Ann Duffield’s Catterick course specialist Quercus brought up a fourth success at the track with an all-the-way win under Joe Fanning in the 5th Regiment Royal Artillery Handicap.
Racing off bottom weight, it was a canny bit of placing by Duffield, winning a 0-80 with the 56-rated six-year-old.
Only eight were declared and two of those ended up as non-runners and Fanning was happy to take up a prominent early position, and he was allowed an easy time on the front end.
Oso Rapido, winner of the race 12 months ago and the 100-30 favourite to repeat the trick, came with a late rattle but went down by a head.
“The track here suits him, quirky Quercus we call him, but he is actually really genuine, he just likes this track,” said Duffield.
“He did have the option of the five-furlong race on the card but over six he gets to go round the bend, which he loves.
“We’ll have a look in the book and see when we can come back here, there’s a chance he might be back next week under a penalty.
“They left him alone in front, which he loves, and Joe is obviously brilliant in front.”
Grant Tuer’s Bellarchi (4-1) needed seven attempts to open her account but the consistent filly finally managed it in the British Stallion Studs EBF Restricted Novice Stakes.
Placed in all but one of her previous six outings, and that was in Listed company and York, She was certainly deserving of her success.
Another to make all, she was sent for home under Sam James fully two furlongs out and held off Willolarupi by a length.
Tuer said: “She deserved to win one and she’s been good from day one.
“I was actually a little bit disappointed she didn’t win on her debut at Thirsk.
“She’s straightforward, she jumps and runs, she’s got a great mind and she knows her job – a great horse for a syndicate (Nick Bradley).
“We’ve bumped into one or two along the way but the only moderate race she’s run was in the Marygate at York, when she probably should have finished fourth or fifth and to this day I don’t know why she ran so badly, but she pretty much has run to the same mark every other time.”
Fresh from his Group One-winning exploits in the July Cup on Shaquille, Rossa Ryan made the journey north and was rewarded with a double, both trained by Ralph Beckett.
Campaign Trail was sent off the 2-5 favourite in the Watch Racing TV Now Restricted Maiden Stakes and had little trouble in seeing off two rivals.
Diamond Vega (2-1 favourite) was made to a work a little harder in the Download The Vickers.Bet App Handicap but ultimately ran out a cosy two-length winner.
Billy Garrity brought Slingsbytoo (10-1) with a wide late run to win the racingtv.com Handicap for Mick and David Easterby.
Though there has been no official word on the outcome of previous negotiations between horsemen and promoting company Supreme Ventures Racing and Entertainment Limited (SVREL), both parties seem to have found common ground for the most parts, as live racing is set to return to Caymanas Park on Saturday by way of a six-race card.
This follows the cancellation of races on July 15 and 16, after the Patrick Smellie-led United Racehorse Trainers' Association of Jamaica (URTAJ) opted not to nominate as a show of their discontent to the promoting company’s offer of a $27-million purse increase.
Following a meeting on Monday, Smellie and a majority of his counterparts declared intentions to again withhold nominations, if SVREL doesn’t offer a more attractive purse increase, which all but signalled the possibility of another cancelled race day.
However, a meeting between representatives of the Howard Hamilton-led Thoroughbred Owners and Breeders Association (TOBA) and the promoting company, also held on Monday, seemingly broke the deadlock.
The owners' group during that meeting, recommended that SVREL’s overpayment of taxes on $6.2 billion in sales initially reported, amounting to what should be approximately $41.7 million in rebates, be put to purse money for 2023, along with the $18 million Quarterly Incentive payments to owners, trainers, jockeys and grooms.
Additionally, TOBA suggested that a three per cent commission earned from inter-tote wagering on local racing, could also be allotted to purses and they also required a full disclosure of SVREL’s arrangement with BetMakers as it relates to fixed-odds betting, with a view that a percentage of those profits should also put to purses going forward.
While SVREL chairman Solomon Sharpe and members of his team had requested time to take those recommendations into consideration, the nomination of horses to allow for this weekend's short programme, implies that some inroads have been made.
But Smellie when contacted, pointed out that he is not aware of any changes where their demands for a more substantial increase is concerned. As such, he expressed strong disappointment with his colleagues who nominated horses.
“I don't know what changed. Nothing has changed between us and Supreme Ventures Racing, so I'm very disappointed in about 50 per cent of the trainers that nominated horses, I don't think they know where we are going. We were fighting for something for the benefit of all grooms, trainers, owners, and horsemen at Caymanas Park,” a vexed Smellie said.
“Never in the history of Caymanas Park we had so much people together, but I understand that there was some rumours going around that Howard Hamilton had said on national radio that people must nominate. So somebody started that rumour and got some weak knee trainers jumping and I guess they started to nominate. So, to say disappointed is an understatement,” he added.
