Amadou Bakayoko fired Dundee into the top six in the Scottish Premiership with a late winner against St Johnstone in Perth.

A scrappy encounter was illuminated by two sublime goals from either side courtesy of Lyall Cameron and Adama Sidibeh to leave the game delicately poised at 1-1 entering the final 10 minutes but Bakayoko tapped in from four yards in front of the ecstatic travelling contingent.

There was late drama as St Johnstone correctly had a goal ruled out after a long VAR check but it was a massive win for Tony Docherty’s men as they moved one point ahead of Hibs into sixth place after the Edinburgh side lost to Rangers at Ibrox.

St Johnstone will be frustrated as it was a relatively even encounter and the Saints remain in danger of the relegation play-off place as they stayed just one point ahead of 11th-placed Ross County.

Dundee enjoyed the better of the opening stages and they broke the deadlock in stunning fashion through Cameron – the best player on the pitch.

Dimitar Mitov raced out of his box to beat Scott Tiffoney to a long ball but, with the visitors screaming for a handball from the St Johnstone goalkeeper, Cameron remained alert to drill a brilliant effort into the empty net from 40 yards out with Mitov stranded.

It turned into a scrappy encounter as the first half progressed but St Johnstone spurned a great chance to equalise on 25 minutes. Tony Gallacher won the foot race onto a long ball but he was unable to lift the ball over the advancing Jon McCracken, who tipped it over the bar.

After the resulting corner was partially cleared, Dundee goalkeeper McCracken made another impressive stop to tip David Keltjens’ long-range effort around the post.

Saints were applying pressure on the Dundee backline in the second half and they were rewarded for their endeavours when Sidibeh equalised on the hour mark with a sensational acrobatic finish.

Matt Smith’s cross from the right was deflected and looped up with Sidibeh adjusting his body before perfectly executing a bicycle kick as the ball flew past McCracken.

It was end to end as the game opened up in the final 15 minutes and Dundee capitalised to seal victory on 80 minutes. The impressive Luke McCowan found space in the box and his drilled ball across goal was prodded home from close range by a stretching Bakayoko.

St Johnstone pressed for a late equaliser and, after Stevie May struck the post with a powerful strike, Ryan McGowan had the ball in the net.

Referee Iain Sneddon, however, blew his whistle as Dundee keeper McCracken had two hands on the ball and McGowan also appeared to push Aaron Donnelly.

The referee was asked to review the incident on the pitch-side monitor but he stuck by his original decision as Dundee secured a vital three points.

Chelsea were held to a 2-2 draw by Burnley at Stamford Bridge as Vincent Kompany’s side twice came from behind with 10 men to frustrate the hosts.

At five league games it became Chelsea’s longest unbeaten run in the league in almost 18 months, but there was little good cheer directed towards Mauricio Pochettino and his players by fans at the final whistle, after they saw Dara O’Shea snatch a point for Burnley late on.

Cole Palmer had earlier scored twice, the first a penalty after defender Lorenz Assignon had been dismissed for fouling Mykhailo Mudryk, then making it 2-1 after being set up by a delightful flick from the under-fire Raheem Sterling.

In between, Josh Cullen volleyed Burnley level against the run of play early in the second half, as their top-flight survival bid received an unlikely boost.

The first opportunity had been Burnley’s. A long ball up from halfway drifted over the head of Benoit Badiashile and was lashed across goal and wide by Jacob Bruun Larsen.

Next to go close was Enzo Fernandez. His shot from the edge of the box took a wicked deflection towards the top corner, before being brilliantly turned onto the crossbar and behind by Arijanet Muric.

It was a bright Chelsea opening, Palmer and Conor Gallagher readily a threat when linking up whilst Mudryk, fresh from scoring the goal that sent Ukraine to Euro 2024, showed speed and tricky footwork rampaging down the left.

Yet Burnley were not blunt. Wilson Odobert drew a fine, flying save from goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic, finding space to fire from range after stepping inside Malo Gusto, who allowed him past too easily.

