Tom Marquand is concentrating on the result rather than the occasion ahead of his bid to carry the royal colours to Classic glory in the Betfred St Leger at Doncaster.
It is 46 years since Dunfermline provided the late Queen with the last of her five British Classic wins in the Town Moor showpiece and optimism is high that Desert Hero can end the long wait for another victory by adding his name to the roll of honour on Saturday.
The William Haggas-trained colt brought the house down after giving the newly-crowned King and Queen their first taste of Royal Ascot success in the King George V Stakes in June and he has since enhanced his Leger claims by landing the Gordon Stakes at Goodwood.
Marquand has ridden multiple Group One winners at home and abroad, including a first Classic win with Galileo Chrome in a behind-closed-doors Leger three years ago – but in his view Desert Hero’s victory in Berkshire three months ago tops the lot.
“I’d be lying if I said anything other than I didn’t even give it a thought beforehand, as a jockey you don’t. There’s only one thing that matters and that’s winning and everything else pales into insignificance unless you win,” he said.
“It was an absolutely incredible day and an extremely special one that will probably rank up right up there for the rest of my days riding.
“Honestly, it’s probably the highest. Obviously you’ll have higher profile wins in higher grade races, but as an Englishman the opportunity to ride the King’s first Royal Ascot winner, with them there and seeing the excitement and the pleasure both the King and Queen got from it, was incredible.”
Following the Queen’s death 12 months ago, there were genuine concerns the royal patronage of the sport might fade. Marquand feels Desert Hero’s Ascot win went some way to allaying those fears.
“For racing it’s extremely important and gratifying that the passion for the sport that we all love so much is there,” he continued.
“I think that’s what made the occasion so special, that it was so clear for everyone that was there and watching on the TV as well the joy the King and Queen got from that winner.
“I didn’t think that I’d get a Classic-winning opportunity for them so soon after obviously, but that Royal Ascot will be hard to topple off top spot.
“It was great, but to have that line of progression from Desert Hero to the point where he’s going into the St Leger as one of the main chances in the race is fantastic for everyone.”
Given the expectation, Marquand will have plenty of pressure on his shoulders when he heads out onto the Doncaster turf on Saturday afternoon, but he is keen to treat it like just another race.
He said: “I’m looking forward to it, it’s a big day and an important one with pretty special circumstances, obviously. It’s great.
“Obviously we’re very appreciative to be in the situation we are going into the weekend with him, but we kind of put that to one side going into the racing scenario as it’s all insignificant unless his head lands in front in the right place.
“It doesn’t matter who owns him or who is involved or whatever if that doesn’t happen, so first and foremost the main priority is to give him the best opportunity to win that we can and after that hopefully we’ll have a bit more to worry about!
“It’s all insignificant if he doesn’t win, so there’s not much point spending time thinking about it.”
Desert Hero finished only eighth when favourite for Newbury’s London Gold Cup on his seasonal debut, but Marquand insists he was far from despondent.
He said: “He didn’t disappoint us all at Newbury. It was a mile and a quarter, it was obviously his first run of the year and things didn’t quite go to plan as I ended up making the running, so I actually came back in extremely happy with him.
“I just thought he’d been a bit slow and he’d love going up to a mile and a half and the progression from there has been massive.
“Ascot was obviously a huge performance, but he went and cemented that at Goodwood up in Stakes company and on very different ground as well.”
One question Desert Hero will have to answer is whether his stamina will last out over a mile and three-quarters, but Marquand is as hopeful as he can be the longer trip will not be an issue.
“He’s shown how appliable he is to different things and different conditions. He’s got a different trip to contend with this time, but I think it’s fair to say he’s shown the trip shouldn’t be an issue and on breeding it shouldn’t be an issue, so we’re hoping it’s not going to be,” he added.
“Until you run over it, it’s still a question mark, but I think it’s one of the question marks going into a race like this you don’t mind having. If the trip is the only problem we have then fantastic!”
Marquand knows Desert Hero will not have things all his own way, with a clutch of talented rivals lying in wait.
Frankie Dettori bids for one final Classic win before his retirement aboard Arrest, while Continuous and Gregory renew rivalry after finishing first and third in the Great Voltigeur at York last month.
Further strength in depth is added by the supplemented Middle Earth and Chesspiece, who was only a neck behind Desert Hero at Goodwood in early August.
Assessing the field, Marquand said: “It’s a race where there’s a lot of strength in it, but there’s no standout horse that needs to disappoint for something else to win. It makes it interesting.
“I’m looking forward to the opportunity and I know William and the team at Somerville Lodge are thrilled they’ve found a horse like him this year for the King and Queen – it’s given everyone a huge amount of pleasure to be in this position.
“Whatever happens, they’ve done a fantastic job with him and everyone has enjoyed the ride so far.”
Frankie Dettori will don the Juddmonte silks when he makes his final British Classic appearance aboard Arrest in Doncaster’s Betfred St Leger.
The Italian has won the Town Moor showpiece six times throughout his career and struck in the colours of the Abdullah family with Logician in 2019.
Dettori was expected to partner his Royal Ascot winner Gregory in his last shot at Classic glory, but made a late switch to the John and Thady Gosden-trained stablemate after a wet week in South Yorkshire.
And it could be somewhat fitting that he bows out for connections who have provided him with some of the biggest victories in his career.
“Any time Frankie is on board is great and I suppose the association he has had with Juddmonte over the years has been so strong and we’ve had so many big days together that we can hopefully dream of another on Saturday,” said Barry Mahon, European racing manager for the owner.
“It would be special and it’s a hot race, it’s certainly hard to dismiss much in the race. They are all of a similar level and it’s definitely quality over quantity.”
The race offers Arrest the chance for Classic redemption having fluffed his lines when sent off favourite in the hands of Dettori in his final Derby at Epsom earlier in the summer.
