Elliott team hoping for Brighter Days at the Festival February 11, 2026 LAST March, Gordon Elliott had to wait until the last of 28 Cheltenham Festival races to taste success, not something the 41-time Festival-winning trainer would have been used to. “As hard as it was for me, for all my staff that were putting in all the hours, it was harder for them.” Elliott reflected. “The [...]
Pipe’s Juran can fill Ascot punters with Joy February 10, 2026 SATURDAY’s Ascot Chase (3.35pm) is the final Grade One of the season prior to the Cheltenham Festival, and that means we’re due to see some familiar names battle it out for this valuable prize. There’s no more familiar name than Jonbon running here, and it looks like it’s his to lose. The trip, the track [...]
Sober looks a Glorious bet for Cheltenham Festival opener February 10, 2026 RACING fans were treated to some serious action on William Hill Super Saturday at Newbury at the weekend, with plenty of Cheltenham Festival quality on show. Lulamba, Haiti Couleurs and Tutti Quanti all delivered performances which put markers down for the big four days in March, but I was most drawn to SOBER GLORY, who [...]
No Leap of Faith required to back Atzeni at the Valley February 10, 2026 RACING in Hong Kong returns to Happy Valley on Wednesday with a nine-race programme, featuring the Class Three Consensus Cup (1.15pm) over the extended mile. Favourite backers have found it tough going since the beginning of the month, with just half-a-dozen market-leaders obliging from 31 races and plenty of short-priced favourites beaten along the way. [...]
Size’s Spirit can keep him challenging in trainers’ title race February 10, 2026 JOHN Size’s bandwagon continues to roll after the success of Flow Water Flow at Sha Tin last Sunday, with the stable firmly in the equation for the trainers’ title. Size currently trails championship leader Mark Newnham by 10 winners but has quickly cut a large deficit since the New Year. The stable had nine [...]
Jonathan Barnett: Gareth Bale’s former agent denies ‘sex slave’ claims in full February 10, 2026 The British football super-agent who negotiated Gareth Bale’s world record transfer to Real Madrid, Jonathan Barnett, has denied any wrongdoing after a woman alleged he kept her as a “sex slave” and threatened to kill her. Barnett, 76, is the subject of a range of serious allegations made by an Australian woman in a US [...]
Dupont image rights row puts Toulouse in rugby spotlight again February 10, 2026 French rugby giants Toulouse are facing the threat of a second salary cap-related sanction after a media investigation into star player Antoine Dupont’s image rights payments. The so-called Le Petit General has been an integral part of France and Toulouse teams in recent years but is now at the centre of a storm, alongside Stade [...]
‘Crown jewel’ of Olympic Games memorabilia put up for sale at auction February 10, 2026 An ultra-rare winners’ medal from the first modern Olympic Games in Athens in 1896 is set to be sold at auction in Denmark next month. The silver gong – gold medals were only introduced in 1904 – is believed to be the world’s oldest Olympic medal and has an estimated value of 200,000–300,000 Danish kroner [...]
Barry Connell: I’m not going to big up my horses anymore, apart from Marine Nationale February 10, 2026 THERE aren’t many trainers like Barry Connell; a former hedge fund manager who used to combine his job with riding out six days a week. Born close to Leopardstown in south Dublin, Connell was in his 30s before he learned to ride, yet he notched over 30 winners in the UK and Ireland before taking [...]
Are we seeing the death of the corporate box in sports stadiums? February 10, 2026 The future landscape of sports stadiums is undergoing a radical revolution: clubs and architects alike are growing in confidence, wanting their arenas to be 365-day businesses that go far beyond the 90 minutes of enjoyment football offers. Look at the planned chimneys on Birmingham City’s master plan and the three towers on Manchester United’s 100,000-seat [...]