Kenny McLean savoured a special moment in his career after his last-gasp winner earned Scotland a crucial three Euro 2024 qualifying points from a 2-1 victory in Norway.

McLean struck a composed 89th-minute finish with his right foot 10 minutes after coming off the bench and two minutes after Lyndon Dykes had cancelled out Erling Haaland’s 61st-minute opener from the penalty spot.

Left midfielder McLean said: “It was pretty special, a really good moment for everyone involved and obviously for the fans that travelled – it was amazing, I can hear them outside now.

“Obviously I have only had the San Marino goal previously so I am delighted to score such a meaningful goal.

“I don’t know if I was too happy with Dykesy – setting me up on my right – but thankfully it worked. It doesn’t come out much but thankfully it paid off.”

McLean was part of a triple change from manager Steve Clarke which also saw Billy Gilmour and Stuart Armstrong come on, after Liam Cooper had earlier replaced the fatigued Kieran Tierney.

The Norwich player said: “The manager is constantly going about the squad, it’s a squad game and that’s what we are always about.

“The majority of times we make four or five subs so everyone needs to be ready and thankfully the lads that came on were.

“We have worked for the last couple of weeks together, we had the camp in Spain and worked hard throughout, so to get the rewards is excellent.”

Dykes was delighted with his goal and assist after a challenging night up front on his own in temperatures of about 30 degrees at kick-off.

The QPR striker said: “It was a tough game. They played well. We didn’t play as well as we wanted to play but I was waiting for that opportunity all night and I was just happy to see it go in.

“It’s a hard position sometimes, it doesn’t always go your way. Balls were coming up to me, flying everywhere and they were probably getting the better of me. But I was trying to keep my head and wait for the opportunity.

“I have to keep rolling on and hopefully when the chances come, they go in because the ball rolling in that goal was the slowest thing I have ever seen in my life and I was having a heart attack. I was just happy to see it go over the line.

“And obviously when Kenny scored, it was the icing on the cake.”

Scotland extended their lead at the top of Group A but face a quick turnaround before Tuesday’s visit of Georgia.

McLean said: “It was a massive step for us in the group but we have a lot of work to do and we have a game in a few days.

“We will enjoy this now but we need to go and recover. Nobody wants to hear it but that’s what we have to do.”

Justin Thomas predicted that the shortest hole in modern US Open history would prove “spicy” as records continued to tumble at Los Angeles Country Club.

Two days after Rickie Fowler and Xander Schauffele both shot 62 to record the lowest score in championship history, the par-three 15th was set to play to just 80 yards during Saturday’s third round.

The previous shortest hole in the US Open was the famous seventh at Pebble Beach – 92 yards in the final round in 2010 – but anyone expecting a fourth hole-in-one of the week on the 15th could be disappointed.

Two-time major winner Thomas wrote on Twitter: “Fifteen is interesting…guys playing early have a chance to hold that section I think. But this afternoon (dominantly downwind), I don’t see a ball holding at it.

“Watch for many guys to one hop it over the back. I think the play is to hit a big cut spinner off that middle slope.

“With how fast the greens will play, it has a chance to get down within 5-10 feet. Will be a spicy one for sure!”

Thomas missed the cut on Friday after rounds of 73 and 81 left him 152nd in the 156-man field and admitted his performance was “humiliating and embarrassing”.

“I was playing the best I’ve played in a really long time this week, so (it’s a) funny game, man,” Thomas told the Golf Channel.

“It can leave you speechless, both good and bad, and right now it’s unfortunate. But once I’m able to reflect and figure out what I can learn and get better from, it’ll end up good. But it sucks right now.”

Thomas won his second US PGA Championship 13 months ago at Southern Hills, but has not tasted victory since and the former world number one has slipped to 16th in the rankings.

“I’ll figure it out,” he added. “I have another major left (this season).

“If I go win the British Open, nobody even remembers that I’ve missed the cut by a zillion here, so I’ve just got to find a way to get better and learn from this and if I can, I don’t have to look at this week as a total failure.”

