Eve Johnson Houghton is readying both Indian Run and Juniper Berries for Group One assignments at Newmarket in the coming weeks.
The Didcot handler is enjoying another excellent season with her two-year-olds and is looking forward to being represented in two of biggest juvenile races of the campaign on the Rowley Mile.
Having recorded a narrow victory in the Group Three Dick Poole Stakes at Salisbury, Juniper Berries will get her shot at top-level honours in the Juddmonte Cheveley Park Stakes on Saturday.
The daughter of Expert Eye has plenty on her plate as she looks to turn the tables on the William Haggas-trained Relief Rally, who has already beaten her on two occasions, but Johnson Houghton feels she merits her place in the Cheveley Park field.
“We’re definitely going to have a crack at the Cheveley Park and we’re looking forward to it,” said the Didcot-based trainer.
“She’s a huge price. It will be really hard to turn the form around with Relief Rally, I get that, but she’s won her Group Three and where else do you go with her?
“She doesn’t seem to be too ground dependent to be fair.”
Two weeks after Juniper Berries is due to strut her stuff, stablemate Indian Run is set to contest the Dewhurst.
A promising third on his Newbury debut, the Sioux Nation colt has since won a valuable maiden at Ascot and the Group Three Acomb Stakes at York and Johnson Houghton is hopeful there is more to come.
She added: “He’s in good form. He’s had a bit of a chill-out time, but now we’re back working hard and going really well.”
Westover enjoyed a trip to the beach on Friday as his bid for glory in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe looms ever closer.
Last season’s Irish Derby hero was not beaten far into sixth place in Europe’s premier middle-distance contest last season and will return to Paris next weekend following an excellent campaign so far.
Second to Japanese ace Equinox in Dubai earlier in the year, Ralph Beckett’s four-year-old has since finished chased home Emily Upjohn in the Coronation Cup and won the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud before going down by a head to Hukum in a pulsating renewal of the King George at Ascot.
The son of Frankel has been kept fresh since that late July outing and is reported to be in rude health following a racecourse gallop at his trainer’s local track and a spin on the sand.
“Westover went to Salisbury last Friday and to Hayling Island beach this Friday and both exercises went well,” said Beckett.
“It suited him to just take the edge off him ahead of Longchamp and he’s shown he can handle any ground between the extremes.”
Also set to be in Group One action next weekend for Beckett and Westover’s owners Juddmonte is the regally-bred juvenile Task Force.
By Frankel and out of another Guineas winner in Special Duty, the youngster has looked the part so far in winning a Salisbury maiden and a Listed race at Ripon, earning him a shot at the Juddmonte Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket on Saturday.
Beckett added: “Task Force will go for the Middle Park. I was really pleased with him (on Saturday) morning.”
His accent is as American as his caddie, but Sepp Straka believes he has gone the extra mile – thousands of them in fact – to prove his dedication to Europe’s Ryder Cup team.
Straka was asked to compete in the Hero Cup in Abu Dhabi in January, a team event between Continental Europe and Great Britain and Ireland which it was felt necessary to revive in the wake of 2021’s record Ryder Cup defeat.
The only problem was that the Austrian was contesting the Sentry Tournament of Champions the week beforehand in Hawaii, which meant undertaking an epic journey across 14 time zones.
“Francesco (Molinari, captain of Continental Europe) was the first person to talk to me about the trip,” Straka told the PA news agency.
“My first reaction was that I don’t know if I’ll make it because I don’t think that I can get there.
“Then I looked into the flights a little deeper and realised that I could make it for the Tuesday and it didn’t start until the Friday.
“Once I realised I could get there in time to prepare then I wanted to make the trip because it was huge in terms of getting to Rome and also getting comfortable playing team golf. I think that is something we don’t get to do a lot.
“I’ve always wanted to be a part of it. I kind of put myself in a place last year for consideration for the team and I knew that would show my commitment.
“From there on, I could focus on just trying to play my best golf and put my name out there.”
Straka won two points from his four matches in the Hero Cup, including a foursomes victory over Ryder Cup team-mates Shane Lowry and Tyrrell Hatton, but then missed the cut in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship and Dubai Desert Classic.
However, he claimed his second PGA Tour title in the John Deere Classic in July and two weeks later finished joint second in the Open at Royal Liverpool, his second top 10 in a major in 2023.
Such performances meant Europe captain Luke Donald felt he “couldn’t leave” Straka off his team and duly gave him a wild card, making Straka the second Austrian after Bernd Wiesberger to play in the contest.
“It’s been an incredible ride,” said Straka, whose family moved from Vienna to Georgia when he was 14 – he went on to play on the University of Georgia with twin brother Sam.
“Kind of all started by winning the Honda (Classic) last season and thankfully I was able to ride that and gain confidence and just keep improving my golf game.
“I feel like it’s in a place where I give myself a lot more chances now than did I early in my career and yeah, it’s been an incredible ride the last few years.”
As for having a southern accent and an American caddie in Duane “Dewey” Bock, Straka joked: “I was thinking about maybe getting a translator. Maybe my brother can translate for me for the week just so we don’t have to hear it.
“Dewey is a great caddie. He’s been awesome to have on the bag and it’s helped me so much over the last few months.
“He is definitely red, white and blue. A bunch of the European caddies have been giving him crap about having a US yardage book cover but he’s already changed that. We’re working on him.
“He’s a professional. He’ll do his best job that he can and it will be great.”
Ed Crisford is excited to see Vandeek bid for a second Group One success in the Juddmonte Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket on Saturday.
The Havana Grey colt has won each of his three starts to date, with a successful debut at Nottingham followed by big-race wins in the Richmond Stakes at Goodwood and the Prix Morny at Deauville.
