Khaadem caused an 80-1 upset in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Winner of the Stewards’ Cup in 2019, he was fourth in the corresponding race in 2020 but had always come up short when previously tried in Group One company.

Trained by Charlie Hills, he was given a typically patient ride by Jamie Spencer, who was recording his second big-priced winner of the week after the 50-1 success of Witch Hunter.

Highfield Princess, second in the King’s Stand on Tuesday, was prominent throughout leading one group, while The Astrologist and Kinross led the group on the far side.

The William Haggas-trained Sacred hit the front over a furlong out and it looked like she was just going to do enough to hold on, but Spencer had bided his time exquisitely and produced Khaadem to perfection.

Sacred was second, while the gallant Highfield Princess hung on for third.

Tammy Beaumont broke an 88-year record for the highest Test score by an England woman as her 195 not out gave Heather Knight’s side real hope of a first-innings lead against Australia.

Betty Snowball’s 189 against New Zealand in February 1935 was the previous benchmark but Beaumont made history by overtaking the record shortly before tea on day three of the lone Women’s Ashes Test.

She requires just five more for a historic double hundred – a week on from making 201 against Australia A in a warm-up – as England ended the session on 428 for six – their highest ever score against Australia – in reply to 473 all out at Trent Bridge.

Beaumont, who successfully overturned an lbw decision given against her on 152, put on 72 with Test debutant Danni Wyatt (44) on Saturday afternoon as Australia huffed and puffed in the field, rotating their eight bowlers but struggling to create consistent wicket-taking chances on a flat pitch.

There was a hint of turn on offer so it was a surprise Australia waited more than an hour to introduce their spinners, after Beaumont and Natalie Sciver-Brunt (78) had made hay, extending their stand to 137 from just 187 balls as they resumed their innings with England on 218 for two.

Sciver-Brunt might have been dismissed without adding to her overnight 41 after missing a flick and being rapped on the front pad by Darcie Brown but England’s star all-rounder reviewed the lbw decision and was vindicated as Hawk-Eye showed the ball would have gone on to drift past leg stump.

It was a nervy start from Sciver-Brunt, who also edged Kim Garth just out of the reach of the slips on 42 but Beaumont settled by driving, steering then pulling Brown for three fours in an over.

Sciver-Brunt was soon into her stride with three successive fours off Annabel Sutherland after going past 50. With Australia’s seamers struggling to exert control, it was a surprise the tourists waited 75 minutes to turn to spin – and their folly was exposed as Gardner struck with her ninth ball.

Backing away for an attempted cut, Sciver-Brunt, who showed no sign of a minor knee injury which restricted her to bowling just five overs in Australia’s innings, got a thick edge to a flatter delivery and Alyssa Healy held on.

Sophia Dunkley was bogged down by Australia’s spinners either side of lunch and was eventually put out of her misery after missing a heave across the line to Gardner and losing her off stump.

Gardner especially was challenging both edges as she and Alana King tried to stifle England. Leg-spinner King thought she had snaffled Beaumont, who was given lbw on 152 after missing a full-blooded sweep but vindicated by a review as Hawk-Eye showed the ball pitched fractionally outside leg stump.

Wyatt fulfilled her brief with an adventurous innings as both she and Beaumont used their feet expertly against Australia’s spinners. Drawing on her significant white-ball experience, Wyatt had a sparkling cameo which led to Australia belatedly taking the new ball in the 100th over.

Her favoured cut shot was fed but she then hung her bat out once too often and edged to a diving Jess Jonassen while England were six down after passing 400 when Amy Jones limply miscued to mid-on.

But Beaumont moved to within one run of Snowball by tickling Ellyse Perry off her hips for four before setting a new record with a late cut off Sutherland that bisected second slip and gully for her 26th four.

Age Of Kings bounced back from his run in the Irish 2,000 Guineas to win the Jersey Stakes for Aidan O’Brien at Royal Ascot.

Down the field behind stablemate Paddington at the Curragh, he was the second string in this Group Three with Ryan Moore preferring the claims of The Antarctic, who never got involved.

Wayne Lordan was the man on board and he was never far from the early pace, set by Frankie Dettori on the favourite Covey.

With two furlongs to run Covey’s stride began to shorten and that left Age Of Kings in front and it became a question of what he had left in the tank.

Challengers emerged from out of the pack, the best of which was James Ferguson’s Zoology, while Streets Of Gold also made good late headway.

But Age Of Kings was able to hold on by a length and win at 22-1 to give O’Brien a fourth winner of the week.

O’Brien said: “He had a very good run in the Irish Guineas if you look back at it and it was his first run of the year. He’s made great progress from it. He’s worked a length or two off The Antarctic who we were worried about the trip, but we were sure this fellow would enjoy it.