Nicolas Jackson too might have done better when he raced on to Palmer’s incisive through-ball, danced round two defenders and aimed for the corner, again though Muric saved.

Axel Disasi thought he had given Chelsea the lead midway through the first half, turning the ball in at the far post from Mudryk’s cross, only for VAR to rule it had gone in off the defender’s arm.

Mudryk fired straight at Muric after being teed up by Jackson jinking in off the right, as Chelsea’s shot count rose to 12 inside the opening 35 minutes.

The sense that Burnley were clinging on grew, and shortly before half-time their task was made exponentially harder.

Assignon initially looked to have Mudryk under control as the pair raced to reach the ball in the left channel. Mudryk stepped across him, and Assignon heaved him away and to the ground with a raised arm at neck height.

In the chaos that followed, the defender was shown a second yellow card, the fulminating Kompany too saw red, leaving Burnley a man down and with their manager banished from the touchline. With his impudent penalty, Palmer added insult to injury to give Chelsea the lead.

It was richly deserved, and so Burnley’s equaliser immediately after the break stunned the home crowd. Cullen played a one-two with Josh Brownhill 25 yards out, receiving it back and crashing an instinctive volley beyond Petrovic with the second half barely two minutes old.

The visitors would have been ahead had Petrovic not saved brilliantly one-handed from Odobert’s close-range header, then at the other end Muric was again Burnley’s saviour, beating away Jackson’s low first-time drive.

Home fans were contemplating another frustrating result when Sterling, on for Moises Caicedo, diverted the ball beautifully into the feet of Palmer with a devilish flick, and Chelsea’s top scorer crashed it into the bottom corner to restore the lead.

It lasted under three minutes. At once Burnley were up the other end winning a corner, and from it nobody in blue followed O’Shea as he ran across four defenders and headed the ball through Petrovic’s fumbled grasp to level.

Sterling should have won it when he burst onto Palmer’s far-post cross but inexplicably nodded wide, before Jay Rodriguez headed against the crossbar in the 88th minute as Burnley threatened the improbable.

Marley Watkins scored a stunning second-half equaliser as Kilmarnock guaranteed their place in the top six of the cinch Premiership with a 1-1 draw away to Hearts.

The hosts seized the initiative early on when Kenneth Vargas nodded home the opener at the end of a week in which it was confirmed that the Costa Rica forward – initially signed on loan – had agreed a five-year contract with the Tynecastle club.

However, Killie hit back for a point in an entertaining match that could have gone either way.

The result ensured the fourth-placed Ayrshire side – who remain 11 points behind third-placed Hearts – cannot be overtaken by seventh-placed Hibernian before the league splits next month.

Hearts made four changes to the team that started the 2-1 defeat at Ross County prior to the international break as Kye Rowles, Toby Sibbick, Nathaniel Atkinson and Aidan Denholm made way for Frankie Kent, Dexter Lembikisa, Jorge Grant and 18-year-old Macaulay Tait, who was handed his first start.

There was just one alteration to the Kilmarnock side that began the 5-2 home win over St Mirren as right-back Lewis Mayo replaced David Watson.

The visitors had the first notable attempt in the fifth minute when Watkins headed Matty Kennedy’s cross straight at Zander Clark.

Two minutes later the Hearts keeper had to race back to his line and tip over a speculative Liam Polworth effort from close to the half-way line.

From the resulting Killie corner, Vargas burst upfield from the edge of his own box and slipped the ball into the path of Grant, whose stinging strike from 25 yards out was pushed behind by Will Dennis.

The Jambos took the lead in the 10th minute when Vargas nodded in from a couple of yards out after Lawrence Shankland got on the end of Alex Cochrane’s delivery from the left and clipped the ball back into the danger area from the right edge of the six-yard box.

Hearts had a good chance to double their advantage two minutes later but Grant shot tamely at Dennis after being picked out by Shankland cutback.

