PETACCHI PREVAILS July 4, 2010 ITALIAN veteran Alessandro Petacchi survived a chaotic final 3,000m to claim the first stage of the Tour de France – but British hope Mark Cavendish crashed out. Cavendish fell in the first of three collisions – the last a huge pile-up – before Petacchi won a sprint finish into Brussels. Swiss Fabian Cancellara retained the [...]
Cecil’s Twice Over looks good to Eclipse his Sandown rivals at 2/1 July 1, 2010 THERE is certainly no Sea The Stars in tomorrow’s Coral Eclipse field, but the £500,000 added Group 1 contest has still attracted last year’s Champion Stakes winner TWICE OVER and Dubai Sheema Classic winner Dar Re Mi in what looks set to be an intriguing battle of both generation and sex. Twice Over was last [...]
the INSIDER July 1, 2010 Back in the day I used to visit one or two fashionable clubs, including some in Manchester. However, it’s not just the name that is drawing me to HACIENDA (5%) in the big Heritage Handicap over one mile at Sandown (2.35) tomorrow. This son of Kheleyf looks like a typical improver from the Mark Johnston [...]
Samba Boys have the edge against Holland July 1, 2010 HOLLAND vs BRAZIL TODAY – 3.00PM ITV1 BRAZIL have been unfamiliarly clinical so far in this tournament. They just did enough to beat North Korea, before impressing against Ivory Coast in the second group game. The Portugal match was a non-event, but Dunga’s side showed their true mettle against Chile on Monday night. That was [...]
Murray: Hard court won’t favour Nadal July 1, 2010 ANDY MURRAY has brushed off fears that a sun-baked Centre Court will help his opponent Rafael Nadal as he seeks to become the first British man to reach the Wimbledon final since 1938. Murray is already the underdog for this afternoon’s semi-final against the Spaniard, who has reclaimed the world No1 spot following an outstanding [...]
Johnson hails axed captain Borthwick July 1, 2010 ENGLAND manager Martin Johnson admits dropping long-standing captain Steve Borthwick from his 32-man elite squad has been the hardest decision of his coaching career. Johnson installed Borthwick as skipper upon taking over in 2008 and stuck by him for two years, despite vociferous criticism of the Saracens lock’s international performances. But Borthwick’s injury in March [...]
No bids yet but that’s okay, says chairman Broughton July 1, 2010 LIVERPOOL chairman Martin Broughton says there have no been no bids for the club yet but still hopes a sale will go through by the end of August. The Reds’ American co-owners Tom Hicks and George Gillett officially put the club on the market in May, with British Airways chief Broughton tasked with overseeing the [...]
Argentines and Germans agree: England are rubbish July 1, 2010 ARGENTINA and Germany took time out from verbally attacking each other in the build-up to tomorrow’s eagerly awaited quarter-final to join forces and ridicule England’s woeful World Cup. Martin Demichelis, the Bayern Munich and Argentina defender, sunk the knife in deepest by pouring scorn on John Terry’s below-par performance in Sunday’s 4-1 drubbing by Germany. [...]
Evergreen Kinane still living life in the fast lane July 1, 2010 HE may have hung up his saddle after a glittering 34-year career, but there’s no such thing as an easy life if you’re Mick Kinane. Since announcing his international retirement last December, the 51-year-old has been managing his own stud farm in his native Ireland, is now Flat Ambassador for Horseracing Ireland 2010, and is [...]
Williams serves up record ace tally in battling victory July 1, 2010 DEFENDING champion Serena Williams is hoping to find an extra gear for her sixth Wimbledon final after being pushed hard in yesterday’s last-four tussle with Czech upstart Petra Kvitova. After being broken for the first time in this year’s tournament, Williams drew on her considerable battling qualities to force a tie-break that proved to be [...]