William Haggas says he is in no rush to make a plan for the King’s Royal Ascot winner Desert Hero.
A son of Sea The Stars, the three-year-old earned a third success in five career starts when recording a famous victory under Tom Marquand in the King George V Stakes.
The head victory over Valiant King gave the King and Queen their first success at the meeting.
The Newmarket handler feels he will not make a quick return to the track, however.
He said: “It was a great day. He’s fine, but I don’t know quite what we will do.
“He would have had a very hard race there, so we are not in any rush to make a plan.
“We will have to see how we go. There’s nothing in mind long-term, not really.”
Meanwhile, Tiber Flow, who won Newcastle’s Group Three Chipchase Stakes on Saturday, could prove difficult to place, according to the handler.
Marquand’s mount beat Spycatcher in the six-furlong all-weather contest by neck to make it four wins from five starts on artificial surfaces.
Haggas said: “It was nice for Jon and Julia Aisbitt, they bred him. His half-brother (Godwinson) won at Hamilton on Thursday to become their 100th winner, which is a fantastic achievement.
“Then the older brother wins a Group race at Newcastle, so it is fantastic.
“We wanted to run him in the Wokingham, but he needs cut in the ground.
“So, the Chipchase was a very nice option, too. I don’t know yet where we’ll go. He would be in the Hackwood (Newbury) with a penalty.
“There are penalties everywhere now. That’s a crime for winning a Group race, but we’ll see. He has won a Group race off a rating of 106, so life could be tough with his penalty.”
Novak Djokovic is capable of reaching 30 grand slam titles amid his "scary" run of major success, according to Mark Philippoussis.
The Serbian is a record 23-time grand slam champion, having already won the Australian Open and French Open this year.
And Djokovic will open his Wimbledon title defence on Centre Court against Argentine Pedro Cachin on Monday as he continues his pursuit of a calendar Grand Slam.
Djokovic is looking to match Roger Federer's records of eight Wimbledon titles overall and five consecutive wins at the tournament.
His seventh title at All England Club and his fourth straight success arrived last year with a four-set win over Nick Kyrgios in the final.
Philippoussis, who lost a Wimbledon final to Federer 20 years ago, sees no signs of Djokovic slowing down.
"What is he on, 23? I mean, if he stays healthy, could he break 30? Let's see if he plays for another few years, and he gets two a year, I mean, he's getting close to that, which is scary to think," Philippoussis said to Stats Perform.
"It's incredible and not only that, he's there two hours before he practices, he warms up properly, does all the right things, he's got his team around him.
"And [after] he finishes practising, he warms down, he's there two to three hours even after he finishes practising, again with his team, which is a strong unit.
"He does all the right things and still doesn't take the foot off the pedal.
"He's still looking to improve in any way he can, looking for the one per cent here, one per cent there, whether it's on or off the court, or his eating, or his fitness, it really is incredible."
Philippoussis believes Djokovic, who is 36, will break every significant tennis record before his career comes to an end.
Carlos Alcaraz has emerged as a huge threat to his dominance and is looking to end his Wimbledon winning streak, but the Australian still finds it difficult to bet against Djokovic.
"Djokovic is only slightly in front of Alcaraz, but it is impossible to look past him after what he's done at the Australian Open and the French Open," Philippoussis added.
"To beat Djokovic physically and mentally in five sets, you're going to have to be on in every department and that's if you find an opening from him, which is very, very difficult to find.
"What he's continuing to do in the game and the sport is incredible.
"I don't follow all the numbers, but if he's not past everything already, by the time he's done, I think he would be leading in pretty much all of the them.
"Maybe Jimmy Connors is still ahead as far as [ATP] tournaments won, but I believe that by the time he's done, I think he will be leading all those departments."
French Open champion Iga Swiatek is the favourite in the women’s singles, although she has never previously made it past the fourth round at Wimbledon.
Philippoussis thinks the women’s draw is far more open than on the men’s side.
He said: "Swiatek is going to be a slight favourite but, again, grass is a different thing, it's completely different to other surfaces.
"Even though it has slowed over the years, it's still grass and you need to make those adjustments out on there.
"You've got Rybakina, who hasn't had the best preparation, but she's definitely, as Wimbledon champion, going to have to be one of the favourites, and Sabalenka is definitely one of the favourites as well.
"But, in my opinion, I think the women’s is a little more open in the field, so I think a few girls have some opportunities."
On this day in 2010 Serena Williams won her fourth Wimbledon title with a 6-3 6-2 win against Vera Zvonareva.
It took just over an hour for the world number one to scoop her 13th grand slam title after sealing victory against the Russian 21st seed.
Zvonareva was appearing in her first grand slam final but had no answer for Williams, who took the first set in 36 minutes.
With Zvonareva 4-1 down in the second, the American showed her ruthless streak to see out victory, taking her past Billie Jean King to sixth in the all-time list of female grand slam singles champions.
