American Brian Harman responded to missing the cut in the Masters in April by returning to his farm in Georgia and killing a pig and a turkey.

Three months later, the left-hander carved out a commanding five-shot lead over home favourite Tommy Fleetwood at the halfway stage of the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.

Harman carded four birdies in a row on the front nine and holed from 15 feet for an eagle on the 18th to complete a flawless second round of 65 and post a 10-under-par halfway total of 132.

That matched those recorded at Hoylake by Rory McIlroy in 2014 and Tiger Woods in 2006, although both men were 12 under on their way to lifting the Claret Jug as the course was a par-72 at the time.

It also made Harman the first player to lead the Open by five shots after 36 holes since Louis Oosthuizen in 2010, the South African going on to win by seven at St Andrews.

Fleetwood, who must have been taken aback to start his second round so far behind after sharing the overnight lead, closed to within four when he birdied the 14th and 15th, but dropped a shot on the next and eventually signed for a hard-fought 71.

That at least got the 32-year-old from Southport into the final group with Harman for Saturday’s third round, with Austria’s Sepp Straka a shot behind Fleetwood following a brilliant 67 which included six birdies and a bogey in his last seven holes.

Nine years after lifting the Claret Jug at Hoylake, McIlroy heads into the weekend nine behind Harman after a closing birdie saw him add a second round of 70 to his opening 71.

Speaking after his stunning 65, Harman happily explained the story behind his unusual reaction to his Masters missed cut, laughing off a query about whether the local livestock would be safe this weekend.

“Sheep don’t taste as good as the turkeys do I would imagine,” Harman said.

“I’ve been a hunter my entire life. I enjoy the strategy of it. Yeah, we eat a lot of wild meat at my house, so I enjoy butchering, and I do a lot of hunting.”

Harman, who is bidding to become just the third left-hander to win the Open after Bob Charles (1963) and Phil Mickelson (2013), admitted he owed his position to a “hot putter” and would need to work hard on not getting ahead of himself this weekend.

“I’m just not trying to get too caught up in it. It’s just golf. I think when I held the 54-hole lead at the US Open (in 2017) I just probably thought about it too much.

“It’s hard for me. I’ve always struggled with trying to predict the future and trying to forecast what’s going to happen. I’ve just tried to get really comfortable just not knowing.

Harman made his Open debut at Hoylake in 2014 and finished 26th, but missed the cut on his next four appearances before finishing 19th in 2021 and sixth last year.

“I came over early for the Scottish Open last year and I think I beat two people; played horrible,” he said. “Then played bad the first day at St Andrews and was like, ‘Golly, I love coming over here but I’m getting my teeth kicked in’.

“I had a really nice back nine in the second round, made the cut by a couple and then played really well on the weekend.

“I’d say it was nice to finally turn the corner last year. This is my eighth Open Championship and before last year I’d never really even been anywhere close to in contention or even doing halfway decent.”

Subjectivist, an impressive winner of the 2021 Gold Cup at Royal Ascot, has been retired.

The six-year-old stormed to a five-length victory at the Berkshire track two years ago, supplementing previous successes in the Prix Royal-Oak at ParisLongchamp and a Dubai Gold Cup verdict at Meydan.

However, he suffered a career-threatening tendon injury after that success – an issue which kept him on the sidelines for 618 days before returning to action in Saudi Arabia back in February.

After finishing third in the Dubai Gold Cup, Subjectivist went on to fill the same position in the Gold Cup back at Ascot, in what transpired to be his final start after his old issue flared up again.

Initially trained by Mark Johnston before he transferred the licence to his son Charlie, who saddled him this term, Subjectivist retires as a six-times winner with over £890,000 banked in prize money.

Johnston senior, who is now assistant trainer to his son, said: “We have known this was coming, it’s been difficult keeping him going.

“I had slightly mixed feelings about his run at Royal Ascot as while he ran a good race, I didn’t think it was as good as his best of two years ago.

“The objective was to get him to Ascot and then we hoped we might get him to Goodwood, but it has always been there, rumbling away.

“His Gold Cup win was the highlight, but he won three races on the bounce, two at Group One level and one at Group Two, with his win in Dubai being very impressive – you could say that was his purple patch, those seven or eight months.”

Subjectivist is now set to embark on a stallion career and Johnston added: “We hope he will go to stud now.

“There were a couple of people interested after his Gold Cup win and one of those has kept in touch, so we will see what happens.”

Archie Watson has some fine sprinters in his care and Action Point signalled himself as another top prospect, taking the Listed Ire-Incentive – It Pays To Buy Irish Rose Bowl Stakes at Newbury.

Hollie Doyle was positive from the start of the six-furlong heat and the son of Blue Point was always happy on the front end, travelling sweetly.

Though the 14-1 shot was tracked by the well-supported Asadna, with the former George Boughey-trained colt making his debut for Alice Haynes, the 5-4 favourite failed to pick up when Oisin Murphy asked the question two furlongs out.

Action Point, who had won on his Kempton all-weather debut in April, but had been drawn on the wrong side when 15th of 23 home in the Windsor Castle at Royal Ascot, kept finding more and had plenty in the locker to fend off Shagraan, who made late headway to snatch second from Asadna.

Cogitate may have caught trainer Charlie Hills by surprise, yet signalled himself a smart prospect after producing an eyecatching debut, sparking Doyle’s double on the card.

The 14-1 chance took the first division of the R &M Electrical EBF Novice Stakes with some aplomb.

The son of Churchill travelled well throughout and picked up long-time leader and eventual third Maximum Dividend with ease inside the final furlong, and went on to beat the staying-on Boiling Point by two lengths.