“The form was there and Wayne kept things uncomplicated. He said the horse tried very hard and would get a mile.”

Lordan said: “He had a run in the Guineas because he was a long time off the track, and finished eight lengths behind Paddington, so for the first run of the year to do that is not too bad.

“It’s great to be coming over here for rides, especially for Aidan and to get a winner is fabulous. Any day here is special.”

Former French Open champion Barbora Krejcikova will return to the top 10 after reaching her first grass-court final at the Rothesay Classic in Birmingham.

The Czech claimed her maiden singles grand slam title in 2021 but missed a chunk of last season with an elbow injury and dropped down the rankings.

Now the 27-year-old is back on the up and she is yet to drop a set so far at Edgbaston Priory, easing to a 6-3 6-2 victory over China’s Zhu Lin in the semi-finals.

Krejcikova said: “I’m really happy. Today was another difficult match, I felt it was really tough to play against my opponent today, so I’m really happy how I went through and I was really focused all the games.

“I played well. It’s really nice that I’m back (in the top 10) but it’s just a number, I want to keep going.”

It will be a battle of the top two seeds in the final, but second seed Jelena Ostapenko has had a contrasting path.

The powerful Latvian survived her third close three-setter in as many days, seeing off Russian Anastasia Potapova 5-7 6-2 6-4.

“Honestly I don’t know how I did it,” said Ostapenko. “Every match was a really tough match. It’s never easy and I always play a little bit up and down but in general I’m really happy.

“I think it’s important to win these kind of matches when you’re sometimes not playing your best and you just fight for every point. I will try to recover as good as I can and be ready for tomorrow.”

Age Of Kings bounced back from a disappointing run in the Irish 2,000 Guineas to win the Jersey Stakes for Aidan O’Brien at Royal Ascot.

Down the field behind stablemate Paddington at the Curragh, he was the second string in this Group Three with Ryan Moore preferring the claims of The Antarctic, who never got involved.

Wayne Lordan was the man on board and he was never far from the early pace, set by Frankie Dettori on the favourite Covey.

With two furlongs to run Covey’s stride began to shorten and that left Age Of Kings in front and it became a question of what he had left in the tank.

Challengers emerged from out of the pack, the best of which was James Ferguson’s Zoology, while Streets Of Gold also made good late headway.

But Age Of Kings was able to hold on by a length and win at 22-1 to give O’Brien a fourth winner of the week.

Alex De Minaur reached his first final at Queen’s Club after a grass-court masterclass against Holger Rune at the cinch Championships.

The 24-year-old ‘Demon’ roared to a 6-3 7-6 (2) victory to become the first Australian to make the final since Lleyton Hewitt won his fourth title in 2006.

De Minaur, the boyfriend of Britain’s Katie Boulter, is a proven performer on the grass; he is a former Eastbourne champion and also reached the fourth round at Wimbledon last year.

Danish rising star Rune, by contrast, remains a work in progress on grass. His win over Maxime Cressy on Tuesday was the first of his career on the surface.

De Minaur broke the Rune serve in the very first game and repeated the trick in the ninth to wrap up the opening set.

Rune, 20, fashioned a first break point at the start of the second, but De Minaur slammed the door shut with two consecutive winners and an ace.

De Minaur had a break point for 5-3 to take a stranglehold on the match, but he netted a simple forehand to let his opponent off the hook.

However, he totally dominated the tie-break, dropping just two points, on his way to victory in an hour and 40 minutes.

De Minaur, who beat Andy Murray in the first round, said: “I play pretty decent on grass and I’m having an amazing week.

“That was my best match so far, so happy days. One more to go. It’s a pretty special tournament so let’s hope I can go one better tomorrow. I’ll do my best.”

The semi-final was played in sweltering heat and twice interrupted by spectators needing medical treatment in the stands.

“I want to make sure the people who seeked medical assistance are all right,” added De Minaur. “Keep hydrated, it’s a hot one out there!”

Brendan Rodgers is adamant Celtic are getting a better manager this time round than the one that won all seven domestic trophies available to him during his previous spell in Scotland.

The Northern Irishman returned to Parkhead on Monday, almost four and a half years after he left to take charge of Leicester.

In his time at the Foxes, he oversaw FA Cup glory in 2021 and back-to-back fifth-place finishes in the Premier League before things unravelled in his closing season, culminating in his sacking in April as they spiralled towards relegation.

Rodgers explained that his football philosophy remains largely unchanged since he was previously at Celtic but he feels he is returning as a more astute operator overall.

“In terms of how we play my teams always play with an attacking philosophy,” he said. “We always set out to win. That’s never changed. When my teams are at their best that’s what they do.