Crisford, who trains Vandeek in partnership with his father Simon, is well aware the youngster will have his mettle tested on the Rowley Mile next weekend but is relishing the challenge.
He said: “The Middle Park is a proper championship race and if he was able to win a Group One at Newmarket it would be huge – not just for us but for the owner and the horse himself. It would put him on the board as one of the top two-year-olds in Europe.
“It will be a proper race against proper horses and there will be some new horses coming in that we haven’t faced yet. It is going to be a very good race, but he has gone and won a Group One so he goes there with every chance.
“He is the first Group One winner that me and dad have had and he just has that natural talent. We’ve had some good older horses come through our hands like Century Dream, but Vandeek has that real quality as a two-year-old and that means he should be an exciting three-year-old.”
Vandeek’s top-level win in France came at the expense of Christopher Head’s exciting filly Ramatuelle, who had shown her quality by winning a Group Three and a Group Two.
“Looking at the Morny, it was the championship two-year-old race at the time and a proper Group One – you needed to be on your A game to win it,” Crisford added.
“He got caught in a pocket a bit and the French filly Ramatuelle went for it and I thought we might not catch her, but he put his head down and for him to grind her down was a good performance.
“He is still learning his trade and the Morny was the first time he had to race, as up until then he had done it on ability.”
While Vandeek’s wins at Goodwood and Deauville have both come on testing conditions, Crisford is confident a faster surface will not be a problem.
He said: “I think good ground, or just on the quick side of that would be fine as Havana Grey’s (progeny) tend to go on that. To be honest, running him on the soft ground has just been the way it has happened.
“The way he moves and covers the ground, I wouldn’t be too worried on better ground and I think he could be a better horse on it as you would see that turn of foot come to the fore.
“For a breeze-up horse he is unbelievable. He is so relaxed and that will put him in good stead for these big events. He doesn’t waste any energy.”
James Doyle will take over in the saddle aboard Vandeek from Andrea Atzeni following the Italian’s recent move to Hong Kong.
Should all go well in the Middle Park, Crisford will consider stepping his exciting colt up to seven furlong for the first time for a crack at the Dewhurst Stakes back at Newmarket a fortnight later.
He added: “He hit the line strong in France and I think he would stay seven (furlongs) standing on his head. He is a big, tall scopey horse who covers a lot of ground.
“We have to take one race at a time and the Middle Park is his next target. If he wins and looks like he is in great order, who is to say he is not going to have a crack at the Dewhurst as well?”
Marcus Smith could be retained at full-back as England progress deeper into the World Cup after excelling in his first start in the position against Chile.
Smith overcame an edgy opening to help orchestrate an 11-try rout at Stade Pierre-Mauroy, offering the team a new dimension with the ball in hand, which he underscored with a personal two-try haul – albeit against opponents ranked 22 in the world.
England must now decide whether to give him another chance to adapt to 15 in their final group match against Samoa on October 7 or revert to the ultra-dependable Freddie Steward, their first choice in the position for over two years.
Richard Wigglesworth has been a central figure in Smith’s transition from fly-half and the attack coach has seen enough to know the 24-year-old is ready for the bigger tests that lie ahead.
“Marcus has given us food for thought at full-back throughout pre-season because that’s the standard he operates at,” Wigglesworth said.
“It was a bigger talking point than we felt it was because we just see a great rugby player there. We were really impressed by him against Chile.
“We all thought it was coming before the game and were really confident that he was going to produce that sort of performance. He looked great, didn’t he?
“He’s definitely a viable option (to start) because he’s a top, top international, so when you have that level of ability like he’s got, executing the way he is, then he’s always a viable option.”
Whether Smith faces Samoa, reprises the bench role that worked well over the four Tests before Chile were overwhelmed or England perform a positional sleight of hand by squeezing him and Steward into the same back line, one of the game’s most exciting talents has a role to play at the World Cup.
With Owen Farrell and George Ford blocking the path at 10, the Harlequins magician has adjusted quickly after defence coach Kevin Sinfield first raised the prospect of him switching positions during the summer.
“Marcus is a fly-half who can play full-back and what’s so impressive about him is that he has just ripped into that role,” Wigglesworth said.
“He gets training time at both, but he’s ripped into this like, ‘I want to get a shot, I want to have an impact at a World Cup’. And what an attitude for someone to have.
“There hasn’t been a hint of, ‘Oh, this isn’t quite my preferred position or the one that I’ve played and played very successfully for my whole career’.
“He’s not done that, he has just gone, ‘Let me make an impact on this team, on the players around me’. And he has been first class.”
England, who are on the brink of reaching the quarter-finals, have resolved to let Smith forge his own identity in the role.
“We’ve let Marcus do it the Marcus way because, from the first moment he has done it, he has looked pretty comfortable there,” Wigglesworth said.
“He’s done extra high-ball work and understanding the back-field roles in that, and he’s really grabbed that.
“He’s a smart, smart rugby player, so he retains that information and then commands other people around him straight away.
“He’s grabbed it himself and we want Marcus Smith to look like Marcus Smith at full-back, no one else.”
Christian Horner knew Max Verstappen was ready to return to winning ways from his aggression in a game of padel tennis as the Dutchman moved to the brink of a third world title with victory at the Japanese Grand Prix.
Verstappen was imperious around the high-speed corner circuit at Suzuka, beating McLaren’s Lando Norris by over 19 seconds as Red Bull sealed the constructors’ championship with a record six races to spare.
The 25-year-old’s record 10-race winning run and Red Bull’s unbeaten season was ended in Singapore a week ago, but he hit back in style.
