While Richard Quinn admits he is “getting bored in retirement and open to offers”, it gives him plenty of time to reflect on a his career that brought him three Classics and well in excess of 2,000 winners over a period of 28 years in the saddle.

Goodwood and tough stayer Persian Punch in particular, take pride of place for the 61-year-old, who was forced to retire for a final time in 2008 due to a persistent back injury.

Quinn is one of a handful of jockeys to ride more than 100 winners at Goodwood, a feat recognised by former clerk of the course Seamus Buckley, who had pictures of the riders who achieved that landmark adorning a wall at the West Sussex track.

“I loved Goodwood,” said Quinn. “It’s one of those very idiosyncratic tracks. They had these pictures on the wall – every one of them centurions.

“I was there, Pat Eddery was there, Frankie Dettori was there, Lester Piggott was there. Just to be on that wall, with all those people who have ridden 100 winners at Goodwood, I thought that was quite special.

“Seamus did that and he made it special. It was a really nice touch. He is a superstar.”

Quinn could be described in similar vein. One of the most stylish riders of his generation, he won the Oaks in 2000 on Love Divine and the St Leger twice, on Snurge (1990) and Millenary (2000).

He might also have ridden a Derby winner, having being the regular rider of Generous, but he was controversially replaced by Alan Munro before Epsom.

Yet the man who rode the first British all-weather winner, booting Niklas Angel to victory at Lingfield on October 30, 1989, says Persian Punch’s Goodwood Cup victory for master trainer David Elsworth in 2001 was one of his favourite highlights.

“It was a wet day and we came down the middle of the track,” recalled Quinn. “He stayed on and he was just a superstar horse.

“Owner Jeff Smith had Lochsong and then Persian Punch – two superstars who the public took to heart.”

Such was the gelding’s popularity that he even had his own fan club and website. No less than 13 of his 20 career wins were in Pattern company, and at the age of 10 he was just denied the Stayers’ Triple Crown of Goodwood Cup, Ascot Gold Cup and Doncaster Cup, by Mr Dinos at Ascot.

“He was a good horse,” said Quinn. “I was associated with him for such a long time, we travelled the country and to the Melbourne Cup twice, where he finished on the podium twice. It was a great experience and he gave me some great memories.

“Horses that are kept in training for six or seven years like him and Ibn Bey, you get really fond of them.

“When you are with these horses and you ride them year in, year out, you do get an attachment to them. You look after them, because you know there is going to be another day for them.

“For a time Persian Punch just lost a bit of confidence and David Elsworth, to his credit, was a superstar trainer and a genius. He dropped him out from Group company to conditions races, and that is when Martin Dwyer got on him and he got back up to Group level again.

“David did things by feel. He had an instinctive feel for the horse.”

Persian Punch won the Goodwood Cup again two years later and also won three Jockey Club Cups, the Doncaster Cup, three Henry II Stakes and two Lonsdale Cups, and was awarded the Cartier Award for top stayer in 2001 and 2003.

Quinn, who was champion apprentice in 1984 with 64 winners, spent 17 years with Paul Cole (1981-1998) before joining Henry Cecil in 2000 and was stable jockey at Warren Place for the next four years.

Persian Punch’s success was not Quinn’s first in the Goodwood Cup, having previously won the race with Tioman Island in 1994 for Cole.

“He just got beaten in the Northumberland Plate and he went to Goodwood and broke the track record on that occasion,” said Quinn.

“He was pretty much straightforward. He was a good ride and he didn’t do anything different to any other horse. You seemed to be rowing away, but he was very genuine and kept giving.”

The Scot was never one to resort to hyperbole or court attention and just quietly went about the demanding business of riding winners until a nagging back injury forced a shock retirement in 2006. Though he returned the following spring, he announced a permanent departure in 2008.

“I slipped two discs way back and that was the end of my career. When you are in pain, it affects your life completely,” he explained.

“When you are getting legged up and you twist round, it was so painful. But when I was on the horse, I was OK. It was just getting on it.”

Quinn was considered a reluctant self-promoter and an introvert, though he concedes a combination of factors led to this misinterpretation.

“I have a hearing impairment and a lot of the time I couldn’t hear what was going on,” he added.

“Also, back in the day when I was an apprentice, Lester Piggott was the main man. He didn’t talk to the press and we all thought that was the way to do it, it was normal.

