Todd Pollard has achieved his first Group success as a trainer, with Midnight In Tokyo winning the Show County Quality at Randwick. This milestone comes almost five months after his debut runner.
Having learned his trade with Annabel and Rob Archibald in Sydney, Pollard then moved to Queensland to oversee their satellite operation before launching his own training business earlier this year.
He made an immediate impact, securing a pair of Listed wins during the Brisbane winter carnival with Midnight In Tokyo and Zuleika, and also trained All Kinds Of Folk to a Randwick victory in July.
However, Midnight In Tokyo’s win in Saturday’s Group 3 sprint was a significant escalation.
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“It’s absolute euphoria when it’s like this,” Pollard remarked. “It has its days for sure, but we’re lucky we’ve got a mare like her to be running well for us and to come to Randwick is just so special.”
The seven-year-old mare, Midnight In Tokyo, has now staved off immediate retirement following her win and might secure another racing season.
Pollard expressed confidence in her performance based on her fitness and strong winter form, believing she would be tough to beat if she dictated the pace. Those examining the betting sites would have noted the mare’s solid winter form leading into the Group 3 event.
“There was nothing I could knock about her today, and when she found the front I thought, if he could keep her going (she was a chance),” he said. “They were coming late, that’s for sure. She only just sees out the 1200, but if she can get in a good rhythm, squeeze her up and kick away and put a bit of a margin on them, I thought the favoured horses might be a bit too far back to catch her. It worked perfect.”
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Midnight In Tokyo will head back to Queensland, with the Sheraco Stakes (1200m) at Rosehill on September 12 being her likely next outing.
Queensland jockey Ben Thompson was equally thrilled with the victory, giving credit to Pollard’s astute training and race placement for the mare.
“I’ll tell you what, he’s hit a lot of bullseyes in a short amount of time and he nailed it with her,” Thompson said. “He knows her really well through taking care of her for Annabel and Rob Archibald prior to going on his own. “She’s just a happy mare. She’s just turned seven, she’s not showing any signs of it.”
Midnight In Tokyo’s win provided Queensland with consecutive stakes race victories, as the Tony Gollan-trained Pembrey had earlier won the Silver Shadow Stakes (1200m) for three-year-old fillies.
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The upcoming Sheraco Stakes at Rosehill is a race to watch, with excellent racing odds expected.
Ateneo Blue Eagles’ Kyle Gamber during a game in the UAAP Season 88 men’s basketball tournament. –UAAP PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—Ateneo guard Kyle Gamber revealed Saturday that he will not play for the Blue Eagles in the upcoming UAAP Season 89 men’s basketball tournament.
Without going into specifics, Gamber said in an Instagram story that he will sit out the season.
He also asked fans not to “push any false narratives.”
“Yes, I am sitting out this season for personal reasons,” Gamber wrote. “I love the team, especially all the guys. Let’s not push any false narratives. Thank you.”
The 6-foot-3 swingman saw limited action for the Blue Eagles last season.
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Gamber appeared in only six games, tallying three points and two rebounds in total.
He was still part of Ateneo’s lineup in the PinoyLiga tournament a few weeks ago, including its 71-60 win over Our Lady of Fatima University, but Saturday’s announcement could mark his last appearance for the team this year.
UAAP Season 89 officially opens Sept. 12 at Mall of Asia Arena.
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Gary Woodland picked a bad time to look like one of us.
Woodland cold-topped his tee shot at the 436-yard, par 4 ninth hole at Bellerive Country Club in St. Louis on Sunday in the final round of the BMW Championship, the second leg of the FedEx Cup Playoffs.
Gary Woodland at the 2026 BMW Championship.
Woodland was making a run at the lead, having carded three birdies on the front nine to trim Wyndham Clark’s lead to one when he tried to hit a stinger off the tee with a fairway wood but topped it 97 yards into a creek that “has never been in play, any tournament they’ve ever had here,” said Jim Nantz.
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Woodland was 14 under at the time but with his tee shot proved costly as he made a double-bogey six.