Next month’s Open Championship will be staged at Royal Liverpool and Rory McIlroy revealed watching the highlights of his victory there in 2014 had influenced his approach this week.

“For whatever reason I went on to YouTube a few weeks ago and was looking back at Hoylake 2014 and I could not believe how many irons and three woods I was hitting off the tee and it set something off in my mind,” said McIlroy, who headed into the third round two shots behind leader Rickie Fowler.

“You know how to do this, you know how to play smart. You don’t have to take driver all the time – yes it’s a big weapon but I feel like I have more weapons in my arsenal than I did then so I may as well use them.”

Asked how much he wanted to win another major after a drought of almost nine years, McIlroy added: “I started thinking about winning this thing on Monday and no one wants me to win another major more than I do.

“The desire is obviously there. I’ve been trying and I’ve come close over the past nine years and I keep coming back.

“I feel like I’ve showed a lot of resilience in my career, whether I get rewarded or punched in the gut, I’ll always keep coming back.”

Coincidentally, Fowler was joint second behind McIlroy at Hoylake in a year in which he finished in the top five in all four majors, and was also third behind McIlroy in the following month’s US PGA.

Scotland manager Steve Clarke hailed the character and depth in his squad following their sensational late Euro 2024 qualifying comeback in Oslo.

Clarke’s men stunned Norway with an unlikely turnaround as goals from Lyndon Dykes and substitute Kenny McLean in the final four minutes of normal time earned the Group A leaders a 2-1 victory.

McLean was one of three changes Clarke made in the 79th minute and it proved just in time after Scotland struggled to pose a threat and fell behind to Erling Haaland’s 61st-minute penalty after the striker went down when Ryan Porteous got hold of his shirt.

With Spain not playing, Scotland extended their lead at the top of Group A and moved eight points ahead of third seeds Norway.

Clarke said: “I was pleased with the performance, we were disciplined and passed it quite well at times.

“Obviously, you have got to soak up a lot of pressure against a good Norwegian team. And we never stopped believing. We keep going to the end and got our rewards.

“It says a lot about the character, the spirit, the quality from the bench. One of the things I keep banging on about with this group of players, the quality we have got, they want to do well for their country.

“And when I turn to the bench and I know I need to make changes to freshen it up, I am putting top-quality players on the pitch.

“It was just about getting the timing right. After losing the goal, I felt it was better just to stay in the fight for a little bit to make sure the game didn’t run away from us.

“After that we had to chase the game, it was pretty logical – you are going to take off a defender and push John McGinn a little bit further forward.

“We brought Kenny to the game, Billy Gilmour to the game, brought Stuart Armstrong to the game, fresh legs to try and get forward and they were involved in most of the best things towards the end of the game.

“Even Dominic (Hyam) comes on at the end and sticks his head on a couple. Congratulations to Dominic, first cap, not a bad place to do it, not a bad score.”

Scotland’s win already puts them in a strong position with a perfect record ahead of Tuesday’s visit of Georgia, which will mark the halfway point in the campaign.

Clarke said: “If we want to qualify for major tournaments, you know you have to go away from home against good teams and pick up points. This is three points which is big but we have to go again.

“They are all in there recovering in an ice bath and we have to make sure we get three points on Tuesday to capitalise. It sets us up nicely for Tuesday, I am not looking beyond that.”

Porteous is suspended for Tuesday after picking up a yellow card but Kieran Tierney could feature despite hobbling off, not long after the opener.

When asked how the Arsenal defender was, Clarke said: “Tired. Just tired. He didn’t join us for the training camp. Not released by his club.

“He joined us at the start of this week and felt a bit of tightness in his quad so we just protected him all week.

“To get a good hour out of the lad was fantastic and shows that everybody is prepared to put their body on the line. And then we are bringing on Liam Cooper who is a top-quality defender.”

Norway manager Stale Solbakken – whose side were left bottom of the group – bemoaned the turning point of the game when his defender’s interception fell for Dykes to nudge home.

“It was an accident for Leo Ostigrad. I think it was cramp in both legs at the same time,” he said. “That’s how it is, we can’t blame him for that. I will have to take the blame for not substituting him if it was like that.