“I was looking up to Lester, Joe Mercer and Greville Starkey and none of them were what you’d call media-friendly.”

Times have changed. Quinn’s style would be more suited to this era and he has always taken a keen interest in educating young riders.

“The good thing is, my style changed over the years and I used the whip as little as possible,” Quinn said. “I think that’s the way forward. It’s all about educating the young guys that you don’t have to use a whip.

“Once you have got a horse running as fast as it can, it doesn’t matter how many times you go to hit it. All it will do is come off a straight line and cause interference.”

In these interesting times, his words will echo through the weighing room and beyond, no doubt.

Ante-post Qipco 1,000 Guineas favourite Ylang Ylang bids to remain unbeaten when she lines up against five rivals in the Jockey Club Of Turkey Silver Flash Stakes at Leopardstown on Thursday.

The Aidan O’Brien-trained daughter of Frankel was an eyecatching odds-on winner of a seven-furlong Curragh maiden on debut, prompting bookmakers to place her at the head of the market for next season’s Newmarket fillies’ Classic.

She will be a warm order for her second start, again over seven furlongs, as she steps into Group Three company.

Mysteries, trained by Aidan’s son, Donnacha O’Brien, has a little more experience with two runs under her belt and steps up in trip, having won a Cork maiden over six furlongs on her second start.

O’Brien feels the No Nay Never filly will benefit from the extra distance.

“We think she is a nice filly,” he said. “Everything has gone well with her since her last run and this has been her target.

“We think the step up to seven (furlongs) will suit her and we are looking forward to getting her out again.”

Should all go well, Mysteries will follow a tried and tested route for a top-class filly.

“The Debutante and Moyglare at the logical next steps with a filly like that,” he added.

“We will probably be running into Dad’s fillies the whole way along the way, but we have to meet them eventually.

“Ylang Ylang looks like a smart filly, but they all have to prove themselves when they step up in class, so we’ll learn a lot.”

Asked what it was like to beat his all-conquering father, Donnacha laughed: “It’s just the same as beating anyone else – it just doesn’t happen as often!”

Ylang Ylang will take on four previous winners with Lady Craftsman coming back from a mile after success at Bellewstown for Adrian Murray, while Donnacha’s brother, Joseph, saddles Royal Ascot’s Chesham Stakes seventh Nemonte and Ado McGuinness is represented by Rush Queen, a Listowel winner over six and a half furlongs on her penultimate run.

The field is completed by Willie McCreery’s Vespertilio, who was placed in a Fairyhouse maiden on debut.

Eleven stand their ground for the featured seven-furlong Group Two Romanised Minstrel Stakes, saved from Sunday’s abandoned card at the Curragh.

They are headed by the Juddmonte-owned Zarinsk and the Aga Khan’s Tarawa, who finished first and second in the Cornelscourt Stakes at the same track over a mile in May.

There is a high-quality sextet for the preceding Group Three Japan Racing Association Tyros Stakes, where Aidan O’Brien saddles both Mountain Bear and Henry Adams, who will be blinkered after taking a Naas maiden on debut.

Islandsinthestream, who similarly scored on debut at the Curragh, bids to follow up for Joseph O’Brien, but Donnacha O’Brien is hoping that Devious can return to winning form.

A Naas five-furlong winner on his first start, Devious then finished sixth in the Norfolk at Royal Ascot, followed by a below-par run behind Bucanero Fuerte in the Railway Stakes at the Curragh.

“He won well first time out. He ran well in the Norfolk, I suppose. He was a little out-paced early and ran home well, but I was a bit disappointed at the Curragh,” said O’Brien.

“His last two runs have been probably below what we thought he was capable of.

“Both of those times was on very quick ground, and probably the trip was a bit sharp for him, so we think with a little bit of juice in the ground and up to seven (furlongs) will suit him, so hopefully he bounces back.”

Sparks Fly will bid for a remarkable seventh consecutive victory in the British EBF 40th Anniversary Lyric Fillies’ Stakes at York on Friday.

The Dave Loughnane-trained three-year-old was rated just 59 when her winning spree began at Windsor in April, but five further victories have seen her mark rise to 98 and earned her a step up to Listed level.

She has won three times at Windsor, once at Thirsk, once at Chester and most recently struck gold north of the border at Ayr.

