Rory McIlroy will go into this week’s Open Championship with high hopes of ending his long wait for a fifth major championship.

The 2014 champion has won only one major since but a combination of the return to the same Royal Liverpool course and McIlroy’s recent form, in both majors and tour events, has raised hopes this may finally be his time.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at McIlroy’s record.

McIlroy cancelled his scheduled Tuesday press conference at Hoylake but will still be the focus of attention as he goes into the Open on the back of a win at the Genesis Scottish Open, his third of the season after the CJ Cup on the PGA Tour and the DP World Tour’s Hero Dubai Desert Classic.

He also has runner-up finishes at the Arnold Palmer Invitational and the US Open and has finished in the top 10 in 10 of the 15 events he has played.

They include his last six starts, beginning at the US PGA Championship where he finished tied for seventh.

He matched that at both the Memorial Tournament and the Travelers Championship and was tied ninth at the RBC Canadian Open, in addition to his US Open and Scottish results.

The latter gave him a 32nd career win across the PGA Tour and European Tour, plus the 2013 Australian Open before it became a European Tour event. That tally includes four majors but none since 2014.

When McIlroy won the 2014 US PGA Championship at Valhalla, it was his second successive major and fourth in his last 15 attempts – coming hot on the heels of his Open win and following the 2011 US Open and 2012 US PGA.

He has won none of the 33 he has contested since, with a string of near misses building the frustration.

Aside from missing the cut at this year’s Masters, he has finished in the top eight at the other six majors this season and last – including second place in Los Angeles this year and the 2022 Masters and third in last year’s Open at St Andrews.

In 58 majors in his career he has three second- and four third-place finishes to add to his four wins, with 17 top-five and 29 top-10 placings overall.

Should McIlroy win this or a subsequent major title, it will come after one of the longest waits in golfing history.

Only 10 players have won majors with more time elapsed between them than the eight years and 347 days from McIlroy’s 2014 US PGA win to this Sunday at Hoylake.

Julius Boros holds the record with 11 years and nine days between his US Open wins in 1952 and 1963, with Hale Irwin also winning that event 11 years apart.

Henry Cotton, Ben Crenshaw, Tiger Woods, Lee Trevino and Ernie Els won majors after a decade-long wait, with John Henry Taylor and Bob Martin narrowly exceeding nine years.

Should McIlroy not win this week, any subsequent major would take him past the latter pair to the top eight of the list. Victory this week would place him 11th behind Willie Park Sr’s 1866 and 1875 Open wins.

Those victories tended to mark something of a swansong, with only Boros and Taylor going on to add a further grand slam event afterwards. At 34, though, McIlroy is younger than almost all of those players at the time of their win – Martin was 32, with Taylor (38) the only other under 40.

The Ashes series resumes on Wednesday at Old Trafford with another must-win clash for England, who trail 2-1 to Australia after three Tests.

Ben Stokes’ side kept the series alive at Headingley thanks to 75 runs from Harry Brook before Chris Woakes and Mark Wood’s thrilling partnership saw them over the line to seal a three-wicket win.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the biggest moments in Ashes history at Old Trafford.

Results

England and Australia played their first Test at Old Trafford in 1884 and the match finished in a draw, which is a common theme when it comes to Ashes Tests held in Manchester.

The hosts won for the first time in 1886 and Australia’s first success at the ground came 10 years later in 1896.

Following England’s innings victory in 1905, Manchester’s Ashes Tests then ended in stalemate for 51 years as eight consecutive matches were drawn.

England eventually broke the streak in 1956 in style thanks to Jim Laker’s astonishing 19-wicket haul, but the 1960s saw Australia earn two wins at the ground before the hosts exerted a nine-year period of dominance with three successive Ashes wins.

Ian Botham steered England to victory in 1981, but that is their last taste of Ashes success at Old Trafford as the momentum shifted in Australia’s favour with three consecutive wins in the late ’80s and ’90s.

