Louis Rees-Zammit has underlined Wales’ “game by game mentality” as they target a second successive Rugby World Cup victory that would strengthen their quarter-final ambitions.

Wales, fresh from a thrilling bonus-point victory over Fiji, tackle Pool C minnows Portugal on Saturday.

A showdown with Australia follows eight days later in Lyon, then Georgia in Nantes as Wales chase a fourth last-eight appearance on the bounce.

“We got the win (against Fiji), which was the main thing, but there is a lot to improve,” Rees-Zammit said.

“We’ve got Portugal next and we know they have got great backs, so it’s going to be a tough game.

“We have got a game by game mentality, and that is our focus. You can’t slip up.

“We respect Portugal. We know they have got some great backs, so we are going to have to train hard this week and get the job done.”

Wales head coach Warren Gatland has made 13 changes to the starting line-up, with only wing Rees-Zammit and number eight Taulupe Faletau remaining from last weekend.

Co-captain Dewi Lake leads Wales after recovering from a knee injury, while scrum-half Tomos Williams wins his 50th cap and there are first World Cup starts for the likes of centre Mason Grady, plus Exeter locks Dafydd Jenkins and lock Christ Tshiunza.

Lake suffered a knee problem during Wales’ World Cup warm-up game against England, but he now returns to pack down alongside front-row colleagues Nicky Smith and Dillon Lewis, and fly-half Gareth Anscombe is also back after injury.

Grady, meanwhile, is partnered in midfield by Johnny Williams, Leigh Halfpenny wins his 101st cap at full-back and another experienced campaigner – flanker Dan Lydiate – also features.

At the age of 34 years, eight months and 26 days, Halfpenny will become the oldest back to play a World Cup game for Wales, surpassing Shane Williams, who was a month younger against Australia in Auckland 12 years ago.

Prop Henry Thomas is the only player in Wales’ 33-strong World Cup squad who will not have started or been named on the bench across the first two games.

Wales’ bonus-point success against Fiji has set them up for a repeat performance against Portugal, who are the Pool C minnows.

They are at their first World Cup since 2007, although their pre-tournament form has been reasonable, including a 46-20 victory over the United States.

Gatland said: “We’ve made a few changes this week given the six-day turnaround.

“This is an opportunity now for this matchday 23. I have said before, but there is some great competition within the squad, which is what we want to see.

“There is a chance now for this group to go out on Saturday and to put down their own marker in the tournament.

“We’ve done a thorough debrief of last week’s game and know the areas we need to improve.

“We have a clear plan of how we want to play on Saturday, and it is about going out there and executing that as we have prepared.

“Portugal are a skilful side and will be raring to go this weekend in their first match of the tournament. We are excited to get back out there.”

Jack Draper justified the faith shown in him by Great Britain captain Leon Smith by coming from behind to defeat Australia’s Thanasi Kokkinakis in a dramatic opening rubber in Manchester.

Draper’s run to the fourth round of the US Open earned him not just a second Great Britain call-up but a first appearance, with Smith picking him ahead of his top-ranked player Cameron Norrie and former world number one Andy Murray.

The Lawn Tennis Association reported ticket sales of more than 9,000 for the tie at the AO Arena and the crowd were treated to an exciting clash, with Draper breaking Kokkinakis when he served for the match before coming through a deciding tie-break to win 6-7 (6) 6-3 7-6 (4).

They were on their feet when Draper drilled a final backhand winner down the line after two hours and 52 minutes to give Britain the perfect start against last year’s finalists.

Speaking on court, Draper said: “There’s nothing better. It was a real battle, massive crowd in here. It’s amazing to play my first Davis Cup tie in the UK in this sort of arena. I’m just so happy to be here and grateful Leon trusted me and put me out here today.”

Like Draper, 27-year-old Kokkinakis knows all too well how much physical frailty can stymie a career but he is a player with big weapons who has had some standout victories.

He won the Australian Open doubles title last year with his good friend Nick Kyrgios, while in Melbourne this year he and Murray contested a near six-hour duel ending after 4am.