Sparks Fly will become winning-most Flat horse in Britain this season if she can bring up the seven-timer for owner David Lowe in Friday evening’s £70,000 feature on the Knavesmire.

“The owner is a very good owner – he’s very loyal and always gives his horses a chance. We gave her a chance to just fill her frame a bit and a chance to develop,” said Loughnane.

“All her siblings have been very early sharp two-year-olds; you’d expect her to be, but she wasn’t. We gave her the time and reaped a reward.

“She’s always been a bit of a stable favourite. She’s a lovely filly and a pleasure to have around the place – everyone always liked her.

“Obviously, it’s been a lovely journey to be part of and I don’t think we’re finished yet.”

The Shropshire-based trainer is hoping for some cut in the ground at York, adding: “The plan is, provided there’s ‘soft’ in the description, she’ll run.

“I’d go there quite bullish if the ground conditions are right. The way she’s won every race, she’s done it with complete ease. I don’t think we’re anywhere near the bottom of her yet.

“I think she’d be fine on good ground as well, but it’s not something we need to find out right now. Obviously, we’re on for a seven-timer, so we just need to tick every box at the moment.”

Sparks Fly is one of 10 fillies declared. Her rivals include the William Haggas-trained Golden Lyra, a Listed winner in France last season, and Richard Fahey’s Midnight Mile, who placed fourth in the Musidora Stakes at York in the spring.

Electric Eyes, trained by Karl Burke, is another major contender as she makes her first competitive appearance since finishing second in the Group One Fillies’ Mile at Newmarket in September.

Vincent Ho is dreaming of adding a victory at the Qatar Goodwood Festival to his CV when he makes a brief visit to the UK.

The Hong Kong jockey is best known for his association with superstar Golden Sixty, while he has also enjoyed big-race glory aboard Japan’s Breeders’ Cup champion Loves Only You, who he partnered to QE II Cup glory at Sha Tin in 2021.

Now Ho is making the most of a short break in the Hong Kong calendar to ride in the UK for a swift two-week period, where he hopes to add to his worldwide tally on the iconic Sussex Downs.

He said: “I wanted to come to Goodwood and I’ve never been there before. To be able to ride such a beautiful track, it will feel amazing to be there and involved.

“I will be doing my best to get a winner, that would be great. But if not it will still be a great experience for me to become a better jockey and horseman. What ever the result I’m sure I will enjoy it.”

He went on: “I’m sure it will be very hard to get rides and I’m not sure how many rides I will get at the moment, but hopefully I will be able to have a few.

“I know a lot of trainers, but they wouldn’t know me. I’ve worked a few years for Mr (Mark) Johnston and hopefully I will be able to get on some.”

Ho rode seven winners overall when enjoying previous visits to the UK in 2018 and 2019, with the majority of those provided by Johnston and after Goodwood Ho plans to return to Middleham to again link up with the Kingsley Park operation.

Then the final act of his two-week stint will see his sights turn to earning a spot in the Ascot winner’s enclosure when he competes in the Shergar Cup for the second time.

World Pool will be in action from Tuesday to Thursday during Goodwood, with plenty of punters betting into the pool from Hong Kong.

He continued: “After Goodwood I’m going to go up to Mr Johnston’s stables to ride out in the morning and also, I’m not sure, but I might have some rides in midweek. That would be great.

“It will then be my second time in the Shergar Cup at Ascot and I’m looking forward to it. It is a dream to ride at Ascot for every jockey I think.

“I was at the Shergar Cup in 2019 and it was a rainy and windy day, but it was still amazing to ride there.

“It just felt different to anywhere, even Sha Tin or Flemington. I just felt Ascot has this very different vibe and having watched Royal Ascot and the King George on TV back in Hong Kong it was a dream to ride there and be able to win on a horse there. It was really enjoyable.”

Ho’s trip to the UK is sandwiching a four-week period in Japan as he makes the most of the limited time available in the Hong Kong off season.

The 33-year-old has experience riding all over the world, but it is clear he values his time spent in the UK, where the unique nature of the tracks gives him the perfect opportunity to hone his skills in the saddle.

“Most tracks around the world are built by a human, while UK tracks are around the hills and more natural,” explained Ho.

“So the grounding is very different. It’s uphill, downhill, left, right and lots of variety.

“It can help make you a much better jockey because you have to trust your own feelings on the horse to know when to pick them up and go to try and win races.

