Ramatuelle looks another high-class performer for Christopher Head after the filly became the first French-trained winner of the Prix Robert Papin for 10 years.
The Group Two at Chantilly has been dominated by overseas raiders in recent years, with the likes of Tis Marvellous, Signora Cabello and Blackbeard all on the roll of honour.
This time though, it was all about Head’s hugely-promising filly, who has won three of her four starts.
Her only defeat came on her second outing when beaten by Beauvatier, a subsequent Listed winner who is now unbeaten in three.
She was always travelling very kindly in the hands of Aurelien Lemaitre and once asked to put the race to bed, there was never a question she was going to quicken away.
Amy Murphy’s Myconian briefly threatened to get involved but it was Aidan O’Brien’s His Majesty who stayed on for second, beaten four lengths.
It continues a great season for Head, who has enjoyed plenty of success with Blue Rose Cen and Big Rock already.
The winning filly is owned by a syndicate which includes former NBA star Tony Parker, who told Sky Sports Racing: “It was a great win and I’m very happy for the team.
“The coach has a plan and now it’s on for the (Prix) Morny next month.
“She’s at home here, that’s her third win here and she’s clearly comfortable here at Chantilly, hopefully it will be the same next month.
“She’s super calm, it looks like she knows what she wants to do and she’s loving it. Her number one quality is her calmness. She has a huge heart and huge talent.
“I just like to share everything with our team, we share the same passion.”
Head said: “She was incredible, she loves the speed and she’ll be going to the Morny for sure. I just can’t wait to get to that race.
“I was not concerned about her being keen as there was nobody who wanted to go in front of her, she’s capable of doing better than that, of course.
“She’s pretty much like an older horse, it’s a pleasure to see her in races behave this way.”
Hukum remains on target for what looks set to be a mouthwatering edition of the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes at Ascot on July 29.
Owen Burrows’ stable star was forced to miss the Hardwicke at Royal Ascot due to the prevailing quick ground given he had only recently come back from a serious injury.
He clearly retains all his ability, though, as on his first outing for 356 days he toppled the hitherto unbeaten Desert Crown in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown.
The Hardwicke was ultimately won by William Muir and Chris Grassick’s Pyledriver, last year’s King George victor, and he will be lying in wait again. Hukum already has one verdict over him in last year’s Coronation Cup.
Also on course for the King George at present are this year’s Derby one-two Auguste Rodin and King Of Steel, plus Coronation Cup winner Emily Upjohn, with the possibility of Desert Crown, Luxembourg and Westover running, too.
“Touch wood, everything is going well and he’ll be running in the King George,” said Burrows.
“We’d like to see some rain, of course, we’d never want to go on rattling quick.
“It was frustrating to miss the Hardwicke with him, but the King George is the big one for him.
“The King George has always been about the clash of the generations and this year that looks especially the case. We’ll see what turns up, but it looks like this year it is going to be a proper race.
“We were really pleased with him at Sandown, we’ve been happy with how he’s been since, so we’re really looking forward to running him.”
Ankle surgery has ruled out 15-time major winner Tiger Woods from playing in The Open at Royal Liverpool but there will be a new Tiger in town for the week, with a German amateur carrying the name at Hoylake.
Tiger Christensen came through final qualifying at West Lancashire Golf Club in Crosby, near Liverpool, earlier this month to book his major debut.
But the United States-based 19-year-old accepts the similarities end with sharing the same name, country of residence and preference for an orange-and-black striped animal driver headcover.
“He’s a pretty big inspiration. To me he’s the greatest of all time,” said the Arizona University student
“I think it’s really special what he’s done for the game, changed the entire game and made it more popular, and his achievements are just unbelievable.
“It’s something you could look up to.”
Referring to how he got his name he added: “It’s not only named after Tiger Woods – my dad has a very good friend who’s a retired boxer and his ring name was Tiger so it’s 50/50.”
“For me it’s never been (a burden) because it’s just my birth name. I’m glad to be called Tiger.
“I understand everything I’m ever going to do they are going to compare me to him straightaway but at the end of the day it’s a different time, I don’t have any connection to him. It’s just a name.”
View this post on InstagramBut with a name like Tiger surely he was destined to become a golfer?“I played a lot of football when I was younger and I always wanted to be a football pro until I was about 10 and then I started playing US kids tournaments and that is when I transitioned to wanting to become a golf professional,” added the Hamburg-born golfer, whose world ranking is above 3,700.
Christensen was the only amateur to make it through final qualifying across four venues, only three days after almost securing a place via the European Amateur Championship in Estonia.
A month earlier the teenager made his DP World Tour debut with an appearance in the Porsche European Open held in the city of his birth, although rounds of 80 and 79 saw him miss the cut by some distance on 13 over.
“I cope with pressure pretty good, although at the DP World Tour event there was a new pressure I hadn’t had in playing with spectators,” he said of his imminent Open appearance.
“Usually in amateur events only the final couple of groups, if you are playing well, get spectators but I think the DP World Tour event really helped me going into the Open.
“I’ve now had those couple of crowd experiences, the seriousness of everyone around the tournament and how professional it is, so I think that will help me a lot.
“I don’t want to sound cocky but I was pretty certain of qualifying. I played the US Open qualifying and fell just short. I felt it wasn’t far away.
“It’s going to be a great experience. I’m going to go with zero expectations and take it all in.