Verstappen is now within touching distance of a hat-trick of world titles, extending his lead over team-mate Sergio Perez to 177 points, and could even win it in the Saturday Qatar sprint race in two weeks’ time.
“I played padel tennis with Max on Wednesday and he was properly fired up and made it clear ‘I want to win the race by 20 seconds’ and in fairness he came within 0.7 of a second of achieving that,” team principal Horner said.
“You could tell from the very first lap in practice one that he was totally focused on this event.
“It is a circuit that he loves and enjoys. It was an outstanding performance. His laps in qualifying yesterday, particularly that final lap has to be up there with one of the best laps of all-time in qualifying.
“Max is absolutely at the top of his game, he is the best driver in F1 at this point in time.
“He’s just got this inner hunger, determination and huge ability. He doesn’t get distracted by the trappings of F1. He is an out-and-out racer. If he is not racing in the real world he is racing in the virtual world.
“He’s a winner and he loves winning. You’ve seen that competitive spirit at its utmost this weekend.”
Red Bull are the first team in Formula One history to win the team championship with six races to spare as Verstappen’s victory moved the Milton Keynes-based team 318 points clear of second-placed Mercedes in the standings. It is Red Bull’s sixth constructors’ title since their debut season in F1 in 2005.
They clinched it at the track owned by their engine supplier Honda, with Horner paying tribute to the entire team.
“To achieve this sixth constructors’ championship is beyond our wildest dreams. Coming into the season I don’t think we could have ever dreamt of having a year like this,” Horner added.
“Last year was a very strong year for us but to have kept that momentum rolling through the year that we have had is testimony to all the men and women in the team that have worked tirelessly.
“To repeat a season like this, to do better than we are doing is impossible. We are riding a wave and we want to ride that wave as long as we can.
“It is very fitting that we have won the championship here on the 75th anniversary of Honda at their circuit at Suzuka.”
While Verstappen coasted to the win, it was a tough day for Perez, who broke two front wings and was handed two penalties before retiring on lap 15.
He then came back into the race briefly on lap 40 before retiring again, with the team keen for him to serve his outstanding penalty rather than suffer in Qatar.
“It was just a disastrous weekend,” Perez said.
McLaren showed further signs of their progress by comfortably beating Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to seal second and third – with Oscar Piastri picking up his first F1 podium.
“Another amazing day for us. A P2 and P3, so we couldn’t have asked for anymore,” Norris said.
“We are pushing, we are getting there. The progress we’ve made is pretty outstanding.”
Lewis Hamilton criticised Mercedes’ tactics and suggested he and George Russell needed to “work as a team” after on-track battles throughout the Japanese Grand Prix.
The seven-time world champion finished fifth at Suzuka, two places ahead of Russell in a race where the pair scrapped repeatedly and aired frustration over the team radio.
After an early coming together where Russell surged past Hamilton before swiftly losing the place again, the 38-year-old pushed his team-mate off track in a second scrap and they then disagreed over how to defend their places against Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz.
Russell was struggling on his tyres having attempted a one-stop strategy, while others around him deployed a two-stop, and Hamilton urged his team to let him through.
The 25-year-old resisted on the radio before being told “this is an instruction, George” and allowing Hamilton to pass.
Hamilton was then told to stay within DRS range to help his team-mate defend against Sainz, as the Spaniard had done to thwart Russell a week ago in Singapore.
“We should have swapped around earlier and I should have got as far ahead as possible to get the gap as big as we could to the Ferrari,” Hamilton said.
“Because he (Russell) was trying to fight me he was damaging his tyres and I think it just made it all complicated.
“The fact is we are not fighting each other in the team championship. As drivers it is not important where we are.
“What is important is that one of us finishes ahead of the Ferrari and to keep the position. Today we really needed to work as a team.”
Hamilton also disagreed with the team’s DRS strategy.
“I don’t think that was a good idea at all,” he said. “When they suggested it to me I knew that they obviously thought of it from the last race but it made no sense.
“I needed to get as far clear as possible. I was on my way, around two seconds ahead and they asked me to give George DRS and I had to come off the gas down the straight.
“Then he got overtaken by Sainz. He then got past George and he was right on my tail which was not ideal.”
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff was absent for this race due to knee surgery, with his role divided among numerous other staff while the Austrian was on the intercom.
The team’s lead to Ferrari was cut in the battle for second in the constructors’ championship – which Red Bull clinched at Suzuka with a record six races remaining.
Max Verstappen stormed to victory, with McLaren pair Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri on the podium ahead of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.
Russell, who lost sixth to Sainz at the death, said he had no hard feelings over the battle with Hamilton.
“The main goal is to finish P2 in the constructors’ championship,” Russell said. “The drivers’ championship is out of the window for me totally. Lewis is in a good place to fight for a good position.
“The goal is to finish ahead of Ferrari this season and keep on working for next year. No issues on my side.
“I viewed it as good, hard racing. Of course we lost a bit of overall time fighting each other. You are a bit frustrated on the radio but that is just part of racing.
“We are not even going to discuss it, there is nothing to discuss. We have bigger fish to fry which is how do we make the car go quicker.”
Johnny Sexton says beating defending champions South Africa is among Ireland’s best Rugby World Cup wins but insists his team must push on and “make it count”.
Andy Farrell’s men put one foot in the quarter-finals of the tournament by edging a classic Paris encounter 13-8 to register a 16th straight victory.
The world’s top-ranked team have a two-week break before returning to Stade de France to complete their Pool B fixtures against Scotland.
“I think we’ve had some big wins in pool stages before, that’s right up there,” said captain Sexton.
“When you play against the reigning world champions, it’s always going to be incredibly tough and it was.
“They didn’t let us down in terms of the physicality of the game but I thought we fronted up and gave some good stuff ourselves in that regard.
