All reads lead back to the Randox Grand National for Corach Rambler after Lucinda Russell’s pride and joy “ran his socks off” to finish third in the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup.

The 10-year-old is a dual Festival winner having claimed back-to-back victories in the Ultima Handicap Chase, an achievement only bettered by his dominant success in the world’s most famous steeplechase at Aintree last spring.

Corach Rambler disappointed on his first start of the current campaign at Kelso, but an encouraging third in Haydock’s Betfair Chase in November was a step in the right direction and he had been kept fresh for his return to Prestbury Park.

Settled at the rear of the field for much of the way by Derek Fox, the Scottish raider began to make inroads racing down the hill and just for a fleeting moment halfway up the home straight the dream that he may achieve the extremely rare feat of landing National Hunt racing’s two biggest prizes was alive.

Ultimately his late thrust got him the bronze medal behind Galopin Des Champs, but he nevertheless received a rapturous reception from both his connections and the crowd after returning to the parade ring and he is now as short of 6-1 to successfully defend his National crown on April 13.

“I’d say on Tuesday we weren’t going to run, but I don’t want to run him ever, ever, ever, I just want to pat him and look after him,” Russell said afterwards.

“But he’s a racehorse and he loves his job and yesterday evening I said to Scu (Peter Scudamore, partner) ‘what are we going to do’ and he said ‘look, it’s going to be safe (ground) and as long as it’s safe it’s fine’, and he ran his socks off.

“When he was at the top of the hill I thought he was a little bit further back than usual and then when he came down the hill I thought ‘can he do it again?’. Maybe if the ground had been a little bit better, I don’t know, all I know is I’m delighted with him, to be third in the Gold Cup is fantastic.

“I can’t get over the way the people appreciate him, he’s just lovely – he’s the horse of a lifetime.”

Splitting Galopin Des Champs and Corach Rambler in second was the Gordon Elliott-trained Gerri Colombe.

The eight-year-old was blown away by his conqueror in Leopardstown’s Savills Chase over Christmas, but closed the gap to three and a half lengths on the day that mattered most.

Elliott said: “There was no excuse, the winner was very, very good, but we’re very proud of our horse. He ran a great race and we’re very happy.

“He was up against a superstar. It’s always disappointing when you lose, but the horse that beat him is exceptional.

“The loose horse didn’t help us, but I don’t think it made the difference between winning and losing.”

Back in fourth was the Venetia Williams-trained L’Homme Presse, who for a long way disputed the lead with The Real Whacker and those still in contention into the home straight.

His emotional co-owner Andy Edwards said: “Amazing, he served it up to them. Charlie (Deutsch) just said the ground is really tacky and the speed he had at Lingfield he just couldn’t show it in that.

“He’s jumped fantastically and he’s enjoyed it. I’m so proud.

“I was standing there calm and I could just see his stride shorten a touch just before the second-last, I knew that was tough for him. He’s had an interrupted season really and for him to finish fourth in the Gold Cup, bloody hell – it’s amazing isn’t it?

“It was brilliant ride from Charlie. If you watch it, they were as one – it wasn’t a horse and a jockey, they were one entity.

“I’m delighted, proud and I’m going to go and have a good cry.”

Cameron Payne felt the Philadelphia 76ers found "the right juice" against the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday, but it wasn't enough as Giannis Antetokounmpo led the championship hopefuls to victory.

Antetokounmpo scored 32 points and added 11 rebounds as the Bucks rallied for a 114-105 win over the 76ers, who had led 83-80 at the start of the fourth quarter.

However, the Bucks inched ahead of their short-handed visitors with eight minutes on the clock, then AJ Green added three free-throws and a 3-pointer to open up a commanding lead.

The Sixers have now lost 13 of 20 games without reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid, who hopes to return before the end of the season after undergoing surgery to repair the lateral meniscus in his left knee.

However, both Payne and head coach Nick Nurse sought to take the positives from Thursday's performance. 

"I feel like we had the right juice today. We had fun and it showed on the court," Payne said after finishing with 13 points in support of Tyrese Maxey, who had 30. 

Nurse echoed that view, saying: "I think the effort was really good. We were doing a lot of things we wanted to do. We turned them over a bunch in the first half. 

"Probably the difference in the game was that we didn't quite get to as many turnovers in the second. But I thought we did a lot of really good things."

The victory – Milwaukee's third in a row on home turf – improved the Bucks to 43-24, a record which is good enough for second place in the Eastern Conference behind the 52-14 Boston Celtics. 

"They were the instigators throughout the entire first three quarters," Bucks coach Doc Rivers said. "I thought in the fourth quarter it flipped."