“But my final goal, which is supported by smaller goals, is to win as many majors as I can.”
Kim Clijsters has advised Ons Jabeur to “fake it until you make it” after another heartbreaking grand slam final defeat.
The popular Tunisian could not overcome her nerves in a 6-4 6-4 loss to Marketa Vondrousova that made it back-to-back Wimbledon final losses.
A US Open final defeat to Iga Swiatek was sandwiched in between and Jabeur now joins an unwanted club of players who have lost their first three grand slam finals.
Like Andy Murray, it took Belgian Clijsters five attempts before she finally won one, and she shared tears with Jabeur in the locker room
“Just watching her in her interview and seeing the emotions afterwards, it brings back a lot of memories and thoughts of how you go about it,” said Belgian Clijsters.
“There’s no secret, it’s just trying to give yourself the opportunity to get to that stage again. The unfortunate thing is you cannot practise these things, you cannot practise being in a grand slam final, you can only do it within the occasion.
“The biggest thing she has to maybe learn is to fake it, fake it until you make it. You could see it really clearly that the negative emotions were taking over.
“If she missed a shot, there was the natural kind of reaction that was negative. When she made a great point, there was nothing a lot of the time. That just showed the doubt was overpowering everything.”
Clijsters lost twice in French Open finals and once each at the Australian Open and US Open before her maiden success in New York in 2005.
“It’s tough,” said the 40-year-old, who went on to win four major titles. “But there shouldn’t be any question in her mind about whether she can do it or not. She can beat all these players, there’s no doubt about that.
“For me the most disappointing is not so much the loss, it’s the fact that you weren’t able to bring your best tennis to the biggest occasion, and that’s the most frustrating and that’s why you start to worry – why am I not able to do it? Why am I so overwhelmed with emotions on the big stage?
“But it does feel good eventually when you get it. It’s definitely a process. I just know looking back I wasn’t ready to win and I’m very happy I didn’t win my first.”
Jabeur was grateful for Clijsters’ support and is encouraged that many other players have been through similar adversity before eventually getting their hands on a winners’ trophy.
“I love Kim so much,” said Jabeur. “She’s a great inspiration for me. I grew up watching her a bit. The fact that she takes the time to give me advice and to really hug me, always be there for me, I think it’s priceless.
“She was telling me all the time she lost four. That’s the positive out of it. You cannot force things. It wasn’t meant to be.”
The Foxes will return to Europe for his next outing following his narrow defeat in the Belmont Derby.
Andrew Balding’s colt won the Dante before finishing fifth in the Derby at Epsom and was dropping back to 10 furlongs when making his first visit Stateside earlier this month.
He performed with real credit when sent off favourite for the Grade One contest, going down by a length in the hands of Oisin Murphy behind Todd Pletcher’s Far Bridge.
Being slowly away from a wide draw took its toll on the son of Churchill at the business end, compromising his chances of scooping the £343,750 first-prize, but connections were thrilled with his performance and now have their eyes on further big-race assignments closer to home.
He has returned to Balding’s Kingsclere base in rude health and could now be set for a return to the scene of his Dante triumph in York’s Juddmonte International Stakes on August 23 or a drop further back in trip to a mile for the Prix Jacques Le Marois at Deauville (August 13) depending on conditions.
“I think if he had missed the break from a good draw he would have still won, but I think a combination of the bad draw and missing the break just got him beat,” explained Alastair Donald, racing manager for owners King Power.
“He ran huge and it’s another step in the right direction for him, I think.”
Donald went on: “He’s back in England and he will next run in either the Juddmonte or the Jacques Le Marois. He definitely has the speed to go back to a mile and he was the last off the bridle in the Craven.
“Obviously it is stallion enhancing winning over a mile and we will probably be determined by the weather where we will run. If it was soft ground in France we wouldn’t go there and if it was soft at York we would give that a miss, so we’re just keeping our options open between those two races.”
Shohei Ohtani’s solo shot keyed a three-run rally in the ninth inning, Trey Cabbage scored the walk-off run on a throwing error in the 10th and the Los Angeles Angels edged the Houston Astros 13-12 in a wild game Saturday.
Ohtani led off the home half of the ninth with his MLB-leading 33rd home run of the season, taking Houston closer Ryan Pressly deep. Taylor Ward scored on a passed ball later in the inning, and Hunter Renfroe’s RBI single tied the game.
After Ohtani was intentionally walked in the 10th, Astros rookie shortstop Grae Kessinger threw wide of first base while attempting to turn an inning-ending double play, allowing Cabbage to cross home plate and trigger a massive celebration.
The Angels, who had won just once in their previous 11 games, overcame deficits of six runs in the seventh inning and three runs in the ninth.
Both teams’ starters – Reid Detmers for the Angels and Framber Valdez of the Astros – pitched at least six innings, with 18 of the game’s 25 total runs coming in the seventh inning or later.
Brewers blank Reds again, take NL Central lead
Freddie Peralta and three relievers combined to allow just one hit and the Milwaukee Brewers shut out the Cincinnati Reds for the third consecutive game, giving them sole possession of first place in the National League Central.
Christian Yelich homered on the first pitch of the game, and William Contreras and Owen Miller added solo shots later to secure the 3-0 win Saturday.
Peralta (6-7) got his first win since May 21 by throwing six strong innings, allowing one hit and two walks while striking out six.