However, connections believe they made the wrong decision to run the son of Frankel on quick ground during the height of summer and are hopeful their high-class colt will stay the stamina-sapping one-mile-six-furlong trip in his preferred ground.
Mahon added: “In fairness to the horse, his record is pretty solid and we made two bad calls with the horse running him on good to firm ground at Epsom and Ascot. To be fair they were two big races and big meetings and we just made the wrong call and we’ve learned from that.
“We know he likes an ease in the ground and if you forget those two runs, then his record is pretty outstanding.
“It’s like everything, until you try it, you don’t know 100 per cent (if Arrest will stay). But it didn’t look like he was stopping at the end of the Geoffrey Freer, so you would have to think he will be fine over it. Over a mile and five and a half at Newbury he looked comfortable enough, so we just have to be hopeful he gets the extra furlong.”
Arrest is one of three for the Gosdens alongside Gregory and Middle Earth as the Clarehaven team seeks a second British Classic of the campaign.
Kieran Shoemark takes the ride on Gregory, who although tasting defeat for the first time in the Great Voltigeur, showed his liking for this trip when winning the Queen’s Vase at the Royal meeting before that.
“He’s got a great mind and he is a pretty laid-back character,” said John Gosden.
“I trained both the mother and father and he’s inherited all the good traits of their mental attitude towards racing.
“We gave him all the time he required and he’s done nothing but shine this year. I think he’ll enjoy the distance, although we are perfectly aware it looks like being a vintage St Leger.”
Middle Earth was supplemented into the contest by owners Qatar Racing having proven his class in York’s Melrose Stakes and the mount of Oisin Murphy ticks plenty of boxes despite stepping up markedly in class.
Gosden added: “He’s proven he stays the trip, which let me tell you, the one mile, six furlongs and a few yards, it is a long straight, it tests the tactical speed and the stamina. He looks like he should be able to answer those two calls.
“If you’d won a handicap in the style he did at York, that was a tougher race than some of the trials. If you’ve got the right horse at the right time and he handles the ground, then he has every right to be there.”
While the Gosdens field a team of three, there will be four from Aidan O’Brien’s all-conquering Ballydoyle string, including Continuous who lowered the colours of Gregory at York last month.
He is the mount of Ryan Moore and is joined by Bahrain Trophy runner-up Tower Of London, Alexandroupolis and Denmark as the handler searches for his sixth win the race.
O’Brien said: “Continuous is very well. He came out of York very well. He’s a horse that has class and you can take your time with over a mile and six (furlongs).
“Tower Of London just got beat at Newmarket. He will get the trip, he’s a brother to Capri. He handles good ground and we’re very happy with him.
“Alexandroupolis was second in a Derby Trial and then suffered a setback. We’ve always liked him and think he’s come forward plenty from his last run, but will probably come forward more after this.”
Godolphin are no strangers to success in this contest and their hopes are carried by Simon and Ed Crisford’s Chesspiece, who was only a neck behind the reopposing Desert Hero in the Gordon Stakes at Goodwood and will relish the extra two furlongs.
“It’s a big day and he’s done well progressing this season,” said Ed Crisford.
“It’s a tough race, the St Leger, and there’s some good horses in it and he has a few lengths to make up on those higher-rated horses, but he wants every yard of the trip and it looks like being suitable ground for him.
“If he can improve a little bit, I’m sure he will be in the mix.”
Chesspiece’s training team recently celebrated their first Group One success when landing the Prix Morny and now look to quickly follow up in one of the oldest races on the calendar.
Crisford added: “It’s exciting to be a part of the Leger, it is always a great race and to have a horse with a bit of a squeak is great.
“You will have to really stay well in the Leger – I think our fella will stay well and I think with the softer conditions, it will be a grinding sort of race. He’s there with a chance for sure.”
Max Verstappen’s unprecedented winning streak in Formula One could be under threat after the Red Bull driver finished only eighth in practice for the Singapore Grand Prix.
Verstappen romped to victory in Italy a fortnight ago to become the first driver in the sport’s 73-year history to win 10 consecutive races as he closes in on a hat-trick of world championships.
But under the thousands of bulbs that light up the Marina Bay Street Circuit, Verstappen ended the day more than seven tenths behind Ferrari pace-setter Carlos Sainz, the Spaniard who took pole position in Monza.
Charles Leclerc finished second for Ferrari as the Italian team completed a practice one-two, with George Russell third for Mercedes, 0.235 sec adrift.
Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso was fourth, with Lewis Hamilton fifth in his Mercedes, one place ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris.
Red Bull are unbeaten this season, but they did not have a car inside the top six on Friday, with Sergio Perez, who triumphed here last year, seventh.
Verstappen, who has won 12 of the 14 rounds so far, has not lost a race since the Azerbaijan Grand Prix on April 30.
But the Dutch driver has never triumphed in Singapore and he suggested ahead of Friday’s running that the high-downforce, low-speed nature of the city-state track could play into the hands of Red Bull’s rivals.
Although times in practice must be treated with caution as teams trial varying fuel loads and tyre strategies, it is Ferrari who hold the upper hand heading into qualifying on Saturday at a track where overtaking is notoriously difficult.
Indeed, eight of the 13 races here have been won from pole. Although the removal of turns 16 to 19 in favour of one long straight could improve the action for Sunday’s 62-lap race.
While the second running passed off without major drama, the opening session was disrupted on three occasions when a lizard invaded the three-mile circuit.
Verstappen was the first to report the reptile at turn nine midway through the running.
“There is a lizard on track again,” said the Red Bull driver, who had a similar encounter here back in 2016. “It is a smaller one this time.”
Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase replied: “Maybe Godzilla has had a kid.” There was a second interruption, and then a third, as yellow flags were deployed.