Hills will now target the Acomb Stakes at York, a race the Lambourn yard has won three times with Auction House (1998), Dutch Connection (2014) and Phoenix Of Spain (2018).

He told Racing TV: “He took everything well in his stride, in the preliminaries, went down nice, jumped good and it was a little bit muddling, a little bit messy mid-race, a few horses a bit green, but he got into a good rhythm and the gap opened. He was a little bit green for a couple of strides and then he picked up nicely.

“I wasn’t quite expecting him to do that today. He qualifies for races like the Acomb now, so York, that could suit him well and we have won that a couple of times before. That could be a race we have in mind – that’s a nice gap until then. He’s going to make a lovely three-year-old.”

Warm Spell was a warm order to land the second division and the 8-11 favourite duly obliged under a hand-and-heels ride from David Egan.

Runner-up to the smart Thunder Blue at Goodwood on debut, the Roger Varian-trained Mehmas colt had clearly learned plenty for the experience and Egan was keen to settle him in behind early, before producing a withering run to coast past debutant Skukuza, with Thyer staying on nicely for third.

Varian was in two minds about jumping up to seven furlongs so quickly and said: “David did a good job, he settled in straight from the stalls, he travelled nicely through the race and showed a nice turn of foot. Hopefully he’s a nice horse going forward.

“I think now we’ve gone over seven (furlongs), I think we’ll stick to seven.

“We’ve always felt he’s quite a nice horse and there are some nice two-year-old races coming up and he probably is a horse where we can dip our toe into something nicer, but quite what that is, we’ll have to see what fits.”

Irish raider Night Sparkle (9-2) showed plenty of determination under Dylan Browne McMonagle to take victory in the Uhy Ross Brooke Chartered Accountants Fillies’ Handicap for trainer Michael O’Callaghan.

She followed up her cosy Fairyhouse success last month in fine style, fending off the late thrust of Flash Bardot to score by a comfortable neck in the extended 13-furlong contest.

O’Callaghan may look to York for her next run and said: “It was great and a nice pot to win. She is progressive.

“Dylan is a great young rider and gave her a great ride. He picked her up early in the straight as after riding her at Fairyhouse, he knew all she’d do was stay.

“She stays all day – that’s her asset. We might possibly look at big staying handicaps. I thought earlier in the year she might be one for the Irish Cesarewitch, but maybe we might just look at the Ebor consolation race. We’ll see.

“You just don’t know where these improving mares might stop. She’s won that off top weight and is possibly capable of getting a bit of black type.”

Georgina Nicholls sent out her first Flat winner in almost 20 years as Betties Bay took the bet365 British EBF Maiden Fillies’ Stakes under Joshua Bryan, beating Bourgeoisie by a nose.

A drop in grade helped the Sir Michael Stoute-trained grey Fox Journey (11-8 favourite) to victory in the Quickmove Handicap under Jim Crowley, his stamina proving too much for Sovereign Spirit.

George Ford says England’s players have been teasing Marcus Smith about using rumoured interest from Racing 92 as “leverage” to negotiate his new contract at Harlequins.

Smith this week ensured he will remain available for Test selection for the foreseeable future by agreeing an extended deal with the 2021 Gallagher Premiership champions.

French club Racing, who will be coached by former England boss Stuart Lancaster next season, were reportedly lining up the 24-year-old as a potential replacement for Bath-bound Finn Russell.

“There has been a fair bit of joking going on,” Ford said of his fellow fly-half.

“Whatever the rumours were about Racing a few weeks ago, everyone was saying, ‘you were always going to stay at Quins, you were just using that as a bit of leverage’.

“I’ve spoken to him, obviously he’s delighted to be staying, it’s his club and the influence he has on that team is incredible so I’m sure everyone at Quins will be buzzing for him to stay.

“I can only speak for myself but when you’re English and you want to play for England, you’ve got to play for an English club.

“It means a lot to play at club level and international level for us all, it’s no different for Marcus.”

Ford and Smith are currently working together at England’s Surrey training base as part of a 39-man preliminary World Cup squad.

Steve Borthwick is fine tuning plans for the forthcoming tournament in France, with four warm-up matches scheduled next month.

The head coach was given less than nine months to prepare for the game’s greatest competition after replacing Eddie Jones on December 19.

While Australia, who subsequently appointed Jones in January, and Wales have also recently changed coach, Ford warned England must be the “fastest-learning team” in order to be up to speed in time for their Pool D opener fixture against Argentina on September 9.

Yet the 30-year-old Sale player also believes the situation could prove beneficial.

“I think we’re in a unique place in terms of that,” said Ford, who is preparing for his third successive World Cup. “It’s a great opportunity.

“In terms of the timeframe, we’ve got to be the quickest and fastest-learning team, it’s just the nature of where we’re at.

“At the previous World Cup, we had four years together and it was quite consistent in terms of squad, coaches et cetera but this is a lot different.

“I still think there is a massive opportunity here and one that I don’t think is going to hold us back if we get it right. I think it could be a massive positive for us.

“Sometimes, in a funny way, when you’ve got less time to get somewhere, you’ve got less thinking and less messing around to get there.

“You’ve just got to go and I think that’ll help us as a team.”

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 July 21.

Football

England defender Lotte Wubben-Moy started her Doodle Diary again.

Another nice bit of artwork.

Republic of Ireland captain Katie McCabe reflected on her country’s World Cup opener.

Nigeria forward Deborah Abiodun apologised for her red card against Canada.

Burnley once again got creative with their transfer announcement.

Tottenham continued their tour.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by James Maddison (@madders)

 

Sheffield United’s new man is a dab hand at other sports too.

Happy birthdays.

Liverpool turned the clock back.

