Gevrey bounced back from Kerry National disappointment to lift the JT McNamara Ladbrokes Munster National at Limerick.
Having previously plundered the €100,000 feature with dual Grand National hero Tiger Roll in 2016 and Aforementioned in 2020, Gordon Elliott appeared intent on adding to his tally as he saddled eight of the 12 runners to go to post for the latest running of the three-mile contest.
Gevrey was among the leading contenders for last month’s Kerry National at Listowel, but was pulled up after making a bad mistake three fences from the finish.
The seven-year-old was a 6-1 chance to redeem himself in the hands of Ricky Doyle and did just that, knuckling down from the final fence to see off Largy Debut by two and a quarter lengths.
Coral cut Gevrey to 25-1 from 40-1 for the Grand National at Aintree in April.
Elliott, who also saddled the third placed Coko Beach, has been in New York, where he trained three winners on the undercard of the American Grand National at Far Hills on Saturday.
His assistant Lisa O’Neill said: “This is fantastic, we had a great day yesterday and the horses are running well.
“Gevrey always looked like there was a big pot in him and it is great for him to fulfil his potential. He has bags of stamina, he loves that ground and Ricky gave him a great ride.
“Gordon came back on a flight into Dublin this morning along with Jack (Kennedy).”
Doyle rode the winner of the Kerry National in the shape of Desertmore House, who only made it into the race when Elliott withdrew two of his runners.
He said: “Thanks to Gordon for putting me on the horse and it was because of him that I ended up getting into the Kerry National as a second reserve last month. To be able to repay him back is great.
“That’s my first winner for Gordon so it’s not a bad one to get. I’ve been going into Gordon’s for the past two seasons and while I was getting plenty opportunities, I didn’t get much luck previously.
“This game is a big roundabout and you have to keep all doors open and I enjoy going to Gordon’s where it’s good craic and I ride some good horses. They are fun mornings and to ride a winner like this is a big bonus.”
Deshaun Watson will return for the Cleveland Browns for their Week 7 game against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday.
Watson missed Cleveland's last two games because of a strained rotator cuff in his throwing shoulder.
The three-time Pro Bowl selection was injured in a 27-3 win over the Tennessee Titans in Week 3, and had warmed up prior to the Browns' Week 4 game against the Baltimore Ravens, but was ultimately ruled out.
Cleveland then hoped he'd be able to return from its Week 5 bye, but he remained sidelined for last Sunday's surprising 19-17 victory over the previously unbeaten San Francisco 49ers. P.J. Walker started last week, but didn't have much success, throwing for 192 yards and two interceptions.
Watson had his best game of the season in the game he was injured, throwing for 289 yards with a pair of touchdowns and no interceptions after throwing two TD passes and two picks in Cleveland's first two games of the season.
The Browns enter Week 7 with a 3-2 record, tied with the Pittsburgh Steelers for second place in the AFC North, just behind the 4-2 Ravens.
Cleveland will also have Kareem Hunt available at Indianapolis after the running back was listed as questionable with a thigh injury.
Scottish Champion Hurdle hero Rubaud made a successful start to his campaign with a front-running victory in the Trustatrader Approved And Reviewed Trades People Hurdle at Kempton.
The five-year-old had won four of his seven previous starts for champion trainer Paul Nicholls, including Grade Two triumphs in the Dovecote Novices’ Hurdle at this track in February and on his most recent outing at Ayr in April.
With Harry Cobden in the saddle, Rubaud was sent off at 2-1 for his reappearance and proceeded to lead his rivals a merry dance from flag-fall on his way to a near three-length victory.
Too Friendly was best of the rest in second, with 13-8 favourite First Street third and Alan King’s popular veteran Sceau Royal – seeking a third straight win in this Listed event – back in fourth.
Nicholls said of the winner: “I thought he would improve (for the run), but to compete at this sort of level he had to improve as at the weights he had a tough old task from last year, but he has gone and done that.
“I thought beforehand he looked big enough for his first run of the season so he will improve. He will now go to Wincanton in three weeks’ time for the Elite Hurdle. That was always the plan to come here and then go to Wincanton as it suits him to go right-handed.”
Looking further down the line, Rubaud could return to Kempton on Boxing Day for a potential clash with the mighty Constitution Hill.
Nicholls added: “We will probably run him in the Christmas Hurdle as someone has got to finish second to Nicky’s (Henderson) horse, and it is good prize-money.
“We will stay hurdling and go chasing next autumn as he is only five. He is a good level hurdler and we can choose our races with him and then go chasing next autumn.
“The two Grade Two races, the one in a few weeks, and the one in February (Kingwell Hurdle) will suit him quite well.”
Tom Johnstone’s second-half double sealed a rugged 22-18 win for England in the first of their three-match autumn Test series against Tonga in St Helens.