“Another lizard, but a different one this time,” said Russell.
Trueshan lit up Doncaster as he returned to his best to register a remarkable success in the Betfred Doncaster Cup Stakes.
Retirement appeared to be looming when the seven-year-old disappointed earlier in the season, but given a wind operation and a 135-day summer break, Alan King’s charge roared back to form on Town Moor.
Victory looked unlikely in the early stages of the Group Two contest as Trueshan refused to settle for Hollie Doyle, travelling keenly when held-up behind the steady early pace set by Ryan Moore aboard Broome.
Doyle allowed her mount to stride on approaching the turn for home and it proved to be a race-winning move from the rider as the long-distance veteran powered his way to the head of affairs.
With the rest of the field remaining glued to the inside rail, Trueshan set sail solo up the centre of the track, before edging his way across to battle John and Thady Gosden’s Sweet William who had emerged from the pack to lay down a stern challenge.
Trueshan, however, would not be denied and he stormed to the line to win by a length and a quarter.
Paddy Power and Betfair now make the 100-30 scorer a 5-1 shot to win the Qipco British Champions Long Distance Cup for a fourth straight year at Ascot on October 21.
Ireland’s coaching staff and players are braced for a “big step up” at the Rugby World Cup as they prepare to face the “serious threats” of Tonga in Nantes.
Andy Farrell’s men launched their campaign by running in 12 tries during a thumping 82-8 demolition of Pool B minnows Romania.
Ireland have pivotal Paris appointments against South Africa and Scotland on the horizon but feel they cannot afford to underestimate the nation sitting 15th in the Test rankings.
“They’ve got some of the best open field runners in world rugby,” defence coach Simon Easterby said of Tonga.
“They’ve got guys in the forward pack that can mix it, they can offload. And they’ve got attacking threats throughout their back line.
“It’s a real challenge for us defensively, it’s one that we’re probably ready for after the Romania game. We didn’t have to get through that much work without the ball.
“It’s going to be a big step up from the challenge Romania threw at us.
“They (Tonga) attack well but they certainly want to come and hit and put us off our rhythm.”
Head coach Farrell spoke of focusing on immediate challenges and respecting Tonga, who are preparing for their opening match of the tournament, when announcing a strong team on Thursday afternoon.
Aside from sidelined hooker Dan Sheehan and first-choice scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park, the Englishman has gone with arguably his preferred starting XV, which features four personnel changes from last weekend.
Full-back Hugo Keenan feels it is easy to concentrate game by game, despite the looming threat of the Springboks.
“Yeah, I think it has (been),” he said. “I know throughout the pool, there is tough games coming up but Tonga are a serious side, serious threats and individuals across the team.
“We’re only looking at them, we’re only focusing on this week.”
Following the scorching conditions of their Bordeaux curtain-raiser, where temperatures reached 36 degrees Celsius, Ireland trained in 30-degree heat on Friday afternoon at Stade de la Beaujoire.
Prop Tadhg Furlong joked about needing to layer up as he prepares for a stern test against Tonga’s bulky front-row forwards.
“I was thinking of putting a jumper on today compared to what we’ve been used to,” he said.
“Although it is hot, it doesn’t feel as hot (as previously). (It’s been) like an oven, or someone blowing a hairdryer in your face, for the last few weeks.”
Referring to the weekend challenge, he said: “Of course we respect them. Sometimes in scrummaging there’s no replacement for displacement.
“Weight makes it heavy, it makes it hard, that’s the nature of it and it’s a big challenge from a big pack. We have to be technically good.”
Big Evs bounced back to his very best with a devastating display in the Carlsberg Danish Pilsner Flying Childers Stakes at Doncaster.
Mick Appleby’s speedster has struck big-race gold at both Royal Ascot and the Goodwood Festival when claiming the Molecomb Stakes, but having been tasked with taking on his elders in the Nunthorpe last time, was unable to get involved and was ultimately one of the disappointments in York’s premier sprint.
Back to racing against his own age group, the son of Blue Point put his rivals to the sword from the very start to add this Group Two prize to his growing CV and having been fast away from the stalls in the hands of Tom Marquand, the 9-4 favourite scorched his way up Town Moor as his rivals chased the pacey youngster’s tail in vain.
The two-and-three-quarter-length winner now appears to have booked his ticket to the Breeders’ Cup in November.
Appleby said: “After he jumped out of the stalls there wasn’t really a doubt. Once he got three or four lengths on them they weren’t going to catch him. You’ve got to be up the front on this ground.
“It’s not the ideal ground for him but he’s got the job done well. He’s won a Molecomb and the Flying Childers on soft ground now.
“We just had to put a line through the Nunthorpe. I think he just had an exceptionally hard race at Goodwood, I think that just took its toll.
“I think it will be the Breeders’ Cup next for the Juvenile Turf Sprint, straight there. It’s five furlongs at Santa Anita which should be ideal. If he can get the rail he could be difficult to peg back.
“He’s been an amazing horse, the owners have turned down some big bids and there’ll be more now, but luckily he’s not for sale.
“Coming into this, I was thinking that one race didn’t make him a bad horse. If he’d disappointed again then we’d have been scratching our heads but he’s got the job done well today.
“Tom rode him today as Jason (Hart) was at Chester for his boss (John Quinn). If Highfield Princess goes to the Breeders’ Cup that means Jason will be, so he’ll be there and all being well he’ll be riding him again. Tom was a great replacement today.”
Roger Teal could have a smart operator on his hands after Dancing Gemini stormed to victory in the Betfred Flying Scotsman Stakes at Doncaster.
The Lambourn-based trainer won this Listed event with Tip Two Win in 2017 and his latest scorer arrived on Town Moor on an upwards curve having won well at Newbury last month.
