Andre Fabre’s Mqse De Sevigne pounced late to deny Via Sistina in a thrilling finish to the Sumbe Prix Jean Romanet.

The daughter of Siyouni successfully dropped back to a mile to land the Prix Rothschild last month and thrived once again up in trip to secure back-to-back Deauville Group One victories.

Ridden cold in rear by Alexis Pouchin, the four-year-old had the majority of the field ahead of her as the runners turned for home.

And as most eyes were drawn to the stylish progress being made by George Boughey’s Via Sistina who hit the front with what appeared a winning run under Jamie Spencer, Mqse De Sevigne was matching every stride and got her head narrowly ahead when it mattered to score by the barest of margins.

New England Patriots rookie cornerback Isaiah Bolden was released from the hospital the morning after being carted off the field in an NFL preseason game that prompted the exhibition against the Green Bay Packers to be called off.

In a statement released by the Patriots on Sunday, the team said Bolden was kept overnight in a Green Bay-area hospital for observation and after undergoing a series of evaluations, he has been discharged and cleared to travel with the team back to Massachusetts.

In Saturday's game at Lambeau Field, Bolden appeared to collide with teammate Calvin Munson while attempting to make a hit on a pass completion to Malik Heath of the Packers.

The 23-year-old then was motionless on the turf as medical officials tended to him. Bolden, a seventh-round pick by New England out of Jackson State, was eventually carted off the field and the Patriots said after the game that he had feeling in all his extremities. 

Following the injury, the NFL made the decision to call the remainder of the game, with New England up 21-17 with 10:29 left in the fourth quarter.

Also in the wake of Bolden's injury, the Patriots have decided to alter their training schedule for the week.

They will no longer hold joint practices with the Tennessee Titans on Tuesday and Wednesday in Nashville. After practising in Foxborough this week, the team will fly to Tennessee on Thursday ahead of its preseason game on Friday.

 

Westover is poised to head straight to ParisLongchamp where he will get a second crack at the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe.

Last year’s Irish Derby hero went to the French capital with a point to prove 12 months ago following a lacklustre display as beaten favourite in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes and performed with credit to finish sixth in unsuitably testing ground.

However, this time around the Ralph Beckett-trained colt will cross the Channel at the peak of his powers following an agonising head second to Hukum in the Ascot showpiece, and hopes are high that the thriving son of Frankel – who is a best price of 12-1 for Arc glory – can build on last year’s finishing position.

Westover is currently enjoying a break at his trainer’s Kimpton Down base with connections keen to follow last year’s route to the Bois de Boulogne, with a trip to Santa Anita also on the cards following his tilt at Europe’s richest middle-distance prize on October 1.

“He came out of the King George great and he’s having a little break now at Ralph’s,” said Barry Mahon, European racing manager for owners Juddmonte.

“He’s had two quick runs, so we’re freshening him up and we’ll aim for the Arc and hopefully it’s not heavy ground and we’ll be able to turn up there.

“Ralph was thinking of doing what he did last year and taking him straight there on the back of his King George run.

“He’s been on the go early this year having been to Dubai and then recently had two quick runs, so I think he’s thinking he’ll freshen him up and go to the Arc then on to the Breeders’ Cup.”

Although a Classic winner at three, Westover has taken his form to the next level this term, chasing home the all-conquering Japanese superstar Equinox in Dubai on his reappearance before three more high-class performances closer to home.

He registered his second Group One when landing the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud in a record time before going down bravely in defeat at Ascot, and Mahon revealed the Westover team were always optimistic he would improve with age.

He added: “He always threatened to be and he was such a big frame of a horse last year that we always felt he was going to be better this year when he strengthened and he’s run a career best his last run and at least run up to his best the time before.

“I think he’s definitely a better horse and we’ll go to the Arc with a live chance if the ground’s not too soft.”

British stars from the world of showbiz and broadcasting have shared messages of appreciation for the Lionesses who lost to Spain in the Women’s World Cup final.

Spain secured a final 1-0 victory in Sydney on Sunday, following Olga Carmona’s first-half goal, however, Sarina Wiegman’s side still achieved a best-ever second-place finish.

Consoling the team, who appeared visibly emotional after the final whistle was blown, former footballer turned pundit Chris Kamara tweeted: “England did us proud, great tournament and getting to the final was amazing.”

The 65-year-old added: “Got that horrible feeling in the pit of my stomach. But well done Spain worthy winners on the day.”

Similarly, former England footballer and Match Of The Day host Gary Lineker, 62, tweeted: “Gutted for the @lionesses who gave their all, but congratulations to Spain on winning the World Cup.

“They were the better team and thoroughly deserved their victory.”

