Weekend review including the Ebor at York, Premier League and Challenge Cup

The Welcome To Yorkshire Ebor Festival is over for another year and the increased prize money, brought about by Sky Bet's sponsorship, saw some of Flat racing's leading owners dominate the finish.

Also at York, another blue blood booked his ticket to next year's race by winning the Melrose, while earlier in the week there were star performances from two fillies who could go on to feature in Group One contests towards the end of the season.

All that is covered along with a good weekend for Liverpool and Chelsea in the Premier League plus a first win for Arsenal under Unai Emery.

In rugby league, a thrilling Challenge Cup final saw Catalans Dragons make history while the build-up to the US Open continued with Sloane Stephens admitting she feels under pressure to defend her title, and our tips revealed for the men's draw.

First, racing and we start on the Knavesmire...

Horse racing

Where else to begin but the Sky Bet Ebor, won in impressive fashion by Muntahaa as trainer John Gosden ended a brilliant week by saddling the first two home as the Frankie Dettori-ridden Weekender took second.

Both horses carried big weights and in the case of the 11/1 winner, it was a just a second handicap start and first since he defied a similar mark at Chester almost exactly two years ago.

Here's the full report including reaction from connections of the winner, runner-up and third-placed Sea The Lion, with the front three all punted in the moments leading up to the off and fully justifying faith shown in them.

Sky Bet make Muntahaa 16/1 to do what Nakeeta could not and win the race for a second year in succession in 2019, and he could be joined in the race by another 16/1 chance, Ghostwatch, after his victory in the Melrose.

Always one to watch back for eye-catchers, the Melrose looks sure to throw up winners with connections of Supernova pleased with his staying-on second and top weight Proschema running a mighty race in third.

To watch that replay, click here, while there's reaction from winning rider William Buick plus news of Expert Eye's earlier win in Saturday's York round-up.

Also in racing...

Aidan O'Brien's yard appears to have turned a corner after a bug swept through it and following on from a York winner in the shape of Fairyland, he ended the week by saddling the first three home in the Futurity Stakes.

Heading the trio was Classic hope Anthony Van Dyck, who was made to work hard to hold off Christmas and Mohawk but evidently remains a horse Ryan Moore is extremely taken with.

"I like him an awful lot," said the winning rider and you can click here to see for yourself, while we also want to highlight the performance of debutant Ten Sovereigns, whose seven-length romp at the Curragh on Saturday may have slipped under the radar somewhat but should not be missed.

More racing stories from the past week...

• Johnston breaks Hannon record at last as Poet's Society gamely makes all
• Phillip Makin suffers broken bone in neck after a horror fall at Redcar
• Beat The Bank cashes in with win in feature race on Goodwood's Saturday card
• Nunthorpe joy for Alpha Delphini as Battaash once again disappoints at York
• Stradivarius completes clean sweep of series to land Stayers' Million bonus
• Lah Ti Dar storms into St Leger picture with facile winning return to the track
• Sea Of Class is exactly that as she lands Darley Yorkshire Oaks in stunning fashion
• Lion roars to Juddmonte International victory as Poet's Word suffers defeat

Football

There was controversy at Molineux on Saturday as Wolves held defending champions Manchester City to a 1-1 draw, helped by a goal which clearly came off the arm rather than the head of Willy Boly.

City responded quickly through Aymeric Laporte, whose goal certainly was a header, but despite the £57m summer signing getting them level Pep Guardiola's side couldn't find a winner.

That opened the door for Liverpool, who weren't at their best but nevertheless kept another clean sheet to beat Brighton 1-0 at Anfield, the goal coming from a familiar source.

Arsenal came from behind to win for the first time in the Premier League under new manager Unai Emery, but perhaps the game of the day came at the Vitality Stadium where Bournemouth fought back from two goals down to draw with Everton.

All of Saturday's action is covered in our in-depth review, while there's also news of another Soccer Saturday Super 6 winner to be found right here.

Our Sky Bet Championship review has details of another victory for Marcelo Bielsa's high-flying Leeds, while League One and League Two detail goings on further down the football pyramid with a high-profile managerial casualty making headlines in the latter.

Onto Sunday, and there was no shortage of action, kicked off by Watford edging past Crystal Palace before two thrilling games later in the day.

At Craven Cottage, Fulham's attacking threat was in evidence as Aleksandar Mitrovic's brace helped them to a 4-2 victory over Burnley while at Newcastle, the hosts felt aggrieved to go behind to a soft penalty, equalised despite Olivier Giroud's prostate protestations, only to concede a late own goal.