“We are in a very difficult position.”

Australia’s Usman Khawaja revealed some ill-timed verbals from the Edgbaston crowd set him up for an emotional century on day two of the first Ashes Test, marking the moment by throwing his bat into the air.

The tourists were struggling after Stuart Broad dismissed David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne with successive deliveries, but Khawaja rebuilt the innings with a superb 126 not out.

The opener dug in for almost six and a half hours, building important partnerships with Travis Head and Cameron Green, before a late offensive push with Alex Carey saw Australia end the day 82 behind on 311 for five.

Khawaja marked his century with an impassioned celebration that saw him throw his bat high over his head. The 36-year-old has been enjoying a renaissance in recent years, notching hundreds in Australia, India and Pakistan along the way.

Yet runs in England had always eluded him – with a top score of 54 and an average of 19.60 prior to this century – and the fact was not lost on the home fans at the ground.

“I genuinely do not read the media but when I’m getting sprayed (taunted) by the crowd as I’m walking out there today and as I’m going to nets being told that I can’t score runs in England…I guess it was just a bit more emotional than normal,” he said.

“I think it (the celebration) was a combination of having three Ashes tours in England and being dropped in two of them. Not that I have a point to prove, but it’s nice to go out there and score runs for Australia and just to show everyone that the last 10 years hasn’t been a fluke.”

Khawaja, who attended the end of day press conference with his daughter Aisha in tow, spoke of how the realisation that this will almost certainly be his last trip to England had freed him up.

“These young ones keep me young and make me realise that there’s a lot to life and a lot of good stuff, inshallah, after I stop playing cricket,” he said.

“So for me, it’s just about enjoying it. My wife has been awesome to me, she’s been my rock throughout my career.

“That perspective makes it a lot easier for me to go out there and just play and try and enjoy it as much as I can, whether I get a duck or a hundred.

“Every Test match is a bonus for me because we thought my career was over. In my head, it’s the last (Ashes) tour I’ll be on, unless I pull a Jimmy Anderson and come back when I’m 41.”

Dejan Kulusevski has completed a permanent transfer to Tottenham from Juventus.

The Sweden international arrived in north London on an 18-month loan in January 2022 and has been influential during what has been a difficult period for Spurs.

He scored and registered an assist on his first start, a 3-2 victory against Manchester City at the Etihad in February last year, and has gone on to net seven goals in 57 appearances for the club.

The initial loan deal included an option for Spurs to make a deal for the 23-year-old permanent for a reported £29.9million if certain conditions were met.

His performances in the Premier League during 2022 were recognised with him receiving the award for best Swedish male player for the year.

Prior to joining Tottenham, he played 55 times in Serie A for Juventus whom he joined from his first club Atalanta following a loan spell at Parma.

Stuart Broad blamed the occasion of the Ashes and bowling on a “soulless” pitch for a costly no-ball as England were punished for a series of errors by Australia in the first Test.

Broad sent Edgbaston into raptures by snaring old rival David Warner and Marnus Labuschagne, the top-ranked Test batter, in the space of two deliveries as Australia lurched to 67 for three on day two.

Usman Khawaja was the calm head the tourists needed, anchoring Australia’s innings with his first ton in England before he was bowled on 112 by Broad, only for replays to show the seamer had overstepped.

It was one of 13 no-balls from England – Broad sent down half a dozen – while Jonny Bairstow fluffed a stumping chance off Cameron Green before missing a regulation catch off Alex Carey, who went to stumps unbeaten on 52 out of Australia’s 311 for five, with Khawaja set to resume on 126 not out on Sunday.

Australia are 82 runs behind England but while Broad admitted irritation at his mistake, he suggested straining for something extra on a surface offering little for the bowlers could have been a factor.

“It’s really frustrating,” he told the BBC’s Test Match Special. “I’m not really a big no-ball bowler. I have probably bowled more today than in a Test match day before. There’s no excuse.

“But it is the first innings of an Ashes Test match, you have some big emotions there so you are trying to gain energy from the surface and maybe pushing a little bit too hard. It is something to be aware of.