The Apprentice star Lord Alan Sugar tweeted: “Unlucky ladies you gave your all. You did so well to get to final of the world cup @Lionesses.”

Meanwhile, former Dragons’ Den star Theo Paphitis, 76, said the Lionesses “played with guts and did us proud”.

The 63-year-old added: “Not their day in the final result but a great tournament for them regardless.”

TV presenter Rylan Clark, who found fame on The X Factor in 2012, tweeted: “The @Lionesses keeping it going right to the last seconds. We’re all proud of ya!!!!”

British stand-up comedian Mark Steel also joked: “Now, to prove England’s women have achieved equality with men, they should all trash the local tapas bar.”

Desert Crown will miss York’s Juddmonte International Stakes on Wednesday after suffering a fresh injury.

Trained by Sir Michael Stoute, last year’s Derby hero has been seen just once since his Epsom triumph, when meeting with his first career defeat at the hands of Hukum in Sandown’s Brigadier Gerard Stakes.

He subsequently missed the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot through a setback, while a leg infection ruled him out of a rematch with Hukum in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes last month.

A showdown on the Knavesmire with Aidan O’Brien’s Paddington and Royal Ascot scorer Mostahdaf was inked in for the son of Nathaniel, but his career is now on hold having reportedly pulled up lame during morning exercise on Sunday.

Bruce Raymond, racing manager to owner Saeed Suhail, told the Racing Post: “He’s got quite a bad injury and I’m just heading to the equine hospital now. He won’t be running at York.”

With news of Desert Crown’s absence, Coral have cut Paddington to 4-7 from 4-6 for the feature of the opening day of York’s Ebor Festival.

“Following the disappointing news that Desert Crown will not be in Wednesday’s Juddmonte International line-up, Paddington is now an even firmer favourite for the York showpiece, with Mostahdaf his closest market rival for what is sure to be a small but select field,” said Coral’s David Stevens.

Jac Morgan looks set to be named as Wales captain for the Rugby World Cup.

The 23-year-old Ospreys flanker led Wales in two of their three warm-up Tests, and undoubtedly occupies pole position.

The waiting game for Wales’ World Cup hopefuls will end just after midday on Monday when Warren Gatland’s 33-man squad is unveiled.

If, as expected, Morgan lands the job, he would follow previous Wales skippers like Sam Warburton, Alun Wyn Jones and Gareth Thomas in captaining his country on the sport’s biggest stage.

Memories would also be evoked of Warburton being appointed as a 22-year-old for the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand, when Gatland masterminded a run to the semi-finals.

A total of 15 players in the current training squad will not make Gatland’s final cut, but he confirmed that fly-half Gareth Anscombe and number eight Taulupe Faletau would be in contention despite not featuring during the August preparation games due to injuries.

“I think they are in contention because of their experience,” Gatland said.

“If they were a young player it would be very, very difficult to select them, but given their vast amount of experience they will definitely be part of those discussions.”

Reflecting on the build-up period, which has also included intensive training camps in Switzerland and Turkey, Gatland added: “I think the big thing is we wanted to give everyone an opportunity and we wanted to find out about players.

“There is no doubt we are going to pick up injuries during the World Cup as well, and every team will do that.

“Players that have had some game-time, that have been a part of the squad for the last number of weeks, will hopefully come in a little bit better prepared.”

A number of World Cup first-timers can be expected – possibly around half the squad – with players such as fly-half Sam Costelow, centre Mason Grady, prop Corey Domachowski and lock Dafydd Jenkins all seemingly well on course.

And for centre George North, a fourth World Cup beckons, which would put him in an illustrious group alongside the likes of Jonny Wilkinson, Dan Carter, Richie McCaw and Brian O’Driscoll.

Centres and back-row appeared the main areas of debate for Gatland and his fellow coaches when they entered final selection meetings after an inexperienced Wales line-up lost 52-16 to world champions South Africa in Cardiff.

Scrum-half Kieran Hardy, meanwhile, is poised to be included in the squad after a difficult week or so for him and his family.

Hardy’s three-month-old daughter Noa was admitted to hospital, where she had precautionary treatment after being diagnosed with a viral infection, but she is now recovering well.

He withdrew from Wales’ warm-up game against England at Twickenham as a result, before returning to action in the Springboks clash.

“Family always comes first, and to be fair to ‘Gats’ and the whole management last week, they were fantastic. They told me I needed to be there, and within half an hour I was gone and on the way home,” Hardy said.

“They have been excellent, and my family and Ellie’s (Hardy’s wife) family have been excellent as well, just to ensure that I come here and do the job.

