William Haggas has won the Derby, his best horse Baaeed won 10 of his 11 races and he has plundered Group One prizes around the world. Yet even the softly-spoken Yorkshireman conceded that providing the King and Queen with their first Royal Ascot winner was one of the highlights of his career.
The race itself, the King George V Stakes, may ‘only’ be a handicap. But the fact it is a handicap named after Queen Victoria’s grandson, who reigned from 1910 to 1936, just added to the occasion.
Without the presence of the royals, Ascot would be just another big racing festival. The quality of the racing would be the same, but the sense of magic which sets it apart would be lost.
On Wednesday the crowd cheered home a Frankie Dettori winner at what is his final Royal meeting, and he was given a great reception.
But that paled into insignificance when Tom Marquand, perhaps one of those best equipped to fill Dettori’s shoes next season as part of racing’s golden couple with his wife, Hollie Doyle, found a tiny gap on Desert Hero to win by a head – and reward those who backed him at 18-1.
When the late Queen was alive Royal Ascot could bask in the knowledge that the ruling monarch had its back. She loved racing and made no secret of it. The pictures of her cheering home Estimate in the 2013 Gold Cup are still widely used to this day.
But following her death, there were fears inside the sport the new King and Queen were not quite so keen, and a dispersal of some of their stock only served to fan the flames.
As it has turned out, the King has been caught up by the Queen’s enthusiasm and a win at their first Royal Ascot as monarchs was certainly not lost on Haggas, who was understandably taken aback by the reception.
Haggas said: “What a thrill. It’s great that in the first year that the King and Queen are here as the King and Queen they can have a winner.
“It didn’t matter who it was, as long as they could have one – but I’m delighted it is us.
“They have been looking forward to Royal Ascot for a long time and they hoped to have as many runners as possible. I think they will be absolutely delighted.
“It’s very important for horse racing, but it’s also important that the King and Queen enjoy it, which they clearly appear to do. Long may that continue.”
The result did not look likely until half a furlong out when suddenly there was a guttural roar from the grandstands. It clearly worked.
“To do it in that style, in such a close finish. I didn’t really watch the race properly so I’ll have to watch it again, but the horse really stuck his neck out,” said Haggas.
“He wasn’t 6-4 favourite, so I think expectations were relatively low, but hopes were high, and it came good. It was a beautiful ride, a bit of a bob and a weave up the straight, but he made it and fair play to Tom.”
Haggas is having a relatively quiet year by recent standards, but that is perhaps unsurprising following the retirement of the brilliant Baaeed, who won six Group Ones in the space of 12 months.
Shaamit secured him a Derby in 1996, Dancing Rain landed the Oaks in 2011 and Mukhadram, Sea Of Class and Addeybb all won Group Ones – but Haggas puts Desert Hero’s success right up there with them all.
“This is a big moment for us, of course it is, it’s a huge moment,” he added.
“I always thought when Sir Michael (Stoute) won the Gold Cup with Estimate here for the Queen that it must have been the pinnacle of his career, to have the trophy presented to him by the Duke of Edinburgh at the time.
“But this is a big thing for us. We’ve won a few nice races, especially recently, but this takes some beating.
“It’s not just a big moment for us but for the sport as well. The late Queen was so passionate about racing but the King and the Queen have already been to Newmarket to see us so it is exciting moving forward.
“I wouldn’t like to say it has been a long-term plan, but…possibly!
“We will appreciate this very much. We really appreciated the horse last year (Baaeed) – and we are really missing him now.”
Marquand was also well aware he had been part of history.
“That will be hard to top,” he said. “I grew up watching Ryan (Moore) on Estimate and royal winners at the Royal meeting are extremely special, especially this one.
“I think it’s a poignant one and to be a part of that, for William and Maureen (Haggas) and the whole Somerville Lodge team to bring a horse to the Royal meeting and have that perfect prep – it’s an insanely special day. It will live high in my career, probably at the top for the rest of my days in the saddle at least.
“You can see from William and Maureen how much it means to them, we all feel privileged to have anything to do with royal horses and we want to do the job. Doing the job is winning and we’ve done it.
“It’s a hard game breeding horses and racing horses and to have the Queen’s legacy carried on is immensely special. Everybody appreciates the magnitude of what’s just happened and it’s a special day for everyone.”
