Shohei Ohtani just missed another home run, but his Los Angeles Angels teammates still provided plenty of power.
The surging Angels hit three solo homers to back a solid start from Chase Silseth en route to a 4-1 win over the major league-leading Atlanta Braves in Monday's opener of a three-game series.
Luis Rengifo homered to lead off the game, while newly acquired Randal Grichuk and Chad Wallach went deep later to help the Angels to their 10th win in 13 games. That hot stretch has moved the Angels within three games of the American League's final wild card spot.
Grichuk was obtained Sunday from the Colorado Rockies along with first baseman C.J. Cron, who had an RBI single in his first game following the trade.
Ohtani finished 2 for 3 and nearly had his 40th home run of the season in the ninth inning, when his drive to deep center field was snared by a leaping Michael Harris II to rob the 2021 AL MVP.
Silseth yielded just three hits, including a solo homer from Matt Olson, over five innings to win his second straight start. Olson's blast was his National League-leading 36th of the season and 200th of the campaign for Atlanta, which tops the majors in that category.
The Braves entered the series having scored 29 runs in a three-game sweep of the Milwaukee Brewers over the weekend. Olson had two of Atlanta's four hits on the night.
Orioles hold off Blue Jays to maintain lead atop AL East
Ryan Mountcastle drove in three runs and Austin Hays made a game-saving catch in the ninth inning as the Baltimore Orioles held on for a 4-2 win over the Toronto Blue Jays.
Hays' diving grab of Whit Merrifield's line drive into the left-center field gap with two on and one out in the ninth helped the Orioles take the opener of this four-game series and maintain their 1 1/2-game lead over second-place Tampa Bay in the AL East. The Rays recorded a 5-1 win over the New York Yankees on Monday.
Mountcastle gave Baltimore an early lead with a two-run double off Toronto starter Chris Bassitt in the first inning, then later extended the margin to 4-0 with a sacrifice fly in the third.
Kyle Gibson made the lead stand by holding the Blue Jays to one run on four hits over six innings to earn his 10th win of the season.
Gunnar Henderson had a solo homer earlier in the third to help the Orioles to their sixth win in nine games. The Orioles are now 6-1 against the Blue Jays this season and 4-0 in Toronto.
Bo Bichette, the AL's leading hitter at .321, went 2 for 2 for Toronto before exiting the game in the third inning with right knee soreness.
Bassitt had a streak of eight consecutive starts without a loss end after he was charged with four runs over six innings.
Phillies' Walker beats Marlins for MLB-best 12th win
Taijuan Walker threw 6 2/3 effective innings to become the first 12-game winner in the major leagues this season in the Philadelphia Phillies' 4-2 victory over the Miami Marlins.
Walker allowed two runs on six hits and struck out four to help the Phillies win the opener of this key four-game series between NL playoff contenders. Philadelphia moved a half-game ahead of the Marlins, Milwaukee and Arizona for the league's second of three wild-card spots.
The Phillies also closed within a half-game of San Francisco for the NL's top wild card after the Giants lost to the Diamondbacks, 4-3, in 11 innings.
Miami had taken a quick 2-0 lead on Jorge Soler's two-run homer in the bottom of the first inning, but the Phillies tied it in the fourth on Johan Rojas' two-run double before moving ahead in the seventh.
Kyle Schwarber drew a leadoff walk against reliever Tanner Scott in the seventh, took third on Alec Bohm's double and scored on a sacrifice fly from Bryson Stott.
Bohm extended the lead in the eighth with a single that plated Rojas.
Soler had two hits and Luis Arraez went 3 for 4 with a run scored for slumping Miami, which fell to 4-14 since the All-Star break. Arraez is now batting an MLB-leading .381 on the season.
Elena Svitolina repeated her Wimbledon victory over Victoria Azarenka in the first round of the DC Open with supporters given a warning the players would not shake hands at the end of the match.
The message, shown on the scoreboard after the first set of Svitolina’s 7-6 6-4 win in Washington, was designed to prevent the boos which marred their clash at the All England Club.
Ukrainian Svitolina has not shaken hands with opponents from Russia or Azarenka’s native Belarus during the current conflict.
Wimbledon semi-finalist Svitolina, playing her first hardcourt match since March last year after giving birth to her daughter Skai, said: “It’s the right thing. I asked for the WTA to respect the decision of Ukrainians. And they did.”
Both players headed straight to the sidelines and the match umpire after the tight one hour, 47 minute clash.
Two-time Australian Open champion Azarenka, on her 34th birthday, said the warning to fans had arrived “about… 18 months too late” and asked whether it was a big story.
On the court, Svitolina rattled off 11 straight points to open a 3-0 lead, only for Azarenka to win five games in a row before she failed to serve for the first set and Svitolina won another three straight games.
The Ukrainian also failed to serve out for the set but eased to a 7-2 win in the tie break.
Breaks of serve continued to dominate in the second set with just one hold as Svitolina sealed victory.
The Chicago Cubs landed one of the most coveted bats in the trade market Monday, re-acquiring third baseman Jeimer Candelario from the Washington Nationals for a pair of prospects.
Candelario made his MLB debut for the Cubs in 2016.
