Desert Crown is back in light exercise following the setback which ruled him out of Royal Ascot.

Last year’s Derby winner has only been seen once in public since his famous Epsom win, when surprisingly beaten by Hukum at Sandown in the Brigadier Gerard Stakes.

He wowed gallop watchers when tuning up for the Prince of Wales’s Stakes and Frankie Dettori had been booked for the big day, but just over a week beforehand connections were dealt a blow.

Following a routine gallop he was giving off cause for concern and while no major damage has been discovered, Sir Michael Stoute’s colt was unable to go to Ascot.

Philip Robinson, owner Saeed Suhail’s assistant racing manager, said: “He’s started cantering, having been walking all last week, and is all is good.

“Nothing showed up on any scans or X-rays or anything, so it must have just been a bruise or something like that which just set him back 10 days.

“I’m not sure where he’ll run, I wouldn’t have thought Sir Michael will rush him back, he’ll just take his time and when he’s back in full work then he’ll make a plan.

“It was just one of those really unfortunate things that happens with horses, but they are athletes and these things happen.”

Rory McIlroy and Sergio Garcia have ended their feud in the wake of the proposed peace deal between golf’s rival factions.

The former Ryder Cup team-mates fell out following Garcia’s move to LIV Golf, with McIlroy emerging as the most vocal opponent to the Saudi-funded breakaway.

But even though McIlroy admitted earlier this month that he still “hates” LIV Golf, he and Garcia rekindled their friendship at the US Open in Los Angeles.

Asked in a press conference ahead of LIV’s event in Valderrama this week if the deal was good news, Garcia said: “I think so. I think it’s great.

“I think in my personal opinion I wish this would have happened a year and a half ago when we all started, and it would have been better for all of us. I really think so.

“To give you an example – it wasn’t because of the merger, but the US Open was a great event for me.

“I feel like I played well, but more than anything because I gained a friend back, a friend that I kind of felt like I lost in the last year or so. We talked and we had a great conversation, and I feel like I have that friend back and that to me means a lot.”

Speaking to reporters after the press conference, Garcia revealed that a friendly interaction at the US Open between his wife Angela and McIlroy had been the catalyst.

“I had been thinking about it for a while but I wasn’t totally sure,” Garcia said.

“But then I saw that reaction from him and it kind of gave me the incentive to get closer and we had a great chat.

“I think that at the end of the day, the important thing is that we got together and talked; we were two friends that wanted to get back to that spot.

“Like I said, no doubt it was the saddest part of all of this, these friendships turning sour.”

Rachael Blackmore has been made an honorary MBE for services to sport.

The 33-year-old won the 2021 Grand National on Minella Times and the Cheltenham Gold Cup in 2022 on A Plus Tard, becoming the first female rider to win the two biggest prizes in National Hunt racing.

She was crowned leading rider at the Cheltenham Festival in 2021 and in the same year won the BBC Sports Personality’s World Sport Star of the Year award.

Blackmore is perhaps best known for her association with the Henry de Bromhead-trained mare Honeysuckle, who won 17 of her 19 races including two Champion Hurdles at Cheltenham.

Honorary MBEs recognise those from overseas who excel in their field in Britain.

Frankie Dettori was made an honorary MBE in 2001 for his services to racing.

Marco Botti is banking on his decision to skip the Gold Cup at Ascot paying dividends in the Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup for Giavellotto.

Promoted to third in the St Leger behind Eldar Eldarov last season, he beat that rival in the Yorkshire Cup last month, admittedly in receipt of 5lb.

Botti decided against going to Ascot feeling two miles is as far as his stable star wants to go, and an entry in the Irish St Leger suggests he may even be coming back in trip later in the season.

“Giavellotto is very well and the plan was always to go straight for the Goodwood Cup,” said Botti.

“The horse won well at York and then we were keen to give him more time rather than stepping up to the Gold Cup, as we think two miles is his best trip.