“Of course you also need to know the tracks really well. The UK can have four weathers in one day and a lot can be affected by the weather and how the ground is. So there is a lot of uncertainty you have to deal with in a short space of time.

“You could also be riding horses that I haven’t seen or touched before and it’s completely different to Hong Kong and Japan where you would get to ride them in track work in the days before and get familiar with how they ride.”

Ho has partnered Francis Lui’s Golden Sixty in all of his 29 career outings as the seven-year-old has become one of the most famous and successful horses in Hong Kong racing history.

Golden Sixty was named Hong Kong Horse of the Year for the third consecutive year in July and after the duo teamed up for their ninth Group One success in the Champions Mile in April, the jockey is full of praise for a horse he credits with boosting his profile as a rider and providing him with opportunities he never thought would be possible.

“I’m privileged to ride him and I’m still learning every day from him,” said Ho.

“He’s a superstar as a horse and an athlete. He’s very popular in Hong Kong and he has definitely helped me get recognition around the world.

“To be able to ride a Japanese horse in Loves Only You to win a QEII or now coming to Goodwood and the Shergar Cup, Golden Sixty has brought me a lot of opportunities like this.”

Soprano is set to make a belated return to the track at Sandown on Thursday when she takes on nine rivals in the European Bloodstock News EBF Star Stakes.

The George Boughey-trained filly, who was third in the Albany at Royal Ascot, was due to run in the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes at Newmarket, but missed that engagement due to a medication mix-up at home.

The daughter of Starspangledbanner will now be upped to seven furlongs for the first time, as long as the Sandown ground is suitable, with jockey William Buick maintaining the partnership.

Harry Herbert, managing director of owner Highclere Thoroughbred Racing, said: “She will go to Sandown unless the ground turns very soft or something – I wouldn’t want to run her on very soft ground.

“She has such a beautiful action but we do think a trip up to seven furlongs would really suit her, so it makes sense at this stage. Then we will see where we stand.

“On ratings she’d be miles clear of everything else, but like all these races, they deserve to attract horses like Shuwari, Fallen Angel and Expensive Queen – they are horses who could be anything.

“Ratings don’t mean an awful lot at this stage, it is more what lurks in the once-raced fillies.”

The current ground conditions at the Esher track are described as good, although further scattered showers are expected over the next 48 hours.

Should she fail to make the line-up, connections also have the option of sending her to Ascot on Saturday for the Group Three Bateaux Princess Margaret Stakes.

That race is over six furlongs, however, and Herbert feels she will be better off over further.

“We will take it one step at a time,” he said. “If she were to be successful on Thursday, we would be looking at races possibly like the Moyglare in Ireland, you have got the Newmarket race over seven, a Group Two (Rockfel Stakes).

“Going over seven furlongs was pretty much the chat from William Buick at Royal Ascot. He said that if the pace had been better, she probably would have gone pretty close, but definitely he felt she was crying out to go further.

“She is a lovely filly, with plenty of size and scope to her, so she should get better as she gets older. She is a gorgeous filly and it is exciting to see her back on the track.”

Gold Cup hero Courage Mon Ami and his Queen’s Vase-winning stablemate Gregory both remain in contention for the Al Shaqab Goodwood Cup on Tuesday.

Courage Mon Ami provided jockey Frankie Dettori with a fairytale final victory in last month’s Royal Ascot showpiece, 24 hours after the Italian had steered Gregory to success in the same colours of owners Wathnan Racing.

Both horses were left in the Group One feature on the opening day of next week’s Qatar Goodwood Festival at the confirmation stage and John Gosden, who trains the pair in partnership with son Thady, is not ruling out the possibility of them locking horns.

He said: “At present, both horses will be left in the race and then we will make a decision nearer the time whether one of them runs or they both run.

“Gregory saw the mile and six furlongs out the other day and I think he will see the two miles out, too. I think he is very much a progressive sort. He is a three-year-old getting the weight in the race, which is a very big edge. We have done it before with Stradivarius.

“Goodwood has its own demands, you swing left right, up, down. It demands a lot of agility from a horse.

“Interestingly enough both horses have won there, though I have to say they looked a bit up in the air galloping at some stages, but they would have learnt a lot from those experiences previously at Goodwood.”

Courage Mon Ami and Gregory were both purchased by the Emir of Qatar’s Wathnan Racing before Royal Ascot, with Gosden keen to underline the significance to the owners of having big runners at the Qatar Goodwood Festival.