“Yeah, it’s right up there but we’ve got to make it count now.
“We’ve got some time off this week with the bye week, then we regroup and we’ve got to back it up against Scotland and make sure we do the business to get out of the pool.”
Mack Hansen’s first-half try, plus five points from the boot of Sexton and a late Jack Crowley penalty moved the Six Nations champions within touching distance of the knockout stages.
South Africa remained in contention until the final whistle through Cheslin Kolbe’s score and a Manie Libbok penalty but paid a heavy price for some wayward goal kicking.
Ireland were roared home by an estimated 30,000 Irish fans on an unforgettable evening in the French capital.
Veteran fly-half Sexton felt the “insane” support was a vital factor in securing a statement victory.
“We’ve had some big days before in terms of results in the pools but I’ve never ever seen a crowd like that,” said the 38-year-old.
“Someone said there was 30,000 fans but there was no way it was 30,000.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if there was 60,000 and they were insane throughout. They gave us the lift that we needed.
“Honestly, it’s not lost on us. We talk about it a lot, about inspiring those people that put their hand in their pocket week after week.
“They probably saved for four years to come here and it’s something we refer to all the time and I mean that.
“We play for them and they gave us the edge, fair play to them.”
Springboks skipper Siya Kolisi urged his side not to dwell on the disappointing result as they seek to bounce back in a crucial clash with Tonga.
“The intensity of the game was exactly what we needed for a lot of players that have never played at such intensity,” said the flanker.
“The whole atmosphere was amazing on the field but we know exactly what we need to do as a group.
“We’ve got to lift our heads, we’ve got a big game coming and if we dwell too much on what happened, we will forget to perform next week.
“We need to get through that one and then we can start thinking about afterwards. Tonga is an important game.”
Conor Benn hailed his unanimous points victory over Rodolfo Orozco in Florida as the perfect response after “going through hell” outside of the ring.
The 26-year-old returned to the ring for the first time since April 2022 after his provisional doping suspension was lifted.
Benn, who had been out of the ring for 525 days, extended his undefeated run to 22 fights after the judges scored 99-91, 99-91 and 96-94 all in favour of the Englishman.
Benn did not show any signs of early ring rust on his return and dropped the Mexican in the third round before getting other rounds under his belt and a seemingly easy beat down over Orozco.
‘The Destroyer’ was happy to get valuable time in the ring after such a long lay-off and targeted a home fight next time out.
After the fight, he said: “We didn’t want a walk in the park. I needed the rounds after 18 months out.
“He’s a true Mexican, my first Mexican I’ve fought, and we knew he was durable. Credit to him, he’s never been stopped before and he’s one tough man and I hope he progresses.
“They are stronger and take shots more. I don’t think there was ring rust, I was going through the gears after going through hell.
“Britain is my home and it’s only right I fight back there, sooner rather than later.”
Max Verstappen moved to within range of a hat-trick of world titles by returning to winning ways at the Japanese Grand Prix as Red Bull clinched the constructors’ championship.
The Dutchman backed up his searing pace in qualifying by easing to victory by a massive 19.387 seconds a week on from seeing his record 10-race winning run ended in Singapore.
Lando Norris finished second ahead of McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with Lewis Hamilton fifth and George Russell seventh for Mercedes.
Verstappen has won 13 of 16 rounds this season, extending his lead to 177 points over team-mate Sergio Perez – who endured a miserable afternoon – and he will have the chance to wrap up his third title at the Qatar Grand Prix in two weeks, potentially even in the Saturday sprint by outscoring Perez by three points or more.
While it was serene at the front, the race behind was thrilling as Perez was involved in two early collisions before retiring – only to briefly return – and Mercedes team-mates Hamilton and Russell scrapped with each other.
Red Bull are the first team in Formula One history to win the team championship with six races to spare as Verstappen’s victory moved the Milton Keynes-based team 318 clear of second-placed Mercedes in the standings. It is Red Bull’s sixth constructors’ title since their debut season in F1 in 2005.
Norris predicted after qualifying that if Verstappen led after the 277-metre dash down to turn one, there would be nothing the rest of the field could do.
The McLarens put up a strong fight, sandwiching Verstappen as Norris surged around the outside to go second, but the pole-sitter emerged from the first corner ahead.
Perez was overtaken by Ferrari’s Singapore winner Carlos Sainz and drifted into Hamilton, forcing the seven-time world champion onto the grass.
The safety car was deployed before the end of the first lap due to debris on the track after heavy contact between Valtteri Bottas and Alex Albon.
Perez pitted under the safety car on lap three to replace a damaged front wing and fit the hard tyres but re-joined 17th.
The race resumed on lap five and Verstappen blasted clear of Norris.
Perez’s miserable start continued as he was handed a five-second penalty for overtaking under the safety car as he entered the pits.
It soon went from bad to worse as he suffered more front-wing damage in a collision with Kevin Magnussen, forcing him to pit again on lap 13, and was given another five-second penalty for causing the contact.
The Mexican was put out of his misery on lap 15 as Red Bull retired the car. Remarkably he was briefly sent back onto the track on lap 40, with the team keen for him to serve his outstanding penalty.
Elsewhere it was a story of battling team-mates.
Hamilton was soon engaged in a thrilling scrap with Russell, who slid up the inside at the final corner but Hamilton blasted back ahead down the pit straight.
The battle soon resumed as Hamilton ran wide and had to defend fiercely against Russell, forcing the 25-year-old off the track at the Spoon Curve.
“Who do we want to fight here, each other or the others?” Russell asked his team.
Hamilton’s defence was investigated but cleared by the stewards as he pitted first.
