Defending champion Jumby is one of 13 confirmed for the BetVictor Hungerford Stakes at Newbury on Saturday.
Eve Johnson Houghton’s five-year-old ran on strongly to down Dubai Poet in the Group Two contest 12 months ago and will return to the Berkshire track in good order following some pleasing efforts of late.
Although a tilt at Group One level for the Lockinge Stakes was ultimately a step too far, he returned to winning ways in the John of Gaunt Stakes at Haydock before again hitting the frame when second to Audience in the Criterion Stakes.
“He’s in great form, he just wants firm ground which seems to be missing at the moment,” said Johnson Houghton.
“Hopefully there is no more rain forecast so the ground should quicken up a bit. The faster the ground, the better he goes.”
A strong-cast could be in opposition and William Haggas’ 2021 winner Sacred could provide the sternest test having last been seen rattling the crossbar in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes at Royal Ascot.
Witch Hunter also got on the scoresheet at the Royal meeting and is one of three in the mix for Richard Hannon who could also saddle Lockinge second Chindit and recent Goodwood scorer Magical Sunset
Roger Varian could be doubly represented by both New Endeavour and Olivia Maralda, while John and Thady Gosden’s Mostabshir is another notable name among those still in contention to make the final line-up.
In the supporting BetVictor Geoffrey Freer Stakes, beaten Derby favourite Arrest is the star name in the 11 entries, with William Haggas’ Klondike also catching the eye.
Andy Murray has been restored to Great Britain’s Davis Cup team as they take on Australia, France and Switzerland in Manchester next month.
Murray, who was integral to Britain ending a 79-year wait for glory in the team competition as they triumphed in 2015, was left out of their 3-1 qualifying win on the Colombian clay in February.
British captain Leon Murray suggested the surface was not conducive for Murray, who had at the time played just three matches on clay since 2017, and the former world number one has returned to the fray.
He takes his place alongside Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans and Neal Skupski for the Finals Group Stage at Manchester’s AO Arena from September 12-17 as they attempt to qualify for November’s knockout stage.
Only two of the four nations will advance from Group B for the quarter-finals in Malaga.
“We can’t wait to play Davis Cup in Manchester in front of a huge home crowd,” Smith said.
“It’s been a long time since we played in the North West and I’m sure we are going to feel and hear a lot of energy from the fans.
“We have a great team with a lot of Davis Cup experience who will be ready to give it everything in a tough group with Australia, Switzerland and France.”
Live In The Dream is the latest sprinter set to line up in a top-tier running of the Coolmore Wootton Bassett Nunthorpe Stakes later this month.
York’s Group One contest is shaping up to be a red-hot affair with the likes of defending champion Highfield Princess, King’s Stand winner Bradsell and a whole host of sprinting talent on course for the Knavesmire.
And Adam West’s charge looks well worth his place in the field judged on his efforts earlier in the campaign.
Having struck twice in handicaps early season, the four-year-old took the step up to Pattern level in his stride, placing in both the Palace House Stakes and the Temple Stakes at Haydock before being given a mid-season break by his handler.
He returned at Deauville earlier this month where he was only beaten a length when fourth in the Prix du Cercle, and West believes that outing in conditions which were far from ideal, will have blown away plenty of cobwebs ahead of his first outing in Group One company.
“I feel like the elements were against him a little bit and we had a rough journey over there ourselves,” explained West.
“The horses went OK and we had horrendous rain for the two-year-old we took over which made it really hard work and then we had really drying tacky ground with a strong headwind for Live In The Dream.
“We probably ran six furlongs rather than five and he was only beaten a length and had a good blow so it will see him right. But I do just feel we were a little hard done by.
“He’s come on really well, the French cuisine has obviously suited him and he enjoyed it. It was something different and the horse has never been abroad and it has really picked him up. I look forward to getting him out again because he looks a good 10 kilos better than what he went over there looking.”
Prior to that comeback run in France, West had been eyeing up a possible trip oversees with the Steve and Jolene De’Lemos-owned speedster.
However, there has now been a slight rethink and it is all systems go for York on August 26 where a bold showing could tee-up further big-race entries.
“We couldn’t quite pick up enough money to head to America, so we’ll head to the Nunthorpe now, the entry is in and we’ll take our chance there,” continued West.
“We’re not expecting to trouble the market principals, but if we can pick up a nice bit of place money it might be able to fund something next year.
“I’m not sure Dubai will be on the radar or anything like that, but it might be able to fund some bigger targets and hopefully he will be able to stick it out a bit better.
“We’re not admitting defeat for the international prospects, but we will probably just rein in targets and hunt pots on a bit of a smaller scale and then see what we can do and pick up some place money in some of the bigger ones.”
