Michael Dods says the Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes is the “obvious race” for Azure Blue and it is “all systems go” for a York showdown with reigning champion Highfield Princess.
The four-year-old started her season by winning Newmarket’s Ellen Chaloner Stakes before heading to the Knavesmire where her match-fitness enabled her to account for John Quinn’s stable star in the Group Two 1895 Duke of York Clipper Stakes.
She was too keen in the early stages when a below-par sixth in the July Cup next time, but Darlington-based Dods is keen to head back to the Knavesmire for what is sure to be a hot contest and a rematch with what he is expecting to be a much better version of Highfield Princess.
“At the moment we’re thinking of going to York and the Nunthorpe,” said Dods.
“We’re pulling her back a furlong and it will be very competitive if the two-year-olds come in and also Highfield Princess was so impressive at Goodwood.
“We had had a run and Highfield had not when we met before and she’s obviously come on a lot from then.
“But it is the obvious race and at the moment the plan is to go there.”
Mecca’s Angel famously went back-to-back for Dods in 2015 and 2016, while the handler has also seen Mabs Cross rattle the crossbar in the five-furlong dash in 2018 and another of his mares, Que Amoro, pick up a silver medal behind Battaash in 2020.
However, Azure Blue will be running over the minimum five furlongs for the first time in her 15-race career when she bids to add her name to the roll of honour.
“We’re travelling into the unknown,” added Dods.
“They will go a hard gallop and hopefully she will be fine. We’re into the unknown a bit, but it’s worth a try.
“We’re looking forward to it and at the minute it is all systems go.”
Any rain at the Curragh would be welcomed by Ken Condon, as he prepares to saddle Moss Tucker in the Rathasker Stud Phoenix Sprint Stakes.
The Excelebration gelding has not been disgraced since downing Tenebrism at Cork at the beginning of the year and was last seen finishing third to Art Power at the track in the Sapphire Stakes last month.
A Listed winner over course and distance in testing ground last October, the five-year-old thrives when the mud flies and his handler is eager to see a drop of rain at the Kildare track to add some further ease to the ground ahead of the Group Three contest.
“He ran very well last time and although he was no match for Art Power, in the main he is very consistent and he’s been in very good form since,” said Condon.
“The forecast is unsettled and any more rain will be most welcome for him, he’s obviously at his best when it’s testing conditions. At the moment it is nice ground, but any rain will be welcome.
“I think he’s probably at his best over five furlongs on soft ground, but it is a case if he doesn’t go there, then he’s probably sat on the sidelines for a little while.
“With this unusual weather at the moment, we might be able to take advantage of it, but it is hard to know how much rain the Curragh will get. It is forecast and hopefully a bit will fall.
“It’s a nice Group Three contest and we’re hopeful of a good run.”
Adrian McGuinness’ Go Athletico was just ahead of Moss Tucker when chasing home Art Power for a silver medal in the Sapphire Stakes and is another looking to make his mark in the six-furlong contest.
Bought by owners Team Valor International and Shamrock Thoroughbreds for €165,000 in the spring, he has made a good impression since joining McGuinness and the handler is expecting a bold bid.
“We’re looking forward to a big run,” said McGuinness.
“We were very happy with him the last day and he ran into a good horse. He actually had quite an easy race because Colin (Keane, jockey) was easy on him when the other horse had gone and we were well beaten.
“I’m expecting a very big run from him and he did a lovely piece of work the other day. Ronan Whelan rides him and I think he’ll run a huge race – I’ll be disappointed if he’s beat.
“I know sprints can go either way and it can depend on split-second decisions, but he is a very exciting horse to have and I definitely do think he is going to improve a bit more.”
The sole UK raider in the contest is Michael Dods’ Commanche Falls, who was a Listed winner over the track and trip on his penultimate start before following up in the Hackwood Stakes at Newbury.
The six-year-old has only once finished outside the first three this term and the Darlington-based handler is confident his speedster is in good order ahead of his hat-trick bid.
Dods said: “Drying ground would be a help but he’s in good form, he’s won there. It’s going to be competitive but we’re hoping for a good run.
