Willie Mullins featured in the carriage procession as the King and Queen both attended day one of Royal Ascot.
It is the first Royal meeting to take place since the death of the late Queen in September.
The King and Queen, whose coronation took place last month, are set to be represented across the week and they wrote a message on the opening page of Tuesday’s official racecard.
It said: “We are delighted to welcome you to Royal Ascot in this, the year of our coronation. Five days of highly competitive racing will again be watched and enjoyed by millions, both here and abroad.
“We are happy in the knowledge that this historic race meeting continues to be a key influence on the global racing and breeding industries.”
The late Queen was famed for her love of racing and barely missed a day of the meeting, enjoying numerous winners at the fixture over the many years of her reign.
A photographic exhibition in the Ascot grandstand celebrates her relationship with the track and Saturday’s sprint feature has been renamed in her honour.
The message, signed by Charles R and Camilla R, added: “The Royal meeting always played a central role in Her late Majesty Queen Elizabeth’s calendar and the naming of the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes will be a most appropriate way to mark this lifelong interest.”
Star Sports had favoured white or cream for the Queen’s hat on the first day, while Boylesports had made pink the evens favourite.
The first-named proved correct as the Queen favoured an ivory shade, with the procession receiving its habitual warm reception at the paddock.
Mullins, who was joined by his wife Jackie, was one of a number of racing figures in the procession, with the pair sharing a carriage with Classic-winning trainer Ralph Beckett and his wife Izzi.
The Closutton handler took the Irish champion trainer crown for a 17th time last term, a season which also saw him send out his 4,000th winner and claim the Cheltenham Gold Cup for a third time with Galopin Des Champs.
Lady Bamford, fresh from her Oaks success with homebred Soul Sister earlier in the month, was in the third carriage along with her husband Lord Bamford and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.
Anti-corruption police in France have raided the headquarters of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games organising committee as part of an investigation into the embezzlement of public funds.
A spokesperson for France’s financial public prosecutor, the PNF, has confirmed to the PA news agency that searches are under way at several sites, including the headquarters of the Games organisers (COJOP) and of SOLIDEO, the public body responsible for building projects linked to the event.
The spokesperson said these searches were part of two preliminary investigations opened by the PNF.
The first was opened in 2017 and was entrusted to the Central Office for the Fight Against Corruption, Financial and Tax Offences with charges of “illegal taking of interests, embezzlement of public funds, favouritism and concealment of favouritism”, targeting several contracts awarded in particular by COJOP.
The second was opened last year and was entrusted to the BRDE, the financial brigade of the Parisian police, with charges of “illegal taking of interests, favouritism and concealment of favouritism relating to several contracts awarded by COJOP and SOLIDEO”.
Paris 2024 organisers had earlier said: “A police search is currently under way at the headquarters of the Organising Committee.
“Paris 2024 is co-operating fully with the investigators to facilitate their investigations.”
The organising committee’s offices are in the Saint-Denis area of the French capital. The Games take place from July 26-August 11 next year.
An International Olympic Committee spokesperson said: “We are aware that there has been a search by police of the Paris 2024 headquarters today.
“We have been informed by Paris 2024 that they are co-operating fully with the authorities in this matter and we would refer you to them for further information.”
Tom Marquand heads into Wednesday’s Prince of Wales’s Stakes with a sense of frustration.
He rides My Prospero in the 10-furlong Group One contest which, in terms of quality, looks to be the cherry on the icing of the Royal Ascot cake.
Trained by William Haggas, My Prospero was beaten a neck in the St James’s Palace Stakes at the meeting last year.
He was also beaten half a length Bay Bridge, who reopposes, in the Champion Stakes over the same Ascot mile and a quarter he faces on Wednesday, a race remembered for being the brilliant Baaeed’s last run and sole defeat in his career.
This is a game of fine margins and after a sharpener over a mile on his return when fourth in the Lockinge at Newbury, Marquand hopes the Iffraj colt can finally get his just rewards.
“He had that run to open him up and, as we expected, the mile was a bit sharp, so going back up to 10 furlongs plays to his strengths,” said the jockey.
“It’s a hot renewal – probably the race of the week and fantastic for racing, but frustrating for us.
“Looking back at the run in the Champion Stakes, the change in tempo at the bend caught us out a bit. Being beaten so narrowly after that you hope you’ve got a good chance of beating them next time.
“It certainly feels like we haven’t had a true chance to show what is exactly there yet, which makes it pretty exciting.”
My Prospero was a nose behind runner-up Adayar in the Champion Stakes and the 2021 Derby winner, who won the Gordon Richards over this distance at Newmarket on his return with some ease, comes into the race with plenty of confidence behind him.
“We have been delighted with how Adayar has come forward since the Gordon Richards Stakes,” trainer Charlie Appleby told www.godolphin.com.
“It’s a very strong renewal but Adayar is in great shape and we are very much looking forward to it. The target this season has been to win a Group One over a mile and a quarter and this will hopefully be his opportunity.”
The Champion Stakes, part of the Qipco British Champions Series, saw Sir Michael Stoute’s Bay Bridge triumphant.
However, he has been narrowly beaten twice subsequently, in the Prix Ganay at ParisLongchamp on his return in April and by Luxembourg in the Tattersalls Gold Cup.
Consequently, Bay Bridge is joint-third best in the betting with My Prospero, although with plenty of rain falling ahead of the start of the meeting and heavy showers in the forecast, connections return to Ascot with plenty of optimism.
James Savage, Stoute’s assistant trainer, said: “It is what we expected, a very strong renewal. The mile-and-a-quarter division is as strong as I have seen.