Always travelling smartly in the hands of Lewis Edmunds, the son of Camelot moved purposely to the front a furlong from home and galloped on powerfully to the line to make a real statement, registering a commanding four-and-a-quarter-length victor over Andrew Balding’s Gushing Gold.
Tip Two Win would go on to finish second to Saxon Warrior in the 2000 Guineas and it appears Teal is already dreaming of next year’s Classics with his impressive youngster.
Before that though, he could return to Doncaster for the Futurity Trophy next month and both Paddy Power and Betfair go 20-1 from 66s for that end-of-season Group One event.
Teal said: “That was really impressive. We’ve held him in high regard all year. He did a piece of work last week that was breathtaking and I knew we had him in good shape heading into today.
“I said to Lewis, ‘if we can back up that bit of work, you’ll be going past the lollipop in front’ and he did. It was a very nice performance.
“We won this with Tip Two Win and I think he could possibly be as good, he’s got a similar profile because he’s got speed, with a good turn of foot and a good cruising gear.
“He’s in the big one here at the end of the season, but we’ll play it by ear and see how he comes out of today. If all is well and the owner is happy, we might take a punt, if not we’ll wait for next year when we’ll go for a trial before the Guineas.
“Lewis is a very underused jockey – I shouldn’t say that because more people will start using him. Fair play to the owner because Rossa Ryan was supposed to ride him last time but got claimed by a bigger stable, but Lewis did a great job at Newbury and he has again today.
“He handles the soft, when I watched the first I thought it was a little softer than they thought as they were well strung out, so I said to Lewis, ‘don’t sit too far off the pace and give him every chance’.
“We really fancied him on his debut but he was slowly away before passing everything bar the winner but he’s come on bundles, he’s improving with every race. He’ll get a mile no problem.”
Spycatcher will try to take advantage of conditions at Doncaster when he lines up in the Betfred Park Stakes on Saturday.
Karl Burke’s five-year-old thrives when the mud flies and following a week of rain on Town Moor, he appears to have the perfect opportunity to continue his stellar 2023 campaign.
He is yet to finish outside the money in five starts this term and having made a successful trip to Deauville to claim the Prix de Ris-Orangis on his penultimate start, returned to the Normandy coast to run a career best when second in the Prix Maurice de Gheest.
Seven furlongs presents a different challenge for the son of Vadamos, but the Spigot Lodge handler is keen to strike while the iron is hot.
Burke said: “We wanted to really keep him at six and he is in the Renaissance Stakes the following week at the Curragh, but this doesn’t look the strongest Group Two in the world and the ground is in his favour.
“He seems in great form so I think we’ll let him take his chance. At this time of year the ground can change and you’d hate to miss Doncaster and then it turns up decent ground at the Curragh.”
John and Thady Gosden’s Audience claimed the Criterion Stakes on reappearance and then left a disappointing showing at Goodwood behind him when second to Kinross at York last month.
However, his below-par performance on the Sussex Downs came with ease in the ground and Chris Richardson, managing director for owners Cheveley Park Stud, once again has slight reservations about conditions.
He said: “He came out of York really well but my only concern would be the ground I suppose, because all of his best efforts have been on good ground. He ran poorly at Goodwood on softish ground, so hopefully we get a drying scenario.
“It’s a trappy race and obviously Karl Burke’s horses are flying. But we deserve to be in there and John has been happy with him.
“If he had been allowed to race on his own at York rather than in a group, then he might have gone a bit closer, but he definitely has the ability as we saw.”
The son of Iffraaj somewhat lost his way at three, but has been revitalised since being gelded and connections are delighted he has now started to give a glimpse of his true ability this season.
Richardson added: “I think gelding him has made all the difference. We always knew the ability was there, it was just a question of making him concentrate on what he needed to do rather than other things.
“It wouldn’t normally have been our plan to geld a horse of this quality, but he just made it a challenge last year. It’s nice he’s back on track now and fulfilling his potential.”
Andrew Balding’s Sandrine was not far behind Audience when third in the City Of York Stakes and excels over this distance, while Bunbury Cup scorer Biggles represents last year’s winning stable in his first outing in stakes company.
Eve Johnson Houghton’s Jumby and Charlie Hills’ Pogo complete the select field of six.
Mike Forshaw says Wales will reference Uruguay’s odds-defying display against France when they tackle Rugby World Cup minnows Portugal on Saturday.
Uruguay, despite being ranked 17th in the world, produced an outstanding performance before going down to a 27-12 defeat.
They denied Les Bleus a bonus point and will undoubtedly provide inspiration for fellow World Cup underdogs such as Portugal, Chile and Namibia.
Wales are expected to brush aside Patrice Lagisquet’s team in the countries’ first meeting for 29 years.
“We will reference the French game. It is very important we get messages from that,” Wales assistant coach and defence specialist Forshaw said.
“We have to do our basics well and give them the respect they deserve, but we want to impose ourselves on this team.
“We know every game is going to be tough, and nothing changes in our preparation.
“If you look at their backs they have got quite a few sevens players, they play that coast-to-coast game, so we will have to cut that supply off with our defence and our urgency to take space from them.
“They have similar threats to the Fijians, so we have to be right on it.”
Wales boss Warren Gatland has made 13 changes from the team that defeated Fiji 32-26 in Bordeaux last weekend.
Only wing Louis Rees-Zammit and number eight Taulupe Faletau remain from that line-up, with four players – Mason Grady, Johnny Williams, skipper Dewi Lake and Christ Tshiunza – making their World Cup debuts.
A second successive bonus-point win would keep Wales firmly on course for the quarter-finals – their minimum return from the last three World Cups.
Gatland, meanwhile, will set a new World Cup record of 16 wins as a coach, going one above Australia head coach Eddie Jones, if Wales triumph.