Overall, Australia’s win in 2019 gives the visitors an edge with eight Ashes victories in Manchester compared to England’s seven, but the draws reign supreme with 15 in total.

‘Ball of the Century’

Old Trafford Ashes Tests have thrown up plenty of magical moments and some wizardry from the late Shane Warne to dismiss Mike Gatting in 1993 ranks right up there.

A young Warne, aged just 23, announced himself on the world stage with his first ever delivery in Ashes cricket.

The ball released by the spinner looked to be well outside leg stump, but twisted and turned to bamboozle Gatting as the bails came away from his off stump.

Later dubbed the ‘Ball of the Century’, Warne’s incredible wicket kicked off a 15-year playing career for the Australian great, ending with 708 Test wickets.

Old Trafford heroes

Warne is not the only spinner to have stunned crowds at Old Trafford after Jim Laker etched his name in the history books with his incredible 19-wicket haul in 1956.

The off-spinner took nine for 37 in the first innings as Australia were reduced to 84 all out and after England enforced the follow-on, Laker went one better, earning 10 for 53 to seal victory by an innings and 170 runs.

Botham also enjoyed his share of success in 1981, scoring a magnificent 118 alongside half-centuries from Chris Tavare, Alan Knott and John Emburey, setting Australia a mammoth target of 506 in the second innings.

Three wickets from Bob Willis and two from all-rounder Botham then saw England retain the Ashes in Manchester.

The great 2005 Ashes Test also produced some tense moments with the match going down to the wire as last-wicket pair Brett Lee and Glenn McGrath survived four overs to keep the series level.

Last time out

The last Ashes Test staged at Old Trafford saw the visitors retain the urn, their first time doing so on English soil in 18 years.

After winning the toss and opting to bat, Steve Smith returned from his concussion absence to put Australia in the driving seat with an astonishing 211 from 319 balls in the first innings, and some impressive batting from Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon kept the scoreboard ticking before declaring three runs short of 500.

Despite efforts from Rory Burns and captain Joe Root combined with the Manchester weather which delayed day three, England fell 196 runs short of their target thanks to some tidy bowling from Josh Hazlewood.

Stuart Broad and Jofra Archer rattled through the Australian top order before Smith was dismissed by Jack Leach and the tourists declared with a lead of 382.

A tense final day saw England attempt to bat for an unlikely draw, but Australia sealed their 185-run victory when Craig Overton was out lbw from Hazlewood after facing 105 balls for 21.

Bristol will host Leicester to kick off the new Gallagher Premiership season on Friday, October 13 before champions Saracens start the defence of their title with a trip to Exeter.

After Wasps, Worcester and London Irish all entered administration while Championship winners Jersey Reds did not meet the minimum standards criteria for promotion, the new top-flight campaign will feature just 10 teams.

The revamped schedule for the 2023-24 campaign gives all clubs one home fixture in the opening two weeks of the season.

After Saturday’s 1.30pm kick-off at Exeter’s Sandy Park, Bath host Newcastle at 3pm while Harlequins will travel to Gloucester.

To complete the opening weekend’s action, Sale – beaten by Saracens in the Premiership final at Twickenham – will welcome Northampton on October 15, which will also be broadcast live on TNT Sports.

The Premiership final is set to take place on June 8 at Twickenham.

There will be a ‘Derby Weekend’ in round six from November 17 to 19, which will see Sale play Newcastle and Bath host Bristol on the Friday night.

The action on the Saturday sees Northampton travel to Leicester with Saracens at London rivals Harlequins. Both matches will be shown live ahead of Exeter playing Gloucester on the Sunday afternoon.

Clubs will also have one home fixture over the Christmas period, which it is hoped will allow families to enjoy games together.

December 30 will see Harlequins’ ‘Big Game’ series back in the festive schedule when they take on Gloucester at Twickenham.

Following a break of league action during the Guinness Six Nations, Saracens play Harlequins at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in March before Northampton face Quins back at Twickenham during round 16 in April.

