Coco Gauff's emergence as arguably the biggest star of American tennis since Serena Williams is great for the women's game, says former British number one Laura Robson.
Gauff captured the imagination of the American public by winning the US Open last September, the 19-year-old fighting back to beat Aryna Sabalenka in a memorable final at Arthur Ashe Stadium.
That made the teenager the first American – male or female – to win the tournament since Williams, who won the event for the sixth time in 2014. Gauff, Williams and her sister Venus are the only American women to claim the trophy in the 21st century.
Gauff will look to back up that success at the Australian Open when the first major of the year begins on Sunday, and Robson is delighted to see her thriving after being criticised earlier in 2023.
"I love what she's done in the last three months in particular, because over the clay courts and the grass-court season, everyone was writing her off," Robson told Stats Perform.
"She just went back to the drawing board, got a new team around her, played unbelievably at the Cincinnati Masters and came into the US Open with confidence.
"You could tell, with the way that she played the longer matches, she just felt so good about her game. You could see how she was moving out there.
"She is definitely the fastest out on tour at the moment on the women's side. I'm just super pumped for her.
"To be in the stadium and to feel the energy when she won the US Open was crazy.
"I'd say 99.99 per cent of the stadium was going for her and it's going to be a huge boost for women's tennis to have an American superstar like her."
Asked whether Gauff was the natural successor to Williams – who finished her glittering career one major title shy of Margaret Court's record of 24 – Robson said other players' efforts to push American tennis forward should not be overlooked.
"I definitely feel like Jessica Pegula and Madison keys and people like that don't quite get enough credit for how much they've pushed American tennis," Robson continued.
"Even going into the US Open, Pegula was the number one American, but Coco definitely had more attention on her, which is great because their different profiles are being raised, but at the same time they were still pushing each other along and playing doubles together almost every week.
"It's just fantastic to see and the fact that there's now another name that you're throwing into the mix just makes everyone feel better."
Gauff currently sits a career-high third in the world rankings, though she has plenty of ground to make up on the top two, with Iga Swiatek currently edging out Sabalenka.
Robson expects that duo to trade places often as they battle to dominate the women's game, saying: "You definitely struggle to see Swiatek losing at Roland Garros, with the way that she goes on clay.
"I think it's going to be quite nice because they each have different strengths. You would almost say Sabalenka goes slightly better on a hard court and Iga is better on clay.
"I can see it almost swapping back and forth over the next few years, but Iga is going to be right in there, for sure."
Teun Koopmeiners fired a double as Atalanta dumped AC Milan out of the Coppa Italia after a 2-1 win at the San Siro.
The Netherlands midfielder struck a superb equaliser just 90 seconds after Rafael Leao had opened the scoring for Milan at the end of the first half before converting a penalty in the second period.
Atalanta’s surprise win secured them a semi-final tie against Fiorentina and is the second time they have beaten Stefano Pioli’s side in just over a month, following their 3-2 home Serie A victory on December 9.
The Rossoneri entered the cup tie in top form, winning five and drawing one of their six matches in all competitions since their league defeat to Atalanta, but the visitors fully deserved to progress.
A first half of few chances burst into life just before the interval when Leao combined with Theo Hernandez at pace down the left and brilliantly converted the latter’s ball inside from the edge of the penalty area.
Atalanta’s response was immediate. With the clock ticking into first-half stoppage time, Emil Holm burst clear on the right edge of the area and his pin-point cut-back was expertly swept home by Koopmeiners.
The visitors then went close to snatching the lead when substitute Mario Pasalic’s effort was blocked by Milan captain Davide Calabria.
Up until a frantic finale to the first half, Milan midfielder Yunus Musah was the only player to have a shot on target, with his 19th-minute shot saved by Marco Carnesecchi.
Milan defender Matteo Gabbia and Atalanta midfielder Marten de Roon had both been forced off following a heavy 38th-minute collision and replaced by Simon Kjaer and Pasalic respectively.
Koopmeiners forced Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan into a fine low save with a low effort from outside the box at the start of the second half and threatened again as he fired wide soon after.