England scrum-half Jack Van Poortvliet will miss the World Cup to undergo surgery on an ankle injury sustained against Wales on Saturday.
The 22-year-old Leicester back was forced off in the first half of the 19-17 Twickenham win and has been replaced in Steve Borthwick’s 33-man World Cup squad by Northampton’s Alex Mitchell.
England head coach Steve Borthwick said: “It’s really bad luck for Jack and we send him our very best wishes for a swift and successful recovery.”
Mitchell joins Ben Youngs and Danny Care as Borthwick’s scrum-half options for the World Cup in France next month.
The 26-year-old was unfortunate to miss out on the original squad after making four impactful replacement appearances during the 2023 Six Nations Championship, injecting energy and tempo into England’s play.
Borthwick faces another issue at half-back as England wait for the outcome of the disciplinary hearing that will determine the length of Owen Farrell’s ban after his Twickenham red card.
Farrell’s shoulder-led challenge to the head of Taine Basham was upgraded from a yellow card to red by the ‘Bunker’ review system and he could now miss England’s World Cup opener against Argentina.
The England captain must now appear before a video disciplinary hearing that begins on Tuesday morning to find out the length of his suspension.
The mid-range sanction for a dangerous tackle is six games and – given he received a three-match ban for the same offence in January, on top of five matches in 2020 and two in 2016 – it is doubtful he will be treated leniently by the disciplinary process.
England complete their World Cup warm-up with games against Ireland and Fiji before launching their group campaign against Argentina in Marseille on September 9.
Farrell now seems likely to miss out against the toughest opponents in Pool D, while his participation against Japan, Chile and Samoa is also in question.
England continue their World Cup build-up against Ireland at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium on Saturday.
A trip to Newmarket for the Club Godolphin Cesarewitch could be on the cards for Temporize following his victory at the Qatar Goodwood Festival.
A rare runner on the level for handler Syd Hosie, the four-year-old has made his mark on the level for the Sherborne-based handler since joining the yard from Charlie Johnston earlier in the season.
A respectable display at Newbury on debut was followed by a near-miss in a competitive heat at Ascot before finding the target on the Sussex Downs and having originally been bought to go hurdling, plans to tackle timber could now be on hold with further big-race Flat assignments under consideration.
They include the £200,000 Cesarewitch on October 14 and now rated 89, there is the possibility that Temporize could head straight to the Rowley Mile.
“I still have to make a firm plan with the owners, but I think they would like to run in the Cesarewitch,” said Hosie.
“There is a race at York, but I said to the owners if you run him and they put him up in the handicap you are taking a bigger weight to the race. So he might go to the trial in September time or go straight there.
“We bought him to go hurdling and thought we would run him a few times on the Flat because the owner wanted to go to Goodwood. I said if he runs any good at Ascot, we can go there and obviously he just got beat at Ascot. He did the business at Goodwood and then all the hurdling plans go out the window for a bit.
“When we got him he had finished second at Doncaster and he gave the winner so much weight and was still there fighting at the end of the race. That was one of the reasons we bought him.
“His three-year-old form is good as well and he goes on any ground which is nice. Hopefully he will still go jumping at some point in the autumn.”
Anthony Joshua remains on course for a future bout with Deontay Wilder after he produced a spectacular stoppage of Robert Helenius at London’s O2 Arena on Saturday night.
Joshua claimed the 26th victory of his professional career with a first knock-out in three years, but even before this bout all the pre-fight talk was about what next for the British heavyweight.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at the state of play for the former two-time world heavyweight champion.
Was the booing justified?
The Matchroom show had been in doubt a week earlier when Dillian Whyte had to be withdrawn after “adverse analytical findings” were discovered in his doping test with the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association (VADA).
It saw Helenius drafted in at the 11th hour but while there is no doubt a sold-out O2 Arena would have been happy to see Joshua in action, they clearly wanted more from the former Olympian during the first half of the 12-rounder. Joshua faced whistles and boos during round three and jeers followed after another pedestrian round saw the contest reach its halfway point. A thunderous right hand ensured the next outburst by spectators inside the London venue was applause.
DJ getting a tune out of AJ?
While Joshua was tentative early on against Helenius and did not want to initially trade off with the 39-year-old, some context must be provided. The Finchley boxer had only a week to prepare for his Finnish opponent and there is a number of inches difference between Whyte and Helenius, which would have brought out a significant adjustment for the home favourite.
Joshua struggled to land with his right hand early on but was urged to keep persevering by highly-respected trainer Derrick James in only their second bout together. James told Joshua to “keep shooting the right” and it landed emphatically during the seventh round with Helenius sent toppling to the canvas.