“He took a step forward for every run last year. He took a massive step forward from France to the Curragh, running a big race behind Luxembourg, and we expect him to improve again at Ascot. He has trained very well.
“We are still very respectful of the opposition and if Ascot gets the forecast rain that would be positive, but he showed he is effective on good ground at the Curragh.”
Last season’s Irish Champion Stakes hero, the Aidan O’Brien-trained Luxembourg, tops the market.
The lightly-raced four-year-old, the winner of six of his nine starts, made all in the Tattersalls Gold Cup under Ryan Moore.
O’Brien said: “I’m happy with him and he progressed nicely at the Curragh from the first day to the second. I was delighted he made the running which leaves him versatile as to tactics in the race.”
Kenny McPeek sends US Grade One winner Classic Causeway over for his British debut, although he will be the big outsider of the sextet, while Mostahdaf completes the line-up.
Trained by John and Thady Gosden, the five-year-old was last seen finishing seven lengths adrift of Equinox in the Dubai Sheema Classic at Meydan in March.
He has fallen short in his three attempts in top-class company but Angus Gold, racing manager to Sheikha Hissa’s Shadwell operation, hopes Jim Crowley’s mount will run with credit now that he drops back in trip.
“It’s a really hot race. He’s done us proud in the winter and won a lot of money in his two runs abroad,” said Gold.
“He’s a horse for Sheikha Hissa and her family to enjoy, he’s very consistent and if he’s good enough to win a Prince of Wales’s, Wednesday will tell us.
“He’s never been short of speed and there had been a train of thought, even before Dubai, that a mile and a quarter would be his best.
“He didn’t finish off his race in Dubai, to the degree people said he doesn’t stay, but equally he was the one horse off the bend who went to have a crack at Equinox and he paid the price for that later on.
“I’m not saying he doesn’t get a mile and a half, but he definitely has the pace to be competitive over a mile and a quarter.
“He’s given us all some great days and it will be fun to see where he fits in. He loves fast ground, though.”
Fred Wright is hoping his first professional win comes in the shape of a British title this week as he takes on Wednesday’s time trial and Sunday’s road race at the national championships.
The 24-year-old has made his name in the past couple of years with a series of plucky breakaway attempts, most notably at the Tour de France and Vuelta a Espana, which brought podium finishes. But missing from the palmares is a victory.
If Wright can fix that this week it will be a significant marker, but also a hugely emotional moment for him personally just days after his Bahrain-Victorious team-mate Gino Mader died as a result of injuries suffered in a crash at the Tour de Suisse last week.
When asked about Mader, who was 26, Wright struggled for words.
“I don’t know what to say about it, it’s so difficult,” he said. “It’s been an awful few days, I’ll just leave it at that. It puts so much into perspective. Just even being asked the question gets me emotional.”
And when asked what a victory in Wednesday’s time trial at the Croft Circuit near Darlington would mean to him, Wright again wrestled with his feeling
“I don’t really know at this point,” he said. “I’d be really happy, but I think with everything that’s happened it doesn’t mean f*** all to be honest. Not that it doesn’t mean f*** all, but I just really want to race my bike and enjoy racing my bike. You find a new appreciation for it, I think.”
Wright finished a close second to Ben Swift when Lincoln hosted the nationals in 2021, a race which finished with the steep cobbled climb of Michaelgate.
Sunday’s race around Saltburn-by-the-Sea is an even more challenging one, defined by the 10 ascents of Saltburn Bank and its 22 per cent gradients, but with plenty of climbing in between too.
Geraint Thomas is on a star-studded start list and backed by several Ineos Grenadiers team-mates, while Lewis Askey, Jake Stewart, Simon Carr and Owain Doull will also line up.
Wright will be racing without any team-mates and must use his breakaway expertise if he is to make a mark, but he believes in his form.
“I think with how I’m feeling on the bike at the moment I would say it suits me,” he said. “I’m not really worried. In the Dauphine (earlier this month) on the shorter climbs I felt really comfortable so I should be all right, we shall see.
“I think I just go into it knowing I’ve got a target on my back. Jake, who is a good mate of mine, has already said he’s just going to follow me. He’s got three team-mates in the race and they’re going to sit down and say, ‘Just make sure you’re with Fred’.
“But when the course is as hard as it is, on a flat road you can get followed and waste a lot of energy, but if you go for it uphill the person behind also has to work hard. I think the course being harder hopefully makes it easier to manage the fact I’m more watched.”
Wright’s decision to race the time trial was a late one. Encouraged by the fourth place he took in the time trial at the Dauphine, Wright spied an opportunity after two-time reigning champion Ethan Hayter, his former housemate, was forced to withdraw with a broken collarbone.
“I think I’ve got a good shot at winning it,” he said. “What happened to Ethan, as much as I love him, did influence my decision to ride.
“I wasn’t sure if I was going to do and then when I saw he wasn’t going to do it I thought it’s good to have a hit out.”
Karl Burke’s juveniles are in rip-roaring form and Beautiful Diamond heads a sparking trio of chances for the Middleham trainer in the Queen Mary Stakes.
Having saddled Dramatised to a runaway victory in the Group Two contest last season, he would again appear to have a strong hand as he bids to back up that success in the Group Two feature on day two of Royal Ascot.
Beautiful Diamond made a winning debut, scoring by three and a half lengths at Nottingham a fortnight ago for owner Sheikh Rashid Dalmook Al Maktoum.
Sheikh Rashid’s racing manager Bruce Raymond feels the turnaround from her debut will not be problematic.
He said: “The timing of the race is tight from her run at Nottingham, but really that’s an after-the-race excuse.
