Michael Dods will be targeting major prizes with Azure Blue next season, having seen the campaign of his improving sprinter come to a premature end.
The four-year-old – who found the scoresheet four times in 2022 – made a blistering start to the season, winning a Listed event at Newmarket before claiming the scalp of Highfield Princess in the 1895 Duke of York Clipper Stakes at York.
She was subsequently saved for Newmarket’s July Cup where she finished sixth but has not been since, having suffered a foot injury which has kept her on the sidelines and ruled her out of tilts at both the Nunthorpe and Haydock’s Betfair Sprint Cup.
Sights were turned to Qipco British Champions Day, but having lost the battle to fully prime the daughter of El Kabeir for Ascot action, Dods is now relishing the prospect of Azure Blue returning in 2024.
He said: “She’s fine, we just ran out of time to get her back for British Champions Day so we’ll leave her now and she will back.
“We’re looking forward to next season now.”
When asked if she will be campaigned as a Group One sprinter next season, Dods added: “That will be the plan, I would say so definitely.”
Quarterback Brock Purdy threw four touchdown passes as San Francisco 49ers stayed undefeated with a 42-10 win over the Dallas Cowboys.
Purdy threw all but one of his touchdown passes to tight end George Kittle while Jordan Mason, Christian McCaffrey and Kyle Juszczyk all got over the line for a touchdown.
Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott was sacked three times and threw for three interceptions as the Cowboys suffered their biggest defeat since 2013 and their second of the season.
The Kansas City Chiefs added more misery to the Minnesota Vikings tough start to the season, but it was not without a scare as star tight end Travis Kelce went down with an ankle injury in the second quarter.
The Chiefs won 27-20 with Patrick Mahomes throwing for 281 yards with two touchdowns.
Kelce reportedly went for scans on his right foot but returned in the third quarter, scoring a touchdown to put the game out of the Vikings reach and securing the Chiefs fourth win of the season.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts put on a masterclass for the Philadelphia Eagles as they claimed a 23-14 victory at the Los Angeles Rams.
Hurts threw for 303 yards, including one touchdown pass and rushed for 72 yards, scoring a touchdown of his own.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford threw for two touchdowns for 222 yards but the Hurts touchdown and a brave defensive performance in the second half kept Philadelphia’s perfect start alive.
The Cincinnati Bengals secured an away win with the help of Joe Burrows who threw for three touchdown passes and 317 yards to give them a 34-20 win against the Arizona Cardinals.
Ja’Marr Chase scored three touchdowns off Burrows’ arm and set a single-game franchise record for the Bengals with 15 receptions, lifting the Bengals to a 2-3 record.
The Miami Dolphins beat the New York Giants at home 31-16 with rookie running back De’Von Achane scoring a 76-yard rushing touchdown and amounting 151 rushing yards.
The win took Miami to the top of the AFC East with a 4-1 record while the Giants suffered their fourth loss.
Elsewhere, the New York Jets took care of the Denver Broncos 31-21, while the Atlanta Falcons pipped the Houston Texas 21-19 and the Pittsburgh Steelers took down the Baltimore Ravens.
The Indianapolis Colts beat the Tennessee Titans, while the New England Patriots were held scoreless in their 34-0 loss to the New Orleans Saints and the Detroit Lions handed the Carolina Panthers their fifth loss of the year, winning 42-24.
Bradley Beal, Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday all made their debuts with new teams as the NBA preseason began to ramp up with six games on Sunday.
Beal scored 11 points in 14 minutes as the Phoenix Suns opened their preseason with a 130-126 overtime win over the Detroit Pistons. The three-time All-Star joined a star-studded Suns roster in June after being acquired from the Washington Wizards, the team he spent his first 11 seasons with.
Another Suns newcomer, Grayson Allen, paced Phoenix with 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting off the bench. Kevin Durant and Devin Booker each had 12 points as part of a starting five that also included Beal.
Porzingis, also traded out of Washington in the offseason, scored 17 points in his first outing as a Boston Celtic to help his new team to a 114-106 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers.
The 7-foot-3 veteran standout is part of a remade Celtics roster that also includes Holiday, whom the Celtics acquired last week from the rebuilding Trail Blazers after briefly being obtained by Portland in the blockbuster trade that sent Blazers icon Damian Lillard to the Milwaukee Bucks.
Holiday came off the bench to play 22 minutes, though he shot just 2 of 10 from the field for six points.
Payton Pritchard sparked Boston with 26 points just hours after signing a four-year, $30 million extension. The fourth-year guard finished 6 of 11 from 3-point range.
Lillard did not play in the Bucks' preseason opener, a 105-102 win over the Chicago Bulls in which Marjon Beauchamp led Milwaukee with 18 points and nine rebounds.
The Bucks also sat Giannis Antetokounmpo, though the two-time MVP's older brother, Thanasis, contributed 14 points on 6-of-8 shooting.
Elsewhere around the league, Gary Trent Jr. scored 22 points to lead the Toronto Raptors to a 112-99 win over the Sacramento Kings in Vancouver; Utah's Kris Dunn made all seven of his field goal attempts for 15 points as the Jazz posted a 101-96 win over the Los Angeles Clippers in Honolulu, and Jake LaRavia scored the final five points of overtime as the Memphis Grizzlies outlasted the Indiana Pacers, 127-122.
Jarace Walker, the eighth overall pick of this year's draft, had 19 points and nine rebounds in his Pacers debut.