At 29 years old, Candelario is putting together the most consistent season of his career, batting .258 with 16 home runs and 53 RBIs in 99 games.
Candelario batted just .217 in 2022 and was non-tendered by the Detroit Tigers last offseason before the Nationals signed him to a one-year, $5million deal.
The Cubs also added right-handed reliever Jose Cuas from the Kansas City Royals.
An aggressive trade deadline approach by the Cubs seemed unlikely even two weeks ago, but Chicago used a 10-1 stretch in late July to get back over .500 and within striking distance of the Cincinnati Reds and Milwaukee Brewers.
The switch-hitting Candelario has primarily been a career third baseman but could see time at first or designated hitter for the Cubs.
Diamondbacks trade three players for Mariners closer Paul Sewald
Targeting their first playoff berth since 2017, the Arizona Diamondbacks are buyers at the trade deadline.
Arizona acquired relief pitcher Paul Sewald from the Seattle Mariners for infielder Josh Rojas, outfielder Dominic Canzone and minor leaguer Ryan Bliss, multiple media sources reported Monday.
Arizona’s front office faced a fork in the road after a 7-16 record in July has jeopardized a promising 49-34 start to this season.
The Diamondbacks (56-50) entered play Monday in third place in the NL West but trail the Los Angeles Dodgers by just four games. Arizona began Monday one game off pace for a wild card spot.
Sewald has a career-high 21 saves in 24 opportunities this season and has been among MLB’s most effective relievers over the past three seasons, boasting a 2.88 ERA in 172 appearances since the start of the 2021 campaign.
Arizona’s bullpen has proven to be in dire need of an upgrade, posting a 6.37 ERA during the team’s July slump.
Brewers acquire outfielder Mark Canha from Mets
The Milwaukee Brewers added a right-handed bat to their lineup Monday, while the disappointing New York Mets shed another veteran player.
The Brewers acquired outfielder Mark Canha from the Mets for pitching prospect Justin Jarvis, multiple media outlets reported.
Canha, 34, is batting .245 this season with six home runs and 29 RBIs.
Canha joins a Brewers team that is battling for a third NL Central title over the last six seasons and added veteran first baseman Carlos Santana last week.
The Mets, meanwhile, continue their fire sale after dealing Max Scherzer to the Texas Rangers on Saturday and closer David Robertson to the Miami Marlins on Friday.
Giants hope to revive outfielder AJ Pollock
The San Francisco Giants acquired outfielder AJ Pollock and utilityman Mark Mathias from the Seattle Mariners Monday, according to multiple reports.
Pollock, 35, is hitting just .173 this season, but the Giants hope he can help a banged-up outfield group that just lost Mike Yastrzemski to the injured list.
“Obviously [Pollock] hasn’t had a great season in Seattle,” President of Baseball Operations Farhan Zaidi said. “But we kind of look at sort of some of the underlying measures - plate discipline, of how he’s moving around the field, his sprint speeds are good. We just view him as a really good change-of-scenery candidate.”
The Tampa Bay Rays have bolstered their starting rotation, acquiring right-hander Aaron Civale from the Cleveland Guardians on Monday, a day before the MLB trade deadline.
The Rays are sending the Guardians their No. 4-ranked prospect, first baseman Kyle Manzardo.
Civale, who is under contract through the 2025 season, is enjoying a career year, going 5-2 with a 2.34 ERA and a 1.04 WHIP in 13 starts, yielding two runs or fewer in 11 of those outings.
The 28-year-old missed nearly two months earlier this season with a strained left oblique and has never made more than 21 starts in his five-year MLB career.
Although he doesn’t have a lengthy track record, he has been one of hottest pitchers in baseball this month.
His 1.45 ERA in six July starts trails only San Diego Padres left-hander Blake Snell’s 0.56 ERA for the lowest in the majors among the 69 pitchers with at least 25 innings.
However, while he’s done a masterful job of keeping the opposition off the scoreboard, he hasn’t been fooling many hitters.
In 37 1/3 innings this month, he’s struck out 25 batters for a strikeout rate of 6.03 per nine innings – the seventh lowest among those 69 qualifying pitchers.
On the season, opposing batters miss on 21.1 per cent of swings against Civale, which ranks 89th among the 108 pitchers with a minimum of 75 innings.
Civale threw six scoreless innings against the Chicago White Sox on Sunday in his final start for Cleveland, which entered Monday just one-half game behind the AL Central-leading Minnesota Twins.
He now joins a Tampa Bay team that trails the first-place Baltimore Orioles by 1 ½ games in the AL East.
Manzardo, 23, is batting .238 with 11 homers and 19 doubles in 73 games this season for Triple-A Durham.
Defending champions Suriname won their second title during the XVIII CAZOVA Caribbean Championship following a five-set thriller 3-2 victory over 10-time champion Barbados.
The hosts took the final winning 19-25, 25-21, 29-27, 23-25, 17-15.
It was also redemption for the hosts who lost to Barbados in their opening match of the tournament.
Barbados took the first set 25-19 before a fired up Suriname took the next two sets 25-21 and 29-27. Barbados rallied to win the fourth set 25-23 win to force a deciding set, which went down to the wire with the hosts winning the tie-breaker 17-15.