Wilder next?
Even before Whyte’s withdrawal, a large chunk of the discourse around Joshua was whether he would actually fight Wilder next. The former world heavyweight champions have been speculated to lock horns for several years and it would have been a unification contest as recently as four years ago.
Joshua had to block out the noise to do the business against Helenius but after he did, all eyes are now on Wilder. Saudi Arabia promotional entity Skills Challenge is eager to host the mouth-watering clash and dates in January and February are being drawn up.
So that’s that then?
We have been here many times before, not only with Joshua and Wilder but Joshua and fellow Briton Tyson Fury. It seems getting the best of the heavyweight division in the ring together is one of the hardest jobs in the sport. However, there is a lot of reason for optimism on this occasion.
A traditional stumbling block can be the fact world heavyweight champions have mandatory challengers to face, but with Joshua and Wilder holding no belts, they are free to fight whoever they wish. The money on offer should satisfy the demands of both boxers, but Wilder’s trainer Malik Scott did hint this week that his fighter would like to be active before fighting Joshua.
An October bout was proposed but even if that happens, these two generational heavyweights should still trade blows in 2024.
Max Whitlock ended Great Britain’s 120-year wait for gymnastics gold and then proceeded to double his tally in the space of two extraordinary hours on this day at the 2016 Rio Olympics.
Whitlock clinched gold on both the floor and his favoured pommel horse apparatus to become the first British athlete to win two individual Olympic titles on the same day.
If his victory in the pommel final, pushing team-mate Louis Smith into silver, was almost to be expected, it was his earlier performance on the floor which stunned those who believed he had only a slim chance of a podium place.
The then 23-year-old landed a superb score of 15.633 then waited as a result which even he had intimated might be out of the question slowly began to turn to reality as key rivals including Kenzo Shirai and Samuel Mikulak messed up.
Ultimately Whitlock, who refused to watch any of his rivals’ routines, edged Brazilian pair Diego Hypolito and Arthur Mariano into silver and bronze
positions respectively, an unexpected result which sparked wild celebrations among the home fans and earned the Hemel Hempstead star his slice of history.
Whitlock grinned as he watched the Union Flag being raised highest in an Olympic gymnastics venue for the first time, then somehow refocused to deliver a pommel routine which lived up to his status as favourite after winning the world title in Glasgow the previous year.
Whitlock, who already boasted a bronze medal from the men’s all-around competition a week before, said: “It was quite difficult – I couldn’t take in what
had happened on the floor. It hit me like a ton of bricks because I wasn’t watching any of the routines before or after me, and it was crazy and it made
history.
“But I knew I had another job to do – I had to head back in the training gym, refocus and start warming up for the pommel because I had one more routine to do and now I can proudly say I have finished the Olympics with a smile on my face.
“This has out-done our expectations. This was my first floor final in the Olympics and the fact it only comes around once every four years makes it even more special. It makes me feel complete, I think.”
Lucas Glover eclipsed Patrick Cantlay in a playoff to win the FedEx St Jude Championship and claim a second straight PGA Tour victory.
The American duo were forced into an extra hole in Memphis after each completing 72 holes on 15 under par.
Glover, 43, ultimately claimed victory with a par on the 18th hole playoff after Cantlay found water off the tee.
Speaking after his victory, which comes just a week after he took out Wyndham Championship, Glover said: “If you would have told me this three months ago, I’d tell you you’re crazy.
“But at the same time, if you asked me legitimately did I think I was capable, I’d say yes, even then. It’s just one of those sad ways athletes are wired.
“We always believe in ourselves no matter how bad it is.”
Glover was ranked 119th in the world prior to the Wyndham Championship, but now sits 30th.
Northern Ireland’s Rory McIlroy and England’s Tommy Fleetwood finished agonisingly close, but had to settle for equal-third on 14 under par.
Fleetwood was unable to sink a birdie chance on his last hole which would have propelled him into the playoff.
Cedric Mullins sure had a flair for the dramatic on Sunday.
Mullins robbed Ty France of a potential game-tying home run in the ninth inning, and then hit a two-run shot in the 10th to lead the visiting Baltimore Orioles to a thrilling 5-3 win over the Seattle Mariners.
Two pitches after Mullins reached over the centre field wall to catch France's would-be homer for the second out, Seattle ended up tying the game 3-3 on a Dominic Canzone home run.
That set up more late-inning magic from Mullins, who had entered in the sixth inning as a defensive replacement, as his homer in the 10th scored automatic runner Gunnar Henderson to put Baltimore ahead.
Mullins' home run was his first since July 14, as he had been 0 for 9 since being activated from the injured list prior to Friday's series opener.
