Wales will face Italy in a wooden spoon decider after France claimed a 45-24 Guinness Six Nations victory at the Principality Stadium.

A fourth successive loss of the Six Nations campaign means Warren Gatland’s team could finish bottom for the first time since 2003.

Italy, buoyed by a stunning success against Scotland, know that if they repeat their Cardiff win of two years ago next Saturday then Wales will prop up the final table.

Head coach Gatland has pleaded for patience as he moulds a new-look side following the World Cup, but France showed just how big the rebuilding job is as they triumphed in bonus-point fashion following tries from Gael Fickou, Nolann Le Garrec, Georges-Henri Colombe, Romain Taofifenua and Maxime Lucu.

Fly-half Tomas Ramos kicked 20 points from four penalties and four conversions, while Wales responded through touchdowns for Rio Dyer, Tomos Williams and Joe Roberts, with Sam Costelow adding three conversions and a penalty.

Wales led by a point inside the closing quarter, but they have now lost 13 of their last 15 Six Nations games, and it is 21 years since Gatland’s fellow New Zealander Steve Hansen oversaw a campaign when they failed to win a match.

But that scenario could now unfold, with Italy appearing in stronger shape than Wales after beating Scotland and drawing with France, who finish their Six Nations season against England in Lyon next weekend.

Wales were dealt a late injury blow when hooker Ryan Elias withdrew due to hamstring tightness, so Elliot Dee won his 50th cap in the starting line-up and Test rookie Evan Lloyd featured among the replacements.

Costelow kicked Wales into a third-minute lead, and although that was immediately cancelled out by a Ramos penalty, France’s defence was quickly cut open.

Wales attacked impressively, with Dee and lock Will Rowlands prominent, but no-one tracked Dyer and he sprinted 35 metres unopposed to touch down, before Costelow’s conversion opened up a 10-3 lead.

There was am immediate concern for Wales, though, when the game’s first scrum saw the Welsh front-row mangled into a horrible shape and Ramos kicked an easy penalty.

It gave France momentum, and they stung Wales midway through the opening half after consistent phase-play afforded Fickou a chance, and he brushed off Costelow’s weak challenge to cross wide out, with Ramos converting.

But any chance of France consolidating their advantage was quickly undone when centre Owen Watkin’s half-break exposed Ramos in defence and Williams claimed another opportunist score, again converted by Costelow.

The rollercoaster contest had no obvious pattern, and Fickou set up a second French try 10 minutes before half-time when his strong carrying was rewarded by Le Garrec’s finish. Ramos’ conversion meant that France led 20-17.

Wales counter-attacked as the half drew to a close, but they could only reflect on what might have been after number Aaron Wainwright dropped Williams’ pass when the French defence was again stretched.

The try spree continued shortly after half-time, with Wales moving back in front following strong approach work by Costelow and Williams that created an opening for Roberts to score. Costelow’s touchline conversion left France four points behind.

The visitors looked to have gone back in front following a sustained spell of pressure, but lock Thibaud Flament was adjudged to have dropped the ball as he tried to touch down and Wales escaped after referee Luke Pearce had originally awarded the score.

A Ramos penalty made it a one-point game entering the final quarter and Wales found themselves under prolonged pressure before cracking 15 minutes from time as Colombe crashed over and Ramos converted.

It got worse for Wales as Taofifenua charged down Gareth Davies’ attempted clearance to secure a bonus-point triumph and there was no way back for the home side as Lucu’s late score compounded their misery.

Christian Pulisic struck in the first half to help AC Milan move up to second in Serie A with a 1-0 victory over Empoli at the San Siro.

Pulisic grabbed the only goal of the game five minutes before the break with a first-time effort which was initially given offside. The assistant referee thought Noah Okafor had mistimed his run, but a VAR check ruled him to be onside.

Empoli sensed blood in the second period and had chances to equalise through Nicolo Cambiaghi and Mattia Destro, but Milan hung on to claim back-to-back wins.

The hosts were first to come closest to an opener when former Chelsea man Pulisic found space in the box but fired straight at Elia Caprile with five minutes on the clock.

Milan made most of the running in the first period with Okafor cutting in from the right and letting fly, only for Caprile to gratefully dive right on to the ball.