“He has matured a lot mentally from three to four and we expected him to improve this season, as most stayers do with age. He used to wear a hood and get quite warm before his races but that was not the case in the Yorkshire Cup.

“We were disappointed on his first run back in the Dubai Gold Cup but he was drawn wide and the race did not pan out for him, so it was nice to see him show what we thought he was capable of at York.

“You never know until you run at Goodwood whether they will handle the track, but he seems a well-balanced horse and the long straight will be in his favour.”

Giavellotto is one of 26 entries for the Goodwood race, which include the Gold Cup winner Courage Mon Ami.

His John and Thady Gosden-trained stablemate and Queen’s Vase winner Gregory, who is so far unbeaten, is another potential rival.

Subjectivist, Coltrane, Eldar Eldarov and Emily Dickinson are others given the option.

Josh Tongue removed Usman Khawaja in the final over before lunch to spare England a wicketless first session in the second Ashes Test at Lord’s.

Ben Stokes could hardly hide his smile after winning the toss but despite a light covering of green grass, grey clouds overhead and floodlights in operation throughout the opening session, Australia appeared to be cruising towards the interval in control.

But Tongue, making his Ashes bow after replacing spinner Moeen Ali in the home XI, produced the breakthrough England craved when Khawaja offered no shot to a ball that came in from round the wicket and clipped the top of off stump.

That left the tourists on 73 for one, David Warner carrying the fight with a punchy, unbeaten 53.

Warner and Khawaja did well to hold their concentration after the day began with a botched protest from Just Stop Oil supporters.

Just one over into the innings, two men invaded the field carrying bags of orange paint dust but where bundled off the pitch with the notable assistance of England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow, who lifted one of the activists off his feet and personally delivered him to security staff on the boundary edge.

When play resumed, Khawaja offered a half-chance off James Anderson with just one to his name. Joe Root could hardly be blamed for failing to grab a low chance off the turf, but Warner should have been on his way for 20.

Stuart Broad switched to the Pavilion End for his second spell of the day and successfully clipped the edge of his old rival. Ollie Pope made a hash of a regulation catch at fourth slip, in an echo of the missed chances that cost England dear in their series-opening defeat at Edgbaston.

Warner had imposed himself in tricky conditions, bending the knee to sweep both Broad and an off-colour Ollie Robinson, with the latter struggling to find a performance to match his new pantomime villain status.

Tongue, who played his only other Test at the same ground against Ireland earlier this month, briefly looked to have a case of stage fright as he first three overs were dispatched for 24 – including a bouncer that Warner disdainfully hooked for six.

But he summoned a perfect riposte to end the morning on a high, dismissing Khawaja for 17 as he shouldered arms.

Sir Nick Faldo believes LIV Golf cannot survive the proposed deal between golf’s warring factions, but that Rory McIlroy can thrive following the shock outbreak of peace.

Earlier this month the PGA Tour announced it was creating a new commercial entity with the DP World Tour and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF), which bankrolls the breakaway circuit.

The deal is subject to judicial scrutiny in the United States and details remain thin on the ground, but the “framework agreement” does state that LIV’s future will be determined by the new entity, whose board will be controlled by a PGA Tour majority.

Asked ahead of the British Masters if LIV can survive, tournament host and six-time major winner Faldo said: “I don’t think so, because nobody’s really interested.

“They’re not going to get the sponsorship that they want. They call it a team (event) and it’s not because it’s strokeplay.

“You see your mates on the putting green and say ‘play well’ and you see them in the scorers tent and say ‘What did you shoot?’ That’s it. A team is out there helping, shoulder to shoulder. That’s a true team.

“You have the ultimate team event, the Ryder Cup, you know the passion and the atmosphere of that. They’re not playing with the same passion and atmosphere as the Ryder Cup.

“It’s only half a dozen (players) that are really current, half of the field I don’t really know and half the field are there for the very nice last-placed money that you still get if you shoot 20 over.”