The Catalans Dragons winger had been almost anonymous in the first half but pounced on a pair of chances – the first a sublime floated pass from captain Jack Welsby – as the hosts pulled clear in the second period.
An impressive debut from Hull KR stand-off Mikey Lewis, who made then scored one before the break, also contributed to an encouraging afternoon for Shaun Wane’s men who were still forced to live on their nerves in the final stages.
A late try from Tolutau Koula threatened to set up a grandstand finish but England held on for the win in what was their first serious test since last year’s heartbreaking World Cup semi-final exit.
Tonga, boasting a side bristling with NRL talent, had themselves been looking to recover from a disappointing World Cup and deservedly reached the half-time hooter all-square at 12-12.
But it was the hosts who had made the first move and it took Lewis just eight minutes of his international bow to make an impact as his superb break set up a move that swung left through Victor Radley for Toby King to trot over on the left.
Harry Smith kicked England six clear but Tonga fought back after capitalising on a penalty for a ball steal, Saints’ Will Hopoate providing the decisive pass in a move that sent Wests Tigers’ Starford To’a in on the right edge.
Tonga went in front in the 25th minute when the second of their England-based starters, Huddersfield’s Tui Lolohea, delivered a neat kick for Tyson Frizell, who started his international career with Wales over a decade ago, to dart onto.
Isaiya Katoa’s first successful conversion lifted Tonga, backed by a boisterous band of fans behind the posts, into a four-point lead, before superb solo effort from Lewis, who wriggled through an imposing Tongan rearguard, levelled once again.
Harry Smith curled over the conversion to nudge England in front and Katoa responded with a penalty in front of the posts just before the half-time hooter.
Tonga were clearly growing in confidence, evidenced by the lively Keaon Koloamatangi, who produced an audacious offload to find space for Will Penisini, then bulled inches from the England where he was stopped by a timely Harry Smith tackle.
As the action warmed up, Johnstone’s hopes of a breakthrough were brutally stopped by Hopoate, then the action swung to the other end where To’a was ushered out of play as the visitors threatened again.
Welsby’s brilliance thrust England back in front after 55 minutes when he floated a perfectly-judged pass above the heads of three Tongan players to gift Johnstone the simplest of chances to get off the mark.
And a swift second from the Catalans man, when he pounced to intercept after a fumble by Penisini on the Tongan 40, left the fleet-footed Catalans star to race in under the posts from where’s Smith’s simplest conversion extended England’s lead to 22-12.
Tom Burgess was adjudged to have been held up over the line as England looked to finish the contest off but Tonga set up an anxious last two minutes when Tolutau Koula went over on the left, as if to serve as a timely reminder of two further bruising challenges to come.
Charlie Longsdon’s Rare Edition is due to start his chasing career when the ground conditions allow.
The six-year-old was a three-time winner last season, taking a trio of novice hurdles by sizeable margins before finishing second in the Listed Sidney Banks at Huntingdon.
He was pulled up in the Supreme at the Cheltenham Festival and then finished down the field in the Top Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree.
However, a transition to chasing has since been afoot, and the gelding will make a debut over fences when the right race and the right conditions come up.
“I just don’t want to see him on very soft ground, he’s ready to go but we’re just trying to find the right race for him,” Longsdon said.
“He’ll be going over fences for the first time, so we’re just holding out to try to find the right race.
“He’s been very good, we’ve been very happy with him and we’re looking forward to getting going, to be honest.
“We’ll start out at two miles, in the future we might want to step him up but for the minute we’ll very much be keeping him at two.”
Longsdon has another chaser to follow in Guetapan Collonges, a true stayer who took two contests last term and performed with credit over marathon trips in both the Classic Chase at Warwick and Midlands Grand National at Uttoxeter.
The latter two races will be on the agenda again this season after the seven-year-old made a winning start to the term at Carlisle on Thursday.
“It’s a good starting point, then we’ll probably go and look for some of the nice staying chases as the season goes on,” the trainer said.
“There’s Haydock in November and December and there are probably quite a lot of other nice valuable chases in the coming months.
“I can easily see him going back to Warwick for the Classic Chase and going for the Midlands National, all those decent staying chases, he’ll have entries for them all.”
Mutasarref came home best to provide trainer Ger Lyons with a fourth win in the last five runnings of the Bahrain Turf Club Knockaire Stakes at Leopardstown.
The County Meath handler landed the Listed prize with Psychedelic Funk in 2019, Masen in 2021 and Power Under Me 12 months ago.
With Power Under Me declared a non-runner this time around, 8-1 shot Mutasarref was the stable’s representative and the five-year-old picked up well when the gap came to defeat Honey Girl by a neck in the hands of Colin Keane.