The hosts opened the scoring five minutes before the break when Okafor broke the line and fed a pass through to Pulisic, with his deflected effort wrong-footing Caprile before eventually being given by VAR.

Cambiaghi weaved his way into the area and his deflected effort needed to be tipped behind by Mike Maignan for Empoli’s first effort on target after 56 minutes.

Milan continued to come forward in search of a second though, Samuel Chukwueze was next to come close when he tried to curl into the bottom corner, but was blocked behind for a corner.

The best chance of the second half fell for the home side when Ruben Loftus-Cheek came forward and, after a couple of step-overs, his powerful shot was well saved by Caprile to stop Milan from putting the game to bed.

Another effort fell for Milan but they failed to take it, Okafor was the producer once again with a cross at the back post, but Davide Calabria could not guide his header on target.

Empoli remained a threat on the counter and were keen to punish Milan’s profligacy, Bartosz Bereszynski twisted and turned in the area, but his low ball into the box was cleared by Yunus Musah.

Milan were treading on thin ice and the visitors came within inches of an equaliser when Cambiaghi headed onto the post with seven minutes remaining.

With the game creeping towards the final minute, Empoli almost snatched a point when a corner found Destro free inside the area, but his header was straight at Maignan as Milan held on for victory.

Danny Ings scored his first Premier League goal in more than a year as West Ham came from two down to snatch a 2-2 draw against his former club Burnley.

The ex-England striker had probably his best game for the Hammers despite only coming on as a substitute in the 82nd minute.

Ings had a goal disallowed, then scored the equaliser and hit the crossbar in stoppage time at the end of a barmy match.

A long-range strike from David Datro Fofana and an own goal by Konstantinos Mavropanos had put Burnley, who kicked off rock bottom in the Premier League and had not scored for a month, two up at half-time.

West Ham, on the back of a not particularly arduous 1-0 Europa League defeat in Freiburg, were lethargic and sloppy for 45 minutes but, inspired by Lucas Paqueta and Ings, hit back for a point.

They fell behind after only 11 minutes, although there did not appear to be any danger when Fofana picked the ball up 40 yards out.

But the Chelsea loanee strolled through powder-puff challenges from Nayef Aguerd and Kalvin Phillips before launching a rocket from 25 yards into the top corner.

Phillips would probably have been a shoo-in for Thursday’s England squad had he stayed on Manchester City’s bench this season.

But his loan switch to West Ham has been little short of disastrous so far and, with England boss Gareth Southgate watching from the stands, the midfielder looks in serious danger of playing himself out of the squad for this summer’s Euros.

West Ham’s abject first-half display was summed up neatly when their former youngster Josh Cullen crossed low from the left and Mavropanos stuck out a foot to divert the ball past Alphonse Areola.

James Ward-Prowse and Jarrod Bowen are also on Southgate’s radar, but both had days to forget. The latter headed his only chance wide and the former, along with Phillips, was hooked at half-time.

Edson Alverez and Michail Antonio were thrown on instead and within a minute West Ham had halved the deficit, Paqueta pouncing on some sloppy Burnley possession, striding forward and confidently beating James Trafford.

Mohammed Kudus should have equalised when he collected Bowen’s cross and had a free shot after Lorenz Assignon opted to go down clutching his face rather than defend his goal, but luckily for him the Ghana winger blazed over from 10 yards.

West Ham thought they had equalised when Ings prodded home but a VAR check showed Antonio was a fraction offside when he chested the ball into his team-mate’s path.

Yet at the start of eight minutes of stoppage time, a product of Burnley’s almost incessant time-wasting, Ings collected a pass from Kudus, turned and fired through Trafford.

The £12million signing from Aston Villa in January last year almost won it moments later but his shot crashed back off the crossbar.

Brighton bounced back from European embarrassment at the hands of Roma by scraping a 1-0 Premier League success over relegation-threatened Nottingham Forest.

Albion returned to the Amex Stadium with their maiden Europa League adventure in dire straits following Thursday’s 4-0 thrashing in the Italian capital.

But Andrew Omobamidele’s first-half own goal got the Seagulls back to winning ways ahead of Thursday’s last-16 second leg with the Serie A club in Sussex.