As well as the live schedule on TNT Sports, which has been announced through until January 2024, there will be highlights of all 90 regular-season games on ITV along with seven full free-to-air fixtures and the Premiership final.

Premiership Rugby chief executive Simon Massie-Taylor said: “Today is always an exciting day in the sporting calendar and I know that our dedicated Gallagher Premiership Rugby fans, players and clubs are counting down until the big kick-off.

“It’s great to welcome our new-look broadcast partner TNT Sports in their debut season under their new brand and we look forward to delivering unmissable world-class sporting entertainment together.”

::Opening Premiership fixtures: October 13 – Bristol v Leicester (7.45pm, TNT Sports); October 14 – Exeter v Saracens (1.30pm, TNT Sports), Bath v Newcastle (3pm), Gloucester v Harlequins (3pm); October 15 – Sale v Northampton (1.30pm, TNT Sports)

Chris Taylor's go-ahead grand slam in the sixth inning provided the big blow as the Los Angeles Dodgers snapped the Baltimore Orioles' eight-game winning streak with a 6-4 comeback victory in Monday's opener of a three-game series between playoff hopefuls.

The Dodgers managed just one run off Orioles prospect Grayson Rodriguez through five innings before breaking through with a five-run sixth. Freddie Freeman began the rally with a leadoff triple and scored on Will Smith's single to trim Baltimore's lead to 4-2, and Rodriguez then walked Max Muncy before giving way to Bryan Baker.

After Baker walked Jayson Heyward to load the bases, Taylor sent an 0-2 fastball over the center-field wall for his sixth career grand slam and a 6-4 Los Angeles lead.

Four Dodger relievers aided the comeback by keeping the Orioles off the scoreboard over the final four innings, with Ryan Brasier working a scoreless ninth to close out the National League West leaders' seventh win in eight games.

Freeman finished 3 for 5 with two runs scored.

Adley Rutschman had a solo homer in the fifth to stake Baltimore to a 4-1 advantage, while Ryan Mountcastle had an RBI double among his two hits.

Ohtani's 35th homer helps rally Angels past Yankees

Shohei Ohtani launched a majestic game-tying two-run homer in the seventh inning, and Michael Stefanic delivered a pinch-hit RBI single in the 10th to send the Los Angeles Angels to a 4-3 victory over the still-slumping New York Yankees.

The Angels trailed 3-1 when Ohtani took reliever Michael King deep for his major league-leading 35th homer. The two-way superstar has now homered in three consecutive games and finished 3 for 4.

After Aaron Loup held the Yankees scoreless in the top of the 10th, Stefanic ripped a two-out base hit off Nick Ramirez to score automatic runner Chad Wallach from second.

Matt Thaiss had a solo homer earlier in the game for Los Angeles, the only run allowed by Yankees starter Luis Severino in six innings.

Severino scattered six hits and three walks before exiting with a two-run lead New York's bullpen failed to hold as the Yankees lost for the seventh time in nine games to drop into sole possession of last place in the American League East.

Oswaldo Cabrera put the Yankees ahead 2-0 with a two-run double in the sixth, shortly after Angels starter Griffin Canning was removed after 120 pitches.

Canning struck out a career-high 12 before departing and was charged with two runs on six hits in 5 2/3 innings. 

Rangers edge Rays in clash of AL division leaders

Pinch-runner Josh Smith scored on Pete Fairbanks' wild pitch in the bottom of the ninth inning to give the Texas Rangers a 3-2 win over the Tampa Bay Rays in the opener of a three-game series between American League division leaders.

Josh Jung greeted Fairbanks with a double to begin the bottom of the ninth before being replaced by Smith, who took third on a groundout before racing home with the winning run when the Tampa Bay closer's fastball skidded past catcher Christian Betancourt.