The front-running 7-4 favourite Cairo, making his first appearance since filling the runner-up spot behind esteemed stablemate Paddington in the Irish 2,000 Guineas in May, finished third.
“I genuinely thought I was only running him because Eleanora (Kennedy, owner) was over for a do at the weekend,” Lyons said of the winner.
“He’s been on the wane all year. Colin said he’s just a class horse and the ease in the ground helps him as he’s had injuries and it helps his old bones.
“He’s been a very lucky horse for us since we got him. I thought we were on the road to dropping him down the handicap, but that’s undone all that. You don’t mind when they win.
“They went no gallop and it fell into his hands. On his day he’s a good horse.”
Aidan O’Brien and Seamie Heffernan teamed up to land the Thomas’s Of Foxrock “Jim And Kathleen Murphy” Memorial Trigo Stakes with 9-2 chance Boogie Woogie.
The Naas maiden winner had failed to trouble the judge in her last three starts in Group-race company and made the most of having her sights lowered in this Listed event.
The daughter of Dubawi quickened up smartly to take a couple of lengths out of the field halfway up the home straight and had enough in the tank at the finish to repel Sunchart by three-quarters of a length.
Stable representative Chris Armstrong, said: “She’s a filly that has promised a lot all year but things just haven’t gone right for her at times. She’s run some good races in Group races and it’s great to get the Listed win now.
“She’s a filly with a lot of ability. Seamie said she didn’t handle the ground but her class got her through.
“There might be a Group Three or something left for her, but we’ll see how we go.”
Sussex-based handler David Menuisier enjoyed a happy homecoming as Sunway upset highly-regarded French juvenile Alcantor in the Group One Criterium International at Saint-Cloud.
Oisin Murphy made good use of Sunway throughout the mile contest and forged ahead of Aidan O’Brien’s front-runner Navy Seal two furlongs out.
Andre Fabre’s odds-on favourite Alcantor and Mickael Barzalona threw down a strong challenge in the latter stages, but Murphy had left a bit up his sleeve and the 43-10 chance galloped on strongly up the favoured stands side.
French-born Menuisier, who began his career as assistant to Criquette Head-Maarek in Chantilly, tasted success at the top level with Wonderful Tonight at ParisLongchamp and on British Champions Day at Ascot three years ago and was delighted to enjoy another big win.
“Everything went according to plan,” said the trainer. “We wanted him to be up there in second or third, Oisin was able to give him a breather turning for home and then when he asked him to go, he really kicked on.”
Sunway impressed when making a winning debut at Sandown and bounced back from a below-par effort in a hot race at Ascot to split Iberian and subsequent Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere scorer Rosallion in the Champagne Stakes at Doncaster.
“He’s a very good horse, he ran well in the Champagne and Oisin really struggled to pull him up after the line that day, so we knew he would stay on well.
“It’s fantastic to have another Group One win and I’m also grateful and so happy for his breeder Guy Pariente, who has supported us and given us a real boost.
“One thing at a time, so we’ll enjoy this victory, but we can now go into the winter dreaming about what might happen next season.”
The son of Galiway, who is co-owned by Pariente, Thomas Lines and Qatar Racing, was cut to as short as 14-1 from 40-1 with Paddy Power for next year’s Qipco 2000 Guineas and introduced into their Derby betting at 33-1.
Winning jockey Murphy told Sky Sports Racing: “He was very relaxed and he’s trained really well into this.
“He won on debut at Sandown, disappointed at Ascot, I don’t know what went wrong, nothing came to light, then he freshened up and ran very well at Doncaster over a trip short of his best.
“Today, he was perfect. I was quietly confident and it’s great because Guy Pariente bred him, he owned the mare and the stallion, Sheikh Fahad and Qatar Racing bought into the horse and Thomas Lines is also involved.
“And it’s also great for David Menuisier, who thought he was very good from early on and today he was brilliant.
“I had a high opinion of him and obviously recommended him plenty and was glad he was able to do that. They have to have the mind to do that and he most certainly does.
“He has a bright future. The rail helped but I’ve no doubt I was on the best horse and the runner-up is a good horse as well.
“He’ll stay further, he’s a brother of (Champion Stakes winner) Sealiway, whose distance was probably 10 furlongs, and I’ve no doubt this fellow will go a furlong or two more.”
Danny Care hopes a heartbreaking defeat by South Africa in Saturday’s World Cup semi-final has won over any England fans who had grown disillusioned with the team.
England went out on their shields after the Springboks needed a last-gasp penalty from Handre Pollard to snatch victory having trailed for 75 minute of a thunderous showdown at the Stade de France.
