HORSE RACING
Queen receives Gold Cup
Britain’s Queen Elizabeth had special cause for celebrations on Thursday when her horse Estimate won the Royal Ascot Gold Cup. On a day of sentimental successes and broken records, it was the first time a reigning monarch’s horse had claimed victory in the race’s 207-year history. Estimate, a four-year-old filly trained by Michael Stoute, held off a challenge by Simenon in the final furlong to win by a neck and initiate a rapturous reception for the queen in the winner’s enclosure. The queen was expected to present the winner’s trophy, but instead received it from her second son, the Duke of York. Estimate, a 7-2 favorite, won at Royal Ascot last year when landing the Queen’s Vase. The queen’s grandson Peter Phillips told Channel 4: “It’s amazing! This is her passion and her life. She’s here every year [since 1945] and she strives to have winners — to win the big one at Royal Ascot means so much to her.”
TENNIS
Wawrinka into semi-finals
Stanislas Wawrinka defeated fifth-seeded Jeremy Chardy 6-4, 7-6 (7/2) on Thursday to reach the semi-finals of the Topshelf Open in Rosmalen, the Netherlands. In the women’s draw, Dominika Cibulkova lost 6-4, 6-4 to Garbine Muguruza. Simona Halep defeated Lesia Tsurenko 6-3, 6-1 to set up a semi-final with Carla Suarez Navarro, who came from a set down to beat Tsvetana Pironkova 2-6, 6-4, 6-4. Xavier Malisse of Belgium edged Roberto Bautista Agut 6-4, 6-4 and was to face Nicolas Mahut after the Frenchman defeated Evgeny Donskoy 6-3, 7-6 (7/1). Kirsten Flipkens overcame a sore back to stop last year’s finalist Urszula Radwanska 6-4, 6-4. She faces Muguruza in the semi-final.
BOXING
Manny Pacquiao snubbed
Juan Manuel Marquez could have fought Manny Pacquiao for a fifth time. Timothy Bradley could have had a rematch with the Filipino congressman. They both turned down chances to follow up on the biggest victories of their fighting careers. Instead, they want to face each other. Marquez and Bradley will meet in a welterweight title bout on Oct. 12 at the Thomas and Mack Center in Las Vegas after both men rejected bigger paydays against Pacquiao. The unbeaten Bradley says he will finally get the respect he deserves by trouncing Marquez.
SOCCER
Valverde returns to Bilbao
Athletic Bilbao have appointed Ernesto Valverde as their new coach, the Spanish La Liga club announced on Thursday. The 49-year-old Valverde replaces Marcelo Bielsa after the club opted not to renew the Argentine’s contract following a disappointing campaign in which the Basque outfit finished 12th in the league. Valverde, who took charge of Valencia in December, left the Mestalla at the end of the season having seen the club narrowly miss out to Real Sociedad for a place in next season’s Champions League. He began his coaching career at Bilbao, who he managed between 2003 and 2005, after also spending six years there as a player before moving to RCD Espanyol, who he guided to the 2007 UEFA Cup final where they lost on penalties to Sevilla.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
HSIEH MAKES QUARTERS: Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium won in the women’s doubles and face Bethanie Mattek-Sands and Sofia Kenin of the US Top-ranked Iga Swiatek and US Open champion Coco Gauff were knocked out of the women’s singles at the Miami Open on Monday, while Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei advanced in the women’s doubles. Swiatek lost to Ekaterina Alexandrova 6-4, 6-2, hours after third seed Gauff fell in three sets to No. 23 Caroline Garcia 6-3, 1-6, 6-2. Alexandrova beat a top-ranked player for the first time and advanced to face Jessica Pegula, a 7-6 (7/1), 6-3 winner over Emma Navarro, in the quarter-finals. Alexandrova recorded her second win over Swiatek, following a 2021 victory in Melbourne. Swiatek had won their three matches since. “We played quite