Cricket

A rubbish day for Australia.

Golf

Matt Wallace’s shirt in the second round of the Open caused a stir.

Richie Ramsay went for orange and black…

….another one to consider.

Justin Rose was optimistic.

Formula One

Daniel Ricciardo was excited to make a return with a new helmet at the Hungarian Grand Prix.

And his fans were pleased to see him back too.

Boyband credentials for the top three in practice.

Max Verstappen handed his rivals the slimmest of hopes that he could be beaten at Sunday’s Hungarian Grand Prix after he finished only 11th in practice.

The dominant Dutchman, who has won eight of the 10 rounds so far and six in succession to establish a 99-point lead in the standings, has mastered all conditions this season.

But Verstappen unusually ended the sole dry running here six tenths back from Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, with McLaren’s Lando Norris – fresh from his impressive second place at the British Grand Prix – 0.015 seconds adrift of the scarlet car.

Lewis Hamilton was 16th with Mercedes team-mate George Russell 20th and last on a topsy-turvy day at the Hungaroring.

Despite Verstappen being off the pace, times in practice must be treated with a degree of caution as different setup and fuel loads are trialled.

It is also worth noting that a number of the top teams will have held back fresh rubber following the reduction of tyre allocation from 13 sets to 11 here.

Verstappen’s team-mate Sergio Perez took two wins from the opening four, but the Mexican has been on a torrid run since, and his bad form continued when he crashed out of first practice.

The opening one-hour running of the weekend was dry and barely a few minutes old when Perez – on his first lap – lost control of his Red Bull and ended up in the wall.

The Mexican put two wheels on the grass under braking for the fifth corner, sending him into a pirouette and into the tyre barrier.

Perez was unharmed in the accident but he sustained significant damage to the front of his machine. It also denied the rest of the field any dry running as the heavens opened with the red flags deployed to recover Perez’s wounded machine.

The 33-year-old is under increasing pressure at Red Bull following five-consecutive qualifying sessions in which he has failed to make it into Q3. On each of those occasions, Verstappen has scored pole position in the other Red Bull.

Daniel Ricciardo’s comeback at Red Bull’s junior team AlphaTauri is also likely to be playing on Perez’s mind, with the Australian admitting he is daring to dream about the possibility of a return to the grid’s all-conquering team.

Perez was able to take part in the day’s concluding action but he locked up and flat-spotted his front-right tyre and could manage only 18th, 1.3 sec slower than Leclerc.

Ricciardo, back in the saddle in place of the sacked Nyck De Vries, has a dozen races to prove he still possesses the prowess which carried him to eight wins.

He finished 14th in his first outing since last year’s season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix, seven tenths back and 10 places behind his new team-mate Yuki Tsunoda.

Matej Mohoric won stage 19 of the Tour de France in a photo finish at the end of a furious day’s racing in the Jura.

Mohoric and Thursday’s winner Kasper Asgreen came to the line neck and neck, with Ben O’Connor third, after the trio broke away from a 37-strong breakaway when it broke into several pieces on the final climb some 30 kilometres from the end of the 173km stage from Moirans-en-Montagne to Poligny.

A stage characterised by non-stop attacking was raced at an average speed of 49.1kmh over rolling terrain, the fastest stage of this year’s Tour and the fifth fastest ever, but after all that effort it came down to a bike throw on the line.

O’Connor launched his sprint first 400 metres from the finish but knew it was a doomed move against two faster men. Asgreen was the first to come around but Mohoric timed it perfectly to take victory by a tyre’s width.

The front three came in just shy of 40 seconds clear of a chasing group, with Jasper Philipsen repeating his fourth place of 24 hours earlier.

There was no change at the top of the general classification, with race leader Jonas Vingegaard finishing safely within the main peloton almost 14 minutes down, needing now only to survive Saturday’s mountain stage to Le Markstein before he can begin celebrations on the road into Paris.

For a second day running the Tour passed through territory ideal for a breakaway, but such was the fight to get into it that 60km had been covered before a nine-strong group went away.

After Nils Politt broke his chain, their advantage of a minute quickly tumbled and a counter move of 29 riders came up to join them.

Victor Campenaerts and Simon Clarke tried to go off the front but after Clarke cramped up the group exploded on the final climb still with nearly 30km to the finish.

That gave Mohoric, Asgreen and O’Connor their chance to go clear as they went over the top first, and a powerful chasing group could not close the gap on the straight descent into town.

Mohoric had to wait for confirmation of his win, but as soon as it came the emotions poured out of the Slovenian, who paid tribute to some of the unsung heroes of cycling – the mechanics and carers working behind the scenes – while also remembering his late team-mate Gino Mader.

It was a third stage win of Mohoric’s career, and also a third of this Tour for the Bahrain-Victorious team – another opportunity for them to pay tribute to Mader after his tragic death at the Tour de Suisse last month.

“It means a lot because it’s hard and cruel to be a professional cyclist, you suffer a lot in your preparations, you sacrifice your life, your family and you give everything you can to get here ready,” Mohoric said.

“After a couple of days you realise everyone is so incredibly strong, it’s so hard to follow the wheels some days…sometimes you feel like you don’t belong…

“When Kasper went I knew it was the decisive attack, he was so incredibly strong to win the stage yesterday but he has the will and determination to do it again today.

“I knew I had to do everything perfect, I tried my best for Gino and for the team and in the end you almost feel like you betray (your rivals) because you beat them to the line but it’s just the way professional sport is and everyone wants to win.

“If I want to win I have to follow the wheel of Kasper and then try to beat him in the last 50 metres. I just feel so many things right now.”