An unconvincing victory for Roberto De Zerbi’s side ended a three-match winless run in the top flight to lift them to eighth in the table.

Struggling Forest, who dominated the second half, felt aggrieved that Brighton midfielder Jakub Moder avoided a 67th-minute red card for a lunging challenge on Neco Williams.

Nuno Espirito Santo’s men remained just three points above the drop zone after Divock Origi squandered their best opening of a soggy Sunday afternoon outing on the south coast.

De Zerbi made seven changes from the nightmare trip to Stadio Olimpico in search of fresh energy, while Forest’s two alterations included a first appearance since January for striker Chris Wood.

Albion began with intent craved by their Italian head coach and threatened through headed opportunities for Moder and Ansu Fati before edging ahead in the 29th minute.

Pascal Gross’ inswinging free-kick from the left caused indecision inside Forest’s six-yard box and, with the flapping Matz Sels under pressure from Moder, Omobamidele nodded into his own net at the near post.

Backed up by VAR, referee Michael Salisbury dismissed appeals for a foul on Belgian keeper Sels before Forest wasted a golden opening for an instant response.

Morgan Gibbs-White’s perfectly weighted pass sent Origi through on goal but his low effort was repelled by the legs of Seagulls keeper Bart Verbruggen.

The lowly visitors began the second half with renewed purpose during a prolonged nervy period for the home side.

Striker Origi lashed narrowly over from a tight angle, before Murillo thumped a free-kick straight at Verbruggen.

Brighton were struggling to get out of their own half and their cause could easily have become more difficult had Moder not escaped with only a booking for a late challenge on Williams.

Former Albion loanee Wood then forced a fine fingertip save from Verbruggen as the largely one-way traffic continued, with Forest now effectively playing with four in attack following the introductions of Anthony Elanga, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Taiwo Awoniyi.

Substitute Julio Enciso flashed marginally wide from long range in the 87th minute during a rare Brighton break forward.

And the Seagulls successfully survived six minutes of added time to warm up for a seemingly impossible Europa League task by condemning Forest to a sixth defeat in eight league games and a third on the spin.

Four months ago, Mel Rowley’s dreams were being washed away by the chaos caused by Storm Babet, but now the Shropshire handler is eyeing Pertemps Final glory with Kyntara at Cheltenham.

Rowley is not a stranger to Festival success at Prestbury Park, as her husband Philip saddled Hazel Hill to win the St James’s Place Foxhunter Challenge Cup in 2019.

But Kyntara – who is as short as 12-1 with Sky Bet for Thursday’s three-mile handicap hurdle – represents the best chance of striking in her own name since becoming a professional licence holder at the family’s Poplar Cottage Farm.

Kyntara could be joined in the Cotswolds by recent Doncaster scorer Raffle Ticket, who holds an entry in the Trustatrader Plate, but soft ground would see hopes fully resting on the stable’s consistent hurdler, who began the season by winning at Lingfield and Aintree and has hit the crossbar in a couple of competitive events since.

“We’ve confirmed both of them but sadly, if the ground is right for one, it won’t be right for the other. But we’re very happy with them and we’ll just have to see how the week unfolds,” said Rowley.

“Kyntara is a definite to get in, so he would be favourite in regards to making the journey, but things could change dependent on ground.

“The softer the ground, the better for him and we’ve been absolutely delighted with him this season. He definitely has earned his place there and it would just be lovely to see him come up that hill.”

One of the many strings to the Rowley family’s bow is their renowned pre-training operation, with Sprinter Sacre perhaps the most famous alumni.

Kyntara himself was a Poplar Cottage graduate before joining Kim Bailey at the beginning of his rules career and his move back to Bridgnorth represents the Lady Dulverton-owned eight-year-old returning home ahead of arguably his biggest assignment to date.

“Who knows what will happen, it’s fairytale stuff and we’ve had horses for the owners for years,” continued Rowley.

“In fact, we had Kyntara when he was a three-year-old, then he went off elsewhere and now he’s gone full circle and come back to us.

“It would just be the most fantastic thing (if he could win) and we can all but dream. He’s come such a long way since we’ve had him back anyway, that for him to be going to Cheltenham is just fantastic on every level.”