“I think there are more worries about going from Ascot to the July Meeting at Newmarket.
“After Ascot, they tend to need a break. Of course there are exceptions, but they can run flat after Ascot.
“She cost a lot of money at the breeze-up sale. She won at Nottingham and obviously Karl expected her to go very close that day.
“She is obviously very useful, but it is a tough race. I’m hoping she will be there in a ding-dong. There are a lot of runners, but I expect her to go very well.”
Burke will also saddle Got To Love A Grey, who has won both her starts for Middleham Park Racing, taking a valuable York Listed race last month, and Lady Pink Rose, who was runner-up on her Catterick debut for Sheikh Juma.
Raymond added: “Had she (Lady Pink Rose) won at Catterick, she would have gone here without any questions. They will be delighted if she is in the first five or six.
“She was in at Ripon and I said she could be a good thing, but Sheikh Juma said he was getting a bit fed up with Ripon – let’s have a look at the Queen Mary. We can easily bring her back to Ripon afterwards. She is in with a squeak.”
Wesley Ward is no stranger to success at Royal Ascot, having saddled 12 winners in the last 14 years, and the US handler saddles Bundchen.
Bundchen was runner-up in an extended four-and-a-half-furlong fillies’ race at Keeneland on the dirt on her sole start in April.
Ward added: “I’m excited for this filly. Unfortunately she was in a race at Keeneland and the race was rained off the grass and on to the dirt that day, so she had to run on a surface she wouldn’t have preferred.
“Now that she’s back on the grass, she has had some phenomenal breezes on the Keeneland grass course and I think she will have a big run.”
Frankie Dettori appeared to hold a great chance with Laurel in the Duke of Cambridge, only for the filly to be scratched.
However, it enables him to resume his partnership with the Ralph Beckett-trained Prosperous Voyage.
Winner of the Princess Elizabeth Stakes at Epsom on her last start, the Andrew Rosen- and Marc Chan-owned four-year-old is among the leading contenders for the Group Two mile contest.
Chan’s racing manager Jamie McCalmont said: “It’s a bit different competition to Epsom here, but she didn’t have a hard race there and that should set her up for a good performance. Ralph and the team have been very happy with her since.”
“We’re sorry for the connections of Laurel, but it’s great to have Frankie back on board.”
Rogue Millennium drops back in trip to a mile for the first time in her nine-race career, having gone down by half a length to Free Wind in the Middleton at York over an extended 10 furlongs when last seen.
He trainer Tom Clover feels she will relish the stiff uphill finish and said: “She travelled so well at York. She has got better and her home work has been classy.
“A stiff mile at Ascot, I think its obviously worth a go. She seems in great form and we’re looking forward to running her.
“We don’t go there lightly. If everything falls right and we have a bit of luck, we think she’d have a good chance.”
The other Group Two contest is the Queen’s Vase, where the Dettori-ridden Gregory heads the market, bidding to remain unbeaten after two starts.
The John and Thady Gosden-trained colt won Goodwood’s Listed Cocked Hat by three lengths, but steps up an additional three furlongs.
“He is a classy performer and we were delighted with his run at Goodwood. He looks a staying type and we feel he will improve over a mile and three-quarters,” said Thady Gosden.
“It is obviously a very competitive race, but he has worked well and we hope he brings his A-game.”
French police are searching the headquarters of the organising committee of next year’s Olympic Games in Paris.
Organisers for Paris 2024 confirmed on Tuesday an investigation was being carried out and said they were co-operating fully.
There has been no comment from police.
A Paris 2024 statement read: “A police search is currently under way at the headquarters of the Organising Committee. Paris 2024 is cooperating fully with the investigators to facilitate their investigations.”
The search is related to a probe into suspected corruption, according to various reports.
The organising committee’s offices are in the Saint-Denis area of the French capital. The Games take place from July 26-August 11 next year.
Coltrane and Eldar Eldarov are among 14 runners declared for the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot on Thursday.
Winner of the Ascot Stakes 12 months ago, the Andrew Balding-trained Coltrane has since developed into a top-class stayer.
The six-year-old inflicted a shock defeat on Trueshan in last season’s Doncaster Cup before the tables were turned on Champions Day at Ascot, but Coltrane reasserted his authority on his reappearance in Ascot’s Sagaro Stakes last month and has been at the head of the Gold Cup betting ever since.
He will renew rivalry with with Adam Nicol’s Sagaro runner-up Wise Eagle and the fourth-placed Trueshan, whose trainer Alan King will have been pleased to see the rain arrive in Berkshire.
Like Coltrane, Roger Varian’s Eldar Eldarov is a previous Royal Ascot winner, having last season come out on top in a pulsating renewal of the Queen’s Vase.
The Dubawi colt went on to claim Classic glory in the St Leger and made a most encouraging start to his four-year-old campaign when runner-up in the Yorkshire Cup.
Charlie Johnston’s Subjectivist has suffered his fair share of problems since a brilliant victory in the 2021 Gold Cup, but returns in a bid to regain his crown.
Aidan O’Brien, who has won the race on a record eight occasions, this year saddles both Emily Dickinson and Broome, while Frankie Dettori partners John and Thady Gosden’s unbeaten four-year-old Courage Mon Ami in what will be his final Gold Cup before retirement.
Yibir (Charlie Appleby) and Echoes In Rain (Willie Mullins) also feature in what appears a wide-open renewal of the two-and-a-half-mile showpiece.
Day three of the Royal meeting gets underway with the Group Two Norfolk Stakes, for which Karl Burke’s dual winner Elite Status is a hot favourite to see off 15 other speedy juveniles.