Shintaro Fujinami pitched a perfect 10th for his first save.
It marked the AL-leading Orioles' second straight 10-inning triumph after Saturday's 1-0 victory snapped Seattle's eight-game winning streak.
With the win, Baltimore moved three games ahead of the second-place Tampa Bay Rays in the AL East.
The Mariners, who managed just 10 hits in the last two games after averaging 9.7 per game during their winning streak, fell 1 1/2 games back of the Toronto Blue Jays for the final wild-card spot in the AL.
Marlins score five runs in bottom of ninth for stunning 8-7 win over Yankees
If the Miami Marlins end up making the playoffs this season, they may point to their 8-7 thrilling comeback win over the New York Yankees as the game that helped catapult them to the postseason.
Trailing 7-3 after eight innings, the Marlins scored five runs in the bottom of the ninth to stun the Yankees, winning on Jake Burger's walkoff single.
Miami scored its first two runs in the eighth on a throwing error by New York closer Clay Holmes and tied the game on MLB batting leader Luis Arraez's two-run triple.
Tommy Kahnle then relieved Holmes, and after Bryan De La Cruz walked, Burger lined a singled to left field to score Arraez and win the game.
Burger had three hits and drove in two runs, and is batting .317 with five extra-base hits and six RBIs in 11 games since being acquired by the Chicago White Sox at the trade deadline.
The Marlins won for the fourth time in five games and took a half-game lead over the Chicago Cubs for the NL's final wild-card spot.
The Yankees, meanwhile, wasted a major league-leading 18th quality start from ace Gerrit Cole to fall five games back of the Blue Jays for the AL's last playoff spot.
Cole gave up two runs and struck out six over six innings before handing things over to the bullpen with a 7-2 lead.
Prior to Sunday, the Yankees were 17-0 in games in which Cole pitched and received at least seven runs of support.
Urias strikes out 12 as Dodgers win season-high eighth straight game
The Los Angeles Dodgers continued their scorching start to August with an 8-3 win over the Colorado Rockies to extend their season-high winning streak to eight.
Julio Urias matched his career high with 12 strikeouts - punching out seven in a row at one point - while allowing three runs and four hits over seven innings for his 10th win of the season. The veteran left-hander has posted a 1.50 ERA in winning his last three starts.
Miguel Rojas homered and drove in four runs for Los Angeles, which improved to 12-1 this month to take an 8 1/2-game lead over the second-place San Francisco Giants atop the NL West. The Dodgers entered August just 2 1/2 games up on the Giants.
Mookie Betts had a two-run double Sunday and has been instrumental to the Dodgers' surge, batting .367 with four homers, six doubles and 12 RBIs in 12 games this month.
The Atlanta Falcons are entering the 2023 season without one of their leading tackers from last year.
In a surprise move, the Falcons opted to waive 2022 starting linebacker Mykal Walker on Sunday.
Atlanta made the decision to release Walker two days after he started and had four tackles in Friday's 19-3 preseason win over the Miami Dolphins.
Earlier Sunday, the Falcons signed linebacker Frank Ginda, the 2023 USFL defensive player of the year.
Walker played in 16 games and started 12 for the Falcons last season, finishing with a career-high 107 tackles - the third most on the team. He also had two interceptions, a sack and four tackles for loss.
A fourth-round draft pick by the Falcons in 2020, the 25-year-old Walker had 174 career tackles in 49 games.
Walker thanked the Falcons in a social media post.
Anthony Joshua will ignore the hype and adopt a gladiatorial mindset if his proposed bout with Deontay Wilder gets the green light.
Discussions are advancing between the two camps and Saudi Arabian promotional agency Skills Challenge over the two ex-heavyweight champions doing battle in the ring in January.
Joshua ensured he remained on track for a future meeting with former WBC belt-holder Wilder by knocking out Robert Helenius in the seventh round of Saturday’s show at London’s O2 Arena.
Anticipation is now growing over two of the best heavyweights of the era finally stepping into the ring together after years of a match-up, which at one stage would have been a unification contest, being mooted.
But Joshua insisted: “There is no pressure on this whole situation, I am just rolling with the punches. It is not as important as this and that.
“I am just happy I have done my job and I can go home. It is not a big deal. I will take it step by step.
“For me, it is just another fight. I can’t get caught up in the hype and the build-up, what it means to people. For me I have to go in there as a gladiator, right?
“A gladiator doesn’t worry about what it means to other people, he just goes to fight. Take it from my aspect as a fighter, I am training to fight someone and hurt someone.
“I have no interest in what people think of me in the future. All I have an interest in is taking this guy out one way or another. That is just where my head is at.”