Mitch Garver's grand slam in the third inning provided a big early lead that the Texas Rangers held on to in Sunday's 11-8 victory over the Baltimore Orioles that put the American League's top playoff seed a game away from elimination.
Garver also had an RBI single to help Texas take a 2-0 lead in the best-of-five Division Series and remain unbeaten in four games this postseason. The Rangers advanced to the ALDS with a two-game sweep on the road over the Tampa Bay Rays earlier in the week.
The Rangers can wrap up this series when it shifts to Texas on Tuesday.
Texas pounded out 11 hits in Game 2 and took advantage of a season-high 11 walks from Baltimore pitchers, including four from starter Grayson Rodriguez in a short postseason debut for the heralded rookie.
Rodriguez got out of a bases-loaded jam in the first inning, but walked Nathaniel Lowe to begin the second with the Orioles holding a 2-0 lead. Josh Jung followed with a single and Leody Tavares doubled in both runners to tie the contest.
Texas would score three more times in the second to move in front. After Corey Seager drew one of five walks on the day to load the bases, Garver, Adolis Garcia and Jonah Heim each delivered RBI singles to give the Rangers a 5-2 advantage.
Reliever Bryan Baker walked the bases loaded in the third before Garver blasted a 3-1 pitch into the left-field seats to extend the margin to 9-2.
The Orioles scored twice in the fourth before the Rangers got a run back in the top of the fifth, but Gunnar Henderson's solo homer off Texas starter Jordan Montgomery in the bottom of the inning pulled the AL East champions within 10-5.
Baltimore moved closer when Aaron Hicks' three-run homer off Jose Leclerc in the ninth made the score 11-8, but the Rangers' closer retired the next two hitters to end the comeback attempt and the game.
Garcia, Jung and Marcus Semien each had two hits for Texas, while Cody Bradford earned the win with 3 2/3 scoreless innings in relief of Montgomery.
Hicks also had a two-run single that drove in the Orioles' first runs, while Jorge Mateo finished 4 for 4 with an RBI and Austin Hays had three hits in the loss.
Rodriguez was pulled with two outs in the second and was charged with five runs on six hits.
Lopez, Correa help Twins even series with Astros
Pablo Lopez threw seven scoreless innings, Carlos Correa went 3 for 3 with three RBIs against his former team, and the Minnesota Twins drew even in their AL Division Series with the Houston Astros with Sunday's 6-2 win.
Kyle Farmer contributed a two-run homer as the Twins bounced back from Saturday's 6-4 loss in Game 1 of this best-of-five series, which shifts to Minnesota for Game 3 on Tuesday.
Correa, who spent his first seven seasons with the Astros before signing with the Twins in 2022, quickly staked Minnesota to a 1-0 lead with a two-out RBI double off Framber Valdez in the first inning. Farmer extended the margin to 3-0 an inning later when he followed Willi Castro's leadoff single with his first career postseason home run.
That was more than enough support for Lopez, who scattered six hits and a walk while striking out seven in his second straight playoff gem. The right-hander held the Toronto Blue Jays to one run over 5 2/3 innings in Minnesota's Game 1 win in the Wild Card round.
Correa hurt his ex-team again when he stepped to the plate with the bases loaded in the fifth and delivered a two-run single for a 5-0 lead.
Houston's only scoring came on Yordan Alvarez's third homer of the series, a two-run shot off Brock Stewart in the eighth.
Valdez, who went 3-0 with a 1.44 ERA during the Astros' run to last year's World Series title, struggled before being removed with one out in the fifth. The left-hander was charged with five runs on seven hits and issued three walks.
Marland Nattie, Vice President of the Jamaica Basketball Association (JABA) died on Sunday after suffering a stroke just over two months ago.
In his early 60s, Nattie, who was also a former president of the association, spent most of his adult life serving the sport of basketball as a player, coach and administrator. He leaves behind his widow, Oberon Pitterson-Nattie, former national netball player and coach. They had been married for about 10 years.
His sudden passing early Sunday afternoon came as a shock because, according to JABA president Paulton Gordon, based on information he had been receiving, his vice president was making progress in his recovery.
“The basketball family is saddened at his passing. Nattie has served basketball at various levels over the years. He dedicated his life to basketball as a player, as a coach at Kingston College and elsewhere and in administration in various roles,” Gordon told Sportsmax.TV on Sunday.
“He was president for a couple of terms, in other capacities as general secretary and he was the current vice president. He also served regionally, most recently as a vice president in charge of development at the Caribbean Basketball Confederation (CBC) and prior to his passing he sat on the CBC Council so he is a true basketball man right throughout his life he had dedicated himself to serving basketball and youth development.
“He will be sadly missed as an administrator; his experience. You could always call on Nattie for advice, he has details that because of his skills in basketball, you could call on him for things that are useful in terms of planning, so we will certainly miss Nattie.”
Jamaica’s Sports Minister Olivia Grange expressed her regret at Nattie’s passing, saying she, too, was surprised at the tragic news.
“With Marland’s death, I again must express my deep regret at the loss of another of our outstanding sports persons,” she said.
“I spoke with his wife, Oberon, who was a former national netballer and coach of the Sunshine Girls, who said his death was unexpected as he seemed to be recovering from a stroke he had suffered. As I expressed my condolences to Oberon, I told her that I was sure that the entire basketball community and all of his friends and associates would join the family in mourning Marland’s death. Our prayers are with her, the rest of the family and the basketball fraternity.”