“I think Ellie actually said to me to try and play for the girls as much as I could, just because of everything that has happened.

“In fairness, it all changed pretty quickly and she is a lot better now, so hopefully I can move forward now.”

Richard Hannon’s Rosallion will bid to enhance his growing reputation in the Betfred Champagne Stakes at Doncaster next month.

Owned by Sheikh Mohammed Obaid, the son of Blue Point has made the perfect start to his career, beating a subsequent scorer with a degree of ease at Newbury on debut before stepping up to Listed level with aplomb to land the Pat Eddery Stakes in impressive style at Ascot.

He was a commanding four-length scorer in the hands of Sean Levey and will now tackle Group Two company on Town Moor on September 16, for a contest the Everleigh handler has won on three occasions, most recently with the top-class Chindit in 2020.

A general 16-1 for next year’s 2000 Guineas, Hannon also has half an eye on a run in the Darley Dewhurst Stakes (October 14) later in the year, but is confident he not will be seen at his absolute peak until returning as a three-year-old next term.

He said: “He’s absolutely fine and he’s going to go to the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster and then hopefully on to the Dewhurst, he’s in great form.

“Funny enough it is the same route as Chindit took, although the Dewhurst didn’t work for him. He went to a Donny maiden race, to the Ascot race and then to win the Champagne Stakes. It is very similar to his route.

“He looked a very good horse at Ascot and we always thought he was. He is a very exciting horse and one that is not a two-year-old and one for next year.”

Saeed bin Suroor’s 1000 Guineas winner Mawj could still make her comeback in the Sun Chariot Stakes at Newmarket on October 7.

But the Godolphin trainer also has the option of a race at Keeneland on the same weekend, the Grade One First Lady, as he plots a way back for his Classic heroine who will end up at the Breeders’ Cup in November.

Bin Suroor confirmed, too, that the daughter of Exceed And Excel will remain in training as a four-year-old.

She has not been seen since her tremendous effort in the Guineas, beating Tahiyra, having been a late absentee from Royal Ascot due to an infection.

“She’s doing well. I’ve given her an entry in the Sun Chariot or the same week there’s a race for her at Keeneland,” said Bin Suroor.

“Those are what we are looking at for her, those two races. We’ll see which one closer to the time. The Sun Chariot is obviously closer (to home).

“The Breeders’ Cup is our big aim for this year, she’s not a big filly so a track like Keeneland will be perfect.

“She’ll stay in training next year, which is good news.”

Andy Farrell expects World Cup referees to be “red-hot” on foul play and says Ireland are striving to be rugby’s most disciplined team in the wake of another England red card.

Ireland benefited from the dismissal of England number eight Billy Vunipola on Saturday evening to retain their spot at the top of the global rankings by easing to a 29-10 Dublin success.

Vunipola’s second-half sending-off, for a high tackle on Andrew Porter, came a week on from team-mate Owen Farrell’s headline-grabbing red card against Wales.

England also had players sent off in their previous two fixtures with Ireland, with Charlie Ewels departing prematurely at Twickenham last year and Freddie Steward ordered off at the Aviva Stadium during the Six Nations in March, albeit that second decision was later overturned.

Ireland head coach Farrell feels there are “cards everywhere” at the moment and is determined to ensure disciplinary issues do not damage the World Cup ambitions of his Six Nations champions.

“It’s a red card that somebody will have a look at and make the right decision,” he said of the Vunipola incident. “It is what it is.

“We’re seeing more and more of that. It just highlights for us massively that it isn’t just the tackle height, it’s discipline in general.

“There are cards everywhere at the minute, isn’t there?

“And there’s a realisation as well that at the start of a competition, certainly in World Cups, referees are always going to be red-hot on stuff.

“So making sure that we’re the most disciplined side is something that we’re chasing down.”

Farrell welcomed back the bulk of his star names for their first international action since clinching Grand Slam glory against England five months ago.

Tries from Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose in a disjointed first half paved the way for victory before James Lowe, Mack Hansen and Test centurion Keith Earls added further scores following Vunipola’s 53rd-minute exit.

However, Dan Sheehan’s first-half departure due to a foot issue left Ireland with some cause for concern, particularly with fellow Leinster hooker Ronan Kelleher currently sidelined.

Farrell, who brought on Rob Herring in place of Sheehan, concedes the situation may become a worry but believes there is plenty of talent in reserve.

“Possibly, possibly,” he said. “Ronan’s going to be fine. The extent of Dan we don’t know.

“We’ve had Diarmuid Barron in camp as well, Tom Stewart’s been going great guns, so we’ll be fine.”