That mentality extends to speculation Wilder could himself arrange a tune-up fight, having last been in the ring back in October when he stopped Helenius in the first round of their New York clash.
While in the past this bout could have been for all the world heavyweight belts, Joshua admits the absence of titles makes it an easier contest to make, with Saudi representatives ringside in London at the weekend.
“Wilder is able to do what he wants. I have no control or concern about what he does, honestly,” the Finchley boxer added.
“I can’t answer for him and I don’t really have an interest too much on what his thought process is and psychology behind it. It is too much energy wasted on unimportant things.
“For me personally, the networks when we were champions was an issue, but now we’re here and it is a good time to be a heavyweight because Wilder is not champion any more, I am not champion, we don’t have network pressure, mandatory pressure.
“When I had four of the belts, I was challenging all my mandatories every other month and now I am free. When we look at the landscape, it is probably easier now to get active and busy again. That is probably the same situation for him as well.”
Joshua’s aim for this year was to fight more after solitary bouts in 2022, 2021 and 2020, but wins over Jermaine Franklin and Helenius have not kept the critics at bay.
The 33-year-old was booed and jeered at points on Saturday night before a devastating right hand produced a knock-out of the year contender.
It appeared to briefly pierce the armoury Joshua has built around him during a professional career that will reach a decade in October and future plans for the Briton were hinted at in the aftermath of his 26th win.
He said: “I will be honest, I am not going to answer anything negative. I feel like there is too much, ‘What do you feel about the booing or this or that’.
“I have no interest in conversing with any more negativity, I just need to hear some positive stuff. There is too much.
“Why are we so focused on so much negativity? We just had a great show, it was one of the best cards, it was heavyweight boxing, there was a knock-out. Let’s address something positive for once.
“Retiring healthy (is the aim). Just leaving the game healthy and paying my dues as a British heavyweight. I have put in a lot of work and I have paid my dues.
“One day I know I will be able to support some up-and-coming fighters, speak to them about the psychological aspect, business aspect and the training aspect of the game.
“I just feel it is very challenging and a lot of people will find it challenging to push through.”
Charley Hull fell short in her bid for a first major title as American Lilia Vu produced a brilliant final-round 67 to win the AIG Women’s Open by six shots.
England’s Hull began the day tied for the lead with Vu but while the latter posted a serene five-under-par total at Walton Heath to clinch her second major, the home favourite finished with a one-over-par 73.
Vu, who won the first major of the year in April at the Chevron Championship, made six birdies, dropping her only shot on the 15th, and was never seriously threatened after Hull had bogeyed the fourth and fifth holes.
Hull, who finished joint-second at the US Women’s Open at Pebble Beach in July, was unable to kick-start her challenge until a brilliant eagle at the 11th.
That took her to within two shots of Vu, but two more dropped shots at the 15th and 17th scuppered her hopes.
The 27-year-old finished with a flurry, saving par at the 18th with a monster putt having driven from the rough into a bunker, but Vu sealed a comfortable win with another birdie.
The overnight joint-leaders started the final round one shot clear of American Angel Yin and South Korea’s Kim Hyo-joo, but former world number one and two-time Open winner Jiyai Shin sealed third place with a final round of 70.
Shin finished one shot clear of fellow South Koreans Amy Yang (70) and Kim (74), while American trio Allisen Corpuz, Ally Ewing and Yin were tied in sixth place.
Hull paid the price for two dropped shots on the fourth and fifth, finding herself three shots adrift of Vu, who had birdied the second, heading into the fifth.
Vu’s lead was cut to two shots when Hull produced a superb eagle at the par-five 11th, holing from the greenside sand before shrieking in celebration and stumbling on her way out of the bunker, but the 25-year-old Californian showed nerves of steel and responded with a birdie at the 12th.
Both players bogeyed the 15th before Vu extended her advantage with birdies at 16th and 18th, while Hull faltered as dropped shots at the 15th and 17th sandwiched her only birdie of the day at the 16th.
Play was briefly interrupted when protesters let off flares on the 17th after Vu and Hull had both completed the hole, with those involved led away by police and security staff.
Alex Mitchell is on standby to replace Jack van Poortvliet in England’s World Cup squad if the Leicester scrum-half’s worst injury fears are confirmed.
Van Poortvliet is to undergo a scan on his right ankle after he was helped from the pitch by medical staff in the 33rd minute of Saturday’s 19-17 victory over Wales at Twickenham.
The 22-year-old rookie, who was in significant pain, is one of three scrum-halves named in Steve Borthwick’s 33-man squad for the tournament alongside Ben Youngs and Danny Care.
A fitness update is expected on Monday at the earliest and if the damage is substantial, then Mitchell will be summoned into camp.