Aroldis Chapman kept the game at 2-2 with a scoreless top of the ninth and recorded his first win in a Texas uniform since the Rangers acquired the seven-time All-Star reliever from the Kansas City Royals on June 30.

The Rangers moved to 4-0 since the All-Star break and increased their lead on the second-place Houston Astros to 3 1/2 games in the AL West.

Rays ace Shane McClanahan, making his first start since missing over two weeks with back tightness, allowed two runs on three hits with six strikeouts in six innings. The All-Star pitcher shut Texas out until surrendering a game-tying two-run homer to Ezequiel Duran in the sixth. 

Dane Dunning matched McClanahan by yielding two runs on five hits over seven innings for Texas.

Josh Lowe went 2 for 3 with a solo home run for the slumping Rays, who fell to 3-9 in July but maintained a one-game lead on Baltimore in the AL East with the Orioles' loss to the Dodgers.

Republic of Ireland midfielder Ruesha Littlejohn believes footballers cannot shy away from the spotlight if they want to escalate the growth of the women’s game.

The 33-year-old is one of 23 women selected by manager Vera Pauw to represent the Republic in their first World Cup, a monumental moment that has drawn unprecedented attention to the team and individual players.

The full World Cup experience comes with corresponding changes off the pitch – more photo shoots and social media followers among them – a fact of life Littlejohn encouraged the players at this Australia and New Zealand-hosted tournament to embrace like England’s Lionesses after their Euro 2022 victory blasted them into their country’s consciousness.

Speaking at the Girls in Green’s team hotel in Brisbane, she said: “It’s full on. The other day we were doing pictures and I was shattered, and I kind of felt sorry for the camera guy because I was just dead tired. Hopefully the pictures look OK.

“But look, this is it, we wanted to be here and now we’re going to need to embrace the change and manage all the way. I’m not a superstar so I think it’s going to be different for me but it could be different for the likes of Denise [O’Sullivan] and Katie [McCabe].

“Look at other teams. Like, you see the Lionesses, how their lives have probably changed massively. It’s probably been a big adjustment for some of them and I’m sure it’s not always easy.

“I’m sure there’s moments where they’re like, ‘oh, leave me be’. Let me go and get a Nandos and leave me in peace please’. But look, that’s where the game’s going and we kind of need to embrace that and learn now to deal and manage situations.”

The effects of England lifting the European trophy last July were keenly felt throughout the following 2022/23 domestic Women’s Super League (WSL) season, which according to a league report saw attendances up 173 per cent compared to the previous campaign.

All but one of the WSL’s 12 sides broke a club or stadium record during a season that also set the three highest attendance records in the English top flight, including the league record 47,367 who turned out for the North London Derby between Arsenal and Tottenham at the Emirates.

Littlejohn’s side are now just two sleeps away from their World Cup opener, when they will face Group B rivals and tournament co-hosts Australia in Sydney, and says “you know it’s on party mode back home”.

It will be some time before the legacy of the World Cup in the Republic of Ireland crystallises, but ex-Aston Villa player Littlejohn is already starting to notice a shift.

The native Glaswegian, who swapped allegiances through her Irish grandparents after representing Scotland at youth level, added jokingly: “It was the Euros last summer. Obviously deep down I’m gutted that England won.

“I’m just about over it. It was great for the game there, the WSL. It’s only going in one direction and I think the change that they’ve made is massive, and now you can see the change that hopefully we can all make on this world stage.

“It’s just exciting to see. You can even see that, round about the hotel, there’s a few young girls running about with Ireland tops on. I mean I would have never been taken anywhere to a different country to watch a game of football.

“I don’t know how these people are getting to do it, but that’s amazing that there’s so many people tuning in and it’s a reality for people now. This can become a job for you. You can go and do this too if you want to do it.”

Former Wales and British and Irish Lions captain Sam Warburton announced his retirement from rugby union on this day in 2018 due to injuries at the age of 29.

Warburton, whose announcement was released jointly by the Welsh Rugby Union and his regional team Cardiff Blues, had undergone knee and neck surgery the previous year.