“Hey Billie, I got you, it’s number 13 for me,” Williams said after her win.
“It means a lot because it is 13 and that’s kind of cool because I was able to beat Billie. To have four Wimbledon titles is amazing.
“It’s funny, I didn’t think I was playing that well, especially in practice.
“Just wasn’t hitting the ball that cleanly, but when I got on the court, it was good.
“I served really well and to win the tournament without losing a set is pretty cool.”
Now 41, Williams has won a mammoth 23 grand slams, more than any other player in the Open era, and is one behind Margaret Court.
Her last Wimbledon singles title came in 2016, beating Angelique Kerber 7-5 6-3.
Ozzie Albies hit a tie-breaking two-run homer in the fifth inning to back 6 2/3 sharp innings from Spencer Strider as the Atlanta Braves earned a 6-3 victory over the Miami Marlins on Sunday to extend their winning streak to eight games.
Albies' 20th homer of the season gave Atlanta a 4-2 lead that Strider made hold up as the red-hot Braves completed a three-game series sweep over their closest National League East competitors. Atlanta has now won 16 of 17 to extend its lead over the second-place Marlins to nine games.
The Braves have also won 10 in a row at home and outscored Miami 29-7 for the series.
Strider, named to his first All-Star Game on Sunday, was touched for two runs in the second inning and an unearned run in the seventh, but got enough support via homers by Albies, Travis d'Arnaud and Orlando Arcia to win a fourth consecutive start. The hard-throwing right-hander recorded nine strikeouts to push his major league-leading total to 155.
Albies was also named an NL reserve for next week's All-Star Game, one of a league-high eight selections for Atlanta.
2022 NL Cy Young Award winner Sandy Alcantara struggled again for Miami, allowing four runs in five innings to raise his season earned run average to 4.93.
Marlins All-Star Luis Arraez finished 2 for 4 with two RBIs to raise his MLB-leading batting average to .389.
Ohtani, Trout homers help Angels down Diamondbacks
American League All-Stars Shohei Ohtani and Mike Trout had two of the Los Angeles Angels' three home runs in a 5-2 win over the Arizona Diamondbacks that prevented a sweep of the three-game series.
Mickey Moniak's three-run blast off Diamondbacks ace Zac Gallen in the second inning put Los Angeles up 4-2 and helped the Angels snap a season-high four-game losing streak. Ohtani later launched a 454-foot drive into the right field seats in the eighth for his MLB-leading 31st homer of the season and sixth in seven games.
Angels starter Reid Detmers surrendered a two-run homer to Carson Kelly in the second, but held Arizona scoreless for the remainder of his six-inning stint and finished with nine strikeouts.
Gallen, named to his first All-Star Game for the NL squad earlier in the day, recorded 12 strikeouts in seven innings but was reached for four runs to fall to 10-3 on the season.
Astros hold off Rangers to close gap in AL West
Chas McCormick snapped a tie with a three-run triple in the top of the eighth inning, and the Houston Astros held on for a 5-3 win over the Texas Rangers in a matchup of the top two teams in the AL West.
McCormick's big hit off reliever Josh Sborz with the bases loaded staked Houston to a 4-1 lead, though the Rangers answered with Nathaniel Lowe's two-run homer in the bottom of the eighth to pull back within one.
Jose Altuve homered in the top of the ninth to increase the lead to 5-3, however, and Ryan Pressly retired the Rangers in order in the bottom of the frame to notch his 17th save.
The win was Houston's fourth in five games and brought the reigning World Series champions within four games of first-place Texas in the division. The four-game Lone Star Series between the in-state rivals concludes Monday.
Texas lost for the sixth time in nine games and wasted a terrific start from Andrew Heaney, who struck out eight and allowed just three hits in five scoreless innings.
Jose Abreu finished 3 for 5 for the Astros, while McCormick and Altuve each collected two hits.
Reigning men’s champion Novak Djokovic will kick things off on Centre Court as Wimbledon gets under way on Monday.
There will also be an emotional return to the big stage for five-time women’s champion Venus Williams as well as plenty of British players hoping for some home glory.
Here, the PA news agency takes a look at the opening day of action.
Rivals reunited
Djokovic begins the pursuit of an eighth title – which would draw him level with record-holder Roger Federer – against Pedro Cachin.
But he probably had a bigger test as he resumed rivalries with Andy Murray in practice over the weekend.
The pair enjoyed a competitive encounter out on the Aorangi Park courts on Saturday, almost 10 years to the day from when Murray beat Djokovic to win his first Wimbledon title.
That victory in the 2013 final gives Murray the distinction of being the only player in this year’s draw to have beaten Djokovic at Wimbledon.
Iga to prove herself
View this post on Instagram
World number one Iga Swiatek begins her quest for a first Wimbledon title, fresh from another success at the French Open last month.