Suriname’s opposite Zefanio Breinburg had 28 points (16 on attacks, four on blocks, and two on serves) while and his teammate, middle blocker, Ethan Asimia, contributed with 17 points from attacks and three on blocks, totaling 20 points.
For Barbados, middle blocker Willams Akeil had 20 points, all from attacks.
Winning coach Carlos Orta said his team played with a lot of passion.
“The winning formula was that my team played with their heart,” he said.
“They know the fifth set will be ours. Most of the teams will be tired, but Barbados shows up today and give us a very hard time. I am very happy with the victory and very proud. Now I will give the group seven days’ rest before training again.”
With the win Suriname qualifies for the continental championships that will be held in the USA.
Teed Up dug deep to cling on to victory in the Connacht Hotel (QR) Handicap, the feature event on day one of the Galway Festival.
Trained by Emmet Mullins and ridden by Raymond Barron, the six-year-old was sent off the 7-2 favourite for the two-mile-one-furlong affair after finishing second at Tramore on his most recent outing.
HMS Seahorse and Whisky Sour were to the fore turning for home, but Teed Up grabbed control with a couple of furlongs to run and had to keep finding for pressure as The Very Man produced a finishing burst.
However, Teed Up was not for passing, coming home half a length in front with Shajak a further half-length back in third and HMS Seahorse taking fourth.
Barron said: “It’s my first ride in this race. I’d no ride in it all week and Emmet rang me on Friday. It was like Christmas getting the call.
“He broke well and travelled very smoothly throughout the race. I was nearly there too soon turning in but he was going so well that I kind of had to kick on. He got to the front too soon but he was tough and was very game all the way to the line.
“Around Galway, riding for Emmet and the Mee family, you always have a chance and it’s nice that I could deliver for them today.
“I’m based with Charles Byrnes. I’m getting plenty of rides off Charles and am in a very privileged position and, I suppose as a result of that, I’m getting plenty of outside rides as well.”
Earlier on the card, Mystical Power (6-4 favourite) made a perfect start over obstacles in the Galwaybayhotel.com & TheGalmont.com Novice Hurdle.
Willie Mullins’ charge is bred to be a champion as a son of Galileo and the first foal of multiple Grade One winner Annie Power and he triumphed on his bumper debut at Ballinrobe in May.
Connections made a swift switch to hurdling with the four-year-old and he duly justified that confidence when cruising home by seven lengths in the hands of Mark Walsh.
Paddy Power make Mystical Power a 16-1 shot for both the Supreme and Ballymore Novices’ Hurdles at next year’s Cheltenham Festival and Mullins was certainly impressed.
He said: “That was a huge performance compared to his bumper performance. He likes jumping but there is a lot of improvement to come as he made at least three mistakes.
“Like his mother (who won on debut at Galway), he’s won here on his second run and hopefully he’ll be half as good as her.
“I’ll continue hurdling with him now. I don’t want to go back to the flat – I may do that next year with him. He looks like a horse that we might aim at the Royal Bond or something like that.”
Training camp opened less than a week ago, and the Indianapolis Colts are suddenly short on running backs.
Zack Moss suffered a broken bone in his forearm during Monday's practice and will undergo surgery.
The recovery time is expected to be six weeks, which means he'll miss the rest of training camp and puts his availability for the Colts' Week 1 opener against the Jacksonville Jaguars on September 10 into question.
Moss had been working as the Colts' No. 1 running back in training camp with Jonathan Taylor absent.
Taylor, who was the NFL's rushing leader in 2021, has been seeking a contract extension, prompting him to request a trade.
He is currently on the physically unable to perform list, but the Colts are considering moving him to the non-football injury list after it was reported he failed his physical due to a back injury that was sustained while away from the Colts. He is also working his way back from an ankle injury that forced him to miss six games last season.
Last November with Taylor injured, the Colts traded for Moss from the Buffalo Bills, and in the season's final four games, he rushed for 334 yards on 69 carries with one touchdown while averaging 4.8 yards per attempt.
With Moss injured and Taylor clashing with owner Jim Irsay and the front office, Deon Jackson and rookie Evan Hull are next men up at running back for Indianapolis.
England’s new scrum coach Tom Harrison has revealed his passion for rugby helped him overcome some of the challenges of living with dyslexia.
The 32-year-old likens the learning difficulty, which mainly causes problems with reading, writing and spelling, to running a 100-metre race “but your lane’s got hurdles in it”.
He would often lean on twin brother Sam for help during childhood but eased his literacy issues by devouring match-day programmes bought during trips to watch Premiership club Bath.
Harrison joined the national team from Leicester at the start of June to reunite with head coach Steve Borthwick and is tasked with ensuring England’s forward pack is firing in time for the forthcoming World Cup.
“I’m hugely dyslexic, so found school hard,” he said.
“If you don’t like doing something, the majority of the time you don’t do it and I wasn’t very good at reading.
“But then when you find a love for something, you’re like, ‘OK, I can do this’. The bit for me was I found a love in rugby.
“I’m not saying had I not bought a match-day programme or had I not bought a rugby magazine I would never have been able to read or write.
