Kevin Stott has full faith in King Of Steel ahead of his August Rodin rematch but is mindful that the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Qipco Stakes is not a two-horse race.

The Roger Varian-trained colt was second under Stott in last month’s Derby, finishing half a length behind Auguste Rodin at huge odds of 66-1.

The grey, who is a strapping son of Wootton Bassett, looked the winner at the two-furlong pole but was eventually collared by the Aidan O’Brien-trained challenger.

Auguste Rodin went on the win the Irish Derby with a rather more laboured performance, whereas King Of Steel was imperious at the Royal meeting when cruising to a three-and-a-half-length win in the King Edward VII Stakes.

As a result the rematch is much anticipated, but the two rivals are not the only big names in a stellar line up for Saturday’s Group One held at Ascot.

Last year’s hero and subsequent Hardwicke Stakes winner Pyledriver will line up, as will 2022 Derby victor Desert Crown – who is set to be ridden by William Buick – and his Brigadier Gerard conqueror Hukum.

Much of the conversation revolves around the clash between this year’s Derby one-two and though Stott is hopeful he can reverse the form, he is still holds great respect for the other contenders.

“It’s probably the Flat race of the season so far, you’ve got all the best horses in there – proven ones and upcoming ones,” he said.

“If it’s a 12 or 15-runner field then it’s going to be really, really exciting. There’s not long left now, he did a nice piece of work this morning and it’s all systems go.

“It’s by no means a two-horse race. There are some very high quality horses in there and especially if we are going to have ease in the ground, there are a lot of horses with very good form on slower ground.

“First and second in the Derby going at it again for the first time since the Derby is obviously a massive thing for everyone.

“You don’t know when you have so many good horses pitched against each other, it’s exciting and it’s very open. Auguste Rodin and King Of Steel are getting a bit of weight from the other horses as they are only three and the others are older and more experienced.”

Stott was visibly disappointed after King Of Steel’s Derby defeat, feeling he could have won had he timed his challenge differently, but having had time to reflect, he is more accepting of how the race panned out.

He said: “I still look at the replay now and again from the Derby and go over it again and again. I’ve got to the stage now where I wouldn’t change anything that I did, we just got run down by the better horse on the day.

“I had no pressure on me, I was just riding him to run well, to see what we had, to see if the home work was backing up in a race.

“Between the two and the three (furlong) pole I was in front by two and a bit lengths and the next thing you know I was screaming for the finish line.

“Unfortunately we just got run down by a very good horse on the day, hopefully we can turn the form around but we have to, first of all, beat some other very good horses in the race.

“It’s not just a race between the two three-year-olds, but I like to think that if it does come down to a battle again from the furlong pole, then hopefully our fella will pull it out.

“I’ve got a lot of faith in the horse, but then again Aidan O’Brien is the master of the world that we live in and even though Auguste Rodin’s win in the Irish Derby wasn’t as visually flattering as the English Derby, he is probably one of the nicest horses that Aidan has trained.”

The final field for the race has yet to take shape and Stott is avoiding getting too attached to fixed tactical plans as the declarations and the going could change the complexion of the contest.

“You can sit down and analyse it and you’ve got plan A and plan B, but within a second that can just disappear and within a second you can have to go for plan F,” he said,

“You go through it all the time, you’re thinking about what’s going to happen and sometimes it works out, sometimes it doesn’t.

“Just to be part of a race like this and to ride a horse of this calibre is very exciting.”

Travis Head admitted Australia had “mixed emotions” after Sunday’s washout in Manchester saw them retain the Ashes, but knows the feeling will be very different if they can win the series.

Rain forced the final day of the fourth Test at Old Trafford to be abandoned, wiping out the chance of a potential winner-takes-all decider at the Kia Oval.

Australia have arrived in south London with a 2-1 lead and know the urn will return home with them, but a similar scenario in 2019 saw them come unstuck in the final Test and subsequently forced to settle for a drawn series.