One member of the royal family who has long been involved in the equestrian world is Zara Tindall, the late Queen’s granddaughter, and she was the first person on her mind.
She said: “I just think how excited my grandmother would have been. To have a winner for Charles and Camilla and to keep that dream alive was incredible, and what a race – asides all of that, what a race. I was stood with Sheikh Fahad (owner of the second, Valiant King) and the horses were either side, pulling their way up to the line, and it was incredible.
“I think it is a new excitement (for the King), like all those owners here who come here with horses, they have dreams and hope, and to follow it is incredible. Horses are the main game here – that’s why we get involved, we love them, the competition, the feelings are indescribable.”
Camera-shy Cameron Norrie admits he is unlikely to become a Netflix star any time soon.
Documentary makers were shadowing top tennis players at tournaments throughout last year as they filmed the Netflix show Break Point.
Nick Kyrgios, Matteo Berrettini and Taylor Fritz were among the players the cameras were focused on, but British number one Norrie will not be following suit.
“I think for me it’s more important to keep training as hard as I can and to be known for being a tennis player and a good competitor,” he said. “I think it’s a big distraction having the cameraman there full time.
“I think it’s great what they’re doing for tennis, promoting tennis, and getting some new fans into the sport and people learning about tennis.
“But I’m not sure what I’d do. I think I probably wouldn’t do it, but that’s me right now. But I can understand why some players fancy it and why they are choosing the players that they are.
“But for me, I prefer Andy Murray’s documentary and I’d prefer to do something myself if I were to do something one day.”
Norrie does want to follow in Berrettini’s footsteps, however, by winning the title at Queen’s Club this week.
The Italian is absent this year, having won the previous two cinch Championships, the first against Norrie in the 2021 final.
“I think it would be unreal to do that, and especially here at Queen’s,” said Norrie.
“I came so close. I think I still had never won a title yet when I was in the final with Berrettini. I really thought that was going to be the one.
“It was a tough one. Yeah, a big goal of mine to get a title on the grass. It’s a long way away, but I’m still in it and still need to keep improving everything in my game.”
Norrie faces American Sebastian Korda, who knocked out Britain’s Dan Evans in the first round, in the quarter-finals on Friday.
Korda, the world number 32, said: “He’s probably one of the biggest fighters on tour. He doesn’t give you very many free points.
“I’m expecting a good battle. It’s going to be fun, for sure, and another good test for me. Yeah, another solid match coming up. I’m very happy for it.”
On Thursday world number two Carlos Alcaraz reached the last eight, brushing aside Czech Jiri Lehecka 6-2 6-3.
Much is expected of the 20-year-old Spanish sensation, although he is clearly still coming to terms with his timing and movement on the grass.
However, this was a vast improvement on his laboured first-round win over Arthur Rinderknech.
“I’m really happy with the level I played at today,” he said. “I think I had a solid match, I played my game and enjoyed playing here.
“Playing this kind of match I’m OK with this one. It’s more practice and I am happy getting experience on grass.
“After this match the expectation changes. I think I’m ready to get a good result on grass.”
Andy Murray’s conqueror Alex De Minaur swept past Diego Schwartzman 6-2 6-2 and will face France’s Adrian Mannarino, who beat Fritz 6-4 7-6 (7).
The New York Jets have lost starting safety Chuck Clark to a season-ending torn ACL sustained in practice during organised team activities this month.
Clark was selected in the sixth round of the 2017 NFL Draft by Baltimore and went on to play in 96 of the Ravens’ 97 games over the last six seasons.
He started all 17 games in 2022 and finished second on the team with a career-high 101 tackles, but Clark demanded a trade and was sent to the Jets in March for a seventh-round draft pick in 2024.
New York acted quickly after Clark was injured, signing free-agent Adrian Amos to a one-year contract on June 13.
Amos has also been durable as he hasn’t missed a game since Week 15 of the 2017 season while with the Chicago Bears, who selected him in the fifth round in 2015.
Amos started every game for the Green Bay Packers over the last four seasons and was second on the team in 2022 with a personal-best 97 tackles.