Mitchell was unfortunate to miss out on the original squad after making four impactful replacement appearances during the Six Nations earlier this year, injecting energy and tempo into England’s play.
“We had Alex Mitchell in camp earlier in our preparation period and he played in the Six Nations as well,” Borthwick said.
“He was involved in four of the five games during the Six Nations and I’ve asked all of the standby players to be ready to be the next man in.
“I want to make sure we’ve got depth in those key positions. I need to find out the information on Jack at this stage and I don’t know that.”
Borthwick faces another potential challenge to his thinking at half-back as England wait for the outcome of Tuesday’s disciplinary hearing that will determine the length of Owen Farrell’s ban.
Farrell was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Taine Basham and is in danger of missing the World Cup opener against Argentina on September 9 – and possibly additional group games.
Giving England hope is that George Ford was outstanding as a replacement for the squad’s captain.
“George is a great thinker about the game. He studies the game, he watches the game – a lot. He’s always coming forward with ideas, thoughts and improvements,” Borthwick said.
“You saw against Wales his game management and the use of his kicking game. George’s distribution skills are very, very good.”
Unless could make the leap to Group One company after a convincing victory in the Michael John Kennedy Memorial Irish EBF Stakes at the Curragh.
Trained by Aidan O’Brien, Unless boasts a sterling pedigree as a daughter of US Triple Crown winner Justify out of 2017 Cheveley Park Stakes victor Clemmie.
However, the filly had yet to really make her mark, winning a Naas maiden before finishing fourth in the Sandringham at Royal Ascot and second in a Killarney Listed heat last time.
Kept to that level but upped to 10 furlongs, Unless travelled well throughout in the hands of Gary Carroll, racing prominently before mounting a decisive challenge with a couple of furlongs to run.
The 6-1 shot found plenty for pressure and came home a length and three-quarters clear of 5-4 favourite Azazat, with Paddy Power making her a 25-1 shot from 33s for the Yorkshire Oaks at York on August 24.
“We’re delighted with her. She always looked like she would get that trip and she’s a typical Justify, wants a Classic trip, and she could even get further as Gary said she galloped all the way down to the boards,” said O’Brien.
“She’s Clemmie’s first foal so she’s a seriously valuable mare.
“She will definitely stay further and the Yorkshire Oaks could be a possibility.”
Andre Fabre could have a contender for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe having saddled Place Du Carrousel to land the Prix Gontaut-Biron Hong Kong Jockey Club at Deauville on Sunday.
The four-year-old had been seen just once so far this campaign when finishing down the field in the Prix Ganay, but was always close to the pace on her mid-season return and got first run on runner-up Bolthole as she cruised to a taking three-quarter-length success in the hands of Mickael Barzalona in the Group Three affair.
The daughter of Lope De Vega stayed on strongly to hunt down Nashwa in the Prix de l’Opera on Arc day last year, but could be headed to the main event this time around.
“It’s great to see her back,” said Rupert Pritchard-Gordon, who is owner Al Shaqab’s racing consultant in France.
“After the Ganay she really blossomed, but Andre took his time and said this is where we would start her off.
“There’s no rush. She’s in the Romanet but obviously there is the Vermeille and we hope she might be a filly for the Arc.”
There was little joy for the British and Irish raiders in the two other Group Three events, but Charlie Appleby did land a blow for the visitors when Bold Act dug deep in the Listed Prix Nureyev.
The consistent son of New Approach – who showed a good deal of ability when scoring three times as a juvenile – had gone close in Saint-Cloud’s Prix Eugene Adam most recently and although looking briefly outpaced having followed stablemate Victory Dance into the straight, he hit top gear in the hands of William Buick when it mattered most.
“We were a little worried about the ground but it was fine, he battled on really well and deserved it,” said the winning rider.
The opening Circus Maximus Prix Francois Boutin went the way of Patrice Cottier’s Grey Man who justified favouritism in good style to see off Joseph O’Brien’s recent Galway scorer Mythology.
“It wasn’t a surprise, and we all thought he had a very good chance,” said owner Jean-Philippe Dubois.
“He won over six and a half furlongs, over a mile and today he’s won at seven.
“Two out he had the race won and we are very pleased, but I shall have to consult our trainer before deciding on his next race.”
There was a small shock in the Prix Minerve as Maxime Cesandri’s Engaliwe came out on top in a three-way finish with Dschingis Star and the William Haggas-trained Crack Of Light.
“It’s always been the plan to run in this race, but earlier in the week we decided to look again and see what was left in,” said the handler.
“I was convinced she should run and that the ground wouldn’t be too firm for her.
“She was fresh from her run in a Group Three in June and we are so happy to win for the group of friends that own her.