The Pole, Aryna Sabalenka and defending champion Elena Rybakina are the ‘big three’ in the women’s game at the moment but grass is not the former’s strongest surface.
Swiatek has not made it past the fourth round at SW19 before but should get a nice gentle opening to the tournament as she is first up on Court One against China’s Zhu Lin, who has won just one singles match in four Wimbledon appearances.
Match of the day
View this post on Instagram
Venus Williams returns to SW19 in singles competition for the first time since 2021 and will be looking to add to the five titles she has won here, the last being in 2008.
However, that is highly unlikely and, aged 43, this may be more of a swansong, 12 months on from her sister Serena bidding farewell to the championships.
She gets a Centre Court date with Ukrainian Elina Svitolina, who is making a good return following the birth of her baby in October.
Brit Watch
Six home players are in action on the opening day and all will have hopes of getting through.
Katie Swan perhaps has the toughest task as she was drawn against 14th seed Belinda Bencic, but she has been playing well this summer.
Dan Evans takes on Frenchman Quentin Halys, Liam Broady is up against Constant Lestienne and Jan Choinski plays Dusan Lajovic.
Jodie Burrage got to the final at Nottingham so will be confident against American Caty McNally while Harriet Dart, who made back-to-back quarter-finals at Nottingham and Birmingham, goes up against Diane Parry.
Order of playWeather
Ten days after being named the American League's starting designated hitter for next week's All-Star Game, Los Angeles Angels sensation Shohei Ohtani was named to the AL's pitching staff.
Major League Baseball revealed all pitchers and reserves on Sunday for the July 11 game in Seattle, three days after starters were announced.
Ohtani was named an All-Star last week, however, as the league's top-vote getter.
This is the third year in a row Ohtani has been selected as a two-way starter for the All-Star Game.
He pitched and hit at the 2021 Midsummer Classic at Denver, though only hit at last year's game at Dodger Stadium.
The 28-year-old phenom from Japan entered play Sunday, ranking second in the AL in strikeouts (127) and eighth in ERA (3.02).
He also leads all of baseball in home runs (30), slugging percentage (.666) and OPS (1.057).
The Atlanta Braves lead MLB with eight players selected to the All-Star Game - the most by any team since the Texas Rangers in 2012 - after pitchers Spencer Strider and Bryce Elder, first baseman Matt Olson, second baseman Ozzie Albies and third baseman Austin Riley joined the club's previously named starters - outfielder Ronald Acuna Jr., shortstop Orlando Arcia and catcher Sean Murphy.
The Braves enter Sunday with the majors' best record at 55-27.
Nick Kyrgios has withdrawn from this year’s Wimbledon on the eve of the tournament due to a wrist injury.
The Australian, who was beaten in last year’s final by Novak Djokovic, had earlier conceded there were “some question marks” over his participation.
In a statement posted on his social media accounts, Kyrgios wrote: “I’m really sad to say that I have to withdraw from Wimbledon this year.
“During my comeback, I experienced some pain in my wrist during Mallorca. As a precaution I had it scanned and it came back showing a torn ligament in my wrist.
“I tried everything to be able to play and I am disappointed to say that I just didn’t have enough time to manage it before Wimbledon.”
Kyrgios had been scheduled to begin his campaign against Belgian former quarter-finalist David Goffin on Court One on Monday.
The 28-year-old has been unable to build on his sole grand slam final appearance after withdrawing from the Australian Open in January due to a knee injury which required surgery.
He had played only one match since, a defeat to Wu Yibing in Stuttgart last month, and admitted during his pre-tournament media rounds on Sunday that he was “almost dreading” his return.
“I’m just going to try to do everything I can, prepare, go out there and play some good tennis,” Kyrgios had said. “I feel probably as good as I could feel at the moment.”
The Phoenix Suns have landed one of the most coveted free agents still on the market, signing veteran Eric Gordon to a two-year contract.
The deal, which was reported Sunday, includes a player option, according to ESPN's Adrian Wojnarowski.
The 34-year-old Gordon joins a Suns team led by Devin Booker, Kevin Durant, Deandre Ayton and the recently acquired Bradley Beal.
Gordon averaged 12.4 points, 2.7 assists and 1.9 rebounds in 69 games last season for the Houston Rockets and Los Angeles Clippers.
Acquired by the Clippers at the trade deadline, Gordon averaged 10.2 points in five games in Los Angeles' first-round playoff loss to Phoenix.
He became a free agent last week when the Clippers opted not to guarantee his $21million contract.
With the Suns, he'll likely be asked to come off the bench to lead the second unit and provide another outside shooting threat.
Gordon shot 37.1 per cent from 3-point range last season and since his 2008-09 rookie season, his 1,878 made 3-pointers are the eighth most in the NBA.
Max Verstappen said he is refusing to dream about completing a hat-trick of world championships after he delivered another emphatic performance to win the Austrian Grand Prix.
The double world champion was made to work for his seventh victory from nine rounds after he passed Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz on track in Spielberg.