It took a few games for the two 6ft 4in powerhouses to find their rhythm, with Draper forced to save two break points in his second service game.

He settled well thereafter, particularly on serve, and he had a set point on the Kokkinakis serve at 4-5 only for a backhand down the line to catch the top of the tape and drop wide.

The tie-break was as tight as the 12 games that preceded it but, after saving one set point with a big serve, Draper was unable to prevent Kokkinakis taking the second.

The set had taken more than an hour so it was a blow to Draper to lose it but he responded in the perfect fashion, taking advantage of a loose game from his opponent to claim the first break at the start of the second.

The 21-year-old was virtually untouchable on serve now while his heavy forehand was mopping up the ones that did come back.

He broke again to take the set and had all the momentum at the start of the decider but Kokkinakis dug in and looked to have made the crucial move at 4-4, taking advantage of an untimely dip from Draper to break.

However, closing out matches has never been the Australian’s strong point and back came Draper, a huge roar greeting the re-break.

The young British player produced the shot of the match in the next game, channelling Carlos Alcaraz by chasing to retrieve a lob and sending the ball back at full stretch past a bewildered Kokkinakis.

Draper looked in trouble when he trailed 4-2 in the tie-break but he roared back with five points in a row.

Exeter forward Dafydd Jenkins will achieve another milestone moment when he makes his first Rugby World Cup start in Saturday’s clash against Portugal.

The 20-year-old lock has made rapid strides during an international career that only began last season with a Test debut against autumn opponents Georgia.

Having already captained the Chiefs in a Gallagher Premiership game, Jenkins quickly became an important part of Wales squads under head coach Warren Gatland.

And he was in the thick of it during his 22 minutes off the bench in Wales’ gripping 32-26 victory over opening Pool C opponents Fiji last weekend.

It proved a huge defensive rearguard from Gatland’s team as Fiji pushed for an unlikely win from 18 points adrift.

“It is a privilege to be with the group,” Jenkins said.

“I just want to try and leave the 20-year-old younger version of myself behind and push on forward, be a more experienced player at this level and competing hard.”

Jenkins’ father Hywel, a back-row forward for Swansea and Neath, went close to full international honours, representing Wales A and then Wales in an uncapped game against the United States.

And Jenkins’ rugby apprenticeship continued at Hartpury College in Gloucestershire, a renowned academy for the sport with an impressive list of past students that also includes Louis Rees-Zammit, Ellis Genge and Jonny May.

Exeter boss Rob Baxter contacted Jenkins during his time at Hartpury, and a move to Sandy Park followed in 2021, where he quickly broke into Chiefs’ Champions Cup and Premiership teams.

At 6ft 7in and around 18 stone, he has made his presence felt, but he is also performing an important off-field role during his first World Cup.

As Wales’ youngest squad member, he is entrusted with carrying a giant carved lovespoon – a traditional Welsh symbol of love and affection – at major events during the tournament.

Prop Rhys Carre performed those duties four years ago in Japan, and former Dragons centre Tyler Morgan at the 2015 World Cup in England.

“I haven’t lost it yet which is good,” Jenkins added. “A few boys are definitely eyeing it up, so I have to keep it away from them.

“It was really special (in Bordeaux for the Fiji game). The crowd was amazing, a different experience to what I have had before.

“We saw videos before the game from Bordeaux of Welsh fans singing in the town. It was more the atmosphere that was a bit different.”

Selection controversies and last-gasp agonies may have highlighted his tumultuous 20-year reign as GB Taekwondo chief, but Gary Hall maintains he has lost none of his hunger for success as he braces for arguably his sport’s toughest decision yet.

Hall, who will lead the team into his sixth Games in Paris next year, is by far the longest-serving performance director in British Olympic sport, overseeing the programme’s rise from humble origins prior to Athens in 2004 to become one of the nation’s most successful, yielding nine medals, including two golds.

Yet Hall’s highest-profile saga involved the build-up to the 2012 London Olympics, when the selection panel’s decision to select Lutalo Muhammad in the men’s 80kg category, over the then world number one Aaron Cook, led to acrimony and a painful appeals process that Hall believes cost Muhammad his opportunity to claim Olympic gold.