King Of Steel has the chance to pick up some compensation for his Derby near-miss when he lines up in the King Edward VII Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Roger Varian’s imposing son of Wootton Bassett was making only his first appearance of the season when finding just Auguste Rodin too good at Epsom, but having highlighted his supreme potential on that occasion, will carry the hopes of owners Amo Racing who crave success at this meeting.
It is just 20 days since the colt’s huge effort on the Surrey Downs, but the Carlburg handler believes he has taken his first outing of the year in his stride and is excited to see his talented middle-distance performer back on track.
“He has looked great from the day he got back from Epsom and is in good form,” said Varian.
“He looked a good horse at Epsom and hopefully he can confirm that on Friday. He looked very good in defeat and that bodes well for this week, the rest of the season and beyond hopefully. We hope he is a consistent Group One performer – they are the horses you want in the stable and hopefully he is one of them.
“It’s exciting to have a good horse and be involved in the big races. They are not easy to win, but he looks like a horse who will take us to the big spots and we look forward to Friday.”
Chief among the opposition is the John and Thady Gosden-trained Arrest, who disappointed when sent off favourite for the Derby in the hands of Frankie Dettori, but will be attempting to bounce back to the form that saw the son of Frankel claim the Chester Vase on his penultimate start.
Charlie Johnston’s Dubai Mile and Ralph Beckett’s Artistic Star will also attempt to better their respective showings in the premier Classic.
Varian also has a strong hand in the Albany Stakes that kicks off proceedings, with Jabaara, who made an impressive debut at Newmarket in the race the trainer used to prepare Daahyeh for Royal Ascot glory in 2019.
“She’s a good filly, I think, and has been training really well,” said Varian.
“She will like the fast ground if it stays that way and six furlongs looks her trip for the moment. She’s an exciting filly, I think.”
Simon and Ed Crisford’s Carla’s Way and George Boughey’s Soprano both arrive with a similar profile having won in taking fashion first time, while Porta Fortuna brings added experience and Group Three-winning form from Ireland having defeated the reopposing Navassa Island at Naas last month.
The daughter of Caravaggio is the mount of Frankie Dettori on this occasion and is one of two in the race for Donnacha O’Brien, who also saddles Curragh scorer Do It With Style.
“She’s done nothing wrong yet and won nicely first time out on heavy ground, then stepped up to six on better ground and won a Group Three,” said O’Brien.
“She’s a classy filly and we’re looking to see her run. It’s great to have Frankie on board, he obviously brings plenty of experience and has had a lot of success so it’s great to be able to get him.”
He added: “Do it with Style is a lovely filly, she won nicely at the Curragh and has always worked like a nice filly. She’s only had the one run compared to the other filly, but she’s nice and we hope she will run a good race.”
Amo Racing’s retained rider Kevin Stott has chosen Persian Dreamer out of the owners’ four runners as Dominic Ffrench Davis’ filly attempts to bounce back from defeat in the Marygate at York.
Before that she created a deep impression on debut at Newmarket and connections are hopeful of a return to her best now stepping up in trip.
“I haven’t lost any faith in Persian Dreamer, she was very impressive on debut,” said Tom Pennington, racing and operations manager at Amo Racing.
“The sharp five furlongs on quick ground at York in the Marygate has probably played against her and she didn’t let herself down. She’s a big, strong filly and just didn’t enjoy the ground.”
Flaccianello, Komat and Mapmaker are the others to line up for Kia Joorabchian’s operation, with the latter picked out by Joorabchian himself at the sales as a yearling.
“She’s a nice filly and won well last time at Newbury in a good time,” continued Pennington.
“Kia bought her on spec in the ring at Tattersalls so it will be a nice story if she can run well.
“She’s bounced out of Newbury in good form, whether she is good enough is another question, but Darryll (Holland, trainer) is very happy with her.”
Everything looks in place for Tahiyra to add the Coronation Stakes crown to her victory in the Irish 1,000 Guineas.
The daughter of Siyouni has had just four runs, her sole defeat coming by half a length when beaten by Saeed bin Suroor’s Mawj in the English equivalent at Newmarket.
With Mawj unfortunately an enforced absentee, the Dermot Weld-trained three-year-old takes on six rivals in the Group One contest, including Meditate, who has finished behind in both mile Classics this term.