Elvis Peguero and Joel Payamps pitched an inning each, and Devin Williams shut the door with his 22nd save of the season.
Milwaukee earned 1-0 victories over Cincinnati on July 9 – the last game before the All-Star break – and in the teams’ first game back on Friday. The Reds managed a total of just seven hits over those three games.
Orioles rally from 4 down, win 7th straight game
Gunnar Henderson hit a game-tying solo shot in the seventh inning, helping the Baltimore Orioles complete a four-run comeback and win collect their seventh straight win by beating the Miami Marlins 6-5.
The winning streak ties the Orioles’ season high and is the longest active run in the majors.
Baltimore (56-35) fell behind 4-0 in the second inning but entered the seventh trailing 5-4. Henderson led off the frame and hit a first pitch home run to tie the game, and Anthony Santander plated the go-ahead run with a one-out single.
Miami squandered a 4-for-5 night from Luis Arraez, who raised his batting average to .386 this season.
Novak Djokovic is going for his eighth Wimbledon title and Carlos Alcaraz his first in a final billed as the ultimate generation game.
Djokovic, 36, is bidding to become the oldest man to take the SW19 crown while 20-year-old Alcaraz is the youngest finalist since fellow Spaniard Rafael Nadal in 2006.
The winner will also claim the world number one spot.
Elsewhere, there is British interest in the juniors competition, with Henry Searle reaching the final of the boys’ singles, while Alfie Hewett looks to finally win an elusive wheelchair singles title in SW19.
Here, the PA news agency looks ahead to the final day of the Championships.
Will it be Novak the gr-eight?
Djokovic is making history with virtually every victory and a 6-3 6-4 7-6 (4) win over Jannik Sinner in his record-equalling 46th grand slam semi-final earned him a record-breaking 35th final, taking him past American great Chris Evert.
The Serbian is now only one victory away from matching Roger Federer by winning an eighth Wimbledon title, and Federer and Bjorn Borg by claiming five in a row.
He would also move level with Margaret Court with a record 24th grand slam crown.
It is 10 years since Djokovic lost a match on Centre Court, an extraordinary run of 45 matches going back to the 2013 final against Andy Murray.
Or king Carlos the first?
Standing in Djokovic’s way is swashbuckling Spaniard Alcaraz in what will, incredibly, be only the 18th match of his career on grass.
The world number one proved he has got the hang of the surface by winning at Queen’s Club last month and he dismantled third seed Daniil Medvedev in three sets in their semi-final.
Alcaraz already has a grand slam title to his name having won last year’s US Open, and he reached the semi-finals at Roland Garros.
There he was beaten by Djokovic, but only after cramping up following two evenly-contested sets.
Next stop, Searle’s court
Wolverhampton’s Searle is one match away from becoming Britain’s first boys’ singles champion at Wimbledon for 61 years.
The 17-year-old defeated American fourth seed Cooper Williams 7-6 (4) 6-3 in the semi-finals on Saturday.
Backed by his noisy fan club consisting of family members and friends from his tennis club, Searle is on the brink of emulating Stanley Matthews, son of the famous footballer, who triumphed in 1962.
Jack Draper was the last British player to make the final five years ago, while Liam Broady also reached it in 2011, but both were beaten.
Searle will face 17-year-old Yaroslav Demin of Russia in the final.
There is also British interest in the junior doubles after Hannah Klugman and Isabelle Lacy reached the final, while Alfie Hewett goes for his maiden wheelchair singles title against world number one Tokito Oda of Japan.
Order of play
Centre Court (from 2pm)
Carlos Alcaraz v Novak Djokovic
Storm Hunter/Elise Mertens v Hsieh Su-wei/Barbora Strycova
Court One (from 11am)
Alfie Hewett v Tokito Oda
Henry Searle v Yaroslav Demin
Bob Bryan/Mike Bryan v James Blake/Lleyton Hewitt
Weather
Sunny changing to cloudy by late morning.
On what was an action-packed opening day at the Caribbean Area Squash Association (CASA) Junior Championships on Saturday, most of the medal favourites safely progressed to the next round, setting up even more mouth-watering prospects for sports enthusiast, heading into Sunday’s second day of action in St Vincent and the Grenadines.
In boys’ Under-17 action, Jamaica’s Thomas Overton defeated Barbadian Armaan Suleman in straight sets, 11-3, 11-3, 11-8; Shiloh Asregado of Guyana bettered Trinidad and Tobago's Yohann Marchock 3-0, after posting 11-1, 11-6 and 11-7 scores in the three games.
Luke Wilson of Barbados also came out tops 11-6, 11-7, 11-3 in his contest against Trinidad and Tobago’s Sanjiv Mungal, while Guyana’s Demetri Lowe got the better of Trinidad and Tobago’s Marcus Camps-Campins 11-5, 11-9, 8-11, 8-11, 11-8 in a hard-fought contest.
However, when it came down to second round action, it was Guyana’s Louis da Silva, who earlier had a bye, Daniel Henderson, Luke Wilson, Vincentian Jaydon Williams, Andrew Cox, Elias Carpol, Jamaica’s Lucas Thomson and Mohryan Baksh, also of Guyana, that will contest the third round.
Da Silva will square off against Henderson, Wilson against Williams, Cox against Carpol, while Thomson and Baksh, will lock horns.
Trinidad and Tobago’s Christophe Bovell is among those that secured their spots in the next round in the boys’ Under-15 category, following a 11-13, 11-6, 11-12 and 14-12 win over Bermuda’s William Frith.