“But what it allowed me to do is hone other skills that were underdeveloped.”
People with dyslexia often have strengths in other areas, such as creative thinking and problem solving.
Harrison feels that could prove advantageous to his country during the upcoming showpiece tournament in France, which England begin on September 9 against Argentina in Marseille.
“You have to coach players equally but differently,” he said. “Everyone has a different way of retaining information.
“For me personally, I see it as a positive. It’s almost like you are in a 100-metre race but your lane’s got hurdles in it.
“Over the course of growing up, I’ve developed different ways of thinking – some call it cognitive diversity. Sometimes they are brilliant ideas, sometimes they’re horrendous but I probably think slightly outside the box to different people.
“I see that as a problem-solving tool, it can be very beneficial. (But) I’m not the biggest fan of writing on a whiteboard and people probably can’t read my notes!”.
Harrison replaced Montpellier-bound Richard Cockerill in the England setup by following Richard Wigglesworth, Aled Walters, Kevin Sinfield and Borthwick along the well-trodden path from Welford Road to Twickenham.
Having never played the game at the top level, he has taken a less conventional route into elite coaching.
The former prop studied a sports coaching degree at Hartpury University in Gloucestershire, where current England stars Jonny Hill and Ellis Genge were among his contemporaries.
Alongside teaching the game, he went on to play for French PRO D2 side Auch – Antoine Dupont’s club as a junior – and Plymouth Albion in the Championship.
“It’s a quick route in some aspects because I’m young but actually if you go career experience, I’ve been coaching for a long time,” said Harrison, who helped Leicester win the Gallagher Premiership title in 2022.
“I do have moments where I go, ‘wow, I’ve got one of the coolest jobs in the world, I get to coach my country in a sport that I love’.
“But it’s very much you’re then back down to work and actually let’s do the job rather than be in that honeymoon period.
“If we want to get England back to being one of the world’s best, then the scrum is an aspect where you do have to improve.”
Wales young gun Louis Rees-Zammit insists he has only shown a fraction of his talent in his short career to date as he targets a World Cup debut.
The Gloucester winger has scored nine tries in 25 Test matches and earned British and Irish Lions selection since making his debut as a teenager in late 2020 but, still only 22, he wants to take his game to another level.
After a season in which he was hampered by injuries, Rees-Zammit is itching to get onto the pitch for Wales’ World Cup warm-up fixtures – home and away against England before a Cardiff date with South Africa – and remind everyone what he is capable of.
“I feel like I’ve got a lot to give,” he said. “You’ve probably only seen a little bit. I’m ready to showcase my skills on the field whenever I get the chance. I don’t think you’ve seen the best of me. I’ve got a lot more to give.”
Rees-Zammit made his name on the wing but has also been seen in a 15 shirt for Wales, and he wants to develop that side of his game as he takes the next steps in his career.
“I want to be versatile,” he said. “I want to add more strings to my bow and if that means playing 15 as well then I’m ready for it. I’ve trained at wing and full-back so wherever I get played I’ll try my hardest.”
Rees-Zammit said the biggest thing he had to work on to play full-back was his defensive positioning, but he feels he has the attributes to excel in the backfield.
“In Test rugby there are a lot of kicks and you’ve got to be ready,” he said. “You’ve got to be in the right position at the right time. That’s a lot different to being on the wing but in attack you get more of a licence to go and look for the ball and get more touches.
“We do have a licence and freedom on the wing as well but stepping up as a first receiver from full-back I quite enjoy. I’d say I get my hands on the ball more at 15.
“I’d say my kicking game is pretty strong but obviously I do love running with the ball. Being a threat on the counter attack is also there.”
So much has come so fast for Rees-Zammit to date, but his dream as a boy was always to play in a World Cup for Wales, and this autumn’s tournament offers him a first opportunity.
He remembers watching the 2019 tournament with his team-mates at Hartpury College, never imagining he would be a Wales international himself a year later.
“Everything has come so quick and I’ve tried riding the wave in a sense,” he said.
“I absolutely love it here. I love rugby and playing for Gloucester and Wales and obviously I got on the Lions tour as well which was unbelievable. This is the next step and I haven’t been to a World Cup yet. That is a dream.”
The 33 players that make Warren Gatland’s final selection for France will have had to work hard for their places as Wales continue a punishing summer of training camps, spending the last week in Turkey where temperatures have been hitting 40 degrees.
Rees-Zammit described the training camp as “brutal” and “probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done physically and mentally”, but it is just what he needed to put his injuries behind him.
“My body feels as sharp as ever,” he said. “I feel the best I’ve ever felt so I’m really looking forward to these games coming up and showing what I can do.”
Sports stars and clubs across the world continue to provide an insight into their lives on social media.
Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the best examples from July 31.
FootballRemembering Sir Bobby.
Reece James was enjoying himself.
Antony was on the scoresheet.
The Women’s World Cup celebrated a landmark.
England looked back on the glory of 12 months ago and the impact it has had.
Hayley Raso and Australia were celebrating.
Wilfried Zaha was excited to get going.
CricketEngland took a close look at a catch controversy.
BoxingChris Eubank Jr was at the game.