Atalanta were awarded a penalty – confirmed by the video assistant referee – after Aleksey Miranchuk went down under Alex Jimenez’s challenge and Koopmeiners converted into the bottom corner in the 59th minute.
Carnesecchi turned away Christian Pulisic’s goalbound shot from the edge of the area as Milan chased an equaliser.
Musah’s long-range shot was also saved by Carnesecchi and Milan substitute Jan-Carlo Simic headed wide from a late corner as Atalanta held firm.
The visitors were given a scare in stoppage time when VAR checked for a possible handball moments before the final whistle, while Milan’s unused substitute Antonio Mirante was shown a red card as the players left the field.
Real Madrid struck twice deep into extra time to book their place in the final of the Spanish Super Cup with a thrilling 5-3 victory over rivals Atletico Madrid in Riyadh.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side looked to be heading out of the competition after Antonio Rudiger’s 78th-minute own goal put Atletico 3-2 up but Dani Carvajal struck with five minutes remaining to send the match into extra time.
The derby seemed destined for a penalty shoot-out until Joselu’s header deflected off Atletico defender Stefan Savic and into the net before Brahim Diaz’s late breakaway goal sealed Real’s spot in the final.
Antione Griezmann had earlier become Atletico’s all-time record goalscorer by netting his 174th goal for the club to make it 2-2 after a pulsating first half which also featured strikes from Mario Hermoso, Rudiger and Ferland Mendy.
Diego Simeone’s men had the first big chance in the sixth minute as Samuel Lino’s whipped effort looked to be heading into the top corner from the edge of the box but goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga was on hand to tip over the crossbar.
The save counted for very little as Atletico hit the front from the resulting corner when Hermoso was left unmarked at the back post to nod into the net from Griezmann’s delivery.
Real swiftly equalised in similar fashion from a corner when Rudiger headed home from Luka Modric’s cross.
Ancelotti’s side turned the game on its head just before the half-hour mark as Carvajal’s pass into the area was cleverly flicked home by Mendy to make it 2-1.
But Atletico responded just seven minutes later when Griezmann slammed into the bottom-left corner from outside the area to seal his place in the club’s history.
Real had a golden opportunity to retake the lead as Rodrygo picked up the ball inside the area and pulled off a clever fake shot to open up the space for him to shoot at goal but Jan Oblak brilliantly dived in front of the effort to somehow keep the scores level.
Atletico came closest to the opening goal of the second period when Lino capitalised on some sloppy play from Real Madrid and burst forward to strike just wide of the far post.
But they did take the lead with 12 minutes left as Kepa failed to deal with a ball into the box which bounced off Rudiger and into the net.
Real were not to be denied though as Carvajal hit back with five minutes to go. Vinicius Jr’s initial effort was kept out by Oblak but the ball fell to Jude Bellingham whose drilled shot was cleared off the line before Carvajal slammed into the top corner.
As spot-kicks loomed on the horizon Real found the killer blow.
Joselu’s flicked header was bundled into his own net by Savic and Ancelotti’s side added the icing on the cake when Diaz won a foot race with Oblak and slotted into an empty net to book Real’s place in the final against either Barcelona or Osasuna.
Substitutes Cody Gakpo and Darwin Nunez came off the bench to help turn around Liverpool’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg at home to Fulham and ensured they will take a 2-1 lead to Craven Cottage.
The pair were introduced early in the second half with the hosts trailing to Willian’s 19th-minute goal after a Virgil van Dijk error.
Liverpool were struggling for creativity without the injured Trent Alexander-Arnold – who helped turn a 3-2 Fulham lead into a 4-3 Reds win in last month’s Premier League meeting – but as at Arsenal in the FA Cup at the weekend Jurgen Klopp’s changes altered the game.
Nunez added a directness which had been lacking while Gakpo brought the composure and control to midfield Ryan Gravenberch had not before he was replaced by his Netherlands team-mate.
And the pair combined for Gakpo to score in the 71st minute, just three minutes after Curtis Jones’ deflected equaliser.
The last team to win at Anfield was Real Madrid in February. Before that it was another side in white, Leeds in October 2022, and Fulham – in their first League Cup semi-final – must have been encouraged by the start they had.