A US green-card holder, Nattie and his wife migrated to the United States some time ago but as vice president he would often return to Jamaica to carry out his administrative duties. After being in hospital for some time, Nattie was moved to a rehabilitation facility to continue his recovery and was reportedly doing well.
Hence, it was a shock to all concerned when he died on Sunday.
Luke Humphries claimed his first major title as he beat Gerwyn Price with a stunning performance to win the World Grand Prix.
The 28-year-old has been a star on the European Tour over the last 18 months, winning five titles, but has now transferred that to the PDC Tour.
He proved he belongs on the biggest stage after producing the performance of his life in Leicester, taking down the 2020 champion Price 5-2.
The foundations of the win were laid when he claimed 10 out of 12 legs, including a stunning 170 checkout, to move 3-1 clear and then he sealed his title with a sumptuous 138 finish.
Victory moves him up to fourth in the world and is the biggest title of a blossoming career, with a £120,000 payday.
Former world champion Price was the heavy favourite for a second Grand Prix crown, but could not keep up with Humphries’ heavy scoring.
And the triumph allows Humphries to give his son a special present on his first birthday on Monday.
“It is one of those feelings you can’t put into words,” he said. “I have imagined this moment all my career and to actually finally do what I have always dreamed of, you can’t put it into words.
“There are no superlatives to say, it’s unbelievable.
“Taking out 138 out under the most pressure that I have ever been under, just made the whole thing a lot better, there was no better way for me to win. I am so proud of myself.
“It’s my son’s birthday tomorrow, as much as he won’t know it his life has changed because his dad is a major champion now and that is quite massive.
“I would have loved to have him here, but he’s going to have a very good present, I’ll have to wrap the trophy up so he can see how great dad is.”
Price had to endure the usual hostility from the crowd, who were pro-Humphries in their support and will now be hit in the pocket after swearing during his on-stage interview.
“It’s one of those games, I am absolutely gutted but it’s what happens,” he said.
“I wish we could play these games in Wales, it’s frustrating sometimes. I didn’t help myself early on, Luke played fantastic, he’s a worthy winner. But I think I played better overall.
“He had a lot of support. I’ve got a good man cave to go back to, I don’t give a s**t.”
Danny Care saved England from disaster against Samoa on Saturday after realising he had to back up his Alan Shearer-style try-scoring celebration.
Care stepped off the bench at Stade Pierre-Mauroy to race over for the 74th minute touchdown that was converted by Owen Farrell, snatching an 18-17 victory which was kind to Steve Borthwick’s side.
Upon racing over from a five metre-scrum, the veteran Harlequins scrum-half raised his left arm aloft and looked up to the stands, mimicking England and Newcastle football great Shearer.
Care then made a crucial intervention seconds from full-time when he made a try-saving tackle on wing Neria Fomai as Samoa staged a last-ditch assault on the line that fell metres short.
“It has been on my mind that I haven’t scored many tries for England, especially recently being out of the fold for a few years you never think you’re going to get another opportunity like that,” Care said.
“I decided that if I did do it, I’ll enjoy it and if you do decide to do an Alan Shearer celebration across the stadium you better make that tackle after!
“I don’t really remember the tackle – it was a blur – but I remember thinking you can’t celebrate like Alan Shearer and not make that tackle!
“The boys put their body on the line for 80 minutes so the least you can do when you’ve been on the bench is run back and try and tackle.
“Hopefully that shows a bit about what we’re about as a team. Even though it wasn’t a brilliant performance, we work hard for each other.”
Once again England found a way to win when the game was slipping away – no mean feat for a side that in recent times was prone to imploding when the pressure came on.
And although it propelled them into the quarter-finals as Pool D winners, it was a deflating performance coming in the wake of feelgood victories against Argentina, Japan and Chile.
Borthwick claimed the full-blooded encounter against an inspired Samoa was the ideal build-up to the knockout phase and Care agrees.
“If we had won that game by 20-30 points and scored a load of tries, would that be great prep for next week? I don’t think so,” Care said.
“In a way, now we’ve probably had the perfect game to prep for next week. It was scrappy, Samoa threw everything into every breakdown, we gave away too many penalties, we lost the ball too many times and we know why already.
“We know what not to do. I hope the fans believe in us that we will be better. We have to be or we’ll find ourselves on a plane home.
“A lot of hard work starts this week but we’re four from four, in a quarter final and we can get out there and get to the next stage.”
Indianapolis Colts rookie quarterback Anthony Richardson injured his right throwing shoulder in his team's 23-16 win over the Tennessee Titans on Sunday.
Richardson was hurt with just over 4 1/2 minutes to go in the second quarter when he was tackled by two Titans on a 4-yard run. He took a hit to the left shoulder but appeared to land awkwardly on the right one.
Immediately upon being tackled he began rubbing his right shoulder and stayed on the ground while the trainers quickly came out to tend to him.
He stayed down for several minutes before making his way slowly to the injury tent. After being evaluated on the Colts sideline, he walked to the locker room with his right arm hanging down to the side as he tried to keep it immobilised.
The team officially ruled him out early in the third quarter.
X-Rays on the shoulder were reportedly negative and he is expected to get an MRI.
Gardner Minshew replaced Richardson and helped lead Indianapolis to a win - the second time this season he's done that.
In the Colts' 31-20 victory over the Houston Texans in Week 2 on September 17, Richardson suffered a concussion when he took a hard hit to the head at the end of a 15-yard touchdown run. Minshew came in and threw for 171 yards and a touchdown.