But after manoeuvring himself ahead of both Ferrari drivers, Verstappen raced off into the distance to the delight of his 70,000-strong travelling army from the Netherlands.
He leads Sergio Perez in the standings by 81 points – the equivalent of more than three victories – ahead of next weekend’s British Grand Prix.
However, when asked about the prospect of taking his third straight title, Verstappen said: “I don’t like to think about that yet.
“I am enjoying the moment, driving with this car, and working with this team. I am just very happy for this weekend and we will turn our focus to the next race at Silverstone.”
A day after taking the sprint race spoils, Verstappen was celebrating his fifth consecutive victory, and the 42nd of his career to move ahead of Ayrton Senna.
Verstappen fended off an aggressive Leclerc on the opening lap before he fell to third after the Ferrari drivers stopped early for tyres under the Virtual Safety Car.
It ended Verstappen’s remarkable run of 249 consecutive laps at the head of a race – a streak stretching back to the Miami Grand Prix on May 8 – however, the Dutchman required just 11 laps before he was back in charge.
After he left the pits on lap 25, Verstappen moved ahead of Sainz a couple of laps later, and then fought his way past Leclerc on lap 35 of 71.
From there, the Dutchman cruised to the flag – even stopping for tyres on the penultimate lap in order to set the fastest lap and take a bonus point.
“It was important to stay in front of Charles on lap one and after that we were able to do our own race,” added Verstappen.
“We chose not to box under the VSC and we followed our normal strategy and that worked out really well.
“I knew I would get them back eventually and following our own plan was the best way forward. To see all the orange in the grandstands and the flares at the end was incredible.”
Verstappen has won 16 of the last 20 races in F1, with Red Bull unbeaten this season as they bid to become F1’s first invincible team.
“We can only take it one race at a time,” said Red Bull team principal Christian Horner. “Can we [go unbeaten]? Yes. Will we? Who knows.”
Shane Foley returned from injury with a winner as Jessica Harington’s Bold Discovery won for the first time since his debut in the Dubai Duty Free Celebration Stakes at the Curragh.
Foley faced a race against time to be fit for the Irish Derby having broken his collar bone almost four weeks ago and while he had no joy on Sprewell in the big race, he left happy enough with a Listed winner.
Bold Discovery looked a very promising type when scoring first time out at two and he went on to be placed in the Killavullan Stakes.
He had been highly tried this season, finishing behind Paddington the last twice, most recently in the Irish Guineas.
Down markedly in class, he was sent off at 18-1 with Dermot Weld’s filly Tarawa all the rage on the back of her fast-finishing fourth in the Irish 1000 Guineas behind her stablemate Tahiyra.
With just over a furlong to run, Bold Discovery took over from Pretreville and held off the challenge of Tarawa by half a length.
Harrington said: “That’s what he was showing us earlier in the year.
“He had allergies and kept scoping wrong after his races, but we’ve been able to treat them since the Guineas and he’s all right now.
“He loved going around that bend and for a big horse, he goes on that quick ground.
“That was really good and I’d say he will come forward from that and get a bit of confidence.”
Sprewell came home sixth in the Irish Derby after being hampered by San Antonio, who suffered a fatal injury over four furlongs out.
Harrington added: “Sprewell is OK. He just got interfered with at the wrong time and probably wasn’t quite letting himself down on the ground.
“I shut my eyes for a second and thought he was going to fall and Shane was going to fall again. It’s amazing what goes through your mind in half a second.
“He’ll live to fight another day.”
Toto Wolff insists his public rebuke of Lewis Hamilton at the Austrian Grand Prix will have no impact on the British driver’s Mercedes future.
As Max Verstappen racked up his seventh victory from nine rounds with a crushing performance at Red Bull’s home race in Spielberg to extend his championship lead to 81 points, Hamilton crossed the line a disappointing seventh.
Hamilton was the first of six drivers to be penalised by race director Niels Wittich for exceeding track limits.
He then spent the remainder of the race asking why some of his rivals – namely Sergio Perez – had not been sanctioned, and also lambasted the speed of his under-performing Mercedes machine.
Wolff rarely speaks to his drivers over the radio, but was on the intercom twice to Hamilton during Sunday’s race.
“Lewis, the car is bad, we know,” said Wolff on his second appearance over the airwaves. “Just please drive it.”
The dressing down might have stung Hamilton. Asked what provoked Wolff to deliver the remark, Hamilton’s answer was short, and not-so-sweet.
“I don’t know,” he said. “You will have to ask him.”
Hamilton has six months remaining on his £40million-a-season deal. Might the exchange have a bearing on negotiations?
“No, not at all,” said Wolff. “You should hear us talking on the phone and meeting each other. That was nothing.
“We have had a bad weekend, all of us in the team, and that just makes us stronger.
“It was only for the best interest of the driver and the team. Sometimes there is a certain moment when you need to calm things down but I meant well.
