings.
The 30-year-old has been solid lately, yielding three earned runs or fewer in 10 of his last 11 outings, posting a 2.47 ERA in those games.
The 32-year-old Stratton has a 4.36 ERA in 42 relief appearances, striking out 59 while walking 17 over 53 2/3 innings.
To complete the trade, the first-place Rangers sent left-hander John King and a pair of minor leagues - infielder Tommy Saggese and right-hander T.K. Roby - to the Cardinals.
St. Louis is in last place in the NL Central and shifted into full rebuild-mode Sunday, while also trading hard-throwing reliever Jordan Hicks to the Toronto Blue Jays.
Hicks has eight saves in 11 chances and joins a Toronto team that just put closer Jordan Romano on the 15-day injured list Saturday because of a sore back.
The five-year veteran is 1-6 with a 3.67 ERA, with 59 strikeouts and 24 walks over 41 2/3 innings in 40 relief appearances.
To acquire the 26-year-old, the Blue Jays, who are tied with the Houston Astros for the AL's second wild-card spot, traded minor league right-handers Adam Kloffenstein and Sem Robberse to St. Louis.
Jamaica’s Senior Women’s Volleyball Team created history on Sunday after defeating seven-time defending champion Trinidad and Tobago in a nail biting 5 set thriller 3-2 [25-21, 15-25, 23-25, 25-19, 15-13] to win the 2023 CAZOVA Women’s Championship at the Anthony Nesty Sports Hall in Paramaribo Suriname.
This is Jamaica’s first ever championship at the senior Level.
The Jamaicans started strong by winning the first set 25-21 and lost the next two sets to the defending champions 15-25 and 23-25. The Jamaican’s then regained their momentum to win the fourth set 25-19 to force a decisive fifth set.
Anesia Edwards, who had three consecutive blocks in the fourth set to change the tide for the Jamaicans, sustained an injury in the final set but Jamaica maintained their composure to win 15-13.
Outside hitters Michael Vernon, Simone Asque-Favia and Captain Sashalee Thomas led the way for the Jamaicans in the fierce encounter.
It was sweet revenge for the Jamaicans who lost to Trinidad and Tobago in the final of the 2017 Championship at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Jamaica, the last time Jamaica participated at this level.
Jamaica has broken Trinidad and Tobago’s winning streak of seven consecutive CAZOVA titles and also went undefeated during the Championship.
Meanwhile, Barbados came back from behind to earn a 3-2 (19-25, 23-25, 27-25, 25-23, 15-12) win against host Suriname in their match for the bronze medal.
Barbados fought their way back from the brink of elimination after losing the first two sets.
The Barbadians got going in the third set and took over the game.
Trinidad and Tobago suffered a discouraging loss 34-74 to Uganda on Sunday at the Netball World Cup 2023 in Cape Town.
Despite a valiant effort from Afeisha Noel, who scored 29 goals, the Calypso Girls were no match for the She Cranes, who used their trademark physicality to dominate at both ends of the court.
Goalkeeper Muhameed Haniisha proved especially troublesome for the Trinidad & Tobago shooters for Noel and Joelisa Cooper, who only scored three times. After establishing a three goal lead at the end of the first quarter, Ugangda tightened their hold on game as Mary Cholhok and Irene Eyaru seemingly scored at will as their team extended their lead to 33-18 at the half-time break.
If the Trinidadians were hoping for a let-up from their opponents in the third quarter, those hopes were quickly dashed as Uganda upped the pressure even as the Calypso Girls tried to rally. The final quarter was a mere formality and Trinidad were unable to get a foothold in the game as they headed towards their second defeat in three games.
Meanwhile, Barbados suffered their third consecutive loss of the tournament when they went down 48-84 to Malawi.
The Gems were outplayed in every phase of the game but produced a sterling effort led by Kadeen Corbin, who scored 32 goals. Latonia Blackman scored 14.
However, their efforts were never going to be enough against the outstanding Suncorp Super League player Mwai Kumwenda who sunk 42 goals and Joyce Mvula, who scored 37.
Jamaica's Sunshine Girls continued their triumphant run at the 2023 Netball World Cup, securing their third consecutive win and handing South Africa's Proteas their first defeat in a thrilling showdown on Sunday.
With a resounding scoreline of 67-49, the Caribbean team displayed their dominance on the court, leaving a sold-out crowd at the Cape Town International Convention Centre in awe, even if disappointed at the outcome.