Klopp made six changes from the weekend and while that saw 20-year-old Conor Bradley deputise for Alexander-Arnold in only his second start of the season, it also included the return of Van Dijk.
The Netherlands captain was back after illness but his decision to head a ball aimlessly sideways on the edge of his area proved costly.
Andreas Pereira nipped in behind and cut the ball back to the penalty spot where a couple of neat touches from Willian opened up the space for him to fire through the legs of the recovering Dutchman and give goalkeeper Caoimhin Kelleher little chance.
Moments later Van Dijk was booked for catching Pereira in the face with an arm as his travails continued.
But his personal difficulties were matched by his team, who were too one-paced in their build-up.
Harvey Elliott was given Mohamed Salah’s position on the right wing but his role often seemed to require filling the space usually occupied by Alexander-Arnold, which meant dropping deep with Bradley pushing forward as an orthodox over-lapping full-back.
But apart from an early Jones attempt straight at Bernd Leno and a Diogo Jota narrow-angle shot across the face of goal chances were rare with Fulham having more on target in the first half.
The tempo increased after the break with Gravenberch shooting wide and Jota delaying a fraction too long having created space for himself with a square run across the penalty area allowing Antonee Robinson to block.
But as the hosts pressed for the equaliser Fulham were able to expose the space opening up in Liverpool’s defence and Kelleher got down low to parry a Bobby Decordova-Reid shot.
Alexis Mac Allister’s cross was turned over by Leno but the equaliser had an element of good fortune when Jones took aim from distance and went in off Tosin Adarabioyo’s back.
Leno was beaten again when Gakpo turned home Nunez’s near-post cross after linking with Jota.
Liverpool’s all-action Uruguay international could have all-but sealed Liverpool’s passage to Wembley before the return leg but a full-stretch Leno tipped over his header, pushed away a fierce drive and blocked his close-range effort.
Coco Gauff has every chance of adding to her 2023 US Open triumph by winning further grand slam titles in the coming years.
That is the view of former world number four Johanna Konta, who also believes it is "only a matter of time" before the American rises to the top of the WTA rankings.
Having lost the French Open final to Iga Swiatek as an 18-year-old in 2022, Gauff went one step further on home soil last September, becoming the first American teenager to win the US Open title since Serena Williams in 1999.
Gauff is looking to add to that triumph when the Australian Open begins on Sunday, and she is considered one of the favourites to claim the trophy after making a flying start to 2024.
The teenager captured her second straight Auckland Classic title on Sunday, fighting back to beat Elina Svitolina and make it seven wins from eight tour-level singles finals in her career.
Konta believes last year's US Open victory was just the start for Gauff, telling Stats Perform: "She's already a grand slam champion. So, she's got every possibility to win multiple grand slams.
"Once you're winning those tournaments, then it's only a matter of time before you get to world number one."
Gauff is up to third in the world rankings – the highest position of her career – though she has work to do to overhaul world number one Swiatek, who has won three of the last seven grand slams and is targeting her first Australian Open success after going out in the fourth round last year.
Konta, who failed to win a major during her own career despite reaching the last four at Melbourne Park, Roland Garros and Wimbledon, thinks the 22-year-old will be a force to be reckoned with for the foreseeable future.
"I think she's an incredibly consistent player, the level is just very consistent," Konta said of Swiatek.
"I think she will be one of the ones that will be there for a long time if she's just able to sustain that. I think she'll be one of the top handful."
The Los Angeles Clippers signed star forward Kawhi Leonard to a contract extension on Wednesday, with ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reporting the deal is worth $153million for three years.
Without announcing terms of the contract, Clippers president of basketball operations Lawrence Frank issued a statement saying "we're thrilled to continue our relationship with Kawhi.
"He is an elite player, a terrific partner and a relentless worker who knows how to win and makes it his first priority.
“He elevated our franchise from the moment he arrived. We feel fortunate that Kawhi chose to join the Clippers five years ago, and excited to keep building with him."
The 32-year-old Leonard declined his $48.8million player option for 2024-25 as part of the extension and is slated to earn $52million next season and roughly $50million in both 2025-26 and 2026-27.