Rory McIlroy believes he still has a chance of winning the 151st Open despite failing to make a serious move in his second round at Royal Liverpool.

The world number two did not build significantly on his level-par opening round as he shot a one-under 70 on Friday.

That left him nine shots off the clubhouse lead held by Brian Harman but, even though he has much ground to make up, he is not writing off his chances.

“I might be nine back, but I don’t think there’s going to be a ton of players between me and the lead going into the weekend,” said the 34-year-old, who is bidding to end a nine-year wait for a fifth major title by winning for a second time at Hoylake.

“It depends what the conditions are tomorrow and obviously depends what Brian does as well.

“Right now it’s not quite out of my hands. I think if I can get to three, four, five under par tomorrow going into Sunday, I’ll have a really good chance.”

McIlroy produced a strong finish on Thursday by saving par on the par-five fifth after hitting bunker trouble.

He looked to have carried some momentum into his second round with two early birdies but they were cancelled out by bogeys on the back nine.

Yet he got a shot back with another birdie on the 18th and, despite his frustrations, was happy enough with his performance.

McIlroy said: “It played really, really tough. Ten under par is unbelievably impressive out there.

“We’ll see what the weekend holds but I’m actually pretty happy with my two days’ work.

“I don’t think I have to do anything differently. I’m hitting the ball well from tee to green.

“I’ve missed a couple of chances on the greens and the wind got me today.”

Epsom runner-up Savethelastdance bids to go one better in the Juddmonte Irish Oaks at the Curragh – in which stablemate and Royal Ascot winner Warm Heart is seen as her main threat.

Savethelastdance, the choice of Ryan Moore, was an unheralded filly through the winter having only finished fifth on her sole start at two.

She reappeared in April on heavy ground at Leopardstown, where she surprised by winning at odds of 20-1 before destroying the opposition in the Cheshire Oaks at Chester by 22 lengths.

On quicker ground in the Oaks at Epsom, she was beaten into second by Soul Sister and trainer Aidan O’Brien expects the more conventional nature of the Curragh to suit her better.

“Obviously the two of them don’t work together, so it’s going to be interesting,” O’Brien said of the clash between his two smart fillies.

“There’s not much between them on the ratings, Savethelastdance is just a little higher.

“We always thought the Curragh would suit her better and the ground was quick enough in Epsom for her, so she’ll probably prefer a bit more of an ease on Saturday.

“She’s been in good form since and she’s had a nice break, too. Everything has gone well since (Epsom).”

Warm Heart stepped up from beating the reopposing Bluestocking by a head in a Newbury Listed heat to extend her superiority over Ralph Beckett’s charge in the Ribblesdale at Ascot.

“We were delighted with Warm Heart in the Ribblesdale because we weren’t exactly sure about her over a mile and a half,” said O’Brien.

“Obviously she got it well and we’ve been happy with her since.

“She definitely improved at Ascot, whether it was the distance or whatever, but she definitely did improve.”

O’Brien also runs Be Happy and Library.

Bluestocking is aiming to give Beckett a second Irish Classic in two years after Westover’s Derby success last year.

She is owned by Juddmonte, who sponsor the race, and their European bloodstock manager Barry Mahon said: “On the formbook she has to improve, but she’s a lightly-raced filly with only three runs, so we feel that there could be some progression there.

“She’s met Warm Heart twice and been beaten twice so she has a bit to find, but she’s in good form, we feel that she’s learning on the job and we’re hopeful of a good run.

“We saw how green she was at Newbury and Frankie (Dettori) felt she was green at Ascot. She got stuck on the rail and when the gap came, she didn’t really know what to do to get through it, but then picked up and finished off well.

“We hope she’ll be a bit more streetwise on Saturday, the track should suit her, it’s not a big field and a bit easier ground should suit as well. We’re hopeful rather than confident.”

Azazat represents Dermot Weld and the Aga Khan. Weld last won the race in 1996 with Dance Design.

Chris Hayes rides the Munster Oaks runner-up and said: “She is a nice filly, who has progressed with every run. She has handled slow ground and she stays quite well. She is bred to possibly get further and I’m looking forward to her.

“She is very straightforward to ride, uncomplicated.

“That form with Rosscarbery (Munster Oaks winner), to come from a maiden and take on a filly like her with that kind of experience, I thought was a good run. Rosscarbery drifted out a little bit on top of her.

“I think she has come forward for that run and hopefully she can put up a good performance.

“She has handled soft ground and circumstance has just led us to run her that way.”

Tyrrell Hatton became the latest victim of the difficult 18th hole at Royal Liverpool on day two of the 151st Open Championship.

Hatton was two under par for his round when he walked on to the tee of the 596-yard par five, but ended the hole two over par following a quadruple-bogey nine.

The world number 13 carved two drives out of bounds before pulling his fifth shot so far left it almost found the fairway on the first hole, which runs in the opposite direction.

From there Hatton took two more shots to find the putting surface and two-putted from 20 feet to finish two over par and 12 shots off the clubhouse target set by American Brian Harman.

Harman had earlier taken six shots fewer than Hatton to play the 18th, holing from 15 feet for an eagle in his flawless 65.

Hatton reacted to his nightmare finish by turning to look back down the fairway and using his putter to mimic shooting three times at the tee.

Two-time major winner Justin Thomas had also recorded a nine on the 18th in an opening 82, while Hong Kong’s Taichi Kho fared even worse with a 10 in his 83.

American Brian Harman set a daunting clubhouse target to leave Rory McIlroy with a mountain to climb to end his major drought in the 151st Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.

Harman carded four birdies in a row on the front nine and holed from 15 feet for an eagle on the 18th to complete a flawless second round of 65 and post a 10-under-par halfway total of 132.