Gary O’Neil is refusing to getting carried away by dreams of FA Cup glory at Wembley, insisting Wolves cannot afford to look any further than their quarter-final date with Coventry.

O’Neil’s side have a big opportunity to book a place in the last four when they take on the lowest-ranked team left in the tournament on Saturday, but nothing is being taken for granted at Molineux.

“None of my attention is on winning it, it’s on beating Coventry tomorrow,” said O’Neil.

“It’s tough (to win a cup), you need a lot to go your way. This will be a huge test and we need to get through it.

“I’m desperate to give the fans more enjoyable moments. We will need the fans to help, especially when you have players missing.”

O’Neil was deliberately coy about exactly which individuals would not be available, eager not to offer the Sky Blues a helping hand in their planning.

“We’ve decided not to do injury updates today, with a big game tomorrow,” he said.

“I’m sure our fans will understand giving team news away before an FA Cup quarter-final will hand unnecessary advantages to the opposition. It’s important we keep stuff in house, that’s why we haven’t named the team yet.”

Pedro Neto and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde are two obvious concerns having picked up knocks in the 2-1 Premier League victory over Fulham last time out, though there is more encouraging news on Matheus Cunha.

He has been out for more than a month with hamstring trouble but is ahead of schedule with his comeback.

“He’s in a great mood and the lads are really pleased to have him back in training,” said O’Neil.

“It’s an unbelievable effort for him to get back into full training as quickly as he has.

“It’s now on us to manage him the best way we can and get the best out of him. We were expecting to be without him a lot longer than we have been.

“We’re delighted to have him back in training and it’s given the group a real lift.”

Wolves last appeared at this stage in 2018-19, upsetting Manchester United 2-1. Republic of Ireland full-back Matt Doherty is the lone survivor from the XI that defeated the Red Devils and is ready for a different challenge this time.

“I managed to get into a semi-final a few years ago with Wolves, and we should have won, so I really want to get back there this year,” he said.

“Our run hasn’t been filled with ‘huge’ games against United and all the other teams, but that’s the whole point of the cup competitions, you play a variety of teams from different leagues.

“Obviously, we’ll be favourites against Coventry, and we are at home. We’re not going to take anybody lightly, but we’re pretty confident.”

Emma Raducanu has been named in Great Britain’s team to face France in the Billie Jean King Cup qualifying round next month.

The 21-year-old former US Open champion will compete in the event for the first time in two years.

British number one Katie Boulter, Harriet Dart and Heather Watson make up the quartet.

Captain Anne Keothavong told the LTA website: “I’m delighted to be travelling with a full-strength team off the back of some terrific results recently.

“The French side will present a significant challenge as always, but we all know how representing GB inspires us and each year we are getting stronger and better as a team.”

The qualifying round takes place in  Le Portel, France, on April 12-13, on indoor clay.

Great Britain missed out on the finals last year after losing to France in Coventry.

Topsy Ojo believes the best is yet to come from England after their dramatic 23-22 triumph over Ireland in the Six Nations.

Marcus Smith’s drop goal claimed an last-minute win at Twickenham, keeping their tournament hopes alive going into the final weekend.

Broadcaster and former player Ojo believes Steve Borthwick’s men can still go up a gear ahead of their Lyon showdown with France on Saturday.

“There are more gears for them and they will definitely say the same too,” Ojo told the PA news agency.

“The big one is consistency of performance and whether they will be consistent week on week. That is what England are striving for.

“How do England regenerate that emotional and physical high, because it was a bruising encounter and they really put everything into that.

“It was incredible, it was a brilliant Test match.

“They’ve been working hard behind the scenes and making small steps after the defeat to Scotland. Sometimes you need a lot of factors to conspire to deliver that performance.”

Last week’s match at Twickenham handed Ireland their first defeat since October.

England will need them to lose at home to Scotland without a bonus point and claim a bonus-point victory over France if they are to complete the unlikely task of lifting the trophy.

Ojo admitted: “The odds will be low.

“Anything from a win or a losing bonus point will do it for them (Ireland), they’re back at home and after the disappointment of the weekend where they had the championship in their hands before England snatched it away, you would like to think they will finish strongly.

“Last weekend did show that anything is possible.”

Immanuel Feyi-Waboso has been ruled out of the tie after he reported concussion symptoms on Monday.

Ojo talked up the Exeter winger’s impact and admitted his absence will be a shame going into the final gameweek.

Ojo said: “He’s a talent no doubt and it’ll be a shame that he won’t be able to carry on that performance against France on the weekend.

“He’s got himself in the squad because he’s a handful and makes things happen, he was allowed to do that on Saturday. He showcased his strengths and he was one of the most dangerous players. It was brilliant to see.