Gatland has only overseen three pool-stage defeats in World Cup history, against Australia 24 years ago when he was Ireland boss, then South Africa in 2011 with Wales and against the Wallabies again four years later.
Wales made more than 240 tackles to repel Fiji, and although rain is forecast on the French Riviera this weekend, it is their attacking game that should now flourish..
Centre Williams said: “It is a good opportunity for us to show what we are about in attack. Our attitude and intent doesn’t change this week, but hopefully with less tackles.
“It was a hell of a win against Fiji – we put in a serious effort. Watching from the stands, I was seriously gutted to be missing out as it was such an amazing game and an amazing atmosphere.
“I get my chance this week, as a few other boys do. Just because we have made changes that doesn’t mean anything changes in terms of how we play, the intensity and physicality we want to play with.”
For Wales flanker Dan Lydiate, Saturday’s game represents the start of his third World Cup, 12 years after the first.
“It is my third World Cup, and I am really chuffed to be here, just looking forward to getting on the grass on Saturday,” Lydiate said.
“You feel the bumps a bit more, the older you get. It is part of the gig, it is what you signed up for. If you love something you keep going as long as you can.
“Four years ago I wasn’t selected for the World Cup. You think ‘is your time done’? But you just keep your head down and keep cracking on.”
The exciting Rosallion has the chance to enhance his growing reputation when he steps out at Doncaster in Saturday’s Betfred Champagne Stakes.
The son of Blue Point is unbeaten in two starts and saw the form of his four-length Listed success at Ascot given a timely boost at Haydock last weekend when Roger Varian’s Al Musmak won the Ascendant Stakes in good style.
Trainer Richard Hannon has a fine record in the Group Two contest having won it three times in the last 10 years and believes this is the perfect stepping stone on the way to bigger targets later in the season.
He said: “We were delighted with his run at Ascot and he’s come forward a good bit since then. We’ve been very happy with him and we’re looking forward to seeing him on Saturday.
“Al Musmak won very well at Haydock and he looks a nice horse, so that was very pleasing.
“We’ve won it with Threat, Chindit and Estidhkaar. It’s a nice race and it comes at a good time for the big races in the autumn and hopefully this is a nice race on the way to the Dewhurst.”
It was a stablemate of Rosallion – Haatem – who denied Charlie Hills’ Iberian when he finished second in the Vintage Stakes at Goodwood.
Inexperience took its toll on the smart prospect when appearing on the Sussex Downs, but Hills has plenty of faith in the son of Lope De Vega who created a deep impression at Newbury on debut.
He said: “He ran a good race at Goodwood, but second time out round that track from a bad draw, a combination of track, inexperience and ground caught him out that day.
“I just felt stepping up in grade from first time out to a Group Two is a big step, especially on a track like Goodwood, on that ground, with a bad draw. He was a bit on and off the bridle.
“I was really pleased with how he finished up the straight and I’ve always liked him. His work has been really good leading up to this race and I would say this racecourse is going to suit him better.
“He is a very straightforward horse to train at home and his temperament and everything about him is really good. He’s done nothing wrong at home, won his maiden nicely and I certainly like to think he’s up to this level and maybe beyond.”
Aidan O’Brien’s Mountain Bear was a place behind Iberian at Goodwood before also running with credit at the Curragh in the Round Tower Stakes.
David Menuisier’s Sunway looked to possess a touch of class when scoring at Sandown on debut but now has a point to prove after an underwhelming display when well held behind Rosallion in the Pat Eddery Stakes, while Alice Haynes’ Power Mode completes a field of five.
Charles Leclerc led a Ferrari one-two in an opening practice session for the Singapore Grand Prix disrupted by three lizards.
Leclerc ended the one-hour running at the Marina Bay circuit just 0.078 seconds clear of team-mate Carlos Sainz, with championship leader Max Verstappen third.
Lando Norris finished fourth for McLaren, 0.172 sec back, while Lewis Hamilton and George Russell took fifth and sixth respectively for Mercedes.
But the session was disturbed on several occasions when a lizard walked across the three-mile street venue.
Verstappen was the first to report the reptile at Turn 9 midway through the running.
“There is a lizard on track again,” said the Red Bull driver, who had a similar encounter here back in 2016. “It is a smaller one this time.”
Verstappen’s race engineer Gianpiero Lambiase replied: “Maybe Godzilla has had a kid.”
There was a second interruption, and then a third, as yellow flags were deployed.
“Another lizard, but a different one this time,” said Russell.
Verstappen, who is chasing an 11th straight victory on his waltz to a third world championship, warned on Thursday that Red Bull could be vulnerable at this unique street venue.
And the chasing pack, led by Ferrari, will be encouraged that Red Bull did not have it all their own way in the opening running of the weekend.
Sergio Perez, who won here last year, finished seventh, ahead of Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso.
The second running gets under way at 2100 local time (1400 BST).
As two of Warrington’s greatest, Paul Cullen and Ben Westwood were hardly shrinking violets.
Fan favourite Cullen earned the nickname ‘Psycho’ for his aggressive defence during a 15-year career in which he made 350 appearances for his hometown club.
Westwood, meanwhile, was known as the ‘Wrecking Ball’ for his integral role in the side that won three Challenge Cup finals between 2009 and 2012.
Yet as much as they clearly relished the bone-jarring collisions, both admit they may have met their match in wheelchair rugby league.
That growing sport is something they both now have experience of having joined a team of past Warrington players to face one of the club’s wheelchair sides in a promotional game.
The Wolves were admitted to the Wheelchair Super League last year and arranged the fixture earlier this month to raise funds and awareness for their side.
“It was frightening,” Cullen, who went on to coach the club after hanging up his boots in 1996, told the PA news agency. “They didn’t shirk anything and there were some very big hits.