His opponents include American Rascal, a son of the trainer’s dual Royal Ascot heroine Lady Aurelia, and his compatriot No Nay Mets, who will be ridden by Dettori.
Al Asifah is odds-on for a 19-runner Ribblesdale Stakes after being supplemented off the back of a scintillating Listed success at Goodwood. Infinite Cosmos (Sir Michael Stoute) and Bluestocking (Ralph Beckett) look her two biggest threats.
Joey Votto had a home run and three RBIs in a triumphant return from a 10-month absence, and the Cincinnati Reds remained Major League Baseball's hottest team with Monday's 5-4 win over the Colorado Rockies.
The resurgent Reds posted their ninth consecutive victory, the franchise's longest winning streak since a 10-game run in July 2012, and moved a half-game ahead of Milwaukee for first place in the National League Central following the Brewers' 9-1 loss to the Arizona Diamondbacks on Monday.
Votto gave Cincinnati a 3-1 lead with a solo homer off Colorado starter Austin Gomber in the fifth inning, then put the Reds back ahead with a two-run single in the bottom of the sixth after the Rockies scored three times in the top of the inning to take a 4-3 edge.
The six-time All-Star first baseman was making his first MLB appearance since August after spending the season's first two-plus months rehabbing from left shoulder surgery.
Kevin Newman and Nick Senzel also homered to help the Reds extend Colorado's losing streak to six games.
Giants rally late to stun Padres, earn eighth straight win
The San Francisco Giants kept their own long winning streak alive when Mike Yastrzemski's three-run homer in the bottom of the 10th inning produced a dramatic 7-4 win over the San Diego Padres.
San Francisco trailed 4-2 entering the bottom of the ninth but scored twice to force extra innings, and after putting two on with one out in the 10th, Yastrzemski launched a 3-1 pitch from Ray Kerr into McCovey Cove for his second homer of the night to give the Giants their eighth consecutive win.
Yastrzemski had a solo homer in the sixth inning and singled and scored during the ninth-inning rally while ending the night 3 for 5 with four RBIs and three runs scored.
Keaton Winn aided the Giants' comeback by allowing just one run in five innings of relief.
The Padres had built a 4-1 lead after 4 1/2 innings on a pair of Juan Soto solo homers and a two-run single from Ha-Seong Kim, who went 3 for 4 in the loss.
San Diego starter Michael Wacha surrendered just four hits, including solo homers by Yastrzemski and David Villar, in six innings of work.
Lindor, Scherzer help Mets extend Astros' skid to five
Francisco Lindor homered and drove in five runs to back a splendid start from Max Scherzer as the New York Mets extended the Houston Astros' June swoon with an 11-1 rout of the defending World Series champions.
Scherzer bounced back from two straight subpar starts by yielding just one run and four hits while striking out eight over a season-high eight innings. The three-time Cy Young Award winner got all the support he needed from Lindor's three-run homer off Hunter Brown in the third inning and a solo shot from Daniel Vogelbach earlier in the frame.
Vogelbach finished with two hits and three RBIs as the Mets ended a seven-game overall losing streak to the Astros and an eight-game skid at Houston's Minute Maid Park, where their last victory occurred in May 2011.
Houston has now lost a season-high five straight and is 3-10 since June 6. Yainer Diaz accounted for the Astros' lone run with a solo homer off Scherzer in the seventh inning.
Coventry Stakes contender Givemethebeatboys was bought for £1.1million at the Goffs London Sale on the eve of his Royal Ascot run.
The Bungle Inthejungle colt changed hands for €11,000 at the autumn yearling sales back in November, but after winning each of his two starts in the colours of Theresa Marnane, he topped the sale when bought by Bronson Racing.
Trained by Jessica Harrington, Givemethebeatboys is set to be partnered by Frankie Dettori in Tuesday’s juvenile Group Two.
The select sale also featured Norfolk Stakes entry No Nay Mets, who was a Gulfstream Park winner for trainer George Weaver last month, and he went to Tuckernuck Stables for £800,000.
Australian training team Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott bought last year’s top lot Hoo Ya Mal for £1.2m and they were in action again, picking up two lots in conjunction with Johnny McKeever.
Cuban Dawn, placed in two of his three starts for Jim Bolger, cost them £300,000 while they paid £260,000 for New Endeavour, winner of two his seven starts for Roger Varian.
The first-named runner is in the Golden Gates Stakes, while New Endeavour is entered for both the Britannia and Buckingham Palace Stakes.
A delighted Venus Williams fought for more than three hours to defeat Camila Giorgi at the Rothesay Classic in Birmingham and post her best victory for nearly four years.
Two days after her 43rd birthday and with a right knee problem restricting her movement, the former world number one showed that her competitive spirit has not diminished as she ground out a 7-6 (5) 4-6 7-6 (6) win.
Williams plays sparingly these days, returning at a grass-court event in the Netherlands last week for her first tournament since January, and this was only her second victory since Wimbledon 2021, and her first over a top-50 opponent since 2019.
Giorgi is a former Wimbledon quarter-finalist and a player very much at home on grass but Williams still possesses a fearsome strike, while her serve touched 120mph.
A heavy fall in the first set did not help her knee and she noticeably limped but she kept her nose in front, putting aside the disappointment of failing to serve out the match at 5-3 in the decider to take her second match point in the tie-break.
Williams held her arms aloft and repeatedly pumped her fist as the crowd, who had been drowned out at times by the support from the Ashes Test down the road, cheered.
“This one is especially sweet because I have been away from the tour for so long,” she said. “The last couple of years I’ve had little to no matches and long stretches between matches and that’s very challenging.