Chris Hayes’ mount looked to have a bit in hand when scoring by a length and a half on the last occasion and Pat Downes, manager of owner the Aga Khan’s Irish Studs, says it is unfortunate Mawj, who scoped dirty earlier this week, will not be taking her on again.
“It’s a rematch for the Irish Guineas and it’s a shame the other filly hasn’t been able to run,” said Downes.
“That’s the way it goes sometimes. We are very happy with out filly and all has been very well since the Irish Guineas.
“We are really happy with her. She is doing very well and is a very good place and is ready to go.”
The Aidan O’Brien-trained Meditate, winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf at Keeneland in November, is a proven top-class performer and has finished runner-up on three occasions at the highest level.
In contrast the John and Thady Gosden-trained Queen For You is unexposed, with just two career starts. The beautifully-bred daughter of Kingman did not make her debut until May 3, when taking a novice race over a mile.
She was then beaten a short head in the Listed Michael Seely at York by Sounds Of Heaven, who reopposes.
“She is the least experienced in the field and did not run as a two-year-old,” said Thady Gosden.
“She has had experience of running at Ascot as she won on debut here. She stepped up on that and though she didn’t win, she improved when upped in class at York and stayed on nicely once the penny dropped.
“She was only beaten a short head and has taken that in her stride. We’re very pleased with her and she’s in good form.
“This is another major step up, but we feel she has every right to take her chance in what obviously is a tough Group One.”
Sounds Of Heaven was a relatively unfancied 14-1 chance when winning that race at York on her first outing since breaking her duck at the second time of asking in a Leopardstown maiden in October.
Kate Harrington, assistant trainer to her mother, Jessica – who won this race with Alpha Centauri in 2018 and again three years ago with Alpine Star – is hoping she will make light of her underdog status again.
“She is in good form,” she said. “She came out of the York race very well. We go there taking a big step up in class, but she goes off the back of a very good run and we hope she runs a massive race.
“She is lovely filly and a very underestimated filly, and only does as much as she has to. She has a great mind and I think Ascot will really suit her. We’re hopeful of a big, big run.”
There is further Irish interest in the form of Comhra, who was beaten a length and a half into third in the Irish Guineas when sent off at 150-1.
Jim Bolger feels she will get her ideal conditions and will again be equipped with blinkers that served her well when fitted for the first time at the Curragh.
William Buick come in for the ride for the first time and Bolger quipped: “Rory Cleary rides most of mine and he’ll be in action at Down Royal – he doesn’t have bilocation!
“I’m hoping she can go two better – she wasn’t beaten far. The going and the cheekpieces made a difference. Her previous runs were in soft and she ran on good last time.
“We hope she’ll have faster ground at Ascot and I’m sure that will help her. She’s very nice. She’s an oil painting!”
Remarquee, a good winner of the Fred Darling at Newbury on her seasonal debut, was 17 lengths adrift of Tahiyra at Newmarket and Ralph Beckett’s filly has plenty to find on that evidence. Mammas Girl was four places in front of her in 11th.
Trained by Richard Hannon, Mammas Girl did not handle the soft ground that day and Tom Pennington, racing manager for owners Amo Racing, feels she will be seen in a better light this time.
He said: “She was an impressive winner of the Nell Gwyn prior to that. The ground went against her in the Guineas. The drying ground will help, but obviously it is very competitive.
“The favourite is obviously a very good horse, but Richard has been happy with her since.
“I think it is very competitive and the favourite will take a fair bit of beating.”
Newcastle are hoping to push through a club record-breaking deal for AC Milan midfielder Sandro Tonali within days, the PA news agency understands.
Sporting director Dan Ashworth has been pictured in the Italian city after he flew out to try to negotiate the terms of a move which it is understood would exceed the club’s £60million swoop for Sweden striker Alexander Isak last summer.
Reports from Italy have suggested the 23-year-old, who is expected to captain his country in their opening Group D fixture against France at the European Under-21s Championships on Thursday evening, has agreed to the switch.
A successful conclusion to the talks would take Newcastle’s transfer spending under their new owners past the £300million mark.
Head coach Eddie Howe has identified Tonali as the holding midfielder he needs to allow Bruno Guimaraes in particular to thrive in an advanced role.