Stand-in captain Courtney Lawes insists England will “relentlessly” strive for improvement and “won’t give up” following another major jolt in their bumpy road towards the World Cup.

Head coach Steve Borthwick is sweating on the availability of two key players ahead of the tournament in France after Billy Vunipola’s red card in Dublin compounded Owen Farrell’s disciplinary saga.

England struggled to convince with 15 men at the Aviva Stadium before Vunipola’s 53rd-minute dismissal for ploughing into the head of Andrew Porter helped the world’s top-ranked team cruise to a 29-10 success.

Yet flanker Lawes, who skippered his country as Farrell watched on from the stands, believes there were “a lot of positives” to take from a meek display.

“It’s obviously very disappointing,” he said. “The thing is if we just get certain things right in that game, it’s very different, it’s a very different game – and they are all things that we can control.

“But we have to be able to control them. There are obviously a lot of positives, which is great.

“If we tidy up a couple of areas, we’ll be a much different team and we’ve proved we can hang with the best as long as we get them right. But it doesn’t make it any less disappointing that we didn’t get it right.

“We won’t give up. We will relentlessly pursue the betterment of our team and that’s all we can do.”

England rarely offered a try-scoring threat on Saturday evening and were 12-3 behind at the break following scores from Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose.

Matters took a turn for the worse shortly after the restart when Vunipola’s shoulder-led tackle was upgraded from a yellow card to a red on review.

Tries from James Lowe and Mack Hansen stretched Ireland’s lead before Keith Earls added to the misery on the occasion of his 100th cap after Kyle Sinckler crossed for a consolation.

England should discover the fates of Saracens pair Vunipola and Farrell before hosting Fiji at Twickenham next weekend, with their World Cup campaign set to begin against Argentina on September 9.

Borthwick was unsure how much the uncertainty surrounding Farrell, who is awaiting the outcome of World Rugby’s appeal of the decision to overturn his red card against Wales, impacted England’s performance against Ireland.

But he accepts his team need greater cutting edge as they seek to turn winning into “a habit”.

“It’s always difficult to accurately evaluate that because it’s an unknown but it certainly hasn’t helped our preparation this week and we’re going to have to deal with it again this forthcoming week,” he said, referring to Farrell’s situation.

“We’re going to have to ensure we minimise any disruption and distraction of it to get the performance we want.

“We play against Fiji back at Twickenham next week and we want to make sure we get a win, we want to make sure we get an improved performance because winning is a habit and we want to make sure we start building that habit.

“The area we’ve seen we need to see more improvement is that conversion of opportunities in the final third.

“Do we want to see more progress? Absolutely. And that’s what we’ll be focusing our attention on over this coming week and beyond as we build into that first game of the World Cup.”

The New England Patriots preseason game against the Green Bay Packers was called off Saturday night after rookie Isaiah Bolden was carted off the field early in the fourth quarter.

Bolden, a seventh-round pick by New England out of Jackson State, appeared to collide with teammate Calvin Munson while attempting to make a hit on a pass completion to Malik Heath of the Packers.

Bolden lay motionless on the field as medical officials tended to him. He was eventually carted off the field and the Patriots said after the game that Bolden had feeling in all his extremities. Bolden will be held overnight at a hospital in Green Bay for observation.

The teams conferred and decided not to continue the game with the Patriots leading 21-17 with 10:29 left in the fourth quarter.

The incident came more than seven months after Buffalo’s Damar Hamlin went into cardiac arrest and was resuscitated on the field on what appeared to be a routine tackle against the Cincinnati Bengals on Jan. 2.

Hamlin has since returned to the Bills and played in his hometown of Pittsburgh earlier in the day and had three tackles in a loss to the Steelers.

Julio Rodriguez had set a major league record with 17 hits in four games and Dylan Moore hit a pair of home runs to lead the surging Seattle Mariners to a 10-3 win over the Houston Astros on Saturday.

With a single to left field in the seventh inning, Rodriguez broke a major league record set in 1925 by Milt Stock of the Brooklyn Robins.

Rodriguez finished 4 for 6 for his fourth straight game with at least four hits. He is 17 for 22 with two homers, eight RBIs and five runs in those four games.

Moore hit his first home run in the fifth inning and Houston starter Framber Valdez threw a pitch at the feet of the next batter, Jose Caballero. Caballero got up, put his arms out and started walking and talking toward Valdez, who responded. The benches cleared though no punches were thrown.

Houston’s Jose Altuve became the latest member of the 2,000-hit club with a single in the fifth inning. He is the third in franchise history to reach that plateau, joining Hall of Famers Craig Biggio and Jeff Bagwell.

