England set to be unchanged in Italy March 10, 2014 RUGBY UNION: England head coach Stuart Lancaster has hinted he will stick with the team that beat Wales for the final match of the Six Nations championship against Italy on Saturday. England will be champions if they win and Ireland lose to France, or if they can win by 50 more points than Ireland do. [...]
Vautour can get Mullins and Walsh off to a Supreme start March 10, 2014 THERE is no better sound in racing than the roar that kicks off the Cheltenham Festival as the tapes go up for the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle. Last year’s event was a top-class renewal with today’s Arkle favourite Champagne Fever, and leading Champion Hurdle contenders My Tent Or Yours and Jezki fighting out the [...]
Get the bubbly on ice as Champagne Fever is primed for more Festival glory March 10, 2014 AFTER a quiet period of winning favourites in the Racing Post Arkle, the cream has certainly risen to the top in the last two years with the outstanding Sprinter Sacre and Simonsig claiming the prize. Nicky Henderson will be going for a third straight Arkle with Grandouet, but the seven-year-old hasn’t looked a natural over [...]
Top Tips from Paddy Power March 10, 2014 I DON’T know if it’s wise or not to have your best bet of the week in the very first race, but I do think that VAUTOUR is banker material. I have a feeling that the race is going to be a carbon copy of last year with Ruby Walsh in front on Vautour with [...]
Hurricane Fly set to defy age and land an historic third Champion Hurdle March 10, 2014 BILL ESDAILE PREVIEWS THE CHAMPION HURDLE AND THE MARES’ HURDLE RARELY has a horse been more eagerly awaited than this year’s renewal of the Stan James Champion Hurdle. With the obvious exception of Annie Power, the “who’s who” of the two-mile hurdling division all make the journey to Prestbury Park to take part in this [...]
Cockney Sparrow each-way value against wonder mare March 10, 2014 ANYONE who witnessed Quevega’s incredible fifth successive win in this race 12 months ago would have had serious doubts about the Willie Mullins-trained mare making it six wins on the bounce in 2014. Yet, here we are one year on and the 10-year-old is a best-priced 8/11 with BetBright to become the most successful horse [...]
Green and gold of JP McManus set to be among the winners once more March 10, 2014 NO OWNER’S colours have been carried to the Festival’s winner’s enclosure more frequently than those of JP McManus. The Irish business magnate, infamous among the betting ring for legendary gambles, has had 39 Festival heroes and is odds-on across the board to be leading owner once more this week. He has two outstanding chances in [...]
Star Sports: Lay of the day March 10, 2014 THE WAITING is finally over and at last it’s time for the best four days in the racing calendar. Now, I’ve been warned that all you punters are desperate to back the four Ruby Walsh-ridden “good things” on day one and we’re ready and waiting. In fact, if that’s you, we’ve got an unbelievably generous [...]
Cheltenham Festival infographic March 10, 2014 Ahead of the greatest show on turf, Sporting Index has put together this handy Cheltenham Festival infographic to help punters get an angle on all the big trends and stats. The Anglo-Irish rivalry at the Festival has become one of the most competitive in sport. Last year Irish-trained horses won more races than their Great Britain-trained counterparts [...]
Six Nations: Lancaster eyes title as England end their Triple Crown wait March 9, 2014 ENGLAND 29 WALES 18 PROUD England coach Stuart Lancaster urged his players to refocus on this week’s Six Nations finale in Italy after they swept aside Wales yesterday at Twickenham to claim their first Triple Crown for 11 years. First-half tries from scrum-half Danny Care and centre Luther Burrell, allied to the unerring boot of [...]