“I almost feel like when I’m on the court I’m reminded of things I used to do that worked really well, so there’s a lot of memories and deja vu – I’ve never had that experience before. I felt like I played well the whole match and that felt great.
“Tennis is awesome. There’s so many people that would love to do what I’m doing right now so I don’t take it for granted. I faced some huge challenges in the match. I thought I didn’t do much wrong and I found myself still not winning. I think that brought the emotion out.”
There were different emotions for another former top-10 player returning to grass, with Elina Svitolina beaten 6-2 6-0 by Czech 18-year-old Linda Fruhvirtova in less than an hour.
Svitolina made a brilliant comeback on clay following the birth of daughter Skai last October, reaching the quarter-finals of the French Open, but was unable to find her feet on the grass.
Wearing the colours of her native Ukraine, the 28-year-old quickly lost the first four games and made far too many errors against a much steadier opponent.
“Linda played really well today, from the start until the end,” said Svitolina. “I don’t think she did anything wrong at any point.
“I was struggling at the beginning and obviously on the grass you have no time to adjust. For me, it didn’t happen today but I’ll go on the practice court and try to do better next time.”
Svitolina chose not to use her protected ranking from before her pregnancy to enter Wimbledon so must wait to find out whether she will receive a wild card.
Third seed Magda Linette had to battle her way into round two, coming from a set down to defeat Italy’s Jasmine Paolini 3-6 7-5 6-4.
Nottingham champion Katie Boulter begins her campaign on Tuesday against China’s Lin Zhu while Jodie Burrage and Harriet Dart play each other.
Sports stars and clubs across the world continue to provide an insight into their lives on social media.
Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the best examples from June 19.
FootballEngland looked back 20 years ahead of tonight’s match.
Ronald Koeman looked ahead after Nations League disappointment.
David De Gea was relaxing.
Charlie Adam was heading back to school.
Formula OneGeorge Russell paid the price over the weekend.
Red Bull recorded their 100th win.
Fernando Alonso was still celebrating.
CricketKP had a difficult choice to make.
TennisKatie Boulter was fighting off nature.
BoxingIt was time to celebrate Father’s Day.
Fraser McConnell kicked off the 2023/24 NitroCross season in sensational fashion, securing a resounding victory in the first event held at the MidAmerica Outdoor complex in Oklahoma on June 16 and 17.
The Jamaican driver showcased his skill and determination, leaving his competitors in the dust and setting the tone for an exciting season ahead.
From the onset, McConnell demonstrated his prowess by topping the charts in the Timed Practice, proving that he was a force to be reckoned with. However, despite his exceptional performance, he narrowly missed out on the Top Qualifier title, losing to his childhood hero, Travis Pastrana, by a fraction of a second.
Undeterred by the near miss, McConnell continued to display his strength throughout the event. A second-place finish in the Battles Final further solidified his position as a frontrunner. He then went on to secure victory in his heat race, earning him the coveted pole position for the Final.
As the final race began, McConnell surged forward, seizing the lead from the start and never relinquishing it. The competition proved intense, with his teammate and reigning champion, Robin Larson, challenging him in the opening corner.
Additionally, World Rally icon Kris Meeke provided a late challenge, but McConnell remained composed and focused, crossing the finish line with a commanding win in the season opener.
To add to the excitement of his triumph, McConnell was presented with the first-place trophy by none other than UFC's Dana White, who heads a group of investors that recently acquired the NitroCross brand.
The victory not only marked a perfect start to the new season for McConnell but also showcased his talent and the exceptional teamwork behind his success.
Reflecting on his triumph, an elated McConnell expressed gratitude to his team and sponsors for their unwavering support. "This win in Oklahoma has been a perfect start to this new season. The track was incredibly challenging but fun to drive, and very exciting for the spectators," he remarked.
Following the season opener, McConnell now leads the 10-event championship with an impressive 76 points, holding an 11-point advantage over Kevin Eriksson and a 12-point lead over Robin Larson.
Looking ahead, McConnell is set to compete in Sardinia, Italy on July 8-9 as part of Sir Lewis Hamilton's X44 Vida Carbon Racing Team. Fans eagerly anticipate seeing McConnell's skills on display once again as he continues his quest for championship glory. The next NitroCross event will take place in Salt Lake City, Utah on August 18-19, promising more thrilling action and fierce competition on the track.
King Of Steel could be the horse that gives Amo Racing a treasured first Royal Ascot winner if lining up in the King Edward VII Stakes on Friday.
Despite having plenty of runners at the showpiece meeting in recent years, the racing operation of Kia Joorabchian is yet to find the scoresheet.
And while the two-year-old division normally provides Amo with their best shot at glory, this time around hopes could be pinned to the Derby runner-up, providing he is given the go-ahead for the Group Two contest.
“It’s obvious, but if King Of Steel turns up in the same form as he did at Epsom he would have an outstanding chance,” said Tom Pennington, racing and operations manager for Amo Racing.
“You know what this sport is like and there is no such thing as a guaranteed winner, but if you are going into a Royal Ascot Group Two with an 11-8 or 6-4 shot, then that doesn’t happen too often.”
Amo Racing’s purple silks have become a prominent fixture on the racecourse since Joorabchian’s increased investment in the sport, with a winner at the Royal meeting being what he has craved most of all.
“Kia, arguably his whole season revolves around this week and it would be huge for him and the team to get on the scoreboard,” continued Pennington.
“It’s the Olympics of our sport and where everyone wants to be, so it would be a big moment and a deserved moment considering the level of investment Kia and Amo have put into the sport.
“If we can just get one winner this week, it would mean a lot to everyone.”