Meanwhile, Piastri had gained an advantage by pitting just as a virtual safety car was called, leapfrogging Norris after his pit stop.
Norris was soon on his team-mate’s gearbox, urging McLaren to act.
“The longer I stay behind the worse you are going to make the race for me,” Norris said, adding “What’s he doing?” before McLaren allowed him through.
Russell rolled the dice by attempting a one-stop strategy on an afternoon where tyre degradation was an issue for all the teams at a baking hot Suzuka.
But he was swallowed up by both McLarens, Charles Leclerc and team-mate Hamilton – with Russell urging his team to get Hamilton to give him DRS to defend from Sainz, as the Spaniard did a week ago to thwart Russell.
But Sainz moved past to take sixth as Ferrari gained the edge on Mercedes in the battle for second in the constructors’ standings.
Sir Bradley Wiggins won gold in the men’s time trial at the Road World Championships in Spain on this day in 2014.
Wiggins clocked 56 minutes 25.52 seconds for the 47.1-kilometre route in Ponferrada to win by an emphatic margin of 26.23secs.
Germany’s Tony Martin, seeking a fourth straight world title, had to settle for silver, while Tom Dumoulin of Holland took bronze.
It was Britain’s first gold in the event in 20 years, since Chris Boardman won the inaugural edition of the road time trial.
Wiggins said: “I paced it perfectly. I still had gas in the final. Even on the last descent, I knew I was ahead, but I was pushing all the way.
“I don’t know what to say. I knew coming into it that I had the legs.
“Once I saw the course I knew if I was ever going to beat Tony it would be here.”
Wiggins – Olympic time-trial champion as well as Tour de France champion in 2012 – added a first road world title to multiple golds he had achieved at World Championships on the track.
The Pittsburgh Pirates erased a nine-run deficit for the first time in their 133-season history in a wild 13-12 victory over the playoff-hopeful Cincinnati Reds on Saturday.
The Reds built a 9-0 lead with three runs in the first, five in the second and one in the third before the Pirates scored the next 13 runs.
Cincinnati rallied to get within one but stranded the potential tying run at third in the ninth.
It was the fourth straight loss for the Reds, who dropped 2 ½ games behind the final NL wild-card spot with six games remaining.
Cincinnati squandered a nine-run lead for the first time since a 10-9 loss at Milwaukee on April 28, 2004.
Pittsburgh’s Alfonso Rivas tied a career high with five RBIs, including a three-run double in the seventh that tied the score at 9.
The Pirates scored four runs in the eighth against closer Alexis Diaz when Jack Suwinski and Rivas hit run-scoring singles and Ji Hwan Bae followed with a two-run double.
Christian Encanacion-Strand, Tyler Stephenson and TJ Friedl homered off Pirates starter Bailey Falter, who allowed eight runs and nine hits in two innings.
Montgomery pitches Rangers past Mariners
Jordan Montgomery pitched seven scoreless innings for the second time in three starts and Jonah Heim drove in another run to lead the Texas Rangers to their fourth straight win, 2-0 over the Seattle Mariners.
Montgomery scattered five hits, struck out six and walked two to improve to 4-2 in 10 starts since joining Texas in a trade with St. Louis.
The Rangers extended their AL West lead to 1 ½ games over Houston, which lost to Kansas City.
Mitch Garver had an RBI single in the second inning and Heim singled home a run in the fourth.
Heim has seven RBIs in his last four games and 15 in his past 11.
Seattle remained a half-game behind the Astros in the West and in the wild-card race.
Rays rally late again, beat Blue Jays
Josh Lowe hit a three-run homer and a walk-off single to cap a two-run ninth inning as the Tampa Bay Rays got past the Toronto Blue Jays, 7-6.
Toronto entered the bottom of the ninth with a 6-5 lead but Yandy Diaz had a leadoff double, took thirde on Harold Ramirez’s single and scored on Curtis Mead’s hit.
After Isaac Paredes struck out, Junior Caminero – in his big league debut - grounded into what appeared to be an inning-ending double play.
But the call was reversed in a video review and Lowe ended it with an opposite-field single down the left-field line.
The Rays remained 1 ½ games behind AL East-leading Baltimore, while Toronto, which rallied from a 5-0 deficit, holds the second wild card, one game ahead of Houston.
Reigning Horse of the Year Atomica registers fourth-consecutive win
Gary Subratie’s face portrayed ease with a tad bit of excitement, as he watched the replay of a race where his highly rated filly Atomica comfortably brushed aside rivals and copped the third running of the Menudo Trophy over 10 furlongs (2,000m), at Caymanas Park on Saturday.
That delight on Subratie’s face was very much understandable given the fact that this was Atomica’s fourth-straight win, following a slight injury setback earlier this year, and the manner of this performance, underscored that the four-year-old filly is well and truly back to her best.
Running from the widest draw in the small five-horse of the three-year-olds and upward Graded Stakes/Open Allowance contest, Atomica, partnered with customary jockey Dane Dawkins got out well and settled behind Jason DaCosta’s Outbidder (Jerome Innis) entering the clubhouse turn.
In fact, Dawkins –instead of playing the cat-mouse game with his rival – bided his time with the Nuclear Wayne and Honkeytonkville progeny for most of the way and it wasn’t until the left the half-mile that he sent Atomica into the ascendancy.
While Outbidder and D Head Cornerstone (Sadiki Blake) were kicking up a storm in close quarters, Dawkins remained cool, calm and collected as he gradually released the rein on the talented filly approaching the stretch run.
Once there, it was a case of how far Atomica would win, especially with Dawkins giving her a glimpse of the left-hand stick to which she responded and went on to win by four lengths going away.