She went on: “We’re a small team who work very hard and they are special days when you have a runner at Cheltenham.

“When you have a runner going, who one would hope would be competitive, it is just fantastic and very exciting. As we all know, anything can happen between now and then, but if all goes well, we will be loading up the lorry next Thursday.”

It was back in October when Rowley saw her yard washed away as Storm Babet wreaked havoc across the country.

Poplar Cottage felt the full force of the flooding caused by water coming into the yard meeting with a nearby stream, with the result being that parts of the gallop and schooling grounds ended up under water.

A timely repair job by a local company helped the Rowley team remain up and running and after surviving the worst weather the husband and wife duo have experienced in over 20 years at Poplar Cottage, they are taking plenty of positives from a trying winter.

Rowley said: “They always say something good comes out of bad and it was an unmitigated nightmare – it was just carnage, I’m not going to lie.

“We got in touch with a local chap whose business is groundworks and he came along with a little army of very, very helpful people and between them they put us back together again and got us back up and running.

“On the back of all that, he liked what he saw and the whole ethos of the yard and the team. We were short of a sponsor and he has now sponsored us.

“So, out of bad a good thing has happened and we’re proud to be able to say the chap who got us back on the road is now sponsoring us.”

The New England Patriots are moving on from former first-round draft pick Mac Jones at quarterback.

The Patriots are finalising a trade which will send Jones to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The trade, which was first reported Sunday by Adam Schefter of ESPN, cannot be made official until the new league year begins on Wednesday, and he passes a physical.

The terms of the trade are still being finalised, but Schefter reported the Jaguars would send a sixth-round draft pick to the Patriots in exchange for Jones.

New England selected Jones 15th overall in the 2021 NFL draft, and he put together an encouraging rookie season, throwing for 3,801 yards with 22 touchdowns and 13 interceptions for a 92.5 passer rating in leading the Patriots to a 10-6 record and a play-off berth.

The 25-year-old has been unable to build upon that Pro Bowl season, however, throwing 24 TDs with 23 interceptions in the last two years combined.

Among quarterbacks with at least 300 pass attempts in 2023, Jones' 77.0 QB rating was the second worst. 

His poor play led Patriots coach Bill Belichick to pull Jones from four games in favour of backup Bailey Zappe, until he ultimately benched Jones for good in Week 13.

In Jacksonville, Jones will serve as a backup to Trevor Lawrence, who was selected with the first overall pick in the 2021 draft.

Jones, who went 2-9 as a starter last season, was born in Jacksonville.

Tottenham inflicted a chastening 4-0 home defeat on 10-man Aston Villa as Ange Postecoglou’s men emphatically won this key battle in the race for Champions League qualification.

Sunday’s crunch clash between fourth and fifth was described in the build-up by Villa skipper John McGinn as “the most important game in the club’s recent history”.

Unai Emery’s men had the chance to move eight points clear of Spurs in the final guaranteed Champions League spot, but instead the hosts’ captain saw red in an embarrassing second-half collapse.

Tottenham moved within two points of Villa with a win that started with James Maddison turning home a brilliant Pape Matar Sarr cross in the 50th minute.

Brennan Johnson scored a fantastic second three minutes later and McGinn’s rash, frustrated challenge on Destiny Udogie led to a straight red card that ended Villa hopes of a comeback.

Son Heung-min and substitute Timo Werner struck in stoppage time as Spurs secured a statement win in the Midlands, ending Villa’s run of three straight Premier League wins in this fixture.

The players emerged to smoke and pyrotechnics at Villa Park but there were no first-half fireworks to write about.

Ollie Watkins threatened to punish Spurs’ high line early on, with Micky van de Ven’s recovery pace bailing out Cristian Romero after the in-form striker burst past beyond him.

Another example of that approach saw Watkins slipped through before the offside flag saved the Villa striker’s blushes after his undercooked pass to Leon Bailey was cut out by Pedro Porro.

Guglielmo Vicario punched away a testing McGinn free-kick and Matty Cash prodded wide after a cutback was blocked, while at the other end Villa’s five-man defence was keeping Spurs’ attack quiet.