Leonard signed with Los Angeles in July 2019 after leading the Toronto Raptors to their first NBA title.
He was named MVP of the 2019 NBA Finals, the second such honour of his career after guiding the San Antonio Spurs to the championship in 2013-14.
A five-time All-Star and two-time NBA Defensive Player of the Year, Leonard leads the Clippers (23-13) this season with 23.8 points and 1.75 steals per game.
He is also tied for second on the team in rebounding (6.1) and ranks fourth with 3.4 assists per game.
Pete Carroll is no longer the coach of the Seattle Seahawks.
After 14 seasons as the team's coach, the 72-year-old is moving into an advisory role with the organisation.
"After thoughtful meetings and careful consideration for the best interest of the franchise, we have amicably agreed with Pete Carroll that his role will evolve from Head Coach to remain with the organisation as an advisor,” the team said in a statement.
The Seahawks made the announcement on Wednesday, three days after the team concluded the season with a 21-20 win over the Arizona Cardinals. They finished the year 9-8, and would've made the play-offs had the Green Bay Packers lost to the Chicago Bears in Week 18.
As the coach of Seattle since 2010, Carroll led the Seahawks to the franchise's only Super Bowl title, two conference championships, five division crowns and 10 play-off berths. Overall, he went 137-89-1 with Seattle.
Although he is the winningest coach in franchise history, the Seahawks missed the play-offs in two of the last three seasons, and have only advanced to the divisional round of the post-season once in the last seven years.
He had prior NFL coaching stops with the New York Jets and New England Patriots, and his 170 career wins are tied with Tom Coughlin and Mike Shanahan for the 14th most in NFL history.
"His expertise in leadership and building a championship culture will continue as an integral part of our organisation moving forward," the statement read. "Pete will always be a beloved member of the Seahawks family.”
Trinidad and Tobago’s bobsleigh team will use the next 18 months to develop a well-oiled four-man team ahead of qualifiers, as they set their sights on the 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Italy.
Piloted Axel Brown, the Soca Sliders, which also comprises Shakeel John, Xaverri Williams and Du Aundre John, is expected to feature more athletes, courtesy of a recent recruitment drive for potential bobsledders. For the first time in the nation’s short Winter Olympic history, Trinidad and Tobago will be chasing a spot in the four-man event.
The twin island republic's previous appearances in 1994 (Lillehammer, Norway), 1998 (Nangano, Japan), 2002 (Utah, USA) and 2022 (Beijing, China), were in the two-man bobsleigh. The 2026 Olympic qualifiers slide off from November 2025 to January 2026.
But until then, Brown believes the team has a lot of work to do and, as such, pointed out that the focus for this year will be on development and continuity.
“It’s a growing year so we’re not so much looking at results, we’re looking at the future and what we can do now to help the next couple of years. Yes, most of our 2023 results were good but we’re really looking at growing the team, getting better and laying the groundwork for the other teams,” Brown told Trinidad and Tobago Newsday in a recent interview.
While he is grateful that the country's bobsledders more or less come from a track and field background, Brown stressed the need to improve on their push power at the start of the race.
“If they train day-in, day-out they can get a lot stronger and a lot closer to the proverbial perfect bobsledder. Because that’s where they’re lacking right now, they’ve never truly hit the gym really hard in order to gain strength," he said.
“We’re trying to reframe their priorities to show them what it means to be and train like a bobsledder. We had some really good opportunities over the past three weeks to train alongside them. Normally, on the ice, the driver has to operate a little bit separately because of the different responsibilities, so to train alongside them for the last three weeks has been really beneficial," Brown added.
Mark Allen produced a break of 86 in the final-frame decider to oust John Higgins and advance to the quarter-finals of the Masters.
A week after teenage sensation Luke Littler thrilled during the World Darts Championship it was two old-timers that were starring at Alexandra Palace.
Higgins, a two-time champion, looked to be in control as back-to-back 80-plus breaks put him 3-1 up.
But world number three Allen won the next two scrappy frames, thanks to some wayward potting by Higgins to draw level.
