Six Nations: England U20 crop must be given chance to shine March 13, 2024 While England’s senior men’s team scuppered Ireland’s chance of securing back-to-back Six Nations Grand Slams at the weekend, the Under 20 side have achieved a bigger feat in recent weeks. The youthful side’s 32-32 draw with Ireland at the weekend ended hopes across the Irish Sea of three consecutive Six Nations U20 Grand Slams. And [...]
Champion Chase will be Fab if the Guinness settles March 12, 2024 FOR MANY, today’s feature, the Queen Mother Champion Chase (3.30pm), is a rematch between last year’s Arkle 1-2, El Fabiolo and Jonbon. The head-to-head form between the two can’t split them at one win apiece, but recent form makes El Fabiolo the one to beat, and that’s reflected in his price of just 1/2. Jonbon [...]
Don’t Stay Away From Fay in the Brown Advisory March 12, 2024 IF THE talk of the Cheltenham Festival preview circuit is to be believed then Fact To File is one the bankers of the entire four days in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase (2.10pm). Second in last year’s Champion Bumper, Willie Mullins skipped a hurdle campaign with the seven-year-old, and after a disappointing debut over the [...]
Chance Jimmy in case odds-on Bally Burns your fingers March 12, 2024 WHEREVER Ballyburn turned up at the Festival he was going to prove hard to beat and connections have chosen the longer 2m5f of the Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle (1.30pm) over yesterday’s Supreme. A winner of a point-to-point and over this trip on his penultimate start, there’s no doubting Willie Mullins’ charge will see this out well [...]
Saint can lead you on Path to gold in the Grand Annual March 12, 2024 IN THE last five years, we have seen winners of the Johnny Henderson Grand Annual (4.50pm) priced at 22/1, 28/1 and 66/1, which tells you all you need to know about the complexity of this puzzle. The one for money in recent days has been Libberty Hunter for Evan Williams and Harry Cobden. He won [...]
Ballymore and Black Bamboo look ideally Built for the Coral Cup March 12, 2024 MARTIN Brassil hasn’t had much luck in the Coral Cup (2.50pm) in recent years. An Epic Song was beaten a head by Langer Dan 12 months ago and Fastorslow, a leading contender for Friday’s Gold Cup, was headed on the line by Commander Of Fleet in 2022. I am hoping BUILT BY BALLYMORE can make [...]
Come Jalon and back Gordon’s bay in the Champion Bumper March 12, 2024 THIS looks like one of the most open renewals of the Champion Bumper (5.30pm) in recent history. It was 7/1 the field in 2013 and it won’t be much shorter than that this year, with Jasmin De Vaux and JALON D’OUDAIRIES currently flip-flopping at the head of the betting at around 6/1. My eye has [...]
Take Delta to land Glenfarclas Chase hat-trick at rain-sodden Cheltenham March 12, 2024 THERE is an early morning inspection to see whether this year’s running of the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase (4.10pm) can take place this afternoon as the track is currently waterlogged. If it is abandoned, as seems more likely than not, the race will be run as the first on Friday’s Gold Cup Day card. Cheltenham [...]
Saudi Arabia bid $1bn to combine men’s and women’s tennis tours March 12, 2024 Tennis could be the next sport to fall into the arms of Saudi Arabia after discussions at Indian Wells this week reportedly included a $1bn take-it-or-leave-it offer from the state backed Public Investment Fund which would see the men’s and women’s tours merged. The reports, in the Telegraph, suggest that ATP chairman Andrea Gaudenzi asked [...]
Cheltenham: State Man ‘turns up’ to win Champion Hurdle March 12, 2024 Trainer Willie Mullins quipped that you’ve got to turn up to Cheltenham in order to win the Champion Hurdle after State Man won the showpiece race on the opening day of the Festival in the absence of Constitution Hill. The pre-Festival favourite Constitution Hill was ruled out of contention having been given a round of [...]