L’Homme can Presse home his advantage in Gold Cup January 14, 2025 REGULAR readers will know that I tipped a Venetia Williams horse in my first Road to Cheltenham ante-post column last week. Well, I’m going in again I’m afraid! Make no mistake, Williams is an outstanding trainer, particularly of chasers, and I just think L’HOMME PRESSE is too big at 25/1 for the Boodles Gold Cup. [...]
Time to hit the jackpot at Ascot with Jonjo’s Jipcot January 14, 2025 MILLIONS are on offer this weekend. Quite literally, as Windsor (Friday and Sunday) and Ascot (Saturday) host the inaugural three-day Berkshire Winter Millions Festival with £1.2 million up for grabs. With a strong card up at Haydock as well, several horses hold multiple entries, so there are some risks with ante-post punting. First on the [...]
Purton looking to Fly North of Whyte’s wins record January 14, 2025 IT GOES without saying that all eyes will be focused once again on jockey Zac Purton, as he closes in on Douglas Whyte’s record of 1,813 winners in the territory. Having ridden eight winners already this month, and totalling 1,808 victories at present, it is only a matter of time before he surpasses Whyte’s record. [...]
Bottomuptogether could be a Smart Fighter on debut at Happy Valley January 14, 2025 BANK on former Hong Kong champion trainer Ricky Yiu to provide the best bet on a tricky and highly competitive nine-race programme at Happy Valley today. With just seven winners separating the top nine stables in the Trainers’ Championship at present, Yiu is making a strong bid to win another title he last held five [...]
Australian Open NFTs tank in value on non-fungible token marketplace January 14, 2025 NFTs sold by Tennis Australia for nearly £1.5m have tanked in value amid reports the organisation has walked away from its non-fungible token project. More than 9,000 of the NFTs, which are digital images of tennis balls, have shed up to 90 per cent of their value since the launch in 2022 by Tennis Australia. [...]
72% UK sports fans would pay more for tickets if they benefited environment January 14, 2025 Seven in 10 sports fans would be willing to pay more for a ticket to a live event if the extra was used to benefit the environment, according to a new survey. The Sport Industry Report, published today, found that 72 per cent of sport fans it surveyed said they would pay the surplus “if [...]
Leicester City still face PSR danger despite Premier League decision January 14, 2025 Leicester City remain on the hook for possible breaches of PSR rules despite the Premier League deciding not to issue charges to any clubs for the period ending last season. Leicester escaped punishment last year despite being charged with overspending for the period ending 2022-23 after they won a legal appeal centred on ambiguity in [...]
Rashford exit to cost Man Utd as clubs battles to meet PSR rules January 14, 2025 Manchester United will have to pay to get Marcus Rashford off their wage bill as they battle to meet Premier League profitability and sustainability (PSR) rules. Former golden boy Rashford is bound for the exit door at Old Trafford after 20 years at his boyhood club, having fallen out of favour with new manager Ruben [...]
Steve Borthwick England squad: Three Champions Cup bolters to watch January 14, 2025 This morning England manager Steve Borthwick names his squad for the Six Nations, with a trip to Dublin up first next month. Last weekend’s Investec Champions Cup action, then, was the very last chance for players to give a good account of themselves before today’s announcement. But it wasn’t all rainbows and butterflies for hopefuls [...]
Investec Champions Cup: Leinster, Glasgow and Toulon secure home ties January 13, 2025 There may be a round of Investec Champions Cup matches to go but for some clubs their future has already been decided. For South African side the Bulls, it’s done and dusted with the Pretoria-based outfit unable to reach the round of 16 in April, no matter how good or bad their result against Stade [...]