The Northern Irishman had to wait until frame seven to make his first half-century break as he took the lead for the first time and then a sumptuous 123 clearance – the best of the match – put him one frame away.
Higgins had been looking beaten for the previous 30 minutes but summoned his renowned fighting spirit to reduce the deficit after winning the tactical battle and then sent it to a decider with a 61 break.
But hopes of a comeback were put to bed as Allen produced his decisive break to set up a last-eight tie with either Robert Milkins or Mark Selby.
He said: “It wasn’t a phenomenal contest, we were both a bit edgy, but any win against John is a good win so I will take it.
“Strangely I didn’t feel too bad in the last frame because 5-3 to 5-5 I didn’t feel like I’d done much wrong.
“I missed two really tricky shots, so I was looking forward to getting a chance and when John missed that long red I was fearing the worst but I got another chance and I made the most of it.”
Nottingham Forest defender Harry Toffolo hopes his experiences coming through mental health problems and gambling can help others tackle their own issues.
In September 2023, Toffolo was handed a suspended five-month ban after admitting 375 breaches of FA betting rules and was also fined just under £21,000. The investigation related to his time as a young player at Norwich and took in loan spells at Swindon, Rotherham, Peterborough and Scunthorpe between 2014 and 2017.
According to an independent regulatory commission, Toffolo’s deteriorating mental health and belief his football career was over were “very substantial mitigation” for him breaching the FA’s betting rules at that time.
The commission found Toffolo began placing bets on football, as well as other sports, when he was 18 and stopped at 21, with stakes “generally small”. Those included two 25p wagers on himself to score in the 2015 League One play-off final at Wembley for Swindon, who lost 4-0 to Preston.
The 28-year-old told BBC Radio Nottingham of how he felt “mortified and ashamed” when he received an e-mail from the FA outlining the breaches, which saw him drop to the floor in a “full-on panic attack” as he “felt like I lost everything”.
Toffolo faced mental health struggles and loneliness during his spells away from Norwich, later moving to Millwall in 2018 and then Lincoln before joining Huddersfield during January 2020.
Having signed for Forest in July 2022, the defender helped them win promotion in the the Championship play-off final under former boss Steve Cooper and has since gone on to play regular Premier League football.
Toffolo is now an ambassador of Tricky to Talk, which is a club community trust programme aimed at getting people to speak openly about their mental health.
“Some people might get down by it (the FA’s disciplinary process), but I feel like I have more energy from it,” Toffolo said in an interview with BBC East Midlands Today.
“I feel strong, but I also feel a sense of responsibility now to try help and hope it never happens again to anybody else.
“It’s now down to me as a person to say ‘what can I do to help, how can I protect my children from putting them in this position?’. I feel inspired by it.
“Every day for five months, it was just about getting through them one by one.
“I got through it and my career has never been at such a high than it has been in the past two or three months.
“I feel the most complete I have ever felt in my life at this moment in time, on the basis that I feel I have almost nothing to lose because I thought I had lost everything.
“I feel extremely humbled that I have the opportunity to keep playing.
“I just go out there and I fight for the fans and fight for my family because I’m sitting here now and I’m extremely grateful to even have this opportunity to talk about it.”
Guenther Steiner, the star of Formula One’s ‘Drive to Survive’ series, has been sacked by Haas.
The 58-year-old Italian earned a cult following his X-rated outbursts on the successful Netflix show.
But Steiner’s reign as team principal for the American team is over after owner Gene Haas dispensed of his services with immediate effect.
Steiner had been team principal at Haas since the team entered F1 in 2016. But they finished 10th and last in the most recent constructors’ championship, scoring points at only four of the 22 races.
He will be replaced by Ayao Komatsu, the Japanese Loughborough University graduate who is promoted from his role as trackside engineering director.
“Moving forward as an organisation it was clear we need to improve our on-track performances,” said Gene Haas.
“In appointing Ayao Komatsu as team principal we fundamentally have engineering at the heart of our management.
“We have had some successes, but we need to be consistent in delivering results that help us reach our wider goals as an organisation.
