Commissioner Don Garber says Major League Soccer is on a “rocket ship” and believes Lionel Messi’s move to Inter Miami will take the competition to new heights.

After Pele’s move to New York Cosmos in 1975, MLS kicking off in 1996 and David Beckham’s 2007 switch to the LA Galaxy, this summer saw another seismic moment in North American football.

Global star Messi’s move to Miami just seven months after lifting the World Cup with Argentina in Qatar sent ripples across the footballing world.

The 36-year-old’s last-gasp free-kick winner on his debut against Cruz Azul in the Leagues Cup on Friday only increased attention on a move that Garber is thrilled about.

“MLS has been on this sort of rocket ship for a while,” said the league’s commissioner since 1999.

“Every day that you think they don’t maybe there’s a quiet period and you can settle in, something else happens that gives you even more momentum, more energy and more sort of optimism about where things are going.

“I think the time is going to come where these great things become expected, special moments are going to be expected and it’s not going to be ‘boy, is this the most special time in the history of the league?’”

Garber takes great pride in the fact “the best player in the history of the game made MLS his league of choice” when he could have gone anywhere.

The commissioner says the Argentinian’s arrival underlines the league’s “unending ambition”, perhaps meaning that one day the best players on the planet will move to North America at 26 rather than 36.

“I think you need to start with getting the best of all time choose us now,” Garber said when that potential change was put to him.

“What will that look like in the years to come and perhaps it will because I think the perception of Major League Soccer is going to change dramatically over the next number of years.

“I think our own ambition is going to change as we all see how all of this plays out.

“But I think because there are a handful of really big names who come at the end of their career, everyone has this label that they put on.

“I mean, David Beckham was 31. He went to Milan and PSG after.

“Yet nobody was saying to Zlatan when he left LA and then he played for Milan for two years and was leading scorer for a while that AC Milan is a retirement club.

“So, I think that’s what all you international pundits like to say but we actually feel really good about the dynamic of our player rosters.

“This concept of a designated player – someone who is outside the (wage) cap who is internationally renowned – that you do need someone who has a legacy of popularity.”

The designated player rule was brought in when Beckham arrived in MLS, with his unique deal allowing him the option to purchase an expansion club at a discounted price.

That team was Miami and the England great looked emotional when Messi made his debut 16 years to the day after he stepped out for his Galaxy bow.

“It fulfilled a dream that he had to really make an impact and follow up on his commitment from the earliest press conference in 2014,” Garber said of the Inter co-owner.

“David stood up there and said ‘I’m going to bring the best players in the world here to Miami – this is a city I love, it’s a team that I’m going to build, I’m going to make it great and I love the league’.

“It’s just not often that things align, and you sort of deliver on the things you say you’re going to deliver. I think that’s cool.

“David is a special guy. People don’t understand how smart David Beckham is, how thoughtful he is and how hard working he is.

“Obviously, you know that he’s very accessible and he’s very humble, but he had a laser focus from the very beginning when he walked off the field: ‘this is what I want to do and this is what it’s going to look like’.

“And it isn’t often where it all aligns and I was emotional with him when I saw him on Sunday night (at Messi’s unveiling).

“Very happy for him and really proud of him. It’s cool.”

Regional is likely to skip the King George Qatar Stakes, with Ed Bethell favouring heading straight to the Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes with his in-form sprinter.

Although having always been a consistent operator over the shorter distances, the five-year-old had won just one of his first 10 outings for the Middleham handler.

However, he has taken his form to the next level this season, winning a competitive York handicap in fine style before striking with authority in the Listed Achilles Stakes at Haydock.

Bethell is now keen to test the waters at a higher level with his speedster and with the Regional proven on the Knavesmire, the trainer is keen to head to the Nunthorpe fresh rather than take on what could be a stellar cast at Goodwood.

“He is still entered in the King George at Goodwood, but I would imagine it would have to cut up for him to go there,” he said.

“Goodwood wouldn’t really be his track. We ran him in the Stewards’ Cup and although he ran well, he absolutely hated the downhill.