Led by star players Jhanielle Fowler, who scored 39 goals and Shanice Beckford, who had 19, Jamaica asserted their authority from the outset, taking the lead in all quarters and establishing a 32-26 advantage by half-time. Despite the spirited support of the home crowd, South Africa struggled to close the gap against the Commonwealth Games silver medalists.
Goal shooter Lenize Potgieter, who was making her first appearance at the World Cup after recovering from a mild niggle, put on an impressive performance, scoring flawlessly with 17 goals. However, the Sunshine Girls were unstoppable, maintaining possession and extending their lead in the third quarter with an impressive 18-3 scoreline, putting them ahead at 51-29.
As the game reached its climax, South Africa made a valiant effort to bounce back, but Jamaica's precision and determination were unmatched. The final score of 67-49 firmly established Jamaica's supremacy, signaling their dominance in Pool C.
While Nichole Taljaard and Ine-Marí Venter tried their best, making 11 out of 14 shots and 8 of 9 shots respectively, it wasn't enough to halt Jamaica's relentless assault.
The victory places Jamaica at the top of Pool C, securing their spot as the pool leaders, while South Africa takes the second position. The Sunshine Girls' impeccable performance and consecutive wins have boosted their confidence as they advance in the Netball World Cup, further fueling hopes of a first World Cup title.
Lewis Hamilton described Max Verstappen’s dominance of Formula One as being like “he is having a smoke and a pancake” following the Dutch driver’s eighth straight win at the Belgian Grand Prix.
Hamilton finished fourth and trailed Verstappen by 49 seconds at Spa-Francorchamps.
During the 44-lap race, Verstappen even goaded his rivals by calling on Red Bull to change his tyres for “some pit-stop training”.
And when asked if it was too easy for Verstappen at the front, Hamilton replied: “What do you want me to say? I have not spoken to him,” before adding with an accent: “He is having a smoke and a pancake. You know the film?”
The seven-time world champion was referencing the 2002 Austin Powers movie in which Dutch villain Goldmember asks the main character if he would “like a smoke and a pancake”.
Hamilton is now 35 appearances without a victory – the longest streak of his career.
Across the same period, Verstappen – the man who beat him to the title in the contentious season-ending Abu Dhabi race of 2021 – has triumphed 25 times.
Hamilton was demoted to seventh in Saturday’s sprint race after he was penalised by the stewards for tangling with Sergio Perez. He failed to make an impression on the podium places on Sunday.
Hamilton also bemoaned the unexpected return of porpoising for Mercedes which last season plagued the grid’s once all-conquering team.
“It was not bouncing a little bit, it was bouncing like last year,” said Hamilton. “It was bouncing everywhere.
“They (Mercedes) don’t know (what caused the bouncing) and to me it is a concern. I know what I want and I am praying for it. I am just waiting for the day that we get it.”
Hamilton is out of contract at the end of the season, and while both he and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff, say an extension to his £40million-a-season deal will be struck, it may not be concluded in the near future.
Asked if he expected Hamilton’s contract to be signed during Formula One’s four-week summer break, Wolff replied: “I don’t want to give you a date. It is lawyers speaking to lawyers. It is no material thing anymore. We have to give it time. And I don’t want to commit to a date.”
Reflecting on Mercedes’ porpoising, the Austrian added: “The car was bouncing on every straight, and even Blanchimont was a corner that Lewis was having to lift, and that is usually an easy flat.
“You bounce on the straight, you overheat the tyres on braking, and that is a vicious circle.
“It is frustrating to check out for the holidays like this but we will understand more tomorrow.”
Max Verstappen goaded his forlorn rivals by challenging Red Bull to pointless “pit-stop training” during his exhibition win in Belgium on Sunday.
Verstappen started sixth by virtue of a grid penalty for a gearbox change, but he assumed the lead on lap 17 of 44 before taking the chequered flag 22.3 seconds clear of Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez.
Charles Leclerc finished third for Ferrari. Mercedes’ Lewis Hamilton started third and crossed the line in fourth.
Verstappen’s triumph was his eighth in a row – leaving him just one short of Sebastian Vettel’s record.
It also marked his 10th victory from 12 rounds so far this season, his 19th from his last 23 outings and Red Bull’s 22nd in that period. The team from Milton Keynes head into Formula One’s summer break unbeaten this season.