Sam Haggerty also homed for the Mariners, who won their fifth straight and pulled to within 1 ½ games of the Astros for the second AL wild-card spot. Seattle maintained a one-half game lead over Toronto for the third spot.

 

Phillies’ Turner homers twice in 8th inning

Trea Turner hit two home runs during an eight-run eighth inning and the Philadelphia Phillies rallied for a 12-3 rout of the Washington Nationals.

Turner led off the eighth inning with his 13th homer of the season and followed Bryson Stott’s three-run homer later in the frame with another shot.

Turner is the first Phillies player to hit two home runs in an inning since Von Hayes on June 11, 1985, in the first inning against the New York Mets.

Nick Castellanos and Jake Cave also went deep for Philadelphia, which opened a three-game lead over San Francisco in the race for the top wild-card spot in the NL.

 

Urias hits another grand slam as Red Sox win

Luis Urias became the first Boston Red Sox player to hit grand slams on consecutive pitches in an 8-1 win over the reeling New York Yankees.

Urias took Yankees ace Gerrit Cole deep in the second inning with the bases loaded after he cleared the bases in his last at-bat against Washington reliever Robert Garcia on Thursday.

Urias is the first Red Sox player to hit grand slams in consecutive games since Hall of Famer Jimmie Foxx on May 20-21, 1940. He also is the first player to hit grand slams in consecutive trips to the plate since Josh Willingham with Washington in 2009.

The Yankees were no-hit until Aaron Judge homered in the sixth inning. They have lost seven straight to fall three games under .500.

Carlos Alcaraz and Novak Djokovic will come face-to-face for the first time since Alcaraz’s Wimbledon victory when they meet in the final of the Western and Southern Open.

The Spaniard eclipsed the 23-time major champion in the final at the All England club in July.

Alcaraz punched his ticket to Sunday’s final in Cincinnati with a 2-6 7-6 (4) 6-3 win over Hubert Hurkacz.

The world number one was forced to save a match point in the second set before wrapping up the win in two hours and 16 minutes.

Speaking in his on-court interview after the match, Alcaraz said: “I had a lot of break points, it was really tough.

“Obviously saving a match point is never easy but with my coach, we were talking about staying positive all the time and to stay there.

“We knew I was going to have my chances and I tried to take it.

“Every match against Hubi is really, really tough but I’m really, really happy that I was able to win.”

Djokovic gave himself an opportunity for revenge against Alcaraz after qualifying for the final with a 7-6 (5) 7-5 win over Alexander Zverev.

It was an even contest for much of the match, but the world number two used his veteran baseline prowess to take the advantage right when he needed it.

Djokovic said: “I’m pleased. I think there’s a few things I could’ve done better, but overall it’s a straight sets win against a great player in form, so I’m really happy.”

Alcaraz and Djokovic have met three times previously, with Alcaraz holding a 2-1 advantage.

The seemingly unstoppable combination of leading rider Reyan Lewis and champion trainer Jason DaCosta continued to wreak havoc on their pursuers as the two swept another feature contest, the Arthur Jones Memorial Cup, at Caymanas Park on Saturday. 

They teamed up with the Carlton Watson-owned three-year-old American-bred bay colt Is That A Fact, who easily took apart Overnight Allowance rivals first time up in class, over six furlongs (1,200m).

In fact, Is That A Fact, was one of three winners on the 10-race card for the inform Lewis, who moved his tally this season to 73 wins and holds a commanding 17-race lead over reigning champion Dane Dawkins.

The Palace Malice - Valid Code Progeny Is That A Fact, entered the contest overwhelmingly favoured to secure the hat-trick, and that he did with consummate ease.

After being hustled early to join and later overtake Rojorn Di Pilot (Omar Walker) on the headlines, Lewis and Is That A Fact, were always comfortable, especially leaving the half-mile and from there it was a question of how far he would beat his eight rivals.

The answer, a resounding 7 1/4 lengths being eased at the end, as his more experienced rivals, had no response to Is That A Fact's devastating stretch kick that propelled him to a decent time of 1:13.0, after splits of 23.1 and 47.1 seconds.

Rojorn Di Pilot stayed on for second, fending off I’ve Got Magic (Phillip Parchment), while Taurus Boy (O'Neil Mullings) completed the frame.

Lewis’s other victories were Ali, in the first event –handing new trainer Donwell Dawes his first victory – and Patrick Lynch's Simba The Lion in the fifth race.

Lynch also saddled two winners Select Me (Ramon Nepare), who won the second event.

Meanwhile, Dawkins, determined to retain his title, had two winners on the card — Slam Dunk in the fourth race and Money Box in the final event, both for trainer Gary Subratie.

Racing continues on Sunday.