“I imagine we will be going straight to the Nunthorpe. He’s very good fresh and he’s a big, flat track type of horse.”

Regional was meant to run over the Nunthorpe course and distance in the City Walls Stakes earlier this month, but was pulled out when rain altered the going prior to the contest.

Bethell is content with the decision he made, with the focus firmly on keeping Regional’s confidence high ahead of his shot at Group One glory.

“I could have run him at York in the City Walls with a penalty, but he is a fast ground horse and it did go good to soft,” he added.

“I was conscious I want to go to the Nunthorpe with a horse full of confidence, rather than me ruining his confidence by running him on soft ground.”

As well as Regional, Bethell has also seen Oviedo fly the flag for his Thorngill House string and the handler was pleased with his third-placed finish in Newbury’s Steventon Stakes despite the race not unfolding in the colt’s favour.

“Unfortunately the hour and a half of rain before the race got into the ground, so it was softer than ideal,” explained Bethell.

“But I thought he ran very well and way above 100. He needs a fast pace to aim at really and it was quite a stop-start race, which doesn’t play to his strengths.

“I was thoroughly encouraged by the run and it was maybe not a career best, but it was right up there with the best performances he’s shown me in the past.”

Bethell will now wait to see how the assessor adjusts Oviedo’s mark before finalising future running plans, with big-money pots at both Goodwood and York, as well as a raid on Deauville on the agenda.

“I will see what the handicapper does with him,” he added. “There’s two very nice handicaps, one at Goodwood and one at York that he might slip into nicely.

“He’s a very hard horse to place in those Listed and Group races because, like yesterday, you could end up taking on a horse like Al Aasy who we all know is very good.

“He will have an entry in the Prix Nureyev (August 13) at Deauville as well, which would be very much ground dependent, but Deauville in August, you might just get some good ground over there.”

James Fanshawe’s Fresh will bid for back-to-back victories in the Moet & Chandon International Stakes at Ascot on Saturday.

The six-year-old was a short-head winner of the contest last season and is something of an Ascot specialist having been successful there three times and placed on several occasions.

His last run came in the Wokingham at the Royal meeting in June, a race he finished second in in 2021 and this time was the fifth-placed horse when beaten two lengths in a field of 27.

That run has persuaded connections to bid for an International Stakes title defence after the gelding disappointed when 19th in the Victoria Cup earlier in the season.

“He’s very well, he’s had this race as a target as he likes it there and he ran very well there last time,” said Fanshawe.

“He needs a lot of things to go right, but we’ve targeted it and he seems to really love the track there.

Of why the Fresh likes the course so much, Fanshawe added: “I don’t know, some horses just really do like the straight track at Ascot and he’s one of them fortunately!

“In the Wokingham he was just drawn on the inside, he ran really well and was finishing well. He was one that came from a long way back and ran very well.

“He won the International last year so it was the obvious race, the main thing after the Ascot run was that he’d gone well as he was a bit disappointing the time before.

“I’m really pleased with him and he seems in good form.”

Connections of Tashkhan are willing the rain to keep falling ahead of his shot at the Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup Stakes.

Brian Ellison’s five-year-old has been an ever-present in the top staying contests in recent years, counting a second in the 2021 British Champions Long Distance Cup and a fifth in the following year’s Ascot Gold Cup as some of the highlights.

Seen just three times this season, he skipped this year’s Ascot feature on account of fast ground and was beaten just three-quarters of a length in his most recent outing in the Silver Cup at York.

Ellison believes he will come on for that first appearance since April and is keen to test his star stayer in Group One company once again, especially with Tashkhan’s favoured soft ground entirely possible on the Sussex Downs.

He said: “Hopefully it will be the Goodwood Cup next, that’s the plan.

“He’s fine and in good fettle and he will come on for the run at York. He hadn’t run for a while and making the running was a bit of a disadvantage to him, he’s always better coming to challenge horses, so it was a good run really. I’m really happy with him.

“He stays longer than the mother-in-law, but knowing our luck, things will start drying up. He doesn’t need to have it heavy or anything, but obviously the softer the better for him, that will give him more of a chance.”