Still, the URTAJ president took heart from the fact that his group and those it represents, achieved its objective in making a statement.
“We have observed the myopic thinking of the promoters and some of these trainers. So we are here, we are going to gather again and have a meeting shortly and see where we move from here because if they want to race for 3.5 percent increase then they can do so.
“I thank all the trainers and owners that stood up and fight the cause because those other four races could have been filled if these guys didn't stand up and fight for what they believe in,” Smellie argued.
Tadej Pogacar conceded defeat to Jonas Vingegaard in the fight for yellow as Felix Gall beat Simon Yates to victory on stage 17 of the Tour de France in Courchevel.
While Gall and Yates fought out stage honours from the breakaway, the overall battle in this Tour was effectively decided on the mighty Col de la Loze, the highest mountain of this year’s race, at the end of this 166km stage from Saint-Gervais.
Having shown cracks in Tuesday’s time trial, Pogacar crumbled on this punishing 28km climb, losing the wheels still with eight kilometres remaining to the summit as he watched his rivals ride away without even needing to attack, the time gaps ballooning before the finish.
“I’m gone,” Pogacar told his team on the radio as he watched his rival ride away. “I’m dead.”
The Slovenian, involved in a minor crash at the start of the stage, had trailed Vingegaard by just 10 seconds on Monday’s rest day.
When Vingegaard took 98 seconds out of the two-time Tour winner in Tuesday’s time trial it looked massive, but a day later the gap on the road was almost six minutes, the difference overall now seven-and-a-half minutes.
While Pogacar crossed the line taking a consoling arm around the shoulder from team-mate Marc Soler, the usually reserved Vingegaard allowed himself a more vigorous celebration with his team. As long as the Dane makes it to Paris on Sunday, he will surely win his second consecutive Tour.
Pogacar’s form coming into the Tour had been an open question given his lack of racing since breaking his wrist in April. For two weeks he had kept the gap at the top tantalisingly close, but the third week has proven too much.
As soon as the 24-year-old radioed in his concession, his team-mate Adam Yates was told to ride on in order to protect his third place overall, and the Lancastrian put time into Carlos Rodriguez to solidify his podium spot, now 76 seconds up on the young Spaniard and three minutes behind Pogacar.
Up ahead, Gall had attacked from the remains of a 33-strong breakaway that had, for much of the day, been as big as what counted as the peloton. Simon Yates did his best to chase down the Austrian but could not quite bridge the gap and came in 30 seconds down.
It was a second runner-up finish of the Tour for Simon Yates, who was narrowly beaten by his twin brother Adam on the opening stage in Bilbao. His consolation prize this time was moving up from eighth to fifth overall.
Gall, making his Tour debut, delivered a first win of this year’s race for the AG2R Citroen team, having unexpectedly taken over the leadership role within the squad after Ben O’Connor’s overall ambitions faded in the first week.
“I don’t know what to say,” the 25-year-old said. “This whole year has been incredible and now to do so well in the Tour and to win the queen stage it’s incredible. I just want to say thank you to the team, they have given me so much.
“It’s not easy to do a three-week stage race and then to also have the role of leader after a few days, I slowly focused on that and I was stressing myself about that, it’s not easy but the last few days I’ve been more comfortable. I was afraid I would be caught in the last kilometre but it’s incredible.”
David Evans hopes the ground will be in Rohaan’s favour as the consistent sprinter bids for a fourth Group-race success in the bet365 Hackwood Stakes at Newbury on Saturday.
Bought for 20,000 guineas in October 2020, the Mayson gelding has proven to be a real money-spinner, winning nine times in 29 races for Evans.
He has climbed from basement-level handicaps on the all-weather to securing back-to-back successes in the Wokingham at Royal Ascot and a Group Two victory at Haydock.
Plans were hatched to head to both Hong Kong and Saudi Arabia last winter, but those ideas had to be shelved by the Monmouthshire handler when the gelding suffered a setback.
Winner of over £400,000, Rohaan was almost retired before striking late at Royal Ascot under Ryan Moore last summer, having previously suffered a dip in form.
He went on to add the Group Three Bengough Stakes at Ascot to his second Wokingham triumph.
While he has yet to show the same level of form that also saw him placed in the Sprint Cup at Haydock and sign off in October with a close-up fourth to Kinross in the British Champions Sprint, Evans feels he is getting there.
The five-year-old has had three runs this term, the last of which saw him beaten three lengths by The Big Board in a valuable five-furlong Ascot handicap last weekend.
Evans said: “After his injury, he took a couple of runs to get himself in peak condition and to have the confidence to let himself go like he did the other day.
“I only ran him there just to finish a race off. Hopefully he’ll have a good chance as he goes back up to six furlongs.