He was unable to clear the NFL's concussion protocol and missed Indianapolis' win over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 3 before returning for last Sunday's overtime loss to the Los Angeles Rams - the first game of his young career he was able to complete.
Through five weeks of the 2023 NFL season, the dual-threat quarterback has shown glimpses as to why the Colts selected him with the fourth pick in this year's draft, but he's been a bit injury-prone.
In addition to exiting in the wins over the Texans and Titans, Richardson also suffered a knee bruise on a hard hit near the goal line in the final minutes of a 31-21 season-opening loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars. Colts coach Shane Steichen said he could have returned, however, and he was taken out as a precaution.
Prior to exiting Sunday, Richardson completed 9-of-12 passes for 98 yards. He also ran twice for 5 yards and was sacked once.
On the season, he has passed for 577 yards with three touchdowns and one interception and has rushed for 136 yards with four TDs on the ground.
Lance Stroll claimed he passed out at the wheel of his Aston Martin because of the extreme humidity in Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix.
American rookie Logan Sargeant was forced to retire through illness, French driver Esteban Ocon said he vomited in his cockpit, while London-born Thai Alex Albon was taken to the medical centre with acute heat exposure as the grid’s drivers battled the intense conditions at the Lusail International Circuit.
A statement from 27-year-old Albon’s Williams team read: “Following the Qatar Grand Prix, Alex was taken to the medical centre to be treated for acute heat exposure. He has now been assessed and cleared by the medical team.”
Williams also revealed Sargeant, 22, had suffered from “intense dehydration” following “flu-like symptoms earlier in the week”.
Aston Martin’s Stroll, 24, who fell over as he made his way to conduct his media duties, said: “I was passing out in the car.
“They painted the kerbs and made the track narrower but you can’t feel the kerbs. I couldn’t see where I was going because I was passing out. I was fading in and out. The temperature was too much.”
George Russell, who finished fourth following a first-lap collision with Mercedes team-mate Lewis Hamilton, also revealed he felt ill throughout Sunday’s 57-lap Grand Prix.
The 25-year-old said: “It was an absolutely brutal race and by far the most physical race I have ever experienced.
“I felt close to fainting in that race and I have never experienced anything like it before.
“I wasn’t physically sick in the car but I felt ill. I had to ask my engineer to give me encouragement to take my mind off of it.”
This was only the second staging of the Qatar race and the first of a 10-year deal. Next year’s edition will be held two months later in December when it is expected to be cooler.
Mario Andretti has moved to allay fears that Max Verstappen's dominance of the drivers' championship might put fans off Formula One, asserting there is "nothing boring" about the Dutchman.
Verstappen sealed his third consecutive world title on Saturday, finishing second in an incident-packed sprint race in Qatar to ensure he can no longer be caught by Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez.
After subsequently capping his title by winning the Qatar Grand Prix on Sunday, the Dutchman has won 14 races in 2023, leaving rivals including seven-time champion Lewis Hamilton and Ferrari duo Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz trailing in his wake.
He also put together an unprecedented sequence of 10 successive victories earlier this year, leading to suggestions the one-sided nature of this campaign may impact F1's popularity.
The sport enjoyed a surge in popularity amid Verstappen's dramatic 2021 title tussle with Hamilton, while the Netflix documentary Drive To Survive helped engage a new generation of fans.
However, 1978 drivers' champion Mario Andretti does not believe Verstappen's supremacy will have a negative impact on how the sport is perceived.
"There's nothing boring about Max Verstappen," Andretti told Stats Perform. "The only thing is, the next thing that is obviously of interest is who can beat him?
"That's the point, and that's interesting. You look forward to that every weekend, whenever the race is coming on, you say, 'I wonder if he's going to still be dominant?'
"The other teams are not sitting still with the other drivers. But right now, Max is in a very enviable position to just really keep going."
Red Bull retained the constructors' title in September, with the team boasting a massive lead over Mercedes in the team standings. Andretti, though, does not feel changes are required to make things more competitive.
The team has won 16 of the 17 races so far this season.
"I personally love Formula One the way it is because, let's look at it on the technical side, you look at the grid and sometimes there are 10 to 12 drivers inside a second [of one another]," Andretti continued.
"Each car, each team has different engineering, and the car looks different. Everybody obviously follows the same rules, but it's like a lawyer. A good lawyer obviously interprets a law maybe just a little bit better than the next one. That's what it's all about.
"I think Formula One has it all, it's got the technical side, but also, there's something to be appreciated there as to how close they come. I think that interest is there and will be prevalent."
Max Verstappen's third successive Formula One drivers' championship is "only the beginning", says 1978 title-winner Mario Andretti, who feels the Dutchman could go on to break records in the sport.
Red Bull star Verstappen wrapped up his third world title in as many years by finishing second in a dramatic sprint race in Qatar on Saturday, having left his rivals in the dust throughout a dominant 2023 season.
Verstappen capped off his championship triumph in style on Sunday by cruising to victory at the Qatar Grand Prix.
The 26-year-old has a long way to go to match the accomplishments of the sport's all-time greats, however, with Michael Schumacher's record haul of seven titles being equalled by Lewis Hamilton in 2020.
However, Andretti – who captured the world crown when driving for Team Lotus in 1978 – feels those are the names Verstappen will be looking to hunt down in the coming years.
Speaking to Stats Perform, Andretti said of Verstappen: "There's no question that he fits the category of the greats, and it's ongoing.