Villa went close to taking the lead on the stroke of half-time from a short corner. The ball was laid back for McGinn to hit a well-struck cross and Lucas Digne’s flicked header looped narrowly wide.

Postecoglou’s men escaped that threat and came back from the break with a pep in their step, and not even Van de Ven’s early withdrawal could throw them off kilter.

The injured Tottenham defender had to be replaced by Radu Dragusin and headed down the tunnel just as his team-mates and the away end burst into celebration behind him.

Sarr hit an outstanding cross from the right that Maddison met ahead of a pair of Villa defenders to turn home in the 50th minute.

The Spurs man wheeled off to celebrate with the away end, then turned to the home fans when bringing out his darts celebration.

The visiting hordes were on their feet again three minutes later as Ezri Konsa’s poor pass to Tielemans was cut out brilliantly by Dejan Kulusevski, with Son collecting the ball and playing on to Johnson to brilliantly bend beyond Emiliano Martinez.

Emery responded by changing personnel and shape, only to be derailed by McGinn’s dismissal in the 65th minute.

The frustrated Villa skipper wiped out Udogie with a stupid tackle, leading to a clash involving both teams as referee Chris Kavanagh brandished a straight red card.

“2-0 in your cup final” bellowed the gleeful travelling fans, who saw Kulusevski try to add a third as they cruised against the 10-man hosts.

Vicario spread himself to stop substitute Nicolo Zaniolo but Tottenham were in control and struck twice more late on.

Son lashed home from Kulusevski’s pass in the 91st minute and substitute Werner completed the rout four minutes into the additional 10 as the home fans cleared out.

Tottenham inflicted a chastening 4-0 home defeat on 10-man Aston Villa as Ange Postecoglou’s men emphatically won this key battle in the race for Champions League qualification.

Sunday’s crunch clash between fourth and fifth was described in the build-up by Villa skipper John McGinn as “the most important game in the club’s recent history”.

Unai Emery’s men had the chance to move eight points clear of Spurs in the final guaranteed Champions League spot, but instead the hosts’ captain saw red in an embarrassing second-half collapse.

Tottenham moved within two points of Villa with a win that started with James Maddison turning home a brilliant Pape Matar Sarr cross in the 50th minute.

Brennan Johnson scored a fantastic second three minutes later and McGinn’s rash, frustrated challenge on Destiny Udogie led to a straight red card that ended Villa hopes of a comeback.

Son Heung-min and substitute Timo Werner struck in stoppage time as Spurs secured a statement win in the Midlands, ending Villa’s run of three straight Premier League wins in this fixture.

The players emerged to smoke and pyrotechnics at Villa Park but there were no first-half fireworks to write about.

Ollie Watkins threatened to punish Spurs’ high line early on, with Micky van de Ven’s recovery pace bailing out Cristian Romero after the in-form striker burst past beyond him.

Another example of that approach saw Watkins slipped through before the offside flag saved the Villa striker’s blushes after his undercooked pass to Leon Bailey was cut out by Pedro Porro.

Guglielmo Vicario punched away a testing McGinn free-kick and Matty Cash prodded wide after a cutback was blocked, while at the other end Villa’s five-man defence was keeping Spurs’ attack quiet.

Villa went close to taking the lead on the stroke of half-time from a short corner. The ball was laid back for McGinn to hit a well-struck cross and Lucas Digne’s flicked header looped narrowly wide.

Postecoglou’s men escaped that threat and came back from the break with a pep in their step, and not even Van de Ven’s early withdrawal could throw them off kilter.

The injured Tottenham defender had to be replaced by Radu Dragusin and headed down the tunnel just as his team-mates and the away end burst into celebration behind him.

Sarr hit an outstanding cross from the right that Maddison met ahead of a pair of Villa defenders to turn home in the 50th minute.

The Spurs man wheeled off to celebrate with the away end, then turned to the home fans when bringing out his darts celebration.

The visiting hordes were on their feet again three minutes later as Ezri Konsa’s poor pass to Tielemans was cut out brilliantly by Dejan Kulusevski, with Son collecting the ball and playing on to Johnson to brilliantly bend beyond Emiliano Martinez.