“Let’s hope the ground doesn’t go too quick. It is still saying good, good to soft.
“Hopefully Newbury will have a shower to freshen it up. I don’t think it will be fast ground anyway and he should go there with a decent chance – he was only beaten a length and three-quarters in it last year.”
July Cup fourth Art Power is set to make a swift return to action in the Barberstown Castle Sapphire Stakes at the Curragh on Saturday.
Tim Easterby’s charge has already won three times at the home of Irish Flat racing, landing back-to-back renewals of the Group Three Renaissance Stakes in 2021 and 2022 as well as striking gold in the Group Two Greenlands Stakes earlier this season.
The six-year-old was well beaten in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot but showed his true colours back on an easier surface at Newmarket last weekend, finishing just under three lengths behind fellow Yorkshire-trained speedster Shaquille.
Art Power will be sent back into battle just seven days later as he bids for a first win over five furlongs since plundering the Palace of Holyroodhouse Handicap at the Royal meeting three years ago.
“He ran an absolute cracker in the July Cup, and he leaves on Thursday night for Ireland. He loves it there, it’s down to five furlongs but we think he’ll run a good race,” said Easterby’s son and assistant William.
“I think he prefers cut in the ground but it’s not vital. He’s run well on good to firm in the past, but slower ground does just slow the others down.
“He wasn’t born far from the Curragh and it’s an amazing thing, horses for courses, it seems to work.
“We love training in Yorkshire and we’ve lots of horses who like the tracks in Yorkshire, but when you find one who likes it somewhere, you run them there.”
The Pittsburgh Steelers' Alex Highsmith was one of the NFL's top pass rushers in 2022, and now he's getting paid like one.
The Steelers and Highsmith agreed on Wednesday to a four-year extension for a reported $68million.
"This means everything," Highsmith said to the Steelers' official website just moments after signing his contract. "I know I am a Pittsburgh Steeler through and through, and just to be a part of this amazing organization for four more years means the world to me, to my wife, to my whole family. This is where I want to be. This is where I want to play ball. I am unbelievably grateful. I am super thankful to be here and can't wait to get to work. I am excited."
A third-round pick in the 2020 NFL draft, the 25-year-old Highsmith was entering the final year of his rookie contract - a four-year, $4.5million deal.
His new contract now makes him one of the highest-paid pass rushers in the league.
The big payday comes after a breakout season in 2022 for Highsmith, who racked up 14 1/2 sacks while tying for the NFL lead with five forced fumbles. He also registered 20 quarterback hits and 12 tackles for loss.
"It was a good year, but I'm far from satisfied," said Highsmith in the offseason. "I never get complacent or comfortable, but I am grateful for a better year and being injury free for a year. I never want to get complacent, but I always want to be grateful."
Highsmith, who became a full-time starter in 2021, has 22 1/2 sacks and 32 tackles for loss in 49 career games.
Pascal Bary is dreaming of finally getting his hands on the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe trophy having seen Feed The Flame become a leading contender for Europe’s richest middle-distance contest.
The son of Kingman grabbed plenty of attention when winning ParisLongchamp’s Prix de Ferrieres with real ease earlier in the campaign and as a result was sent off one of the main players for the Prix du Jockey Club last month.
He was only able to finish fourth in the Chantilly Classic as Jean-Claude Rouget’s Ace Impact stole all the headlines.
However, a step up in trip to 12 furlongs saw him back to his imperious best in the Grand Prix de Paris, where he proved he was a proper Group One performer by swooping late to down Irish Derby runner-up Adelaide River and John and Thady Gosden’s Oaks winner Soul Sister.
“He should do well in the autumn and he will stay at a mile and a half now,” said Bary.
“He doesn’t make any effort during the race, he can go very well and then accelerate.
“The reason he finished fourth in the Jockey Club was he had to fight too early, it was too fast for him. When he has time, he has a very good turn of foot.”
Feed The Flame is a best priced 14-1 for the Arc on October 1 and with Bary envisaging typical autumnal ground at ParisLongchamp as a positive for his charge, he will tune up for his date with destiny by running at the track in the Group Two Prix Niel on September 10.
“He will go for the Prix Niel and then the Arc,” continued Bary.
“In the Prix Niel he will have to fight with Ace Impact and he is a very, very nice horse. Hopefully over this distance we can get our revenge.
“Then in the Arc, I don’t know, we will have to take on Ace Impact and some good horses coming from England and Ireland. He should be a bit better in soft ground.
“It will come quick, it is less than two months, it will soon be tomorrow.”
Leigh captain John Asiata insists he always believed his side could do “something special” as they prepare for their Challenge Cup semi-final against St Helens.
The loose forward has been part of the team which have shocked Super League this season, winning 12 of their last 13 games in all competitions and setting up the chance to reach their first Challenge Cup final since 1971.