Given the tourists have not won an Ashes series in England since 2001, there is plenty on the line despite the disappointment of last weekend’s wet weather.

“The feeling around it was yes, we have got away with one, but ultimately we have come here to win the Ashes and we have gone a huge way to doing that,” Head reflected two days out from the fifth Test starting on Thursday.

“We played really nice for three Test matches, maybe not played the best week last week, but if we can shut that out and think about what we did well for the first three Test matches, it will put us in good stead for this week.

“This week is very important and I think there are a lot of similarities with ’19.

“Coming here with the opportunity and a lot of different feelings with how the weeks panned out in ’19 and then this week, but I also think off the back of that, it probably showed us how much it meant and how much winning the Ashes would actually really mean instead of retaining them.

“No-one had done it for such a long period of time until 2019 and the high of retaining them, achieving that was huge and great, but then we didn’t have our best week that year.

“So, I think when we reflect from that and moving forward with the group being pretty similar, the ambition is to come here and win them so we have got that chance.”

Australia were completely outplayed in Manchester with England able to post 592 to establish a 275-run first-innings lead and Pat Cummins’ side were still in the red when the heavens opened at Old Trafford.

Only 30 overs of a scheduled 180 were bowled during the weekend and Head painted the picture of a calm dressing room once the draw was confirmed.

Head added: “It is mixed emotions because you would love to win a Test match to retain them and hopefully this week we can win a Test match to do it.

“A draw is a different feeling, no matter what the situation, but there was no real massive elation because we could see the situation coming.

“It was a really relaxed group, we had a quiet beer and a chat about where we need to go and what we can achieve this week, so our heads moved pretty quickly onto this week.”

Saquon Barkley and the New York Giants reportedly settled on a one-year contract worth up to $11million, ending the star running back's brief holdout.

The deal was agreed upon on Tuesday, one day before the Giants open training camp for the 2023 NFL season.

Barkley's new contract is worth $10.1million fully guaranteed and includes a $2million signing bonus.

The deal also adds $900,000 in incentives, which can be earned if he reportedly reaches 1,300 yards rushing, 11 touchdowns and 65 receptions.

The 26-year-old Barkley ranked fourth in the NFL with a career-high 1,312 rushing yards in 2022, while scoring 10 touchdowns and sharing the team lead with 57 receptions in 16 games.

Just last week, Barkley had said sitting out the 2023 season was an option after he and the Giants failed to reach a long-term deal by the NFL deadline of Aug. 17.

He'll now be back on the field for the Giants as they prepare for their Week 1 game against the Dallas Cowboys on September 10.

Barkley is coming off a bounce-back season following injury-marred years in 2020 and 2021.

He finished seventh in the NFL in scrimmage yards with 1,650 and earned a Pro Bowl selection - his first since 2018, when he was also named the Offensive Rookie of the Year.

In 60 career games, the former No. 2 overall pick has 4,249 rushing yards, 1,820 receiving yards and 37 total touchdowns.

Harry Brook wants to end England’s Ashes summer on a high and believes levelling the series at the Kia Oval would represent “a moral victory” over Australia.

The tourists already know they will be lifting the urn at the end of this week’s fifth Test, with their current 2-1 lead enough to guarantee they retain as holders.

They are still aiming to pull off an outright victory to become the first Australian men’s side to win a series on these shores since 2001, but England can ensure their achievement rings hollow if they make it 2-2 in south London.

After winning at Headingley and dominating the first three days at Old Trafford before rain robbed them,  Ben Stokes’ men want to prove they have had the better of the contest.

“We were dominating the game last week so, if the game had played out, I would like to think we would have won. If we can win this week, it almost makes it a moral victory,” Brook said.

“That would be lovely. It’s not nice drawing, but it would be lovely to not give them that privilege.

“We’re just gonna go out there and play the same way we have in this series. It’s a shame the weather ruined it for us because we’d have felt very confident going into this game at 2-2. The rain won last week.

“We were thinking that (we deserved something) last week when it was pouring down in Manchester. It never seems to be sunny there.”