 

Bahamas remains in firm control of the 27th Goodwill Swimming Championships, as they have accounted for a number of the 45 records broken so far and rightly heads both the points and medals standings heading into Sunday's final day.

With Siann Isaacs leading their record charge on Friday's opening day, the Bahamians picked up where they left off and were responsible for 14 of the 25 records broken on an action-packed second day of action at the National Aquatics Centre on Saturday.

By virtue of their exploits, Bahamas heads the combined standings with 993.5 points, almost 200 points ahead of Jamaica on 785.5, with Trinidad and Tobago (645 points) in third.

Barbados (523 points), Suriname (380.5 points), St Lucia (140.5 points) and Grenada (three points), round off the table.

On the medals card, Bahamas have so far secured 91 medals (42 gold, 28 silver and 21 bronze), ahead of Barbados (16 gold, 12 silver and 12 bronze), followed by Trinidad and Tobago (13 gold, 11 silver and 14 bronze) and Jamaica (10 gold, 21 silver and 26 bronze). Suriname (four gold, 11 silver and eight bronze) and St Lucia (two silver and three bronze) are next.

With the hype and anticipation surrounding the three-day meet, the Caribbean's young sensations were never out to disappoint and much like she did on the first day, Isaacs, who has been in impressive form, again made the first splash where the record count is concerned on Saturday.

Isaacs led a Bahamas one-three finish in the girls' 11-12 200m individual medley (IM). She won in 2:46.69 to lower the previous mark of 2:49.17 set by Kaeyn Djoparto in 2019, finishing ahead of Suriname's Elya Powdar (2:48.15) and compatriot Samirah Donaldson (2:55.00).

Suriname's Joshua Busropan accounted for the boys' 13-14 200m IM record, clocking 2:27.72 which lowered the previous best of 2:28.77 set by Curaçao's Reyan Holder in 2019. He won ahead of the Jamaican pair of Matthew Kennedy (2:29.32) and Julian Willoughby (2:30.56).

The 50m freestyle sequence offer much excitement with Kaija Eastmond of Barbados topping the girls' 9-10 event in 30.09s. That time erased the old mark of 30.28s set by Trinidad and Tobago's Keryn Burke in 2019. 

Taylen Nicolls (30.39s) of Bahamas and Aliyah Greaves (30.66s), also of Barbados, took the minor placing.

Nitayo Knowles of Bahamas also clocked a record 29.15s to win the boys' 9-10 event. He bettered Liam Carrington's previous time of 29.54s, as he turned back the challenge of Jamaican duo Noah Parker (30.69s) and Joel Sinclair (31.12s).

Christin-Alyssa Clarke (29.53s) led home Isaacs (29.93s) in a Bahamas one-two finish in the girls' 11-12 event, with Jamaica's Zuri Coke (30.02s) in third. Clarke's winning time erased the 30.23s set by Jamaica's Rebekah King in 2019.

The boys' 11-12 event also saw a record-breaking performance from Sean-Verno Dipokromo (27.31s) of Suriname. His winning time shattered the 27.83s which Guyana's Jaleel Anderson set in 2019.

Trinidad and Tobago's Shian Griffiths (28.07s) and Elliot Reid (28.22s) of Barbados, were second and third respectively. 

Renae Chung (28.24s) and Noire Hunter (28.88s) secured a one-three finish for Jamaica in the girls' 13-14 event, separated by Ayoka Martin (28.35s) of Barbados.

Jamaica's Willoughby continued the record-breaking exploits in the boys' 13-14 event when he clocked 25.83s to lower 26.11s set by another Jamaican Nyles Davis in 2019. Busropan (26.18s) of Suriname and Lenin Hamilton (26.24s) of Bahamas, were second and third.

Bahamas won the girls' 15-17 event courtesy of Lauren Bridgewater (28.64s) ahead of Trinidad and Tobago's Zahara Alexander (28.73s) and Asha Davis (29.12s) of Jamaica. 

The Bahamians celebrations intensified after the boys' 15-17 event, as Tristin Ferguson (24.35s) led a sweep with compatriots Caleb Ferguson (24.81s) and Zion Gibson (25.69s) joins him on the podium. The winning time erased the old mark of 28.54s set by Suriname's Hendrik Powdar in 2019.

From there, the swimmers moved into the 100m breaststroke sequence where a number of athletes, namely, Eastmond, Donaldson and Willoughby, among others again etched their names in the record books, before moving into the 50m butterfly sequence. 

During that quick sprint, the outstanding Bajan Eastmond again topped rivals in record time, with Clarke of Bahamas, Brandon Balfour of the twin island republic and Jamaica's captain Khiara Roomes, also getting in on the action.