Atomica secured the lion’s share of the $1.75 million purse for owner Oakridge Farms and breeder Karl Samuda, as she stopped the clock in 2:08.2, behind splits of 24.1, 49.3, 1:13.2 and 1:40.4.
Miniature Man (Ramon Nepare), D Head Cornerstone and Outbidder, completed the frame.
Subratie, secured another win on the 10-race card courtesy of Sensational Move (Richard Henry), in the seventh race.
Former three-time champion Anthony “Baba” Nunes, also had a brace of winners in Mr Senator (Jawara Steadman) and Hoist The Mast (Tevin Foster), while Philip Feanny, saddled Gilbert, which completed Foster’s double, and I’ve Got Magic in the night pan ridden by Reyan Lewis.
Lewis, the leading rider, earlier won aboard Peter-John Parsard’s Neo Star in the day’s penultimate event.
Racing continues on Sunday with another 10-race programme.
Andy Farrell hailed the mental strength of his players after Ireland propelled themselves to the cusp of the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals with a statement 13-8 success over South Africa.
The world’s top-ranked team took control of Pool B by edging an epic contest on a raucous Paris evening thanks to Mack Hansen’s try plus five points from Johnny Sexton and a late Jack Crowley penalty.
Reigning champions South Africa dominated the second half at Stade de France but Ireland doggedly held on to stretch their winning run to 16 matches and move within touching distance of the knockout stages.
Asked what pleased him most about the performance, head coach Farrell said: “Our resilience, which has been really good of late anyway.
“That was a proper game, a traditional game, it had absolutely everything, there were ebbs and flows, ups and downs and how we stayed on point mentally was fantastic.
“The game was never going to be perfect.
“First half, I thought we had the rub of the green as far as field positions is concerned and probably didn’t capitalise on that. Certainly it was roles reversed in the second half.
“But we kept our heads. Getting those couple of penalties at the end when it really mattered is the big plus side of our performance.”
Cheslin Kolbe’s second-half try and a Manie Libbok penalty kept the Springboks in contention before they fell agonisingly short in a nail-biting finale.
Jacques Nienaber’s side ultimately paid the price for a series of wayward kicks at goal, with Faf de Klerk missing two penalties and Libbok squandering a further effort, in addition to the conversion attempt after Kolbe’s score.
Ireland, who were vocally backed by an estimated 30,000 fans in the French capital, also survived a series of frustrating line-out losses.
“I think as the competition goes on, we’ll need to be better because, you know, there’s a few inaccuracies,” continued Farrell.
“But there’s always going to be that type of thing with games like this, especially with the pressure that South Africa put on you.
“We again were able to find a way and when you say it was an emotional game and how do we bottle that, we’ve gotten very good at not getting too emotional, making sure that we stay on task.
“So being given a game like that within the pool stage is great for us.”
Ireland have a fortnight’s break before finishing the group against Scotland and emerged from a bruising encounter relatively unscathed in terms of injuries.
South Africa head coach Nienaber conceded his side were second best but insists they can still retain the World Cup.
The Springboks, who recovered from losing to New Zealand in their opening match at the 2019 tournament to claim the title, take on Tonga next weekend.
Nienaber said: “Yeah, we can still (win the tournament). Obviously you have to (believe). We’re in this competition to win it.
“Teams that lose a game in the pool stages must work hard to get out of the pool, so definitely we can still win it.
“We played against the number one team in the world and we lost by five points and we had opportunity in the 79th minute to get a result.
“Hats off to Ireland, they were better than us on the night and that is the bottom line
“But that’s the number one team in the world and the margin is very small.
“We will have to work harder at the stuff that we weren’t good at. If we can fix that and we have a little bit of luck, we can win the World Cup.
“We missed a couple of points off the tee. I won’t say that was the reason solely for not getting over the line.”
Zhilei Zhang delivered a destinating third-round knock-out to win his WBO interim heavyweight title rematch against Joe Joyce at Wembley Arena.
Joyce had been mandatory for Oleksandr Usyk’s WBO heavyweight belt before he lost for the first time in the pro ranks to Zhang in April. The contest was stopped in the sixth round, with Joyce’s right eye badly swollen.
Southpaw Zhang had told the Englishman he was back to end his career and could well have proved true to his words with another chastening defeat for the ‘Juggernaut’, who now faces questions over where he goes from here.
Zhang used his moment of glory to call out Tyson Fury.
He said in his ring-side interview: “To the audience, I want to ask you a question: Do you want to see me shut Tyson Fury up?”
On his performance, he added: “I am happy. Like I said before the fight, it is going to end sooner than the first fight and I did it. Joe, hell of a fighter, respect to him. I like him and respect him, everybody please care for him.”
It was a cagey opening to the rematch, with both men content to find their range without trying to commit too much.
Zhang, the 2008 Olympic silver medallist, was first to land a telling blow in the second round, rocking Joyce with a big left hand before catching the Englishman again with another hook which sent him onto the ropes before the bell.
It remained one-way traffic in the third, Zhang also working the body as Joyce failed to find any response.
Zhang worked Joyce with the left before he delivered the knock-out blow with a powerful right hook which sent Joyce to the canvas – and could well end his hopes in the heavyweight division.
On the undercard, Ilford boxer Anthony Yarde stopped Portugal’s Jorge Silva in the second round to make an impressive return in his first fight since defeat by unified light-heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev.
Dubliner Pierce O’Leary retained the WBC international super-lightweight title with a unanimous decision over Manchester’s Kane Gardner.
Heavyweight prospect Moses Itauma, 18, produced a blistering first-round knock-out of Amine Boucetta for his fifth straight professional win.
Ireland propelled themselves to the cusp of the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals with a gripping 13-8 win over reigning champions South Africa on a raucous evening in Paris.