“He hated the ground at Newbury last time but still did well and it’s hard for these sort of horses because there are not a lot of races around. It was either back to Ireland or we don’t go anywhere.
“We’re under no illusions and it will be a decent race, but we hope he will run his race and run well.”
Motherwell manager Stuart Kettlewell hopes to introduce on-loan Arsenal striker Mika Biereth for a potential debut in Sunday’s cinch Premiership encounter with Hibernian.
With Jon Obika still doubtful with a hamstring issue, Theo Bair produced a goalscoring debut in last weekend’s draw with Dundee and Denmark Under-21 international Biereth could come into contention for Motherwell’s first home game of the league season.
Kettlewell said: “He has trained the tail end of last week, he got two sessions in, and he has trained this week as well.
“He missed a couple of weeks at Arsenal so it’s just a case of us trying to get as much content into him as we can, work away with him over the next couple of days.
“But I am fairly certain that he pushes himself into the reckoning of at least being involved in the squad.”
Amid a shortage of experienced attacking options, Joe Efford replaced Bair in the 88th minute at Dens Park for his first appearance since suffering a thigh tear in October last year.
Efford has played most of his football in Scotland as a wide player and it appears he has some work to do to convince Kettlewell he can fit into his 3-5-2 system.
“The most important part is that Joe needs to stay fit and show us his qualities,” Kettlewell said. “It’s been a hard time for him, a long-term injury and then from that there’s been a lot of stop-start moments.
“There has been a lot of inconsistency, I am sure Joe will hold his hand up to that as well, in reserve games, games to get back to full fitness, pre-season and even in training sessions.
“I am always a great believer that we can’t just go from zero to full throttle, there has to be a period of time where an individual shows you that they can be trusted and that they are offering something on the pitch, they are showing you quality and that they can play in your system.
“He gets his opportunity to come on at Dens Park and that was specifically we were lacking striker options.”
Kettlewell is still looking to move players on in order to bring some in and the process of trimming his squad means the club will no longer compete in the SPFL Reserve League.
“We had more than 50 players at the club last season,” Kettlewell said.
“I feel that everyone who is at the football club must have a realistic opportunity to play in your first team.
“For us to run with another 15-16 players that aren’t pushing to be in your first team, it’s not sustainable for a club like Motherwell.
“We have had to trim that and our focus comes on the under-18s group and the loan system.
“We have four or five with potentially more going out on loan. I have asked a member of staff to focus on that and make sure we are finding the correct loans for players so when they come back it gives them a real chance to play in our first team.
“A lot of the under-18s have been part of our first-team group over pre-season and you see the obvious ones on the bench and in the starting 11.”
Luton boss Rob Edwards will fulfil a dream when he sends his team into Premier League action for the first time at Brighton on Saturday.
Edwards took charge at Kenilworth Road in November last year and guided a club which less than a decade earlier had been plying its trade in non-league football back into the top flight after a 31-year absence.
Life since victory in the Sky Bet Championship play-off final has been something of a whirlwind, with the Hatters busily preparing for their latest – and perhaps biggest – challenge on and off the pitch, but Edwards admits he will feel a huge sense of pride when the dream finally becomes a reality.
He told a press conference: “I’m really proud. It’s hard because you don’t always think about it, you just think about what’s next and don’t always have time to reflect.
“It’s been an aim of mine for long time. I think most people would agree the Premier League is the highest level.”
The game at the Amex Stadium could see skipper Tom Lockyer make his first competitive appearance since collapsing on the pitch early in the play-off final, the result of a heart scare which has since been addressed by surgery.
Edwards added: “This is extremely important and special for Tom. That day was made special by knowing he was OK.
“It was the most scared I’ve ever been during a football game. Health is the most important thing and it’s great to have him back.
“He’s had his own journey as well – he was in the National League and now leading his team out in the Premier League.”
Edwards’ hand has been strengthened since promotion by the arrival of nine summer signings, perhaps the most eye-catching of them former Everton and England midfielder Ross Barkley, and there could be several debuts, particularly with Jordan Clark, Dan Potts, Gabe Osho and Reece Burke all on the casualty list.