He said: “Unfortunately, after a long period of rest and rehabilitation, the decision to retire from rugby has been made with my health and well-being as a priority as my body is unable to give me back what I had hoped for on my return to training.”

Warburton is one of only two players to have skippered the Lions on two separate tours, emulating England’s Martin Johnson, and never lost a Test series.

With Warburton as skipper, the Lions beat Australia 2-1 in 2013 and drew the 2017 series against New Zealand. He also led Wales to Six Nations glory twice, including the 2012 Grand Slam.

The Cardiff-born flanker, whose final match was in the drawn third Test against New Zealand at Eden Park in July 2017, also steered Wales to the 2011 World Cup semi-finals.

He captained his country in 49 of his 74 appearances and led the Lions five times.

Despite a long list of injuries throughout his playing career, Warburton was among the world’s best openside flankers, with fearless, critical work at the breakdown proving his major strength.

Current Wales head coach Warren Gatland, who appointed Warburton as Wales skipper in 2011 and to lead both Lions tours that the New Zealander was head coach of, led the tributes to Warburton.

“He is an outstanding rugby player and he has brought so much to the game, on and off the pitch,” Gatland said.

“His leadership, attitude and demeanour, along with his performances, have placed Sam up there as one of the best and most respected players in the world.”

The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) has said the Victorian state government’s decision to withdraw as host of the 2026 Commonwealth Games is “hugely disappointing”.

The CGF said in a statement it was given only eight hours’ notice of the decision, which was announced by Victoria’s state premier Daniel Andrews on Tuesday morning.

Mr Andrews told media in Melbourne the original budget for the games was estimated to be around 2.6 billion dollars (£1.3 billion) but had ballooned out to nearly triple that.

He said: “Last year when the Commonwealth Games authorities approached us and needed someone to step in to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games, as a state we were happy to help out, but of course not at any price.

“I’ve made a lot of difficult decisions in this job, this is not one of them.

“It’s just quite obvious, we are not going to spend six to seven billion dollars on a 12-day sporting event.

“We don’t just make popular decisions, we do what’s right and it would simply be wrong.”

The CGF responded by saying it was taken aback by the announcement.

It said in a statement: “This is hugely disappointing for the Commonwealth Sport Movement, for athletes around the Commonwealth and the Organising Committee who are well advanced in their planning and preparation.

“The reasons given are financial. The numbers quoted to us today of 6 billion dollars are 50% more than those advised to the Organising Committee board at its meeting in June.

“These figures are attributed to price escalation primarily due to the unique regional delivery model that Victoria chose for these Games, and in particular relate to village and venue builds and transport infrastructure.”

The 2026 Commonwealth Games were set to be held in regional Victoria across towns like Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland and Shepparton.

The CGF statement continued: “Since awarding Victoria the Games, the Government has made decisions to include more sports and an additional regional hub, and changed plans for venues, all of which have added considerable expense, often against the advice of the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) and Commonwealth Games Australia (CGA).

“We are disappointed that we were only given eight hours’ notice and that no consideration was given to discussing the situation to jointly find solutions prior to this decision being reached by the Government.

“Up until this point, the Government had advised that sufficient funding was available to deliver the Victoria 2026 Commonwealth Games.”

Mr Andrews said the estimates were “clearly under the actual cost”, and the state government is instead going to use the money budgeted to improve sporting complexes and housing in regional Victoria.

The CGF said it remains “committed to finding a solution for the Games in 2026 that is in the best interest of our athletes and the wider Commonwealth Sport Movement”.

Australia has hosted the Commonwealth Games five times, including on the Gold Coast in 2018 and in the Victorian capital of Melbourne in 2006.

Australia’s Victoria state has withdrawn as host of the 2026 Commonwealth Games due to the cost of the event breaching estimates by around 5 billion Australian dollars.