"Like you say, it's three championships in a row and he's still going. There's no sign anywhere that he has reached a peak.
"It's really fun watching someone like that, because he's just taking advantage of every single ounce that's at his disposal under any circumstance.
"The way I look at it, records are made to be broken. I never thought that Schumacher would have any rivals, not in my lifetime.
"I think Lewis Hamilton disproved that by tying that record, and Max is on his way, no question.
"I mean, if there's anyone that you could consider to be a record-breaker, it's going to be Max Verstappen. At 26, it's only the beginning."
Verstappen has won 14 races this season, including an unprecedented run of 10 successive victories starting with May's Miami Grand Prix and ending after he triumphed at Monza last month.
Andretti recalled Verstappen's very first race win – which came as an 18-year-old at the 2016 Spanish Grand Prix – as he heaped further praise on the Dutchman for his dominant displays.
"What makes Verstappen a great driver is that he is something special," Andretti continued.
"As a matter of fact, when you say 'special', that's understating what this man is all about. He has shown something right from the very beginning.
"I remember in 2016, what he did that day, he revealed himself. After that, obviously the rest is history.
"He has been dominant and is taking advantage of every possibility in the best possible way. I think for any team on the grid, they're all envious of the fact Red Bull has a contract with this guy."
Buffalo Bills head coach Sean McDermott would welcome a return trip to London despite admitting his side seemed sluggish in their 25-20 loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Buffalo, led by quarterback Josh Allen and seeking their fourth straight victory, entered Sunday afternoon’s contest on a high after beating the Miami Dolphins but found themselves up against an 11-0 deficit after the first quarter.
Though the ‘host’ Bills, who enjoyed the majority support of a raucous 61,273-strong crowd, twice found themselves a touchdown away from staging a fourth-quarter comeback it was the Jags – coming off last weekend’s 23-7 victory over the Atlanta Falcons at Wembley and perhaps better-adjusted to the time zone – who ultimately held on.
Asked if Buffalo, who only arrived in London on Friday, might have been affected by the travel, McDermott said: “We’ll see if, whatever comes up down the road in terms of us coming back here, but we need to evaluate everything because I didn’t feel like our energy was good enough early in the game.
“They had better energy than we did. We’re going to fly back tonight, watch the film on the way home and learn from this and we’ve got to get ourselves back where we need to be fundamentally. It’s just talking about throwing and catching, tackling, right?
“Most of the things that are at the forefront of some of the reasons why we got the result we did today.
“We would absolutely [come back]. We enjoyed just the opportunity to be over here. It’s an honour to be selected to play here and we’re certainly appreciative of our hosts in London.”
While Buffalo had not played in the UK since 2015, Jacksonville have contested at least one match in the British capital every year since 2013 save 2020, when the coronavirus pandemic prevented international matches.
With Sunday’s victory, the Florida outfit became the first team to win NFL international matches in back-to-back weeks, with some speculating they were given a boost both from their familiarity with the UK grounds and, against Buffalo, were the better-adjusted opponent due to remaining in London between contests.
The Jags certainly looked the sprightlier side in the first quarter and Trevor Lawrence the more effective quarterback, Zay Jones completing the first touchdown and Travis Etienne, who would later make two TDs of his own, adding the two-point conversion.
Buffalo, who lost key linebacker Matt Milano to a knee injury in the first quarter, rallied late in the second to make it 11-7 at the halfway point and a scoreless third quarter ensured it was all to play for in the final 15 minutes.
A game largely dominated by defence broke open, both sides adding two touchdowns apiece – the Jags’ from Etienne, while Allen and Gabe Davis added to Buffalo’s score.
Bills wide receiver Stefon Diggs, who collected from Allen for Buffalo’s second-quarter, 15-yard touchdown, refused to blame the cross-continental trip for the result.
He said: “It’s easy to say that after the game. If we’d won would we be saying yeah, we were tired, we were this, we were that.
“It’s easy to use that as an excuse. I’m not a big excuse guy so I won’t say it, but you’re going to have to ask the other guys.
“Tired or not, you’re going to have to get up to play a football game. You get up to do this thing that you love and play this game because it’s a blessing.
“I will never use the excuse of, you can obviously look at the data or whatever, but I feel like we can play better. We will be better.”
A furious George Russell lashed out at Lewis Hamilton following a dramatic crash with his Mercedes team-mate at the very first corner of Sunday’s Qatar Grand Prix.
Max Verstappen, crowned champion of the world for a third time following Saturday’s sprint, started his title parade by racing to his 14th win from the 17 rounds so far.
McLaren’s Oscar Piastri followed up his victory in Saturday’s 19-lap dash by taking second place while his McLaren team-mate Lando Norris completed the podium.
But Verstappen’s emphatic win and McLaren’s continued resurgence played second fiddle to Hamilton’s crash with Russell which left the seven-time world champion in the gravel. Russell fought back from last to fourth.
Hamilton, third on the grid, attempted to drive round the outside of Russell, one starting place higher, and pole-sitter Verstappen in a gung-ho bid for glory.
But Hamilton tagged the front-left of Russell’s machine. An out-of-control Hamilton was sent into the gravel with the right-rear wheel of his Mercedes flying off into the air.
Russell was sent spinning round before limping back to the pits for a new front wing. Out came the safety car and the inquest started.
“F****** hell,” yelled Russell, 25. “Come on! What the hell! I have got damage.”
Referencing their ding-dong battle at the last round in Japan, Russell added: “Guys, come on, f***! Two races in a row.”
