Player bonus strike forces Italy to suspend World Cup training June 15, 2015 ITALY’S Rugby World Cup preparations have been thrown into disarray after the Azzurri were forced to suspend their pre-tournament training camp due to a player strike over bonuses. The players are demanding a match-by-match bonus scheme whereas Italian Rugby Federation (FIR) bosses are refusing to budge on their proposals for a one-off bonus payment linked [...]
Austria silver after bus crash June 15, 2015 TWO Austrian synchronised swimmers have dedicated the silver medal they won at the European Games yesterday to their team-mates who were hit by a bus last week. Twins Anna-Maria and Eirini-Marina Alexandri, 17, finished second to Russia at the inaugural competition in Baku, Azerbaijan, just four days after one 15-year-old colleague was left in a [...]
Royal Ascot 2015: Solow can get the ball rolling in Queen Anne Stakes June 15, 2015 BILL ESDAILE PREVIEWS THE OPENING DAY OF ROYAL ASCOT 2015 Royal Ascot has got underway with a bang in recent times – and this year’s meeting should be no exception. The Queen Anne Stakes (2.30pm) normally features the best milers that Europe has to offer. On this occasion they will be joined by [...]
Bolger to knockout rivals in Round Two June 15, 2015 IT really is bizarre that this afternoon’s Coventry Stakes (3.05pm) is still only a Group Two. You only have to look at the roll of honour over the past decade to see why it should be awarded the highest status. Henrythenavigator, Canford Cliffs, Strong Suit, Dawn Approach and The Wow Signal all proved themselves to [...]
Top Tips from Paddy Power June 15, 2015 If you were looking for an unbiased view of the King’s Stand today, you’re in the wrong place! I am of course talking about my mum’s horse Sole Power who is trying to become the first horse ever to win the King’s Stand three years on the trot. All I can tell you is he’s [...]
King’s Stand beckons for speedy Angel June 15, 2015 THE Group One King’s Stand Stakes (3.40pm) is always hotly-contested and today features 19 speedballs that are sure to be wound up and ready to go. Sole Power has been a wonderful servant for Eddie Lynam and the Power family. He has won the last two editions of this race and bids to make history [...]
Ray to give flat boys a long overdue Ascot Stakes June 15, 2015 NATIONAL Hunt trainers have had a stranglehold on the Ascot Stakes (5.00pm) in recent years, winning the last five renewals, and they are strongly represented again. Nicky Henderson and Willie Mullins saddle five runners between them in their attempts to win the race for a second time. But I reckon RAY WARD can put one [...]
Gilbert set to adopt 2015 Rugby World Cup centre stage and continue game’s evolution June 14, 2015 You all know the story. William Webb Ellis, with a fine disregard for the rules of the game and all that, picked up the ball and ran with it at Rugby School in 1823, thereby inventing the game of rugby football. We don’t have time to go into what happened to him after that, [...]
Panther hiccup spoils the Ascot party June 14, 2015 GEOFF LESTER TALKS TO TRAINER TOM DASCOMBE AHEAD OF THIS WEEK’S ROYAL ASCOT TO paraphrase that well-used political expression, “24 hours is a long time in racing”. Having lived the dream with trainer Tom Dascombe on Friday that his stable-star Brown Panther was “jumping out of his skin” in readiness for Thursday’s Ascot Gold Cup, [...]
Euro 2016 Qualifier: Hodgson hails matchwinning hero Rooney June 14, 2015 SLOVENIA 2 ENGLAND 3 ENGLAND boss Roy Hodgson lauded the personal and professional qualities of skipper Wayne Rooney after the Manchester United striker conjured a decisive strike to maintain his side’s unblemished Euro 2016 qualifying record in Slovenia yesterday. Rooney endured a series of missed opportunities but a late winner moved him to within a [...]