King Of Steel could be joined at the meeting by his Roger Varian-trained stablemate Olivia Maralda and she is also backed to be one of Amo’s leading players when she lines up in the Jersey Stakes, while Maximum Impact and Magical Sunset are also poised to provide the leading owners with live claims in their respective Royal Ascot assignments.
“I know she’s taking on colts, but Olivia Maralda based on her Epsom run in the Surrey Stakes, would go there with a live chance,” added Pennington.
“In terms of two-year-olds, I would say Maximum Impact would be at the forefront of our minds but again you have 25 plus runners in these two-year-old races and you need an awful lot of luck in running.
“I think Magical Sunset is a lovely filly and I can’t believe the handicapper put her up 4lb for her run behind Olivia Maralda in the Surrey Stakes.
“She looked potentially high-class last year and we need to sit down and discuss it with Richard (Hannon, trainer). I think she will improve for a step up to a mile and even though she might be a couple of pounds too high, she might be just under the radar in the Sandringham – I think she would have a squeak in that at a price.”
Longtime Golden State Warriors star Draymond Green will decline his $27.6 million player option for next season, the forward’s agent told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski on Monday.
Rich Paul of Klutch Sports told Wojnarowski “we will continue to talk to Golden State and explore all options.”
The 33-year-old Green has been with Golden State since the Warriors drafted him in the second round (35th overall) of the 2012 NBA Draft.
Green was a key member of Golden State’s four NBA championship teams in an eight-season span from 2014-15 to 2021-22.
He was the 2016-17 NBA Defensive Player of the Year, is a four-time All-Star and has been named First-Team All-Defensive four times.
Since becoming a full-time starter in 2014-15, Green has averaged 9.8 points, 7.7 rebounds, 6.7 assists and 1.48 steals in 597 regular-season games.
He ranks third in franchise history with 758 career games played behind Stephen Curry (882) and Hall of Famer Chris Mullin (807).
Eight-time major winner Tom Watson says the PGA Tour’s new partnership with Saudi Arabia appears to indicate “a more desperate financial situation than has been previously revealed by the Tour”.
Watson has written an open letter to PGA Tour commissioner Jay Monahan about the “unanswered questions” he and many other professional players have regarding the shock announcement on June 6 concerning the creation of a new commercial entity designed to “unify golf”.
The announcement brought an end to litigation between the PGA Tour and LIV Golf, a series backed by the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) which will now provide the financial backing for the new commercial entity.
Prior to the announcement, Monahan had been an outspoken critic of LIV Golf and Saudi Arabia, and Watson wrote: “The reversal (in position) does appear to indicate a more desperate financial situation than has been previously revealed by the Tour.
“While last week I learned the significant news that litigation around the Tour/LIV conflict would be terminated with prejudice, that only solves one significant financial problem.
“It is important to understand how all of this has impacted the Tour’s Reserve Fund and the Tour’s overall financial solvency. Have funds been depleted to the point where the Tour needs an unprecedented capital injection to remain solvent now or for the future?
“My overarching questions remain. Is the PIF the only viable rescue from the Tour’s financial problems? Was/is there a plan B? And again, what exactly is the exchange? We need clarity and deserve full disclosure as to the financial health of the PGA Tour and the details of this proposed partnership.”
The United States Senate has opened an investigation into the proposed partnership, while the Wall Street Journal reported last week that a PGA Tour official informed employees that the US Justice Department also plans to review the agreement for antitrust concerns.
The PGA Tour said last week when the Wall Street Journal report was published: “We are confident that once all stakeholders learn more about how the PGA Tour will lead this new venture, they will understand how it benefits our players, fans, and sport while protecting the American institution of golf.”
The PGA Tour insists the partnership is not a merger, and that the PIF will not own the PGA Tour.
The PA news agency understands the PGA Tour felt the choice it faced was between a lengthy litigation which would drain resources, divert attention and diminish its product and a path forward that reunifies professional golf and fuels investment into the sport.
Highfield Princess will lead the home defence as an international cast of sprinting talent head to post for an ultra-competitive King’s Stand Stakes on Tuesday.
John Quinn’s stable star has been a revelation over the past 18 months and has gone from competing in handicap company to being one of the best sprinters in the country, plundering a hat-trick of Group One prizes in the process.
She found the scoresheet five times in all during 2022 and having made a more than respectable return when second over six furlongs at York last month, now drops back to the minimum distance for her crack at further big-race glory.
“She’s been absolutely fine since York and we’re looking forward to the race, it’s a spicy race,” said Quinn.
“She’s been a great mare and a fine animal to have around the place. We hope she’s lucky and she seems fine. Let’s hope she wins and we hope she runs well, but she seems in good form.”
Although only sixth in the Platinum Jubilee 12 months ago, Highfield Princess has got a Royal Ascot victory on her CV, winning the Buckingham Palace Stakes in 2021.
However, that was in handicap company and the six-year-old now finds herself the market leader for one of the most prestigious events of the week.
“Not really no, none of us thought that to be honest. But that’s what can happen thankfully,” continued Quinn when asked if he ever envisaged her starting favourite for a Group One at the meeting.
“She’s probably the best older sprinter that we’ve trained. We’ve had some very good sprinters and The Wow Signal was a top-class two-year-old, but what she did last year was phenomenal. Those good horses are hard to find and I appreciate every one of them.”
Frankie Dettori will look to win the King’s Stand for the first time since 1994 when he partners John Ryan’s dual track-and-trip victor Manaccan, with the four-year-old kept fresh since finishing third in Newmarket’s Palace House Stakes last month.
“It’s a big ask taking on the best but as long as the ground stays as it is, he has every chance of mixing it with them,” said Ryan ahead of the Qipco British Champions Series contest.