Emery responded by changing personnel and shape, only to be derailed by McGinn’s dismissal in the 65th minute.

The frustrated Villa skipper wiped out Udogie with a stupid tackle, leading to a clash involving both teams as referee Chris Kavanagh brandished a straight red card.

“2-0 in your cup final” bellowed the gleeful travelling fans, who saw Kulusevski try to add a third as they cruised against the 10-man hosts.

Vicario spread himself to stop substitute Nicolo Zaniolo but Tottenham were in control and struck twice more late on.

Son lashed home from Kulusevski’s pass in the 91st minute and substitute Werner completed the rout four minutes into the additional 10 as the home fans cleared out.

Chicago Bulls star Zach LaVine hopes to be fit for the start of the next NBA campaign after his season-ending injury to his right foot.

LaVine, who has not played since mid-January due to an ankle sprain, elected for surgery and will have been out for between four and six months by the time he returns to the court.

The Bulls man joined his teammates in Los Angeles before Saturday's 112-102 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, who overturned a 14-point deficit for victory.

Speaking on his personal decision for surgery, LaVine insisted the operation was the best way to progress in his rehabilitation.

"You never want to have surgery," he said. "But I got to a conclusion, especially with what the doctor was telling me, your pain level, this thing isn't going to heal on its own."

Having met up with his Bulls teammates before the Clippers defeat, LaVine sees no issue with settling back into the Chicago group.

"Same way it always has been," he said about the idea of fitting back in with the team. "It's not hard to fit back in, especially with the way I play the game and want to go out there and help."

Lonzo Ball, who has not played since January 2022 because of knee injuries, is also having rehabilitation treatment in Los Angeles.

Chicago coach Billy Donovan suggested Ball is recovering well, saying: "There's a lot of time for where he's at right now to get himself back hopefully where he gets cleared to play 5-on-5 and contact. 

"That's going to be the biggest thing. Whenever he gets to that place."

The Bulls dropped to 31-33 for the season after losing in Los Angeles but LaVine expects Chicago to bounce back.

"I talk to these guys pretty much every day, every game," he added. "It's been great, they've been winning a lot of games, a lot of games that come down to the wire."

Carlos Corberan expressed his delight as West Brom came from behind to thump Huddersfield 4-1.

Marking his first return to the Terriers since departing in 2022, Corberan oversaw a rampant Baggies display as they tightened their grip on the play-offs.

It was not plain sailing for the visitors, who failed to register a shot in the first half as they fell behind to Delano Burgzorg’s opener.

But a double courtesy of the in-form Mikey Johnston – his fifth and sixth goals since a January loan move from Celtic – inspired a second-half comeback.

And a poacher’s finish from Kyle Bartley twinned with an Okay Yokuslu thunderbolt topped off a rampaging second half showing.

“We knew that today was important and that it was going to be a tough game,” said Corberan, whose side stretched their unbeaten run to five games.

“In one week, we’ve had three games and two away. Playing away is tough, especially when you play against a team that are fighting to survive.

“I like the fact that I saw the right mentality of my team, especially in the second half.

“It was important after the first half to understand the type of game that we were playing.

“In the second half, we wanted to move fast from their press in our pitch and tried to launch attacks in their half.

“Sometimes it takes us some time to understand the game, but I think the players in the second half had the right character and understanding to win the three points.

“What’s important is that we’re starting to find the right stability because we’re having a lot of mistakes but what’s important is how you stop it after.”

Meanwhile, Huddersfield remain entrenched in the relegation zone as they were punished for letting their first-half advantage slip.

“Their first two goals were really unlucky, and this changed the game,” said boss Andre Breitenreiter.

“We were fantastic in the first half and controlled the game; we wanted to play the same style in the second half.

“We should score again after the equaliser and we had a big chance, but that was the difference today – they scored from 30 metres and we didn’t from 10.

“We had a lot of chances and we didn’t use them; West Brom were good in the second half and we have to congratulate them.

“We tried until the end and created some more chances but we have to learn from this; we needed too many chances for only one goal.

“I spoke to the team and we have to concentrate on what we can do really well.

“It was a fantastic first half against a big team with high quality and we controlled them, but we need this performance now over 90 minutes.”