“We were all experienced professionals but this was something else. It was so demanding physically.
“A few of us got knocked out of our chairs but while they just bounced back up we had to get helped back in.
“They absolutely schooled us. We didn’t score a single try. The only thing we were good at was kicking off – and we got plenty of practise at that because they kept scoring!”
As well as Cullen and Westwood, the ex-professionals’ team also featured other past stars including Toa Kohe-Love, Mark Forster and Mike Wainwright.
They were thrashed 24-0 by the Wolves’ wheelchair development side but the result was not the purpose of the exercise.
The wheelchair game gained new popularity with some national TV exposure during last year’s World Cup and Warrington are keen to build on that.
“I enjoyed it and it was good fun,” said Westwood, scorer of 188 tries in his 446-game Wire career. “I would definitely give it another go and hopefully we can be a bit better next time.
“The hits that went in – I was shocked – but, at the same time, I was thinking this is how rugby league should be, even in wheelchairs.
“There were quite a lot of people there. It can only help the sport going forward and hopefully get more people going to watch it.”
Owen Burrows is considering options at home and abroad for Alflaila after taking plenty of positives from his performance in last weekend’s Irish Champion Stakes.
The four-year-old was a 7-1 chance for the Group One feature at Leopardstown, his second run of the season after returning from a lay-off to land the Group Two York Stakes in July.
But with a slow start putting the Shadwell-owned colt on the back foot from flag-fall, Alflaila was last of all turning for home before making significant inroads on the leaders to finish fifth, in the end beaten just over three lengths by the winner Auguste Rodin.
While disappointed the race did not go as planned, Burrows was not discouraged by the performance and is hoping for strong end to his campaign.
“He’s grand, he’s come out of Ireland well. It just didn’t really go to plan as such but he seems fine,” the trainer said.
“It wasn’t quite the plan to be that far back, but he can jump a bit slow and round there it was always going to be difficult if he did that.
“Considering he was 10 or 12 lengths down turning in and he got beaten by just over three, I think that’s still a pretty promising performance for his first time in the Group One.
“On a different track and a different day I don’t think he’s going to be too far off, so there were plenty of positives to take from it.”
On future plans, Burrows added: “We’re just weighing up our options as to where we go next now.
“That was only his second run this year, he’s in the Champion Stakes, he’s in the Prix Dollar on the Saturday of the Arc weekend which possibly, with the way French races run, might not suit him.
“Then he might be on his travels again though the winter. He’s only had two runs so he can have a busy end to the year.”
Wales play their second game of the Rugby World Cup when they tackle Portugal in Nice on Saturday.
After a nerve-shredding victory over Fiji, another bonus-point win would strengthen Wales’ position in Pool C.
Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the main talking points heading into the game.
Wales have immediate momentum
The Fiji fixture in Bordeaux had been on Wales’ World Cup radar ever since the draw was made, with Warren Gatland’s squad knowing that victory over dangerous opposition would put them on a quarter-final course. While they were hanging on at times during the closing stages, Wales got the job done and did it in bonus-point fashion. Another five-pointer should follow against Portugal, setting them up to face Australia eight days later. If Fiji defeat the Wallabies on Sunday in Saint-Etienne, then Wales would be in control of the group.
A glimpse of the future
Wales’ starting line-up on Saturday is littered with players who could provide foundation stones for teams way beyond the current World Cup. Exeter locks Dafydd Jenkins and Christ Tshiunza are just 20 and 21, centre Mason Grady is 21, wing Louis Rees-Zammit 22 and captain Dewi Lake only 24, highlighting a rich seam of young talent available to head coach Gatland. There are also those that missed the World Cup cut this time around – Max Llewellyn, Tom Rogers and Joe Roberts, among others – who could easily feature in the Six Nations squad later this season, suggesting that promising times lie ahead.
Warren Gatland in his element
The Wales head coach’s body language currently exudes belief and confidence. While he readily acknowledged a fraught final 10 minutes of last weekend’s victory over Fiji, ultimately Wales’ 32-26 success made an immediate statement in the quest to top Pool C. Gatland’s World Cup record shows semi-final appearances either side of reaching the 2015 quarter-finals, providing sustained excellence. And he has the air of someone eyeing not only a repeat performance of four years ago in Japan, but to go even better. It is early days, yet the initial signs could hardly be more encouraging.
Wales cut loose in Lisbon
It is 29 years since Wales and Portugal faced each other, and a one-sided affair played out in the Portuguese capital. After making a World Cup pool exit in 1991, it meant Wales having to qualify for the next tournament. Portugal were despatched 102-11, with Wales running in 16 tries. Wing Nigel Walker scored four of them, while there were hat-tricks for Ieuan Evans and Mike Hall as a Wales team that also included the likes of Neil Jenkins, Robert Jones, Gareth Llewellyn and Scott Quinnell ran riot. Wales successfully finished the qualifying job in Madrid seven days later, seeing off Spain 54-0.
What is Portugal’s World Cup record?
They qualified for the 2007 tournament, which was also held in France, being drawn in a tough group alongside Scotland and New Zealand. The Scots defeated them 56-10, before the All Blacks posted a points century. A 31-5 reversal followed against Italy, before Portugal regrouped impressively and went close to upsetting Romania before they were edged out 14-10. Former France wing Patrice Lagisquet is now their head coach, and recent form has been strong, notably a 46-20 World Cup warm-up win against the United States and a battling loss to Australia A. They qualified for the 2023 World Cup by winning a repechage competition in Dubai.
Jalen Hurts and D’Andre Swift starred for the Philadelphia Eagles to secure their second win in two games, beating the Minnesota Vikings 34-28 on Friday.
Hurts, the Eagles quarterback and 2022 MVP runner-up, threw for 193 yards and two touchdowns.