Killie threatened an equaliser in the 27th minute when Stuart Findlay glanced a header just wide from Kennedy’s free-kick into the box.

At the other end, Shankland tested Dennis with a low strike from edge of the box on the half-hour.

Killie finished the half strongly, with Joe Wright powering a header over the bar before Watkins saw a header brilliantly clawed out by Clark.

Hearts started the second period on top and Vargas went close to a second in the 50th minute when his shot from 20 yards out was pushed behind by Dennis.

But just as the Jambos were starting to look reasonably comfortable, Killie equalised in the 67th minute as Watkins arced a stunning strike high beyond Clark and into the net from just outside the box.

Laurel River turned the Dubai World Cup into a procession when running out a wide-margin winner for local trainer Bhupat Seemar and jockey Tadhg O’Shea.

Formerly trained by Bob Baffert, the Juddmonte-owned six-year-old was trying the 10-furlong trip for the first time but with two furlongs to run had the race won.

The likes of Derma Sotogake, Ushba Tesoro, Newgate and Kabirkhan had garnered most of the pre-race talk, with Laurel River almost sneaking in under the radar.

It looked a brave decision to step him up in trip, despite winning a Group Three by almost seven lengths over a mile last time out.

O’Shea was allowed to dictate the race from a long way out and under no pressure, he went further and further clear.

Entering the final furlong, he was still 10 lengths ahead and while Laurel River understandably got tired late on, he crossed the line well ahead of Ushba Tesoro and Senor Buscador.

The winning trainer said: “I would like to thank Juddmonte and His Royal Highness for sending me the horse. I was worried that they might be going too fast but Tadhg got the right fractions and also a breather into him.

“It’s the greatest feeling to have won this race, but what he was doing in the mornings made me think, ‘what has this horse got?’

“There is so much stamina in his pedigree but his training was out of this world.”

O’Shea added: “I tell you one thing, I have never ridden one as good as him. I never dreamed I would win the Dubai World Cup, it really is the stuff of dreams.

“He behaved like a pony; he hit the gates and did everything from the front, it was unbelievable. He gave himself every chance to get the distance, it’s an amazing feeling.”

Son Heung-min’s 86th-minute winner helped Tottenham get their Champions League qualification hopes back on track with a 2-1 home victory over Luton.

Luton made the perfect start in north London when Tahith Chong rifled them ahead after three minutes and Rob Edwards’ side threatened to come away with a rare win when Spurs went another first half without a goal.

While Tottenham have now failed to score during the first 45 of seven home games in a row, Ange Postecoglou’s team produced another second-half rally thanks to substitute Brennan Johnson.

Johnson set up Issa Kabore’s 51st-minute own goal and teed up Son four minutes from time to help the hosts bounce back from their Fulham humbling two weeks ago with a much-needed victory.

Luton arrived in the capital buoyed by the fact they moved out of the relegation zone during the international break following Nottingham Forest’s points deduction and they started with a bang.

Only three minutes were on the clock when the visitors broke at pace down the right and after Andros Townsend burst past Yves Bissouma too easily he recycled the ball to Ross Barkley, who teed up Chong for the opener.

Chong’s low finish in off the post was his fifth goal of the season and represented more frustration for Spurs but they should have levelled after 15 minutes.

Dejan Kulusevski’s excellent crossfield pass released Timo Werner, who turned Kabore inside out before he scuffed wide with only Thomas Kaminski to beat.

Five minutes later and Tottenham went close again with captain Son remarkably hitting both posts.

Kulusevski played in Son, who rounded Kaminski but saw his shot hit both uprights after it rolled across the goalline before Pape Sarr’s follow-up strike was cleared off the line by Teden Mengi.

The Hatters were able to impressively regroup and finished the half strongly with Alfie Doughty’s goalbound volley blocked by Pedro Porro.

Boos greeted the half-time whistle and Postecoglou reacted with Johnson introduced for Kulusevski, which had the desired impact.