“Options include the Prix Vermeille later on or the Prix de Royallieu when the ground could be softer.”
Jerome Reynier has the Queen Elizabeth II Stakes on Qipco British Champions Day in mind for Facteur Cheval after his honourable second to Paddington at Goodwood.
The four-year-old was been incredibly consistent in France all year, placing in a string of Group races when never far behind the winner.
In late May he was third in the Prix d’Ispahan at ParisLongchamp, coming home just a head behind Owen Burrows’ Anmaat in the nine-furlong Group One.
His next destination was the Sussex Stakes at Goodwood, another Group One for which he was a 11-1 shot under Maxime Guyon.
Aidan O’Brien’s Paddington dominated the market and was ultimately the winner, but Reynier’s runner gave the 4-9 favourite a real run for his money despite encountering some traffic problems two furlongs from home.
Facteur Cheval now has a return to British shores pencilled into his diary, with another run on home turf beforehand likely, as Reynier considers the Prix du Moulin over the Prix Daniel Wildenstein to allow for the ideal Ascot preparation.
“We’re very happy with him, he has been recovering from the run and the journey and he is in very good shape,” the trainer said.
“We are going to aim for the QEII at the end of the year and maybe have another run in between in something like the Moulin.
“We will see, depending on the ground, the opposition and how he feels.
“He could race there in September, but we are aiming for the QEII which is on October 21. I don’t really want to try the Prix Daniel Wildenstein on the Arc weekend on the September 30 and then three weeks later send him to Ascot – that’s maybe a little bit too much to ask of him.”
Reynier hopes the horse will continue to take strides forward and could prove to be as reliable a campaigner as his evergreen stablemate Skalleti.
“He ran very well, he is improving mentally and physically and should be a very nice horse for the QEII and next year he should be a proper international campaigner,” he said.
“He handles everything but we are trying to manage him and the softer it is, the better it is for him.
“We’ve done it with Skalleti and there are many points of comparison with them, hopefully with Facteur Cheval we’ll end up with 12 Group wins like Skalleti has already!”
Skalleti is a stalwart of the Reynier stable and a remarkably consistent performer over a mile to 10 furlongs, winning 20 of his 31 starts with over half of his successes coming in Group company – including twice at the top level.
He is another horse who appreciates cut in the ground and he will be aimed at the Prix Dollar, a Group Two run on Arc weekend that he has won twice previously.
“It’s a question of the weather and the ground,” Reynier said.
“He’ll probably be aiming for the Prix Dollar on Arc weekend, he’s won the race twice.
“He loves Longchamp and the ground is very often soft there on Arc weekend, so that’s probably the plan with him.”
Inspiral bounced back to her very best to defend her title in the Prix du Haras de Fresnay-le-Buffard Jacques le Marois at Deauville.
The John and Thady Gosden-trained filly enjoyed one of her finest hours when triumphing in the mile Group One 12 months ago, but arrived on the Normandy coast with a point to prove having failed to get involved in the Sussex Stakes 11 days ago.
Ridden with restraint in the early stages by Frankie Dettori as favourite Big Rock set ablaze on the front end, the Italian conjured up a piece of magic aboard the Cheveley Park-owned four-year-old and when the time came to unleash his challenge, he had tacked across to the opposite side of the track to where the duo exited the stalls.
With a furlong to run it was Christopher Head’s French Derby second Big Rock who was still at the head of affairs, but Inspiral and her Royal Ascot conqueror Triple Time were looming large and although Kevin Ryan’s Queen Anne scorer couldn’t maintain his challenge, Inspiral was soon in full flow as she stormed through the line to register her first victory of the season.
The win gave both Dettori and the Clarehaven team a fourth straight success in Deauville’s showpiece, while it was the 52-year-old Italian’s eighth and final win in the race overall as he prepares to wave goodbye at the end of the season.
Beth Shriever set her sights on defending her Olympic crown in Paris after reclaiming the women’s BMX racing world title at the UCI Cycling World Championships in Glasgow on Sunday.
The 24-year-old Londoner bossed every round of the competition to take back the title she won just weeks after enjoying Olympic glory in Tokyo in 2021, but there was disappointment for Olympic silver medallist Kye Whyte as he crashed out of the men’s competition in the semi-finals.
Shriever lined up in Gate 1 for the final and had opened up a bike length on the rest of field by the opening corner to leave no doubt as to where the rainbow stripes were going.
Shriever started the day as favourite on home soil, and said the way she had handled that pressure bodes well for next summer’s Games in Paris.
“Everything went well, it was pretty much the perfect lap,” she said. “I didn’t know who was behind me or how close they were so I knew to just kept pushing and I’m over the moon.