The former NRL star, who played for North Queensland Cowboys and Brisbane Broncos, brings a wealth of experience to the Leopards, having won the NRL grand final in 2015 and the 2016 World Club Challenge.
Now, the Australian has a different task at hand as he aims to continue Leigh’s stunning run with a Wembley appearance at stake, and he always believed his side could do the unthinkable.
Asiata told the PA news agency: “I said it at the beginning of the year that I trust this group and we are going to do something special this year.
“We are doing that at the moment and now we have to just keep going. Coming here, I did not understand why I was coming here but it was a door that God opened for me and since I’ve been here it’s been nothing but great things so I’m very happy.
“This year is all about making history and this is another opportunity to do that.”
Asiata has been one of Super League’s standout performers this season, leading the way for the most carries with 441, but he has also received help from a number of other key players such as Tom Briscoe and top try-scorer Josh Charnley.
The skipper hailed the team effort which has seen Leigh climb to second in the league and helped them recently come from 12 points down to beat Salford away 24-22 for the first time since 1981.
He continued: “As a group we set some goals in the beginning of the year but we have created a bunch that believe in each other’s ability to do the job.
“No matter where you are on the field, no matter how tired you can be, there is going to be someone else just as tired as you and we’ve built a very solid foundation for the new guys to jump on board.
“It’s just been awesome to see the boys achieve what they have done so far and we have a coach that is leading the way and helping us do that.”
Leopards earned a 20-12 victory over Saints in their meeting earlier in the season and sit two places above their semi-final opponents in the league.
Despite their superiority this season, Asiata insists Leigh have no mental advantage over St Helens and believes Saints are still the favourites heading into the game at the Halliwell Jones Stadium.
He said: “It’s a whole different ball game when it comes to semi-final footy. It’s going to be a whole different Saints team that we are playing.
“They have been there and done that and are world champions for a reason but I am excited for the challenge because if you want to be the best you have to beat the best.
“I think Saints will be favourites which I don’t mind being the underdogs. If you look at the beginning of the year, nobody gave us a chance to do anything and that’s the good thing about our game.”
Drama has not been in short supply off the course in recent times as men’s professional golf suffered a seismic split before an equally shocking possibility of peace.
On the course, in this year’s majors at least, that has not been the case as Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka and Wyndham Clark won the Masters, US PGA and US Open respectively with relatively little final-round fuss.
All that could be about to change if the R&A get their way in the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, where changes made since Rory McIlroy’s victory in 2014 are intended to produce a dramatic climax to the year’s final major.
Most significantly, a new par-three – the 17th – has been created as part of a re-routing of the closing stretch which could play a large role in deciding who is left holding the Claret Jug on Sunday evening.
“One of the sentiments that was felt after 2006 and 2014 was that the course could do with more drama,” R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers said.
“It was actually the club that came to us and said there was a lot of talk around flipping what was the 15th up on to the dunes. We came and looked at it and we thought, ‘Yeah, that could really add some drama’. There is a lot of jeopardy there.
“I think it fits well. It also enabled us to reconfigure the final bit around there. So the final four holes will be a 610-yard par five, 480-yard par four, 136-yard par three and a 620-yard par five.
“A lot of things could happen on that (stretch) and I think that drama will unfold come Sunday.”
A finish similar to Sunday’s Scottish Open would certainly be welcome, McIlroy defying strong winds to birdie the last two holes and defy home favourite Robert MacIntyre the title at the Renaissance Club.
It completed the ideal preparation for the world number two as he bids to end a major drought which stretches back to the 2014 US PGA, victory at Valhalla coming just seven days after winning the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
Even the weather seems to have turned in McIlroy’s favour as a hot spell gave way to wetter conditions which have always suited his powerful game and high ball flight.
“I was expecting it to be more like 2006 when I was looking at it five, six weeks ago, and I was excited about that,” Slumbers added. “But every time I get excited about a nice brown golf course, mother nature comes in.
“But on the other side of it, the rough has come up. When it was brown the rough had burnt out and it was a different golf course. My worry is now what the forecast is for Saturday and Sunday. It’s going to be wet or it’s going to be very wet. We’ll see.”
With McIlroy cancelling his formal pre-tournament press conference for the second major running, it has fallen to other players to speak about his chances, with two-time Open champion Padraig Harrington asked if a return to Hoylake could be the missing link to major success.
“Yes, of course it could,” Harrington said. “He’s got to like the golf course. He’s got to be familiar with the course. Everything seems to be setting up nicely in terms of conditions and what we are expecting.
“And the other thing is that he can clearly win any week, so you have two things going for him.
“There’s no doubt that pretty much everybody will look at the leaderboard to see how he is getting on. He’s a person of interest.”