Excitement levels are understandably high, but Edwards knows there is a long and tough season ahead.
He said: “We’ve got a big season ahead and it’s been a long time coming since the final kick at Wembley. The elation turns quite real and now we feel ready.
“The fans are the most important people at any football club. They are the most important to me, they’re here before us and they’ll be here after us.
“They’ve been through some really bleak times in the past, so hopefully they can enjoy these moments because they deserve it.”
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe has admitted he cannot just “slap money on the table” as he attempts to find the last piece of his jigsaw for the new season.
The Magpies, backed by their majority owners, Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, have invested a net £95milion in Sandro Tonali, Harvey Barnes and Tino Livramento at the expense of the departed Allan Saint-Maximin this summer but Howe is keen to add one more player to his resources, with central defence a remaining focus.
However, the 45-year-old knows the club may have to be “creative” to get another deal over the line in an attempt to plot a path through Financial Fair Play regulations, with loans and staggered payments among the options.
Asked what that meant on the eve of the new Premier League season’s opener against Aston Villa, Howe said: “It means we can’t just go out and slap money on the table and buy a player. We don’t have the resources to do that at the moment with FFP restrictions.
“It’s about trying to find a different way rather than paying money in the here and now.”
Newcastle have strengthened their squad significantly after last season’s top-four finish, which secured a return to Champions League football, but Howe is hopeful there is another deal to be done.
He said: “I’d love one more player, that’s what I’d love personally, and I think then we’d have the ideal depth at this moment with the injuries that we currently have.”
The Magpies’ surge back into the upper reaches of the league table came less than two years into the new ownership’s reign and took many by surprise, despite the £250million spending spree which helped to fuel it.
They were able to take advantage of below-par showings from the likes of Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea, and are likely to face a tougher challenge this time around with TV pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher predicting they will not even make the top six this season.
Asked if that provided added motivation, Howe brushed that aside and said: “Ultimately people will always write us off, and I urge us all to come together and to fight tooth and nail to prove people wrong – and in my job you have to prove people wrong every single day.
“I have said my ultimate emotion that I use is fear of failure. Some people might see that as negative, but it’s fuelled me all my career and to work as hard as I can to make sure we don’t suffer that experience.”
Howe could hand Tonali, Barnes and Livramento competitive debuts against Villa, while defender Fabian Schar is back in contention after a thigh injury.
However, midfielder Joe Willock is likely to be missing until the middle of next month with the hamstring problem he suffered last season.
Howe said: “I think we’ll probably miss him for the first group of games before the first international break.”
Liverpool have agreed a British record transfer fee in the region of £110million for Moises Caicedo as Jurgen Klopp attempts to reinforce his midfield on the eve of the new Premier League season. The PA news agency understands Liverpool have swooped in and had a substantial offer accepted for the 21-year-old Ecuador international, who was attracting significant interest from Chelsea this summer.
Brighton held firm on their valuation of a player who joined them for just £4m from Ecuadorian side Independiente del Valle in 2021, and it remains to be seen whether Chelsea will match Liverpool’s bid. The fee is upwards of the previous British record of £107m that Chelsea paid for Enzo Fernandez in January and dwarfs Liverpool’s own highest transfer payment of £75m for Virgil van Dijk in 2018.
Klopp has seen Jordan Henderson, Fabinho, Naby Keita and James Milner depart the club this summer but Liverpool have signed Caicedo’s former Brighton team-mate Alexis Mac Allister for £35m in June.
The Reds have also brought in Dominik Szoboszlai from RB Leipzig but, after missing out on Jude Bellingham – who joined Real Madrid in June in a deal that could rise to £115m with add-ons – Klopp is keen to get the Caicedo transfer over the line.
Ahead of Sunday’s trip to Chelsea for both sides’ Premier League opener, Klopp said: “I can confirm the deal with (Brighton) is agreed, whatever that means because we want the player and not any kind of agreement, we will see.
“We are club that doesn’t have endless resources, we didn’t expect a couple of things happening in the summer, like Henderson and Fabinho (leaving), stuff like this.