Not long after Guglielmo Vicario had denied Ross Barkley’s long-range effort, Spurs attacked down the right and Johnson followed up a one-two with Porro with a superb delivery to the back post that Kabore fired into his own net.

Tottenham were in the mood now with Son denied by Kaminski before the Luton goalkeeper clawed away Porro’s deflected cross.

Edwards’ side remained a threat from set-pieces and Vicario had to be alert to thwart a low effort by substitute Jordan Clark before the hosts made a double change with Rodrigo Bentancur and Giovani Lo Celso introduced.

It nearly paid dividends immediately with Werner able to find Lo Celso, who picked out Johnson but his close-range effort was blocked by Kaminski and Doughty cleared with the ball a matter of millimetres away from crossing the goalline.

Spurs would not be denied though and Son grabbed the winner with four minutes left.

A slick counter-attack from Luton’s corner saw Werner race down the left and his cross found Johnson, who teed up Son to score via a deflection for his 15th goal of the season.

Aberdeen recorded a second straight cinch Premiership victory with a 2-1 home win over Ross County to move six points clear of their visitors, who remain in the relegation play-off place.

Bojan Miovski and Jamie McGrath struck at either end of the match to give their side the points, although the defending that lead to Simon Murray’s 17th goal of the season exposed their soft underbelly.

The home side were quick out of the traps, with Miovski testing George Wickens just two minutes in, only for a debatable offside flag to render the goalkeeper’s save moot.

But the visitors did not heed the warning and were behind after after minutes.

This time it was Junior Hoilett who slid the pass down the side of the County defence and, although Miovski seemed to have been forced wide, his prodded effort trundled through a ruck of players and across the line, despite the despairing late lunge of Loick Ayina.

Perhaps the goal gave Don Cowie’s men a wake-up call as they began to edge back into the game.

Josh Reid was denied a leveller when Murray played him in, only for the wing-back to be foiled by Kelle Roos’ low save.

But Murray brought his side level, first winning a corner off Stefan Gartenmann before heading home unchallenged at the back post from Yan Dhanda’s whipped delivery.

Aberdeen’s bright start was now a distant memory and, while Michee Efete was called offside when he blasted over from close range, it was another warning for the home side.

There were signs of life for the Dons early in the second half, but the Staggies could have been in front in the 65th minute as Dhanda’s powerful drive forced Roos to push over.

The introduction of Duk brought some fresh impetus to the hosts’ attack and he charged on to a long ball that drew Wickens out of his area.

The latter took out the former and the keeper was perhaps lucky to escape with a yellow card after a VAR check.

Leighton Clarkson whipped the resulting free-kick inches wide of an upright.

Duk was involved again when his side took the lead after 78 minutes. His quick spin in the area took out his man and he laid the ball on a plate for McGrath to turn home from six yards.

It could have been three for Aberdeen when Dante Polvara’s vicious half-volley cannoned back off the bar late on and, although they survived a late VAR check for Gartnemann’s challenge on Murray, it was ultimately job done for the Pittodrie men.

Late goals from Robert Andrich and Patrik Schick helped Bundesliga leaders Bayer Leverkusen hit back from behind to beat Hoffenheim 2-1 and keep their unbeaten season intact.

Xabi Alonso’s men looked set to slip to their first defeat of the campaign after brilliant skill from Maximilian Beier gave the visitors the lead in the 33rd minute.

The hosts, boosted by the news this week that Alonso has decided to stay at the club, hunted for an equaliser with Hoffenheim keeper Oliver Baumann making a string of superb saves.

Borja Iglesias hit a post for Leverkusen after 87 minutes but they finally made their breakthrough moments later when Andrich lashed home a bobbling effort from the centre of the box.

The goal was good enough to extend their record unbeaten run to 39 games but Alonso’s side wanted more and they snatched the three points in the first minute of injury time.