That matched the totals recorded at Hoylake by McIlroy in 2014 and Tiger Woods in 2006, although both men were 12 under on their way to lifting the Claret Jug as the course was a par-72 at the time.

Nine years on, McIlroy will head into the weekend nine shots behind Harman after a third birdie of the day on the 18th saw him add a second round of 70 to his opening 71.

Harman, who is bidding to become just the third left-hander to win the Open after Bob Charles (1963) and Phil Mickelson (2013), said: “I’ve had a hot putter the last couple of days so (will) try to ride it through the weekend.

“I’m delighted with how I’m playing. (I’m) just really focused on getting some rest and getting after it tomorrow.

“(I’m) Just not trying to get too caught up in it. It’s just golf. I think when I held the 54-hole lead at the US Open (in 2017) I just probably thought about it too much.”

The 36-year-old’s superb round came after tournament officials took the unorthodox step of changing the way the bunkers were raked between rounds.

Masters champion Jon Rahm described the course’s 82 bunkers as “proper penalty structures” after having to play backwards out of one during his opening 74, while McIlroy needed two shots to escape sand on the 18th.

In response, the R&A instructed greenkeeping staff to build up the edges of the bunkers to allow more balls to roll back into the centre.

“Yesterday afternoon the bunkers dried out more than we have seen in recent weeks and that led to more balls running straight up against the face than we would normally expect,” the R&A said in a statement.

“We have therefore raked all of the bunkers slightly differently to take the sand up one revet on the face of the bunkers.

“We routinely rake bunkers flat at most Open venues but decided this adjustment was appropriate in light of the drier conditions which arose yesterday.

“We will continue to monitor this closely for the remainder of the Championship.”

Even those players who managed to successfully escape from the bunkers on day one had expressed their concerns, with former champion Stewart Cink speaking out following a bogey-free 68.

“Eventually it’ll catch up with you,” the 2009 winner said. “The bottoms of them are so flat that if a ball comes in with any momentum, it’s just going right up to the lip and stop.

“There’s not a little upslope that helps you at all. They are very penal.”

Emily Dickinson bids to get back on the winning trail in the Comer Group International Curragh Cup.

With her esteemed stablemate Kyprios sidelined by injury, the daughter of Dubawi moved to Gold Cup favouritism in the spring following an impressive return in the Vintage Crop Stakes at Navan.

Her Royal Ascot claims were severely dented as she disappointed in the Saval Beg at Leopardstown the following month, but the four-year-old nevertheless took her chance in the Gold Cup and emerged with credit after finishing fourth.

Emily Dickinson drops back in distance and class on the Irish Oaks undercard and will be a warm order to provide trainer Aidan O’Brien with an eighth Curragh Cup success.

O’Brien said: “It looks a strong race. I think she stayed in the Gold Cup, I don’t think the trip was a problem.

“She likes an ease in the ground so she’ll appreciate that. She’s had a bit of an easy time since Ascot because we didn’t think the ground was going to be as it is, but we are letting her take her chance, obviously.

“The Irish Leger is definitely in the back of our minds for her.”

Emily Dickinson’s rivals in the €150,000 Group Two include her lightly-raced stablemate Gooloogong, the Paddy Twomey-trained Rosscarbery and Joseph O’Brien’s Duke of Edinburgh Stakes winner Okita Soushi.

Aidan O’Brien also houses the hot favourite for the Group Three Jebel Ali Racecourse And Stables Anglesey Stakes in Royal Ascot runner-up Pearls And Rubies.

A winner on her Navan introduction in June, the No Nay Never filly was subsequently beaten a head by Snellen in the Listed Chesham Stakes.

O’Brien, who won the Anglesey Stakes for a 12th time with Little Big Bear last season, added: “She was just a little bit green at Ascot, she was only after having her first run not long before it.

“She probably found everything a little bit new and she just got left out a bit on her own on the wing, but she did run well.”

Michael O’Callaghan saddles Kairyu, who impressed on her debut at Naas three and a half weeks ago, while dual winner Buyin Buyin represents trainer Willie Browne.

British raider Art Power bids for a fourth Curragh win in the Barberstown Castle Sapphire Stakes.

Tim Easterby’s six-year-old has landed the Group Three Renaissance Stakes in both 2021 and 2022 and maintained his unbeaten course record in the Group Two Greenlands Stakes in May.

He is four from four in Ireland overall, having also won the Group Three Lacken Stakes at Naas in 2020, and returns in fine form following a fourth-placed finish in last weekend’s July Cup.

Alastair Donald, racing manager for owners King Power Racing, said: “Ideally we probably wouldn’t run him back a week later, but his record in Ireland is so good and this looks the perfect race for him.

“He hasn’t run over five furlongs for a while, but it’s a stiff finish and soft ground and it’s not like he’s short of pace. He should have a favourite’s chance.”

Art Power is one of two British-trained runners in the five-furlong Group Two along with Karl Burke’s White Lavender, who was last seen striking gold in a Group Three in France.

The two leading hopes for the home team are Johnny Murtagh’s defending champion Ladies Church and French import Go Athletico, who bids to supplement a successful Irish debut for Ado McGuinness in the Listed Midsummer Sprint Stakes at Cork last month.

“He’s in great form and the ground will help. Unfortunately Ronan Whelan is suspended, but we’ve got a good deputy in Colin Keane,” said McGuinness.

“We’re very hopeful of a huge run. I know the Tim Easterby horse is back over, but he only ran last week in a Group One and our horse is fresh and well. We’re really looking forward to running him.

“I think our horse is even better than what he’s rated, hopefully he can prove it.”