As Owen Farrell orchestrated a wet weather masterclass that rattled the world champions, the discontent generated by poor recent Six Nations campaigns, the Eddie Jones era limping on for too long and August’s alarming collapse in form faded away.
And although the distant outsiders were unable to complete their unlikely mission of securing a place in next Saturday’s final against New Zealand, head coach Steve Borthwick should begin rebuilding his side amid a groundswell of support.
Booing is a sound heard frequently at England games in recent times, particularly at Twickenham, but Care views the progress made in France under Borthwick’s guidance as a cause to rally around.
“There was a lot of stuff said about us before and hopefully we’ve changed some perceptions, maybe got people believing in us again,” the Harlequins scrum-half said.
“Before the tournament, we understand that because of our performances people were doubting us a little bit. But then things clicked into gear a bit when we got over to France.
“We’ve shown stuff that fans can hopefully get behind and be proud of. The support we’ve had over here and back home has been amazing. This team will go on to bigger and better things, I’m sure of it.”
England led by nine points until RG Snyman went over in the 70th minute, but the tide had already begun turning as South Africa’s ‘Bomb Squad’ forced four scrum penalties.
“It was tough in that changing room. Unfortunately great effort doesn’t get you over the line sometimes,” said the 36-year-old Care, who revealed he will remain available for Test selection after the World Cup.
“I was sat in the bath with Maro Itoje and we were saying how sport can be cruel. It’s why we love it so much, it’s on a knife edge so often. There’s one happy changing room, one sad one.
“For me personally, when time is running out on your international career it’s tough to take, but I’m incredibly proud to be part of this team.”
England have one final assignment before departing France in the shape of Friday’s bronze final, customarily an unloved fixture in the World Cup schedule. But Care insists third place is a prize worth winning.
“We’d love to have been in the big dance but we’re not. The next best thing you can do is to finish third and try to make more people back home proud of this England team,” Care said.
“We’ll dust ourselves off pretty quick. Losing to South Africa is going to be harsh and tough to take for a couple of days but that’s sport – you’ve got to bounce back.”
Connections will take a watching brief before deciding whether King Of Steel will bid to follow up his Qipco Champion Stakes success with Breeders’ Cup glory.
The Roger Varian-trained three-year-old, owned by Kia Joorabchian’s Amo Racing, is among the leading fancies for the Breeders’ Cup Turf at Santa Anita on November 4, but must first show he has recovered well enough from his Ascot exertions.
“I think we need to take stock and see how the horse is – I know that’s the obvious thing to say,” said Varian.
“He appears to have come out of the race physically in good shape, but he would have had a hard race yesterday and we can’t ignore that. We just have to see how he is over the next week.
“I know Kia is very keen on the Breeders’ Cup anyway, in general, and if he could get a good horse there, then of course he’d want to be there.
“But in fairness to Kia, he’s been very good all year and he’s always said to me only run the horse when you’re 100 per cent happy, and if you’re not, we don’t go.
“I’m sure that will be the same regarding California in a couple of weeks’ time. We need to give it a few days to see what messages the horse is giving us, so I’m not going to take it off the table and we’ll just see how he is.”
One thing Varian will have no fears about after the thrilling Champions Stakes success under Frankie Dettori is King Of Steel’s ability to handle to Breeders’ Cup razzamatazz.
Speaking on Racing TV’s Luck on Sunday programme, Varian said: “He’s really a delight to train, not just because he’s very good but because he’s got a great temperament – and I thought that was on show yesterday.
“There was a lot of buzz and noise as the horse left the paddock and he had to keep himself together.
“And after the race, with all that was going on, he was really just behaving like a very good horse with a very calm personality.
“He’s like that; when he gets to the races, he doesn’t waste any excess energy, no nervous energy escapes from him and he’s really the ultimate professional as a racehorse.”
Varian was also full of praise for Dettori, who produced another memorable ride on his farewell to British racing.
“I actually haven’t had a proper debrief with Frankie yet; I had a few hugs but not a debrief,” added Varian.
“I thought we were in trouble for the first half of the race, nothing was really making up ground or coming off the pace.
“Of course, we left everything to Frankie, but I don’t think he thought he’d be last going into Swinley Bottom.
“He gave him a beautiful ride, kept him balanced, gave him a chance to find his feet and he came home very strong where it mattered.”
Irish raiders filled the first three places in the Criterium de Saint-Cloud, but not in the order the betting market predicted as Aidan O’Brien’s Los Angeles kept on best.
Christophe Soumillon’s mount benefitted from coming up the stands side rail to see off the Joseph O’Brien-trained Islandsinthestream and claim Group One glory over 10 furlongs at odds of 67-10.
The winner’s stablemate Illinois was a close-up third under Ryan Moore after being sent off the 19-10 joint-favourite alongside Islandsinthestream.