The ball was played to the right flank where Nathan Tella delivered a cross behind the Hoffenheim defence and Schick reacted fastest to volley home from close range.

Cambridge extended their dominant run in the Boat Race with victory in both the men’s and women’s showdowns.

The men claimed a fifth trophy in six years, while the women cruised to a seventh straight triumph.

Crews were blessed with sunny conditions, with temperatures reaching the mid-teens and just a light breeze blowing ahead of launch time for the women’s race at 2:46pm.

Those pleasant conditions were in contrast to the news earlier this week that high levels of E. coli, which can cause a range of serious infections and other side-effects, had been found along the championship course.

All crews were issued safety guidance on a range of preventative measures, from covering up scrapes with waterproof plasters to ensuring rowers avoided swallowing any water that splashed up from the Thames.

Oxford won both coin tosses but opted for different starting points, with the women choosing Middlesex on the Fulham/Chiswick side of the course and the men beginning their quest at Surrey station on the Putney/Barnes side.

Both dark blue Oxford boats were seen as favourites for the 78th women’s and 169th men’s races.

The latter, umpired by Matthew Pinsent – himself a two-time Boat Race champion with Oxford – saw Cambridge take an early lead before Oxford quickly drew level as the four-time Olympic champion dished out early warnings as the boats drew close.

Cambridge took a narrow lead, which saw them ahead by half a length and 1.52 seconds at Hammersmith Bridge, but settled into a smooth rhythm that left Oxford even further behind.

Oxford, with just one returning crew member from last year’s loss, had fallen behind by more than 10 seconds by the time the crews reached the Chiswick steps, but it was not completely smooth sailing for the eventual victors.

Stroke Matt Edge was clearly flailing, his oar only just dipping in the water, but Cambridge’s lead proved too big an ask for Oxford as Edge’s crew rallied around their tiring team-mate to claim another victory.

Rebel’s Romance caused a surprise in the Dubai Sheema Classic, in which dual Derby winner Auguste Rodin finished last.

While Charlie Appleby’s six-year-old did win the Breeders’ Cup Turf in 2022, he was well beaten in the corresponding race 12 months ago and looked to be up against it in a field stacked with quality.

Along with Auguste Rodin, who is developing an all-or-nothing reputation, there was Emily Upjohn, Spirit Dancer and Japanese challengers Liberty Island and Stars On Earth.

The pace was pedestrian, set by Aidan O’Brien’s Point Lonsdale, but only William Buick on the eventual winner and Liberty Island were keen to stay close to it.

With half a mile to run, that trio had opened up a sizeable gap on the remainder of the field and when Buick kicked on to take up the running well over a furlong out, the writing was on the wall.

A strong stayer at the trip, Rebel’s Romance, who won the UAE Derby back in 2021, galloped all the way to the line, with Shahryar, Liberty Island and Justin Palace, all from Japan, taking minor honours. Emily Upjohn fared best of the rest just behind but Auguste Rodin offered nothing.

Appleby said: “He’d won a Breeders’ Cup Turf and four Group Ones, yet he was 20-1, which showed just how deep a race it was.

“William told me he had a plan but I told him not to tell me, then I couldn’t roast him if it went wrong!

“We were confident the right thing to do was go forward and heading down the back, I felt confident because I knew the fractions weren’t strong.

“William knows this track so well and did everything right.

“To have a winner tonight, on what has been a really international night, to get one on the board for Godolphin and His Highness Sheikh Mohammed is very pleasing.”

The Newmarket handler added: “It was our last throw of the darts, but we were confident he was in as good a place as we could get him. He went to Kempton and then had a great ride in Qatar from William.

“He has travelled a lot but we were confident he was at his best. Plan A was to go forward to give the horse the best chance to run his best race.

“This whole night is a huge space in the racing calendar that everyone will aim for. You’ve got to look after these horses and make sure you don’t give them one race too many.