Guyana’s Richard Rodrigues also progressed after bettering Vincentian Dru Sanuel 12-10, 11-8, 8-11, 11-1 in a match that lasted 24 minutes, while Bermuda’s Charlie Makin scored an 11-6, 11-4, 11-8 win over Avian Wade of Guyana in a 16-minute contest.
Blake Edwards ensured will have another representative in the next round, as he easily brushed aside De’ron Lewis 11-6, 11-2, 11-3.
Jayden George of St Vincent and the Grenadines was given a bye, along with Barbadian Daniel Sealy, Bermuda’s Owen Rosorea and Zevieh Abraham of British Virgin Island.
Meanwhile, byes were the order of the day in the opening round of the boys’ Under-19 category, but when they got to the second round is where the true quality came to light.
Nicholas Verwey of Guyana outclassed Barbadian Aidan Parris 8-11, 11-5, 11-7, 11-3 in a four-set match that lasted a half-hour. Verwey will next tackle Jamaica’s Alex Chin, who defeated British Virgin Islands Louis Day in straight sets, 11-6, 11-6, 11-1.
Barbadian Alex Stewart and Jamaica’s Tobias Levy are also set to lock horns after both registered comfortable three-set wins over Russell Forrester and Neil McComb respectively, while another Jamaican Arjan Trehan and Guyana’s Michael Alphonso, will meet in the other contest.
On the girls’ side of action, Jamaica’s Katherine Risden defeated Darci Reich of US Virgin Island 11-3,11-3, 11-2 in a 14-minute match, to book her spot in the next round of the Under-19 category. She is set to face Sumairaa Suleman of Barbados, who was given a bye.
Another Jamaican Savannah Thomson bettered Vincentian Nadira Morgan 11-5, 11-9 and 11-1 in a 17-minute match. She awaits her opponent which will either be Trinidad and Tobago’s Sigourney Williams or Guyana’s Kirsten Gomes.
In Under-17 category, the Barbados pair of Eboni Atherley and Sarrayah Yearwood and Jamaica’s trio of Elle Wilson, Mehar Trehan and Sanjana Nallapati, are those who were safely through to the next round at the time of writing.
Gerwyn Price advanced to the second round of the World Matchplay as he recovered from a slow start to defeat Stephen Bunting 10-3 in Blackpool.
After Bunting won the first two legs, Price hit back to level things up before sweeping to victory, claiming each of the last seven.
The Welshman, runner-up to Michael van Gerwen in last year’s competition, said on Sky Sports: “I was 2-0 down, could have been 3-0 down – it was a slow start. I didn’t play brilliant, but I did what I had to do.
“I was up and down. It was just first-round jitters. Getting through the first round is always tough, but I’ll be better next round.
“It’s one of the tournaments I haven’t won, so you try a little bit too hard sometimes, especially in finals. But I’ve plenty more years left in this game so if it’s not this year, it will be sometime soon hopefully, and fingers crossed it is this year.”
Price’s opponent in round two will be Joe Cullen, who saw off Belgian debutant Mike De Decker 10-7 in the first match of the tournament’s opening night.
The Winter Gardens action also saw 2019 champion Rob Cross eliminated after losing a thrilling contest to Daryl Gurney.
Cross came back from 4-0 down to force a tiebreaker, and then led for the first time in the match at 10-9, before Northern Ireland’s Gurney turned things around again to triumph 12-10.
Gurney now faces Gary Anderson, the winner in 2018 and runner-up in 2020, after the Scot beat Dave Chisnall 10-6.
Neal Skupski revealed he had no choice but to win the Wimbledon men’s doubles title after his brother and coach Ken returned from his family holiday in Ibiza to watch the final.
Skupski became just the second Briton to win the SW19 men’s doubles in the open era, after Jonny Marray 11 years ago, as he and Dutch partner Wesley Koolhof beat Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos 6-4 6-4 on Centre Court.
The 33-year-old Liverpudlian thought he would have to play his final without Ken in his box after his older sibling drove home following Thursday’s semi-final to go on holiday.
But his big brother hot-footed it back to the tournament and, wearing his brother’s clothes, saw history being made as Neal completed a Wimbledon hat-trick following 2021 and 2022 wins in the mixed doubles.
“There was a lot of pressure on me this morning after he came back,” Neal said. “He did go to Ibiza for probably 14 hours.
“He drove home straightaway after the semi-final, back to Liverpool and it obviously took four or five hours.
“He got back around 11pm, had a 2am alarm and drove to Manchester airport with his family. Got to Ibiza around 9.30am and enjoyed the day there.
“Then he had a 1am flight this morning back from Ibiza that was delayed a couple of hours so got into Gatwick at 4.30am, slept in a pod at Gatwick airport. Got the car at 9am here.
“He was on court with me borrowing my clothes. Yeah, he’s already left to go back to Ibiza with the family. He probably wants a pay rise!
“He always said, ‘If you make the final, I’m coming back’. I don’t know if he ever believed that I’d make the final. But, yeah, amazing for him. Unbelievable commitment.”
After winning the mixed doubles with Desirae Krawczyk in the last two years, Neal said the men’s doubles title would be the “pinnacle” and it is his first grand slam triumph in the men’sevent, having lost in the US Open final last year.
He also becomes the first British man to win a hat-trick of titles since the great Fred Perry in the late 1930s.