Breathless stuff, all covered in Sunday's review, while there's news of Celtic's Scottish Premiership win here and Rotherham's victory over Millwall here.

Also in football...

• Everton defender Michael Keane suffers small skull fracture
• Sporting Life columnist Charlie Nicholas forecasts a Jose Mourinho exit
• Chelsea seek to end speculation that they are up for sale
• Arsenal boss Unai Emery dismisses speculation of a bust-up with Mesut Ozil
• Liverpool confirm exit of Loris Karius while Jurgen Klopp warns they must improve

Rugby league

History was made in the Challenge Cup on Saturday as Catalans Dragons became the first non-English side to win the competition.

Led by former England coach Steve McNamara, the French outfit poked their noses in front early and grimly held on to win 20-14 at Wembley, sparking scenes of jubilation among those who'd made the journey to London.

Formula One

Sebastian Vettel breathed new life into the F1 Drivers' Championship with a dominant display to win the Belgian Grand Prix, closing the gap on title rival Lewis Hamilton to just 17 points.

Another wet-weather masterclass in Saturday's qualifying had earned Hamilton pole position, but the Ferrari driven by Vettel was much faster in dry conditions and powered past Hamilton's Mercedes on lap one at Spa.

From there, Vettel was able to dominate in a way which suggests that Sky Bet's revised odds - Hamilton 4/5, Vettel evens - accurately reflect the likelihood that this race goes down to the wire.

The next stop is Monza for the Italian Grand Prix, where many expect Ferrari to dominate again, but first click here to read Sunday's race report.

Cricket

It was quarter-final time in the Vitality Blast T20 from Thursday through to Sunday, but just three games were played with Somerset's clash with Nottinghamshire postponed until Monday due to heavy rain.

The winner will join Worcestershire, Sussex and Lancashire on Finals Day and you can find out how they got there by clicking on the team names.

Just prior to the weekend, there was surprise news from the ECB as James Vince was recalled as cover for Jonny Bairstow ahead of England's fourth Test against India at the Ageas Bowl next week.

Make sure you keep tabs on our cricket index for news of that final T20 game plus Richard Mann's preview of the fourth Test.

Tennis

The US Open begins on Monday and our tennis expert Tim Clement believes Rafael Nadal is drawn to defend the title he won 12 months ago.

Nadal has been kept away from Novak Djokovic, who could meet Roger Federer as early as the quarter-finals, and it's the Spaniard who will carry our cash.

Those looking to back Andy Murray should note that he's played down expectations despite a good draw in round one.

In the women's draw, Johanna Konta expects to play despite illness while Sloane Stephens admits to feeling under pressure.

Don't forget, if you are betting before the tournament starts, Sky Bet have boosted the odds on every player and you can click here to bet.

Finally, if you are feeling patriotic (UK readers, that is), our friends at Press Association Sport have profiled the British challengers.

Golf

Thomas Pieters failed to capitalise on a first-round 64 as Italy's Andrea Pavan produced a superb performance to win the Czech Masters.

Pieters began the week in search of a Ryder Cup place and impressed playing partner Padraig Harrington over the first two rounds, but come Sunday it was Harrington who was embroiled in a battle for the title with Pavan.

Harrington held a three-shot lead early in the final round, but Pavan fired in five birdies in seven holes to turn things around and win for the first time on the European Tour.

Next week it's the final event of Europe's Ryder Cup qualifying process, the Made In Denmark, and we'll preview it on Monday.

Meanwhile in the US, wild card hopeful Bryson DeChambeau completed a bloodless victory in The Northern Trust to surely earn himself a call-up from captain Jim Furyk.

DeChambeau carried a four-shot lead into the final round and never looked in danger after birdies at the first two holes, as fellow Ryder Cup contender Tony Finau won the battle for second.

Elsewhere in the world of sport...

In snooker, Michael Georgiou and Jamie Jones both earned a £10,000 bonus for their 147 breaks in Germany - which happened on the same day.

Both men exited the Paul Hunter Classic soon after but they did so considerably better off after the 140th and 141st maximums in snooker history.

As the event progressed, former world champion Peter Ebdon earned a final clash with Kyren Wilson and it was the younger man who prevailed, fighting back from 2-0 down to win the final 4-2 with a 120 break in frame four the highlight.

MotoGP organisers were criticised by some supporters for the abandonment of the British Grand Prix, as relentless rain meant that Silverstone was not able to stage Sunday's race.

And finally, Michael van Gerwen has been drawn in the same group as Gary Anderson in the Paddy Power Champions League of Darts, and Chris Ashton will have to wait for his return to English rugby as he is forced to sit out the opening six matches of the upcoming season.

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