Brook has registered three half-centuries and scored 271 runs across seven Ashes innings, but would love a big score to finish the series.

On his match-winning 75 at Headingley, the Yorkshireman said: “On a personal note, one of my favourite innings, in a crunch game, at my home ground, to have contributed a significant amount was nice.

“There are so many things I have learnt this series and to play some of the best bowlers in the world, I haven’t got a big score but feel I have contributed in a few games now.

“I know I am at my best when I am trying to be positive, not just trying to survive. A couple of times I feel like I have been reckless, especially that innings at Lord’s in the first innings and then some innings where I’ve been tentative and not trying to score. It is just about getting it right.

“I have definitely got used to them (the Australian bowlers), I haven’t faced them before this series so it takes time but I feel I have watched enough and faced enough to go out there and feel confident now.”

The Yorkshire Oaks is the preferred next target for Rosscarbery after she came off second best in a clash with Emily Dickinson at the Curragh on Saturday.

Paddy Twomey’s mare has won three times at Group Three level and last summer came within a neck of claiming Group One glory in the Prix Jean Romanet, narrowly failing to reel in Aristia.

Having finished fourth over 10 furlongs in the Pretty Polly Stakes on her penultimate start, Rosscarbery stepped up to a mile and three-quarters for last weekend’s Curragh Cup – but after travelling strongly to the front, she was oustayed by the hot favourite.

A return to Deauville for a second tilt at the Romanet is not being ruled as the five-year-old’s next objective, but Twomey views the Yorkshire Oaks on August 24, over the intermediate distance of a mile and a half, as the ideal aim.

“She ran great on Saturday over a trip that is probably as far as she wants to go in ground that was more favourable to Emily Dickinson than her – she likes a bit of faster ground,” said the trainer.

“We sort of have the Yorkshire Oaks and the Prix Jean Romanet in mind, that’s why we ran her at the weekend as it fitted in perfectly in our schedule.

“Out of those, the preference is probably for the Yorkshire Oaks. The Romanet is the Sunday before and she was second in that last year.

“I think a mile and a half at York would be her ideal track and trip and very suitable for her, so that’s what we have in mind.”

Matt Richards led a sensational British one-two in the men’s 200 metres freestyle final to secure Great Britain’s first medals of the World Aquatics Championships in Fukuoka, Japan.

The 20-year-old came on strong down the home stretch, leaping from third after 150 metres to clock one minute and 44.30 seconds and pip team-mate and Olympic champion Tom Dean, who also finished well.

Dean prevailed ahead of fellow Briton Duncan Scott at the Tokyo Olympics but settled for silver after finishing just two hundredths of a second behind Richards, despite being fifth on the final turn.

“I am pretty tired but over the moon, it was a stacked field,” Richards said in quotes to BBC Sport. “It’s amazing to come away with the GB one-two again.”

South Korea’s Hwang Sun-woo claimed bronze as Romania’s David Popovici, who was the overwhelming favourite to retain his title, finished fourth after fading badly in the final 50 metres.

Vera Pauw is “a bit concerned” about Louise Quinn’s fitness as the Republic of Ireland look to put a losing start in the Women’s World Cup behind them against Canada.

A 1-0 defeat against tournament co-hosts Australia in Sydney last week was compounded by Quinn suffering a foot injury, with the defender touch and go to face the Olympic champions in Perth on Wednesday.

She lightly trained on Monday and was put through her paces in their final practice session on Tuesday, but Pauw revealed “plan B is ready” should Quinn unexpectedly fail her fitness test.

“We’re a bit concerned but we think that she can play,” the Ireland head coach told a press conference. “It’s an injury that is not very straightforward and it’s relying on how she reacts (during) training. Plan B is ready.”

The Girls in Green go into their next match knowing a defeat would spell the end of their hopes of qualifying for the knockout stages in their historic maiden World Cup campaign.