His running-back Swift carried for 175 yards and crossed for a touchdown himself.
The Eagles jumped out to a 27-7 lead in the third quarter after a mistake-prone game from the Vikings.
However, Minnesota fought their way back into the game with two touchdowns in the last two quarters to make it 27-21.
A late touchdown from Swift with four minutes left made the comeback insurmountable despite a late score from Vikings tight-end TJ Hockenson.
Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins threw for 364 yards with four touchdowns while wide receiver Justin Jefferson had 11 receptions totalling 159 yards.
The performance from the duo was not enough to give their team their first win of the season, with the Vikings to host the Los Angeles Chargers next week while Philadelphia will travel to Florida to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Luke Raley hit a tiebreaking home run and Tampa Bay’s bullpen continued its stellar stretch to lead the Rays to a 4-3 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Thursday in the opener of a key four-game series.
The Rays pulled within a game of AL East-leading Baltimore with their sixth win in seven games.
Ryan O’Hearn and Gunnar Henderson homered for the Orioles, who have scored five runs during their first three-game losing streak since late June.
Aaron Civale allowed three runs and four hits over five innings with eight strikeouts before turning it over to Tampa Bay’s bullpen.
Colin Poche, Shawn Armstrong, Robert Stephenson and Pete Fairbanks teamed up to retire 12 straight, with Fairbanks striking out the side in the ninth for his 24th save.
Rays’ relievers haven’t allowed an earned run in 34 consecutive innings.
Raley’s home run with two outs in the seventh off starter Kyle Bradish snapped a 3-3 tie.
The game turned in the fifth inning when Baltimore had bases loaded and no outs.
After Adam Frazier’s force play tied it at 3, Civale got Adley Rutschman to hit into an inning-ending double play.
Surging Rangers complete sweep of Blue Jays
The Texas Rangers rolled to their sixth straight victory, as Corey Seager homered and drove in three runs in a 9-2 rout of the Toronto Blue Jays.
Jonah Heim also went deep and Robbie Grossman reached base four times as Texas completed a four-game sweep to pull within one-half game of idle Houston in the AL West.
Seager homered off Kevin Gausman in the first inning and put the Rangers ahead for good with a two-run double in the second.
Vladimir Guerrero Jr. hit a two-run home run in the bottom of the first, but the Blue Jays were outscored 35-9 in the four games.
Toronto dropped 1 ½ games behind idle Seattle for the final AL wild-card spot.
Taylor sparks Brewers past Marlins
Tyrone Taylor had a pair of RBI doubles and a key slide in the fifth inning as the Milwaukee Brewers defeated the Miami Marlins, 4-2.
With the game tied at 2 in the fifth, Taylor attempted to score on Sal Frelick’s single. The throw from right fielder Jesus Sanchez beat him to the plate, but Taylor managed to avoid the tag from catcher Jacob Stallings to score the eventual winning run.
The Brewers won three of four in the series and increased their NL Central lead to 4 ½ games over the Chicago Cubs.
Miami was limited to five runs in the four-game series and dropped one-half game behind the final NL wild-card spot.
Elliot Daly insists it is time for England to show their teeth in attack as they look to build on the defensive masterclass delivered against Argentina.
Steve Borthwick’s team top Pool D of the World Cup after routing the Pumas 27-10, securing a vital victory even though flanker Tom Curry was sent off for a dangerous tackle in the third minute.
A steely performance addressed concerns about the vulnerability of their defence but with all the points arriving off the boot of George Ford, the deficiencies of an attack that has yet to fire since Borthwick took charge were exposed once more.
Moments of promise in Marseille – most notably a five on two overlap – failed to materialise into tries and Daly is targeting an improvement when the group campaign continues against Japan on Sunday.
“We know how good our attack can be, so hopefully in the next few games we’ll be able to show that,” the Saracens wing said.
“A lot of people wrote us off against Argentina so for us to come out and perform like that and get that scoreline was pretty impressive.
“If we can do the same this weekend, perform how we want to perform and put our game on Japan, let’s see where that takes us.
“We’re not saying we’re going to chuck the ball around, but we’re going to put ourselves in positions in attack to take the opportunities we create.
“We did actually see the space on the weekend, but we probably couldn’t go into it when down to 14. We’re seeing the space a lot more, which is going to create more opportunities with the ball.
“There’s a lot more to come from us and I’m very excited about how we’re approaching it.”
For England to thrive against Japan they must shed their habit of seeing players sent off for illegal challenges having amassed four red cards in six Tests.
Curry’s dismissal against Argentina lifts the total number of cards for their 10 matches this year to nine, the highest of any side ranked in the top 10.
While Daly takes comfort from knowing England have played some of their best rugby when their backs are against the wall, he insists they must be aware of the current climate in the game which sees dangerous play being clamped down on.
“We just need probably to make sure we’re whiter than white, but these things happen, so it’s about we react on the field to that,” he said.
“Obviously we don’t want that in big games, but if we do have it, it’s something we’ve got to shrug off and understand what we’re lacking in that position.
“We understand that we want to keep 15 people on the field but if we don’t it’s how we react to that really.
“We’ve got to understand that if you do go high and it’s 50-50 there’s a chance of a penalty or even worse.”
Borthwick names his starting XV on Friday evening with prop Kyle Sinckler and number eight Billy Vunipola expected to be recalled to the 23 following absences through injury and suspension respectively.
Peter O’Mahony says Ireland squad would be lost without “characters” like Mack Hansen in their camp at the Rugby World Cup.
Wing Hansen will make his full tournament debut against Tonga on Saturday evening following a 20-minute cameo in last weekend’s 82-8 win over Romania.
Flanker O’Mahony believes the 25-year-old is among the best in the world in his position, as well an asset to the group off the field due to his fun-loving nature.