“I’m looking forward to working with Ayao and fundamentally ensuring that we maximise our potential – this truly reflects my desire to compete properly in Formula One.
“I’d like to extend my thanks to Guenther Steiner for all his hard work over the past decade and I wish him well for the future.”
Off the back of his newfound Netflix fame Steiner released his own book last year, while it was also reported that he is set to be involved as a producer on a sports-based fictional comedy show with US broadcaster CBS.
Speaking on Sky Sports last month, Steiner insisted his extracurricular activities were not hindering his role as team principal.
“It is a balance, and you have to be careful it doesn’t take too much time,” he said. “But writing the book didn’t take time.
“I always tried to do it while I was doing other things. I try to be very efficient and if there is a comedy with CBS I will not be performing in it.
“Everybody in the team is in a good place, financially as a business, and technically, too. We had a tough last year, but we could end up at the top of the midfield in 2024.”
The new season starts in Bahrain on March 2.
Boris Becker would have loved to commentate with Nick Kyrgios at the Australian Open, but has revealed the Eurosport pundits will be on opposite sides of the planet over the next fortnight.
It was confirmed earlier this week that injured former Wimbledon finalist Kyrgios will be part of Eurosport’s punditry team for the first grand slam of 2024.
This raised the prospect that Kyrgios, who was sidelined for most of last year with knee and wrist issues, could come face to face with six-time major winner Becker in Melbourne after their online exchange last month.
Kyrgios and Becker traded insults on X, formerly known as Twitter, over a succession of days in December with the recent jail sentence served by double Australian Open winner Becker referenced, but he has now confirmed they will be – unintentionally – kept apart during their media duties.
“I would have liked to see a match where we are both commentating next to each other. I think that would be more watched than the tennis match actually,” Becker said.
“Look, he joined the team of Eurosport International out of Melbourne and I joined the Eurosport German team out of Munich. So, unless we get connected into the cube where they beam you into the studio, I don’t think there is anything happening there.
“Ultimately we both love the game, we love tennis, we like to commentate on a good match and that’s the bond we have.
“We have a difference of opinion, but that’s normal. We agree we want to see great matches, we want to see a great tournament and this is why we do the job.”
Becker will not be in Australia for the first major of the year, but has a vested interest after he took up the role of Holger Rune’s coach in 2023.
While the German has backed the 20-year-old to do well at Melbourne Park, he cannot look beyond defending champion Novak Djokovic, another player he has coached in the past.
He added: “I have to mention my player Holger Rune, who reached the fourth round last year, he was also comfortable, he started the year well with the final in Brisbane. He had a good practice week and I am sure he is ready by Sunday.
“Holger is a very intense, very dynamic and a very explosive young player. He reminds me a little bit of a young Novak Djokovic.
“For me, the clear-cut favourite is Novak Djokovic. He won the tournament 10 times. Let me repeat, he won it 10 times. This is a really outstanding achievement.
“He is the clear-cut favourite but he is 36, he had a small injury on his hitting hand. I saw him practicing yesterday and today, he seemed fine but we have to watch this space because he is not getting any younger.
“Having said that, when the tournament starts, he is the number one player in the world, he is the defending champion and he is the top favourite.”
Becker is back on the tennis scene after he spent part of 2022 in prison for hiding £2.5million of assets and loans to avoid paying debts.
The 56-year-old, a three-time Wimbledon winner, believes he is a better coach for his recent battles with bankruptcy.
“I don’t want to go into details to what happened to me and how I came out of it, but I think I am a better man now than I was five years ago,” Becker reflected.
“Hopefully my family would agree with that but also because of the things I have experienced, I might even be a better coach. All the top guys, the difference is often their mentality, their attitude, how they deal with disappointment.
“This is my strong part. I can really talk to a player about overcoming adversity at any given time and I am much more credible now than I was five years ago.”
Motherwell have launched a campaign to attract new investment from “anyone who wants to support a proper community club” – including Hollywood celebrities.
Chairman Jim McMahon recently announced plans for a fundraising initiative as he signalled his intent to step down from his Fir Park role by the end of the season “once a successor has been appointed and certain live projects have been completed”.