“I am a better manager than when I sat here seven years ago (at the start of his first spell) and certainly than four years ago.

“Experiences good and bad always help you, and that was the beauty of coming back here. It’s an amazing club and hopefully we can continue moving forward.”

Rodgers is excited about immersing himself back into the Scottish football scene and living in the country once more, even though his home near Glasgow was broken into shortly after his departure for Leicester.

Asked if he was looking forward getting to grips with the cinch Premiership and battling for the title once more, he laughed: “Yes, and battling with the media, that was always good fun!

“I have to say, Scotland brought me a lot of happiness on and off the pitch when I was here. Obviously the joy at Celtic was amazing and how successful we were.

“Off the pitch I had a lot of respect for the city and country as a whole, hence why when we were thinking of coming back, it was not just about the football side.

“Even though the last moments here were difficult off the field, it still didn’t change for us the feelings we had here at Celtic.

“I’m delighted to be here from a professional perspective taking on all the teams, and also from a family perspective.”

Rodgers will find himself going up against an old colleague from his Chelsea and Liverpool days in the shape of Michael Beale, who is now the manager of Celtic’s city rivals Rangers.

The Gers are widely deemed to be stronger now than when they finished third – behind Aberdeen – in both of Rodgers’ first two seasons at Celtic.

“All you can do is beat the opposition in front of you,” he said when asked about the challenge he expects from Rangers. “When I arrived seven years ago, Rangers were just getting promoted.

“They had just beaten Celtic and had a feeling they could win the league. Obviously in the next number of years we were able to focus on ourselves and that allowed us to win trophies and have success. It’ll be exactly the same here.

“Michael is a coach I knew from my Chelsea days, and then he came to Liverpool when I was manager there, I have known him over a period of time.

“He is an excellent coach. But my focus will be purely on Celtic and improving us as a team and that will be my thought process every day.”

Snellen just held off the late lunge of favourite Pearls And Rubies to provide Champion Hurdle-winning trainer Gavin Cromwell with a second Royal Ascot winner.

Sent off at 12-1 having won on her only previous outing at Limerick, she was produced with a well-timed challenge by Gary Carroll.

With a furlong to run there were any amount still in with a chance, but Carroll’s mount took a length out of the field.

That should have put the race to bed but Snellen began to drift to her left, allowing Pearls And Rubies and Ryan Moore a chance to close the gap. Unfortunately for favourite-backers, though, there was still a head between them when the line came.

Golden Mind and 125-1 shot Oddyssey dead-heated for third.

Cromwell said: “She’s been nice from the word go and is just progressing all the time.

“Her dam won over a mile and a half so I think she’ll stay further. I haven’t thought about Classics, we’ll enjoy today first.”

Nat Sciver-Brunt fell for 78 but Tammy Beaumont helped England surge past 300 to eat into Australia’s lead on the third morning of the lone Women’s Ashes Test at Trent Bridge.

Beaumont advanced her overnight 100 to 144 not out as England went to lunch on 308 for three to trail by 165, although Sciver-Brunt was unable to join her team-mate into three figures as she nicked off.

However, the pair’s stand was worth 137 in just 187 balls as Australia struggled to make inroads on a flat pitch despite rotating their options – having used eight bowlers in this England innings.

They resolutely stuck with seam for more than the first hour of the day before off-spinner Ashleigh Gardner made Australia’s sole breakthrough of the session after drawing a mistake from Sciver-Brunt.

She might have been dismissed without adding to her overnight 41 after missing a flick and being rapped on the front pad by Darcie Brown but England’s star all-rounder reviewed the lbw decision and was vindicated as Hawk-Eye showed the ball would have gone on to drift past leg stump.

It was a chancy start from Sciver-Brunt, who also edged Kim Garth just out of the reach of the slips on 42 after England had added just one run to their overnight 218 for two in the first three overs.

In the next over, Beaumont settled by driving, steering then pulling Brown for three fours in an over while Sciver-Brunt was soon into her stride with three successive fours off Annabel Sutherland.

Beaumont and Sciver-Brunt were rarely troubled by Australia’s seamers so it was a surprise the tourists waited 75 minutes to turn to spin – and their folly was exposed as Gardner struck with her ninth ball.

Backing away for an attempted cut, Sciver-Brunt, who showed no sign of a minor knee injury which restricted her to bowling just fiver overs in Australia’s innings, got a thick edge to a flatter delivery and Alyssa Healy held on.

Seamer Tahlia McGrath offered some control with her tight lines, conceding just 13 runs in seven overs, while in the over before lunch leg-spinner Alana King found prodigious turn with one delivery, which may offer Australia some cheer heading into the next session.