State premier Daniel Andrews fronted media in Melbourne and said he was not prepared to spend up to 7 billion dollars (£3.6 billion) on a “12-day sporting event”.

He said: “Last year when the Commonwealth Games authorities approached us and needed someone to step in to host the 2026 Commonwealth Games, as a state we were happy to help out, but of course not at any price.

“I’ve made a lot of difficult decisions in this job, this is not one of them.

“It’s just quite obvious, we are not going to spend six to seven billion dollars on a 12-day sporting event.

“We don’t just make popular decisions, we do what’s right and it would simply be wrong.”

The original budget for the games was estimated to be around 2.6 billion dollars (£1.3 billion) but ballooned out to nearly triple that.

Mr Andrews said they have had “cordiale discussions” with the Commonwealth authorities in London and will continue discussions with them on Tuesday morning.

He added: “It is not appropriate and it is against the interest of taxpayers for me to speculate and conduct a negotiation with people on the other side of the world at a press conference here today.

“In the meantime we are going to let our team that are in London work through these issues.”

Mr Andrews said the estimates were “clearly under the actual cost”.

The Victorian state government are instead going to use the money budgeted to improve sporting complexes and housing in regional Victoria.

The 2026 Commonwealth Games were set to be held in regional Victoria across towns like Geelong, Bendigo, Ballarat, Gippsland and Shepparton.

Former champion Peter Wright coasted into the second round of the Betfred World Matchplay with a 10-4 win over Andrew Gilding at the Winter Gardens in Blackpool.

After holder Michael van Gerwen suffered a shock exit to Brendan Dolan, UK Open champion Gilding had threatened another upset when an early break saw him move 2-0 ahead with a 122 checkout.

Wright, though, soon recovered from his slow start to reel off eight straight legs with some heavy finishing as the 2021 World Matchplay champion closed in on an impressive victory which saw him land seven 180s.

Elsewhere, Ryan Searle cut short Raymond van Barneveld’s return to the Winter Gardens with a 10-4 win.

The Dutchman, a five-time world champion across the PDC and BDO versions, last played the event in 2018, but never looked like producing a vintage display as Searle soon built up a 7-3 lead.

Searle remained in control after taking the next two legs, including a 13-dart finish.

Although Van Barneveld reduced the deficit, the English world number 15 got the job done on his next throw, completing an impressive victory with a 105.19 average and landing four 180s.

Searle goes on to play Wright for a place in the quarter-finals.

In the opening match of the evening, Dimitri Van den Bergh threw seven maximums as he edged out Ross Smith 10-8 in a high-quality contest.

The Belgian, who won the World Matchplay title on his debut in 2020, produced an average of just over 101 to edge out last year’s PDC European Championships winner Smith, himself hitting five 180s and an impressive 134 check-out.

Van den Bergh will next play Jonny Clayton after the Welsh World Cup winner held off a late fightback from German number one Gabriel Clemens to win 10-8.

Monday’s deadline for franchise-tagged players to sign long-term contracts passed without three of the NFL’s top running backs unable to work out such deals.

The New York Giants’ Saquon Barkley, Las Vegas Raiders’ Josh Jacobs and Dallas Cowboys’ Tony Pollard will all play the 2023 season under the franchise tag.

With no long-term deals reached prior to the deadline, the three must wait until after the 2023 regular season in January to reach a new agreement.

Barkley never signed the tag he received by the Giants earlier this offseason in hopes of negotiating a long-term contract.

It was reported last week by ESPN that the 26-year-old Barkley would consider sitting out the Giants’ Week 1 Sunday Night opener against the Cowboys if he didn’t have a new deal.

Negotiations reportedly went down to the wire, but he ended up settling to the franchise tag and will be paid $10.091million for the 2023 season, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media.

The former No. 2 overall pick ranked fourth in the NFL with a career-high 1,312 rushing yards in 2022, while scoring 10 touchdowns to earn a Pro Bowl selection - his first since 2018, when he was also named the Offensive Rookie of the Year.