Mack Hansen’s try and five points from Johnny Sexton helped settle a thrilling clash between international rugby’s top two teams at a sold-out Stade de France.
Replacement fly-half Jack Crowley added a late penalty as Ireland stretched their winning run to 16 matches to take control of Pool B.
Andy Farrell’s men also retained top spot in the global rankings ahead of the defeated Springboks, who now have work to do against Tonga next week to avoid early elimination.
Cheslin Kolbe’s second-half try and a Manie Libbok penalty kept Jacques Nienaber’s side in contention before they ultimately fell short in a nail-biting finale.
Pre-match talk was dominated by South Africa’s bold call to name an imposing seven-one split of forwards and backs on their bench – a decision head coach Nienaber called a “calculated risk”.
Ireland impressively defused the so-called ‘Bomb Squad’ to bring the knock-out rounds within touching distance.
Both sides arrived in the French capital with back-to-back wins on the board.
An estimated 30,000 Irish fans were expected among a capacity crowd for one of the most eagerly-anticipated group-stage matches in World Cup history.
That approximate figure seemed on the low side amid deafening noise in Saint-Denis further fuelled by a frenetic start of big hits and end-to-end action.
Ireland initially began on the front foot but, following a bold decision to kick for the corner, failed to capitalise on a couple of promising line-outs before falling behind to a Libbok penalty.
The set-piece struggles persisted and only some dogged defensive work, including Bundee Aki’s crucial tackle on Jesse Kriel, stifled the Springboks.
Farrell’s men continued to show plenty of attacking enterprise and were rewarded in the 33rd minute when sustained pressure led to Hansen capping a sensational team move by crossing on the right.
Captain Sexton calmly slotted the extras to ensure the Six Nations champions ended a breathless opening period of ferocious physicality 7-3 ahead.
Ireland have had the upper hand in this fixture in recent times, including a 19-16 Dublin success in November, but South Africa – tournament winners in 1995, 2007 and 2019 – hold a vastly superior World Cup record.
The unrelenting pace resumed following the interval and, amid further line-out issues, Ireland’s deficit was almost cut to a single point when Faf de Klerk’s penalty from halfway struck a post.
Yet South Africa seized on the loose ball from that missed kick and penned back their opponents before Kolbe touched down on the left to put his side 8-7 in front.
Fly-half Libbok was off target with the conversion and Ireland snatched back the lead going into the final 20 minutes thanks to a Sexton penalty.
South Africa turned to their stacked bench, including introducing Jean Kleyn, who represented Ireland at the last World Cup, in a bid to make the difference.
Irish indiscipline was in danger of proving expensive, with those in green relieved to see Libbok and then De Klerk squander further penalties.
The Springboks enjoyed the better territory and possession in the second period.
But Ireland, helped over the line by three points from Crowley, doggedly hung on to make a major statement moving towards their Pool B finale against Scotland in a fortnight’s time, while leaving the title holders with plenty to ponder.
Rafael Nadal is unlikely to match Novak Djokovic's haul of 24 grand slam titles, but the Spaniard is capable of capping his remarkable career with one last Roland Garros triumph next year.
That is the opinion of Feliciano Lopez, who hopes to see Nadal overcome his injury woes to enjoy a triumphant send-off in 2024.
Nadal's total of 22 grand slam titles is only bettered by Djokovic among male players, with the Serbian matching Margaret Court's overall record by winning the US Open.
Djokovic has won three of four grand slams in 2023, with injuries leading Nadal to miss the last three majors after he was eliminated from the Australian Open by Mackenzie McDonald in January.
Nadal confirmed earlier this year that 2024 would "probably" be his last year on the tour, and former world number nine Lopez is desperate to see his compatriot go out on a high.
Asked if Nadal could add to his 14 French Open titles – a single-slam record – next year, Lopez told Stats Perform: "With Rafa, you never know, because he has shown on other occasions that he was able to come back stronger, even when he had significant injuries.
"It will depend a lot on how he feels physically, that will be key. I wouldn't be surprised to see him competing at a good level next year and I would love for him to say goodbye by winning Roland Garros.
"It would be a dream for me and many people to see him lift that cup once again.
"It is very difficult for me to talk about Rafa, because he has changed the way we see sport in Spain. Before Rafa we had great athletes, but none transcended sport the way he has.
"Rafa's figure in Spanish sport and in the lives of Spanish people… there will be none like him.
"There have been many joys that he has given us. He has given us examples in many situations outside of sports. There will be a before and after [Nadal] in Spanish sport."
While Nadal now looks highly unlikely to match the evergreen Djokovic for total grand slam titles, Lopez does not believe that will concern the 37-year-old.
"The issue of numbers and who is bigger than who fuels the media a lot," Lopez added. "At this moment in Rafa's life, I don't think he is thinking about that.
"With the numbers, we can see who won the most things, but that is not the question. I want him to return so he can compete again for one last year at the highest level.
"Hopefully he wins one or two more grand slams, but right now, his goal is to recover and be physically competitive.
"That is what Rafa needs and wants, because if he is not feeling well enough to compete, it will be very difficult for him to be able to play many tournaments next year."
Henry Arundell was praised by captain Owen Farrell for delivering a complete performance after the England wing starred in a 71-0 rout of Chile that offers clear sight of the World Cup quarter-finals.
Arundell crossed five times at Stade Pierre-Mauroy to equal the record for the number of tries scored in a match by an Englishman and was duly recognised with the man of the match award.
While the 20-year-old wing starred on his World Cup debut through his clinical finishing, it was the unseen, unglamorous work that caught Farrell’s eye.