And much like they started the day, Bahamas brought the curtains down on day two on a high, topping the girls' and boys' 15-17 400m freestyle relays in record times.

The team of Bridgewater, Grace Farrington, Tia-Isabella Adderley and Bianca Johnson clocked 4:17.23 in victory, smashing 4:28.13 set by Suriname in 2019. Trinidad and Tobago (4:22.95) and Jamaica (4:30.65), were second and third respectively. 

In the boys' event, the two Fergusons combined with Ayrton Moncur and Gibson to win in 3:46.09, ahead of Jamaica (3:52.91) and Trinidad and Tobago (4:01.58). Bahamas winning time lowered Trinidad and Tobago's 3:48.99 set in 2019.

Matt Fitzpatrick fired a four-under-par 66 to earn a share of the lead after the third round of the BMW Championship in Chicago.

Only a bogey on the par-four 18th prevented the Yorkshireman moving clear at the top of the leaderboard at Olympia Fields Country Club as he looks to cement his place at next week’s season-ending Tour Championship.

Instead Fitzpatrick will go into the final round tied with American world number one Scottie Scheffler, who hit seven birdies in his six-under-par round of 64, at 11 under par.

Rory McIlroy, who shared the first-round lead only to fall away on Friday, clawed back within three shots of the leaders as he shot a 67 to sit in a tie for fifth place with Norway’s Viktor Hovlund.

Brian Harman’s 67 sees him sit in third place, one stroke adrift of the leaders at 10 under, but it was back to reality for overnight leader Max Homa.

Homa had hit a course record 62 on Friday to fashion a two-stroke advantage but fell away on Saturday, a triple bogey seven on the seventh contributing to a one-over round of 71 that leaves him a further stroke back in fourth place.

It proved even worse for Homa’s fellow American Chris Kirk, who started the day in second place but hit back-to-back double bogeys in his five-over-par 75.

Sam Burns matched Homa’s course record 62 to surge 26 places into a four-way tie for seventh place on seven under alongside Justin Rose, Xander Schauffele and Denny McCarthy.

Coco Gauff scrapped her way to a maiden win over world number one Iga Swiatek to reach her first WTA 1000 final at the Southern and Western Open in Cincinnati.

The 19-year-old American showed her mettle to defeat the Pole 7-6 (2) 3-6 6-4 after losing their previous seven encounters.

Gauff trailed 5-3 and 6-5 in the opening set, but having dragged herself back into it, capitalised on a series of unforced errors in the tie-break to nudge ahead.

The Polish player’s response was concerted as she took the second set to level, but it was she who faltered in the third as the number seven seed converted her fourth match point to go through.

Gauff will face unseeded Czech Karolina Muchova in Sunday’s final after she got the better of Aryna Sabalenka in the other last-four clash.

Second seed Sabalenka took the first set on a tie-break, but Muchova hit back to win 6-7 (4) 6-3 6-2 and also clinch her first appearance in a WTA 1000 final.

England head coach Steve Borthwick hopes for swift disciplinary resolutions after Billy Vunipola joined Owen Farrell as a World Cup doubt following his dismissal in a damaging 29-10 defeat to Ireland.

Captain Farrell watched from the stands in Dublin as England slipped to a meek loss compounded by the second-half red card of Saracens team-mate Vunipola for ploughing into the head of Andrew Porter.

Influential fly-half Farrell was free to feature in the warm-up game but was ultimately left out following World Rugby’s appeal against the decision to overturn the red card he received in last weekend’s win over Wales.

With England’s World Cup opener against Argentina on September 9 fast approaching, Borthwick faces potentially being without two of his key men through suspension for the start of the tournament in France.

He was tight-lipped on Vunipola’s tackle, but is eager for matters to be concluded quickly on the back of the disruption already caused by the ongoing Farrell saga.

“I’m not going to comment upon the incident specifically because it goes into a disciplinary process this coming week,” said Borthwick.

“Probably as every England fan, I feel disappointment in the game today and I said beforehand we want 15 players on the pitch for 80 minutes of every game.

“You’re playing the number one ranked side in the world in their stadium and to go to 14 men it becomes a very difficult task at that point in time

“Hopefully we will find a conclusion on both matters this week and it won’t go into another week. Once I have all the facts, I will deal with them.

“We talked about the way this Test week was disrupted (by the Farrell situation) and I need to adapt throughout the week. It’s another challenge that’s been thrown at us.”

England offered little at the Aviva Stadium, even before falling a man down when Vunipola’s 53rd-minute sin-binning was upgraded to a red on review.