Verstappen is riding on a wave of invincibility – a staggering 125 points clear in the championship – and with nine laps remaining here, his supreme confidence was expressed in a message to his race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase.
“I could also push on and we do another stop?” he said. “A little bit of pit-stop training?”
“Not this time,” replied Lambiase.
“He has reason to be cheeky because he is just driving circles round everybody else on merit,” was the verdict of Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff following another so-so afternoon for the Silver Arrows.
“The stopwatch never lies and there is one guy in one car above everyone else.”
From sixth to fourth at the end of the first lap, Verstappen dispatched of Hamilton at 210mph on the Kemmel Straight on lap six, and then Leclerc three laps later following a fine move round the outside of the Ferrari pole-sitter at Les Combes.
Then came the first of a series of sharp-edged radio exchanges with Lambiase which would provide some entertainment on a one-sided afternoon in the Ardennes.
Trailing Perez, Verstappen wanted Red Bull to perform a double-stack tyre-stop in order not to lose any time to his team-mate on fresh rubber. But his request was rebuffed by the Red Bull pit wall.
“So don’t forget Max, use your head please,” said Lambiase. “Are we both doing it (stopping) or what?” replied Verstappen.
“You just follow my instruction,” came Lambiase’s response. “No, I want to know both cars do it,” fired back Verstappen.
“Max, please follow my instruction and trust it, thank you,” said Lambiase.
Lambiase was promptly back on the radio to ask Verstappen if he could make his dry rubber last for the next nine minutes with fine drizzle anticipated.
“I can’t see the weather radar,” was Verstappen’s spiky response.
A lap after Perez stopped for tyres, Verstappen came in. He left the pit-lane 2.8 sec adrift of the Mexican but he required only two laps before he was crawling all over the back of his team-mate’s identical machine.
Verstappen tracked Perez through the fearsome Eau Rouge-Raidillon section before he applied DRS and roared round Perez along the Kemmel Straight. By the end of that 17th lap, Verstappen had already established a 1.6 sec gap over his team-mate.
It then began to drizzle, and Verstappen endued a hairy moment through Eau Rouge as the back end of his Red Bull stepped out at 180mph.
“F***, I nearly lost it,” said the championship leader after he regained control.
On lap 29, Perez now trailing Verstappen by nine seconds, stopped for a second time, with Verstappen following in on the same lap and then building on his lead.
Lambiase returned to the airwaves. “You used a lot of the tyre on the out-lap, Max,” he said. “I am not sure if that was sensible.”
Verstappen responded by producing the fastest lap of the race.
Verstappen’s back-and-forth with Lambiase, known as GP, came 48 hours after they squabbled over the radio in qualifying.
But Red Bull team principal Christian Horner said: “GP and Max have been together since the first race that Max stepped into the car. Max is a demanding customer. And you’ve got to be a strong character to deal with that.
“GP is our Jason Statham equivalent, certainly a lookalike, and he deals with him firmly but fairly.
“There’s a great respect between the two of them and that comes out of a mutual trust, which you must have between an engineer and a driver. There’s no counselling required.”
The sport will now head for a four-week shutdown before Verstappen’s home race in the Netherlands on August 27.
Elite Status served a reminder of his talent with a taking victory in the Prix de Cabourg at Deauville.
Trained by Karl Burke, the son of Havana Grey had appeared a colt of supreme potential when following up an easy win at Doncaster on debut with an emphatic triumph at Listed level in the National Stakes.
That set up a tilt at the Norfolk Stakes at Royal Ascot where his winning run came to an end, but upped to six furlongs on the Normandy coast, he got back to winning ways in fine style.
Always handily placed in the hands of Clifford Lee, he was travelling powerfully as the Group Three contest entered its final furlong and only needed to be encouraged to keep up his work late on as he held off Andre Fabre’s Sajir by a length and a quarter.
“I think he beat a couple of smart French colts and did it very easy in the end,” said Burke.
“He’s a lazy horse and we learned a little bit more about him today and he was drawing away at the end once Cliff gave him a smack or two. Cliff said he couldn’t pull him up then and there was a bit more in the tank I think.
“He’s a lovely horse and we think he’s pretty good and it’s great to get back on track after Ascot when we were a bit disappointed.”