“I’m speechless really,” he added. “It’s something I never thought would ever happen. Obviously I won the mixed doubles a couple times with Desirae Krawczyk.
“It’s just an amazing feeling right now.
“It’s an amazing achievement, when you said about Fred Perry, the last person to win three in a row.
“But, yeah, it’s nothing that I was thinking about coming into the event. It was more thinking about me and Wesley, what we were going to do.
“The goal this year was to win a grand slam. Obviously we’ve done well in previous grand slams, making the quarter-finals and the US Open final last year.
“But now to call ourselves grand slam champions in the men’s doubles, an amazing achievement for not just us but the whole team.”
Rossa Ryan had just one thing on his mind after riding his first Group One winner with Shaquille – his parents.
After all the interviews were done in a windswept Newmarket winner’s enclosure following the Pertemps-sponsored July Cup and the horses had long since departed, the young rider still had plenty of emotion in his voice, almost overwhelmed by a victory that meant so much in so many ways.
Ryan had been at something of a crossroads when parting company with the burgeoning Amo Racing operation, a move announced last August.
To his credit, one of the first to congratulate him amid the throng of well-wishers was Amo’s founder Kia Joorabchian, who wrapped an arm around the jockey with hearty words of congratulation.
The parting may have been amicable, yet Ryan can be forgiven if he ever doubted himself. No need. He has been riding as well as anyone over the past few months, and the length-and-a-half success aboard Shaquille – not for a big yard, but that of an underdog form Norton, North Yorkshire – was testament to his immense ability.
He had only come in for the ride after Oisin Murphy, who was aboard when the colt had been victorious against his own age group in the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot, had been suspended.
And against the older horses not everything had gone to plan, with Shaquille falling out of the stalls and then lit up.
Ryan said: “I had to make a move in the middle part of the race – that was him. I had no option. I just let him blow out and grab his wind and he just went away.
“He doesn’t have to do anything right – he has got the ability.”
He added: “I didn’t have much of a choice. I tried to settle him in behind, but he wasn’t having it.
“So once he put his head in front three out, he filled up for me and I just managed to grab hold of him and pull him back a bit.
“Two out, he kicked and he stayed going. I saw someone out of the corner of my eye and he kicked again for me at the half-furlong pole. It was just an incredible performance.
“It is not like he’s shown up a bad field. And he’s doing it in a fashion.”
Ryan was full of praise for the Julie Camacho-trained three-year-old, who showed plenty of guts to fend off Run To Freedom.
But he had just one thing really on his mind, and he was abundant in his acknowledgement of his parents.
“It means the world – everything I’ve worked for,” Ryan said.
“Mum and dad starting me off at home, everything they have put into me, I can’t thank them enough.
“They are the backbone behind it all. They have kept me on the straight and narrow for so long.
“I am so grateful to them. It will mean a lot to them as well.
“It has been a big year. It is down to my agent and I couldn’t do it without him.
“I am looking to build on it every season and it is going the right way so far. I just hope we can keep it going.”
Injury and suspension aside, it would be a brave man to back against him doing that.
Carlos Rodriguez moved up to third overall after taking a maiden Tour de France stage win as Tadej Pogacar was left to rue a “wasted bullet” in his bid to wrest the yellow jersey from Jonas Vingegaard.
At the end of a dramatic 152km stage 14 to Morzine that began with an almost half-hour delay following a huge crash in the peloton, Rodriguez descended off the Joux Plane to take a second consecutive win for the Ineos Grenadiers while Vingegaard and Pogacar battled it out behind.
There was controversy at the top of the climb, where Pogacar tried to beat Vingegaard to vital bonus seconds only to find his path blocked by a motorbike as he accelerated, leaving question marks over the crowd management on the mountain.
That allowed the Dane to gain three seconds there, although Pogacar took two of them back on the finish line. Vingegaard’s lead in the yellow jersey is now 10 seconds as these two very different riders, head and shoulders above the rest, remain evenly matched.
Pogacar had attacked a little under four kilometres from the top of the mountain, which crested 12 kilometres from the finish, initially distancing the defending champion but never by more than 20 metres.
Vingegaard kept his cool, pacing his way back still with 1,700 metres to the summit. The Slovenian attacked again with 500 metres left, but had not noticed two motorbikes struggling to part the huge crowds and was forced to knock it back, allowing Vingegaard to regain the advantage.
“It was one wasted bullet after already doing the big climb to do one sprint for nothing,” Pogacar said. “It’s a bit of a shame but I don’t think it will change the outcome. OK, I messed it up a little bit but it is what it is.”
As the pair eyed each other Rodriguez, having lost around a minute when Pogacar put in his first acceleration, paced his way back on and then rode by to go clear on the descent.
“It’s incredible,” the Tour debutant said. “I have no words. Being here was a dream and getting a victory is incredible in the best race in the world. It was always something I focused on and to achieve now a victory I’m super happy…
“It was also a goal to gain some time and we accomplished it so I’m very happy on that side. I have to be happy and enjoy this victory but also think and recover a little bit for tomorrow as that is going to be a big day also.”
Jai Hindley started the day in third but was one of dozens of riders caught in the early crash just after the start in Annemasse, and was dropped five kilometres from the top of the final climb.
The Australian came in one minute 46 seconds after Rodriguez, losing third place to the 22-year-old Spaniard by one second.