Formula OneRed Bull were still celebrating their Spa 1-2.
Jenson Button took a ride in Nigel Mansell’s 1992 championship winning car.
TennisCaroline Wozniacki and Holger Rune got in some practice.
Jamaica’s Sunshine Girls moved one step closer to booking a spot in the last four of the 2023 Netball World Cup in South Africa after a 61-49 win over Uganda in their first game of the second preliminary stage at the Cape Town International Convention Center on Monday.
Jamaica didn’t have things all their way in the first quarter thanks to a very solid start from the Ugandans.
Uganda scored the first two points of the game but the Sunshine Girls still led 15-12 after the first quarter.
Jamaica picked up the pace to start the second, jumping out to a quick 19-13 lead within the first three minutes of the period.
The Jamaicans stretched the lead to 10 for the first time with 8:00 left in the first half and never looked back.
Eventually, Jamaica won the second quarter 23-9 to enjoy a 38-21 lead at the half.
Despite having less possession than Uganda in the first half, Jamaica forced their opponents into 15 turnovers, eight more than them.
Offensively, Jamaica completed the first half without a missed shot.
Goal Shooter, Jhaniele Fowler, was her usual dominant self throughout the first half with 28 goals while goal attack, Shanice Beckford, had 10 goals. Beckford also had 12 assists while wing attack, Khadijah Williams, had 18 assists in the first half.
Jamaica coach, Connie Francis, made a number of changes for the second half.
Uganda fought back in the third quarter, winning it 16-11 to face a 37-49 deficit going into quarter number four.
Jamaica’s lead built up in the first half proved to be too much for the Ugandans in the end with the final score being 61-49 in favor of the Commonwealth Games silver medalists.
Romelda Aiken-George had 16 goals from 16 attempts in the second half after replacing Jhaniele Fowler.
The Jamaicans entered stage two of the preliminaries with four points and this win puts them level on points with New Zealand on six at the top of Pool G. The top two teams from Pool F and Pool G will advance to the semi-finals.
Jamaica will next play Caribbean rivals, Trinidad & Tobago, on Wednesday.
Leigh Wood and Josh Warrington will clash in an all-British world featherweight title fight at Sheffield’s Utilita Arena on October 7.
The 34-year-old Wood will put his WBA version of the title on the line against Leeds favourite Warrington, who is looking to bounce back after losing his IBF crown to Luis Alberto Lopez in December.
The Nottingham fighter, who gained revenge over Mauricio Lara to reclaim his crown in May, believes the bout is one of the biggest all-British offerings currently in the sport.
Wood said: “In terms of the followings we’ve got, the football clubs and the cities, this is arguably the biggest British rivalry in the sport.
“For me, it doesn’t really get any bigger. Our styles will gel and that should make for a very exciting and entertaining fight.
“Josh has some great wins on his record and is obviously a two-time world champion, but this is a fight that he cannot lose.”
Warrington believes he has been written off by Wood following his loss to Lopez – his first career defeat at his Leeds base – and is eager to seize the opportunity to move back into major unification bouts.
“I’m obsessed in becoming a three-weight world champion, to get back on top and that is going to show on the night,” said Warrington.
A series of further tweaks to the whip rules have been announced by the British Horseracing Authority.
Regulations concerning the use of the whip underwent major changes earlier this year, with the numbers of strikes allowed in Flat and jumps races reduced to six and seven respectively, with a tougher penalty structure for those in breach, including doubled suspensions for major races and disqualification in the most serious of cases.
The changes have resulted in some high-profile casualties, with both Frankie Dettori and Oisin Murphy handed eight-day bans at Royal Ascot, which saw Dettori forfeit his final chance to win the July Cup – the only British Group One he has not claimed – ahead of his retirement at the end of the year.
The BHA recently completed a six-month review of the whip rules, penalty structure and process alongside the Professional Jockeys Association (PJA) and a group of senior jockeys, with further refinement of the rules now agreed.
If a Flat rider uses their whip once above the permitted level, the minimum penalty of four days may now be reduced to three days if they have had 100 or more British rides since a previous offence, or two days if they have had 200 or more rides.
Over jumps, it is 75 or more rides to gain a one-day reduction and 150 or more rides to qualify for a two-day cut.
Races which incur a double penalty have also been revised and will now apply to all class one races and any class two contest with total prize money of £150,000 or more, or any class two race restricted to apprentices, conditionals or amateur jockeys only.
Possible offences are currently assessed by the Whip Review Committee on Tuesdays and Fridays, but riders who go one above the threshold will have the option of the raceday stewards dealing with any potential breach rather than waiting for the WRC, although they would not be able to appeal any decision.
The WRC will also be limited to a seven-day window to review a possible contravention of the rules, unless a potential disqualification is involved.
Four offences of use above the permitted level in a six-month period will now result in a referral under the ‘totting up’ procedure, while the top end of the penalty range had been reduced from six months to four. It will remain the case that a rider will be referred to the BHA’s judicial panel if they commit five offences of any type in a six-month period.
Sam Angell, chair of the WRC, said: “These changes reflect an ongoing process to improve the new whip rules and penalties, while retaining the original objectives, which are to ensure more judicious use of the whip for encouragement, improve the perceptions of whip use and ensure that the outcomes of races are fair.