Unsurprisingly, LIV player and HyFlyers team captain Phil Mickelson has a different view and believes everything that the rebels were promised by LIV Golf CEO Greg Norman is coming to pass.

“I think that right now we have basically an agreement to have an agreement and everything over the last couple of years that we’ve been told by Greg and everybody on LIV has come to fruition, so we have a lot of confidence in what they have been saying to us because everything has been happening,” Mickelson said ahead of the LIV event in Valderrama.

Asked if he felt vindicated by developments, Mickelson added: “I would say I felt appreciation that we got to this point where we’re working together because it makes me confident with where the game of golf is headed in the future.

“We felt like it was going to be about two years roughly before we got to that point. It took a year and a half, or six months quicker than I thought it would be.”

McIlroy admitted he felt like a “sacrificial lamb” when the proposed deal was announced, the four-time major winner having emerged as the public face of the PGA Tour in its battle with LIV.

The following week he cancelled his pre-tournament press conference ahead of the US Open at Los Angeles Country Club, where he finished second to Wyndham Clark to extend his major championship drought.

“I’m pretty sure Rory’s suffered from being constantly asked, being a spokesman (for the PGA Tour),” Faldo said. “You want a clear head when you go and play golf, you want to be able to concentrate.

“I’d rather be playing well and fending off questions about why I finished second than why I finished 152nd. If you finish second it’s stewards’ inquiry and a dissection but he’s there, he’s playing that well every week.

“He’s playing beautifully so if he can just get those wedges a smidgen closer that changes everything. Putting under pressure to putting for birdie is a huge difference.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s seriously inspired at Hoylake. That’s where he won last time (the 2014 Open).

“There is scar tissue from nine years without a major and not too many players have come back from a long gap and then go on to reboot your career and win more, but I’m sure he would just love to be able to bowl up, go and practice and play with minimal off-course work and interference.

“You need that when you’re trying to play your best. You’ve got to have that all day long.”

Dermot Weld will give the Coolmore America ‘Justify’ Matron Stakes at Leopardstown “serious consideration” for his star filly Tahiyra.

The Aga Khan-owned three-year-old landed the third Group One success of her short career to date when successful in the Coronation Stakes at Royal Ascot last week.

She is currently on a short break at her owner’s Gilltown Stud with a view to an autumn campaign, with the race on Irish Champions Festival taking place on September 9.

“The Matron Stakes would certainly be a race we would definitely consider,” said Weld on the Dublin track’s website.

“Tahiyra has come out of last week well and is going on a short break at the moment and no decision has been made about her autumn campaign, but obviously the Matron Stakes will be given very serious consideration.”

Weld has won the race twice before, with Dress To Thrill (2002) and Emulous (2011), and he could also run Homeless Songs this year.

“Emulous was a very good filly I trained for Juddmonte. She was a very good winner of it. She was a very consistent filly, a multiple Group-winning filly,” he said.

“And of course Dress To Thrill was an unbeaten three-year-old filly that I trained for Moyglare. She was very talented. She won the Matron Stakes, the Sun Chariot at Newmarket and then, with a brilliant ride by Pat Smullen, won the Grade One Matriarch Stakes in California, beating the champion turf mare of America, Golden Apples.”

Above The Curve, Inspiral, Just Beautiful, Laurel, Moon De Vega and Aidan O’Brien’s Statuette, who has not run yet this season, are also among the 46 entries.

Aberdeen have continued their summer recruitment drive by adding Liverpool defender Rhys Williams on loan shortly after sealing the return of influential midfielder Graeme Shinnie on a permanent contract.

The Dons announced on Wednesday morning that 31-year-old Shinnie, who captained the club during a fruitful spell on loan from Wigan in the second half of last season, had moved to Pittodrie on a three-year deal.

And just a couple of hours later, they concluded a season-long loan deal for England Under-21 international centre-back Williams, who has made 14 starts and a further five appearances off the bench for Liverpool’s first team.