Howe has vowed to strengthen his squad for the new campaign, during which the Magpies will play Champions League football for the first time since the 2002-03 season, as he attempts to challenge on both the domestic and European fronts.
The 45-year-old guided the club to a fourth-place Premier League finish and the Carabao Cup final last season as they took a major step forward, but he is expecting a response from the likes of Liverpool, Tottenham and Chelsea this time around in the race for the top four.
Howe has been at pains to point out the spending restrictions under which the club must operate, but at the same time has signalled his intention to recruit quality rather than quantity this summer.
Tonali, who was a substitute in the senior Italy side’s 2-1 Euro 2024 qualifier defeat by England in March, made 48 appearances for Milan in all competitions last season and started both legs of their Champions League semi-final defeat by city rivals Inter.
Frankie Dettori recorded a fairytale victory on his final Gold Cup ride, with the aptly-named Courage Mon Ami showing plenty of grit to down Coltrane in a titanic battle through the final furlong of the Royal Ascot showpiece.
It was a ninth Gold Cup for the Italian, who will hang up his boots at the end of the year.
Courage Mon Ami was having only his fourth lifetime start, having won his three previous races for John and Thady Gosden.
Stepping up in trip, the 15-2 chance was settled near the back of the pack as Subjectivist, the winner two years ago, made most of the running.
But Dettori took a risk and waited on the rail before sweeping through beaten horses and switching outside Coltrane’s withers.
The four-year-old son of Frankel kept finding to beat the 11-4 favourite, who was ridden by Oisin Murphy. Subjectivist stuck on well to finish a gallant third.
Celtic have completed the first signing of Brendan Rodgers’ second spell as manager after the club announced the arrival of Norwegian midfielder Odin Thiago Holm on a five-year contract.
The 20-year-old joins from Eliteserien club Valerenga for a fee reportedly in the region of £2.5million.
Holm was already on Celtic’s radar prior to Rodgers’ return as boss earlier this week, and the Northern Irishman has given the new recruit his seal of approval, describing him as “an exciting young player”.
“We are delighted to bring Odin to the club and to secure his signing so early in the window,” the recently-appointed Hoops manager told the club’s website.
“He is a player who has been in the club’s scouting and recruitment system for some time.
“I have looked at him closely and believe he is someone who can make a big impact at the club.
“I have spent time already with Odin, he is an ambitious, exciting young player and I know he is delighted to be joining us.
“He is a great addition to the quality squad we already have and we really look forward to working with him.”
Rodgers will face the media at Celtic Park on Friday afternoon for the first time since he was appointed as Ange Postecoglou’s successor.
Kamila Valieva’s figure skating fate could remain unresolved until at least the end of the year after the Court of Arbitration for Sport announced it will hear simultaneous appeals at its head office in Lausanne in September.
It is over 16 months since Valieva learned she had tested positive for the banned heart drug Trimetazidine at the Winter Olympics in Beijing, and medals for the team competition, in which the then 15-year-old helped Russia win gold, are yet to be awarded.
The International Skating Union (ISU), the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA), and the Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) filed separate appeals in the wake of a RUSADA disciplinary commission finding in December that Valieva had committed an anti-doping violation for which she bore “no fault or negligence”, and would not face sanction.
The ISU and WADA both wish to sanction Valieva with a period of ineligibility from the date of the infraction, December 2021 – the case of the latter, four years – both of which appeals would result in the disqualification of Russia from the team event.
Bizarrely, RUSADA has also appealed against the findings of its own disciplinary commission, wishing to reserve the right to sanction Valieva accordingly, although such a sanction could still involve a mere reprimand.
The meeting instigated by the CAS will take place between September 26 to 29, pursuant to which all parties would have the right to lodge an appeal to Swiss prosecutors within 30 days, and CAS confirmed that “it is not possible to indicate when the final decision will be announced”.
Valieva learned one day after helping her team to gold in Beijing that she had returned a positive sample from a test taken at the Russian Championships in December 2021, but that the result had been delayed due to a Covid outbreak at the Swedish laboratory.
Despite appeals, Valieva was allowed to continue competing in Beijing, but under intense scrutiny she fell twice during the final evening of the women’s competition, and slipped tearfully out of medal contention.
Her traumatic experience drew a remarkable intervention from International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach, who criticised members of Valieva’s team, including her coach Eteri Tutberidze, for their “tremendous coldness”.