“He went out and did the things I’ve seen him do in the Premiership. His maturity off the field is impressive as well.”

Galopin Des Champs joined the list of Cheltenham Festival greats when brilliantly defending his Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup crown.

Having answered stamina doubts 12 months ago, the Willie Mullins-trained Galopin Des Champs was ridden much handier this time by Paul Townend, as the last two Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase winners, The Real Whacker and L’Homme Presse, set the pace.

Townend had edged his way to join the front-runners jumping four out and although the loose Fastorslow threatened to check his momentum as Charlie Deutsch aboard L’Homme Presse set sail for home three out, there were few dramas for the week’s leading rider who looked in complete control jumping to the front two out.

L’Homme Presse and the brave Gerri Colombe looked beaten as Galopin Des Champs (10-11 favourite) approached the last with a clear advantage and he produced the leap of a real champion at the final obstacle before storming up the final climb to finish three and a half lengths clear of Gordon Elliott’s game runner-up Gerri Colombe.

Lucinda Russell’s Grand National hero Corach Rambler stayed on admirably for third, but the day belonged to Galopin Des Champs, who was scoring at the Cheltenham Festival for a third time.

Mullins and Townend were combining for their fourth Gold Cup triumph following Al Boum Photo’s back-to-back triumphs in 2019 and 2020 and Galopin Des Champs’ victory over Bravemansgame 12 months ago and it was a fitting way to cap a stellar week for the master of Closutton and his stable jockey.

Aaron Wainwright insists nothing but victory will be acceptable for Wales in Saturday’s wooden spoon decider against Italy.

Wales must win in Cardiff to have any chance of not finishing bottom of the Guinness Six Nations table for a first time since 2003.

Narrow defeats against Scotland and England this season were followed by heavier losses at the hands of Ireland and France, leaving Wales four points adrift in sixth place.

Even if they topple Italy, Wales could still remain rooted to the basement should losing bonus points come into play.

Asked how desperate he would be to avoid having a wooden spoon on his resume, Wales number eight Wainwright said: “It would be embarrassing.

“We can’t afford to go out tomorrow and lose. We need to win. I don’t think anything else is acceptable.

“Massive respect to the Italians for what they’ve done so far in the tournament, but we are definitely going out there and getting a win to end the campaign on a high.

“We were accurate and played well in the first 20 minutes (against France), and it is about doing that against Italy and sustaining it for the rest of the game.

“We won in Rome last year, and we will be looking to do the same this time to finish on a positive note and take something away from this campaign.”

Italy beat Wales at the Principality Stadium two years ago, and they now return to tackle a team that have lost their last six home games in the Six Nations.

Warren Gatland had a Six Nations win ratio of around 70 per cent during his first stint in the job from 2008 to 2019. Since he returned for last year’s tournament, it stands at barely 10 per cent.

There are mitigating factors, including post-World Cup retirements of Dan Biggar and Leigh Halfpenny – George North will follow after Saturday’s game – Louis Rees-Zammit quitting rugby for a possible NFL career, Liam Williams moving to Japan and the likes of Jac Morgan, Taulupe Faletau and Dewi Lake all being sidelined by long-term injuries.

Five players have made Test debuts during an extensive Six Nations rebuild, but Wales’ lack of depth is highlighted by their front-row replacements on Saturday – Evan Lloyd, Kemsley Mathias and Harri O’Connor – having just 41 minutes of international experience between them.

Gatland has never lost to Italy as Wales boss, and he said: “We are all aware it is an important game for us. We are at home.

“We have felt like we’ve been in all the games for long periods and put ourselves in positions.

“We could have won a couple more games than we have at the moment, and that is frustrating for us. But I talk to the players continuously about game-management scenarios and looking to improve.

“They (Italy) look probably in better shape physically than they have ever been in the past. They have got some depth across the whole of the squad.”

Wales captain Dafydd Jenkins said: “In these sorts of games you can tell who is meant for the Test arena and who really wants it.

“There is definitely light at the end of the tunnel; 2003 probably wasn’t the best season (for Wales), but then you go to 2005 and they are winning Grand Slams.

“That is our aim and where we want to be.”

Sam Ewing and Stellar Story pounced in the very last stride to inflict Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle agony on Harry Redknapp and Ben Pauling at the Cheltenham Festival.

Pauling’s 18-1 outsider had led the field along from flag fall in the hands of Kielan Woods, with Gordon Elliott’s shock 33-1 winner one of those to track the pace setter.

The sedate early pace saw plenty in with chances as the runners descended towards two out, but one by one they dropped away as Woods upped the tempo aboard The Jukebox Man and made his bid for home.