But it was not all good news for the Ineos Grenadiers, with Tom Pidcock – also caught in that crash – distanced on the penultimate climb and slipping out of the top 10 overall.
Adam Yates is up to fifth after sticking with team-mate Pogacar, but his twin brother Simon dropped to seventh after also losing contact on the penultimate climb.
Seven riders did not finish – Britain’s Tour debutant James Shaw and French darling Romain Bardet were caught in a second incident after the big crash that would force Esteban Chaves, Louis Meintjes and others from the race.
Vingegaard’s Jumbo-Visma team bossed the peloton from the moment the race resumed, their relentless pace soon defeating the day’s breakaway as the group of favourites was mercilessly whittled down.
“We wanted to make the race hard,” Vingegaard said. “I want to thank my team today. They’ve been amazing. In the end I only get one second but it’s good.”
Marketa Vondrousova is the women’s Wimbledon champion after she beat Ons Jabeur in the final to win her first grand slam.
Neal Skupski completed his hat-trick of titles at SW19 by winning the men’s doubles with Wesley Koolhof, while Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid continued their domination of the wheelchair doubles with a fifth title here.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at day 13 of the Championships.
Vondrousova’s moment of history
Marketa Vondrousova created history when she became the first unseeded player to win the women’s title at Wimbledon after her 6-4 6-4 victory over Ons Jabeur.
The Czech’s victory marks an impressive comeback after injury stalled her career having made the French Open final as a 19-year-old and she was only at Wimbledon last year to support her best friend in qualifying while wearing a cast following wrist surgery.
But now her name is on the honours board and she has a place in history, becoming just the third Czech woman to lift the title following Martina Navratilova and Petra Kvitova.
Spare a thought for Jabeur, though, who lost in the final for a second year in a row. She was inconsolable at the end, having firmly believed that this was her time, but vowed to come back and win Wimbledon in the future.
Tweet of the dayHat-trick for Skupski
Neal Skupski became just the second Briton to win the Wimbledon men’s doubles in the open era after he and Dutch partner Wesley Koolhof triumphed on Centre Court.
Only Jonny Marray had previously won in SW19 back in 2012, but Skupski and Koolhof lived up to their top seed billing with a 6-4 6-4 win over Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos.
Victory ensured home success at this year’s tournament and also gave Skupski a Wimbledon hat-trick after glory in the 2021 and 2022 mixed doubles.
Skupski, 33 and from Liverpool, said this would be the “pinnacle” and it is his first grand slam title in the men’s doubles, having lost in the US Open final last year.
Picture of the dayHewett eyes full set after more doubles joy
Alfie Hewett is one win away from completing the set of grand slams after making his way through to the wheelchair singles finals.
The Briton has won at the Australian Open, the French Open and US Open but his home slam has so far evaded him.
After easing past Martin De La Puente in the semi-finals he will now go for glory against top seed Tokito Oda, who beat Gordon Reid on his way to the final.
While the singles title at Wimbledon has proved problematic, Hewett has had no problems in the doubles with his partner Reid and they claimed a fifth title in SW19.
The home pair beat Japanese opponents Takuya Miki and Oda to post an 18th grand slam crown together.
Quote of the daySearle closing in on history
There is a chance of even more British success on Sunday as Henry Searle is in the boy’s final.
The 17-year-old from Wolverhampton is one match away from becoming Britain’s first singles champion in the boys’ tournament for 61 years.
Having earlier knocked out the top seed he ousted American fourth seed Cooper Williams 7-6 (4) 6-3 in the semi-finals.
If he can beat Russian Yaroslav Demin in the final he will emulate Stanley Matthews, son of the famous footballer, who triumphed back in 1962.
Shot of the dayStat of the day
Tyrrell Hatton believes it would be “mega” to become the first English winner of the Open on home soil for more than half a century.
Sir Nick Faldo has lifted the Claret Jug three times since Tony Jacklin’s victory at Royal Lytham in 1969, but all of those wins – two at Muirfield and one at St Andrews – came in Scotland.
Hatton saw at close quarters the atmosphere generated by having a home player in contention when he finished sixth behind Shane Lowry at Portrush in 2019 and would love to be part of similar scenes next week at Royal Liverpool.
“It would be mega,” Hatton said during the Genesis Scottish Open. “When Shane won at Portrush a few years ago the scenes were just epic.
“It would obviously be great. Even if it wasn’t myself, it would be nice to see another Englishman in that position walking up the 18th.
“With the likes of Tommy [Fleetwood] and I, it’s not something we would necessarily speak about away from the golf course. But there are obviously certain things you don’t need to say.
“You could see it in Canada [the RBC Canadian Open] when we were able to stick around and watch Tommy in the play-off. You want to see your friends do well and hope they can go on and win.”
Hatton’s early record in the Open was nothing to write home about as he missed the cut on his first four starts, but he was fifth at Troon in 2016, sixth in 2019 and 11th last year.
The 31-year-old also won the Dunhill Links Championship in 2016 and 2017 – and was second the following year – and said: “The experience is definitely there for me now. It’s a case of me going out and trying my best.
“If I go there and play well, I feel like I will definitely give myself a chance.
“Potentially the Open is my best chance of winning a major, but I wouldn’t want to have that added pressure on myself by looking at it like that.
“As a British player, you definitely feel like you’re playing in a special tournament. But, ultimately, you’re just trying to treat it the same as any other week.”