The youngster could now be in line for a tilt at Group One honours and a return to Deauville for the Prix Morny on August 20, although York’s Al Basti Equiworld Dubai Gimcrack Stakes also remains an option depending on how high-class stablemate Kylian gets on in his Goodwood assignment next week.
Burke added: “I would say we will either be back to Deauville for the Morny or the Gimcrack next. I will have a chat with Sheikh Obaid (owner) and see which way he wants to go.
“He will be home tomorrow and as long as he is OK I think he deserves a crack at a Group One, but if we are not sure then the Gimcrack is another obvious race.
“A lot will depend on how Kylian gets on this week, although they are two different owners and they could go for the same race. However, I did say to both owners it would be nice if they could meet in the Middle Park at the end of the year, that would suit me.
“Let’s see what happens. He will be entered in the Morny next week and we will go from there.”
Amy Murphy’s Geologist fared best of the British-based runners when third in the Group Three Prix Six Perfections behind Laulne while David Simcock’s Empress Wu filled the same spot in the Prix de Psyche, won by Excellent Truth.
Pass rusher Danielle Hunter has agreed to a new contract with the Minnesota Vikings for the 2023 season that could be worth up to $20 million and guarantees the three-time Pro Bowl selection $17 million, NFL Network reported Sunday.
Hunter was slated to earn $5.5 million this season, and this new deal reportedly has a clause that prevents Minnesota from using the franchise tag on Hunter – making him an unrestricted free agent next year.
Hunter was selected by Minnesota in the third round of the 2015 NFL Draft. He has 71 sacks in 102 games, including a team-best 10.5 last season when the Vikings won the NFC North with a 13-4 record.
Charlie Fellowes will step the quirky but talented Grand Alliance up in distance on his next start on the advice of Ryan Moore.
The four-year-old infamously threw away the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot last summer when hanging badly but still only losing out by a nose. The visor he wore that day has subsequently been replaced by cheekpieces and he has since been gelded.
He came good with a facile success in the Group Three John Porter Stakes at Newbury in April, but disappointed on his return to the Royal meeting for the Hardwicke last month and has since finished a tailed off last of four in the Princess of Wales’s Stakes at Newmarket.
Moore was on board Grand Alliance for the first time at the July meeting and while the prevailing first ground appeared an obvious excuse for his below-par effort, the rider took a different view.
Fellowes said: “Grand Alliance is a funny character and a lot of people said ‘why did you run him on ground you knew was too quick?’, but a lot of the time you don’t learn about horses sitting at home.
“We had booked Ryan Moore, who is just an outstanding jockey, and I felt we’d learn more about the horse by running than we would staying at home.
“Ryan got off him and said ‘this horse, in my opinion, is crying out for a step up in trip’. He said ‘I don’t think his attitude is a problem’. He’s been called a lot of names in the past, but Ryan felt he really worked for him and he just said ‘I could not go quick enough’.
“Ryan said ‘step up to two miles and see what happens, yes it was good to firm, but in my opinion the ground wasn’t a problem, the problem was the trip’.”
Fellowes will therefore test Grand Alliance over a longer trip next time and has identified a suitable race in France next month.
“We’ve got an eye on the Prix Kergorlay at Deauville, which is over a mile and seven furlongs and he should get a little bit of cut in the ground,” the trainer added.
“That’s the race I’ve got pencilled in at the moment and that should tell us whether we need to drop back to a mile and a half when the ground really does get soft or if we stay the trip over two miles, ridden patiently, maybe it opens up a few more doors.
“It’s a little bit of a fact-finding mission and I still feel like we haven’t quite worked the horse out, but it’ll be interesting to try what Ryan says.”
Live In The Dream will return from his midseason break at Deauville next Sunday, with trainer Adam West excited to see if he can retain his consistency in the second half of the campaign.
The four-year-old was an improving sprinter last term but hit a purple patch earlier in the season when following back-to-back victories in handicap company with placed efforts in both the Palace House and Temple Stakes when upped to Group-race level.
Having been given a break following his fine effort behind Dramatised at Haydock in May, West is now fine-tuning the gelding for his French return which he hopes will set him up for further big race assignments later in the season.
“He will be back next Sunday. He goes to Deauville for the Listed Prix Du Cercle,” said West.
“He had a little break and has freshened up really well. We were lucky enough to work at Sandown on Thursday because of his Nunthorpe entry and he did the work nicely.
“He should come on for the run in France, wherever he ends up going after. There are still a few options in America as well as the Nunthorpe.”