By a remarkable twist of fate, Cook’s wife Bianca Cook, who has won three world titles under her maiden name of Walkden and is desperate to crown her career with an Olympic title, is currently engaged in a battle with two-time world medallist Rebecca McGowan for the sole women’s 67+kg berth.

For Hall, however, the potential repercussions of any decision are the inevitable consequence of creating a competitive world-class programme.

“We don’t have emotional factors that we consider,” Hall told the PA news agency. “The athlete knows well in advance what they must do to be the best person to be selected. Our job is very clear, to select the best team to win the best set of medals at any event.

“It is difficult, because it is a four-year journey and there are going to be winners and losers in that race. But we have learned a lot since 2012, when we were relatively new as an Olympic sport, and our selection policies have moved on to become very solid and legally sound.

“There is a real empathetic thread, because athletes have worked hard to be in the running for selection, and we try to manage people’s ups and downs, and work with them whether they get selected or not. Does that mean there aren’t going to be winners and losers? No, it doesn’t.”

Muhammad, whose Olympic career ended in an agonising last-second defeat to Cheick Sallah Cisse in the men’s 80kg final in Rio, won a bronze medal in London but Hall believes the sapping appeals process – and subsequent pressure to live up to his doubly rubber-stamped selection – cost him gold.

“I think both Lutalo and Aaron lost out from a personal perspective,” added Hall. “Lutalo wasn’t at his best in the Games, but once the pressure was off and he wasn’t going to win gold or silver, you saw his quality come out to win that bronze medal.

“It did raise the profile of the sport and they always say that there is no such thing as bad news provided you use the opportunity that you are given. But we’d prefer that winning gold medals became the story, rather than a selection case.”

Hall, a former national champion, has no plans to go anywhere and while his thoughts are already straying towards Los Angeles in 2028, he admits his real passion is in helping his sport realise a professional potential which he believes has only grown in relation the burgeoning success of mixed martial arts.

“The next few years should be all about winning in Paris and LA but we need to stimulate growth, and from that success, and that has become my new get-out-of-bed goal,” added Hall.

“I think there’s so much opportunity when you see the growth of mixed martial arts and combat sports in general. I think that potential is untapped, and there is no reason why a sport like taekwondo has to remain in this minority league.

“We can do so much more on the back of the success of these high-profile athletes. Why can’t we have a UFC-style fight night series? There’s a thirst there, and a market there, and we’ve just got to work out how to market it better. The potential for this sport remains untapped.”

John Dalziel has no doubt about Scotland’s ability to bounce back from their opening-weekend setback against South Africa and set up a potential qualification decider with Ireland in Paris.

The Scots suffered a demoralising start to their World Cup campaign when they produced a disappointing performance in an 18-3 loss to the Springboks in Marseille.

Dalziel knew starting off against the world champions was always going to be a tough assignment so does not expect their chastening outing to affect the players’ mindset going into their remaining three Pool B games against Tonga, Romania and Ireland.

The squad have had the last few days off with their families and the forwards coach is confident they will all be able to get their “heads straight” in time for their next match against Tonga in Nice a week on Sunday.

“We’ve been in this position a couple of times where we’ve been disappointed with performances,” Dalziel told the PA news agency.

“It’s not the end of the world for us, but we need to get our heads straight for the next game against Tonga because we’ve got to get that game right.

“We spoke a lot about how difficult this group would be. We know we could have gone out on Sunday and played some of our best rugby and still lost the game so it was always going to be important how we go on from here.

“The difference was we didn’t play our best rugby on Sunday, but the positive is that we’ve got three other games to try and rebuild it and find another route out of the group.

“We will take it game by game, but we want to arrive in Paris for that last game with an opportunity knowing that if we win we can progress.”

Dalziel admitted “it didn’t feel like us” on Sunday as Scotland failed to score a try for the first time since autumn 2020 and posted their lowest points return since losing 27-3 to Ireland in the opening match of the 2019 World Cup.

