Hurricane Fly dethroned by Nicholls and Rock On Ruby March 14, 2012 THE Paul Nicholls-trained Rock On Ruby caused a major upset on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival by dethroning odds-on favourite Hurricane Fly and claim victory in the Champion Hurdle. Ridden by Noel Fehily, who missed the last two Cheltenham Festivals through injury, the 11-1 shot passed long-time leader Overrun, who finished second, and [...]
Khan: I won’t make the same mistakes twice March 14, 2012 FORMER WBA and IBF light-welterweight king Amir Khan insists he will prove December’s defeat against Lamont Peterson was a one-off when the pair meet again in two month’s time. The Bolton fighter admitted yesterday that he struggled to make the weight for the original bout in Washington which was shrouded in controversy. Khan aired concerns [...]
Tuilagi hoping Lancaster gets England role March 14, 2012 LEICESTER centre Manu Tuilagi remains hopeful that England’s interim head coach Stuart Lancaster will be appointed on a permanent basis by the Rugby Football Union. Tuilagi, who scored the opening try in last weekend’s victory over France in Paris, said: “Personally I hope he gets the job, but that’s not my decision to make.” Phil [...]
Woods on target for Masters March 14, 2012 GOLF: Tiger Woods’ hopes of playing at the Masters next month have been boosted by news that his Achilles tendon injury which forced him to pull out of the final round of last weekend’s WGC-Cadillac Championship is not as bad as first feared.
Bayern batter beleaguered Basel March 14, 2012 FOOTBALL: Bayern Munich beat Basel 7-0 last night and 7-1 on aggregate to progress to the last eight of the Champions League. Inter crashed out on the away goals rule despite beating Marseille 2-1 at San Siro.
Menorah the value against Sprinter Sacre in the Arkle March 12, 2012 ONLY two favourites have won the Racing Post Arkle Chase in the last 19 years, but I’m almost certain none will have arrived at Cheltenham with a bigger reputation than Nicky Henderson’s Sprinter Sacre. The six-year-old was recently described by his pilot Barry Geraghty as, ‘the best he has ever ridden’, and that’s coming from [...]
Hurricane to blow away the opposition yet again March 12, 2012 THE Irish have sent over some outstanding hurdlers to Cheltenham over the years with the likes of Istabraq, Hardy Eustace, Brave Inca and Monksfield. But there is just a sneaky feeling that HURRICANE FLY could end up being better than all of them. The son of Montjeu has been a difficult horse to train for [...]
Staring down the barrel of a massive payout March 12, 2012 THE first big Cheltenham story of the week could be as much about Paddy Power as the horses after we promised to refund all losing bets on today’s second race, the Arkle, if Sprinter Sacre wins. Jockey Barry Geraghty has been waxing lyrical about this horse and thinks we are stone mad, and we probably [...]
Uncle Junior can add to Ireland’s strong record in the Cross Country March 12, 2012 THERE are many who would rather stay in the Arkle Bar than watch the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase, but the 3m7f race has genuinely been good to punters. While the Irish have won all seven renewals, it’s worth noting that five winners have been returned at 4/1 or shorter, while Sizing Australia wasn’t exactly a [...]
Arsenal leave it late to close gap on Spurs March 12, 2012 Last-gasp Vermaelen strike sees Gunners win fifth straight Premier League game and move to within a point of arch rivals ARSENAL 2 vs NEWCASTLE 1 ARSENAL manager Arsene Wenger lauded a “relentless effort” after unlikely hero Thomas Vermaelen’s 94th-minute winner swept his side to within a point of rivals Tottenham. The centre-back finally made Gunners [...]