Sitting in the sandtrap, Hamilton, 38, pointed the finger at his younger team-mate.
“Yeah, I got taken out by my team-mate,” he said.
Back on track and sitting at the rear of the field, Russell returned to the intercom.
“Sorry guys, I wasn’t even looking,” he added. “I was focused ahead and he came from nowhere.
“I am lost for words. Honestly. I have just seen the replays on the TV screen. I couldn’t do anything. Totally sandwiched.”
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is absent from this race – his second in a row – as he recovers from knee surgery. But the Austrian came on the intercom in a move to calm Russell down.
“George, let’s race now and get the best out of it,” he said.
Forty minutes after the accident, Hamilton, 38, accepted blame for the coming together.
“In the heat of the moment, it was frustrating because I felt this tap from the rear but I don’t think George had anywhere to go,” said the seven-time world champion using a towel to mop the sweat from his brow.
“It was an unfortunate scenario and I am happy to take responsibility because that is my role. I need to go back and look at it, but I don’t feel like it was George’s fault.
“Before the race, we knew we were on different tyres so we wanted to work together. I had the soft tyre and everyone around me was on the medium and I needed to get by. I tried going round the outside of Max and it just didn’t work out.
“It was not our plan to come together. It is just really gutting for the team. I feel just really sad for everybody for my part in it.”
Hamilton insisted his partnership with Russell had not been damaged by the collision.
Mercedes announced at the end of August that Hamilton and Russell will continue alongside each other until at least the end of 2025.
He continued: “The relationship is not broken. I don’t have any problems with George. We have a great relationship and we always talk about things.
“This is just unfortunate and I am sure he was frustrated in the moment, as I was, but we will talk about it offline and move forwards.”
Amid safety concerns about the Pirelli tyres, Sunday’s 57-lap race took place against the backdrop of a flurry of mandatory pit stops – with the drivers only able to do 18 laps on a single set of rubber.
Yet, the disruption had little impact on Verstappen who sealed another comfortable win, taking the flag 4.8 seconds clear for the 49th win of his career.
Charles Leclerc finished fifth for Ferrari ahead of the Aston Martin of Fernando Alonso.
Sergio Perez, whose crash in Saturday’s sprint officially handed Verstappen his third title, started from the pit lane and crossed the line ninth on yet another weekend to forget for the Mexican.
Perez was also handed a five-second penalty for exceeding track limits, demoting him to 10th.
Lewis Hamilton is out of the Qatar Grand Prix after a dramatic collision with Mercedes team-mate George Russell at the very first corner of Sunday’s race.
Hamilton, who started third, drove around the outside of his team-mate, one place higher on the grid, and pole-sitter Max Verstappen before making contact with Russell’s machine.
Hamilton was sent into the gravel with the right-rear of his Mercedes flying off in the accident.
Both Hamilton and Russell pointed the finger at one another.
“Come on, what the hell,” yelled Russell. “That is two races in a row.”
Russell was sent spinning round in the incident before limping back to the pits for repairs.
But Hamilton’s race was over. “Yeah, I got taken out by team-mate,” said Hamilton, 38.
Russell was back on the radio. “Sorry guys, I wasn’t even looking,” he added amid a flurry of expletives. “I was focused ahead and he came from nowhere.
“F*** I am lost for words. Honestly. I have just seen the replays on the TV screen. I couldn’t do anything. Totally sandwiched. “F***, come on.”
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff is absent from this race – his second in a row – as he recovers from knee surgery.
But the Austrian came on the intercom in a move to calm Russell, 25, down.
“George, let’s race now, and get the best out of it,” he said.
The Jacksonville Jaguars became the first team in NFL history to win an international game in back-to-back weeks with a 25-20 victory over the Buffalo Bills at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
Many expected in-form quarterback Josh Allen and his hosting Bills to have the upper hand in London, but the visitors were the superior side by almost every measure in the first quarter, where a costly Buffalo penalty led to the Jags’ first touchdown.
And though AFC East leaders Buffalo, looking for a fourth straight win, finally broke through and narrowed the deficit to 11-7 by the halfway point, a scoreless third quarter and a Travis Etienne touchdown extended the Jags’ advantage to double-digits early in the fourth quarter.
Two touchdowns per side in the final 15 minutes kept things interesting as Buffalo twice came within five points of drawing level, but the visitors, who last weekend beat the Atlanta Falcons at Wembley, ultimately did enough to stave off a Buffalo comeback.
The stands – including Formula One driver Daniel Ricciardo – skewed overwhelmingly in favour of Buffalo, but it was the visitors who first sparked to life through QB Trevor Lawrence’s sharp 30-yard pass to wide receiver Christian Kirk.
Jacksonville soon took full advantage after Buffalo’s Ed Oliver was punished with a five-yard penalty and Lawrence fired into the endzone, where a leaping Zay Jones completed the six-yard touchdown, Etienne successfully converting for two more.
Brandon McManus’ 44-yard field goal gave his side an 11-0 lead before the second quarter, where Buffalo pressed on in search of a solution to a Jags defence that, five minutes into the period, had held the hosts to just 35 yards on offence to their 167.
Buffalo finally broke through just before half-time, closing that gap with a 12-play, 86-yard drive ending in Stefon Diggs’ classy 15-yard touchdown reception to collect the pass from his QB with Tyler Bass booting the extra point through the uprights.
That drive alone was 32 yards longer than their first four combined and launched the hosts squarely back into the contest.