He added: “It is extremely important, as the owners put a great deal into the meeting. To me it has lifted the whole event, particularly with the sponsorship and presence there. To that extent I think it’s key and let’s hope we can at least be running well for them.

“Goodwood is a great meeting. Let’s face it, you have Royal Ascot, then the July Meeting, and then Goodwood followed by York. They are the huge summer meetings.

“They are very important to the whole fabric of British racing and, in a sense, the British sporting summer, which turned a little soggy in Lancashire with the cricket and the golf in pouring rain. We can’t put a roof on it like centre court at Wimbledon – we’ve just got to get on with it.”

The Gosden team will be well represented across the week at Goodwood, with top-class fillies Inspiral and Nashwa also set to be in action.

Inspiral, who was beaten a neck by Triple Time in the Queen Anne Stakes at Royal Ascot, is set to take on the brilliant colt Paddington in the Qatar Sussex Stakes on Wednesday.

Nashwa, meanwhile, will bid for back-to-back wins in the Qatar Nassau Stakes on Thursday week after notching her third Group One win in the Falmouth at Newmarket.

“Inspiral ran a great race on her return in the Queen Anne. She has come on for that and been in great form since,” said Thady Gosden.

“Paddington is a horse who has made rapid progression. He is a horse with plenty of speed and plenty of ability. He won the St James’s Palace and then went on to the Eclipse. That is quite an unusual route but it demonstrates how brilliant he is. It will be tough taking him on but a championship race like the Sussex Stakes is never going to be an easy race.

“Inspiral has a low action and plenty of speed. She is a very strong filly and hopefully the track will prove no problem to her at all.

“Emily Upjohn was taking on Paddington two furlongs below her optimum trip (in the Eclipse), whereas Inspiral will be taking him on at her ideal trip. Paddington is a three-year-old stepping into older miler company for the first time, which is always an interesting one.”

Of Nashwa, he added: “She has taken a bit of time to come to herself this year as can often happen with fillies who are going from three to four.

“You could tell in the couple of weeks after the Hoppings Stakes that she really had taken a step forward. She looked very well in herself before the Falmouth, relaxed during the race and quickened up past some smart fillies.

“She is going to a track that she knows, having won the Nassau last year. She seems in good order and stepping back up to a mile and a quarter shouldn’t be an issue. It is a fast mile and a quarter, which should hopefully play to her strengths.

“Blue Rose Cen is a brilliant filly and this year she has shown what she can do, having won both fillies’ French classics. It will be a different test for her coming over here and taking on some different fillies, but she is certainly a brilliant filly.

“We have to give her 8lb in the race, so we’ll have to see how things go.”

Mark Cavendish has revealed the depths of the despair he faced before his comeback at the 2021 Tour de France in a new documentary.

In ‘Mark Cavendish: Never Enough’, launching on Netflix on August 2, the Manxman and wife Peta Todd open up about the toll his battle with the Epstein-Barr virus and clinical depression took, and about his fall-out with former team boss Doug Ryder.

Cavendish won four stages of the 2021 Tour to match Eddy Merckx on a record 34, but it came after several seasons wrecked by illness and injury – told in Alex Kiehl’s documentary using new interviews and contemporaneous behind-the-scenes footage.

Cavendish was diagnosed with Epstein-Barr – which can cause chronic fatigue – in April 2017. He was cleared to start that summer’s Tour only for a stage four crash with Peter Sagan to end it.

But the virus had not gone away and his struggles only intensified, putting a strain on Cavendish and those around him.

“You don’t go from being the best in the world to not being even capable,” Cavendish says in the film. “How has it happened? It turned into stress at home. I was a nightmare to live with.”

His wife Peta says Cavendish was “not really him at that moment”, putting pressure on their marriage. “We argued about nothing. He was so lost in everything that was going on.”

Later in the film, Peta adds: “I didn’t know this version of him, but I was sleeping in the same bed… I was scared that I would go past my limit and not be able to come back again.”

The tension was not limited to Cavendish’s private life. Team Dimension Data signed him in 2016 to elevate them to the WorldTour level and he delivered four Tour stage wins in his first season.

But once his illness began, the dynamic changed. Things came to a head during the 2018 Tour, where Cavendish’s best result was eighth before he missed the time cut on stage 11 to La Rosiere.