“Everybody knows what talent Henry’s got. He’s shown it before this game,” Farrell said.
“He’s shown it for London Irish and he showed it when he got his first touch in international rugby against Australia last year.
“A big thing that Henry showed against Chile was that he got after everything in between. He didn’t just finish tries. He got balls back in the air, he chased hard and worked hard for the team.
“Ultimately, he got his rewards off the back of that. He does what he does unbelievably well.”
England amassed 11 tries against the weakest team in Pool D as their attacking game exploded into life, inspired by Marcus Smith’s lively contribution in his first start at full-back.
Smith scored two tries, including a superb solo effort, and provided a cutting edge to suggest he could be a long-term option in the position.
“Marcus played really well. The decisions he made, he looked dangerous constantly, as he normally does,” Farrell said.
“All I can say is I enjoyed it and I thought he played really well. George Ford added when he came on as well.”
Smith’s performance was acclaimed by head coach Steve Borthwick, who brought on Ford for the last half hour as England closed out the game with three fly-halves on the field.
Once the 24-year-old Smith had recovered from butchering two early chances, he dazzled Chile with his speed, footwork and creativity.
“Marcus did a lot of very good things. Playing at 15, there is a different amount of space there compared to playing at 10,” Borthwick said.
“The way Marcus took those opportunities, found the space and linked with Henry in particular was a positive. It shows there is a lot of hard work from everybody on the training field.
“There was a lot of exciting talent on the pitch. This squad is packed full of talent and packed full of options. The starting configuration did a really good job after working through a challenging spell.
“To be able to change that during the game and have Owen, George and Marcus on the pitch brought another dimension and certainly gives options for the future.”
Chile captain Martin Sigren admitted his World Cup newcomers are a work in progress.
“It’s a tough lesson. Four years ago we were getting the same result against Canada and the USA,” Sigren said.
“We were losing games against Brazil. Four years later look at us – we’re here, so I have to hold on to that.
“We will keep on working. Maybe four years later the results will be different.”
Captain Suzann Pettersen was almost lost for words after Europe maintained a brilliant fightback to head into the final day of the 18th Solheim Cup needing six points to retain the trophy.
After losing the opening foursomes 4-0 on Friday, Pettersen’s side rallied to win eight of the 12 points available to level the scores at 8-8 and keep alive their hopes of an unprecedented third straight win in the biennial contest.
“I’m out of words, but we have to remember we’re not there (yet),” Pettersen told Sky Sports.
“There’s still 12 points up for grabs tomorrow but we made quite a comeback, now we’re tied and now we just put it into fifth gear and we keep going.”
Both sides won two of the Saturday morning foursomes before the home side took the fourballs session 3-1 for the second day running, home favourite Carlota Ciganda delighting the large crowds with her third win from three matches.
Ciganda partnered Swedish rookie Linn Grant to a 2&1 victory over Danielle Kang and two-time major winner Lilia Vu, the European pair covering the front nine in eight under par with Grant being an incredible six under on her own ball.
Leona Maguire and Charley Hull had earlier combined to beat Nelly Korda and Ally Ewing 4&3, while Madelene Sagstrom and Emily Pedersen defeated Rose Zhang and Andrea Lee 2&1.
The only win for the United States came courtesy of Cheyenne Knight and Angel Yin, who defeated Anna Nordqvist and Caroline Hedwall – who had sat out the first three sessions – on the 18th.
Maguire, who will be one of three European players to contest all five sessions, said: “One more day to give it our best shot and I think that’s the great thing about this team, there’s so much fight. We’ve never given up.
“I said to Suzann I needed someone with energy for this afternoon and Charley has lots of it. We had a lot of fun, lots of chats, lots of good times with the caddies, and so it was just a really enjoyable walk out there.”
Hull, who has played just twice as she nurses a neck injury, added: “I sprained my neck earlier in the week, sort of a facet sprain, and still hurts a little bit, but it’s gotten a lot better.
“But playing with Leona today was great fun. She’s always in the game and she played unbelievable.”
Grant and fellow Swede Maja Stark had earlier secured a vital win in the foursomes to keep their side just two points adrift of the United States after the third session.
Ciganda had led from the front as she partnered Pedersen to victory over Vu and Jennifer Kupcho, but defeats for Maguire and Anna Nordqvist and Georgia Hall and Celine Boutier gave the visitors a 7-4 lead until Grant and Stark closed out their match with Kang and Lee in brilliant fashion.
Stark holed from 25 feet for birdie on the 17th to move one up and, with their opponents in close on the par-five 18th, Grant holed from 10 feet for birdie to seal the win.
Grant told Sky Sports: “It’s amazing. The last two holes gives us so much momentum. We’re on such a high right now, it feels great.”
The close friends had lost the opening foursomes on Friday and were split up for the afternoon fourballs, but repaid the faith of Europe captain Pettersen on Saturday.
“It’s so much fun, especially getting that confidence from Suzann putting us together,” Stark said. “Two rookies has got to be a little hard for her to put out in the first group yesterday.
“I think there were a lot of nerves involved on the first few holes yesterday and getting to play with her (Grant) again is just amazing and I knew that we could do it. It was just about letting loose and just doing it.”
Nordqvist and Maguire had been two up after eight holes against Lexi Thompson and Megan Khang, but bogeyed the ninth, 10th and 11th to fall behind.
A birdie on the 15th got the European pair back on level terms, only for them to bogey the 17th as Nordqvist appeared to choose the wrong club and fired her tee shot into a bunker at the back of the green.
Hall and Boutier, who had surrendered their unbeaten record on day one, never recovered from losing the first two holes to Nelly Korda and Allisen Corpuz and were unsurprisingly left out of the afternoon fourballs.
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