Bright Thunder oozes class in Deauville romp
It was a victory that was a welcome tonic for the Spigot Lodge team after near misses both earlier on the Deauville card with Spycatcher and in the German Derby with Contingent and there could plenty more to look forward to with the daughter of Night Of Thunder after her commanding performance in the hands of Sam James.
James told Sky Sports Racing: 'She jumped really well, if not too well and I wanted to get a bit of cover.
Emphatic!
British raider Bright Thunder makes it look easy in the Listed Prix Goldikova for @samjock22 and @karl_burke… pic.twitter.com/5wMv1GI8yn
— At The Races (@AtTheRaces) July 6, 2025
'However, once I got behind Christophe (Soumillon on Rubies From Burma) on the lead horse she settled away grand and I thought we were going quite slow so I was quite happy to let her find herself and keep coming.
'She doesn't find an awful lot off the bridle but to be fair to her today she's really quickened up and put the race to bed.
'A Group Three wouldn't be out of the question for her and the faster they go in these races the more it suits her. She seems to like coming over here so maybe she can come over again.
'You can sometimes get racing a long way out on a straight mile, but today it all went to plan and she obviously likes coming over and Karl does as well when he brings horses over here.'
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Telegraph
35 minutes ago
- Telegraph
Red Bull punished for small-team mentality
Once again the British Grand Prix at Silverstone produced a thrilling race thanks in part to plenty of traditional British summer weather throughout the afternoon. In the end it was another McLaren one-two finish, but it was certainly not without its jeopardy with numerous crashes and cars running off, causing several safety Cars and virtual safety cars. On a day like Sunday it is incredibly difficult for the teams to get it right. That is because the conditions were changeable, which meant at times the intermediates were the correct tyres and at other times it was slicks. When the rain comes and goes as it did, it is a nightmare for the strategists. To get the best from the race you want to be the first to make the right call on tyres, but by doing it before anyone else you are inevitably taking a gamble. Strategy is king in the rain Strategy is a living thing in Formula One, particularly in the wet. Silverstone is a difficult track because it is so large. It could be raining heavily in one sector but largely dry in another. You have to balance what might be quickest with what is the biggest risk. There will be plenty of strategists with fried brains after that race. Some teams and drivers got it right, others failed. I was surprised at some of the choices of the top teams on Sunday, who appeared to take too much risk and throw away good positions. In a race like this, you can almost split the field in two. If you are in the bottom half of the grid – or in a quick car but out of position – you want to take gambles because you might pull a result out of it that could bag you a disproportionate amount of points. That is what Sauber managed with Nico Hulkenberg, taking 15 points home for third – that accounts for more than a third of the team's total points in 2025. Verstappen paid for team's gamble Red Bull had Max Verstappen on pole but the race quickly got away from him. The skinny, low-downforce rear wing that he ran on Saturday helped him to beat the McLarens in qualifying but was the cause of his downfall in the damp on Sunday. You could see how the car was getting away from him, with numerous slides and one big spin on the race restart. You do not see that often from Verstappen. I think Red Bull made an error in setting up Verstappen's car like this – it was too bold a decision. They would have known that the weather was unpredictable for the race but they were too focused on taking pole position and hoping they could sort it out from there. LAP 21/22 Max Verstappen spins at the restart! 😵 He drops from P2 to P9 ⬇️ #F1 #BritishGP — Formula 1 (@F1) July 6, 2025 This meant that to get the balance on the car right in the wet, they would have had to take off downforce from the front wing. This would have in turn given him even less overall downforce, which is not what you want in slippery conditions. He paid the price and faded in the race, finishing fifth. This is all a bit small team-ish from Red Bull and naive, in my view. Verstappen is still fighting the McLarens for the championship, though his hopes are diminishing. For a team that have won four drivers' and two constructors' titles in the last four seasons, it was a bit of an oddball decision. McLaren, on the other hand, focused on the race rather than qualifying and reaped the rewards. A team like Red Bull should go into the weekend with the best set-up for the race and look at the bigger picture. They did not. Just because they do not have the best car any more does not mean they should be making decisions like this. Red Bull not the only giants to fall Mercedes, too, made some strange choices. The strangest was bringing George Russell in at the end of the formation lap to switch to slick tyres, in particular the hard slicks rather than the mediums or softs. Every team seemed to think that it was going to rain 10 or so laps into the race so Mercedes were taking a big risk. It ended up putting them on the back foot as, inevitably, Russell had to switch to intermediates when the rain returned. He never got back into contention. If Russell had started towards the back of the grid you could understand it more. He started fourth though and was in contention at the start, alongside the McLarens, Red Bull and Ferraris. In any case, the soft slick should have been the choice, not the hards. The soft gives you more grip in the wet and the dry and is quicker to get up to temperature than the hard tyre. The extra wear that it would suffer in damp, cold conditions is negligible, relative to the hard or medium. I think Mercedes were looking for the miracle from lap one, but by the end of the 12th lap a miracle is exactly what they needed. McLaren were in contention in a wet/dry race last year but made some odd strategy calls that cost them victory. They managed to bring it home again this year (though their car has a bigger advantage, especially in the wet because of how it treats its tyres) but they were not immune from questionable decisions, either. Given the size of their advantage towards the end of the race, it was a risk to pit both Oscar Piastri and Lando Norris when they did on laps 43 and 44. They had no real competition from behind – Hulkenberg was nearly a minute adrift in third on lap 43 – and the track was still quite tricky, as Piastri showed by going off once he went on to the slicks. They could have just taken a lap or even two more to see the lap times of those behind them, react when they needed to and reduced their chances of crashing out. They won so they will not worry about that too much on Monday, but I think they took too much of a risk. The sides who got it right I'd also give two teams further down the grid, Aston Martin and Sauber, a firm pat on the back for their strategies. Hulkenberg did not take any gambles, drove a fairly uneventful and straightforward race in tough conditions and from 19th he took home his first career podium. Lance Stroll, who seems to thrive in the wet, was in contention for that podium until late on but still managed to bring home a decent haul of points for his team. It was an excellent example of what is possible by making the right decisions at the right time and not trying to be heroes.