“I’ve done a lot of stuff with my psychologist practicing things and this is the perfect practice leading into Paris. I’ve trained hard, trained well, I was in the perfect position for this race and just trusted myself, I can’t believe it.
“All my processes, I’ve stuck to it, and it all worked, so it’s unreal.”
Shriever was also fully able to enjoy the celebrations this time, having won her previous titles during the pandemic in deserted venues.
“I’ve always dreamt of being able to go to my parents after the race, I’ve literally dreamt of it all week so to actually do it was next level,” she said. “I’ll have this memory for the rest of my life so I’m very grateful.”
Whyte’s hopes of a medal on a track where he has previously enjoyed success ended in the semi-final when a shot of pain through the left shoulder he has previously dislocated sent him off the track.
“I didn’t have a good start,” Whyte said. “I didn’t mind not having a good start because I knew what the plan was if I didn’t have a good start and the plan stuck, but someone came on the inside and I went slightly off track, lost a bit of speed.
“I tried to gain it back on the jump but I eased up on the jump and nearly went over the bars, took myself out of the race. I made a big mistake, it happens.
“I’ve dislocated this left shoulder before and when I hit the jump it just kind of sent a bit of pain through my shoulder and as I’ve landed, I’ve landed awkwardly and it hurt again. It felt like it came out but it was in when I felt it now. We’ll see what the doctor says when I get home.”
Ross Cullen advanced to the final, his first at this level, and finished sixth as Romain Mahieu claimed gold.
Emily Hutt won silver for Great Britain in the women’s under-23 race, narrowly beaten by France’s Tessa Martinez.
International assignments could be on the radar for Marbaan following his return to form at the Qatar Goodwood Festival.
Winner of the Vintage Stakes over track and trip as a juvenile, Charlie Fellowes’ three-year-old had only top-class performers Kinross and Isaac Shelby ahead of him when running over seven furlongs for the first time this season in the Lennox Stakes.
He will now be aimed at either Newbury’s Hungerford Stakes or the City of York Stakes during York’s Ebor meeting, which could tee up a trip oversees, with options in both America and Australia on the table for the son of Oasis Dream.
“He’s taken his race at Goodwood really well and it was great to get him back on track, even though the ground was a little bit softer than ideal,” said Fellowes.
“He’s got options of the Hungerford or the City of York and after that things are slightly up in the air.
“We may consider going a bit further afield and look at something in America or possibly the Golden Eagle in Sydney. I guess that will depend how the next run goes but I think he’s definitely better on better ground, so that is why that has come into our thinking.
“A race like the Prix de la Foret would have been ideal but the likelihood of it being on good ground is extremely rare, so you kind of have to start thinking a bit imaginatively and there’s incredible prize-money to be won in Australia and also options on quicker ground in America.”
Although set to remain at seven furlongs for his next outing, Fellowes would have no hesitation dropping back to six furlongs again in the future and is keen to point out his underwhelming effort in the Commonwealth Cup is his only poor showing at that distance.
He continued: “I actually think he has the speed for six furlongs and he proved that at Salisbury where he split a Group One winner (Khaadem) and a Group One second (Run To Freedom). The form of that race could not have worked out any better.
“I just think the race at Ascot was a line through job, he’s just not the sort of horse you can be aggressive on. He had to make most of his running in a small group of three that day and that is not the way to ride him. He’s much better with a bit of cover, sitting in behind one or two and I think he would be just as fine over six.”
Whereas Marbaan requires quick ground to be seen at his best, one who relishes testing conditions is stablemate Vadream, who claimed both the Cammidge Trophy and Palace House Stakes earlier in the season, but has been on the sidelines of late.
Owned by Coventry City chairman Doug King, the five-year-old has been out of action with injury at a time when underfoot conditions have been in her favour.
However, having been on the go since February, Fellowes is happy to have been handed an unexpected opportunity to give the daughter of Brazen Beau a mid-season breather ahead of her big-race targets towards the end of the campaign.
“Vadream had a small setback a couple of weeks ago. She’s had a bruised foot and she had a very easy week last week and she’s back cantering now,” said the Bedford House handler.
“She’s got lots and lots of entries, but she kind of needed a freshen up anyway. So although there has been soft ground around while she has been out and she could have run in the Maurice de Gheest I guess, it won’t have done her any harm having a little bit of a freshen up mid-season.
“We have all the races like the Flying Five, the Prix de l’Abbaye and then the Champion Sprint, along with races like the Bengough Stakes at a slightly lower level as options. When she gets her ground she is going to be very dangerous.
“I’d love to run her in an Abbaye or at the Curragh in the Flying Five, I think that would be a lovely option if she got some soft ground over there in Ireland.”
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