Billy Boston has described a statue of him and fellow Welsh rugby greats Clive Sullivan and Gus Risman in his home city of Cardiff as among the “highlights of my life”.
Boston celebrates his 89th birthday next month and was in the Welsh capital to see three of rugby’s ‘codebreakers’ honoured with the first statue in Wales to feature non-fictionalised, named black men.
“What a day this is,” said Boston, who scored 478 tries in 487 matches for Wigan after making the rugby switch from union to league in 1953.
“Coming home to Cardiff has always been a pleasure and this is one of the highlights of my life.
“To be up there alongside such magnificent men as Gus Risman and Clive Sullivan is simply amazing. I feel honoured to be singled out for this remarkable tribute by the people of Cardiff.
“Let’s face it there aren’t many left who have ever seen me play for Wigan or Great Britain. So to be remembered in this way is truly wonderful.
“Cardiff and Wales have always held a very special place in my heart, Wigan adopted me and became my home from home. The people of that town became my second family and have been wonderful to me for almost 70 years.
“But all of a sudden, as I look up and see my arms around Gus and Clive on this statue, I feel very much at home.
“I may have been a Wiganer for the past 70 years but it looks as if I’m home to stay now.”
Risman and Sullivan also left Cardiff to make their names as professional rugby players in the north of England at a time when black players were ostracised by the amateur Union code in Wales.
Sullivan, who scored 250 tries for Hull and another 118 for Hull Kingston Rovers, became the first black player to captain any Great Britain side and led his country to 1972 Rugby League World Cup glory.
Risman – the son of Russian immigrants who settled in Tiger Bay – scored 4,052 points in 873 games for Salford and Workington and played in five Ashes-winning series for Great Britain.
Sullivan’s son Anthony, a dual code international for Wales who also represented Great Britain in rugby league, said: “It’s really important for the family that we were well represented here as it’s such a momentous occasion.
“It’s amazing for the three men to be represented like this, people talk about them as men and that’s really important.
“They wanted to act as inspiration, not only what they achieved in sport but as people. The way that people talk about them in such glowing terms is something that should not be lost.
“They may have been forgotten a bit here in Wales but not in the rugby league community.
“That sense of community, belonging and togetherness, and struggling for achievement which is something our sport is synonymous, and I think it’s nice that it’s represented in the men that are up there.
“To be recognised in their home country and, as everyone has said they are home now, would have been really important to them.”
The ‘One Team. One Race: Honouring the Cardiff Bay Rugby Codebreakers’ project behind the statue was established in 2020, being inspired by calls from the Butetown and wider Cardiff Bay community.
The statue, which was created by Yorkshire sculptor Steve Winterburn, stands on a prominent part of Cardiff Bay.
Drama has not been in short supply off the course in recent times as men’s professional golf suffered a seismic split before an equally shocking possibility of peace.
On the course, in this year’s majors at least, that has not been the case as Jon Rahm, Brooks Koepka and Wyndham Clark won the Masters, US PGA and US Open respectively with relatively little final-round fuss.
All that could be about to change if the R&A get their way in the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool, where changes made since Rory McIlroy’s victory in 2014 are intended to produce a dramatic climax to the year’s final major.
Most significantly, a new par-three – the 17th – has been created as part of a re-routing of the closing stretch which could play a large role in deciding who is left holding the Claret Jug on Sunday evening.
“One of the sentiments that was felt after 2006 and 2014 was that the course could do with more drama,” R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers said.
“It was actually the club that came to us and said there was a lot of talk around flipping what was the 15th up on to the dunes. We came and looked at it and we thought, ‘Yeah, that could really add some drama’. There is a lot of jeopardy there.
“I think it fits well. It also enabled us to reconfigure the final bit around there. So the final four holes will be a 610-yard par five, 480-yard par four, 136-yard par three and a 620-yard par five.
“A lot of things could happen on that (stretch) and I think that drama will unfold come Sunday.”
A finish similar to Sunday’s Scottish Open would certainly be welcome, McIlroy defying strong winds to birdie the last two holes and defy home favourite Robert MacIntyre the title at the Renaissance Club.
It completed the ideal preparation for the world number two as he bids to end a major drought which stretches back to the 2014 US PGA, victory at Valhalla coming just seven days after winning the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational.
Even the weather seems to have turned in McIlroy’s favour as a hot spell gave way to wetter conditions which have always suited his powerful game and high ball flight.
“I was expecting it to be more like 2006 when I was looking at it five, six weeks ago, and I was excited about that,” Slumbers added. “But every time I get excited about a nice brown golf course, mother nature comes in.
“But on the other side of it, the rough has come up. When it was brown the rough had burnt out and it was a different golf course. My worry is now what the forecast is for Saturday and Sunday. It’s going to be wet or it’s going to be very wet. We’ll see.”