“The BHA remains extremely grateful to the PJA and the senior riders who have engaged so constructively with this process. This dialogue will remain ongoing.”
Data released by the BHA shows that in the last six months in a total of 37,428 rides, 425 cases were referred to the WRC with 360 breaches – equating to less than one per cent of rides.
Angell added: “We continue to see a reduction in the rate of offences, which is a testament to the measures being taken by the jockeys as they continue to adapt to the new rules, for which they deserve great credit.”
Gold Cup winner Courage Mon Ami was given the nod over stable companion and fellow Royal Ascot winner Gregory due to the likelihood of soft ground in the Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup.
Both horses are owned by Wathnan Racing and connections had considered taking advantage of the three-year-old weight allowance with Gregory, rather than running the four-year-old Courage Mon Ami.
However, the recent wet weather caused a rethink and it is Courage Mon Ami of the John and Thady Gosden-trained duo who will aim to maintain his unbeaten record.
“John was keen to train both him and Gregory for the race and soft ground or probable soft ground swayed the decision towards running Courage Mon Ami, while Gregory will now take a different route, with his main aim being the St Leger,” said Richard Brown, racing adviser to the owners.
“Frankie (Dettori) will ride and he’s drawn five. He’s back in trip but he won there impressively before the Gold Cup and we know he handles the track. I don’t think it will be a problem coming back to two miles, it was always the question before Ascot if he would he stay two and a half.
“The horse is in good form and he did his last piece of work on Friday and both John and Thady were delighted with him.”
One horse who will certainly not be inconvenienced by any further rain is Aidan O’Brien’s Emily Dickinson.
Only fourth in the Gold Cup, she subsequently won the Curragh Cup over 14 furlongs.
“Emily Dickinson came out of the Curragh very well. Ryan (Moore) was happy with her and felt she won very easily. She is a filly we really fancied for the Gold Cup. She ran a good race and came out of it well,” said O’Brien.
“She loved the ease in the ground at the Curragh. She comes out of races on fast ground perfectly, which suggests it does not bother her, but she appears much better with an ease in the ground. It hinders other horses, whereas she appears to grow another leg on soft ground.
“Since the Goodwood Cup has been upgraded to a Group One, it has been brilliant. It is a very prestigious race and a unique race because two miles on the Goodwood track is very different. It is a difficult race to win, but we always try to have a horse that is good enough to win it.”
O’Brien also runs Broome, the mount of William Buick.
One who bypassed Ascot in preference for this is Marco Botti’s Giavellotto, the Yorkshire Cup winner.
“He won well at York and it has always been the plan to skip the Gold Cup at Ascot and go to Goodwood for the Goodwood Cup,” said Botti.
“He is well and his prep has gone to plan, we think he is fit and he looks in good order. We know he stays and we’re looking forward to it.
“Two miles is not an issue but we felt the Ascot Gold Cup may have stretched him a little bit. He settles well and he looks a stronger horse than last year.
“I just worry about the ground, I hope it will be nice ground for everyone and not extremes. Good to soft would be what he wants.
“Goodwood is a track he has never run at before, but hopefully he handles the undulations. You have to respect the opposition because it’s a competitive field and a strong race, but we are going there with the horse in really good nick and we can only hope for a good run.”
Andrew Balding’s Coltrane was beaten three-quarters of a length when second in the Gold Cup and Oisin Murphy is another who feels the return to two miles will be in his favour.
“I was obviously gutted to get beat on Coltrane in the Gold Cup and he has come out of Ascot very well,” said Murphy, ahead of another leg in the British Champions Series.
“He’s a very good horse and I hope he’s as good here as he was at Ascot. All the signs at home are positive and I think this two miles will suit him better than the two and a half at Ascot.
“I don’t think the quick ground was a problem in the Gold Cup as he obviously let himself down on it, but we know from his past form that he enjoys some dig in the ground, so that’s a plus for him.”
Last year’s St Leger winner Eldar Eldarov, Quickthorn and Tashkhan are also running.
Stars of the future have invariably cut their teeth in the Nicholson Gin Vintage Stakes and Haatem will be out to justify Richard Hannon’s faith in a strong renewal at Goodwood on Tuesday.
A close-up fifth to River Tiber in the Coventry at Royal Ascot, he then bumped into another smart Aidan O’Brien colt when stepped up to seven furlongs in the Superlative at Newmarket.
City Of Troy catapulted to the head of next season’s 2000 Guineas market following that six-and-a-half-length success over Haatem.
Hannon feels the easier surface he is expected to face at Goodwood could play to the strengths of the Phoenix Of Spain colt in the Group Two contest.
He said: “He keeps bumping into those O’Brien horses and I think he has a very good chance.
“If it is soft ground, I think he’ll like it. He showed he can handle good to soft at Newmarket. I like his chance at Goodwood.
“He ran well behind in the Superlative and he ran well in the Coventry, and he’s done everything we’ve asked of him, so it would be good to see him produce what we think he’s capable of tomorrow.”