“It is a very slow, low surface that zaps the energy out of the ball. It is pretty characterless so far, pretty soulless, but you can only judge a surface towards the end of the match and see how it develops.”

Ben Stokes ordered “flat, fast wickets” ahead of the LV= Insurance series but Broad believes tracks such as the one they have encountered in Birmingham are anathema to how England want to play cricket.

“It is certainly one of the slowest pitches I can remember bowling on in England,” Broad added.

“It has been hard work for the seamers and ultimately we are looking to entertain, have fun and get the crowd jumping and it is quite a difficult pitch to get play and misses on and nicks to slip on. Hopefully it is not a trend for the whole series.”

Had Bairstow held on after part-timer Joe Root had drawn the outside edge of Carey or Broad not overstepped when bowling Khawaja through the gate, England would have been into Australia’s bowlers.

But Broad believes England are still in a “really positive place” while assistant coach Paul Collingwood still feels the hosts are in the driving seat, pointing out how they took 20 wickets in all three Tests against Pakistan at the back end of last year on similarly lifeless pitches.

“We were probably half an inch away from taking all their wickets,” Collingwood said. “We weren’t far away but we’re still in a magnificent position in this game. That wicket isn’t going to get any better as it goes on.

“We’ve come up against some slow pitches in places like Pakistan and found a way to take 20 wickets, I think this bowling unit taking 20 wickets on all surfaces has been a strength of this team.”

Having boldly declared on 393 for eight on Friday, Stokes threw another curve ball on Saturday when he brought on the medium pace of Harry Brook after Broad and James Anderson’s initial foray.

The Yorkshireman sent down just one over and then two more later in the day before the second new ball was taken, conceding just five runs and even delivering a maiden to Khawaja.

“It was Ben’s plan at the time,” Collingwood added. “It just shows how maverick the team can be at certain times. Harry said if he gets a newer ball he reckons he can take four or five wickets, but I’m not too sure he’s getting a newer ball!”

Andy Murray admitted he wished he had played more lower-level tournaments after making it back-to-back finals at the Rothesay Open in Nottingham.

The former world number one won his second title of the season on the second-tier Challenger Tour in Surbiton last week and is aiming to repeat the feat at the Nottingham Tennis Centre.

He is yet to drop a set this week and eased past Portugal’s Nuno Borges 6-3 6-2 in only 72 minutes for his ninth victory in a row.

It is now four years since Murray returned to action following his hip resurfacing operation and he is pushing to be seeded at a grand slam for the first time since then at Wimbledon in two weeks’ time.

“I probably wish I’d dropped down and played more at this level sooner,” said Murray. “I did play a few Challengers when I came back but maybe I should have stayed there a little bit longer.

“I’ve won against three or four top-100 players in this run. There’s been some good wins against experienced grass-court players.

“For me physically and mentally to get used to being in this situation more again has been really helpful. Now it’s up to me to try and carry that on at the higher level over the next few weeks.”

Murray will return to the top 40 on Monday but will need more wins at Queen’s Club next week to earn a Wimbledon seeding and the concern could be the number of matches he has played in a short amount of time.

The 36-year-old played down those worries, though, saying: “Yes, you could say number of matches is what’s important but it’s also the nature of those matches.

“Today’s match was an hour and a quarter and was not a particularly physical match.

“If I was training at Queen’s, I would have been on the practice court for a couple of hours today and I would have been in the gym.

“There’s obviously the mental stress of the matches and competing but quite a few of the matches have been pretty quick. Physically I feel fine just now.”

Murray had rated his quarter-final win over Dominic Stricker as his best performance of the run and he was clinical in the opening set against Borges, ranked 73.

The second was a little scrappier, with Murray dropping serve and facing break points in other games, but more of the pressure was on his opponent and the Scot managed to avoid making things complicated.

The victory completed another memorable day for the home players after Katie Boulter and Jodie Burrage set up a very rare all-British final in the WTA event.

In the final, the Scot will take on 20-year-old Frenchman Arthur Cazaux, who defeated Dominik Koepfer 7-5 6-2.