“He’s still going up the ladder, has a high cruising speed, quickens, has run three of his best races at Ascot and, touch wood, we’ve got the right man on board.
“I’ve been lucky enough to have a couple of Group Two and Three wins but haven’t troubled the judge in a Group One yet.”
Henry Candy’s Twilight Calls was a silver medallist behind Nature Strip in this last year and connections hope two tune-up outings at Newmarket and Haydock will have the five-year-old fully primed for a return to Ascot.
“He needs fast ground and hated it when he ran at Newmarket, he was unbalanced and had been off a long time so needed the run,” said Chris Richardson, managing director of owners Cheveley Park Stud.
“He had a bit of a mucky scope after that which we thought he had got over by the time he got to Haydock, but clearly he hadn’t.
“Both races should set him up for an opportunity to run well at a track he enjoys and we are delighted to have Ryan Moore on board.”
Also shaping nicely in this race 12 months ago was Mooneista and new handler Joseph O’Brien is hopeful she can at least match last year’s fourth place following a pleasing run at Naas recently.
He said: “We think she’s in good nick since Naas. A reproduction of her run last year will see her in the mix.
“I was happy with her in Naas, she didn’t have a perfect preparation for that but I think we’re going to Ascot in good shape.”
Karl Burke is responsible for two, with Temple Stakes winner Dramatised bidding for successive Royal Ascot victories following her Queen Mary victory last year and Marshman, who represents the Nick Bradley Racing syndicate that have enjoyed success at this meeting in the past.
The latter has escaped a last-minute scare to make the final field, with Bradley explaining: “He was lame last Tuesday and we were panicking a bit. We got the X-ray machine out and he had a little foot issue. That had sorted itself by Thursday and he breezed on Saturday and he breezed very nicely.
“I think if there is any rain that falls that will be in his favour. Every time he runs on rattling fast ground he comes back a bit sore.
“I think he’s definitely overpriced and I think if we deliver him right, we will have a chance. I think there will be a point where we will look like we’re going to win, whether we do or not I don’t know. It just comes right to getting it right on the day in a hot race.”
Rory McIlroy had to settle for a runner-up finish at the US Open as his long wait for a fifth major title continued.
McIlroy finished one stroke behind first-time major winner Wyndham Clark at Los Angeles Country Club, meaning he has still not lifted one of golf’s four biggest prizes since his success at the US PGA Championship in 2014.
Here, the PA news agency looks at McIlroy’s long wait and the near misses among the way.
Turning of the tideMcIlroy said after Sunday’s heartbreaking finish that an eventual fifth major would be worth “100 Sundays like this” and he is now a third of the way there, with 33 appearances at majors since his last win.
He has 19 top-10 and 10 top-five finishes in that time, with his recent form in particular indicating an overdue success is on the way.
McIlroy has finished in the top 10 in six of the seven major tournaments this season and last and 11 of the last 17, with Sunday marking his second runner-up finish in that time.
The other came at last year’s Masters, albeit three strokes behind winner Scottie Scheffler, and was followed by eighth and fifth at the US PGA Championship and US Open respectively and third place at the Open Championship – two shots behind champion Cameron Smith.
After missing the cut at Augusta in April he was back to form with a tie for seventh at the US PGA before pushing Clark all the way.
Roll of honourThere have been 24 different major winners since McIlroy’s last success, with Brooks Koepka headlining that list with five wins.
Koepka won the US Open in 2017 and 2018 and the US PGA in 2018, 2019 and this year.
Jordan Spieth has won three majors in that time – the Masters and US Open in 2015 and the Open two years later – while Dustin Johnson, Justin Thomas, Collin Morikawa and Jon Rahm have two apiece.
Clark is the 18th different player to win a single major in that stretch, including six European Ryder Cup team-mates of McIlroy in Danny Willett, Henrik Stenson, Sergio Garcia, Francesco Molinari, Shane Lowry and Matt Fitzpatrick.
Americans Zach Johnson, Jimmy Walker, Patrick Reed, Tiger Woods, Gary Woodland, Bryson DeChambeau, Phil Mickelson and Scheffler have won one each, along with Australians Jason Day and Smith and Japan’s Hideki Matsuyama.
Record-breaker?A handful of players have won majors after a longer wait that McIlroy’s current drought, though if he is to win again while avoiding the top 10 of that list it will have to be at next month’s Open.
Julius Boros won his two US Open titles in 1952 and 1963, 11 years and nine days apart, with Hale Irwin going a day over 11 years between his 1979 and 1990 wins.
Ben Crenshaw won the Masters in 1984 and 1995, coming in just six days shy of the 11-year mark, while Henry Cotton won the Open in 1937 and 1948.
Tiger Woods’ memorable victory at the 2019 Masters came almost 11 years on from his 2008 US Open win, with Lee Trevino and Ernie Els also cracking the 10-year barrier.
John Henry Taylor and Bob Martin waited just over nine years between major wins, with Willie Park Sr just three days shy of that mark at the 1875 Open.
No other player has exceeded McIlroy’s current wait and there is a further note of caution as only Boros and Taylor of that top 10 went on to add further major titles, and then only one more apiece – Boros at the 1968 US PGA and Taylor the 1913 Open.
Coolangatta will bid to enhance Australia’s fine record in the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot, with the opening day sprinting shootout possessing a truly international flavour in 2023.
Raiders from the southern hemisphere have won this on five occasions since Choisir showed what was possible in 2003 and Ciaron Maher and David Eustace’s filly will bid to follow in the footsteps of Nature Strip, who is the most recent Antipodean winner having romped to victory in the hands of James McDonald 12 months ago.