With McIlroy cancelling his formal pre-tournament press conference for the second major running, it has fallen to other players to speak about his chances, with two-time Open champion Padraig Harrington asked if a return to Hoylake could be the missing link to major success.
“Yes, of course it could,” Harrington said. “He’s got to like the golf course. He’s got to be familiar with the course. Everything seems to be setting up nicely in terms of conditions and what we are expecting.
“And the other thing is that he can clearly win any week, so you have two things going for him.
“There’s no doubt that pretty much everybody will look at the leaderboard to see how he is getting on. He’s a person of interest.”
Kihavah may drop in trip for the Sky Bet York Stakes on Saturday week ahead of a potential crack at the Ebor next month.
Classic-winning trainer Adrian Keatley feels his stable star, who has a handicap mark of 98, may have to win another race to ensure a place in the Sky Bet-sponsored feature handicap.
Having won his previous four races, including once over hurdles, Kihavah finished a game second to Saeed bin Suroor’s Live Your Dream at Newmarket last week.
“We might run Kihavah at York as a prep run for the Ebor as he’s short a couple of pounds on 98, he might need another couple to make sure he gets in,” said Keatley, who won the 2016 Irish 1,000 Guineas with Jet Setting.
“He’s got his confidence back, he had a couple of issues with his wind in the past, which we’ve played around with, and we seem to have found the key to him now.
“It was a massive run last week at Newmarket but the rain came a bit soon as it just made it a bit loose. Half a mile from home I thought he had no chance, but he pulled it out of the bag again.
“He’s a very big horse, he was very lean when I got him but he seems to be holding his condition now and taking his training better. Hopefully if he gets into the Ebor, he could be a good representative for us.
“We were thinking of Market Rasen this weekend, but when you are talking of races like the Ebor being a possibility, we can always go back jumping later.
“He’s very much a top-of-the-ground horse and because the ground got so loose last week it was a harder race than expected, so that was another reason we missed Market Rasen this weekend.”
The Sky Bet York Stakes is on the final day of the Go Racing In Yorkshire Summer Festival which gets under way on Friday at Pontefract and concludes at York on Saturday week.
Michael Dods reports his star filly Azure Blue to be none the worse following her disappointing performance in the July Cup on Saturday.
Having rounded off last season with back-to-back wins at Newmarket, the four-year-old picked up where she left off with a Listed success on the Rowley Mile in early May.
She subsequently got the better of multiple Group One winner Highfield Princess to land the Duke of York Stakes and as a result was among the leading contenders for last weekend’s Group One feature, but could only finish sixth of eight runners.
“She was on the wing, probably racing a bit keenly, but she’s come home fine,” said Dods.
“On the day she probably didn’t run her race, but she’s been fine since she came home anyway.”
The Darlington-based trainer is keen to let the dust settle before committing to future plans. Azure Blue’s big-race entries include the Nunthorpe at York, the Sprint Cup at Haydock and the Flying Five Stakes in Ireland.
“We’ll give her this week and see where we go next – we haven’t made any plans,” he added.
“One of the owners has gone on holiday so we’ll wait until they get back next week, discuss it with them and go from there.”
Equality will bid for a hat-trick when he takes a shot at the King George Qatar Stakes during the Qatar Goodwood Festival.
Owned by Kennet Valley Thoroughbreds, the five-year-old speedster dropped back to handicap company when scoring at Windsor on his penultimate start, before adding to his tally at Sandown in the Group Three Coral Charge
Connections were thrilled to get that first Group race victory under his belt at the Esher track and Equality will now head to the Sussex Downs for a contest handler Charlie Hills has won five times in the last six years thanks to Battaash (2017-2020) and Khaadem (2022).
“It’s really exciting and he was fantastic at Sandown,” said Sam Hoskins, racing manager for the owners.
“We kind of felt he had unfinished business at Group level and obviously there wasn’t much choice after his run at Windsor because he was up to a mark of 108.
“After Haydock earlier in the season our confidence was a bit dented, but the handicapper was good and let us drop back into handicap company and luckily he ran the same race as he did at Windsor at Sandown.”
He went on: “The plan is to go for the King George at Goodwood with him.
“He’s got a very high cruising speed and he should really enjoy a race like that, it’s really exciting.
“It’s going to be a hot race, Highfield Princess is probably going and a lot of other good sprinters will be heading there. It will be a red-hot affair”
There is further interest in the race for Hoskins in the form of Clive Cox’s Get Ahead, who also has the Group Two event in her sights.
Owned by Hot To Trot racing, for whom Hoskins also acts as racing manager, the four-year-old filly has enjoyed a fine season, scoring in the Cecil Frail at Haydock before being narrowly denied at Chantilly in the Prix du Gros-Chene.