Woodland, 42, won the Texas Childrens Hospital Open in April for his first win since 2019. Though playing in Missouri, the Kansas native called this week his home game and has a big following of Jayhawks in his group. He’s a native of Topeka, which CBS’s Colt Knost reminded viewers that residents of that fine city like to refer to it as “Top City.” Never more so than when Woodland teed off at the ninth.
Lille have agreed a deal to sign Paraguay goalkeeper Orlando Gill from San Lorenzo, with the World Cup hero set to make the move to France.
The deal is worth €3.6 million, with San Lorenzo also retaining a 50% sell-on clause. Gill has already agreed personal terms and will play under Lille head coach Davide Ancelotti.
Gill has earned recognition as one of Paraguay’s standout players following his impressive performances at the World Cup, where he helped his country make a strong run on the international stage.
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The 26-year-old goalkeeper will now take on a new challenge in European football as Lille look to strengthen their squad with his arrival.
Fans have already began to speculate over who Lopez may turn his attention to next, and it didn’t take ‘The Takeover’ long to make his intentions perfectly clear.
“September 12th you’ve got Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn. We’ll see what happens there, we’ll watch. Obviously Keith Connolly [Lopez’s manager] manages Conor Benn so if he wins it’s a great fight to take across the pond, and I’m rooting for it anyway.”
Lopez also admitted he could be interested in a battle with IBF champion Liam Paro, but explained why he wouldn’t want to take on WBO champion Devin Haney just yet.
“I’d rather wait for Devin at the end, and the only reason why is to reclaim the whole situation with undisputed, not undisputed. We’ll see what Devin does on that end, so it’ll either be Liam Paro next or the winner of Ryan Garcia and Conor Benn.”
Lopez is referring to when he campaigned at lightweight and insisted he was undisputed champion following his win over Vasiliy Lomachenko, only for Haney to be recognised as the legitimate WBC titleholder, meaning there is plenty of history between the pair.
NEW DELHI: The 2028 India Open will be staged in Guwahati, with the Badminton Association of India (BAI) confirming that the tournament will temporarily move out of New Delhi due to Republic Day security arrangements.BAI secretary general Sanjay Mishra said the Super 750 event, scheduled for the last week of January 2028, would clash with heightened security protocols in the national capital around January 26.“The 2028 India Open will be held in the last week of January and due to the tournament dates clashing with Republic Day security arrangements in the National Capital, we felt that only for that year, we should shift the tournament to Guwahati,” Mishra said on Sunday.He added that the relocation is a one-off decision, with the tournament set to return to New Delhi the following year.“It will return to New Delhi in 2029,” he continued.The India Open will be held from February 2–7 next year, shifting from its previous January slot to address player complaints. World No. 4 Anders Antonsen, a four-time World Championships medallist, has missed the India Open for the last three editions, including this year, due to pollution and coped a fine of USD 5,000 for his latest withdrawal.Earlier in the week, Badminton World Federation (BWF) Secretary General Thomas Lund had said the governing body is continuing to examine the scheduling of India Open.“There’s obviously a lot of logistical things when you do these things, and we have obviously been in close dialogue around the whole calendar,” Lund had told reporters.“Coming into 2027, it’s quite a bit of quite short space and for now it hasn’t been possible to totally move around, move out of the first quarter.”He acknowledged that a complete restructuring of the calendar has not yet been possible because of domestic scheduling commitments, but said the BWF has already made improvements and would continue to assess further changes.“Right now it hasn’t been possible due to domestic load to actually totally move around in the calendar, but something we are looking at,” Lund said.“But we have actually looked into a schedule that has been improved and will be improved further down the road.”The India Open has been held at the KD Jadhav Indoor Hall in New Delhi in recent editions and is one of the marquee stops on the BWF World Tour calendar. Guwahati, which has previously hosted major badminton events including the BWF World Junior Championships and international team tournaments, will now become the first city outside New Delhi to host the India Open in recent years.
When it comes to picking the right wedge, there are an awful lot of factors to consider, and there might be a few different options that work for your game.
From shape to bounce to grind to loft to shaft to offset, the list goes on and on.
On this week’s episode of GOLF’s Fully Equipped, co-host Jake Morrow explained one common wedge characterisitc that he’s actually no longer looking at when he’s picking his wedges.