Frankie Dettori has high hopes of making a successful return from suspension aboard Lezoo in the bet365 Hackwood Stakes at Newbury.

The 52-year-old incurred a nine-day ban for careless riding aboard Saga in the Wolferton Stakes at Royal Ascot last month, with a subsequent appeal proving unsuccessful, as well as an eight-day suspension for a whip offence aboard Queen Anne second Inspiral.

As a result Dettori missed the ride on Coral-Eclipse runner-up Emily Upjohn and was denied the opportunity to partner the third-placed Kinross in last weekend’s July Cup, the only British Group One to elude him during a glittering riding career that is due to come to an end later this year.

Dettori, though, is keen to move on as he readies himself for what he hopes will be a busy second half of the season.

“I’m back and there is so much to look forward to,” he said.

“There’s the King George, Goodwood, Deauville and York. It’s going to be a packed summer and I’m looking forward to it.”

Like Kinross, Lezoo is trained by Ralph Beckett and carries the colours of Dettori’s long-time friend and supporter Marc Chan.

The magical Italian steered her to two of her four juvenile wins last year before William Buick took over for her Group One win in the Cheveley Park Stakes.

She has failed to trouble the judge in either the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket or the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot so far this term, but Dettori is confident about her chances in Saturday’s Group Three.

He added: “Lezoo was a Group One winner last year and she’s owned by Marc Chan and Andrew Rosen, who are two good friends of mine. It is always extra nice when you ride for your friends.

“I think we can put a line through Ascot, she just didn’t turn up. She’s a Group One winner and a good filly, so let’s hope we can get her going back to winning ways.”

The Michael Dods-trained Commanche Falls returns to Pattern level after a confidence-boosting Listed success at the Curragh three weeks ago.

The six-year-old finished third behind stablemate Azure Blue and Highfield Princess in the Duke of York Stakes on his penultimate start and was beaten just a head by Garrus in the Abernant Stakes at Newmarket earlier in the year.

“It’s obviously a tougher race than the one in Ireland, but it’s the only race there is for him really, so we’ll have to see how he gets on,” said Dods.

“He ran well at York before he won in Ireland, so hopefully he’s going there in good form.”

The Charlie Hills-trained Garrus is in opposition once more, while Adam Kirby is looking forward to riding Rohaan for trainer David Evans.

He said: “Rohaan’s last run at Ascot was much more pleasing. He is moving well and hopefully he can show his hand on Saturday.

“He finished off well, but it was a very slowly-run race. We were just pleased he came home and was only beaten a couple of lengths.

“Any rain will do him no harm, but some of his best form is in top-flight races on good to firm, so we’ll see.”

Other contenders include Mick Appleby’s King’s Stand third Annaf, who has since finished fourth in the Coral Charge at Sandown, and the Karl Burke-trained Cold Case, who bids to bounce back from a disappointing showing behind Little Big Bear in the Sandy Lane at Haydock.

Four people were arrested after Just Stop Oil protesters disrupted the second day of the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool.

American golfer Billy Horschel intervened to help remove one who invaded the 17th to throw powdered orange paint on the green. A smoke flare was also let off.

The 36-year-old escorted a woman wearing a Just Stop Oil T-shirt away from the putting surface and towards a police officer.

Another woman and two men, wearing similar T-shirts, were also handcuffed and marched off the course by several police officers.

Merseyside Police confirmed four people had been arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit criminal damage and public nuisance.

“At around 12.20pm Just Stop Oil supporters ran onto hole 17 at The Open in Royal Liverpool,” read a Just Stop Oil statement given to the PA news agency.

“They set off a smoke flare and threw orange powder paint on the green before being removed by security.”

Greenkeeping staff were dispatched to the hole and removed the powdered paint with leaf-blowers.

Merseyside Police said while it respected the rights of people to protest, disorder would not be tolerated.

“A small amount of powder was discarded onto the playing surface and it was reported that one person had a smoke pyrotechnic,” read a police statement.

“Two males and two females were quickly detained by both stewards and officers and they were arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit criminal damage and public nuisance. They will be taken into police custody to be questioned.

“Merseyside Police respects the right to protest and expression of views but anti-social, criminal behaviour or disorder will not be tolerated and will be dealt with robustly.

“Police and The R&A management will be looking to ensure the activities of anyone who wants to protest don’t disrupt the event itself and if necessary we will use relevant legislation to deal with those people involved in it.

“Contingency plans are in place to help visitors enjoy these events in safety and with minimal disruption.”

Horschel declined to speak after his round but Merseyside Police has been contacted for comment.

In a statement, the R&A said: “A protester was quickly apprehended on the 17th hole and is one of four people who have been arrested by police.

“Play was not disrupted and we would like to thank the marshals, players and other spectators for their vigilance and understanding as the protesters were removed.”

Relief Rally will bid to give trainer William Haggas his third success in the Weatherbys Super Sprint when she takes on 20 rivals in the valuable five-furlong dash at Newbury.

Haggas, who struck with Superstar Leo in 2000 and Jargelle eight years later, feels the daughter of Kodiac has plenty going for her – and so do the bookmakers, who make her a warm favourite for the prize which is worth £122,925 to the winner.

Royal Ascot’s Queen Mary has been a good pointer to the Newbury sprint and having finished runner-up to American raider Crimson Advocate, who ended Relief Rally’s unbeaten run and foiled a hat-trick bid, Haggas feels she is the one to beat.

The last nine winners have come from stall 13 or higher and Tom Marquand’s mount is handily placed in stall 18, with Eve Johnson Houghton’s fancied pair Bobsleigh and Juniper Berries berthed in stalls 16 and four respectively.