Manager Barry Robson is delighted to have been able to bring Shinnie back to Aberdeen for a third time after he enjoyed four years with the club between 2015 and 2019, as well as last term’s stint in the Granite City. He skippered the Dons in both spells.

“Graeme is a captain, a real leader and is Aberdeen through and through,” said the manager.

“We’re absolutely delighted to get him back. This is where he belongs and his impact on the team and club last year was there for all to see.

“He is well aware of the level of expectation at this club and his wealth of experience will be a major advantage as we head into a busy season.”

Shinnie played a crucial role in turning around Aberdeen’s fortunes last season, taking the armband and leading the side back into Europe with a third-placed finish in the cinch Premiership.

“My full focus was always on returning here. It’s a club I love. I feel like I am back home again,” said Shinnie.

“I’m looking forward to the season ahead. It’s going to be tough but we’re building a squad now that is going to be ready for what lies ahead and being able to play in the group stages of a European competition is something I’ve always wanted so there are exciting times ahead.”

Williams has had spells on loan at Swansea and Blackpool in recent seasons since making all of his appearances for his parent club in the 2020/21 campaign.

“Coming from Liverpool, Rhys joins us with a great pedigree,” said Robson.

“He’s athletic, tall and we think we can improve him and give him the platform to continue his development. I’ve no doubt he’ll become a real asset for the team.

“We’ve developed a good understanding with Liverpool, and I think they trust us with their players.

“The squad is starting to take shape now ahead of what will be a busy season. That said, we have still got a lot of work to do, and I expect the next few weeks will be busy with more new arrivals.”

The move north reunites Williams with his former Liverpool colleague Leighton Clarkson, who recently signed a permanent deal with the Dons after impressing on loan last term.

“I’m really pleased to be here,” he said. “When I knew there was an opportunity to come to Aberdeen on loan I spoke to Leighton and he couldn’t speak highly enough about his experience.

“I actually met some of the boys during the summer so there will be a few familiar faces in the dressing room which I’m sure will help me settle quickly.

“There’s a lot to look forward to this season, particularly with European football, and I can’t wait to get started and show everyone what I am capable of.”

Jonny Bairstow carried a Just Stop Oil protester off the Lord’s pitch after the activist group targeted the first morning of the second Ashes Test.

The England wicketkeeper took matters into his own hands when two men ran on to the field armed with orange paint dust in a clear attempt to halt the match.

Bairstow, a keen rugby league player in his younger days, ran to meet one of the protesters and lifted them off their feet before carting them over the boundary edge.

Having handed them over to the stewards, he headed to the pavilion to change his whites, but his quick thinking may well have prevented a much lengthier delay to proceedings had the paint made it as far as the wicket.

The other protester, who attracted the attention of England captain Ben Stokes, was intercepted by security staff, while another was apprehended in the stands. All three were arrested.

Speaking on BBC’s Test Match Special, commentator Jonathan Agnew said: “Jonny Bairstow’s dander was up there, he was like a flanker. Let’s hope this doesn’t happen again, let’s hope that’s the one attack on the Ashes this year.”

Broadcasters largely chose not to highlight the incident, but former Australia captain Ricky Ponting offered one cheeky reference following a wicketless start to the morning.

“I didn’t want to say anything, but the one chance that’s come Jonny’s way, he’s held on to so far,” Ponting joked on Sky Sports.

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police said on Twitter: “We are aware of protesters on the Lord’s Cricket Ground pitch today, Wednesday, 28 June. Police have arrested three people and taken them into custody.”

Guy Lavender, chief executive of the Marylebone Cricket Club, which owns Lord’s, criticised those involved.

He said: “MCC condemn in the strongest possible terms today’s pitch incursion and with the behaviour of the protesters involved.

“Their actions not only endanger themselves and those who work at the ground, but they have consistently shown complete disregard for the people who pay to attend events, not just here at Lord’s but around the country at other sporting venues.”