“He’s a very big horse and you would imagine he’s going to be a better horse next year,” said O’Brien of the Camelot colt on Sky Sports Racing.
“We felt the experience would do him good here and Christophe said he picked up very well.
“He said he wasn’t changing his legs throughout the race, so that’s why he was a little bit worried, so obviously he’s very babyish. But he said when he did get him to change his legs, he really picked up for him.
“I’d say Joseph’s horse is a good colt and Ryan’s horse has run a stormer as well, so they are obviously good colts.
“I asked Christophe how good could he be and he said he could be a Classic horse, so it’s something to look forward to.
“He said he could get a mile and a half, so that’s good. He’d only had one run before this, so it’s all very promising and good experience.”
Los Angeles was cut from 33-1 to 20-1 for next year’s Derby by Coral and is the same price with Paddy Power for Epsom glory.
“With Ryan Moore opting to ride Illinois, Los Angeles was perhaps not the Ballydoyle winner the market expected to see make the Group One breakthrough, but his neck success was enough to see his Derby odds tumble,” said Coral’s David Stevens.
Village Voice showed plenty of spirit when rallying late on to edge out Manisha in the Group Three Prix De Flore for Jessica Harrington.
The three-year-old was headed at the furlong pole but Cristian Demuro conjured up a renewed effort from his mount, with the stands rail again proving an assistance.
“It was important (having the rail) because the ground is very heavy,” said the jockey of the 13-10 favourite.
“I was supposed to stay behind the lead but the pace was very slow, so I went forward with her. The horse next to me put me under a bit of pressure but she’s a good filly and did it easily. It’s a pleasure to ride this kind of filly.”
South Africa have begun investigating an alleged racist slur directed at England flanker Tom Curry by their hooker Mbongeni Mbonambi.
England have until Monday morning to lodge a complaint with the citing officer after Curry claimed he had been the victim of a discriminatory remark in Saturday’s 16-15 World Cup semi-final defeat by the Springboks.
Curry drew the incident to the attention of referee Ben O’Keeffe in the second quarter of the match at the Stade de France.
Although the alleged slur is not audible on the ref mic, Curry’s subsequent conversation with O’Keeffe is.
“Sir, if their hooker calls me a white c*** what do I do?” the Sale flanker said.
O’Keeffe replied: “Nothing, please. I’ll be on it.”
South Africa on Sunday responded by confirming they are looking into the incident.
“We are aware of the allegation, which we take very seriously, and are reviewing the available evidence. We will engage with Bongi if anything is found to substantiate the claim,” an SA Rugby statement read.
When asked after the match if Mbonambi had said something he should not have done, Curry replied “yeah”, although he declined to reveal the content of the remark.
Mbonambi, who took over as captain once Siya Kolisi had been replaced, refused to shake Curry’s hand at the end of a dramatic clash in Paris that was won by Handre Pollard’s penalty after 78 minutes.
World Rugby confirmed there is a 36-hour window from when the game ends for England to lodge a complaint to the citing officer, giving them until 10am BST on Monday to act.
The sport’s global governing body can also choose to pursue the matter, with any case likely to be brought under the ‘bringing the game into disrepute’ banner.
Also, if the citing officer finds any evidence of the alleged racist remark, disciplinary proceedings can be triggered against Mbonambi, with an offence such as this likely to contravene law 9.12 – a player must not verbally abuse anyone.
England led for all but five minutes of the semi-final and were nine points ahead until RG Snyman went over in the 70th minute at a time when the Springboks’ scrum was taking control through the introduction of the ‘Bomb Squad’.
Jonny May said England’s heroic effort against the world champions was fuelled by the belief that they had been dismissed as a serious threat by South Africa.
“I’ll be honest, I don’t think necessarily the South Africans respect us,” May said.
“Some of the things their coach has openly said about us in their documentaries and stuff probably just adds fuel to the fire.
“We touched on their documentary and we’ve got staff who were with them and they gave us insight of how they feel about us.”
Mostahdaf looks set to round off his career in the Breeders’ Cup Turf next month, after connections opted to sidestep Saturday’s Qipco Champion Stakes due to unsuitable ground.
Having proved his top-level capabilities by winning the Prince of Wales’s Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Juddmonte International at York, John and Thady Gosden’s five-year-old was well fancied to complete his Group One hat-trick on Champions Day – but his team had warned his participation was ground dependent.
And while Gosden and owners Shadwell initially gave the go-ahead after walking the track before racing, the attritional nature of the curtain-raising Long Distance Cup prompted a rethink.
“John and I walked the track, as everyone knows, and I thought it walked surprisingly well considering the rain they’ve had. I thought it walked good to soft and a bit softer down in Swinley Bottom,” said Shadwell’s racing manager Angus Gold.