After Goodwood, Ellison has his sights on a return to the Knavesmire for a tilt at the Sky Bet Ebor and a hefty share of it’s £500,000 prize-fund.

“You can’t keep him out of the top four really in these top races and there’s good prize-money and the plan is to go to Goodwood and then to the Ebor.

“I think the Ebor will suit him, a good handicap and a good gallop that he needs.”

Michael Tabor, owner or co-owner of six King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes winners, can be forgiven for having a somewhat clouded memory.

He first won the the all-aged, midsummer middle-distance showpiece in 2000 with a horse blessed with the most scintillating change of gear.

“The one King George I really remember is Montjeu,” said Tabor. “He won on hock-deep ground at Chantilly in the French Derby and at Ascot it was a very hot day, on firm ground, and not that it surprised me because I thought he would, but he just coasted in.

“That is my really big memory of the King George – I’m just trying to think of what others there were…”

Like a lot of other things, you always remember your first King George win, no matter what else follows. In this case, Galileo (2001), Hurricane Run (2006), Dylan Thomas (2007), Duke Of Marmalade (2008) and Highland Reel (2016).

Whether Tabor will lift the laurels for a seventh time this year, only time, and possibly his dual Derby winner Auguste Rodin, will tell.

It is not hard to see why the images of Montjeu, sauntering past his six rivals with jockey Mick Kinane sitting as motionless as if he were a statue atop a plinth, would not be the ones still burning brightly in Tabor’s mind.

The Aga Khan’s second-string Raypour set a clear early pace, with the owner’s iconic green and red epaulets colours also sported by Coronation Cup winner Daliapour, who tracked him until taking it up three furlongs from home.

Held up with Fantastic Light at the back of the field, the John Hammond-trained Montjeu made progress to two furlongs out, before he cruised to the lead a furlong out and quickly went clear, with Mick Kinane barely moving a bushy eyebrow in astonishment at the ease of victory.

To those watching from the stands and the six poor souls aboard the also-rans, the length-and-a-half victory margin felt like the distance of the M5 motorway, such was the imperious display from the four-year-old son of Sadler’s Wells.

He entered the mile-and-a-half showpiece with five Group Ones already to his credit, so little wonder he was sent off the 1-3 favourite.

“That is the one that really stands out,” said Tabor. “I did have good bet on him. I bet 5-2 on, I remember. I beat the SP, but it is not hard to beat the SP when you are having a big bet.”

Bred in Ireland by Sir James Goldsmith, who died in 1997 before the colt began his racing career, Montjeu’s ownership passed into the hands of Laure Boulay de la Meurthe, mother of two of Goldsmith’s children.

He won both starts as a juvenile for Chantilly-based Hammond, including the Listed Prix Isonomy, where he beat subsequent Group One Criterium de Saint-Cloud winner Spadoun.

“We saw Montjeu run in France as a two-year-old and we liked him,” said Tabor. “I suppose like a lot of people she adopted the attitude that if I sell half of it, which she did, I’ll be a winner both ways.”

Montjeu proved to be a brilliant three-year-old. Along with winning two French Group Twos, he took the French and Irish Derbys. Yet it was his majestic romp in the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe, where he showed his electric turn of foot, that stamped him into the annals of racing history.

“I remember him winning the Prix du Jockey Club and it was hock-deep that day,” added Tabor. “I was standing there and he was coming down the top bend, just cruising.

“Sheikh Mohammed was about 30 yards to my right. He just turned and as he walked past me, he just said, ‘well done’. I remember that distinctly,” he laughed.

“Also, I remember when he won the Arc. El Condor Pasa, the Japanese horse, sort of went clear and he picked him up in a matter of strides. He was brilliant.”

Hurricane Run was the other King George winner to carry Tabor’s famous royal blue and orange disk silks to victory in an equally memorable Arc, six years later.

“I don’t remember Hurricane Run’s King George win particularly well, or Galileo’s – it was a long time ago,” admitted the 81-year-old. “Didn’t he beat Fantastic Light?” He did, by two lengths. “I remember that. I remember his Derby run better, though.”