French superstar Il Est Francais is thrilling connections as he steps up his workload ahead of his next outing.

Trained by Noel George and Amanda Zetterholm, the six-year-old is becoming a household name in his native France where he has built up a formidable reputation. But it was at Kempton Park on Boxing Day when producing an imperious display in the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase where he cemented his position as one of the leading chasers around.

His training team resisted the temptation to take in one of the graded novice events at the Cheltenham Festival en route to their main target of the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris, and Il Est Francais – who is a 6-1 chance with Paddy Power for next year’s Gold Cup – will tune up for his outing in the Auteuil showpiece on May 19 by running in the Prix Muray in early April.

With that event a little under a month away, George and Zetterholm have begun tightening the screws on the eight-time winner in eager anticipation of his spring campaign on home soil.

“He’s absolutely flying and actually schooled Wednesday morning for the first time since his little break which went really nicely,” said George.

“We started riding him back out from the beginning of February, but we’ve really started stepping up his work again now and he will be spot on for April 6.

“He’s very much on target for that race which is a Grade Two and then it will be the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris on May 19. He’s a horse who likes to run fresh so it gives him a month and a bit to get over it and he should be in great form.”

Luka Doncic became the first NBA player to record six consecutive 30-point triple-doubles in a dominant showing against the Detroit Pistons that Dallas Mavericks head coach Jason Kidd lauded.

Doncic finished with 39 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds, surpassing Russell Westbrook's record of five straight 30-point triple-doubles, as the Mavericks beat Detroit 142-124 on Saturday.

The Slovenian also extended his own record with a fifth straight 35-point triple-double as the Dallas star continues to run his own NBA MVP competition.

"That just shows what level he's playing on right now," coach Kidd said. "He knows he can score the ball, and he's also able to find his teammates, and lastly, he's able to rebound the ball."

Doncic was somewhat goaded by the Pistons fans, suggesting his ability is not as impressive as some think, but that noise did not bother the Dallas man or Kidd.

"Well, we know he doesn't suck," Kidd said. "I think we know he enjoys when people talk to him. If that's what sparked him, we would like for that to happen a lot more."

Doncic also became the fourth player with 10 35-point triple-doubles in a season, joining Westbrook, James Harden and Oscar Robertson.

Tim Hardaway Jr. hit three 3-pointers in the final two minutes or so of the third period, while Kyrie Irving added 21 points for Dallas, who have now won two in a row after a three-game losing streak.

"It's huge for us when [Hardaway] can come in and hit 3-pointers like that," Kidd said. "Not only did he make four, he had two chances at a four-point play."

Cade Cunningham was a rare bright spark for Detroit, making 33 points, 10 assists and 9 rebounds. Simone Fontecchio added a career-high 27 points as the Pistons fell to a 10th defeat in 12.

Classic dreams are very much alive for Rosallion, with Richard Hannon reaffirming his confidence in his high-class Qipco 2000 Guineas hope.

The son of Blue Point has always been held in high regard and has previously been described as “right up there with the best we’ve ever had” by his handler.

He was last seen putting a Doncaster disappointment behind him when scooping Group One honours in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere – a victory that made him Britain’s best hope of overcoming Aidan O’Brien’s City Of Troy in the opening Classic of the season.

Hannon has been pleased with what he has seen from Rosallion since returning to work for his three-year-old campaign, but is still to decide if he will take part in any of the Guineas trials in the spring.

Concerned about running the talented colt on soft ground before his big date at Newmarket on May 4, he could instead head straight for the 2000 Guineas itself – a race for which he is a best price of 8-1.

“Rosallion is in great form and he’s had a canter upsides Haatem on the grass,” said Hannon.

“Timmy Murphy rides him every day and was delighted with him. It wasn’t a massively informative piece of work but it was just one of those where we thought we would give him a little bit while it was a nice morning and the grass is nice.”

He went on: “I would like to give him a trial, but I won’t run him anywhere where there is soft ground. He could just go straight to the 2000 Guineas.

“I’m going to take him to either Kempton or Newbury two or three weeks before the trials, so if he does go straight to the Guineas, he will be plenty quick enough.

“My view of him hasn’t changed, there is not a horse I would rather have other than him.”