Just Stop Oil said on Twitter: “At 11am, three Just Stop Oil supporters stormed the pitch at Lord’s Cricket Ground in a cloud of orange powder paint and disrupted the #Ashes2023 Second Test between England and Australia.”

Just Stop Oil protesters previously delayed England’s arrival for day one of their one-off Test against Ireland on June 1 by standing in front of their team coach outside their Kensington hotel.

It was Bairstow who highlighted the incident at the time by posting a picture of it on his Instagram story.

Just Stop Oil protesters were able to disrupt the Gallagher Premiership final at Twickenham between Saracens and Sale last month. Two men wearing Just Stop Oil T-shirts invaded the pitch midway through the first half and threw orange paint powder on to the field before being removed.

A similar incident occurred at the Crucible during the World Snooker Championship in April.

Alessia Russo admits she has found being the subject of transfer talk “tough” and is glad to be in camp with England focusing on this summer’s World Cup.

It was announced two weeks ago that Russo would be leaving Manchester United on the completion of her contract at the end of June, something she described at the time as the “hardest decision I’ve ever had to make”.

The 24-year-old has been linked with Arsenal, who had a world-record bid for her rejected in January.

Asked how much of a distraction transfer speculation had been, Russo said: “Towards the end of the season it was tough and then the summer has been tough.

“But that’s football, that’s the state of the women’s game. I just turned it off, took a break on holiday and completely switched off with all my friends and family.

“Then coming back into an environment like this is perfect because you’re competing, you have a huge tournament ahead and my full focus is on England.

“You’ve just got to get things sorted, and there’s kind of no nice time to sort things like that out.

“But now I’m here it’s nice to have full focus on an absolutely massive tournament coming up.”

Russo’s departure from United is set to see her no longer playing at club level alongside England midfielder Ella Toone, and she said: “It’s hard, she’s my best friend and will be forever, but that is football.

“And we were friends before we played at United together, we’ve been friends since we were 12 or 13, so I know the friendship is for life now and she’ll definitely be one of my bridesmaids one day!”

Both Russo and Toone produced memorable moments as substitutes during England’s triumphant Euros campaign on home soil last summer – a standout one from Russo being her back-heeled effort against Sweden in the semi-finals, one of four goals she scored at the tournament as she came off the bench to replace the now-retired Ellen White in each match.

A year on, she is heading into the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, which gets under way on July 20, having made seven starts for Sarina Wiegman’s Lionesses across 2022-23, helped United achieve a club-best finish of second in the Women’s Super League and been named the division’s player of the year.

Russo, who has stressed “it’s going well but there’s lots more to come” from her, said: “I went into the Euros wanting to enjoy every moment, make sure I soaked it all in and not leave with any regrets. I think I did exactly that and that’s my same message going into this tournament.

“The competition is going to be so high out there but if I just go in, relax and enjoy it and never take a day out there for granted, then hopefully it will make me play my best football.

“That’s what people ask me about, that (back-heeled) goal – no, you probably won’t see it again, and that’s OK. But it was just because we felt like we could play with our instincts and we feel when you’re a little kid.

“That’s what makes this team so special – when you go out on the pitch you feel comfortable and confident. That’s ultimately what wins us important games.

“I think there’ll be plenty more of that this summer, people feeling like they’re able to try something. That comes from Sarina too, putting trust in the players.

“There’s always a target on England’s back for football. I think we feel really good. It (the Euros) was an incredible summer, we saw what we can do, and now it’s time to go and produce again on the world stage.”

Mick Appleby’s Big Evs is Goodwood-bound after a memorable victory at Royal Ascot.

The Blue Point colt had a second-placed debut run under his belt when he lined up at 20-1 in the Windsor Castle Stakes at Ascot last Wednesday, but under Jason Hart he was a decisive winner when defeating Aidan O’Brien’s 100-30 favourite Johannes Brahms by three lengths.