“I was disappointed with the lack of accuracy at times, but even with the inaccuracy in the first half, we put ourselves in a good position with that big set before half-time to come in at 6-3 (down),” he said.

“It was a really positive changing room because of how poor we had been and the fact we were still in the game against the world champions.

“But we just never got into our stride, it didn’t feel like us. It wasn’t the end in any way, though, just a disappointing start. And we’ve got to do it the hard way, as always.”

Dalziel believes that, if Scotland are able to execute their attacking game, they will have a good chance of getting up and running against Tonga next weekend.

“Tonga will bring physicality up front, they’ll want to stop us playing, but we can find opportunities around that in terms of what we do,” he said.

“We just want to look at having a good performance. The performance is the focus, not the outcome. If we get our performance right, we’ll have a great chance of winning that game.”

Wales head coach Warren Gatland has made 13 changes to the starting line-up for Saturday’s Rugby World Cup Pool C encounter against Portugal in Nice.

Gatland retains just two of the side – wing Louis Rees-Zammit and number eight Taulupe Faletau – that overcame Fiji 32-26 in a ferocious contest last weekend.

Co-captain Dewi Lake leads Wales after recovering from a knee injury, while scrum-half Tomos Williams wins his 50th cap and there are first World Cup starts for the likes of centre Mason Grady and lock Christ Tshiunza.

Lake suffered a knee problem during Wales’ World Cup warm-up game against England, but he now returns to pack down alongside front-row colleagues Nicky Smith and Dillon Lewis.

Tshiunza forges an all-Exeter lock partnership alongside Dafydd Jenkins, with fly-half Gareth Anscombe also back after injury.

Grady, meanwhile, is partnered in midfield by Johnny Williams, Leigh Halfpenny wins his 101st cap at full-back and another experienced campaigner – flanker Dan Lydiate – also features.

Darnation bids to provide trainer Karl Burke with yet another big-race success in the juvenile division in Thursday’s Betfred May Hill Stakes at Doncaster.

The Spigot Lodge handler has saddled more than 40 two-year-old winners in 2023, the most notable of which came in Ireland last weekend as Fallen Angel rocketed to the head of ante-post lists for next year’s 1000 Guineas with victory in the Moyglare Stud Stakes.

That was Burke’s first at Group One level since landing the Prix Rothschild four years ago with star filly Laurens, who actually registered her first win at Pattern level in the May Hill in 2017.

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Burke feels that while Darnation perhaps lacks the class of Fallen Angel, she has plenty in her favour on Town Moor as she looks to add to her previous wins in novice company at Thirsk and in the Group Three Prestige Stakes at Goodwood three weeks ago.

He said: “The trip, the track, the ground and everything will suit. She’s not a flashy work horse at home, but she seems very well and any rain I would imagine will be to her advantage – it certainly won’t be a disadvantage to her.

“She was very tough down at Goodwood and she put up a very good performance to break her maiden at Thirsk. That form was franked to a degree, with the second horse (Nighteyes) that she beat 10 lengths coming out and winning next time.

“I can’t hand on heart say she’s in the league of Fallen Angel, but she’s obviously a talented filly and she goes there as the top-rated horse in the race, so it’s very exciting.”

Darnation is set to renew rivalry with the William Haggas-trained Hard To Resist, who was just over two lengths behind her when third at Goodwood in the royal colours of the King and Queen.

“She ran well at Goodwood, staying on well behind Darnation. Unfortunately Darnation has got a good draw, as have we, and hopefully we can do a bit better, but Darnation is the one to beat,” Haggas told Sky Sports Racing.

“Both Cieren Fallon, who won on her at Newmarket, and Saffie Osborne, who rode her at Goodwood, reported that she’ll be better on better ground, so if it does dry up a bit that will suit her.”

Other contenders for the Group Two prize include a pair of July course debut winners in Ralph Beckett’s Meribella and Andrew Balding’s See The Fire, Ollie Sangster’s runaway Salisbury scorer Romanova and the hat-trick seeking Zenjabeela from Roger Varian’s yard.

Kevin Sinfield insists England do not have a discipline problem as they look to draw a line under their latest red-card setback that resulted in a two-match ban for Tom Curry.