“Winning starts with not losing,” Pauw said. “If you play a game like this against an Olympic champion, I have to stay realistic but it’s clear that if we want to go through in this group, we need a result.

“If we win, we have it in our own hands. If we have a draw then we depend on other results.

“Canada is a very, very experienced team and they know how to have patience in getting their results. They often get their results in the later stages so that shows they have the trust to keep on going.”

But Kyra Carusa feels Ireland can take heart from their battling performance against Australia, where they rallied after Steph Catley’s second-half penalty without being able to find a way through.

“Those last few minutes of the Australia game did light a fire under us and show this 90-plus minutes that we have in us and the dangers we have in us throughout an entire game,” Carusa said.

“That’s definitely something we take away from that game. We are reliable and have that endurance and longevity to make sure we come up with a result at any minute in the game.”

Simca Mille could bypass Saturday’s King George VI And Queen Elizabeth II Qipco Stakes if conditions are not suitable.

The Stephane Wattel-trained four-year-old has won twice at Group Two level – at ParisLongchamp and Chantilly – this term, latterly producing an eye-catching turn of foot to land the Grand Prix de Chantilly by an easy three and a half lengths under Alexis Pouchin.

It promises to be a high-class renewal of the King George, which features this year’s Derby one-two Auguste Rodin and King Of Steel, along with 2022 Epsom hero Desert Crown and defending champion Pyledriver.

However, with an unsettled forecast and ground that is officially described as good to soft, soft in places on the round course, a decision on Simca Mille’s participation will be made on Thursday morning.

Wattel said: “The ground might be a concern. A final decision will be made on Thursday morning.

“We have prepared toward this race for a long time. I know the competition is very, very high and it will be a fantastic race.

“I don’t mind competing with the very difficult competition – if the horses are better, then they are better – but I want to have the best conditions for my horse to handle correctly, which at the moment is a concern.

“It is going to be a fantastic race and it will be great for the public and fun for all the sportsmen to see such good horses, but for Simca Mille, he needs fast ground and I doubt we will get fast ground.

“It is difficult to put a percentage on it, and I don’t want to say too much about it. A final decision will be made on Thursday morning. I am not the only one (to make the decision).”

Should last season’s Group One Grand Prix de Paris neck runner-up not take his place in the King George line-up, he could head to Germany or stay closer to home.

Wattel added: “He is entered in the Grosser Preis von Berlin (at Hoppegarten on August 13) in Germany, which is a Group One, but I would say I will be very happy, even if it is only a Group Two, he has the Grand Prix de Deauville (August 27), which for a Deauville-based trainer is an important race also.

“He has had fantastic results at Longchamp, so we will keep an eye on the Arc, if the ground is suitable for him.

“My concern is to have too difficult a race in the King George and leave his race there, on ground that is not his optimum.”

Iva Majoli sees shades of both Rafael Nadal and Novak Djokovic within Carlos Alcaraz.

Spaniard Alcaraz cemented his place as world number one by beating Djokovic in five sets to clinch the Wimbledon title earlier in July.

That marked Alcaraz's second major title following his US Open triumph last year, his sixth crown of 2023 and his 12th tournament win overall.

Alcaraz is often compared to his compatriot Nadal, but Majoli – who won the French Open in 1997 – believes there is an element of Djokovic to the 20-year-old's game too.

Asked which of the 'big three' of Nadal, Djokovic and the retired Roger Federer that Alcaraz can be most compared with, Majoli told Stats Perform: "Rafa was his idol growing up and he's a Spaniard, so I would probably put him as closest to Rafa, but I think he also has some touches from Novak.

"Maybe the least from Federer, but I would say between Rafa and Novak there are many amazing things."

Alcaraz is the figurehead of a new generation of talents.

Majoli added: "Holger Rune is another youngster also in the top five or top six in the world. So I think this could be an amazing battle in the next couple of years.

"But of course, there is also Stefanos Tsitsipas, Alexander Zverev and Casper Ruud, there are so many players, who are still very young. It's an amazing generation that's going to be led by Carlos Alcaraz."