Days before, Ryder had called Dimension Data “a sinking ship” and called a team meeting. It was to prove a pivotal moment in the relationship between Cavendish and Ryder, who would leave his star rider out of the Tour the following summer against the advice of sports director Rolf Aldag.

Recalling the exchange, Cavendish says: “Doug starts off, ‘I’m getting it in the neck from the sponsors, we’re not anywhere near it. This isn’t good enough’.

“I’m like, ‘Doug, all the stuff you’re saying. You’re the one that signed the contracts. Don’t put that on us. We’re doing our best’. And he didn’t like me saying that. And he stormed off the bus.”

Ryder declined to be interviewed for the film, but Kiehl used behind-the-scenes footage gathered by his team with their blessing.

After the Tour Cavendish visited his former team doctor Helge Riepenhof. Tests found Epstein-Barr was still present and Cavendish should not have been racing. He was also diagnosed with clinical depression and almost admitted to hospital.

“I wasn’t sure if he would get out of the depression without quitting cycling,” Riepenhof says. “(Whether) to recommend he stop cycling and leave all the pressure and start a different life.”

Dimension Data then brought in psychologist David Spindler at a time when, according to Aldag, Cavendish was telling people his career was over.

Recalling the place Cavendish was in, Spindler says: “I think there’s a high risk that you harm yourself or even that you commit suicide. Mark and I made a deal. I said, ‘Before you do something to yourself, call me’.”

The latter part of the film is more uplifting. After a pandemic-disrupted season with Bahrain-McLaren, Cavendish was offered a career lifeline by his old boss Patrick Lefevere going into 2021, and that remarkable summer followed.

Cavendish was hoping for a record-breaking 35th stage win and a fairytale ending this July after announcing his plans to retire this winter, but a broken collarbone on stage eight scuppered that dream a day after he came so close in Bordeaux.

Astana-Qazaqstan boss Alexander Vinokourov still hopes to convince him to race on, and may take note of Cavendish’s closing comment: “I will continue trying to win for as long as I believe I can win.”

Charlie Fellowes is thrilled to have secured the services of Frankie Dettori to ride both of his two runners on the opening night of the 2023 Racing League at Yarmouth.

Having played a key role in Wales and The West’s victory last year, Dettori has switched sides for the third instalment of the team competition to become player-manager for the East.

Among the trainers able to call upon the Italian is Newmarket-based Fellowes, who is keen to make the most of a rare opportunity.

He said: “Frankie doesn’t ride for me very much, not through choice because I’m a huge fan.

“I think he’ll really suit both horses. They’re two nice, kind individuals who are not going to give Frankie a heart attack in his old age!”

The trainer and rider first team up on Thursday with Shahbaz, who is fitted with a visor for the first time in race three over a mile.

“Shahbaz, I felt, ran very lethargically when third at Ayr last time. He was slow out of the gates and I just didn’t like the way he raced,” Fellowes added.

“A few people commented that he wants further, but I really don’t believe he does. Every time we’ve tried him over 10 furlongs, in my opinion, he’s not got home.

“I really wanted to give him another try over a mile on a straight track, which is why we’ve gone to Yarmouth and any rain is a plus.

“I’ve put a set of visors on him, just to sharpen him up and hopefully help him travel a little bit kinder.

“I’m sure he’s ahead of his mark of 87 and I would just like to see a little more enthusiasm than we saw last time.”

The Bedford House handler has high hopes for Cumulonimbus, who bids to continue his profitable campaign in the seventh and most valuable race on the card, with a total prize fund of £100,000 up for grabs.

The four-year-old has already won at Newmarket and Haydock this season and was last seen finishing third in the Old Newton Cup at the latter venue just under three weeks ago.

Fellowes said: “The other horse is having a fantastic year and is a real pleasure to train.

“He enjoys his racing and I have no problem with a drop to 10 furlongs on a big, galloping track like Yarmouth and with him I don’t really mind what happens weather-wise as he goes on any ground.

“I suppose a bit of rain would make it more of a stamina test, but he’s very versatile, he’s got a fantastic way of going and I think he’ll run a big race on a track where he’s won before.

“It’s an unbelievable pot and I hope he can go and put in a big performance.”

J.P. France pitched seven strong innings, Kyle Tucker and Martin Maldonado hit solo home runs and the Houston Astros held off the Texas Rangers for a 4-3 win Tuesday, pulling to within a game of the AL West lead.