Hannon is double-handed in the race with Son and added: “He ran all right in the Superlative (fifth), but this looks a tougher spot for him and you wouldn’t be too confident in such a competitive race.”
Haatem, who will be ridden by Sean Levey, is the most experienced of the nine runners in the seven-furlong juvenile contest with five runs already under his belt.
Iberian and Witness Stand are the least experienced having won on their respective debuts for Charlie Hills and Tom Clover.
Iberian looked potentially smart when he scored with ease – beating a couple of subsequent winners – over an extended six furlongs in a Newbury novice.
Richard Ryan, racing manager for Teme Valley, who co-own the Lope De Vega colt with Ballylinch Stud, said: “It’s a considerably large step up in class. We’re hopeful we have a nice horse and this race will answer a lot of questions.
“The form (of his Newbury win) I suppose is a mixed bag from those behind, but you can only beat what’s with you and he sort of put them to bed quite convincingly. He seems to have thrived since and we are hopeful.
“He is an impressive horse at home and Charlie is having a great season with his two-year-olds. He looks to have a number of promising horses, so we are in the slightly excited camp until proven otherwise.”
Iberian missed the Superlative at Newmarket when withdrawn because of soft ground.
Ryan added: “It was a tough decision. The ground was quite chewed and it was getting loose and wet and a bit used at the time.
“Although it is probably going to be wet at Goodwood, it’s unwatered and well maintained for this meeting, and probably with it being the first day, it won’t have the same issues the July Course had at the time with conditions in the pouring rain.”
Frankie Dettori, riding at his last Goodwood Festival, will partner the Richard Fahey-trained Golden Mind, winner of a Leicester six-furlong maiden in May, before going down by three-quarters of a length in the Chesham at Royal Ascot.
The Musley Bank handler feels Dettori’s experience could help the colt’s development.
He said: “He’s a horse that is improving the whole time, he’s a bit of a laid-back character and with racing he’s going to get better.
“He’s a slow-learning horse who will improve with racing and he’s getting stronger as well.
“He’s in good order and I would love Frankie to ride me a winner before he retires, he’s a legend. It would be fantastic if he could and it would be great if it could be this one.”
A Norfolk Stakes fifth on his penultimate start, Amo Racing’s Thunder Blue was subsequently back up to six furlongs at Newmarket, where he was fourth to Jasour in the Group Two July Stakes.
His sole success in four starts came on his second run, when landing a novice at the Sussex Downs track.
“He is a Goodwood winner over six furlongs and although he has plenty of tactical speed, we just feel he would be better suited by stepping up to seven,” said trainer Dominic Ffrench Davis.
“He will be able to get a tow into the race.
“He jumped a bit sharp at Ascot and he probably got racing a bit early at Newmarket also, so hopefully at Goodwood he can get a lead and then produce a turn of foot at the end of the race.
“He was very good when he won there and it turned out to be not a bad race. The runner-up got the job done well enough next time and I think it was a strong enough contest. We’ve always thought he was very good and I think seven furlongs may just play to his strengths.
“We wouldn’t want too much rain as that might make it too much of a test of stamina, but I think if it is good to soft it would be perfect for him.”
Kinross returns to his optimum trip with connections confident he can reclaim his World Pool Lennox Stakes crown at Goodwood on Tuesday.
Few trainers head to the Sussex Downs with their team in better form than Ralph Beckett, who has been operating at a 30 per cent strike-rate in recent weeks.
And Kinross lines up against seven rivals in the seven-furlong Group Two contest, a race he won two years ago and finished a neck second to Sandrine last year, with a favourite’s chance.
He has won his last three over the trip, including the Prix de la Foret, and is a dual top-level winner following last term’s British Champions Sprint success.
The consistent Kingman gelding, who will be ridden by Frankie Dettori, went close to making it a hat-trick of Group One victories with a close-up third to Shaquille in the July Cup at Newmarket last time.
“He is a year older now, but he was unlucky not to win it last year and he did win it the year before, so it looks a great spot to get back to winning ways,” said Jamie McCalmont, racing manager for owner Marc Chan.
“There is no doubt this is his best distance. He likes the course and he’s justifiably the favourite, even though that doesn’t mean he will win the race.”
This will be the first opportunity for three-year-old Isaac Shelby to take on his elders.
The Brian Meehan-trained Night Of Thunder colt, who is in receipt of 6lb from Kinross and 9lb from Al Suhail, won the Superlative last season and the Greenham on his first run this term over the same distance.
Upped to a mile, he was beaten a short neck in the French 2000 Guineas, before being a little too keen on quicker ground when a well-held fourth to Paddington in the St James’s Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot.
“He’s back to seven (furlongs) and hopefully that will see him in his best light,” said Richard Brown, racing adviser for owners Wathnan Racing.
“It’s a tight, competitive race and Kinross will be tough to beat. But the horse is in great form and we’re looking forward to it.
“He got lit up and things didn’t really go to plan at Ascot. I’m not trying to use an excuse and saying he would have won there, but back in trip and back in grade here, he should be thereabouts.”
Connections of top weight Al Suhail will keep a close eye on the weather before deciding whether he will run.