“We had a lot of discussion about track limits and whether they were enforced or not.
“I wanted to make sure we were getting the best out of the package that wasn’t performing, and trying to give it our best shot.”
It has been a difficult weekend for Mercedes in Austria. Hamilton was 10th in the Sprint on Saturday, while team-mate George Russell finished eighth in both the shortened race and the main event.
Hamilton’s losing streak now extends to 32 races and Wolff – despite suggesting on June 12 that his superstar driver’s next contract would be signed in “days rather than weeks” – confirmed that there will be no news of an extension at Silverstone this weekend.
“I am still very confident it will get done,” added Wolff. “We want to do it super, and to every detail.
“This is not a money discussion. It is about the future, what is it that we want to do right, and then optimise.
“We are not talking anymore about money, or duration, it is about other topics.”
Asked how long Hamilton’s next deal will be, Wolff replied: “For a while. The Brits say a couple means two, and the Americans say a couple means a few, so it is somewhere there. Several.”
The day began strongly for Hamilton. He started fifth and leapfrogged Lando Norris at the opening corner. But he soon faced the wrath of race control for putting all four wheels of his Mercedes over the white line on three separate occasions.
He was penalised with a black-and-white warning flag on lap 12, and then hit with a five-second penalty five laps later.
Hamilton took his punishment at his second pit stop on lap 43, dropping him to eighth place.
He moved up one spot when Pierre Gasly stopped for tyres but failed to make any impression on Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso, crossing the line half-a-minute back.
“The feeling with the car was the same as I had last year,” said Hamilton. “I didn’t expect to be as bad as we were today. It is surprising.”
Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc finished second for Ferrari, while Perez raced from 15th to third, passing Carlos Sainz with 10 laps to go.
Norris ended the day in fifth to record his best result of a difficult season for his under-performing McLaren team.
Katie Swan is hoping a strong performance at Wimbledon might encourage Elton John to visit SW19 to support her.
The 24-year-old recently signed with Rocket Entertainment, the management company co-founded by the music superstar, and has already been enjoying the benefits.
“I am feeling really good off court,” said Swan. “It is a really exciting time. I have signed for Rocket. I got to go and see Elton John playing in London, which was fun.”
View this post on Instagram
Swan, who was formerly with Andy Murray’s 77 agency before the Scot decided to close its tennis division, took mum Nicki with her to The O2.
“She is a huge fan of Elton,” said Swan. “My favourite song is Don’t Go Breaking My Heart, but he didn’t do it. So Your Song was my other favourite one. It was unreal. His voice is a joke, it’s so powerful – I am so glad I got to see him live before he finishes.”
John’s farewell tour is set to finish in Sweden on Saturday, so Swan would need to reach at least the fourth round in order to have a chance of tempting him to Wimbledon.
“I haven’t met him yet,” she said. “I am hoping I will get the chance to at some point. I’ve heard he is a big tennis fan so hopefully, if I can get some good results, then maybe he’ll want to come and watch me.”
View this post on Instagram
Another treat before the tournament came on Thursday when Swan hit with Venus Williams on Court One.
“It was an incredible opportunity,” she said. “Laura Robson messaged my coach saying, ‘Venus is looking for a hit on Court One to open it if you’re interested’.
“And I was like, ‘OK, let’s not turn that down’. For me, that’s something I wouldn’t have even dreamed of as a kid. It was unbelievable and something I’ll never forget. She was really friendly.”
Ill-timed injuries have so far prevented Swan reaching the potential she showed as a junior.
She made her Wimbledon debut back in 2016 and reached the second round in 2018, securing what is so far her only victory at the All England Club.
There have been positive signs this year, though, with Swan pushing towards the top 100 and reaching the final of the warm-up tournament in Surbiton, beating last year’s Wimbledon semi-finalist Tatjana Maria along the way.
“I think this year is more exciting than normal,” she said. “I feel in probably the best form that I have been in coming into this week. I’m excited to get going.”
The draw did not appear to be kind to Swan, who will take on 14th seed Belinda Bencic on Monday.
The Swiss has twice reached the fourth round at Wimbledon but she has not won a match here since 2019 while she has only played one match – a first-round loss at the French Open – since the beginning of April because of injury.
“Everyone here is tough but obviously she’s an Olympic gold medallist and she’s achieved so much in her career,” said Swan.
“I was excited when I saw the draw. Court Two is the biggest court I’ve played on here so I’m really pumped for it. I back myself and I think having the home support will be a lot of fun out there.”
Five horses were separated by less than half a length in the Dubai Duty Free Rockingham Handicap at the Curragh and it was Harry’s Hill who had his head just in front where it mattered most.
The favourite, Jon Riggens, reared up as the stalls opened losing all chance and it was the English raider Michaela’s Boy, who was to the fore throughout.