“We didn’t think about that before the summer, to be honest, and then it happened. We gave (attempting to sign Bellingham) a go and the club was really stretched. We will see (what happens with Caicedo).”
As for whether Caicedo will undergo a medical in Merseyside on Friday or if signing the youngster would be Liverpool’s final business of the summer window, Klopp was tight-lipped.
“I’ve said what I know,” he added. “Let’s do it step by step, let’s see what happens in the next hours or days.”
England and Wales meet at Twickenham on Saturday in their second World Cup warm-up Test.
Wales won the opening encounter, scoring 14 unanswered second-half points as tries from Gareth Davies and George North saw them home 20-9.
Here, the PA news agency looks at the key points heading into their latest clash.
England summon the cavalry
England have assembled their big guns as they enter must-win territory just two games into their World Cup warm-up campaign. Owen Farrell, Elliot Daly, Maro Itoje, Billy Vunipola and Jamie George are among the front-line stars in action at Twickenham, and potentially only Ellis Genge and Tom Curry are missing from the strongest XV. With the pivotal opener against Argentina on September 9 fast approaching, England need a reassuring performance and to avoid a fourth successive defeat that would continue a worrying downward spiral.
Momentum key for Wales
Wales have not won back-to-back Test matches since November 2021 when they beat Fiji and Australia, so there is a need to build on last weekend’s impressive 20-9 warm-up victory over England. Head coach Warren Gatland has made 15 changes as the clock continues ticking towards his World Cup squad announcement, and Saturday’s encounter will be the final opportunity for many players to impress. Wales have lost on their last six visits to Twickenham since the 2015 World Cup, which underlines the size of challenge ahead, but there were hints of a feelgood factor returning as a 65,000 crowd roared them home in Cardiff.
Dewi Lake in the spotlight
Flanker Jac Morgan led Wales with distinction at the Principality Stadium last Saturday, putting himself in pole position to skipper his country at the World Cup. Gatland, though, has said he will use the August schedule to assess captaincy candidates, and 24-year-old Ospreys hooker Lake now steps forward on his international return after shoulder and knee injuries meant he did not play Test rugby last season. Lake is a proven performer at the highest level, and he is likely to soak up the extra responsibility that awaits him.
Vunipola and Earl take centre-stage
If given the chance, Daly and Henry Arundell will provide thrills on the wing, but it is in the back-row where England’s most interesting picks reside. Vunipola makes his first Test appearance since the autumn – and because of a knee injury his maiden outing of any description since April. As the squad’s only specialist number eight and most destructive carrier in the forwards, he needs to hit the ground running. Earl, meanwhile, is rewarded for his perseverance with a full debut after winning all 15 previous caps as a replacement. Dynamic in attack, the Saracens openside can help ignite England.
Warren Gatland’s stamp is all over Wales
Last season’s Six Nations campaign – which marked Gatland returning for a second stint as Wales head coach – was one to forget, with a fifth-placed finish being accompanied by major off-field issues that almost led to a players’ strike. Fast-forward five months, though, and Wales appear to be a different beast. Demanding training camps in Switzerland and Turkey were followed by victory over England – “too fit for them” were Gatland’s words as he left the Principality Stadium last weekend – and it has been the New Zealander in his element, relishing a fourth World Cup campaign and loving nothing more than a chance to prove the doubters wrong.
Finland’s Robert Helenius should be on holiday with his family in Lapland but instead this Saturday will attempt to stun Anthony Joshua and ensure he gets another shot at Deontay Wilder.
Helenius had just claimed the 32nd victory of his professional career when he was posed the question of whether he would accept Matchroom’s SOS call to step in as an 11th-hour replacement at London’s O2 Arena for Dillian Whyte, who failed a drugs test with the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association.
With wraps still on his hands and sweat from a third-round victory over Mika Mielonen inside a 15th-century castle in Finland, Helenius decided to roll the dice and sent Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn a video on Saturday night to confirm he was in.
A day later and Helenius’ manager Markus Sundman sealed the deal over the phone while at a zoo with his family, which meant his 39-year-old boxer was set to be thrust back into the limelight.