“At that stage we were both thinking it was going to be OK to run on, albeit it wasn’t going to be in his favour, and then after the first race the first two jockeys I spoke to were the reigning champion jockey (William Buick), who described it as horrible and heavy, and Rab Havlin, who was third, said it was heavy.
“John and I had another look at it and spoke to Sheikha Hissa and said, ‘look, it’s your decision, but the ground isn’t going to be in his favour’, and John just felt it wasn’t fair on the horse ending his career in ground we know he doesn’t like – he couldn’t hobble on it in the Arc last year.
“With the option of the Breeders’ Cup still to come, there didn’t seem any point in bowing out on a low note when we can go to California with a chance of running him on fast ground in a couple of weeks’ time if he’s still well.”
Mostahdaf will be returning to a mile and a half for the first time since finishing fourth to Japanese ace Equinox in the Dubai Sheema Classic in March if he does contest the Breeders’ Cup Turf – but Gold does not see the extra distance being a major issue.
He added: “His best form here recently has been over a mile and a quarter, but over an American mile and a half, going down that hill for the first four furlongs or whatever it is, I think he’ll stay it. Whether he’ll win over it I can’t tell you, but I don’t think it will be that (stamina) that beats him.
“He’s a five-year-old now who has done brilliantly this year and I think if he does go to America that will be his last run.”
Plans are being drawn up for Jack Catterall to face Josh Taylor again, with Manchester or Glasgow primed to host the grudge match in 2024.
British super-lightweight Catterall claimed a unanimous decision victory over former three-weight champion Jorge Linares in Liverpool on Saturday night.
Two of the judges scored the fight 116-112 with another 117-111 in favour of Catterall, who is in line to face the winner of the December clash between WBC-belt holder Regis Prograis and Devin Haney, but is set to sidestep the world title shot to settle his score with long-standing foe Taylor.
Catterall lost in controversial circumstances to Taylor in February 2022, when the WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO super-lightweight belts were on the line with the Scottish boxer earning a split decision victory despite being put down in the eighth round and largely struggling against his English opponent.
“Taylor, where are ya? Let’s have it,” Catterall (28-1, 13KOs) said during his ringside interview.
Matchroom Sport chairman Eddie Hearn, who promoters Catterall, confirmed talks with Taylor’s Top Rank representatives will begin soon.
Hearn told Matchroom Boxing: “They are two guys who cannot stand each other.
“Josh Taylor is spiteful in and out of the ring, he is fantastic in the build-up and that would bring the best out of Jack Catterall, who is quite quiet and relaxed in general.
“The first fight was extremely controversial, we could do that in Manchester or Glasgow and we’ll be speaking to Top Rank to try and make it happen.”
Taylor had been expected to move up to the welterweight category following his defeat to Teofimo Lopez in June, but he was active on X, formerly known as Twitter, during Catterall’s bout with Linares and insisted his rival “couldn’t finish a roast dinner” after going the distance.
“I think you’ve seen with the success of Wood-Warrington, Smith-Eubank, potentially Benn-Eubank as well, the British fights work,” Hearn explained.
“There is so much bad blood between Josh Taylor and Jack Catterall the build-up is going to be electric, it’s going to be spiteful and going to get people involved because of the narrative.
“They know from the first fight it could sell-out in Manchester or Glasgow and I think it’s the right fight for both fighters.
“Every fighter wants to win a world title, Jack arguably should have all of them but he hasn’t. Outside of a world championship fight, the rematch is one that definitely makes sense.”
England have until Monday morning to lodge a complaint after Tom Curry alleged he was the victim of a racist slur in Saturday’s 16-15 World Cup semi-final defeat by South Africa.
Curry drew the incident involving hooker Mbongeni Mbonambi to the attention of referee Ben O’Keeffe around the half-hour mark of the match at the Stade de France.
Although the alleged slur is not audible on the ref link, Curry’s subsequent conversation with O’Keeffe is.
“Sir, if their hooker calls me a white c***, what do I do?” the Sale flanker said.
O’Keeffe replied: “Nothing, please. I’ll be on it.”
When asked after the match if Mbonambi had said something he shouldn’t have done, Curry replied “yeah”, although he declined to reveal what was said.
Mbonambi refused to shake Curry’s hand at the end of a dramatic clash in Paris that was won by Handre Pollard’s penalty after 78 minutes.
The PA news agency has contacted World Rugby and the South Africa Rugby Union for comment.
Collin Morikawa claimed his first PGA Tour win for two years with a storming victory at the Zozo Championship in Japan.
The 26-year-old American began the final day two off the lead but a seven-under-par round of 63 at Chiba carried him to victory by six shots ahead of Eric Cole and Beau Hossler.