She finished three lengths behind Equality when last seen in the Coral Charge, but Goodwood is poised to prove a more suitable venue for the daughter of Showcasing.
“She’s a cracking filly and things just didn’t go her way at Sandown,” continued Hoskins.
“She wants top of the ground and she is really interesting for Goodwood as she won over course and distance there last year beating Silky Wilkie.
“She has progressed again this season and will have a big each-way chance there hopefully.”
He added: “Both horses have had this as their aim and at the beginning of the season we thought if things go well and they progress as we hoped they might do, this is the race for them.
“They are not too dissimilar horses despite one being a gelding and one being a filly, and they are both horses with very high cruising speeds. You could run both of them over four furlongs if there was a race at that distance. It’s really exciting.”
Tommy Fleetwood hopes to produce a special performance in memory of his late mother as he targets Open victory in his native north west this week.
It is a year this week since the Southport player’s mother Sue died, and Fleetwood wants to mark the anniversary with a strong showing in front of family and friends at Royal Liverpool.
The 32-year-old will begin his latest Open campaign at 9.47am on Thursday, playing alongside world number one Scottie Scheffler and Adam Scott in the opening round in Hoylake.
“It’ll be different,” said Fleetwood, who is currently ranked 21st in the world, at a press conference. “It’ll be a year on Friday.
“We know that that’s coming up. It would be nice to think she’s watching over.
“It’ll be a special event. I would love to play well and I would love to give myself a chance come Saturday and Sunday and have something to aim for in that sense.
“Everybody is doing really well – I have a great family and a lot of support, and my dad is out here.
“I think the best thing is seeing how well he’s doing and obviously giving him something to enjoy watching this week.”
Fleetwood made his Open debut at Hoylake in 2014 but missed the cut, as he did at St Andrews the following year and Troon in 2016.
He failed to shine in another Open close to home at Birkdale in 2017, when he finished in a tie for 27th, but his runner-up showing at Portrush in 2019 and a tied-fourth placing at St Andrews last year underlined his pedigree.
Fleetwood said: “Winning a major is a dream, or winning The Open is a huge, huge dream.
“No matter where that is, that’s always something I’ve visualised and always thought about but, having the opportunity to do it so close to where you grew up, is something that’s very unique and very special.
“For sure I’ve pictured it a lot and visualised it a lot. I just haven’t done it yet in person, so that’s hopefully the next thing.”
Fleetwood believes his grouping for the opening two rounds will help bring the best out of him.
He said: “The first thing you always do is look at the draw, and I was very happy with the guys that I’m playing with – great golfers, both very, very good at winning tournaments and stuff.
“It’s always good to be around those people that are at the top of the game and make sure you’re always trying to keep pace with them.”
Pyledriver is fully on course for the defence of his King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes crown following a racecourse gallop at Newbury on Wednesday morning.
Trained by William Muir and Chris Grassick, the six-year-old has won eight of his 19 starts, but has been blighted by injury setbacks which have kept him on the sidelines at key moments of his career.
He conquered German raider Torquator Tasso to land Ascot’s mid-summer showpiece 12 months ago, but was then not seen for 336 days before making a victorious return in the Hardwicke Stakes.
Training well since that Royal Ascot triumph, he came through one of the final pieces of his King George preparations with flying colours at Newbury, with the countdown now on for the July 29 Group One.
“He just did want we wanted and we were delighted with him,” said Muir.
“It was not a serious, hard gallop, it was just a day out really. He goes to Newbury, has a warm-up little canter and then covers the distance, that’s all. He did great.
“We’re keeping our fingers crossed and we’re in good shape. Fingers crossed we’ll be there at Ascot.”
Pyledriver has won three of his four starts at Ascot, with two successes at the Royal meeting accompanying the King George he has on his CV.
However, Muir believes that rather than being a track specialist, Pyledriver is simply a top-class performer who has the capability to thrive in all conditions.
He added: “Everyone says he loves Ascot but that is because it is one of the only places where the races are that we have run him.
“He has only run once at York and he won, same at Haydock, he’s both a winner and second in Group Ones at Epsom. I just think he’s a good horse. The races at Ascot suit him and that’s why we’ve kept going back there really.
“He’s extremely versatile – he’s versatile on ground, he’s versatile on course. He’s not one of those that you worry yourself stupid about what’s going to happen with the weather, whatever happens, happens, and you just turn up.”
Muir also delivered a positive update about Pyledriver’s half-sister Shagpyle, who started off with an eyecatching win at Ascot before being tapped for toe by a useful operator at Haydock.
“She’s fine and as I said when she first ran, she won’t be a filly who has too many runs this year, probably a maximum of four,” said Muir.