Hatton’s bid for a first major title has been boosted by the return of long-time caddie Mick Donaghy, who had been sidelined for several months following a knee operation.
“It’s great having him back,” Hatton added. “He’s happy to be back out on the bag. He’s been out here since the late 80s.
“I had a really good stretch with Bo (Martin) on the bag, but me and Mick have been working together since May 2019. I feel really comfortable with Mick and we’ve had some good weeks together.
“Mick understands how I am. If I say certain things on the golf course, it’s not in a personal way. I’m just venting. Some guys and their personalities wouldn’t be able to deal with that, which is fine. Everyone is different.
“But Mick is good. He can handle the s*** that comes out my mouth at times.”
British duo Alfie Hewett and Gordon Reid thrilled a packed Court One by winning their fifth Wimbledon wheelchairs doubles title.
Hewett and Reid reclaimed the trophy, having been runners up last year, with a 3-6 6-0 6-3 victory over Japan’s Takuya Miki and Tokito Oda in three sets.
It was an 18th grand slam win for the pair and a measure of revenge for Scotsman Reid, who was beaten by Oda in the singles semi-final earlier on Saturday.
“That was something else, I’ve got goosebumps,” said Hewett.
“We dream of atmospheres like this, it doesn’t come around often and I’m glad we rose to the occasion.”
Reid added: “It was a great match. I think we’re going to have a lot of battles in the future.
“Me and Alfie, on match point, we were both tearing up a little bit, the atmosphere was electric.
“My first Wimbledon was in 2008 on court 53 or something in front of three men and his dog, my mum and my sister.
“If you’d told me then we’d be on a nearly full Court One with the crowd going berserk, I would never have believed you.
“It’s an incredible atmosphere and an incredible occasion for us and for wheelchair tennis.”
Hewett will look to win his first Wimbledon singles title on Sunday when he takes on 17-year-old Oda in the final.
Neal Skupski became just the second Briton to win the Wimbledon men’s doubles in the open era after he and Dutch partner Wesley Koolhof triumphed on Centre Court.
Only Jonny Marray had previously won at SW19 back in 2012, but Skupski and Koolhof lived up to their top seed billing with a 6-4 6-4 win over Marcel Granollers and Horacio Zeballos.
Victory ensured home success at this year’s tournament and also gave Skupski a Wimbledon hat-trick after glory in the 2021 and 2022 mixed doubles.
Skupski, 33 and from Liverpool, said this would be the “pinnacle” and it is his first grand slam title in the men’s doubles, having lost in the US Open final last year.
Pre-armed with some tactical analysis sent in from Skupski’s brother Ken from his holiday in Ibiza, the Dutch-British pair looked assured from the off.
And at 3-3 in the first set they made their move, breaking Granollers’ serve when the Spaniard kindly sent down a double fault on break point.
Skupski consolidated the break with an impressive service game and, after missing a set point on Zeballos’ serve in the next game, it was left to Koolhof to serve it out nicely and claim the set 6-4.
They continued to dominate and crucially took Zeballos’ serve to lead 3-2 after a particularly impressive return game.
Skupski immediately held to go 4-2 up before they missed two break points to move within a game of the title as Granollers came good.
But that left the Briton to finish the job and he did not disappoint the home crowd, falling to the floor in celebration after their opponents went long on the first championship point.
Skupski said on court: “I don’t know what to say. Growing up watching this amazing championship, going out there as a small boy, this feeling at the moment doesn’t get better.
“Me and Wesley came together 18 months ago and this year one of our goals was to win a grand slam and now we have done it, it feels very special.”
Carlos Rodriguez won his first career Tour de France stage to move up to third overall as Jonas Vingegaard fought to keep the yellow jersey out of the clutches of Tadej Pogacar in Morzine.
At the end of a dramatic 152km stage 14 from Annemasse that began with an almost half-hour delay following a huge crash in the peloton, Rodriguez rode away on the descent to the finish to take a second consecutive win for the Ineos Grenadiers, with Vingegaard and Pogacar locked together behind.
There was controversy at the top of the final climb, the Joux Plane, where a motorbike blocked Pogacar’s efforts to race away from Vingegaard and take vital bonus seconds at the top, but the Slovenian did grab a couple back by coming in second ahead of his rival.
Although he was beaten to the finish line, those bonus seconds on top of the mountain meant that Vingegaard picked up a second over Pogacar, his advantage in yellow now 10 seconds.
Pogacar had attacked with 3.7km of the final climb remaining, initially distancing Vingegaard but never able to get more than 20 metres clear.
The defending champion rode back up to him still with 1,700 metres to the summit and when Pogacar attacked again with 500 metres left, he had not noticed two motorbikes struggling to part the huge crowds and was forced to knock it back, allowing Vingegaard to get three more bonus seconds.
As the pair eyed each other Rodriguez, having been left around a minute behind following Pogacar’s acceleration, paced his way back on and then rode by to go clear on the descent.
“It’s incredible,” the Tour debutant said. “I have no words. Being here was a dream and getting a victory is incredible in the best race in the world. It was always something I focused on and to achieve now a victory I’m super happy…
“It was also a goal to gain some time and we accomplished it so I’m very happy on that side. I have to be happy and enjoy this victory but also think and recovery a little bit for tomorrow as that is going to be a big day also.”
Jai Hindley started the day in third place overall but was caught in that early crash and was dropped five kilometres from the top of the final climb.