“I’ve started to really not care about what the bounce says at all,” Morrow said. “Because I think it’s just a number associated with the shape, and the shape is infinitely more important than whatever that number is.”
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The measurement of bounce often differs between OEMs. One company’s low-bounce wedge could have a similar grind to another’s mid- or even high-bounce wedge. You may even see trends in the next few years of companies removing the bounce number from wedges.
Morrow then explained that he looks for the visual of how the leading edge sits at address. If it’s a little higher off the ground, then he knows the wedge will have some bounce at the bottom and allow him to be a little more aggressive with his attack angle, which is what he wants.
He also explained that there’s a difference between finding the right lob wedge and the rest of his set. It can actually be easier for him to find a lob wedge than a sand and gap wedge.
“I can get over the look of a 60 a little bit quicker than I can over the look of the 50 and the 56,” Morrow said. “The 56 for me, the biggest thing it has to do is look good and play well out of the bunker. A 60 has to do a bunch of things. And then the 50 has just got to look good and go the right distance. That’s kind of my criteria”
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A lot of that, Morrow said he could learn from hitting balls of a mat, which means, yes, it is OK to get fit for wedges indoors and you’ll likely end up with something that works well for you.
Paris Saint-Germain are the overwhelming favourites to continue their dominance of Ligue 1, although there are no shortage of hopefuls seeking to dethrone them.
“Ferran is an international-level player,” coach Luis Enrique said. “He fits perfectly with what we’re looking for. He can play anywhere in attack, with a great mentality.”
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PSG have also bought Maghnes Akliouche and Lucas Digne, both in France’s squad at the World Cup, as well as Belgian Mika Godts, signed this week from Ajax Amsterdam.
Unfit for play
The French champions have been forced to move their Ligue 1 opener against Stade Rennais on Sunday after scorching summer heat left their Parc des Princes pitch unsafe, the club said.
PSG alerted France’s professional football league (LFP) on Monday to the poor condition of the playing surface. A specialist team inspected the pitch and ruled it unfit for play, the LFP said.
The match will instead be played at Rennes’ Roazhon Park.
The extreme heat prevented the grass, which PSG grows from seed rather than installing as rolled turf, from developing properly, a person familiar with the matter told Reuters. The stadium’s concrete structure intensified the conditions, the person added.
The club’s Qatari-backed resources have ensured they are able to attract a steady stream of talent as they set off in search of a 15th French championship and sixth in a row.
Lens finished six points adrift of PSG last season in second spot, and won the French Cup. And while they have lost coach Pierre Sage to Crystal Palace, German Dino Toppmöller made a winning start in the season-opening super cup encounter.
Modest hopes
Lille, whose third-place finish last season means they qualify directly for the group phase of the Champions League, have a new coach in 36-year-old Davide Ancelotti.
Former Brazil international Filipe Luis has taken over at Monaco, who had a disappointing campaign by finishing seventh and have offloaded injury-plagued Paul Pogba, who had little impact last season.
Olympique de Marseille were runners-up twice to PSG over the last five campaigns, but with Bruno Genesio arriving from Lille to take the helm they look to be starting a rebuild that will take more than one season for them to be genuine contenders.
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Marseille, who open the league campaign at home to Racing Strasbourg on Friday, were last champions in 2010.
Troyes and Le Mans are the two newly promoted sides, replacing Nantes and Metz, while Nice managed to keep their top-flight status by beating Saint-Étienne over two legs in the promotion-relegation playoff at the end of May.
“The future is bright” — Wakama reacts as D’Tigress continue USA Tour
Nigeria’s D’Tigress suffered a heavy 90-55 defeat to Belgium in their latest World Cup warm-up game, SportsRation Reports.
D’Tigress struggled after the half-time break as Belgium raised their game and pulled away to secure a convincing victory.
The Nigerian team will now look to bounce back in their remaining warm-up matches against Mali and Puerto Rico as preparations for the World Cup continue.
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The games will give D’Tigress another chance to improve their performance and build confidence ahead of the tournament.
Cleveland Browns quarterback Deshaun Watson is competing with Shedeur Sanders for the starting role. Watson, who has not played in the NFL since his Achilles tear in 2024, was booed by fans during the preseason game against the Buffalo Bills.