England did not contest Curry’s dismissal for a dangerous tackle in Saturday’s 14-man demolition of Argentina when the Sale openside appeared before a brief virtual hearing on Tuesday.

After the disruption caused to their World Cup preparations by the Owen Farrell and Billy Vunipola incidents last month, England are keen to focus all their attention on Sunday’s Pool D showdown with Japan.

And while continuing to hone their tackle technique in training, defence coach Sinfield is satisfied there is no deep-rooted problem.

“Discipline-wise, we gave away seven penalties at the weekend,” Sinfield said.

“I don’t think we’ve got a discipline problem, I thought it was really unfortunate what happened at the weekend. It’s been different from the other challenges that have taken place.

“We continue to work on our tackle skill – and work incredibly hard. The guys have bought into it and have done so for some time, but they’re human and they make mistakes. We’ve got to understand that.

“And unfortunately we’ve had to deal with four red cards in six games. We’re getting pretty good at defending with 14 men, but we want to have our full complement on the field for as long as possible at all times.

“So we hope to improve that area, but it’s tricky to pinpoint exactly what that is.

“We’ll spend time with Tom and put him through tackle school and work incredibly hard with him again. We’ll get him right for a couple of weeks’ time.”

Observers have been left scratching their heads by the inconsistent refereeing evident during the opening round of World Cup matches.

While Curry was given his marching orders for his third-minute clash of heads with Juan Cruz Mallia, similar incidents involving players from South Africa and Chile went unpunished.

On this occasion England could be justified for nursing a sense of grievance at the way the cards have fallen against them and Sinfield admits the disparity between decisions makes a player’s job harder.

“I think it makes life really difficult for the players, first and foremost, and that’s what we’re all here for,” Sinfield said.

“We all want to see the players out on the field, we want to see the best players in the world go head to head. We’ve just got to be careful.

“We control what we can control. We’re in full support of the rules and regulations. We try and train as hard as we can, but within the laws of the game and we’ll continued to do that.”

England name their team to face Japan on Friday night and Sinfield insists there will be no room for sentimentality when making any tight calls.

“At the top of the list is to win the game to we pick the team that we think gives us the best chance of winning,” Sinfield said.

“Within that there’s always a balance, but we’re in a World Cup and we’re not here to give people game-time, we’re here to win games.

“We’re not here to give Test shirts out because someone deserves one, we’re here because we have to win games.”

Rory McIlroy has placed himself firmly at the front of the Ludvig Aberg “bandwagon” ahead of the rising star’s Ryder Cup debut.

Aberg was hailed as a generational talent by Europe captain Luke Donald after he gave the 23-year-old Swede one of his six wild cards for the upcoming contest against the United States.

A former world number one amateur, Aberg only turned professional in June but won the final qualifying event in Switzerland and will make the quickest transition from the amateur ranks to the Ryder Cup in the contest’s history.

Such has been Aberg’s meteoric rise that McIlroy, the world number two and four-time major winner, said he had been excited to play alongside him in practice at the Ryder Cup venue on Monday.

“There’s a few new faces on the team and I thought it was a great exercise in terms of getting to know one another a little bit better,” said McIlroy, who teamed up with Tommy Fleetwood but lost 3&2 to Aberg and Viktor Hovland.

“I had an opportunity to play with Ludvig for the first time on Monday, which I was excited about. I told him I’ve been looking forward to this for a while.”

Asked if Aberg had lived up to his expectations, Mcllroy added: “Probably exceeded them. Everyone talks about what a great driver of the golf ball he is, which he is. The ball-striking is incredible.

“But I was really impressed with his wedge play and how he can sort of control his trajectory with shorter clubs. I was on the bandwagon before and I’m certainly at the front of it now.”

McIlroy partnered Shane Lowry and Ian Poulter (twice) in the last Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits, but lost all three matches as Europe suffered a humiliating 19-9 defeat in Wisconsin.

The 34-year-old was also left out of a session for the first time since making his debut in 2010 and gave a tearful television interview after beating Xander Schauffele in the opening singles on the final day.