This time the New Zealander – who enjoyed three winners at the meeting in 2022 – will bid for back-to-back victories aboard Coolangatta as she carries Australian hopes following her success in the Black Caviar Lightning in February.
However, she did appear workmanlike as she finished third in a Flemington barrier trial at the end of May, a workout that initially left connections with more questions than answers.
Maher explained: “In the jump out at Flemington, she ran her second fastest half-mile that she has ever run. I still cannot get my head around it, but I guess that is why we have the trackers and stuff on them, because trials can be deceiving.
“The track was quite damp and, although she ran well as a two-year-old on a damp track, there were a lot of good horses in that trial – but James said it was the weirdest jump out that he has ever been in. Hopefully, it was just that, because she has thrived since then.
“I suppose winning the Lightning Stakes down the straight at Flemington gives you some confidence about handling the track here. Straight track racing can be quite different to some of the tighter tracks at home like Moonee Valley, where she has won before.
“We have come here thinking that the track would not be a problem.”
Peter and Paul Snowden’s Cannonball is another to make the journey from the other side of the world and his training team feel he possesses all the qualities to get in the mix.
“He is a fast horse, he is a tough horse, and he has handled this trip over here like it’s nothing, said Peter Snowden.
“This is his first time away from home and the longest he has been on a truck before is two hours. He had 24 hours on a plane and it did not faze him one bit. That attitude will carry him a long way.
“The five furlongs of the King’s Stand Stakes is all about speed and toughness, and he has both in abundance. I hope he is flying under the radar, because he should be on form, but I quite like the horse and think he is up to it.”
Adding further flavour is Twilight Gleaming, who will bid to give Wesley Ward his second King’s Stand following Lady Aurelia’s famous triumph in 2017.
The daughter of National Defense was a runner-up in the Queen Mary in 2021, but having got on the scoresheet in the hands of Irad Ortiz Jr in Keeneland’s Giant’s Causeway Stakes in April, Ward is optimistic of a bold bid.
“Twilight Gleaming has trained forward ever since (Keeneland). I’m excited about this filly,” said the American.
“We know that it is probably the toughest five-furlong sprint in the world. She is going to run a bang-up race.
“She is a five-furlong horse, she’s not a five-furlong and one-jump horse. Five furlongs is her game. She is extremely effective at this distance, so I look forward to this run.”
Aidan O’Brien is certain River Tiber will get the six-furlong trip of the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot on Tuesday.
Ryan Moore will partner the the Wootton Bassett colt, who is one of 22 declared for the Group Two prize.
Though he is unbeaten in two starts, scoring by 10 lengths on debut at Navan over five and a half furlongs in soft ground and dropping back to the minimum trip at Naas to score with ease on his second try, he has yet to tackle six furlongs.
Despite this, the Coolmore-owned youngster tops the market and O’Brien, who has won this race on a record nine occasions, has no concerns on the stamina front.
He said: “We were delighted we ran him in Naas, he was a little bit green in the middle of the race but we feel he learned plenty from it.
“He won over nearly six furlongs the first day and then went back to five and is back to six now, so we think he should be happy with that.”
Main market rival Asadna, the mount of William Buick, won by a remarkable 12 lengths on his Ripon debut over six furlongs.
Trainer George Boughey has no qualms about how the son of Mehmas will handle the big occasion on only his second start.
“He has just got an amazing temperament and a super attitude,” said Boughey.
“He doesn’t sweat, he doesn’t do anything wrong. He just loves his work.”
Like River Tiber, Givemethebeatboys is unbeaten in two outings and is drawn alongside O’Brien’s runner in stall seven.
Having stepped up on an extended five-furlong debut win at Navan, he gained a head verdict in the Group Three Marble Hill over six furlongs at the Curragh last time under Shane Foley.
With Foley ruled out through injury, Frankie Dettori takes the mount and Harrington joked: “He’s not a bad deputy, is he?
“He’s in great form and is a very straightforward horse and I’m hoping for the best, but it is very competitive.”
Kia Joorabchian’s Amo Racing have three darts to throw in the form of Bucanero Fuerte (Adrian Murray), Cuban Thunder (Dominic Ffrench Davis) and Packard (Richard Hannon).
Bucanero Fuerte won a five-furlong Curragh maiden under Kevin Stott in March on his sole start for Westmeath handler Murray.
“He’s a nice horse who has always been held in high regard,” said Tom Pennington, racing and operations manager for Amo Racing.
“The forecast rain will help him and he goes there a fit and healthy horse. It’s obviously a very competitive race, but he’s the choice of Kevin and we’re hopeful he will put up a good show.”
Cuban Thunder, the mount of Rossa Ryan, was favourite for a five-furlong Newmarket maiden on his first start, and while runner-up on that occasion, gained compensation over six furlongs in a decent York maiden last month.
Pennington added: “Cuban Thunder is a lovely horse, a big, scopey horse and a good-moving horse.
“He probably wants seven furlongs so a strongly-run, stiff six furlongs at Ascot will suit him and I’m sure he’ll be doing his best work late.”
Hannon saw his father train the winner of the race on three previous occasions and will hope Packard can add his own name to the roll of honour.
Runner-up on debut at Goodwood, he flew home to win an all-weather Lingfield novice over the same six-furlong trip earlier this month.
“He’s a lovely horse and he ran well on debut at Goodwood. Then the quick six at Lingfield probably didn’t play to his strengths,” said Pennington.
“I thought he did very well to get up on the line and hunt down the Gosden horse (Point Of Attack) and he was doing his best work late on. He’s another nice horse who goes there fit and well.”
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