“I’ve played a lot of youngsters recently and it’s always tough,” said Murray. “We practised with each other recently so hopefully (there are) not too many surprises.”

Kenny McLean scored a dramatic 89th-minute winner for Scotland in Norway as the visitors turned their Euro 2024 qualifier on its head with two goals in as many minutes.

Scotland were trailing to Erling Haaland’s 61st-minute penalty and had barely posed a threat before Lyndon Dykes capitalised on some hesitancy in the Norwegian defence to nudge the ball home after John McGinn’s attempted through ball had been intercepted.

The Group A leaders soon ensured they continued their perfect start to the campaign when Dykes laid McGinn’s pass back to substitute McLean, who curled a low shot just inside the far post.

The visitors wore black armbands in memory of Gordon McQueen, who scored his fifth and final international goal in a 4-0 win in the same stadium in 1979 on the previous occasion the teams met in a European Championship qualifier.

And they provided a fitting tribute to the 30-times capped centre-back with a sensational comeback victory.

Jack Hendry was handed possibly the most difficult task in world football at the moment when he was drafted in to play at the heart of a back three tasked with stopping Haaland.

The Club Brugge defender was the only change to the team that beat Spain in March after Grant Hanley dropped out with a serious Achilles injury.

The best chance of the first half fell to Norway forward Alexander Sorloth, who sent a free header from eight yards straight at Angus Gunn.

Scotland struggled to retain possession in the opening 20 minutes before settling down somewhat.

Andy Robertson produced two good runs and crosses but they did not lead to anything and McGinn was closed down quickly after getting a sight of goal following Ryan Christie’s cross.

Steve Clarke’s side were employing a flat back five out of possession and trying to keep a high line. The only time Haaland got the ball in a decent position in the first half, Callum McGregor quickly tracked back to make a penalty-box tackle.

The striker might have had a far better chance if he had not been hauled down by Hendry while beginning a chase for a ball over the top.

Hendry was the last defender but only received a yellow card given the foul was on the halfway line.

The Slovenian referee was a lot harsher in handing bookings to McGinn and Kieran Tierney either side of half-time.

Ola Solbakken and McGinn saw decent long-range shots saved early in the second half before Hendry got away with some penalty-box grappling with Haaland, although the striker did not appeal unlike some of his team-mates.

However, he did not have long to wait for a spot-kick. Ryan Porteous grabbed the striker’s shirt as he looked set to attack Sorloth’s cross and the referee immediately pointed to the spot when Haaland went down.

Porteous in return received a yellow card which rules him out of Tuesday’s visit of Georgia.

Gunn dived the right way and came close but was beaten by the power of the strike from Haaland, who had only scored once in his previous eight club matches but took his tally for the season for club and country to 59.

Scotland soon lost Tierney to injury with Liam Cooper entering the fray and they were making no inroads into Norway’s lead before Clarke made a triple switch in the 79th minute and moved to a back four. McLean, Stuart Armstrong and Billy Gilmour came on.

Haaland went off in the 84th minute and Scotland soon stunned the hosts and delighted their travelling fans with their late double whammy.

Max Verstappen finished fastest as Carlos Sainz crashed out of a rain-hit final practice for the Canadian Grand Prix.

Verstappen has won five of the first seven races of the season and even a wet track in Montreal could not slow the Dutchman down.

The world champion, already 53 points clear of Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez in the championship standings, finished 0.291 seconds clear of Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc.

The Monegasque was the only driver within one second of Verstappen. Fernando Alonso took third for Aston Martin, 1.3 sec off the pace.

Lewis Hamilton, fastest in Friday’s dry running at Circuit Gilles Villeneuve, finished 10th in the rain, 1.98 sec slower than Verstappen, with George Russell 15th in the other Mercedes.

In the greasy conditions, Sainz spun after he stepped on to the white line under braking for the opening left-right chicane.

Sainz was sent out of control and into the wall, sustaining significant damage to the front of his scarlet car.

The Ferrari man escaped unharmed from the high-speed shunt which saw the one-hour session suspended for eight minutes.