He went on: “I think the break has done him really well. He came out of the Temple Stakes really well, but trying to divide a season in two halves is hard.
“I will look forward to running him in France, we’ve got a lot of owners heading over there. It is almost like a little holiday for everyone and if we can get a bit of luck, it will be even better.”
Live In The Dream was narrowly beaten in both of his forays into Group company this term and West is already planning ways to increase his stamina for next season to ensure he has a better chance of landing a telling blow in one of the season’s top sprinting contests.
He added: “We’ll probably look to start a little later next year and look to keep him going, rather than breaking in the middle.
“Next year will be about trying to sustain that little bit further and make him a little more amenable on the stiffer tracks because we keep getting collared late.
“If we can just put a little bit more stamina in him with another year’s strength under his belt, I think he would be right up there at these big tracks.”
There was no joy for the British and Irish raiders as Mqse De Sevigne led home an Andre Fabre-trained one-two in the Prix Rothschild at Deauville.
Fabre had won the Group One contest five times in the past and became the race’s leading trainer as his consistent four-year-old Mqse De Sevigne came home ahead of stablemate Life In Motion.
Jockey Alexis Pouchin, who was winning at the highest level for the first time, was in no rush aboard the filly as Prix Jean Prat runner-up Sauterne and Kelina led the field along, with Ralph Beckett’s race favourite Remarquee travelling powerfully on the wing and Royal Ascot winner Rogue Millennium held up in rear.
As the likes of Remarquee began to wane in the closing stages, the stealthily ridden Fabre pair emerged as the main dangers to the ever-game Sauterne and it was Mqse De Sevigne who had a bit extra in the tank as she led home a one-two-three for the home team, fittingly in the colours of the Rothschild family.
The winner had been campaigning over 10 furlongs but owner Baron Edouard De Rothschild was persuaded by Fabre to drop the filly back in trip, a move which proved successful on the Normandy coast.
“I think it is tremendously wonderful for the stud and all the team that work very hard and I am delighted,” he told Sky Sports Racing.
“When Nashwa won the Falmouth Stakes, Andre Fabre called me and said I think we should do the same and drop back in trip.
“He picked out a race at the end of August, but I said no, the entries for the Prix Rothschild are over but we can supplement her and we did.
“It’s a fantastic result for the team and I am delighted.”
Max Verstappen’s invincible streak continued at the Belgian Grand Prix with another crushing win.
The double world champion started sixth but took the lead at Spa Francorchamps on lap 17 of 44 before taking the chequered flag 22.3 seconds clear of his forlorn Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez.
Verstappen’s triumph was his eighth in a row – one shy of Sebastian Vettel’s record – and 10th from the 12 rounds so far.
He leads Perez by a mammoth 125 points in the standings – the equivalent of five victories – heading into Formula One’s summer break.
Pole-sitter Charles Leclerc took the final spot on the podium with Lewis Hamilton, who denied Verstappen a bonus point by setting the fastest lap, fourth.
Fernando Alonso finished fifth for Aston Martin, one place ahead of George Russell with Lando Norris seventh.
Verstappen qualified fastest on Friday evening but was demoted five places following a gearbox change.
The Dutch driver was up from sixth to fourth at the end of the first lap while Perez blasted past Leclerc on the Kemmel Straight to take the lead.
Oscar Piastri finished runner-up in Saturday’s 11-lap sprint race, but the Australian rookie’s Grand Prix lasted less than a lap after he collided with Carlos Sainz at the opening corner. Sainz turned into Piastri at La Source leaving the McLaren man with race-ending damage.
Back up front and Verstappen was on the move. On lap six he breezed past Hamilton at 210mph along the Kemmel Straight. Three laps later, Leclerc became his next victim, after he outbraked the Monegasque man with a fine move around the outside of Les Combes.
Perez was now three seconds up the road. In came Perez for new rubber on lap 12 but Verstappen wanted Red Bull to double-stack in order not to lose any time to his team-mate on fresher tyres.
“So don’t forget Max, use your head please,” said Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase.
“Are we both doing it or what?” replied Verstappen.
“You just follow my instruction,” came Lambiase’s response.
“No, I want to know both cars do it,” Verstappen fired back.
“Max, please follow my instruction and trust it, thank you,” said Lambiase.
The following lap, Verstappen stopped for tyres and it only took a couple of laps before he was crawling all over the back of Perez’s Red Bull machine.