A five-time winner over the trip, he was third in the Group One Al Quoz Sprint on Dubai World Cup night before a creditable sixth in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Charlie Appleby told www.godolphin.com: “Al Suhail has come out of Ascot well, although he has a penalty here for his win in the Al Fahidi Fort.
“I’m looking forward to seeing him back over seven, which is probably his best trip, and the course at Goodwood might suit.
“We will be keeping an eye on the weather as his participation would be in doubt if there was significant rain.”
Trained by John and Thady Gosden, Audience has won twice since being gelded and followed up a Leicester success in October with a two-length win in the Group Three Criterion Stakes over seven furlongs at Newmarket on his seasonal bow.
Chris Richardson, managing director of owner Cheveley Park Stud, said: “This race is the natural progression really and he came out of the Newmarket race well.
“He has not been straightforward, but gelding seems to have worked and we are now seeing what we were seeing on the gallops, but not on the racecourse.
“He was just not performing on the track as we thought he would and should have been. It was just one of those rather frustrating things, but it was lovely to see him bounce back and follow up the previous win with such an emphatic success.”
National Hunt racing is to return to Windsor, the venue’s owner Arena Racing Company has announced.
The track staged jump racing until as recently as 1998 and even stepped in to host a number of fixtures when Ascot was being redeveloped in 2005 and 2006.
It is hoped the first meetings will take place during the 2024-25 season with December 15, 2024 earmarked for the first action.
Windsor will not see an increase in its number of net fixtures, however, with the new jump cards switched from traditional Flat meetings in April and October.
To facilitate the return of National Hunt racing, the track will be reconfigured to utilise previous dormant areas of the site, with the jumps course a continuous left-handed circuit rather than the current figure of eight.
“We have long held a desire to bring jump racing back to Royal Windsor racecourse, and we are really pleased to confirm this plan well ahead of the planned first fixture in December 2024,” said Mark Spincer, managing director of ARC’s racing division.
“Whilst the racecourse hasn’t hosted regularly scheduled jumps fixtures since 1998, we believe that the plans that we have put together with the British Horseracing Authority will mean that the small number of fixtures that we would like to host will sit well alongside the long established, popular summer Flat programme.
“A significant amount of work has gone into considering the optimal layout for jump racing at Royal Windsor, which will see the course configured differently to how it was previously, but we believe that it is an excellent proposal to offer jump racing fans the chance to come back to Royal Windsor, whilst not impacting on the Flat programme, which is an important consideration.
“The proximity to the River Thames gives the track excellent drainage, and our records show that the racecourse very rarely ran jumps fixtures on heavy ground, with the majority of abandonments coming due to frost.
“Happily, turf management techniques have developed significantly since that time, so we are confident of providing excellent jumping ground for the fixtures that we would like to host in 2024 and 2025 and beyond.”
The Juddmonte International and the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe remain on the agenda for Pyledriver after finishing fifth in defence of his King George crown at Ascot on Saturday.
Following a successful return from 11 months on the sidelines in the Hardwicke Stakes at the Royal meeting in June, hopes were high ahead of William Muir and Chris Grassick’s stable star’s bid for back-to-back wins in a spectacular renewal of the track’s midsummer highlight.
Pyledriver ultimately came up short, beaten just under nine lengths into fifth place as Hukum denied Westover in a thrilling finish, but Muir is far from downbeat.
“It was a great race and I’m not going to change my opinion, he’s going to go for the same races we had targeted for him before Saturday,” he said.
“Don’t take anything away from the winner and the second because they ran great races. PJ (McDonald, jockey) said if he had a perfect run he could have been a little bit closer, but that was all.
“I said before the race the worst thing that can happen is we get beat and we’ll go on and go forwards.
“The best sportsmen in the world have been beaten before now and they come back again. He’s fine, he’s in good shape and took his race lovely, so that is all we need.
“It’s the same plan as it was – he’ll go for the Juddmonte International or the September Stakes, but I would think probably the Juddmonte, then the Arc.”
Vincent Ho will miss a planned trip to the UK following a fall in Japan on Saturday.
Ho was due to ride at Goodwood and in Ascot’s Shergar Cup competition, but he sustained a fractured T5 vertebrae and concussion in an incident at Niigata racecourse over the weekend.
A real superstar in the Far East, Ho is perhaps best know for his association with Hong Kong champion Golden Sixty.
Ho posted on social media: “Mixed emotions for these couple of days. Unlucky with the terrible fall in Niigata on Saturday, cost couple of winners on Sunday and most importantly the UK trip I’ve been looking forward to since last year.
“But I’m very grateful and lucky to be alive and only sustained a fractured T5 and concussion, as everyone said “it could’ve been worse.” Thank you to @HKJC_Racing who have always supported me even when I’m racing abroad, and @JRA_WorldRacing for helping me to go through all the processes now.
“Also would like to say a big thank you to @Goodwood_Races, @Ascot Shergar Cup, trainers especially @Johnston_Racing who has sponsored me, supported me always and owners for the opportunities, allowing me to ride in these amazing events. I have been so close and I wish to come back and do it next year.
“Lastly I would love to say thank you to all my friends, family, fans and everyone who has messaged me. Love you all. It’s now time to recover and come back stronger.”
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