It is easy to forget Montjeu was not an easy horse to train, with Hammond surmising he was “an eccentric genius”.

He had a stunning CV. Voted the Cartier Three-Year-Old European Champion Colt, he also topped the International Classification in 1999. The six-time Group One winner became a leading sire for Coolmore and produced four Derby winners – Motivator, Authorized, Pour Moi and Camelot.

Though Tabor would admit that money and knowledge can reduce the risk when purchasing bloodstock, success still comes with an element of luck. Bookmaker, gambler and shrewd businessman, he has always backed himself – and most times has won spectacularly.

From humble beginnings, his entrepreneurial flair, work ethic and later, his fortune, helped shape and solidify the future of the Coolmore breeding empire, and has brought him astounding success as an owner.

Rarely is his judgement anything other than razor-sharp, as jockey Kieren Fallon found in the parade ring at Longchamp in 2005.

“There weren’t many runners in Montjeu’s Arc, whereas in Hurricane Run’s Arc, there was a big field,” said Tabor.

“I never say anything to jockeys and tell them what to do and what not to do, but on this occasion, I think Kieren said, ‘I’m drawn on the inside’.

“So I just said, ‘Kieren, for me, you just stay, stay, stay on the inside. It will open up, it will be a fast-run race and the thing is, if you get locked up, they’ll call you an idiot and if you stay there and win, you’ll be a genius! So, I would stay there’. And that was it.”

Fallon did as he was advised and the Andre Fabre-trained three-year-old won by a comfortable two lengths, a victory that even Tabor will not forget in a hurry.

Frankie Dettori is ready for the unpredictable nature of the Racing League as he prepares to become the competition’s first ever player-manager.

The Italian represented the victorious Wales and The West side last season, riding winners to the delight of the crowd at both Lingfield and Newcastle, but is set for a new role in 2023 as he makes the switch to The East squad ahead of the multi-team event returning at Yarmouth on Thursday.

Not only will Dettori be sporting the yellow silks of The East as one of its team of jockeys, the 52-year-old has also taken on the challenge of managing the region as he bids to get his hands on the Racing League trophy for the second year in a row.

“Obviously being manager is a big responsibility,” said Dettori.

“For sure I will be at the first and last one and even though I’m probably not going to ride at all of them, I still have the responsibility of being a manager and doing the best for my team.

“I managed to win it last year and I’m really excited to go out there and sort of defend my title.

“I enjoyed it last year, there was a good vibe. My team didn’t have the best of starts, but as the competition went on, the momentum was on our side and Saffie (Osborne) rode a treble on the last day which sealed it for us.”

Dettori will be looking to immediately make his mark on The East’s home soil when the competition visits Yarmouth for the first time and he believes both the competitive nature and unknown quantities of the six-week event is what makes it so exciting for both the participants and those watching on.

He added: “All of my team members are going to be trying to win, it’s great to be representing the East side of the country coming from Newmarket and the best thing about Racing League is it is very unpredictable.

“I can’t really remember, but I think three teams came into the last week close on points and it was good and I enjoyed it.

“You don’t know what horses you are going to land with and what you might end up riding. Last year a lot of the races were tightly bunched, most of the races had close finishes and were very competitive. It will give everyone a chance and I think people really liked it last year.

“It’s year three now and people can tune in on a Thursday night with something they can follow.”

Oisin Murphy is eager to make up for lost time as the season moves towards one of its busiest periods.

The 27-year-old made a blistering return from a 14-month suspension in the early part of the campaign, picking up the 1000 Guineas on Mawj and striking gold at Royal Ascot aboard Shaquille in the Commonwealth Cup.

However, it was Ascot which led to a return to the sidelines for Murphy, with the Irishman accumulating five days of suspensions for careless riding and also picking up an eight-day ban for a whip offence aboard runner-up Valiant King in the King George V Stakes.

Murphy’s enforced absence coincided with Shaquille’s fantastic July Cup triumph during Newmarket’s July Festival, but rather than dwell on missing out on partnering Julie Camacho’s superstar speedster, he kept himself busy by riding out and in the showjumping ring as he tunes up for some key months of the campaign.