A promising third-quarter drive began with a promising 48-yard pass cleverly claimed by Diggs, but the hosts ultimately failed to capitalise on the gained ground.
Buffalo were down to the final 15 minutes after the scoreless third quarter and found themselves frustrated early in the fourth by a brilliant interception by Jags cornerback Darious Williams on Allen’s ball intended for Diggs.
Jacksonville extended their lead to double digits through Etienne, who crossed over from six yards, McManus good for the extra point.
With just over four minutes remaining, the Bills saw a touchdown nullified by a penalty but made good on the second attempt when Allen found Davis for the 19-yard touchdown to make it 18-13, Buffalo failing to convert the extras.
The final few minutes of an afternoon dominated by defence suddenly saw an offensive surge as Etienne crossed for another TD, McManus adding another extra point, but Jacksonville barely had time to celebrate before Allen had crossed into the endzone and Bass’ conversion clawed Buffalo back within five.
The frantic, entertaining close was at least enough to stir the Buffalo faithful, who came just short of seeing their side brilliantly bounce back.
Louis Rees-Zammit is firmly in the frame to emulate his Wales colleague Josh Adams as top try-scorer at a Rugby World Cup.
But Gloucester wing Rees-Zammit says that team success is the “end goal” as Wales build towards a World Cup quarter-final against Argentina in Marseille next Saturday.
Rees-Zammit’s hat-trick during the 43-19 Pool C victory over Georgia took him to five in the tournament, one behind France star Damian Penaud.
Adams, meanwhile, led the way in Japan four years ago, claiming seven tries and finishing one short of equalling the record for most touchdowns during one World Cup that is jointly held by Jonah Lomu, Bryan Habana and Julian Savea.
Rees-Zammit became the seventh Welshman to score three tries in a World Cup game after Adams, Glen Webbe, Ieuan Evans, Gareth Thomas, Scott Williams and Cory Allen.
It was another exhibition of the 22-year-old’s dazzling finishing skills and why he is among the biggest box-office attractions in world rugby.
“It (World Cup leading try-scorer) is something that is in the back of my head, but getting the wins is all that matters,” he said.
“I would love to be top try-scorer. As long as we win all the matches, that is the end goal. I am buzzing with the result – we are building nice momentum going into the quarter-finals.
“I am definitely a quicker player now. I am a lot fitter as well, which means I can repeat these things.
“I know Gats (Wales head coach Warren Gatland) has spoken about my training schedule.
“I haven’t missed training for a couple of months now, which is great. I am buzzing with the way I am playing at the minute – I am trying to do everything I can to help the team.”
Wales assistant coach and attack specialist Alex King fully acknowledges Rees-Zammit’s value ahead of a fourth successive World Cup quarter-final appearance.
Rees-Zammit was the only Wales back to start all four group games and he scored tries in three of those against Fiji, Portugal and Georgia.
King said: “We are lucky to have a player like Louis. It’s great for rugby to have these kind of stars with finishing power like that.
“He is a fantastic athlete, he is quick and his game has really come on in the last 12 months.
“It’s his mindset, his attitude, his professionalism, everything you need to be a top player.
“He is still very young, he has got 30-odd caps for Wales, he has been on a British and Irish Lions tour and he just wants to get better and better.
“We want to get the ball to Louis, but it is not as simple as just giving him the ball. Defences are very good.
“His attitude has been first class. He wants to get better and better every day he turns up to work. He was great (against Georgia) and I am looking forward to Marseille next week.”
Gregor Townsend is hopeful no Scotland players will decide to call time on their international careers in the wake of their demoralising World Cup pool-stage exit.
The Scots bowed out of the tournament on Saturday evening after a 36-14 thrashing at the hands of Ireland in Paris.
Former national team captains Stuart McInally and Stuart Hogg both announced earlier this year that they planned to retire after the World Cup to pursue other interests, although neither player ended up making an appearance at the showpiece in France.
Forwards WP Nel, 37, and Richie Gray, 34, are among those in the age range who may naturally be considering their futures, but Townsend would prefer to keep as many options in the fold as possible.
“I hope there are no retirements after this World Cup,” said the head coach as he reflected on the tournament on Sunday. “I think some of the older players in our squad have been some of our best performers.
“WP Nel is physically in the best shape of his life, he’s started more games for us this year than he ever has and he’s played really well.
“I thought Richie Gray was one our best players, if not the best, on the field on Saturday night. His physical ability is excellent, but also his desire to keep going at the opposition was great to see.
“So they are two of our older players and we obviously hope they are still available for the next couple of seasons.
“Whether it’s people retiring, or injury, or people not being selected because of form, we’ve got to have other players ready to go and we’ve seen that with our 33-man squad who have performed really well throughout the summer Tests and for some of them, against Romania and Tonga.”
As many supporters had feared when the draw was made back in 2020, Scotland’s tournament ultimately ended as a result of their inability to cope with defending champions South Africa and Ireland, who have been the world’s top-ranked side for the past year.
Nonetheless, Townsend feels his fifth-ranked team – who have competed well against France on three occasions this year – could have done better in both matches against the two heavyweights in their section.
“Have we reached the standards we have set for ourselves? No, we haven’t,” he said. “We played the number one and two teams in the world, and we do understand that that was always going to be difficult.
“We’ve lost to three teams over the last 14 games and those are the three teams ranked in the top three in the world. We would obviously have wanted to do better, not just making it closer but winning the games.