Djokovic's defeat to Alcaraz at Wimbledon ended the 36-year-old's hopes of sealing the Grand Slam this year, but Majoli still sees him as the greatest.

"He is the GOAT. He is unbelievable. And what he has achieved, I don't know if anyone can ever achieve on all the surfaces of all the tournaments," she added.

"He broke most of the records and he's just from another planet, I say. I still feel that he has a few more grand slams in him.

"[The Wimbledon final] was just an amazing final, very close. It could have gone both ways. I think at the end, Carlos showed the guts and went for the shots.

"I'm sure he was nervous, but he wasn't showing it to us. But the US Open is coming up soon and I think Novak will be another hard one to beat there."

Nadal, meanwhile, is likely to retire next year.

"Where do I start? Winning 14 Roland Garros, I don't think anyone will ever break that record," Majoli said of Nadal's impact on tennis.

"That's probably going to stay in the history of tennis and just what a humble and amazing person he is, and how much he contributes to the world of tennis. It will be his legacy."

With less than six weeks remaining to qualify, the race for a spot in Europe’s Ryder Cup team is hotting up.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the issues which will need resolving before early September.

Three players will qualify from the European Points List – which is based on performances on the DP World Tour – and three qualify from the World Points List, based on world ranking points won during the qualifying period. Captain Luke Donald will be able to make six personal selections.

Donald will name his picks on September 4, the day after the Omega European Open. However, there are only three qualifying events remaining for players on the DP World Tour and there is a three-week break before the first of those, the ISPS HANDA World Invitational at Galgorm Castle in Northern Ireland. It is followed by the Czech Masters in Prague before the trip to Crans Montana in Switzerland for the final event. PGA Tour-based players have five events – this week’s 3M Open in Minnesota, the Wyndham Championship in North Carolina, the FedEX St Jude Championship in Memphis, the BMW Championship in Illinois and the season-ending Tour Championship in Atlanta.

World numbers two and three, Rory McIlroy and Jon Rahm respectively, are safe on the European Points List as they have accumulated so many points. Third-placed Scot Robert MacIntyre’s position could be under threat, however. Norway’s Viktor Hovland and English pair Tyrrell Hatton and Tommy Fleetwood currently occupy the three places on the World Points List, with Fleetwood most at risk.

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The number was changed from three to six this year to give the captain more flexibility to pick players in form in the final couple of months. But form will be only one factor as after losing so heavily at Whistling Straits two years ago, the team is now without a number of vastly-experienced players as the quartet of Sergio Garcia – the Ryder Cup’s record points scorer – Ian Poulter, Lee Westwood and Paul Casey are all missing due to their defection to LIV Golf.

Fleetwood is being challenged for his automatic spot by 2022 US Open champion Matt Fitzpatrick on the World Points List but it is unthinkable both will not go to Rome. Former major champions Shane Lowry and Justin Rose are also in the mix as their experience will be invaluable. Sepp Straka, who finished joint second at The Open, is well-placed on both lists and is in form and looks a good bet, as is MacIntyre. Germany’s Yannick Paul, Pole Adrian Meronk, Frenchman Victor Perez and Denmark’s Rasmus Hojgaard are all high on the European Points List and will be looking to impress in the final weeks as they chase the likely two remaining places available.

England forward Lauren Hemp feels the Lionesses have moved on from their Euro 2022 triumph and are determined to refocus attention on their World Cup campaign.

Manchester City’s Hemp started every game for boss Sarina Wiegman during an historic run that ended, one year ago Monday, with England lifting their first major trophy at Wembley, igniting unprecedented interest in women’s football across the UK.

As a result of injuries and retirements, the England boss’s World Cup squad features seven players who were not part of that monumental match, while Rachel Daly, last summer’s left-back, is a forward for this competition.