Morikawa, who is of Japanese heritage, carded seven birdies and no bogeys in a near perfect final round, finishing off in style with a birdie on the 18th for a 14 under par total.
It brought him a first win since he claimed the DP World Tour Championship in Dubai in November 2021, which followed on from his victory at the Open the same year.
Morikawa won his first major title at the PGA Championship in 2020 in only his second appearance at one of golf’s four biggest events, a year after his maiden PGA Tour victory at the Barracuda Championship.
He was the first-round leader at Accordia Golf Narashino Country Club but seemed to have dropped out of contention after a disappointing second-round 73 and then a poor start to his third round but he finished it with five birdies from the final six holes to put himself in a good position going into Sunday.
The Philadelphia Phillies are one win away from returning to the World Series.
Kyle Schwarber, Bryce Harper and J.T. Realmuto each hit home runs, Zack Wheeler pitched seven strong innings and the Phillies beat the Arizona Diamondbacks 6-1 Saturday to take a 3-2 NLCS lead.
Philadelphia bounced back from losses in Games 3 and 4 with their sixth multi-homer game of this postseason, and Wheeler won a battle of aces against Arizona’s Zac Gallen.
The Phillies jumped on Gallen for two runs in the first, courtesy of a Bryson Stott RBI single and Harper swiping home on a double-steal call.
Harper and Schwarber stayed red hot with solo shots off Gallen in the sixth to expand the lead to 4-0.
Schwarber’s home run was his fifth of the series and was the 20th of his postseason career, pulling him into a tie for fourth all-time with Derek Jeter.
Harper reached base three times and scored three runs, and last year’s NLCS MVP is batting .343 with a 1.282 OPS this postseason.
Arizona cut the lead to 4-1 in the seventh when Game 4 hero Alek Thomas took Wheeler deep, but Realmuto added insurance with his two-run blast off Luis Frias in the eighth.
Wheeler allowed one run and six hits in seven innings while striking out eight and lowering his career postseason ERA to 2.48.
With a healthy cushion late, the Phillies were able to rest key relievers Jose Alvarado and Craig Kimbrel.
After a travel day Sunday, Aaron Nola is slated to start Monday at home as the Phillies look to repeat as National League champions. Merrill Kelly will take the bump for Arizona, hoping to extend the Diamondbacks’ season.
Canadian-bred American Tap, under steady guidance from jockey Tevin Foster, earned her first victory on Jamaican soil with powerful debut performance that left rivals struggling in the $1.25 million Nigel B Nunes Memorial Cup feature at Caymanas Park on Saturday.
Much like she did at exercise, the six-year-old bay mare, who is one of six overseas horses expected to line up in the lucrative Mouttet Mile in December, displayed pace and class in a comfortable 4-3/4 lengths win, in the three-year-olds and upward Non-Restricted Overnight Allowance contest for over five furlongs (1,000m) straight.
Conditioned by Howard Jaghai, American Tap, running from the wide number 13 draw in the 15-horse field, and quickly match strides with Ultimate Machine (Dane Dawkins), True Bravado (Phillip Parchment), and Press Conference (Richard Henry), in the early exchanges.
By the time the sort themselves out and came across the dummy rails, the Tapiture -American Castle mare, American Tap proved the superior speed, and with very little reminders from Foster, she briskly pulled away and powered home to justify the 1-2 favouritism.
American Tap stopped the clock in an eye-catching 58.2 seconds, after splits of 23.1 and 46.0 seconds, and the fact that she literally cantered the latter stages of the contest, all but indicates her credentials for what could be a fruitful outing in Jamaica.
Press Conference, Ring Charmer (Roger Hewitt) and Duke (Allan Maragh) completed the frame.
American Tap completed a double for Foster, who earlier piloted the Anthony Nunes-trained Captain Calico to victory in the seventh event.
Another in-form rider, Raddesh Roman, also had a double with Ricardo Brown’s KP Choice in the second event and From Sheer To Ben conditioned by Alford Brown in the ninth and final contest.
Steve Borthwick vowed to use England’s heartbreaking World Cup semi-final exit at the hands of South Africa to sow a seed for future success.
Borthwick’s unfancied side led by nine points in the final quarter and were on the cusp of a famous win until Handre Pollard’s late penalty condemned them to an agonising 16-15 defeat.
Many of England’s players collapsed to their knees following a colossal, but ultimately unsuccessful, effort against the reigning champions on a sodden evening in Paris.
While head coach Borthwick was similarly crestfallen by the dramatic late twist at Stade de France, he was proud of the efforts of his team and upbeat about what lies ahead.
“We came here with a plan to win the game and we fell a little bit short, not far short but a little bit short, so we’re desperately disappointed,” he said.