The ISU announced earlier this month that it was extending its ban on Russian and Belarussian athletes competing in international competitions due to the invasion of Ukraine.
However, Valieva continues to compete in Russia, and last year debuted a new routine that included excerpts of news reports about her drug test, and concluded with her referencing the media storm by drawing a hood across her face.
Ellyse Perry was a familiar thorn in England’s side as she offset an eye-catching debut from Lauren Filer on the opening day of the lone Test which started the multi-format Women’s Ashes series.
Perry was given lbw on 10 to Filer’s first delivery in international cricket but the Australia linchpin was reprieved on review as replays showed the ball caught an inside edge before thudding into the pads.
While Filer had her maiden international wicket when Beth Mooney edged to gully on 33, Perry’s unbeaten 82 carried Australia to 213 for three before a rain shower led to an early tea being taken.
Perry, who made 116 and 76 not out in the 2019 Test between the sides at Taunton, put on 119 with Tahlia McGrath in a largely frustrating afternoon session at Trent Bridge for the hosts.
Sophie Ecclestone, the top-ranked bowler in the world, castled McGrath for a Test-best 61 after finding just enough turn off the pitch but Perry was assured after a nervy start against Filer.
Heather Knight had promised to “entertain and inspire” and set attacking fields throughout after losing the toss – although the England captain insisted she would have bowled on a green-tinged pitch.
Kate Cross was entrusted with the first delivery at the outset of just the second five-day Women’s Test and served up a no-ball in a wayward opening over which yielded nine runs.
There was early sideways movement for her and Lauren Bell but Phoebe Litchfield justified her inclusion with a series of elegant drives on her Test debut.
While Mooney was given a let-off on nine after Cross failed to hang on to a one-handed return catch, Litchfield made two errors later in the over, first padding up to a delivery that straightened then failing to review the lbw as DRS showed the Dukes ball would have whizzed past off-stump.
The cagey Mooney was put down again on 19 when Test debutant Danni Wyatt spilled a diving catch at gully after Cross had drawn the edge while Perry greeted Ecclestone into the attack by clubbing a full and wide delivery for four.
But Perry seemed set for a low score when Filer, held back until the 18th over, used her extra pace to breach the defences of the number three batter but DRS detected a thick inside edge on to the pads.
Perry then played and missed at Filer’s second ball and edged the third short of the slips but the England seamer was belatedly in the wickets column when Mooney’s back-foot punch took the edge and carried to Cross at gully.
Perry, though, showed her full range either side of the lunch interval with decisive pulls, late cuts and fluent drives, reaching a 76-ball 50 with a dab off the returning Cross for her ninth four.
She was ably supported by McGrath, so often labelled the heir apparent to Perry, as the pair kept Australia on the front foot, with England unable to create any chances or keep the scoring under wraps.
McGrath seemed uneasy when Filer was reintroduced and edged through a vacant slip shortly after bringing up a half-century of her own. But it was still something of a surprise when Ecclestone defied a pitch offering little turn to break apart the union between Perry and McGrath.
Ecclestone’s delivery angled in then turned slightly to beat the defensive prod of McGrath and clip the top of off-stump shortly before the heavens opened as the players came off after 51.3 overs.
Warm Heart brought up a hat-trick when storming to an impressive Ribblesdale Stakes success at Royal Ascot.
Trained by Aidan O’Brien, the daughter of Galileo arrived at the meeting having won her previous two outings, scooping Listed honours at Newbury last month. This time, she took her form to the next level in the hands of Ryan Moore as she won this Group Two in tremendous fashion.
Moore had Warm Heart close to the pace set by those on the front-end and found himself perfectly placed to strike in the home straight.
Although French raider Crown Princesse and the 5-6 hotpot Al Asifah briefly loomed up dangerously to mount a challenge after the two-furlong pole, there was no passing Warm Heart who just kept finding extra and soon put daylight between herself and her rivals in the closing stages to score at 13-2.
She returned a two-and-a-half-length-winning verdict over runner-up Lumiere Rock, with the mount of Frankie Dettori, Bluestocking, running on for third.
It was a fourth win in the Ribblesdale for both O’Brien and Moore, while it was also Moore’s fourth victory of the week following his treble on the opening day.
