Ma Filleule can silence big guns up at Aintree April 8, 2015 BILL ESDAILE PREVIEWS THE OPENING DAY OF THE CRABBIE’S GRAND NATIONAL MEETING AT AINTREE ANYONE who witnessed Holywell’s demolition of the Mildmay Novices’ Chase field at this meeting 12 months ago will find it pretty hard to oppose the AP McCoy-ridden eight-year-old in the Betfred Bowl (2.50pm) at Aintree this afternoon. He jumped and galloped [...]
Improving Arctic Fire can give Mullins and Walsh yet another big win April 8, 2015 WILLIE Mullins and Ruby Walsh carried all before them at last month’s Cheltenham Festival and I expect them to continue in the same vein in today’s Doom Bar Aintree Hurdle (3.25pm). ARCTIC FIRE was the stable’s supposed third string in the Champion Hurdle, but he flew past his rivals up the home straight to chase [...]
Birmingham City receivers weigh up seven takeover bids April 8, 2015 Birmingham City fans could soon see their club freed from years of boardroom turmoil after the club's parent company announced it had received two more takeover offers on top of the five already confirmed. In a statement to the Hong Kong Stock Exchange, receivers Ernst and Yong who have been running Birmingham International Holdings Limited [...]
Rory McIlroy and Jordan Spieth encourage millennial interest in the Masters April 8, 2015 When the 2015 Masters gets underway in Augusta tomorrow, it won’t just be the familiar old guard in chino slacks tuning in to watch the action. According to a study from the sports industry advisers Repucom, the Masters is the most popular tournament amongst younger viewers and will likely attract a more youthful audience than [...]
Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg are great salesmen for Mercedes – Brand Index April 7, 2015 Mercedes swept all before it in last year’s Formula One championship, and this year, they seem to be the cars to beat – barring a strong showing by Ferrari. But how has the success of the all-conquering F1 cars, driven by Lewis Hamilton and Nico Rosberg, affected the perception of the overall brand, given that [...]
Chris Ramsey rues leaky defence as QPR see points slip April 7, 2015 Interim Queens Park Rangers boss Chris Ramsey lamented his side’s defensive frailties after a stunning Christian Benteke hat-trick deprived the Hoops of a potentially priceless victory in their quest for Premier League survival at Villa Park last night. Benteke rescued a vital point for Aston Villa with a late free-kick, having earlier wiped out [...]
Cook’s quest for Caribbean runs begins with a warm-up century April 7, 2015 ENGLAND skipper Alastair Cook notched a morale-boosting century on the final day of his side’s drawn warm-up clash against a St Kitts & Nevis Invitational XI to start the tour of the Caribbean with a bang. Cook resumed on 95 yesterday and made light work of reaching three figures before instantly retiring as England’s preparations [...]
Blackburn Rovers deprived of 14 players for Liverpool FA Cup replay April 7, 2015 Blackburn boss Gary Bowyer insists that Liverpool counterpart Brendan Rodgers does not have the monopoly on unavailable players ahead of their FA Cup quarter-final replay at Ewood Park tonight. Much has been made of Liverpool missing suspended trio Steven Gerrard, Martin Skrtel and Emre Can for the clash, but the Championship outfit could be vastly [...]
In-form Manchester United can inspire City, says Kompany April 7, 2015 MANCHESTER City captain Vincent Kompany believes Sunday’s derby against Manchester United can act as a catalyst to reverse the decline that appears to have doomed their Premier League defence. Monday night’s shock 2-1 defeat at Crystal Palace was City’s fifth in seven matches and left their title bid in tatters, nine points behind leaders Chelsea, [...]
Tiger: I have worked my ass off and I expect to win the Masters April 7, 2015 FORMER world No1 Tiger Woods expects to end his seven-year wait for a 15th Major at the Masters this week after revealing the lengths he has gone to in order to play at Augusta. Woods took an indefinite break from competition two months ago in a bid to iron out flaws in his game but [...]