France gave up five hits and one unearned run while getting through seven innings in just 84 pitches. The 28-year-old rookie improved to 4-0 with a 1.72 ERA over his last five starts.

The Astros, who won Monday’s series opener 10-9, led 4-1 heading into the ninth inning, but closer Ryan Pressly gave up a two-run homer to Mitch Garver with two outs before recording his 24th save.

Houston has won four straight and improved to 6-3 this season against its in-state rival, and the Rangers now lead the AL West by just one game.

Texas has lost four of its last five games and – after a torrid opening to expectation-filled season – has gone 19-23 since June 7.

Abbott sharp as Reds hold off Brewers

Rookie Andrew Abbott scattered seven hits over six scoreless innings and the Cincinnati Reds withstood a frantic ninth-inning comeback attempt to edge the Milwaukee Brewers, 4-3.

Abbott struck out nine and walked one to outduel Corbin Burnes and avenge a pair of losses earlier this month to the Brewers.

Ian Gibault and Lucas Sims each worked one scoreless inning before Daniel Duarte surrendered a walk, a single and Christian Yelich’s opposite-field three-run homer in the ninth to get Milwaukee within 4-3.

Alexis Diaz gave up an infield single to William Contreras and hit Willy Adames in the helmet with a pitch before retiring Andruw Monasterio on a flyout for his 30th save. 

Jonathan India and Joey Votto had RBI singles in the fourth inning and Will Benson provided some needed insurance in the ninth with a two-run homer.

The win moved the Reds within one-half game of the NL Central-leading Brewers.

Mariners score 7 runs late to rally past Twins

Julio Rodriguez’s second home run of the game came in a four-run eighth and helped the Seattle Mariners rally for a 9-7 victory over the Minnesota Twins.

Seattle trailed 4-0 after the first inning and 6-2 entering eighth before score four in the eighth and two more in the ninth.

Cal Raleigh doubled home a run and Teoscar Hernandez had a run-scoring groundout before Rodriguez’s two-run shot – his 16th of the season - made it 6-6.

Rookie Cade Marlowe, who hit his first major league homer in the fifth, opened the ninth with a walk, stole second, moved to third on an infield single and scored with Kolten Wong on Eugenio Suarez’s double.

Minnesota began the day with an MLB-best nine wins since the All-Star break but had a four-game winning streak snapped.

Adam Peaty made history on this day in 2021 by becoming the first British swimmer to defend an Olympic title.

Peaty, then 26, maintained his world dominance in the 100 metre breaststroke as he powered his way to Britain’s first gold medal at Tokyo 2020.

He had not been beaten in the event for more than seven years – he celebrated gold at the Rio 2016 Olympics – and had broken the world record five times.

At the Tokyo Games, which was delayed a year due to the coronavirus pandemic, Peaty once again left his rivals trailing as he finished in 57.37 seconds, six tenths clear of second-placed Arno Kamminga from the Netherlands.

Peaty told BBC Sport following his triumph: “It means the world to me. It is not about who is the best all year round, it is who is the best on the day.

“It is about who is adaptable and who wants it more. When it comes down to it, I am not racing for a time, I am racing myself.”

Tokyo 2020 silver medallist Kamminga and China’s Qin Haiyang remain the only other men to have swum the event in under 58 seconds.

Peaty’s current world record stands at 56.88 and when he won gold in Tokyo, he had recorded the 20 fastest times.

He went on to win a second gold medal in Tokyo, in the mixed 100m medley relay, helping to set a world record time of 3mins 37.58secs together with Kathleen Dawson, James Guy and Anna Hopkin.

Peaty, who missed the 2022 world championships in Budapest due to a foot injury, withdrew from the British Championships in April this year and revealed he was struggling with his mental health.

The eight-time world champion has since confirmed his intention to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympics.

The Paris Olympics will be a “knock it out of the park spectacular” experience for Team GB athletes, their chef de mission has said.

Wednesday marks one year to go until the Games opening ceremony, and Mark England is confident the building blocks for success are being put in place for what is set to be the closest thing to a home Games for a generation.

“This will feel like a home Games and I think we need to talk about it as being a home Games,” England said.

“We won’t have all the home advantages that the French team will have but we’re very, very confident in what we’ve got in place.