But his mechanics will now face a race against time to repair his machine for qualifying which is due to start at 16:00 local time (21:00 BST).

Sainz was also summoned to the stewards for blocking Williams’ Alex Albon at the final chicane. Albon was forced to take evasive action to avoid slamming into the back of the Spaniard.

Hamilton headlined the order here on Friday, but the seven-time world champion was not at ease with his black-liveried car on a sodden surface.

“Grip is very poor,” said Hamilton after he ran off the road at the first corner and failed to trouble the top of the time sheets.

Elsewhere, Kevin Magnussen finished an impressive fourth for Haas, one spot ahead of Sainz, who set his speediest lap moments before his accident.

British driver Lando Norris was 13th, one spot behind his rookie McLaren team-mate Oscar Piastri, while Perez finished a lowly 17th, 2.7 sec behind Verstappen.

Andy Murray made it back-to-back finals with his ninth win in a row against Nuno Borges at the Rothesay Open in Nottingham.

The former world number one won his second title of the season on the second-tier Challenger Tour in Surbiton last week and is aiming to repeat the feat at the Nottingham Tennis Centre.

He is yet to drop a set and rated his quarter-final victory over Dominic Stricker on Friday as his best performance of the fortnight.

The 36-year-old carried that form into Saturday’s meeting with Portuguese Borges, ranked 73, to win 6-3 6-2 in an hour and 12 minutes.

It completed another memorable day for the home players after Katie Boulter and Jodie Burrage set up a very rare all-British final in the WTA event.

Murray broke Borges’ serve at the first opportunity and was clinical in the first set. The only blip came when he dropped serve after breaking early in the second but he put it behind him quickly and won the final four games.

“I thought the start of the match was really good,” said Murray. “The second set was quite scrappy I think from both ends.

“The second set wasn’t so good but the first set was high level, I was really happy with it. You’re not going to play your best all the time. There are going to be blips and I managed to deal with it OK.”

In the final, the Scot will take on 20-year-old Frenchman Arthur Cazaux, who defeated Dominik Koepfer 7-5 6-2.

“I’ve played a lot of youngsters recently and it’s always tough,” said Murray. “We practised with each other recently so hopefully not too many surprises.”

Matt Doherty has leapt to the defence of Republic of Ireland manager Stephen Kenny after their Euro 2024 qualifying defeat in Greece thrust him into the firing line once again.

A 2-1 reverse at the OPAP Arena in Athens left Ireland without a point from their opening two fixtures and knowing their chances of escaping a group, which also includes World Cup runners-up France and traditional European superpower the Netherlands, have receded dramatically.

Kenny once again finds himself under intense pressure as a result, but asked if he was still the right man for the job, Doherty said: “Of course. We are prepared unbelievably well, they do everything for us.

“I was just saying behind the scenes, the staff, the manager, (assistant managers) Keith (Andrews), Sheasy (John O’Shea), Deano (goalkeeping coach Dean Kiely), for me they are absolutely the right people.

“I don’t even know if there is speculation, is there?”

When informed that there was, he added: “For me, that shouldn’t be the case. The are absolutely the right people for the job. Nobody can prepare us as well as they have and will continue to do.”

Kenny and his players had spent nine days in Turkey preparing for a game which was always going to be key to their qualification hopes, although all the work they did was blown out of the water in Athens by collective and individual under-performance and costly mistakes.

Doherty said: “Zero excuses. Everything was laid out for us, the way to beat them and we just didn’t play well.”

The former Tottenham and Atletico Madrid full-back’s night ended in particularly-disappointing fashion when he was sent off in stoppage time for a push on Liverpool’s Kostas Tsimikas amid a bad-tempered scuffle.

He said: “I don’t really know what happened. I thought I walked into him with my chest. I don’t known if it was a red card.”

Doherty will be suspended for Monday night’s clash with Gibraltar in Dublin as a result, but in the longer term, is seeking a new club after leaving Atletico Madrid as a free agent after a difficult spell in Spain during the second half of last season.