“I filled my time with showjumping and I was riding out a lot,” explained Murphy. “But at the same time I do love race riding and I’m delighted to be back.

“I jumped a lot and had a good few lessons. I always want to be a better showjumper, but I only get to train sporadically so it’s quite hard to improve.

“There’s a lot of good racing coming up. That was my first whip infringement and I hope it will be my last because the penalties are severe.”

Having got on the scoresheet at Leicester on his first day back in the saddle, Murphy is now keen to build up his confidence ahead of the Qatar Goodwood Festival which is always a major week for Qatar Racing’s retained rider.

He will also get the chance to reunite with Gold Cup runner-up Coltrane in the Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup Stakes, with Andrew Balding’s stayer now one of the leading players in the top races over marathon distances.

“Hopefully I can just roll away and get my confidence up and look ahead to those big races coming up,” added Murphy.

“In bygone years I have had favourites for the Sussex Stakes and the Nassau at Goodwood and I probably won’t be in that position this time, but it is still an important meeting to try to do well there.

“There’s Coltrane in the Goodwood Cup. He’s been fantastic since Ascot. I don’t really ride him at home, he has the same rider, Chris, all the time. I saw him the other day and he looked great, he seems to have held his condition really well and Andrew is really happy.”

As well as Goodwood, there are also big meetings at Ascot, York and Deauville on the horizon and Murphy is relishing the opportunity to link up with David Menuisier’s impressive Sandown winner Sunway when he continues his racing education later this summer.

He said: “There’s a colt of David Menuisier’s called Sunway, who has come out of his race at Sandown well and he could be off to Ascot or Deauville I think.

“It’s great to probably have him to ride. He looks a very nice horse.”

Dubai Mile could make his debut for Martyn and Freddie Meade in Saturday’s Sky Bet York Stakes.

The three-year-old progressed nicely through his juvenile campaign, topped by landing the Group One Criterium de Saint-Cloud last October for Charlie and Mark Johnston.

However, he has failed to build on that in three runs this term. Although fifth to Chaldean in the 2000 Guineas, he was subsequently ninth in the Derby and finished eight lengths behind King Of Steel in the King Edward VII at Royal Ascot.

Thereafter, he joined the Meades’ Manton Park Stud after a deal was secured to purchase a half-share in the colt from owner Ahmad Al Shaikh, with a view to a stallion career.

Freddie Meade says the son of Roaring Lion has settled in well at Manton and while he holds an entry in the Group One Bayerisches Zuchtrennen at Munich on Sunday, York could be the preferred option.

“We have left him the race in Munich, but I don’t think that will happen,” said Meade. “The possibility is we might go to York on Saturday for the Group Two.

“He seems to have settled in well. Everything seems good and he has fitted into the regime and everything.

“The York Stakes was what we earmarked as a starting point. He will definitely get the entry and we will see how he is through the week.

“The ultimate is to get another Group One with him if we can. We’ll start there and see where we go, but we are coming into the part of the season where he will maybe get his favoured soft ground, but he is pretty ground-versatile, it is just that his optimum is with a bit of juice in the ground.

“Hopefully he will be an exciting horse and that we can do some good with him.”

Seddon will follow in the hoofprints of Hewick when he heads for the American Grand National Hurdle Stakes at Far Hills in October.

Hewick famously landed the two-mile-five-furlong Grade One event with some ease for trainer John ‘Shark’ Hanlon last year and now fellow Irish handler John McConnell looks poised to send dual Cheltenham winner Seddon to the New Jersey track.

Seddon won a handicap hurdle at Cheltenham in October and then after a chase victory at Leopardstown over Christmas, he took the Grade Three Magners Plate Handicap Chase on his return to the Prestbury Park track at the Festival meeting in March.

A fourth successive victory followed over hurdles at the Punchestown Festival in April and McConnell is now prepared to roll the dice Stateside.

He said: “It’s in our heads that the trip and ground will suit him and while it might not top what Hewick did, it will be a nice trip at the very least.