Last October, Helenius suffered a vicious first-round knock-out loss to former world heavyweight champion Wilder in New York and, while many have viewed this fight for Joshua as merely a stepping stone to a bout with the ex-WBC belt holder, his last-minute opponent has other ideas.
“Yeah, I have to get a rematch. I have to redeem myself,” Helenius said of Wilder, who is being lined up to face Joshua in December or the start of 2024.
“I had just finished the last fight on Saturday and my manager came to me and said I have something to ask you.
“He said it was the Joshua fight and I was like, ‘oh man. Let me think’. And 10 minutes I thought about it and after that I was like, ‘yeah, let’s do this,’ This is what we do.
“I would probably be in Lapland in the forest. Tenting, fishing, hunting, relaxing.
“I haven’t had a lot of time but I have been hunting now and then. That was the plan.”
It is no longer the plan for Helenius, or his wife and three children, with his mind now cast back to 2017, when he sparred with Joshua ahead of the British heavyweight fighting Wladimir Klitschko.
View this post on Instagram
Victory over Klitschko at a sold-out Wembley helped take the Finchley boxer to the pinnacle of the sport, but recent years have been leaner with back-to-back defeats to Oleksandr Usyk followed by a laboured display against Jermaine Franklin in April.
It was in a shock loss to Andy Ruiz Jr at Madison Square Garden in 2019 that Joshua’s previously untouchable crown slipped for the first time and there is much debate about whether he has been the same since, but the 29th opponent of his career knows a thing or two about mental scars from boxing.
Helenius insisted: “I can’t compare him to Wilder. I have also been sparring before with David Haye, I have been sparring the Klitschkos, both of them, I have been sparring Tyson Fury, Wilder.
“I have even been sparring Joshua when he was going against Klitschko so I have been a long time in this game.
“He is a tough guy. I think we went eight-round sessions. It was pretty closer. Hard-hitter, good technicals, a little bit robotic but his last fight, he made a good fight against Jermaine.
“I have seen that (change) but I think with his last fights, because he didn’t get knocked out against Usyk and his last fight he didn’t get knocked out, he did a pretty good fight and showed he has still got it.
“Of course you have to come over the gun-shyness after you get knocked out. I have been knocked out three times in my life and the first was the really bad one. I was probably depressed for two or three months after that.”
Johann Duhaupas inflicted that painful maiden loss of Helenius’ career in 2016, eight years after his debut, and perhaps unsurprisingly for a 36-fight veteran, the ‘Nordic Nightmare’ is reflective about his past experiences in the ring.
An aggressive style was adopted against Wilder for a reason but he was caught by a punch the American had been fine-tuning for Fury for years.
Helenius will bring a different style into Saturday’s fight and admitted victory against the odds would propel him into Finnish folklore akin to the notorious exploits of world-record javelin holder Seppo Raty.
“I think I would probably be elected for president,” he joked.
“I haven’t been in the ring for a while with him but now is the best time to win.
“Nobody will remember a coward.”
Adley Rutschman and Ryan Mountcastle homered and All-Star closer Felix Bautista escaped trouble as the Baltimore Orioles held on for a 5-4 win over the Houston Astros to avoid a series sweep on Thursday.
Bautista was called on to protect a 5-3 lead in the ninth inning for Baltimore but again struggled, giving up a run and loading the bases before getting Jon Singleton to pop up for the final out.
Bautista, who gave up a ninth-inning grand slam to Kyle Tucker on Tuesday, has allowed five earned runs in his last two appearances after giving up just five in his first 48 games this season. His season ERA went from 0.85 to 1.66 in this series.
Dean Kremer limited Houston to two runs and six hits in seven innings to join teammate Kyle Gibson as Baltimore’s 11-game winners.
Rutschman led off the bottom of the first against Hunter Brown with his 16th home run and Mountcastle’s two-run shot in the seventh extended the lead to 5-2.
The AL-best Orioles have gone 76 consecutive series of at least two decisions without being swept for the fifth-longest streak in major league history.
With Tampa Bay’s loss to St. Louis on Thursday, Baltimore owns a three-game lead in the East.