“I think (the athletes) will find it the most inspirational and exciting Games they have ever been in. There’ll be a smattering of London 2012 Olympians there, but this will be knock it out of the park spectacular for those in their first or second Games, which is the lion’s share of them.

“They are in Europe, in their own time zone give or take, and with an opportunity to move quite freely between Paris and the rest of Britain.”

England said marginally under 50 athletes were qualified so far for the Games, and was confident ultimately 350 to 375 athletes would compete for medals.

Asked whether the ‘home’ environment might be the catalyst for a bigger medal haul than Tokyo, where the team finished fourth, England said: “I think we’ve got a great opportunity to be the top European nation again, despite the fact that the home nation is very, very strong and getting stronger for a whole variety of reasons.

“So top European nation, top five are our aspirations. I know that we are medal-competitive in a significant number of sports. I think we’ve got all of those building blocks, notwithstanding we’ve got another 12 months to build on that.”

England has already “kicked the tyres” on Team GB’s training bases in St Germain-en-Laye and Reims, plus the Performance Lodge in Clichy.

As well as being a training facility, England said the Lodge will serve as a place where athletes who wish to will have the opportunity to spend time with loved ones to boost preparations, something denied to them in Tokyo due to the strict Covid-19 protocols in place.

Concerns have been raised about security for the Games in Paris, amid riots in the French capital this summer and the terrorism threat level for the city still rated as severe.

Team GB athletes will be equipped with an emergency response app, but England said: “We’re in good shape. (The app) is absolutely nothing that we haven’t done before, and we used it extensively in Rio (in 2016).

“Our security footprint is no greater, no less than any other previous Games.”

The Dallas Cowboys checked off one major task on their offseason to-do list, while another looms large as the team opens training camp.

The Cowboys signed star cornerback Trevon Diggs to a five-year, $97million contract extension Tuesday, multiple media outlets reported, while six-time All-Pro guard Zack Martin officially began his holdout for a new deal.

Diggs, who led the NFL and tied a franchise record with 11 interceptions in 2021, is entering the final year of his rookie contract and is now signed through the 2028 season.

Martin has been one of the league’s top offensive linemen since the Cowboys drafted him in the first round in 2014 but was absent when players reported for training camp Tuesday.

Martin, 32, has two seasons remaining on a six-year, $84million deal that represents the ninth-highest average annual value among interior offensive linemen in the NFL.

Dallas owner and general manager Jerry Jones declined to give much detail about Martin’s contract situation.

 “I don’t want to get into what we are doing here or not doing,” Jones told reporters Tuesday. “I just want to say that he is in our plans.”

Diggs was a second-round draft pick in 2020 and has 17 interceptions in 45 career games.

Diggs, who said in May that he “loves” Dallas and hoped to remain with the Cowboys long-term, will reportedly receive half of the deal’s $42.3million in guaranteed money up-front as a signing bonus.

The contract extension reportedly contains an additional $7million in incentives, pushing its maximum possible value to $104million.

With Diggs’ money on the books, the Cowboys could struggle to reach a new long-term deal with Martin, especially with massive extensions for wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and pass-rusher Micah Parsons looming in the coming years.

“We've got everything, as we start camp today where we are, there [is] nothing to concern me about anything to do with what we're doing with contractual situations,” Jones said.

Martin will be fined $50,000 for each day of training camp missed.

Star quarterback Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers have reached agreement on a massive five-year, $262.5 million contract extension, according to multiple sources.

The deal makes Herbert the highest paid quarterback in the league by average salary per year and total money, just slightly surpassing the extension Lamar Jackson signed with the Baltimore Ravens in April.

Herbert, 25, will be entering his fourth NFL season since the Chargers selected him sixth overall in the 2020 draft out of Oregon. He had two years remaining on his rookie contract, which was to pay him roughly $8.5 million this season and $29.5 million on his fifth-year option contract in 2024.

The new deal locks Herbert in with the Chargers through the 2029 season.

He passed for 4,739 yards and 25 touchdowns with 10 interceptions last season while helping Los Angeles to a 10-7 record and their first playoff appearance since 2018.

Herbert had his best season in 2021, when he threw for 5,014 yards with 38 touchdowns and 15 picks.

His 1,316 completions are the most through a player’s first three seasons and his 64 Total QBR is ranked fourth best in the NFL since his 2020 rookie season.