“I told a story on Monday night to the team about watching Brookline in ’99 on TV and crying after America came back and Europe lost, and obviously I cried in Whistling Straits in 2021, so not much has changed,” McIlroy said.

“I feel as someone that should go out there and win points for the team, I didn’t do that. Whether it would have made a difference to whether we won or lost if I did play well that week, who knows.

“We’re not used to playing for other people in this game, and you go out there and you’re playing for your team-mates, you want to do well for them.

“I felt like I didn’t do that and I felt like I didn’t give a good account of myself and that stung and the scoreline stung. First time I had been dropped in a session in The Ryder Cup. It was a difficult week for me.

“But that emotion was real and what I said at the end of that tournament was all true.

“It is by far the best experience in sport, and standing shoulder-to-shoulder with your team-mates in an environment like that is I think the epitome of what competition and what sport is.”

Ger Lyons unveiled a nice prospect at Punchestown as Rising Sign made a winning start to her career.

The Juddmonte-owned and bred youngster is by Frankel out of Quail, making her a full-sister to the John and Thady Gosden-trained Covey, the winner of three of his six starts and tried at Group Two and Three level recently.

Well-backed at 9-4 for the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies Maiden, Colin Keane’s mount stretched clear when asked to account for 13-8 favourite Grand Job by four and a half lengths.

Lyons said: “She’s very much a work in progress and can be a bit buzzy. We knew she had that in her, but it wasn’t all about today.

“We’ll discuss it with Barry (Mahon, Juddmonte racing manager) and see how she comes out of it, but there will be no rush back and you might not see her until a trial next year.

“All our fillies are ready like that. They have done their work and I just want to see them on the track. If they don’t win first time, they’ll win second time and I put them away.

“You would like what you’ve seen there. Like a lot of Irish maidens you don’t know what you’ve beaten, but she was trained to enjoy the experience and it was all about tomorrow.

“She quickened away and I love how she ran from the winning post to the hill, that was the most impressive part I thought.”

Clive Cox was left beaming with pride after Get Ahead came agonisingly near to breaking her Group One duck at the Curragh on Sunday – and is now keeping a close eye on the weather with a trip to Paris a possibility for his progressive filly.

The daughter of Showcasing has always been a consistent performer for the Beechdown Stables handler and owners Hot To Trot Racing but has excelled this season in claiming the Listed Cecil Frail Stakes earlier in the campaign before going close in a Chantilly Group Two in her next start.

Further respectable efforts have followed, including when tasting Group One action for the first time in the Nunthorpe, but she took her form to the next level when beaten half a length by Ken Condon’s Moss Tucker in the Flying Five Stakes.

The unfancied 22-1 shot looked to have done enough to secure the big-race shock before being passed late in the day, but having displayed she is still progressing, Cox is now crossing his fingers that conditions remain dry at ParisLongchamp over the next few weeks so Get Ahead can take her chance in the Prix de l’Abbaye on October 1.

“It was a fantastic run and I was so proud of her,” he said.

“I was very concerned when the storms blew through just before. But she got into a nice rhythm and finished off really strong and for a moment I thought we had it in the bag before the winner came by us close home, it was a really exciting run.

“She’s a wonderful filly and has just strengthened and continued progressing. We always had belief she would come good at the best level and she put in a top-class performance.

“I’m pleased that she has come home fine from the race and the journey. She does have an entry in the Abbaye. We have always felt she is better on better ground than soft ground, but on Sunday we probably witnessed that good to soft ground is not too bad.

“The Abbaye is a possibility, if it was too soft then that would be out of her bounds, but who knows, with the weather we have been getting recently we hope it might just remain in her favour all being well. We’re in the lap of the gods and it is interesting, but you do get a dry Arc weekend occasionally.”

Another Abbaye possible for Cox is his Beverley Bullet scorer Kerdos, who has delighted connections with his progress this term.

He has a plethora of options including this Sunday’s Betfred Scarbrough Stakes at Doncaster and the Dubai International Airport World Trophy Stakes at Newbury on September 23.