Jose Altuve went 4 for 5 with a home run for Houston, which dropped 2 ½ games behind AL West-leading Texas.
Phillies star Harper injured in win
Trea Turner, Nick Castellanos and J.T. Realmuto hit two-run homers and the Philadelphia Phillies overcame Bryce Harper’s injury in a 6-2 win over the Washington Nationals.
Harper left in the top of the fifth inning with what the team called mid-back spasms. He was undergoing evaluation and manager Rob Thomson said he’s day to day.
Philadelphia improved to a season-best 12 games over .500 and moved 1 ½ games ahead of idle San Francisco for the top spot in the NL wild-card race.
Turner’s 12th home run in the sixth inning gave the Phillies a 2-1 lead and Castellanos and Realmuto both went deep in the seventh off reliever Joe La Sorsa to make it 6-1.
Kershaw sharp in return as Dodgers stay hot
Clayton Kerhaw worked five effective innings in his first appearance in six weeks and the Los Angeles Dodgers edged the Colorado Rockies 2-1 for their ninth win in 10 games.
Kershaw allowed his only run on Elehuris Montero’s fifth-inning home run and two other hits with no walks and four strikeouts. The left-hander had been sidelined since June 27 with left shoulder soreness.
Ryan Yarbrough fanned four in three scoreless innings before Brusdar Graterol pitched a perfect ninth for his fifth save.
Max Muncy drove in both runs for the Dodgers, hitting his 28th home run in the seventh inning and drawing a bases-loaded walk in the eighth.
Rebecca Adlington won the Olympic 400 metres freestyle on this day in 2008 to become Britain’s first female swimming gold medallist for 48 years.
The 19-year-old from Mansfield became the first woman to top the podium since Anita Lonsbrough in 1960 with her exquisite performance in the pool.
Adlington snatched gold ahead of American Katie Hoff in a thrilling finger-tip finish in Beijing, winning by 0.07 seconds in a time of four minutes 3.22secs.
Team-mate Joanne Jackson took bronze, with the pair becoming the first British women to win an Olympic medal since Sarah Hardcastle in Los Angeles in 1984.
“We are both so happy to have two British girls on the podium,” Adlington said after the pair’s heroics. “I don’t think either of us expected it and especially a gold and a bronze, it’s absolutely amazing.
“I can’t actually believe it. It hasn’t sunk in yet. I’m just over the moon. I have just watched it back on TV and I said ‘I didn’t win that.’ Then they showed the underwater shot and my hand just got there.
“I can’t believe that I have won an Olympic medal and to have Jo there as well was absolutely fantastic. I was just so happy to be on the podium with my best friend, I love Jo to bits.
“She’s so close to me it was so great to be up there with her and to have all the team looking down on you, hearing them singing the national anthem, and not in tune at all!”
Adlington would end up leaving China with another gold medal, smashing the oldest world record in swimming in the process.
The teenager completed the distance double in Beijing’s Water Cube with an inspired swim in the 800m freestyle to leave the opposition trailing behind her by more than six seconds.
Adlington claimed the gold by breaking Janet Evans’ long-standing world record for the event – a mark of eight minutes 16.22 seconds set at the Pan Pacific Championships in Tokyo in 1989 and widely regarded as among the greatest records ever set in swimming.
Adlington, though, demolished it, touching in 8:14.10, 2.12 seconds faster than Evans’ time and well clear of second-placed Alessia Filippa of Italy and Denmark’s bronze medallist Lotte Friss.
Andy Murray has withdrawn from his match with Italy’s Jannik Sinner in Toronto due to an abdominal strain.
The pair were set to play in the round of 16 at the National Bank Open on Thursday but Murray decided not to risk any further injury.
In a statement, Murray said: “I had a very similar issue last year in the tournament in Stuttgart before Wimbledon which forced me to miss the Queen’s Club tournament and I was able to play Wimbledon.
“It took me about 10 to 12 days before I was feeling good again.
“This is not as bad as that but obviously the danger if you compete and play on it is you make it worse.