“He’s been a breath of fresh air,” said O’Mahony. “An incredible character, good person. Straight away we knew he was a top man.
“A character but above it all he’s an incredible athlete and one of the world’s best wingers at the moment.
“The overriding factor is that he’s a good person and he’s seamlessly fitted into our squad. He’s been great craic and you need characters like that.
“The beauty of the game of rugby is the different characters you get and we’d be lost without guys like this.
“Tours like this are made for being incredibly serious but the craic that fellas like this bring make it a great place to be.”
Hansen was initially a surprise omission from Andy Farrell’s match day 23 for Ireland’s Pool B opener against Romania in Bordeaux.
But he was a late addition to the bench in place of the injured Robbie Henshaw before coming on for Keith Earls.
Head coach Farrell dismissed any suggestion that Hansen had originally been left out for disciplinary reasons.
Asked by a reporter why the Connacht player was overlooked in the first instance, Farrell interjected: “Was it you who kept on asking the question last week? Where the hell did all that come from?
“Left out of the 23? No. We wanted to give someone else a game, as simple as that.
“Mack’s up next (for media), so you can ask him the question as well, ‘was he a naughty boy?’. He definitely wasn’t.”
However, when an attempt was made to ask Hansen about his coach’s comments, O’Mahony, who was sitting alongside him, stepped in, saying: “Did Andy not just answer a question about this a second ago?”
Hansen then joked: “We had a five-minute tiff whatever and we’re fine now, so it’s all good!”
The native Australian, who made his Ireland debut in last year’s Six Nations after qualifying through his Cork-born mother, is already relishing his first World Cup experience.
“It’s an absolute privilege, I didn’t know if I’d ever get the opportunity to do so,” he said, ahead of the weekend match in Nantes.
“First start, against a good Tongan team, it’s really exciting. I was lucky enough to come off the bench last week so (that) kind of settled the nerves a bit and I can really enjoy this week.
“A lot of my mates are over at the moment, so it’s tough getting Snapchats of them smoking vapes and drinking beers at 12 in the morning while I’m trying to prepare for a game.
“But it’s good craic and it’s actually been nice getting that aspect outside of playing and seeing how much a World Cup means to people.”
Hansen attracted attention following the Romania game by stripping to his underwear after swapping shirts with an opponent and giving his shorts to a fan, much to the amusement of the onlooking Farrell.
“I’m not the first person to take their shorts off after a game, I doubt I’ll be the last,” Hansen said. “I’ve been told to keep them on this week I’ll try my hardest.”
Ludvig Aberg continued to justify his billing as golf’s next superstar as he outscored two of the world’s best players to make an impressive start to the BMW PGA Championship.
A day after Rory McIlroy declared himself firmly on board the Aberg “bandwagon”, Aberg partnered the world number two and FedEx Cup champion Viktor Hovland at Wentworth and outscored them both.
The 23-year-old Swede, who only turned professional in June but was given a Ryder Cup wild card hours after winning the final qualifying event, carded a four-under-par 68 despite a double bogey on the 17th, while Hovland returned a 69 and McIlroy struggled to a level-par 72.
Aberg made five consecutive birdies from the 11th and also birdied the last after running up a seven on the 17th, where he pulled his drive out of bounds.
“The 17th was a little bit stupid but other than that I felt like I hit the ball great and gave myself a few chances, especially on the back nine where it’s a little bit more scoreable,” Aberg said.
“Overall, I’m really happy with the way I played. I was very nervous this morning, it would have been weird if I wasn’t, and there were a lot more people following me round than usual.
“But playing with Rory and Viktor was a lot of fun. To be walking down the fairway with them and having conversations has been pretty cool. I am proud of the way I handled that, playing good golf with so much going on and I am trying to keep that up.”
Hovland was full of praise for his Ryder Cup team-mate, echoing Justin Rose’s description of the former world number one amateur as a “stud”.
“The way he’s played the last couple of months, he has not been a pro very long but he certainly doesn’t look scared of the moment,” the world number four said.
“I think this week is a great experience for him but I think he’s ready regardless.
“He’s a stud. When you have the tools, it is easy to trust it. He’s obviously very mature and you just step up and do it. He’s super talented and he is going to be around a long time. He’s going to do great things.”
Denmark’s Marcus Helligkilde held the clubhouse lead on eight under par after carding 10 birdies and two bogeys in a 64, with England’s Matt Fitzpatrick and Scotland’s Richie Ramsay sharing second on six under.
Fitzpatrick, who announced his engagement to girlfriend Katherine Gaal last week, said: “It’s a great start to the week. I feel like I just played really solid overall and did everything well.
“It’s nice to play well in front of the home crowd, I’m focused on playing well this week and I know that when Sunday night comes I can look towards the Ryder Cup and work on what I need to do to get ready for that.”
Former winner Tyrrell Hatton carded a 68 despite finding the water with his approach to the 18th, while defending champion Shane Lowry and Tommy Fleetwood both shot 69.
“I got off to a great start, three under through seven, and a couple of bogeys around the turn wasn’t great, but I think the course is playing a little bit more difficult this year,” Lowry said.
“There’s a lot more rough and it’s a little bit firmer so three under is not a bad score.”
Former winner Danny Willett looked set to challenge the lead when he covered his first 12 holes in six under par, only for the 2019 champion to aggravate an ongoing shoulder injury after hitting his tee shot on the 15th.
That led to a double bogey and the former Masters champion dropped three more shots on the last two holes and had to settle for a one-under-par 71.
“I hit balls for half an hour on Tuesday, half an hour yesterday and then the warm-up today and actually in fairness I felt pretty strong,” Willett said. “But when it goes it goes.”
Willett, who pulled out of last week’s Irish Open after an opening 76, will visit a surgeon in Manchester on Monday to determine the best course of action.
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