The Molecomb at Goodwood’s headline meeting is next on the agenda, a Group Three run over five furlongs, with a trip to the Knavesmire at York also pencilled in later in the season.

Appleby said: “I did quite fancy him because he worked well with Annaf (King’s Stand third) the Saturday before.”

“I was pretty confident he would finish in the first three but I didn’t think he would win like that. Obviously he is a very good horse.

“I had plenty of messages of congratulations afterwards which I was very appreciative of. It is what we do it for and Royal Ascot is where everyone wants to have winners.

“He is more than likely to now go for the Molecomb at Goodwood. I think that is the most obvious target for him and then we will go from there.”

At York the two-year-old could stick to five furlongs for the Nunthorpe, but there is also a chance he could step up a furlong and take on the Gimcrack Stakes instead.

Appleby said: “We’ve said we will possibly look at the Nunthorpe afterwards but Goodwood is next on the agenda. We did half think about going for the Gimcrack at York after Goodwood as well.

“Whether he will get six furlongs I don’t know, but it didn’t look like he was stopping at Ascot.

“At York I think he probably would get six furlongs, but we will get Goodwood done first then make a decision which route we take after that.

“The owner has had a few offers on the table for him but he is not interested in selling him which is good to see.”

Mick Appleby’s Big Evs is Goodwood-bound after a memorable victory at Royal Ascot.

The Blue Point colt had a second-placed debut run under his belt when he lined up at 20-1 in the Windsor Castle Stakes at Ascot last Wednesday, but under Jason Hart he was a decisive winner when defeating Aidan O’Brien’s 100-30 favourite Johannes Brahms by three lengths.

The Molecomb at Goodwood’s headline meeting is next on the agenda, a Group Three run over five furlongs, with a trip to the Knavesmire at York also pencilled in later in the season.

Appleby said: “I did quite fancy him because he worked well with Annaf (King’s Stand third) the Saturday before.”

“I was pretty confident he would finish in the first three but I didn’t think he would win like that. Obviously he is a very good horse.

“I had plenty of messages of congratulations afterwards which I was very appreciative of. It is what we do it for and Royal Ascot is where everyone wants to have winners.

“He is more than likely to now go for the Molecomb at Goodwood. I think that is the most obvious target for him and then we will go from there.”

At York the two-year-old could stick to five furlongs for the Nunthorpe, but there is also a chance he could step up a furlong and take on the Gimcrack Stakes instead.

Appleby said: “We’ve said we will possibly look at the Nunthorpe afterwards but Goodwood is next on the agenda. We did half think about going for the Gimcrack at York after Goodwood as well.

“Whether he will get six furlongs I don’t know, but it didn’t look like he was stopping at Ascot.

“At York I think he probably would get six furlongs, but we will get Goodwood done first then make a decision which route we take after that.

“The owner has had a few offers on the table for him but he is not interested in selling him which is good to see.”

Manchester City have ended their interest in Declan Rice after Arsenal made an improved £105million bid for the West Ham captain.

The PA news agency understands the Gunners made their latest offer for the 24-year-old England international on Tuesday after two previous approaches were rebuffed by the Hammers.

It was also reported City had a bid totalling £90m knocked back and the treble winners have now decided not to match or try to better Arsenal’s proposition.

It is believed the Gunners have offered £100m and a further £5m in potential add-ons. It would make Rice the most expensive British player of all time and eclipses Arsenal’s previous record transfer.

It is understood West Ham are unhappy with the payment structure put forward but, rather than dismiss the offer out of hand, are now looking to negotiate.

By contrast, Arsenal’s pursuit of Germany forward Kai Havertz has been more straightforward.

With a deal agreed with Chelsea, Havertz underwent a medical over the weekend and is expected to be announced as an Arsenal player within the next 24 hours as footage of his arrival video was leaked on social media.

Meanwhile, a move for Ajax full-back Jurrien Timber is still being worked on as Arsenal aim to improve a squad that finished second last season.