Player of the Match Shai Hope and Nicholas Pooran scored centuries and Jason Holder took three wickets as the West Indies defeated Nepal by 101 runs in Harare on Thursday.
Having set the Nepalese a winning target of 340, West Indies bowlers, not helped by a several dropped catches, combined to restrict their opponents for 238 and achieve their second win from as many games in the ICC World Cup qualifiers.
Aarif Sheikh was the top scorer with 63 for the Nepalese team, who also got contributions of 42 from Gulsan Jha and 30 from Captain Rohit Paudel.
Jason Holder was the best of the bowlers with 3-43 from his 10 overs with Akeal Hosein 2-49 and Keemo Paul 2-63.
Nepal were fortunate not to have been dismissed for much less as the West Indies spilled several catches in the field. Alzarri Joseph suffered the most with three catches dropped off his bowling as he finished with figures of 2-45.
Earlier, having been sent to bat, West Indies recovered from a poor start that saw them lose two wickets with only nine runs on the board to score 339-7.
Shai Hope scored 132, his 15th ODI century while Nicholas Pooran scored 115. The Caribbean men also got useful scores of 32 from Brandon King and Rovman Powell 29.
Lalit Rajbanshi was the best of the Nepalese bowlers with 3-52.
Hope said he was happy to have been able to overcome some early challenges and the loss of two early wickets to score an important 100 for his team.
“I believe the rhythm was a bit off. I am just happy that I came good for the team. We were put on the backfoot there...happy to get the team over the line today. The key was absorbing as much pressure as possible and then find a way to transfer that pressure in the back end,” he said, revealing that Pooran’s arrival of the crease helped him turn things around.
“Pooran made it a lot easier for me. The aim was to take it as deep as possible give us the best chance towards the end. I don't think I hit the targets where I wanted to but happy to just bat as deep as I possibly could there. The team really needed me. They bowled well, must commend their bowlers, especially their spinners, they stuck to their task well.
“We batted well in that period to overcome their spin threat. There's obviously room for improvement, so we need to make sure we are ticking those boxes going into the next game.”
With the win the West Indies go top of Group A with four points from their two matches to date.
Desert Hero provided the King and Queen with a first Royal Ascot winner when prevailing in a thrilling finish to the King George V Stakes.
The late Queen visited the Royal Ascot winner’s enclosure multiple times during her reign, but it is the first time the royal silks have been carried to success at the summer showpiece since the King was crowned.
Trained by William Haggas, the son of Sea The Stars was sent off at 18-1 in the hands of Tom Marquand and although catching the eye as he made stealthy progress turning for home, there was still plenty of work to do.
Desperate for the gaps to appear, Marquand manoeuvred his mount to perfection as he sought the perfect passage to the front, and when joining the leaders inside the final furlong Desert Hero stuck his head out with real bravery to hold off the spirited challenge of Valiant King in second.
Marquand told ITV Racing: “Genuinely, it is probably one of the proudest moments of being in the saddle so far.
“It’s obviously not on the same level Estimate was on, being in the Gold Cup, but I grew up watching horses like that go and win for the Queen and to ride the King’s first Royal Ascot winner is unbelievable – I’m in dream world.
“Royal Ascot is the pinnacle and riding a royal winner at the Royal meeting is so special.”
Valiant Force caused a 150-1 shock in the Norfolk Stakes, the opening race on day three of Royal Ascot.
Trained in Ireland by Adrian Murray and owned by Kia Joorabchian’s Amo Racing, he was always up with the pace in the centre of the track under Rossa Ryan and while he had previous experience with two runs, he was unconsidered by punters.
Ryan got into a good rhythm aboard the Malibu Moon colt, who had finished runner-up to His Majesty on his debut at the Curragh before being well held in a Group Three contest over six furlongs at the same track on his second run.
The field split into two and six of the first seven home were in the far side group, up the middle of the track.
Bookmakers were in clover as 66-1 chance Malc finished a length-and-a-quarter second, with well-supported Elite Status, sent off the market leader at 7-4, only third.
Wesley Ward had left no one in any doubt that American Rascal was the star of the show from his American raiding party, yet while briefly threatening, he faded tamely in the final furlong.
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