“He only ran last weekend, so we are giving Doncaster consideration, but he does have a Listed penalty now,” said Cox.

“He also has an entry in the Abbaye and we have a Group Three at Newbury to consider on Dubai Duty Free day.

“We will just feel our way forwards with him having only run last week, but I was thrilled with how he equipped himself at Beverley and he has come out of the race really well.”

Ireland are optimistic sidelined number eight Jack Conan will be fit to feature in next weekend’s Rugby World Cup showdown with defending champions South Africa in Paris.

British and Irish Lion Conan, who suffered a foot injury in his country’s opening warm-up match with Italy, missed Saturday’s 82-8 win over Romania and will once again sit out on Saturday against Tonga in Nantes.

The 31-year-old was able to take part in basic on-field training on Wednesday morning following a series of gym sessions, raising hope of him being fit for the Springboks.

Team manager Mick Kearney said: “(It was a) very good training session today and everybody came through that really well.

“Jack was out running, which was a real positive.

“While Saturday will come a little bit early for him, I think the signs are really positive in terms of being able to train fully next week, and hopefully he will be available for South Africa.”

Every other member of Andy Farrell’s 33-man squad trained fully at Ireland’s base in Tours, including centre Robbie Henshaw, who was a late withdrawal from the Romania game due to a hamstring issue, prop Dave Kilcoyne and hooker Dan Sheehan.

Asked if it was Conan’s first on-field session since arriving in France, Kearney replied: “Not since we got to Tours, but it’s his first for the last few days.

“He has been doing most of his rehab in the gym with the physios.

“Today was obviously a very big day for him in terms of getting out and running. He ran really well, it’s really positive and he was in a good place afterwards.”

Sumo Sam bids to follow up her runaway success at the Qatar Goodwood Festival in the Betfred Park Hill Fillies’ Stakes at Doncaster on Thursday.

Paul and Oliver Cole’s filly was a widely unconsidered 25-1 shot for the Group Two Lillie Langtry Stakes, having been beaten in her first five outings of the season, but devoured the testing conditions on her way to an eight-and-a-half-length victory.

With the ground set to be on the easy side once more, Oliver Cole is hopeful of another bold showing in the ‘fillies’ St Leger’ on Town Moor.

He said: “She’s in good form, obviously she needs a bit of cut in the ground but it’s looking like she’ll get that and she’s pretty fresh after her last race at Goodwood. We’re looking forward to it.

“We were definitely expecting her to run better on that ground (at Goodwood), she is a very good filly and all being well she’ll go to the Prix Royallieu after this. The more rain the better for her.”

Sumo Sam’s rivals include Aidan O’Brien’s Irish raider Boogie Woogie, David Simcock’s Ching Shih, who was last seen chasing home St Leger candidate Arrest in the Geoffrey Freer at Newbury, and the William Haggas-trained pair of Golden Lyra and Crack Of Light.

Assessing the chance of his duo, Haggas told Sky Sports Racing: “Crack Of Light has basically been running in France this year and has won a Listed race and is Group Two placed and Group Three placed.

“She’ll run a good race. It’s her first time at a mile and six and I’m not so sure about that, and Mr Oppenheimer (owner) isn’t either, but we came to the conclusion that we’ve got little to lose by trying and quite a bit to gain.

“Tom (Marquand) has plumped for Golden Lyra, who was useful last year at the backend on soft ground. She should relish the step up in trip and she ran a much better race in France last time, her best race for a year, staying on all the way to the line.

“I think she’ll run a good race Golden Lyra, especially now the rain has come. I think it was the rain that swayed Tom to go her way.”

Boogie Woogie will be ridden by Ryan Moore, who told Betfair: “This is another difficult race to call, but Boogie Woogie had good form in deep ground earlier in the season, including in Group One company, and hopefully you will see a sharper, better filly than you did at Cork off a break last time.

“This longer trip is well worth a go, and she has the form to figure prominently if she stays.”

John and Thady Gosden also fire a twin assault, with One Evening and Lmay both declared, while Night Sparkle is stepped up in class on her first start for Andrew Balding after winning her last four races for Michael O’Callaghan.