Martin Hassett’s Harry’s Hill was out of the handicap, so the trainer opted to claim 10lb with his nephew Wayne Hassett, and it proved an inspired decision.
Master Matt, Run Ran Run and Big Gossey were all in there pitching, but it was Harry’s Hill who got the verdict by a head.
There was a dead-heat for second between Master Matt and Michaela’s Boy, with a short head back to Big Gossey and a neck to Run Ran Run.
It was a third win for the jockey meaning he can no longer claim 10lb.
Martin Hassett said: “At the start of the week when I saw the entries I thought what are we after doing!
“He ran disappointing in Tipperary, we reckoned he ran a bit flat. I thought he’d win in Tipperary, we’d get 7lb and we’d get into this but he ran bad and got dropped 3lb.
“This is the most important race of the year for a small operation and small owners. He was bought for €12,000 and is a legend of a horse.
“He might come back here for the Scurry. I always thought he’d get six furlongs, but he’s never run well over six so we’ll see.
“Wayne (17) is well able to ride and he doesn’t look like a 10lb claimer. He’s working in Joseph O’Brien’s now and will learn plenty there.”
Johnny Murtagh’s Blues Emperor (7-1) made just about every yard of the running in the Dubai Duty Free Derby Festival Handicap.
Ridden positively by Shane B Kelly, the lightly-raced four-year-old beat Chazzesmee by a length.
“That bit of rain we’ve had the last few days suited him. A stiff mile here is good for him, he’s very brave and when he gets to the front he doesn’t like being passed,” said Murtagh.
“He’s entered in Leopardstown for the mile-and-one (Nasrullah Handicap) and will probably go there and Rahmi (fourth) might go to Galway.”
Murtagh doubled up in the closing Dubai Duty Free Irish EBF “Ragusa” Handicap with Safecracker (15-2), ridden by Ben Coen.
Another to make just about all the running was Fozzy Stack’s 5-2 favourite Aussie Girl in the Dubai Duty Free Summer Fillies Handicap.
Jamie Powell was keen to dictate matters and once in front was allowed to set his own fractions.
“I only declared her at 9.55 on Friday morning when I saw there were only nine in it,” said Stack.
“Obviously it wasn’t planned out as she only ran in Naas a few days ago and that’s her third race in a fortnight. She’s tough.”
Shane Foley returned from injury with a winner as Jessica Harington’s Bold Discovery won for the first time since his debut in the Dubai Duty Free Celebration Stakes at the Curragh.
Foley faced a race against time to be fit for the Irish Derby having broken his collar bone almost four weeks ago and while he had no joy on Sprewell in the big race, he left happy enough with a Listed winner.
Bold Discovery looked a very promising type when scoring first time out at two and he went on to be placed in the Killavullan Stakes.
He had been highly tried this season, finishing behind Paddington the last twice, most recently in the Irish Guineas.
Down markedly in class, he was sent off at 18-1 with Dermot Weld’s filly Tarawa all the rage on the back of her fast-finishing fourth in the Irish 1000 Guineas behind her stablemate Tahiyra.
With just over a furlong to run, Bold Discovery took over from Pretreville and held off the challenge of Tarawa by half a length.
Harrington said: “That’s what he was showing us earlier in the year.
“He had allergies and kept scoping wrong after his races, but we’ve been able to treat them since the Guineas and he’s all right now.
“He loved going around that bend and for a big horse, he goes on that quick ground.
“That was really good and I’d say he will come forward from that and get a bit of confidence.”
Sprewell came home sixth in the Irish Derby after being hampered by San Antonio, who suffered a fatal injury over four furlongs out.
Harrington added: “Sprewell is OK. He just got interfered with at the wrong time and probably wasn’t quite letting himself down on the ground.
“I shut my eyes for a second and thought he was going to fall and Shane was going to fall again. It’s amazing what goes through your mind in half a second.
“He’ll live to fight another day.”
Jodie Burrage had an unusual practice partner on the eve of Wimbledon – Percy Pig.
The 24-year-old is yet to win a singles match at the All England Club but she was involved in one of the most popular stories of the tournament last year when she offered the Marks and Spencer treat to a ball boy who was feeling unwell.
“I don’t really know why it was such a big story,” she said. “He just wasn’t feeling great, I tried to help him out a little bit. I feel like anyone would have done the same thing. For some reason it kicked off. Hopefully no one feels ill on court this year. It was a bit mad.”
View this post on Instagram
Burrage’s act of kindness earned the attention of Marks and Spencer, and the National Tennis Centre in Roehampton had an unusual visitor last month when Percy Pig turned up for a hit.
“We had a two-hour session,” said Burrage. “It was good fun. We tried to play, actually Percy was better than I thought he was going to be.”
So could the British number two be Percy Pig’s official representative at Wimbledon in the future?
“I’d love that,” she said gleefully. “My mum is a massive fan of Percy Pigs as well, and my physio. My physio is probably Percy Pig’s biggest fan. So, if they ever do something like that, I’d love to be.”