“We toyed with the Champions & Chater Cup in Hong Kong next, but we will enjoy today and he deserves a bit of a rest.”

Buick commented: “He showed in Qatar that he can still perform from the front or close to it. He has a big stride and we decided to get across and somewhere near the action. We were given an easy lead off easy fractions. I was surprised he was in his comfort zone, going easily.”

Eddie Howe praised saviour Harvey Barnes after he came off the bench to drag Newcastle from the jaws of defeat to a remarkable Premier League victory over West Ham.

The Magpies were trailing 3-1 at St James’ Park when £38million summer signing Barnes was introduced as a 67th-minute replacement for injured substitute Miguel Almiron and 23 madcap minutes later, he scored the second of two goals to secure a stunning 4-3 win.

Head coach Howe said: “Harvey deserves that. The thing with Harvey is that he’s a goalscorer. He does score goals. You look at his statistics and his record, and it’s incredible really for a wide player.

“You just look at the amount of goals he got last season for Leicester. We felt, signing him, that he could get similar numbers for us. He’s just been struck by injuries, and he’s had a difficult start to his Newcastle career.

“But the quality is undoubtedly there and I thought the two finishes today were typical Harvey. It wasn’t easy to score the first one – although it was a one-on-one, he had a really small part of the goal to aim at and took it brilliantly.

“Then the second one, I hope it will live on for a long time because at 3-3, the ball drops to him on his right foot, but he still has so much to do. It’s a great goal.”

Alexander Isak had fired the Magpies into a sixth-minute lead from the penalty spot, by Michail Antonio’s equaliser and a second from the impressive Mohammed Kudus had the visitors 2-1 ahead at the break.

Jarrod Bowen’s strike three minutes after the restart looked to have won the game, but Isak repeated the dose from the spot with 13 minutes remaining after substitute Kalvin Phillips had tripped Anthony Gordon – who was later sent off for a second bookable offence – to set up a chaotic finish.

Barnes levelled with seven minutes remaining, but saved the best for last when he smashed an unstoppable 90th-minute drive past substitute keeper Lukasz Fabianski to complete the comeback.

Howe said: “It was a brilliant advert for the Premier League, I think, a really good advert for the league in terms of the drama, the changes in the game and the flows in momentum.”

The only down side for Howe was the addition of skipper Jamaal Lascelles, Tino Livramento and Almiron to to an already extensive injury list, while Gordon will be suspended for Tuesday’s clash with former club Everton.

He was at least able to reflect on a spirited fightback and he headed home, in stark contrast to opposite number David Moyes, who had thrown England international Phillips into the mix in an attempt to stem the flow.

Moyes said: “I thought an extra midfield player would give us a bit more control in the middle of the pitch at that time. But obviously it didn’t work.

“At the time, I felt that they were slightly the better team. We were 2-1, we got 3-1 but from that point onwards, we needed to defend well and be stronger and be harder to play against.

“But hey, we scored three, they scored four, we lose the game. We did a lot of good things, certainly going forward. Our attacking play as very good.”

Eder Militao could return for the first time in seven months as Real Madrid look to tighten their grip on the LaLiga title race against Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

The Brazilian picked up a cruciate ligament injury on the opening day of the season against the same club, but has been named in the matchday squad by head coach Carlo Ancelotti.

However Ancelotti warned not to expect too much of the centre-back, saying: “He’s available, he’s trained well, but obviously he’s not 100 per cent fit because he hasn’t played football.

“Militao is a very important player who helps us in many areas of the game. I wouldn’t rule him out completely. If we don’t go with Militao, either Nacho or (Aurelien) Tchouameni will play.”

Ancelotti will also have keeper Thibaut Courtois available after a long-term knee injury, but star striker Vinicius Junior is absent after picking up a one-game ban for his fifth booking of the season in last week’s win over Osasuna.

Jude Bellingham is also likely to return for the league leaders after missing the last two games following his red card against Valencia, as well as a minor ankle injury.