Verstappen tracked Perez through the fearsome Eau Rouge-Raidillon section before applying DRS and roaring round the outside of his team-mate along the Kemmel Straight on lap 17. By the end of the lap, he had already pulled out a 1.6 sec gap over his team-mate.
Verstappen was then on the radio, reporting rain, and the Dutchman endured a hairy moment through Eau Rouge as the back end of his Red Bull machine stepped out on him at 180mph.
“F***, I nearly lost it,” said the championship leader amid the light drizzle.
Lambiase was then back on the radio asking if Verstappen could make his tyres last with more rain due to arrive.
“I can’t see the weather radar,” came Verstappen’s spiky response.
On lap 29, Perez now trailing Verstappen by nine seconds, stopped for a second time with Verstappen following in on the same lap but it was not long before Lambiase was back on the radio lambasting his driver.
“You used a lot of the tyre on the out lap Max,” he said. “I am not sure if that was sensible.”
Verstappen responded by banging in the fastest lap of the race.
Such is Verstappen’s stranglehold of Formula One, he was back on the radio joking if he should stop for a third time.
“Should we push on and do another stop?” he said. “A little bit of pit-stop training?”
“Not this time,” replied Lambiase, having previously calling on his driver “to use your head a bit more.”
But Verstappen showed no sign of slowing down, delivering Red Bull’s 22nd win from the last 23 races and retaining the team’s unbeaten streak this season.
Owen Burrows feels he has a lot to thank Hukum for as he prepares to send his King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes champion straight to the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.
The six-year-old has won 11 of his 17 career starts and it was somewhat fitting that having provided the Lambourn-based handler with both his first Royal Ascot and Group One winner, Hukum was front and centre once again as Burrows enjoyed his finest hour in the training ranks.
Having downed last year’s Derby winner Desert Crown on his comeback from a career-threatening injury sustained when winning the 2022 Coronation Cup, Baaeed’s brother was at the peak of his powers in the hands of Jim Crowley in Ascot’s midsummer showpiece to tee up a trip to Paris on the first Sunday in October.
As short as 6-1 for the Arc, Burrows is determined to enjoy Hukum while he can as he begins to dream of victory in Europe’s richest middle-distance contest.
He said: “I owe him a lot. He’s been around for a while, he was my first Royal Ascot winner and my first Group One winner.
“We travelled him to Dubai after the sad passing of Sheikh Hamdan and that was a big thing for him to win over there on Super Saturday as well.
“He’s been a tremendous horse in my career and he’ll be very hard to replace, but we’ll enjoy him while we can.”
He went on: “He’s all well this morning. He ate up and he’s been out and had a lead out and a nice pick of grass and trotted up sound, so touch wood all good.
“The Arc is something like eight weeks today and that is the obvious plan now. The plan has always been King George in the summer and then trying to get him to France in the beginning of October and now we can start dreaming.”
All of Hukum’s victories have come on ground no quicker than good and having proven very effective with a little cut in the ground, there are plenty of positive signs ahead of Hukum’s autumn visit to the French capital for a race often run in testing conditions.
Burrows added: “He would go on faster ground and it was pretty quick in the Sheema Classic when he was only beaten a length and three-quarters.
“But he’s obviously had a hard enough race there yesterday and knowing we can get him cherry ripe following a layoff, I don’t think we need to be giving him a prep run.
“I would love to get him to the Arc and I think we would be talking about soft ground. Yesterday Jim (Crowley) felt it was a little bit dead ground, there wasn’t a lot of life in it. He handles most ground, but he obviously handles soft ground very well and we can dream.”
Hukum’s victory came just 25 minutes after another of Burrows’ Farncombe Down string, Aflaila, landed the Group Two York Stakes to give the handler a fantastic cross-card Group-race double.
He has been inundated with congratulatory messages since and admits it did take some time for the achievement to sink in.
“It’s been quite busy and I’m literally sitting down trying to work through all the messages, but it is going to take me a while,” said Burrows.
“I’ll admit yesterday I was a bit shellshocked, but now it is finally sinking in and what a day, what a great day.
“I’ve not been at it too long (training), but it was well documented this horse (Hukum) was injured at Epsom last year and to get him back to this level is a huge team effort. From the guys at Shadwell who rehabbed him, to my guys here at Farncombe, it’s a big big team effort.”
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