English Touring Opera shows often embody the old adage about necessity and invention. Portability is the key: their sets must fit in the back of a van, and be shoehorned into a wide variety of spaces.

Europe's greatest advances in high-speed rail in recent years have come from Spain – with startling improvements in journey times to, and around, Andalucía.

Barcelona and Real Madrid are not prepared to cede to demands for an English-style system of sharing income from audiovisual rights as they want to protect their status as dominant powers in Spanish and global soccer, according to Barca vice president Javier Faus.

If you want a St Leger won, it seems, you must turn to the men whose specialist subject it clearly is. Masked Marvel gave trainer John Gosden his third in five years yesterday, and rider William Buick his second in a row. And, to boot, the colt recorded a course record time as he forged three lengths clear of Brown Panther through the final two furlongs.

Though his own professional prospects seem increasingly restricted by the passing of time – whether through injury, or a boss who is giving youth its chance – Michael Owen showed yesterday that experience still counts for plenty in another field of athletic endeavour. The Manchester United striker authorised a decision that even Sir Alex Ferguson might admire as hard-nosed in the replacement of Richard Kingscote by Kieren Fallon when Brown Panther lines up for the sport's oldest Classic at Doncaster on Saturday.

Every week, we invite three competing companies to give us their best deal for a specific holiday. Today: a two-night weekend break in Seville. Prices are for two people, in September.

National honour was upheld on Bastille Day when André Fabre won the Juddmonte Grand Prix de Paris for an 11th time last night. The trainer of Pour Moi has now introduced another three-year-old to the equation for the Prix de l'Arc de Triomphe, run over the same course and distance in October, after Meandre cut down the front-running Seville for a decisive success.

What Andy Murray is to Wimbledon, Benjamin Grosvenor is to pianism: a bright young British hope. He’s come a long way in his 18 years, with a precocious win in the BBC Young Musician of the Year Award being one of the milestones.

There will still be four runners from Ballydoyle in Sunday's Irish Derby, but not the four originally envisaged. Treasure Beach, Memphis Tennessee and Seville are still on course for the Classic that has become a benefit for their trainer Aidan O'Brien, but Recital was not on top form yesterday morning and his place in the squad will be taken by Roderic O'Connor.

Atletico Madrid's new coach Gregorio Manzano said today that he hopes forward Sergio Aguero stays at the Spanish club.

Sevilla have completed the signing of Marcelino Garcia as their new coach in place of Gregorio Manzano, the La Liga club said today.

The conman, the Derby and Seville

When a Picasso goes at auction it's usually a win-win-win situation.

Ever since connections of Frankel decided against stretching out his phenomenal speed, the Investec Derby has seemed only to draft characters in search of a plot. All that is supposed to change at York today, however, when a warm favourite will surely volunteer himself from the convergence, in the Totesport Dante Stakes, of three of the first four in the Epsom betting. Certainly, it is an engrossing race – and a most unusual one, too, in that the odds should implore all self-respecting punters to the same conclusion.