His 57 receptions were tied for the team lead last season and his 1,650 scrimmage yards were seventh most in the league.

Jacobs and Pollard were both tagged by their respective teams back in March.

Jacobs became the first Raider to lead the NFL in rushing yards since Hall of Famer Marcus Allen in 1985 when he compiled 1,653 this past season. The 25-year-old added 12 touchdowns and 400 receiving yards on 53 catches to earn first team All-Pro honours.

The 26-year-old Pollard emerged as the Cowboys’ best running back ahead of three-time Pro Bowler Ezekiel Elliott, who was subsequently released in May in a move to save cap space.

Pollard earned his first Pro Bowl nod with an outstanding 2022 campaign in which he rushed for 1,007 yards and scored 12 total touchdowns. His 5.22 yards per rush attempt ranked second in the NFL among players with at least 175 carries.

Sports stars and clubs across the world continue to provide an insight into their lives on social media.

Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the best examples from July 17.

Inter Miami unveiled Lionel Messi.

Ilkay Gundogan became a Barca player.

Mohamed Salah trained hard.

Luton were feeling the heat.

A mural for Tottenham.

New one-shoe trend?

Wilfried Zaha was making memories.

Happy birthdays.

A dream realised.

Strike a pose champions.

Neal Skupski was still celebrating.

KP was in awe.

Eoin Morgan enjoyed Wimbledon.

James Anderson was in claret and blue.

Jules Bianchi was remembered.

Ten years apart.

Raymond Van Barneveld was in Blackpool.

Relief Rally will bid to better her runner-up finish in the Queen Mary at Royal Ascot when she goes for the Weatherbys Super Sprint at Newbury.

The William Haggas-trained filly heads 23 confirmations for Saturday’s £250,000 feature, which this year marks 30 years of Weatherbys’ sponsorship

A Simon Munir and Isaac Souede-owned daughter of Kodiac, should Relief Rally be successful she would be a third Haggas winner of the five-furlong showpiece, after the top-class Superstar Leo in 2000 and Jargelle eight years later.

Relief Rally made her debut at Windsor in April, before taking a conditions race at Salisbury and then heading to the Royal meeting, where only American raider Crimson Advocate was too good, by a nose.

As a 58,000 genuine yearling, carrying a small penalty, Relief Rally will have significantly more weight than Superstar Leo, who was bred in partnership by Haggas’ father-in-law Lester Piggott and Tony Hirschfeld and was bought back for a mere 3,400 guineas by his wife Maureen at the sales.

Haggas said: “Relief Rally got the entry for the Super Sprint because she was bred to be quick and cost less than the ceiling £65,000, so it’s been on our radar for a while. She got a small penalty for her Salisbury win, but it would have been a much bigger one if she had won the Queen Mary, although we would have been happy to have taken one there.

“The American filly was obviously very quick in the Queen Mary, but we were unfortunate not to win, as she was in front a stride before the line and in front again a stride after it, but not on the line.”

He added: “Unlike Superstar Leo, who had no weight despite having won the Norfolk Stakes, Relief Rally has 9st, but if she’s good enough to win on Saturday I think she’ll go for the Lowther, then the Flying Childers, which Superstar Leo also won, and then the Abbaye, where Superstar Leo was second to Namid.”

Superstar Leo ended the year the highest-rated juvenile filly on the classifications, and she has gone on to have major lasting significance for the stable.

Haggas said: “She’s been marvellous. She introduced us to the Jacksons, of Lael Stables, who have been big supporters ever since, and she bred Enticing (winner of the Molecomb and King George Stakes), who was the dam of One Master (three-time winner of the Prix de la Foret). Her sister Starship is the dam of Rivet, who won the Racing Post Trophy for us.

“It’s been a hell of a family for us and a wonderful story, and the Jacksons were so fond of Superstar Leo that when she retired they flew her back to Kentucky so that she could spend the rest of her life in their front paddock.”