“So, I’ll need to see how it develops over the coming days and hopefully feel better in a few days. I’m really sorry. Thank you.”
Jannik Sinner will now play France’s Gael Monfils in the quarter-finals after he overcame Australian Aleksander Vukic.
Jordan Spieth topped the leaderboard after round one of the FedEx St Jude Championship, where he scored seven under par with a score of 63.
He goes into round two in Memphis leading Tom Kim by one shot and admitted he has been working on his putting.
“Quite a bit of putting. I played really well at the British. Tee to green, I played well enough to win,” he said afterwards.
“I didn’t feel like I missed many of my lines. I just couldn’t quite get the matching of the line and speed on the greens.
“Now we come to slopey Bermuda and very fast slopey Bermuda where I feel a little more comfortable picking lines and kind of feeding the ball in using gravity.
“I think that helped, along with quite a bit of work as best I could in Texas right now, which is really from the hours of 7:00 a.m to noon before it’s almost unbearable.
“Just tightened some things up. I tried to play a lot just to shoot scores. I had kind of taken off playing a bunch, and I think that that helped a bit in the last couple weeks.”
England’s Tommy Fleetwood and Aaron Rai are the best of the British contingent, closing out Thursday on four under par.
Rory McIlroy sits a shot back on three under, after the Northern Irishman split three bogeys with four birdies and an eagle.
Los Angeles Dodgers ace Clayton Kershaw will make his first start since June 27 on Thursday after the team activated the veteran pitcher from the injured list prior to their game against the Colorado Rockies.
Kershaw missed the past six weeks with a sore left shoulder that prevented the three-time National League Cy Young Award winner from appearing in last month's MLB All-Star Game.
The 35-year-old prepared for Thursday's assignment by throwing a pair of simulated games, including a four-inning outing last week.
Kershaw was in the midst of another excellent season prior to being sidelined. In 16 starts in 2023, the left-hander has compiled a 10-4 record and a 2.55 earned run average that would lead the majors if he had enough innings to qualify.
The 10-time All-Star is 4-0 with a sensational 1.09 ERA over his past five starts and did not allow a run in three of those appearances. In his most recent start on June 27, Kershaw held the Rockies to one hit over six scoreless frames in a 5-0 Dodgers' victory at Coors Field.
Kershaw's return should help stabilise a Los Angeles rotation that has largely struggled in his absence. Dodgers starters recorded a combined 6.18 ERA in July, the second highest in the majors for the month.
“For the team, I know that we all get excited when he takes the baseball,” Dodgers manager Dave Roberts told reporters Tuesday. “You just feel more comfortable and confident when Kersh is active.
Despite their starting pitching issues, the Dodgers have opened up a six-game lead on the second-place San Francisco Giants in the NL West and have won eight of nine games to begin August.
Harry Kane has been given permission to travel to Germany to complete a medical with Bayern Munich, according to reports.
It comes following the news earlier on Thursday that Bayern had reportedly reached an agreement with Tottenham over a £95million deal to sign the England striker.
The clubs are reported to have settled in principle on terms for the England captain to move to Bayern after a series of bids earlier in the summer were rejected, according to reports citing sources in Germany.
Tottenham are not commenting on the latest reports emerging from Germany.
Kane is about to enter the final year of his Tottenham contract, meaning he would be free to leave for nothing in 12 months’ time.
Chairman Daniel Levy is believed to value the striker closer to £120m, but the risk of the club’s star asset departing for free in under a year has underscored negotiations with Bayern.
Kane had reportedly been keen to stay in England in order to pursue Alan Shearer’s all-time Premier League scoring record of 260.
He has netted 213 times in the top flight since making his Spurs debut in 2012.
He was the subject of interest from Manchester United earlier in the summer, but the club opted instead to target less costly alternatives in a bid to stay within their transfer budget.
Spurs supporters sang “we want you to stay” during Sunday’s 5-1 friendly victory over Shakhtar Donetsk, new manager Ange Postecoglou’s first home game in charge.
The team begin their Premier League campaign away to Brentford on Sunday, with Kane reportedly keen for his future to have been decided by then.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