He said: “I really enjoyed it, great set of lads, good changing room, a different experience completely.

“Obviously I didn’t play anywhere near the number of games I wanted to, but the experience – it was worth the six months.

“My family is in England and I’d like to go back to my family, but I am not opposed to any kind of challenge wherever that is.”

Quickthorn has proved a real money-spinner for owner Lady Blyth in the past few seasons and he took his earnings over the half-million mark when landing the Sky Bet Race To The Ebor Grand Cup Stakes at York.

In typically gritty fashion, the Hughie Morrison-trained six-year-old led after three furlongs of the mile-and-three-quarter Listed contest under Jason Hart.

Despite looking like a sitting duck throughout the last half-mile, he had plenty in reserve to fend off market leader Israr and score by a length and a half.

Morrison was cautious about running the crack stayer on quicker ground, but having his hand reluctantly forced, admitted the 7-4 second-favourite coped with the surface at a track on which he was so brilliant in last year’s Lonsdale Cup.

“I think what York do is produce level ground,” said the East Ilsley handler. “You didn’t see any dust kicking up today.

“A lot of horses, jointy horses, you can get away with level ground. They can get jarred up, but you don’t injure them.

“When it is rough fast ground, that is when you can get problems with these horses.

“He likes a bit of cut in the ground and you want to do right by the horse.

“At least he’s won a stakes race this year. He drilled them really. He outstayed the second, I think. He went away in the last 20 yards.”

Quickthorn is set to follow a similar path to last season after recording the eighth success of his 21-race career.

“I would imagine we will look at the (Group Two) Prix Maurice de Nieuil, a race which he won last year at Longchamp, then I think back to York. Then he deserves a rest, I think.

“I’d love the handicapper to drop him 3lb and then we’d go to the Ebor. I suspect that won’t happen, though!

“I thought Jason gave him a really good ride today. He let the horse find his rhythm, not force him.

“Over a mile and six, given that two miles is his trip really, he found the right rhythm.

“I thought he was good and I thought he was going to get swallowed up several times, but he just kept going.”

Quinault (15-2) made it a five-timer for Stuart Williams, taking the Oakmere Homes Supporting Macmillan Sprint Handicap.

Connor Planas’ mount had a head to spare over Washington Heights as he continued his upward curve.

His winning spree started in a lowly Class 6 handicap at Chelmsford in April, and after wins at Brighton and two more at Newmarket, he overcame his biggest test thus far with flying colours.

Though entered in the Palace of Holyrood House Stakes at Royal Ascot next week, he is unlikely to make a quick return.

Explaining his improvement, Williams said: “He was in the Horses In Training Sale after Godolphin bought him from the breeze-ups for quite a lot of money.

“He was very difficult to settle and basically ran away in his only race for them.

“He was being awkward at home. I think they gelded him and tried to start with him again, but he was still being awkward, so they put him in the sales – rightly, in my opinion. They have so many good horses, they don’t want one who is being a pain in the backside.

“We quite liked him, so we decided to take a punt on him. We spent two months on the treadmill with him and took baby steps, trying to settle him.

“It was the same in his first two races for us, tearing away. He was keen early and not relaxing at all, but we have just taken things very quietly and now it is paying off. He is repaying us handsomely.

“He is getting better and it was a big day for him today, with a big crowd, walking across the middle of the track and it was a big field.

“His run at Newmarket helped him, but it wasn’t like the hustle and bustle of York.”

Options are no open for the son of Oasis Dream, although a trip to the Royal meeting looks doubtful.

“It is very unlikely he will run next week. It was just to tick a box in case we didn’t manage to get to the races,” Williams added. “He is in the Bunbury Cup and he’ll definitely get seven furlongs, no problem. Seven furlongs on the July course might suit him.

“But I might try to find another three-year-old race for him before we step him up to older company.”

Saeed bin Suroor advertised the good form of his yard ahead of Royal Ascot when Wild Lion (8-1) took the seven-furlong Sky Bet Handicap by half a length under Kieran O’Neill.

“It was a good performance,” said the trainer. “I think the cheekpieces may have helped him today.”