Burrage will not be able to help out any similarly stricken ball kids this year, though, adding: “I’ve had them the last few weeks, they are one of my favourite sweets, but they’re not in my bag. My nutritionist had a firm ‘no’ on that.”
The Percy Pig incident meant a disappointing first-round loss for Burrage was rather forgotten, and she is hoping it can be third-time lucky on Monday when she takes on American Caty McNally.
“I played her at the US Open last year,” said Burrage. “I’ll be watching that match back. She’s a tough opponent and actually on the grass she’s going to be really dangerous. I’ll enjoy the challenge.”
View this post on Instagram
Burrage has enjoyed a strong grass-court campaign, reaching her first WTA Tour final in Nottingham and climbing to 108 in the rankings, and she will try not to put too much pressure on herself.
“It comes with experience,” she said. “It would be great if I could go on, play my best, win, everything be happy.
“There’s going to be some ups and downs in the match like there always is. All I can do is go out there, fight and give my all.
“If it’s my day, it’s my day, and if it’s not, it’s not. I’ll try and come back next year.”
New Zealand’s Daniel Hillier admitted he was “gobsmacked” after producing a stunning burst of scoring to claim his first DP World Tour title in the Betfred British Masters.
Hillier holed from 40 feet for eagle on the 15th, made birdie from a fairway bunker on the next and then holed from six feet for another eagle on the 17th in a brilliant final round of 66 at The Belfry.
That gave the 24-year-old a winning total of 10 under par, securing the first prize of £468,000 and also a place in the Open Championship at Royal Liverpool later this month.
Hillier, who began the day three shots off a six-way tie for the lead, said: “I’m gobsmacked. I think it’s going to take me a while to process to be honest.
“Early on in the day I was not feeling it at all. I was a little bit uncomfortable with the driver, didn’t have many chances but obviously knew there were some chances coming in.
“I didn’t think I would take them that well, but obviously pretty ecstatic.
“I’m not going to lie, I was definitely looking at the leaderboard and seeing my name up there and thinking about what it would be like to finish it off but it’s all a bit of a blur really.”
Hillier admitted his eagle putt on the 15th was going “a little quick” when it hit the back of the hole and dropped, while he also made the most of a favourable bounce on his approach to the 17th.
And he also revealed he will now have to cancel his planned trip to play in two PGA Tour events which take place the week before and the week of the Open.
“Late change of plans but I’m not complaining,” added Hillier, who missed the cut on his Open debut in 2021.
“It’s going to be a pretty awesome experience playing the Open again so I can’t wait.”
Hillier finished two shots ahead of England’s Oliver Wilson and American Gunner Wiebe, who secured the other two spots up for grabs at Hoylake.
Wiebe, who is ranked 1,349th in the world and has made just one cut in 14 DP World Tour events this season, had set the early clubhouse target after carding an eagle, seven birdies and a triple bogey in his closing 66.
“That is quite special,” the 34-year-old said of his Open place. “It’s the major that I’ve adored since I was a kid.
“It was on at 6am when I woke up in the morning. I’d watch till 2.30 when the coverage ended and I would go try to hit shots that I saw on TV.
“And it’s also the last major that my dad (Mark) played in 2014 at the same course. That was his 500th career start and it was his final major so to get where he sort of ended his career in a way, that’s pretty special.”
Wilson birdied the 18th to snatch the final Open spot from Scotland’s Calum Hill, who had to settle for a share of fourth place with compatriot Ewen Ferguson and pre-tournament favourite Justin Rose.
Rose was seven under par after an opening 65, but finished on the same total following subsequent rounds of 73, 74 and 69.
“Obviously a good week,” said the former world number one, who won this event in 2002 and acted as tournament host in 2018. “I’ve enjoyed it. The crowd were really rooting me on.
“I felt like I was struggling with momentum in the middle of the tournament, obviously sensing their frustration, and I was getting a little frustrated, too, because obviously I really want to play well here at home.
“This week has been a good test of everyone’s game I think and it’s a good sort of benchmark on where you’re at. So quite happy with the test and the way I passed that test and can hopefully build on that the next few weeks.”
Victor Lafay used a late attack to end a 15-year wait for the Cofidis team to celebrate a Tour de France stage victory as Adam Yates retained the yellow jersey in San Sebastian.
Having watched pre-stage favourite Wout Van Aert use up energy shutting down late attacks from Tom Pidcock and Mattias Skjelmose on the run into town, Lafay waited for the flamme rouge to launch his own move, and then held off the chasing pack at the line as Van Aert slammed his handlebars in frustration.
Adam Yates was in a lead group reduced to just 24 riders at the end of the longest stage of this year’s Tour, retaining yellow as his team-mate Tadej Pogacar used bonus seconds to move up to second, level on time with Simon Yates six seconds back.