Tries from centres Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose gave Ireland control at the break, before scores from James Lowe, Mack Hansen and Keith Earls sealed a comprehensive victory.

Replacement prop Kyle Sinckler crossed for England, but it was scant consolation on a difficult evening when stuttering World Cup preparations were thrown into further disarray.

“Whilst I’m incredibly disappointed with the result, the players kept fighting,” said Borthwick.

“I thought the players that came off the bench added on the pitch.

“Just before half-time at 7-3, we missed some opportunities and turned over ball in the final third, so we weren’t able to put enough pressure on them.

“When it was 15 against 15 it was a tight battle, unfortunately it didn’t stay 15 on 15.”

Ireland retained their place at the top of the world rankings courtesy of a 12th successive win.

Earls stepped off the bench to mark his 100th cap in style with his 36th international try as the hosts overcame a disjointed opening period.

Head coach Andy Farrell said: “It had a bit of everything: good, bad and ugly.

“I wasn’t too happy at half-time. We had them in a place where we could push a little bit harder and make it a little bit easier for ourselves but we didn’t kick on.

“I was really pleased that we found or rhythm back into the game. I thought we scored some great tries.

“Obviously the story of the day is it’s very fitting that Keith gets his 100th cap and we made sure he does that with a W and also him scoring a try in Keith Earls style in the corner just made the day for everyone really.”

Hooker Dan Sheehan limped off shortly before half-time, with Farrell waiting to discover the extent of that issue.

“Dan’s lost a bit of power in his foot,” he said. “We won’t know until we get it scanned. We’ll probably know more in the morning.”

Warren Gatland said Wales’ record defeat to South Africa in Cardiff had made his World Cup selection task easier.

Gatland names his 33-man World Cup squad on Monday on the back of a chastening 52-16 thumping to the Springboks.

After two warm-up games against England, in which Wales won once and lost once and generally saw the reputation of their young team enhanced, Gatland’s side were dismantled by opponents boasting 659 Test caps to their 235.

South Africa’s victory – the first time Wales have conceded 50 points under Gatland – comfortably eclipsed their previous biggest win in Cardiff – a 34-12 in 2007.

Asked if the game had answered a lot of questions on his World Cup selection before next month’s tournament in France, head coach Gatland said: “I think so. We’ll go back to the hotel, sit down as coaches and hopefully finalise it.

“If we need to have more discussion hopefully we can do that on Sunday. Possibly some of those questions that we’ve got would have made it a little bit easier for our discussions.

“It was disappointing. I thought we were dominated physically on both sides of the ball.

“We’d spoken to the players about the physicality they’d bring and playing against the world champions. They’d just come out of a Rugby Championship.

“The only positive I can take is hopefully there’s a lot of learning that some of those players will have got from it.”

Experienced trio Alex Cuthbert Dan Biggar and Liam Williams all dropped out of the original team with minor injuries.

Wales have more pressing concerns on the injury front with hookers Dewi Lake and Ryan Elias, second row forward Dafydd Jenkins and back-rower Taine Plumtree all picking up knocks during the August matches.

Gatland also has to make calls on number eight Taulupe Faletau and outside-half Gareth Anscombe, who did not feature in the three games.

On Faletau and Anscombe, Gatland said: “I think they are in contention because of their experience.

“If they were a young player it would be very, very difficult to select them, but given their vast amount of experience they will definitely be part of those discussions.

“Part of the thing we wanted to do was everyone take part in training this week to build confidence.

“When you have a defeat like that, it’s about how do you look at the positives when you are reviewing it as a group.

“There’s some easy fixes in terms of probably four or five of those tries are easy enough to stop and then all of a sudden there’s a different complexion on the game.”

Gatland was critical of the 34th-minute yellow card given to Rio Dyer when Wales trailed 12-9.

Dyer batted a loose ball away from Canan Moodie as he closed in on a try, but replays appeared to show that it had hit the hand of the Springboks wing first. A penalty try was awarded and South Africa scored 12 points with the wing off the field.

“I thought Rio Dyer was really unlucky to have a yellow card and a penalty try because the angles we’ve looked at we are 100 per cent certain it’s touched the green player,” said Gatland.

“For me that’s a pretty tough call and we’ve conceded straight away from the kick-off. It was an important moment in terms of the way the game went.”

South Africa find themselves in arguably the toughest World Cup pool with Ireland, Scotland and Tonga for company.

The Springboks start the defence of the trophy they won in Japan four years ago against Scotland in Marseille on September 10.

“We have to get better in France,” said South Africa head coach Jacques Nienaber after his side’s eight-try show in Cardiff.

“We are on the side of the draw that is knock-out from game one. Just to get out of pool we have to be on form.”

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