“I think we all truly believed we could do it, we were going to do it, and we came very close to doing so.
“In adversity, in these tough times, there’s usually some seed of it there that will grow and be something brilliant in the future.
“Right now it’s too early for me to find that seed but we’ll make sure we find it.
“We’ll make sure that we take some of what we find tonight, some of what we’ve gone through tonight, we’ll make sure we grab that and we’ll make sure it makes us stronger in the future.”
Captain Owen Farrell produced an outstanding performance, kicking all of his side’s points, including a superb drop goal.
His efforts looked to be sufficient for victory but RG Snyman barged over for the only try of the match in the 70th minute to set up a grandstand finish.
Man-of-the-match Pollard, who booted the Springboks to victory over England in the 2019 final, nailed the tricky conversion and then landed a monster penalty two minutes from time to inflict more anguish on the opposition.
“The players should be incredibly proud of what they’ve done and continue to do as they represent England rugby,” continued Borthwick.
“I know I’ll have at home a couple of young boys who are going to be bitterly disappointed and I’m sure there are lots of people that are proud but also gutted back in England, I’m sure there are millions of people like that.
“I care about these players, I care about these supporters, and I care about English rugby.
“What I see is a group of guys who are doing as much as they possibly can to set an example, to build a team, to have supporters proud of them.
“They’re led by this man next to me (Farrell), who I think has been and continues to be a phenomenal player and an incredible leader of this team.”
New Zealand await South Africa in next weekend’s final.
Springboks head coach Jacques Nienaber praised his team’s fighting spirit.
“I pay a lot of credit to England,” he said. “They were outstanding on the night.
“They had a very good tactical plan and they put us under pressure. We will have to improve because it took us some time to get to grips with it.
“But the strength of this team is that even if we’re not playing well we find a way to get the result.
“It took 80 minutes to get a foothold in the game. The team refused to give up and fought until the end.”
Springboks captain Siya Kolisi was convinced fly-half Pollard, who came on for Manie Libbok with only half an hour gone, would land the decisive penalty from just inside England’s half.
“I had no doubt at all,” he said. “He’s done it for us before.
“England are a world-class team and completely different to a year ago. They had an amazing game plan which we took too long to adapt to.
“These things happen but we dug deep to get the victory. Other teams wouldn’t be able to get the win from this. I’m not going to say it was ugly, we did what was needed.”
Max Verstappen saw off Lewis Hamilton’s early challenge to claim victory in Saturday’s sprint race at the United States Grand Prix.
For the first time since their 2021 championship duel for the ages, Verstappen and Hamilton ran line astern in the 19-lap dash at Austin’s Circuit of the Americas.
But Hamilton was unable to prevent Verstappen from taking the spoils, and accumulating yet another win of this most one-sided of Formula One campaigns.
Hamilton took the chequered flag a distant 9.4 seconds adrift of Verstappen with Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc third.
Verstappen, crowned champion of the world for a third time in Qatar a fortnight ago, took pole position earlier on Saturday and then put his elbows out at the start to ensure Leclerc did not sneak up his inside on the uphill drag to the opening bend.
Verstappen moved over to his left to squeeze the Ferrari man allowing Hamilton a clean shot at Leclerc on the exit of the first corner.
Hamilton ran over the kerbs and past the Monegasque, and then set his sights on Verstappen.
Hamilton has not won a race for nearly two years, the longest losing streak of his career. Indeed, 685 days have passed since he claimed victory at the penultimate round of the 2021 campaign in Saudi Arabia.
But for half-a-dozen laps here, Hamilton will have dared to dream that a victory could be on the cards.
Hamilton has triumphed six times in America – with five of those victories in the Lone Star State – and his early pace certainly provided Verstappen with food for thought.
The seven-time world champion stayed within one second of Verstappen to provide him with a possible DRS slingshot past his Red Bull rival.
“Driveability is not there,” moaned Verstappen on the radio. “I lost the rear completely.”
Hamilton then hinted his nemesis was gaining an advantage by using more of the track than is allowed.
“Max has gone off quite a few times,” said the Mercedes driver.
Hamilton has lauded the improvements from his updated machine, but the superiority of Verstappen’s Red Bull came to the fore.
Six laps had passed and Verstappen was suddenly out of DRS range. A slim hope of victory for Hamilton was dashed.
Yet the 38-year-old, who starts third for tomorrow’s 56-lap main event, will expect to be a contender again.
And his chances of a possible win will be aided by Verstappen starting only in sixth after his pole lap in Friday’s qualifying was deleted for exceeding track limits.
Lando Norris took fourth spot ahead of Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez, with Carlos Sainz sixth.
George Russell finished seventh but was demoted to eighth after he served a five-second penalty for an illegal move on McLaren’s Oscar Piastri.
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