Frankie Dettori will arrive for his final day at Royal Ascot in the grandest possible fashion as part of the royal procession.

The 52-year-old has bounced back from a disappointing first day when he went winless and picked up a nine-day suspension – which he is appealing – to enjoy some spectacular successes, including the Gold Cup aboard Courage Mon Ami.

Dettori and his wife, Catherine, are in carriage four with Jamie Snowden and his wife, Lucy.

His book of rides on Saturday sees Covey as favourite for the Jersey Stakes, Free Wind a short price in the Hardwicke, Kinross fancied in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes and Knockbrex the market leader in the Golden Gates Handicap. He also rides Mums Tipple in the Wokingham.

Steve Smith says he felt like he had drunk “a dozen beers” last time he played at Lord’s, as he prepares to return to the venue for the second Ashes Test.

The Australia batsman became the first cricketer to be formally substituted out of a Test match with concussion when he withdrew from the second Test at Lord’s in 2019.

Smith initially passed concussion testing before returning having been struck on the neck by England pace bowler Jofra Archer on day four.

Yet he was ruled out on the final day – with the match drawn – and also missed the following Test at Headingley.

Smith recalled the incident ahead of the second Test, which starts on Wednesday. Australia lead the series following their two-wicket victory in the opener at Edgbaston.

The 34-year-old explained: “It was just a day that I wasn’t quite seeing the ball as well as I would have liked from that end.

“Archer was bowling 93 to 96 miles an hour at stages. And the wicket felt like it was a little bit up and down. So it certainly wasn’t easy.

“It was a very difficult period to get through, and obviously I caught one on the arm, got away with a few pull shots that are top edge and a couple in the gaps. And then I caught one in the back of the head, which hurt a fair bit.

“At that stage, I didn’t realise I was getting concussed. I went off and did all the tests, passed all the tests.

“It wasn’t until I came back out and half an hour after, when the adrenaline sort of went out of my system and I started to feel quite groggy, probably like I’d had a dozen beers to be honest. That lasted for a little bit. It was a difficult period and he bowled really nicely.”

Smith scored 92 in the first innings, which had been delayed due to rain, before he was dismissed lbw by Chris Woakes.

“I remember spending a lot of time in the nets and even the day before the game, I think I had a really long net, I just couldn’t find a rhythm. And then finally, something just clicked and I started to feel good,” he said.

“That was probably after two and a half hours in the net. So I’d say after that I was probably a little bit mentally fatigued from having such a long hit the day before the game, but I also felt like I was prepared and ready to go. And then it was just about going out in the middle and playing.

“We were losing a lot of wickets at the other end throughout that innings. I was just trying to stay in the present as much as possible, probably up until we’re about eight down, which was when I started to probably play a few more shots.”

::Legends of The Ashes is a new 10-part Global Original podcast series on Global Player and all major audio platforms.

Stefanos Tsitsipas has denied comments he made about Nick Kyrgios following last year’s heated Wimbledon battle were racist in nature.

The Greek has been criticised on social media for saying during the Netflix documentary series Break Point that Kyrgios’ approach to tennis was “uneducated” and that he brought an “NBA basketball attitude” to the sport.

Writing on his Facebook page, Tsitsipas said: “Today, I want to address a matter that has been weighing heavily on my heart; an unfortunate misunderstanding that has a distorted picture of my intentions.

“It has come to my attention that some individuals have misinterpreted my comments regarding Nick Kyrgios, labelling him as uneducated and accusing him of bringing a basketball mentality into tennis, insinuating racism where none exists.

“Let me take this opportunity to provide clarity and rectify any misconceptions that may have arisen.

“Firstly, I want to emphasise that I harbour no prejudice towards anyone based on their background, ethnicity, or interests. I deeply regret if my words were misinterpreted or caused offence, as that was never my intention.

“My previous remarks regarding Nick Kyrgios were not meant to undermine his intelligence or abilities. Instead, I simply intended to express my perspective on certain aspects of his playing style, drawing comparisons to the passion and intensity often associated with basketball.

“It was an attempt to highlight the dynamic and captivating nature of his approach to the game, not a criticism of his character or capabilities.”

The pair clashed in the third round at the All England Club, with Kyrgios engaged in a running dialogue with the umpire and calling for Tsitsipas to be defaulted after he swiped a ball into the crowd.

The Greek lost his cool and received a point penalty for recklessly hitting the ball before appearing to aim a shot straight at Kyrgios, who eventually won in four sets.

Kyrgios accepted Tsitsipas’ apology, writing on Twitter: “It was a very heated battle sometimes as players we go into these press conferences without digesting the match…. We’ve had some crazy battles and I know deep down you like my brand of tennis we are all good @steftsitsipas”