“We didn’t do that, so we look at ourselves and what we could have done differently. Could we have mixed up our game more? Could we and should we have finished off when we had those possessions? How could we have defended Ireland’s attacks better?
“We’ve lost to the top three teams in the world this year and they’re our only defeats. We know we have to do better and Ireland’s margin of victory was much bigger than France managed against us in the two games we lost against them.
“We know that, and it’s disappointing, and that’s the reality we have to work towards improving.”
Scotland have been the biggest victim so far of a draw that put the top five teams in the current world rankings in the same half of the tournament.
Another two of Ireland, France, South Africa and New Zealand will bite the dust in the quarter-finals next weekend.
“The last draw was based on the rankings after the previous World Cup so I’m pretty sure that’s not going to happen next time,” said Townsend.
“That was something we knew going into the World Cup, that we were going to play two top teams.
“Now the top four teams in the world are playing against each other in the quarter-finals and it probably isn’t great from a World Cup point of view that two of those teams are not going to be in the semi-finals.
“For me, they have been the four best teams by a long way in this tournament.”
There was a sad postscript to Chasing Fire’s successful chasing debut at Uttoxeter as top-class hurdler I Like To Move It suffered a fatal injury.
A small but select field of three runners went to post for the Andy’s Man Club Novices’ Chase, with last season’s Greatwood Hurdle hero I Like To Move It the 4-5 favourite.
The Nigel Twiston-Davies-trained six-year-old, who finished sixth and fifth behind Constitution Hill in the Champion Hurdle and Aintree Hurdle respectively last season, attempted to make every yard of the running under the trainer’s son Sam.
He made a few jumping errors along the way, but was still in with every chance when suffering an injury on landing after jumping the final fence and he was swiftly pulled up by his rider.
Chasing Fire was an 18-5 shot for Olly Murphy and Sean Bowen, having won his first three races over obstacles last term before finishing down the field in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham.
Making his first appearance since finishing third at Prestbury Park in April, the six-year-old jumped to the lead at the last and saw off the challenge of Pembroke by a length.
Chasing Fire was completing a double on the card for Bowen, Murphy and owner Diana Whateley following the earlier success of Booster Bob in the second division of the maiden hurdle.
Bowen told Sky Sports Racing: “Unfortunately Sam came down in the end, but I was outjumping the whole way and that was the only thing that was keeping me in the race. Sam would gain five lengths on the flat and every time I jumped I’d be gaining it again.
“He’s one to look forward to. At the last he was very, very long and he was good to come up from me there and he was good and hardy from the back of the last.”
Bloodstock agent Aiden Murphy, the trainer’s father, said: “He’d been schooling immaculately at home, so that was the hope today. It’s just a shame with the Twiston-Davies horse as that does put a dampener on the race, but Chasing Fire is a nice horse.
“They were three nice horses, I think Dan (Skelton, trainer of Pembroke) thinks plenty of his, so hopefully the form will work out.”
All roads lead to the Qipco 2000 Guineas for Rosallion after Richard Hannon’s high-class juvenile reignited Classic dreams when roaring back to form at ParisLongchamp.
Held in the highest regard from the earliest point in his career, the Everleigh handler describes the talented son of Blue Point as “right up there with the best we’ve ever had” having taken his tally to three wins from four starts.
Despite suffering an odds-on defeat in the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster, Hannon’s confidence never waned and his charge backed up his trainer’s lofty opinion to immediately bounce back in the French capital, claiming the Group One Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere in real style.
Hannon said: “We were absolutely delighted and he showed us what he could do only 15 days after his flop in the Champagne Stakes.
“There were several reasons why (he got beat), he got a smack over the head with a whip and just didn’t operate in that ground at all.
“He had been working great before the Champagne and again before the Lagardere. He never looked like getting beat in the Lagardere, he travelled supremely all the way through, picked up lovely and it’s just nice to be right.”
Rosallion did have the option of racing again this year in either Newmarket’s Dewhurst Stakes or Stateside in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf, but connections are keen to keep the Guineas dream alive for as long as possible and the two-year-old will now head into winter quarters with thoughts firmly pointed in the direction of Newmarket in early May.
Currently 10-1 in the ante-post lists for the opening Classic of 2024, it is still to be decided if the strapping bay will tune up for his big-race assignment in one of the traditional trials.
However, Hannon did stress Rosallion is unlikely to be seen in testing conditions again following his disappointment on slow ground at Doncaster in September.
He added: “I think the plan we’ve discussed with Sheikh Mohammed Obaid is we will leave him and keep the dream intact for the Guineas.
“We will let him hopefully do well over the winter and give him every chance.
“Whether we go for a trial or not we will see, but he’s obviously not going to go anywhere where there is soft ground – and if it was soft ground for the Guineas, then that would include that as well.”
Hannon knows all about training leading operators at a mile and produced Night Of Thunder to win the 2000 Guineas in 2014, with Billesdon Brook claiming the fillies’ equivalent four years later.
Added to this, his father Richard Hannon Snr saddled eight Classic winners in Britain and Ireland during his time in the training ranks and also oversaw the career of the top-class miler Canford Cliffs from the family’s Wiltshire base.
And Hannon believes Rosallion has the potential to be the best of them all when he moves up to the mile distance next term.
Hannon added: “He will have no problem getting a mile and he’s right up there with the best we’ve ever had. He’s shown that since the first bit of work he has ever done.
“He’s certainly got as much promise as anything we’ve ever had. A horse like him makes the winter a lot shorter.”
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