The Australian came in one minute 46 seconds after Rodriguez took the win, losing third place to the 22-year-old Spaniard by one second.
However, it was not all good news for the Ineos Grenadiers, with Tom Pidcock distanced on the penultimate climb and slipping out of the top 10 overall.
Adam Yates is up to fourth as he stuck with his team-mate Pogacar, but his twin brother Simon dropped down to seventh after also losing contact on the penultimate climb.
William Haggas’ Hamish maintained his flawless record at York to land the John Smith’s Silver Cup Stakes.
The seven-year-old was the 4-9 favourite under Tom Marquand and brought to the Knavesmire two wins from two runs and a remarkably consistent record.
A past injury has prevented him from running on quick ground, but rain on Friday and a deluge on Saturday left conditions to his liking.
Throughout the course of the Group Three his chances did come under some doubt, however, as he looked further back than ideal heading into the home straight and had to throw down a challenge two furlongs from home.
Brian Ellison’s Tashkhan and Milton Harris’ Scriptwriter both battled all the way, but it was Hamish who prevailed when passing the post a head before the latter.
Maureen Haggas, assistant to her husband, said: “He’s a great horse and he got Tom out of a bit of trouble today, they just went too slowly and he likes a fast pace but it all went all right in the end and that’s the main thing!
“We’re restricted to how we campaign him because of the ground, he’s had problems along the way so we need to keep him to slow ground – it’s got to have soft in it really.
“He’s a pretty nice horse, as a four-year-old he ran in the Hardwicke and ran a really nice race.
“That was when he injured himself, he’s a classy horse. We’re lucky that at the age of seven, I suppose because we’ve been restricted, he hasn’t got many miles on the clock and he’s still going strong. Last year he was a good as ever.
“It’s hard when you don’t run them and they stay at home doing the same thing, but we’re lucky that he’s pretty straightforward. We know him so well now that we can gauge what we should and shouldn’t do with him.
“He’s just a lovely horse and we’re lucky to have him.”
The weather will guide connections as to where Hamish runs next. He holds entries for the King George, the Irish St Leger and the Ebor.
Haggas said: “He’s in the Irish St Leger, he’s in everything in case it rains! He handles really horrible conditions whereas a lot of the classier horses don’t so we will see what the weather does and go where the ground suits him.”
Andrew Balding’s Nymphadora was a ready winner of the John Smith’s City Walls Stakes.
The bay was one of only two fillies in the field for the Listed five-furlong contest, starting at 7-1 under Jason Watson.
She broke quickly from the stalls and ran prominently, leading from a furlong out and then keeping on well to come home a length and three-quarters ahead of Karl Burke’s Silky Wilkie.
“We knew from her recent form that she’d want some cut in the ground and there’s been plenty of rain here today and the last couple of days,” said Watson.
“It’s really got into the ground and she’s got course form, she won the Marygate.
“She’s a classy filly on her day and when conditions suit.
“You can see from the physique she’s got that she’s quite well balanced, she’s not the biggest but she’s very well balanced and nimble on her feet.
“There’s hopefully plenty more to come.”
Blue For You outdid last season’s effort to land the John Smith’s Racing Handicap for Danny Tudhope and David O’Meara.
A 7-2 chance, the chestnut was second in the race when beaten just half a length and is another with a fine record on the Knavesmire, having been in the top two three times from four efforts.
That record was further improved this time when he ran a patient race to pull clear in the final furlong and prevail by a comfortable three lengths.
“It was grand, he’s a really nice horse and he travelled very nicely today,” O’Meara said.
“At Ascot last time he boiled over and probably ran his race before he got to the start, but he likes it here and could come back for the big meeting and go Goodwood in between.”
Specific Times then took the John Smith’s Nursery Handicap at 11-1 for Jason Hart and Charlie Johnston, after which the John Smith’s Stayers’ Handicap went the way of Robert Johnson for Connor Beasley and Phil Kirby as the 11-4 favourite.
Shaquille shot to the sprinting summit at Newmarket as Julie Camacho’s speedster doubled his big-race tally in the Pertemps Network July Cup Stakes.
The three-year-old was competing in handicap company on the weekend of the opening Classics of the season – but he has since announced himself as a star of the division and having taken the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot, he took the sting out of his elders here on Newmarket’s July course.
In scenes reminiscent of Ascot, Shaquille bunny-hopped as the gates opened, giving away plenty of ground.
However, while at Ascot Oisin Murphy had time to creep his way into contention, Shaquille was not hanging around on the wide expansive track at HQ on this occasion and pulled his way to the front to eyeball the front-running Art Power.
With two furlongs to run Rossa Ryan let the 5-2 joint-favourite have his head and the duo soon set about putting the race to bed.
Although Henry Candy’s Run To Freedom and Ralph Beckett’s Kinross were breathing down his neck in the final furlong, Shaquille was never slowing down and kept on strongly in the closing stages to come home a length-and-a-half clear of the runner-up.
Shaquille had given his Yorkshire-based team of Camacho and her husband Steve Brown their first Group One victory at Ascot and after quickly doubling their tally, he provided his jockey with his finest hour, too, with Ryan, who only picked up the ride on Thursday, tasting top-level success for the first time.
It could be the Betfair Sprint Cup at Haydock next and both Betfair and Paddy Power make the winner their 7-4 favourite.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