“She’s a good filly and she’s very well,” said Haggas. “She won’t mind any rain. I don’t know about the draw.

“She is drawn with Bobsleigh and away from Juniper Berries, but there’s not much we can do about that. She has a good chance.”

The weight carried by a horse in the Super Sprint is determined by its sale price and as such, Juniper Berries, who finished fourth, four lengths behind Relief Rally at Ascot, is in receipt of 7lb this time.

Johnson Houghton said: “I was absolutely thrilled with Juniper Berries in the Queen Mary – she ran a blinder – and fourth at Royal Ascot is quite a feather in your cap.

“Relief Rally is obviously the main danger but we have a huge weight turnaround, so I am hoping that will be enough to change the placings.

“Bobsleigh has come out of the Coventry in very good form, I am very happy with him. He ran a storming race (at Ascot, beaten three lengths by River Tiber), which has turned out to be very strong form.

“That (five furlongs) would be my main worry. He has won over five and a half, but he looks like he gets the six furlongs well. They normally go very fast in the Super Sprint, so I am hoping that he we will be picking them up at the end.”

Irish raider Son Of Corballis has won two of his three starts for County Laois handler Kieran Cotter, latterly talking the scalp of the well-regarded Coolmore-owned colt Alabama in a Listed sprint at Tipperary.

Though he won on yielding ground on debut, Cotter is hoping the unsettled weather forecast is wrong.

He said: “We actually would want quickish good ground. He won on quick ground twice and I’m hoping it doesn’t rain to be honest.

“The way I look at it, if Alabama was in the race, he’d be hot favourite after previously running well at Ascot (fifth in the Windsor Castle) on the wrong side of the track. We’ve beat him twice this year with two different horses. He’s a fair horse.

“Before he won, he’d been working really well and we really fancied him. But since then, he’s been really laid back in his work, he just couldn’t be bothered.

“He has gone very relaxed altogether. So, when we were going for the Listed sprint, we thought cheekpieces would be needed, as these sprints are won by short heads.

“He is one of these horses who just pulls it out on the day, which is good, as we’ve had too many horses who will fly up the gallops and then you go to the track and they let you down a bit.

“He’s drawn 13 and that was our one big worry. The lads were saying if he was drawn one or two, you might just turn round the box.

“If you’d have given me the 13 stall yesterday I would have taken it. He’ll jump and go and we’ll see how far he gets.”

Roger Teal was also delighted with the 20 berth that Ffos Las debut winner Rosario has been accorded.

A son of Harry Angel, he had the reopposing Heed The Call and Relentless Warrior behind when scoring by a length and a quarter under George Rooke, who retains the ride.

Teal said: “He did it nicely on his first day at school. It all went very nicely and hopefully he will have improved for that, so fingers crossed.

“He is owned by my wife and we think a bit of him. He’s got a good draw, but the only worry would be the rain that is supposed to come on Saturday.”

He went on: “That could just mess us up a bit – he’s quite a good-moving horse and he wouldn’t want the ground too soft.

“Other than that, he’s pretty straightforward and he did the job nicely, so we’re looking forward to it.

“I’ve had bad draws all year, so it’s about time we got a good one. I don’t know what I’ve done right – they must have got my name mixed up in the computer somewhere!”

Peter Bowen’s Francky Du Berlais will bid for a third successive victory in the Unibet Summer Plate Handicap Chase at Market Rasen on Saturday.

The 10-year-old has landed the contest for the past two years, prevailing by seven and a half lengths in 2021 and by a neck in 2022.

His successes have continued Bowen’s exceptional record in the race, a contest he has won eight times since its inception in 1995.

Francky Du Berlais became the first horse to land the valuable chase twice when triumphant last year and he returns to Lincolnshire in good form as he goes for the hat-trick.

“He’s had his prep run and everything’s gone fine, everything’s ready for him now,” Bowen said.

“He’s won it twice and whether he can do it a third time, I don’t know, but he’s in great form anyway.”

When asked if the Summer Plate is a specific target for the yard, the trainer said: “Not particularly, but it just seems to happen for us in this race. It’s about seven hours from here but he’s made it worth it.”

Francky Du Berlais will not make the journey from Pembrokeshire alone as Bowen also has Courtland in the Summer Plate.

The eight-year-old has won his past three starts, including a course-and-distance victory by five and a half lengths last time out.

“Sean (Bowen, son) rides him (Francky Du Berlais) and Gavin Sheehan will ride Courtland, he’s in good form and he’s up and coming so he could be well in.”

Success in the race would be another win to add to Sean Bowen’s impressive tally so far this season, with the trainer’s son the current favourite be crowned champion jockey at the conclusion of the term.

Bowen snr said: “He’s had a brilliant start. As long as he can stay injury-free and have a bit of luck, he should stand a good chance.”

Elsewhere in the Summer Plate is Jonjo O’Neill’s La Domaniale and Sarah Humphrey’s Gloire D’athon, with Emma Lavelle saddling two entrants in both Killer Clown and Hang In There.

Gavin Cromwell also brings a pair of runners over from Ireland in Railway Hurricane and Broken Ice, while Laura Morgan is also double handed with And The New and Tardree.

Sergio Perez’s torrid run of form continued at the Hungarian Grand Prix after he crashed out of a rain-hit opening practice.

George Russell led the way in the wet conditions for Mercedes at the Hungaroring, 0.359 seconds clear of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri, with Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll third and Lando Norris fourth.

Only 13 of the 20-strong field posted a competitive lap, with championship leader Max Verstappen and seven-time world champion Lewis Hamilton not risking the possibility of damage.

The first one-hour running of the weekend was still dry, and barely a few minutes old, when Perez lost control of his Red Bull and ended up in the wall.