The cinch Premiership club – owned by the Well Society fan group – has stepped up its bid to attract new investment by releasing a light-hearted 90-second video in which players and staff members attempt to outline the appeal of the club to potential investors.
The film begins with defender Stephen O’Donnell musing: “Are you the next Hollywood celebrity looking to get involved in football? Well we’ve got a club that offers real bang for your buck.”
“We’re proudly a fan-owned club but we are always looking for ways to do more and achieve bigger things,” said McMahon.
“This is a slightly out-of-the-box approach, but with it, we hope we can increase Well Society memberships or find businesses or individuals whose values align with ours.
“Most football clubs operate at a loss and are only viable through significant annual subsidies from their owners.
“There’s a lot of talk of famous investors from the US right now so we thought it’d be fun to put our own spin on the theme, to show what we’re all about at Motherwell Football Club.
“Hopefully you can see that we’re a club that goes beyond just the 90 minutes. With things like walking football and mental health support, we’ve always helped the local community to make sure the positive effects of football can be felt off the pitch too.
“We welcome anyone who wants to support a proper community club. Whether that be new additions to the Well Society or new sponsors. And if anyone from Hollywood wants to get involved then we’re all ears.”
French star Theleme will revert to the Flat next month in preparation for a tilt at the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
The seven-year-old has struck Grade One gold five times in his homeland, including victory in last year’s French Champion Hurdle and successive wins in the Grand Prix d’Automne at Auteuil.
He has enjoyed a winter break since his most recent triumph in the latter contest in November – and with alternative opportunities thin on the ground, the Arnaud Chaille-Chaille-trained gelding is set to switch codes for for his final outing before an intended trip to the Cotswolds in March.
Bertand Le Metayer, racing manager for Leeds-based owners the Gordon family, said: “Cheltenham is very much the plan. It’s probably not ideal as we’ve only got one Flat race that suits him for a prep run and that is on February 23.
“It’s not really ideal, but we can’t really prep him otherwise. I know it’s not the most usual programme, but the French system is not made at all for running on both sides of the Channel.
“The horse has just won a Grade One, we gave him a break after that and he looks fabulous for it.”
Le Metayer hopes a spin on the level next month will give Theleme a taste of the pace he is likely to encounter at Cheltenham, with hurdle races at Auteuil traditionally far more tactically-run affairs.
He added: “The Flat race he is going for is at Tarbes, which is a nice, big oval with a long straight and it will be the first (meeting) of the year, so we expect it to be nice, soft ground.
“Hopefully the race will just give him some rhythm. We have a short amount of time to get him ready and we don’t want to squeeze the lemon too much.
“He’s only been back in training three weeks and we’ve got five weeks until the Flat race, so we’ll give him a nice blow there, jump him over some English hurdles and then take him to Cheltenham.”
Theleme will be bidding to become the first French-trained winner of the Stayers’ Hurdle since the mighty Baracouda claimed back-to-back victories in 2002 and 2003, although Le Metayer feels it is difficult to compare the two with Baracouda having excelled on British soil, as evidenced by four wins in the Long Walk Hurdle, two Ascot Hurdles and two Long Distance Hurdles.
“I actually spoke at length with Francois Doumen, but his ways of doing it were different because Baracouda was not as good a horse in France and he was trained for Cheltenham to the millimetre as that was his objective,” he said.
“The reason we are going to the Stayers’ Hurdle is because we don’t like the prep races (for the French Champion Hurdle) in France as they make you carry top-weight. We have to run in prep races with 72 kilos, which is not something we like doing, so we thought the best way would be to take him to Cheltenham off level weights and also give the Gordon family a taste of Cheltenham.
“The horse has a brilliant mind and he’s obviously a super horse, there’s no doubt about it. It’s just more complicated to prep him for Cheltenham this year than it would be next year because firstly it is unknown and secondly, by next year he will have had a third run on the Flat, so he will have a handicap mark which opens up other options.”
Theleme is a 4-1 joint-favourite for Cheltenham with sponsors Paddy Power alongside the Gordon Elliott-trained Teahupoo, with the latter’s stablemate Irish Point only a point bigger at 5-1.
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