Scottish Sun
an hour ago
- Scottish Sun
Josh Taylor's millions in the bank revealed as former boxing world champion boosts fortune
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) SCOTS boxer Josh Taylor has boosted his fortune to almost £5 million in the last year, new figures have revealed. The 34-year-old was crowned the undisputed light-welterweight champion of the world after his win over American opponent Jose Ramirez in Las Vegas in 2021. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 3 New figures have revealed Josh Taylor has boosted his personal fortune to almost £5m Credit: PA 3 Taylor lost his most recent bout to Ekow Essuman on home soil at the Glasgow Hydro in May Credit: PA 3 Teofimo Lopez also took a belt from the Scot back in 2023 Credit: Getty The victory meant he became the first British fighter to claim the WBO, WBA, IBF and WBC titles simultaneously since the four-belt era officially began in 2004. Despite losing the last of his world belts to Teofimo Lopez in 2023, the Tartan Tornado, from Prestonpans, East Lothian, has seen his income soar. Accounts just filed for company Laser Sports show it declared total assets of £5,065,478 for 2024. The company owed creditors £203,382 within a year leaving Taylor with shareholder funds of £4,862,096 - a rise of more than £350,000 on the previous year's figure. Taylor set up the London-based business in August 2015 shortly after he turned professional following his gold medal win at 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games. He and his wife Danielle are the directors of the company and owns all the shares in it. The company made just £20,000 in its first year of trading. Taylor's quest to become a two-weight world champion ended with defeat to Ekow Essuman at the OVO Hydro in Glasgow in May. He had lost his previous two bouts to Jack Catterall and Lopez before making the decision to move up to 147lbs. He said he is now taking time away from the sport before making a decision on his future. Britain's next Tyson Fury set for world title & Taylor urged to fight on | Split Decision Taylor married long-term partner Danielle in 2022 in a lavish ceremony at Kinmount House near Annan, Dumfriesshire. Keep up to date with ALL the latest news and transfers at the Scottish Sun football page
Daily Mirror
an hour ago
- Daily Mirror
How to watch Diogo Jota remembrance programme with special show on TV & online
Liverpool are broadcasting a special remembrance programme tonight as the club continues to pay tribute to Diogo Jota. Jota and his brother Andre tragically died in a car crash on Thursday in Zamora, Spain. Jota spent five seasons at Anfield, helping them win the Premier League, FA Cup and the League Cup, and Liverpool are set to honour the forward with an emotional tribute programme titled 'Remembering Diogo: Our Number 20'. The programme will be broadcast live on Liverpool's YouTube channel, LFCTV and All Red Video from 6pm BST. The club say that it will "include the many tributes from fans, teammates and across the football world in recent days, while saluting a hugely popular player and person by looking back on his impact on and off the pitch". The majority of Liverpool's squad attended the funerals of Jota and his brother on Saturday, including captain Virgil van Dijk, and a number of former Reds players were also there. In a heartfelt tribute posted on Instagram, Van Dijk said: "Man, I can't believe it, I don't wanna believe it. "Absolutely devastated and in total disbelief. What a human being, what a player, but most importantly what an unbelievable family man. You meant so much to all of us and you always will! "For your family to lose two sons, a husband and a father is just unimaginable. So cruel and unfair. My heart is breaking for all of your beautiful family, for Rute and for your kids. I promise you that in these difficult times and beyond we will always be there for your family. "A champion forever, number 20 forever. It's been a privilege to have stood by your side on the pitch, and to have been your friend off it. We will miss you beyond words and never forget you. Your legacy will live on, we will make sure of it! Rest in perfect peace Diogo & Andre." Andy Robertson also shared a powerful tribute, writing: "The ones I'm thinking about most right now are the family. Their loss is too much to bear. I'm so sorry that they have lost two such precious souls - Diogo and Andre. "For the team and the Club, we'll try to cope with this together… however long that takes. For me, I want to talk about my mate. My buddy. The bloke I loved and will miss like crazy. I could talk about him as a player for hours, but none of that feels like it matters right now. "It's the man. The person. He was such a good guy. The best. So genuine. Just normal and real. Full of love for the people he cared about. Full of fun. He was the most British foreign player I've ever met. We used to joke he was really Irish… I'd try to claim him as Scottish, obviously. I even called him Diogo MacJota. "We'd watch the darts together, enjoy the horse racing. Going to Cheltenham this season was a highlight - one of the best we had. The last time I saw him was the happiest day of his life – his wedding day. "I want to remember his never-ceasing smile from that magical day. How much he was bursting with love for his wife and family. "I can't believe we're saying goodbye. It's too soon, and it hurts so much. But thank you for being in my life, mate - and for making it better. Love you, Diogo."