Asked if it was fair to place sky-high expectations on her largely changed side, Hemp said: “I think, as a team, yes that happened last summer, what a fantastic summer it was, but obviously it’s a new summer now, new challenges. You’ve seen in games in this tournament that anything can happen, but we’re ready for each one.

“So yeah, it’s exciting to be a part of but obviously it’s a massive tournament where anything can happen, so as a team we’re just focusing on each game as it comes.”

Norfolk-born Hemp, 22, was speaking from the palm tree-lined Central Coast Stadium north of Sydney, home of the A-League’s Central Coast Mariners and the Lionesses’ training base for the remainder of the tournament.

After beating Haiti 1-0 in their opener, England will now play Denmark in the New South Wales capital on Friday before travelling to Adelaide to face China in their final group game on Tuesday.

There were 49 places separating world number four England from Haiti, but they are just nine clear of their more familiar European opponents Denmark, who Hemp said feature “a very big attacking threat” in ex-Chelsea forward Pernille Harder.

The Lionesses began their Australian adventure on the Sunshine Coast before travelling to Brisbane for the Haiti match, and have now settled into the beachside town of Terrigal, New South Wales. 

The full squad took part in Tuesday’s training session, which was attended by approximately 2500 locals, mostly school groups, with many sticking around for autographs and pictures with obliging players – though a strong contingent were also hollering for Wiegman herself to pay them a visit.

The England boss has demanded her side be more “ruthless” after Georgia Stanway’s retaken penalty was the only goal against Haiti.

Hemp said: “I think we are all working really hard in training to make sure we are being more clinical, creating more chances and obviously getting our goal percentage higher.

“But we know it is something we need to improve on and we are working really hard as a team to make sure we are ready for the next game. We will be raring and ready to score some goals.

“We have seen in games that we are capable of doing that, so it’s not like we have not scored before. We are all capable of scoring. It is just about making it click and getting those connections working.

“I think obviously being at a World Cup is new for a lot of us – a lot of us have never been to one before. It’s across the other side of the world and I’m not making excuses but it’s important that each game we build on and we’ve seen that last summer, so we’re more than capable of doing that.”

Chief executive Neil Doncaster has hailed the Scottish Professional Football League’s multi-year extension to its partnership with Loch Lomond Group.

The partnership between the SPFL and Vodka brand Glen’s owner, The Loch Lomond Group, started in 2020.

Glen’s Vodka, as well as several other of Loch Lomond’s Scotch whisky brands, will continue to work closely with the SPFL and many of its clubs across both league and cup competitions.

Doncaster said: “It is fantastic news to be able to announce this extension to our relationship with Glen’s Vodka and Loch Lomond Group.

“This partnership, with a growing and much-loved Scottish brand, will continue to see us working with our friends at Loch Lomond to provide new commercial opportunities, including special edition products, for a number of SPFL clubs.

“This contract extension comes on the back of record fee payments to the 42 SPFL clubs announced in the past year.

“Alongside our recently-extended agreements with Sky Sports, BBC Scotland and Infront, our partnership with Loch Lomond Group will play a major role in strengthening the financial future of the SPFL and our 42 Member Clubs.”

Glen’s Vodka will have exclusive presenting rights to each division’s manager of the month and manager of the season awards for the duration of the partnership.

The sponsorship will also encompass Loch Lomond’s wider, award-winning portfolio, including its premium Scotch malt whisky brands, Loch Lomond and Glen Scotia and its Ben Lomond premium Scottish Gin.

Colin Matthews, CEO of Loch Lomond Group, said: “Since 2018, Loch Lomond Whiskies have enjoyed great success as a sponsor of The Open, the world’s greatest and most prestigious golf tournament.

“But football is the number one sport in Scotland and, with the fantastic start made by the men’s national team to qualifying for the 2024 European Championship, this is a great time to support Scottish football and its clubs.

“The teams in the SPFL are a key part of Scotland’s cultural fabric and Glen’s vodka is an award-winning and iconic Scottish brand, so it was a no-brainer to continue to give our backing to Scotland’s best-loved national sport and all of the teams.”