Real go into the game against their fourth-placed opponents on the back of two straight wins and Ancelotti added: “We’re feeling confident but we have to bear in mind that we’re playing against a team that’s having a great season.

“We’re feeling good and we have all the confidence in the world to perform well.”

Meanwhile, Ancelotti went on to dismiss renewed speculation that star midfielder Luka Modric could be leaving the Bernabeu at the end of the current season.

The 38-year-old’s contract runs out at the end of the current campaign, but Ancelotti insisted: “Everyone is talking about next season except us.

“Luka is focused and what we want to do is finish the season strongly and compete until the end. We’ll deal with the future of the players when the season is over. Nobody is interested in talking about his future now.”

Facteur Cheval just held off the late lunge of Japanese challenger Namur to win the Dubai Turf, in which Lord North was unplaced in search of his fourth win in the race.

Trained in France by Jerome Reynier, the winner was last seen finishing second to his compatriot Big Rock in the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot on Champions Day.

It has previously been suggested that Facteur Cheval needed soft ground to be seen at his best, as he arguably showed his top form in testing conditions when second to Paddington in the Sussex Stakes, but he showed his versatility on this occasion.

Hollie Doyle somehow managed to get Nashwa to the front from her wide draw in stall 14 but with a furlong to run, she had run her race.

Her John and Thady Gosden stablemate Lord North looked threatening at one point but age may have finally caught up with the eight-year-old as he found disappointingly little.

Measured Time burst through with a challenge on the inside and briefly hit the front but Facteur Cheval and Namur came powering down the centre of the track.

The pair crossed the line together but it was Facteur Cheval and Maxime Guyon who got the verdict on the nod.

“He’s amazing because he’s just as good when the ground is heavy or soft,” said Guyon

“But he’s never been the same as he was today. The turn of foot he showed was better than he’s ever shown.”

In the closing stages, Christophe Lemaire suffered a nasty fall from Catnip and was stretchered off the track and taken to hospital for observation.

Forever Young booked his ticket for the Kentucky Derby with a smooth success in the UAE Derby.

Advertising once again Japan’s standing on the world stage, Forever Young was following up his victory in the Saudi Derby last time out.

His sights will now be set on the Race For The Roses after he wore down Auto Bahn close home to win with authority for Yoshito Yahagi, no stranger to winning on Dubai World Cup night after his treble two years ago.

Yahagi explained how it was a poignant success: “This is after my master trainer my father passed away this morning.

“He is potentially very high class and he did not enjoy the travel to Saudi but he still performed very well.

“He travelled better to Dubai. I really believe my team will keep him in good order to go for the Kentucky Derby.”

Winning jockey Ryusei Sakai added: “His condition has improved since Saudi. I really trusted him to perform to his best today.

“I believe this horse is unbeatable at the moment. A lot of good owners and trainers have given me good opportunities, like they did on this horse.”

Ryan Moore almost pulled up Henry Adams, who failed to face the kickback, while stablemate Navy Seal finished fifth under Wayne Lordan.

The Godolphin Mile went the way of outsider Two Rivers Over for Doug O’Neill and Edwin Maldonado, in which Simon and Ed Crisford’s Swing Vote finished eighth.

“Turning for home, I was trying to get him out and in the clear,” said Maldonado.

“This means such a lot, I’m super grateful to the owners and couldn’t ask for more.”

Tadhg O’Shea was seen to great effect on Tuz in the Golden Shaheen.

O’Shea, who has made a great career for himself in the UAE, won the race two years ago on Switzerland and was a nose from victory last year on the same horse when beaten by Sibelius.

Japan’s Don Frankie made a bold bid but O’Shea spied a gap up the rail and Tuz quickened up in impressive fashion to run out a wide-margin winner.

“This makes up for a narrow defeat last year in a race that’s been lucky for me,” said the jockey. “He needed his race last time but put this to bed in a matter of strides. Back in his own back yard, he was a different horse tonight.”