“She’s in good form and her work is totally different from when she started. Before she wasn’t strong enough to quicken and she used to just gallop away. We knew she was nice but we never put her under any real pressure because she wasn’t strong enough. Now she’s galloping really well.
“Her first run was really good, but it was on soft ground and she just got into that relentless rhythm and she was better in it than the rest. Then we went to Haydock where it was top of the ground and she didn’t mind the ground, but anything with a turn of foot quickened up and got us at it.”
The daughter of Frankel could head to Doncaster or Deauville for her next outing, while Muir isn’t completely ruling out taking up her entry in the St Leger later in the season despite envisaging it will be next term before she is seen at her best.
“If she were to win her next race easily and the ground was soft, then we would have one more run in a nice race and we’ve entered her (in the Leger) just to see what happens,” continued Muir.
“She is just a transformed filly from how she started the season and next year we will be purring about her because she will be going long distances.
“That’s why the Leger distance will suit her because she will get the trip, so although it is a bit of a throwaway entry, if we got there and it’s soft ground, you just never know.”
R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers insists there has been no intelligence surrounding any potential protest at The Open this week, but remains confident in the “significant” security procedures at Royal Liverpool.
Slumbers said “one of the most senior players” had been targeted at St Andrews last year, but nothing public materialised after security was increased at specific locations.
Players have been advised not to get involved if any protests occur after the environmental group Just Stop Oil targeted Wimbledon and the Ashes Test at Lord’s, where England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow carried one protester off the pitch.
“We’ve had no direct intelligence,” Slumbers said on the likelihood of protests at the year’s final major championship.
“There was direct intelligence last year and most people in this room don’t know The Open was targeted last year.
“We had a very credible threat that was reported to us that one of the most senior players in the field was going to be targeted by an environmental activist.
“We have significant security procedures in place, we work with law enforcement agencies and we will wait and see what happens.
“We have advised the players please don’t get involved and I stand by that. We have enough things in place to be able to deal with that. Beyond that I think security matters I need to keep confidential.”
Masters champion Jon Rahm joked on Tuesday that any would-be protesters invading the course had better hope he was in a good mood at the time.
The world number three, who is known for the occasional fiery on-course outburst and will play the first two rounds in a marquee group with Rory McIlroy and Justin Rose, said: “I do have a reputation so I hope they don’t catch me on a bad hole.”
Speaking at a media day at Hoylake in April, championships director Rhodri Price said the R&A would continue to engage with protest groups ahead of the Open, which is set to attract 260,000 spectators during the week – a record for an Open outside of St Andrews.
“It’s not something we are reactive to, we are very pro-active,” said Price, who said the R&A has the capacity to search all bags being brought into the course.
“We have all of the contingency planning, a monthly security group, intelligence cells that gather all this information. In fact they engage with all the protest groups to try to make sure we can provide for them if they were to attend.
“We’ve had several in the past that we were able to accommodate so that they can get their message across in a controlled environment.”
Desert Crown remains in contention for the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes after producing a “pleasing” piece of work under Ryan Moore at Newmarket on Wednesday morning.
The Saeed Suhail-owned 2022 Derby winner was beaten narrowly by Hukum in the Brigadier Gerard at Sandown on his return to action in May following a year on the sidelines with an ankle injury.
Another minor setback prevented him from running in the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot and while subsequent scans proved negative, trainer Sir Michael Stoute suggested last week that he may not have enough time to line up in the all-aged showpiece at Ascot on Saturday week.
However, confidence in the camp is growing that the son of Nathaniel will take on this season’s English and Irish Derby winner Auguste Rodin, Epsom runner-up King Of Steel, last year’s King George winner Pyledriver and his Sandown conqueror Hukum in the Qipco-sponsored 12-furlong highlight after all.
The owner’s racing manager, Bruce Raymond, said: “He worked this morning and Ryan rode him.
“Michael was very pleased with him and I think there is a good chance he will go to Ascot.
“He worked nicely. It was a pleasing gallop. I can’t say he is certain for the race, but everyone was very happy with him. There’s a good chance he will go to Ascot.”
Desert Crown is currently a 10-1 chance with Coral for the King George, with Auguste Rodin their 9-4 favourite.
England fly-half Marcus Smith has signed a contract extension with Gallagher Premiership side Harlequins.
The 24-year-old is currently part of Steve Borthwick’s training squad preparing for the World Cup in France.
Smith, who helped Quins to the Premiership title in 2021, made his debut during the 2017/18 season and has gone on to score over 1,000 points in the league.
“I love the club,” Smith said on the announcement of his new deal.
“It’s been my home since the age of 14 and I want to repay the faith shown in me and help Quins win trophies.
“We have unfinished business, we want to challenge for titles and create more memories for our supporters.”
While the length of Smith’s extension has not been confirmed, the club announcement said it will keep him at the Stoop beyond next season.
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