“He’s 10 now and with his rating, he’s either going to be at the top of these big handicaps or in graded races and not winning them, so going to America will be a lovely thing to do.

“Shark paved the way and I don’t know if Willie (Mullins) might line something up over there, after having a bit of success over there this summer. It mightn’t be as easy as it was before, but if he was placed, it would certainly pay for his trip anyway.”

Owned by the Galaxy Horse Racing Syndicate, Seddon has run six times in those colours and connections could be keen to run in staying races on the Flat should opportunities arise.

“We were particular about where we run him and what we run him in and it’s been good, but obviously with his rating it is going to get harder from now on,” said McConnell.

“America will be a great opportunity to have an nice holiday and I’d say we will probably run him on the Flat beforehand.

“There is a two-mile race at Killarney in the middle of August. That’s nice timing. I think he could be a nice horse on the Flat over two miles and that’s another avenue we might explore.

“You never know. He certainly could be a nicely-rated Flat horse over a trip and that is something we might explore further.”

Meanwhile, the County Meath handler is keen to see how far up the ladder hurdler Encanto Bruno can climb.

A winner of a Cheltenham bumper in October, the five-year-old was well held on his return in the Champion Bumper, but made a sparking hurdles debut when coasting to a 13-length success at Bellewstown in July.

McConnell said: “I’m hopeful Encanto Bruno will get there in October or November. He won his maiden hurdle at Bellewstown impressively and we have some other nice horses to come along.

“It’s great to have a really nice bunch of jump horses.

“Obviously we haven’t got the strength and depth of some of the big guys, but we definitely have more strength in depth than we’ve ever had.

“It’s a numbers game and we are trying to improve quality now, but I don’t mind having lower-rated horses as long as they can win.”

Clive Cox is keeping his options open with exciting juvenile Jasour following his July Stakes success at Newmarket.

A narrowly beaten second on his Salisbury debut , the Havana Grey colt went one better at Nottingham next time before stepping up to Group Two level on the July course.

Jasour looked to have his work cut out as a 16-1 shot, but stormed to an impressive two-length victory and his trainer could not be happier with how he has recovered from those exertions.

“I’m delighted with Jasour, very pleased,” said Cox.

“He came out of the race very well and I couldn’t be more pleased with how he acquitted himself. That first step up to six furlongs clearly suited him and he’s very exciting.”

In the immediate aftermath of Jasour’s win, Cox suggested the Richmond Stakes at Goodwood was the most likely next target, but he is no rush to commit at this stage.

He added: “We did initially think that (Goodwood). Obviously he’s got a Group Two penalty for winning the other day, so we’ll cover all options and see how he is as we move along.

“There’s the Prix Morny and he’s in the Gimcrack as well, so we’ve got all bases covered and at this stage I would keep an open mind, see how he’s feeling himself and hopefully we can make the right decisions.”

Roger Varian insists King Of Steel, one of the favourites for Saturday’s King George And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes at Ascot, will not be inconvenienced should the ground turn soft.

With the forecast for further rain and heavy showers over the early part of next week, Varian is keeping a close eye on ground conditions for the King Edward VII Stakes winner and Derby runner-up.

“He’s in good form,” said Varian. “He’s done all we have asked of him and we are looking forward to it.

“He handled soft ground last season and while he hasn’t really been tested on it since he has been with us, there is no reason to think he won’t handle it.”

The three-year-old son of Wootton Bassett has really come into his own this term and was a fine second behind Auguste Rodin at Epsom, before franking that form when powering to a three-and-a-half-length success in Group Two company at Royal Ascot.

“The forecast is a bit unsettled, but I don’t think rain will be an inconvenience to him – he’s a big individual and he should get through it. Ascot always produce nice ground and we don’t have any worries, really,” he added.

Hukum was the main market mover for the 12-furlong highlight over the weekend, with Coral now offering 9-2 about the Owen Burrows-trained horse, following support for the six-year-old whose best form is on softer ground.

Dual Derby winner Auguste Rodin is the firm’s 5-2 favourite, ahead of King Of Steel at 3-1 and Emily Upjohn at 7-2.