Watson went 5-for-12 for 36 passing yards and one interception and was booed by fans as he exited the home preseason game. Following the game, the veteran quarterback said the reaction from fans was “personal.”
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“I think the whole world knows it has nothing to do with the performance,” Watson said. “It’s a little bit more personal than that. So, I think it’s a disrespectful thing.”
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NFL commentator Joe reacted to Watson’s comments after he was booed by the Browns fans.
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“Yeah, dude. You’re widely believed to be a s*x criminal, you are the highest paid QB ever, the Browns replaced a star QB with you, and you’ve been objectively abysmal ever since leaving Houston. I’d be kind of worried if they didn’t hate you.”
Yeah, dude. You’re widely believed to be a s*x criminal, you are the highest paid QB ever, the Browns replaced a star QB with you, and you have been objectively abysmal ever since leaving Houston. I’d be kind of worried if they didn’t hate you.
Watson, who signed a blockbuster five-year, $230 million deal with the Browns in 2022 after a trade from the Houston Texans, has managed just 19 games with a 9-10 record, 3,365 yards, 19 touchdowns and 12 interceptions over four seasons.
Apart from his injury struggles, Watson’s off-field controversy has also sparked criticism. He faced 27 civil lawsuits accusing him of se*ual misconduct and assault during massage therapy sessions.
Although he settled the lawsuits and wasn’t convicted, he was suspended for 11 games and was handed a $5 million fine by the NFL in 2022 in the wake of the allegations.
Shedeur Sanders didn’t “appreciate” boos from Browns fans for Deshaun Watson
Deshaun Watson, who hopes to reclaim his spot on the Browns lineup, faces competition from second-year quarterback Shedeur Sanders for the starting role.
Despite the competition, Sanders didn’t “appreciate” the reaction from fans during the Bills game.
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“Yeah, I mean, in general, I don’t appreciate that at all,” Sanders said. “Regardless of competition, we’re all human beings. I think we all need to understand that. In this room too, we’re all humans. I don’t do things to humans that I wouldn’t want done to me.
“For all the fans, we appreciate you showing up, and however you feel about the situation with Deshaun and everything, I think it’s more about a bigger purpose and it’s respect. We’re going out there to win games, doing everything we can. So I don’t really appreciate that.”
It will be interesting to see the reaction from Browns fans if Watson is named the starting quarterback over Sanders for the 2026 season after Saturday’s fallout.
Swimmers in action during the 4th Southeast Asia Open Water Championships in Boracay. – PAI/Pet Salvador via PSC
MANILA, Philippines–Jie Angela Mikaela Talosig surprised herself with a bronze medal in her international debut at the 4th Southeast Asia Open Water Championships on Sunday at Boracay Newcoast.
The 20-year-old La Salle varsity swimmer clocked 1 hour, 18 minutes and 57 seconds to finish third in the women’s 20-and-above division.
Indonesia’s Nadya Sirasawati won gold in 1:07.23, while Thailand’s Musikul Hirunhas took silver in 1:09.15.
“Honestly, I just wanted to experience competing at the international level, so to win a bronze medal for my efforts, and in front of a hometown crowd at that, is a pleasant surprise,” Talosig said.
“This is a truly nice feeling,” added Talosig, who won a gold in the women’s 800-meter freestyle and two bronzes in the last UAAP Season 88 swimming meet.
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Julia Jewels Pobleto also won bronze in the girls’ 12-13 3K event after clocking 50:40.
Thailand’s Kanchana Konsub won gold in 47:16, while compatriot Aliyah Sawangmun took silver in 49:48.
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Alfonso Joaquin de Mesa narrowly missed the podium after finishing fourth in the boys’ 14-15 division in 1:04.57.
Thailand’s Kantapong Polyiem took bronze in 1:02.55, while Vietnam’s Vin Thai Bao Nguyen won gold in 57:44 and Thailand’s Sakdichot Talawong settled for silver in 59:42.
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The three-day championships were organized by the Philippine Sports Commission and Philippine Aquatics Inc. and sanctioned by the Southeast Asian Swimming Federation.
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