The Mexican put two wheels on the grass under braking for the fifth corner, sending him into a pirouette and into the tyre barrier.

Perez was unharmed in the accident but he sustained significant damage to the front of his machine.

Perez is under increasing pressure at Red Bull following five consecutive qualifying sessions in which he has failed to make it into Q3. On each of those occasions, Verstappen has scored pole position in the other Red Bull.

Indeed, Verstappen, who has won eight of the opening 10 rounds and six in succession, has already moved 99 points clear of his struggling team-mate.

Daniel Ricciardo’s comeback at Red Bull’s junior team AlphaTauri is also likely to be playing on Perez’s mind, with the Australian admitting he is daring to dream about the possibility of a return to the grid’s all-conquering team.

For now, Ricciardo has a dozen races to prove his credentials. However, the eight-time grand prix winner was among those who elected not to set a timed lap on Friday.

The red flags were deployed to deal with Perez’s stricken car and then the rain arrived. The slippery conditions caught out Carlos Sainz after he lost control of his Ferrari on the exit of turn three.

The Spaniard spun across the track and grazed the wall on the opposite side of the circuit before becoming stuck in the grass.

A second red flag was required as marshals assisted in helping Sainz return to the pits with front-wing damage on his scarlet machine.

Friday’s concluding session takes place at 5pm local time (4pm BST).

Chad Ziadie and Aliana McMaster were crowned Jamaica’s national sporting clays champions on following an exhilarating day of shooting action at the Tru-Juice Estate in Bog Walk, St Catherine.

More than 100 of Jamaica’s best shooters had assembled to vie for the title of national champion. In the end, the pinpoint accuracy of Ziadie and the teen Phenom, McMaster, put them above the rest.

Ziadie advanced to the Super Six round after scoring 174 and was followed by Nicholas Chen (170), Christian Sasso (167), Craig Simpson (167) JJ Ralston (167) and Shaun Barnes (163).

The round consists of a 25-bird target over three rounds of intense shooting to determine the overall winner.

After the three rounds, Ziadie and Chen were tied on 185 forcing another round of eight targets. Both were still tied on 191, which meant that a fifth round shoot-off became necessary.

Ziadie shot first and picked off seven of the eight targets, forcing Chen to hit all eight targets for the win. He hit six thus handing Ziadie his very first national title.

"It feel great. I have been runner-up twice, last year and two years ago, so it feels good to be finally on top,” said the newly minted champion, who revealed how nerve-racking it was during the shoot off.

“You have to keep your mental going until the very end and also just zone out everybody else and just focus on yourself,” he said.

“He (Chen) pushed me to the end and I am glad I came out on top."

Junior shooter JJ Ralston was declared the A Class champion after scoring 167 along with Craig Simpson -167 and Christian Sasso - 167.

All three shooters competed in the Super Six shoot-off. Their placements are a direct result of their scores at the end of the shoot-off which were 183, 182 and 180 respectively.

McMaster had a relatively easier time of it, scoring 149. Her mother Wendy McMaster shot a score of 140 while Jolie Chin (115) was third.

Aliana, who was also second in the B Class behind Ramon Pitter (167), was thought she could have shot better during the tournament.

"I am not entirely satisfied with my performance over the weekend however I am still grateful that I was still able to come out on top," she said.

The top three shooters in the various classes were:

A Class: JJ Ralston - 167, Craig Simpson - 167 and Christian Sasso - 167.

B Class: Ramon Pitter - 161, Aliana McMaster - 149 and Najeeb Haber - 137.

C Class: Gordon Bucknor - 145, Dominic Simpson - 143 and Wendy McMaster 140 (L/R).

D Class: Craig Hendrickson - 156, Justin Samuda - 149 and Anthony Desnoes 141.

E Class: Max Williams - 127, Seymour Essor - 124 and Chris Clarke - 121.

Ladies Class: Aliana McMaster - 149, Wendy McMaster -140 and Joelie Chin - 115.

The Juniors: JJ Ralston - 167, Roman Tavares-Finson - 161, Mark Desnoes – 159.

 

 

Hunters or Beginners: Andrew Clarke - 132, Kevin Chin Shue - 126 and Nick Dawson - 125.

 

 

American golfer Billy Horschel intervened to help remove protesters who invaded the 17th green at Royal Liverpool on the second day of the Open Championship.

The 36-year-old escorted a woman wearing a Just Stop Oil T-shirt covered in orange paint off the green of the Hoylake links and into the custody of a police officer.

Both her and two other people wearing similar T-shirts were handcuffed and marched off the course by several police officers.

Just Stop Oil confirmed three people in total were involved in the protest.

“At around 12.20pm three Just Stop Oil supporters ran onto hole 17 at The Open in Royal Liverpool,” said a statement given to the PA news agency.

“They set off a smoke flare and threw orange powder paint on the green before being removed by security.”

Greenkeeping staff were dispatched to the hole and removed the powdered paint with leaf-blowers.

The environmental group have targeted a number of high-profile sporting events this summer, including the second Ashes Test at Lords – where England wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow physically manhandled one pitch invader to the boundary – and Wimbledon, where three people ran onto the court throwing orange paper and jigsaw pieces.

Open organisers were prepared for a protest and stressed they had put in extra security precautions.

They did advise players not to engage with anyone who entered the course but Horschel decided against that.

This week the R&A revealed they had received a credible threat regarding Just Stop Oil protesters targeting last year’s Open at St Andrews but any action failed to materialise after security was stepped up.

It is understood police have now deployed one officer to each green on the course.

The R&A and Merseyside Police have been contacted for comment. Horschel declined to speak after his round.

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.