Pogacar had come across the line third on the stage, just ahead of Pidcock and Pello Bilbao.
For Cofidis, it is a first stage win since Sylvain Chavanel triumphed in Montlucon in 2008.
“In the last metres, I looked down at my computer, I saw 500 metres (to go), 400 metres,” said 27-year-old Frenchman Lafay, who added to his Giro d’Italia stage win from 2021. “I said to myself I will inevitably be caught at 50 metres. It’s sick.”
The UAE Team Emirates squad of Adam Yates and Pogacar did a huge amount of work almost all day to control a three-man breakaway, with the peloton needing to negotiate some changeable weather that made stretches of this 209-kilometre route through the rolling terrain of the Basque Country treacherous.
Other teams, not least the Jumbo-Visma squad of Vingegaard and Van Aert, tried to come to the fore at the foot of the Jaizkibel but it was UAE’s Rafal Majka who put in a huge turn to split the peloton to pieces as they navigated the narrow path left by fans towards the summit.
Pogacar burst forward to take the bonus seconds ahead of Vingegaard and Simon Yates at the top of the climb and briefly looked like he might try to attack on the descent with defending champion and chief rival Jonas Vingegaard on his wheel, but soon sat up with Vingegaard unwilling to help.
Adam Yates will now look to hold on to yellow until at least the Pyrenees, with two flat days coming up next and attention turning to the sprinters – not least Mark Cavendish as he seeks a record 35th career Tour stage win.
“It was a really hectic day, a lot of stress in the bunch,” 30-year-old Yates said. “Wet roads, roundabouts, road furniture, but we made it through with a little bit of bad luck as Matteo (Trentin) crashed on a corner.
“But for us it was a good race, we controlled it all day. Nobody wanted to help us. Then in the final we tried to set it up for Tadej to get the bonus seconds so we did a good job…
“If Tadej had won the bonuses and the stage he could have (taken yellow) but we kept it as a team so it’s job done.
“For sure we will have to control some more days. It looks easier on the paper but the Tour de France every day is super hard, super technical, so it’s not easy to just roll to the finish and keep yellow. We’ll keep on our toes and see what happens.”
Carlos Alcaraz is eyeing up a rematch with Novak Djokovic at Wimbledon.
The pair met for the first time at a grand slam in the semi-finals of the French Open last month in the most anticipated match of the year so far.
For two pulsating sets it lived up to its billing before Alcaraz was struck down by cramp, which he later attributed to the tension of the situation.
With Alcaraz and Djokovic the top two seeds at the All England Club, a rematch could only come in the final, where the young Spaniard would be eager to show he has learned from what happened in Paris.
He is just the latest young player to discover what a hard nut to crack the big three of Djokovic, Rafael Nadal and Roger Federer are at grand slams and, while the latter two may no longer be a factor, Djokovic appears more of a favourite than ever.
“I would say the pressure that they put to everyone,” said Alcaraz when asked to name the hardest thing about facing Djokovic.
“Not only to me, to everyone to play at their best for three hours in a grand slam. I have to deal with that, but it’s something that I really want it. I hope to play a final here against him.”
The list of players who could potentially stop Djokovic winning a fifth successive title at Wimbledon may begin and end with Alcaraz.
The 20-year-old is far less experienced than his rival on grass in particular but showed how exceptionally quickly he learns by lifting the trophy at Queen’s Club last weekend, propelling him back past Djokovic to reclaim the world number one ranking.
“I started Queen’s with no expectation to win Queen’s and I won it,” he said. “I feel great playing such a great level. The confidence grew a lot.
“I’m coming here to Wimbledon with a lot of confidence, thinking that I’m able to do good results here. But, obviously, for me, the main favourite is Djokovic.
“My expectations are high. I think I will be able to put the pressure on the other players, even Djokovic as well. But all I can say is I feel with a lot of confidence and I feel ready to do good things here.”
Alcaraz, who faces retiring Frenchman Jeremy Chardy in the first round on Tuesday, must first target bettering his run from last year, when he lost in the fourth round to fellow young gun Jannik Sinner.
Auguste Rodin gave Aidan O’Brien his 100th European Classic win as he fended off stablemate Adelaide River in the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby at the Curragh.
The Epsom hero was also a first winner in the race for Ryan Moore as he came home a length and a half clear, with Covent Garden ensuring a clean sweep of the places for the Ballydoyle team in third.
However, the race was marred by a serious injury to San Antonio, another O’Brien runner, who broke down badly on the turn for home, giving Wayne Lordan a nasty fall.
Adelaide River (4-11 favourite) set the pace under Seamie Heffernan with Moore happy to take a lead into the straight.
When he loomed upsides two furlongs from home it looked as if Auguste Rodin would go away and win impressively, but it was not until the final 100 yards that he eventually put the race to bed.
Auguste Rodin is the first horse since Harzand in 2016 to follow up victory at Epsom in the Irish equivalent.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