Pauling’s charge held the advantage running down to the last, but the six-year-old got in tight and gave Ewing and Stellar Story a glimmer of hope and they took full advantage, rallying to reel in the brave runner-up in the shadow of he post.

It was Elliott’s second success of the week following on from Teahupoo’s Stayers’ Hurdle triumph on Thursday, but for young rider Ewing it was not only a first Cheltenham Festival success but also a maiden strike at Grade One level.

Ewing said: “Absolutely brilliant. He’s a horse that jumps very well, he loved that ground today and he battled very hard for me. He was brilliant at the last as well, when we needed it, so I can’t believe it.”

Sam Ewing and Stellar Story pounced in the very last stride to inflict Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle agony on The Jukebox Man at the Cheltenham Festival.

The Ben Pauling-trained 18-1 outsider, who is owned by Harry Redknapp, had led the field along from flag fall in the hands of Kielan Woods, with Gordon Elliott’s shock 33-1 winner amongst those to track the pace setter.

The sedate early gallop saw plenty in with chances as the runners descended towards two out, but one by one they dropped away as Woods upped the tempo aboard The Jukebox Man and made his bid for home.

Pauling’s charge held the advantage running down to the last, but the six-year-old got in tight and gave Ewing and Stellar Story a glimmer of hope and they took full advantage, rallying to reel in the brave runner-up in the shadow of the post.

It was Elliott’s second success of the week following on from Teahupoo’s Stayers’ Hurdle triumph on Thursday, but for the young rider Ewing, it was not only a first Cheltenham Festival success, but also a maiden strike at Grade One level.

Winning owner Michael O’Leary said: “We were very surprised and it makes up for a disappointing day yesterday, when my wife kept presenting trophies to other owners and wouldn’t give me any.

“It’s a great training performance by Gordon – this horse was supposed to go to Aintree, we only put him on the box two nights ago because Croke Park was taken out, so he was very much the reserve.

“It was a very strange race; we thought something would come from the back but the front two horses stayed in front the whole way round.”

Pep Guardiola is relishing another clash with Real Madrid after Manchester City were pitted against the Spanish giants for a third successive year.

Champions League holders City will take on the competition’s record 14-time winners in the quarter-finals of this season’s competition next month.

The two clubs have met in the semi-finals for the past two years, with Real winning in 2022 but City avenging that loss – wrapped up with a 4-0 win at the Etihad Stadium – last term.

“It looks like a little bit of a tradition, three years in a row playing the kings of the competition,” said City manager Guardiola following Friday’s draw.

“Hopefully we can arrive in a good moment but there are still a few weeks before the first game in Madrid.

“When people say draws are easy, you undermine the other opponent but it’s not necessary to say what Real Madrid are in this competition. When you play the latter stages you play against the best teams in Europe and Real Madrid are totally there.

“But all the opponents are really tough, everybody knows it. We were excited before the draw because it’s a privilege every time we are here. It is a special competition.”

City’s immediate priority is Saturday’s home FA Cup quarter-final tie against Newcastle.

It will be the fourth time the two clubs have faced each other this season, with City edging both Premier League meetings but the Magpies prevailing in the Carabao Cup.

Guardiola said: “This season and the previous one, and the previous one – since Eddie Howe was there and the people from Saudi Arabia took over – they have always been tight games.

“I don’t expect differently but we have an incredible chance at home with our people. From now on, until the end of the season, we need at every home game the support of our fans like we had against (Manchester) United.

“I can’t remember an environment like that for a long time and we need that tomorrow.”

City will be without key players Kevin De Bruyne and Ederson but Jack Grealish is back in contention after missing six of the last seven games with groin trouble.

“He’s getting better,” Guardiola said. “He’s in the group.”

De Bruyne was this week left out of the Belgium squad after it emerged he carried a groin injury into last week’s draw at Liverpool.

“He’s not ready,” Guardiola said. “He played at Anfield with some problems but he’s getting better.

“He’s not ready for tomorrow and we spoke with the Belgium manager Domenico Tedesco and he decided not to go. I’m grateful because he didn’t feel good.

“He can recover for the last part of the season. All the players today in modern football are not clean, always they have problems. It’s better to take a step back.”

Goalkeeper Ederson, who suffered a thigh injury as he fouled Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez to concede a penalty, should also return after the international break. Stefan Ortega will deputise this weekend.

Ange Postecoglou said it was a joy to meet Owen Bright again and a number of other Tottenham fans after the club recently showed its support for Down Syndrome Awareness Week.

A group of young people with Down’s syndrome were invited to the training ground along with their families to watch Spurs players take part in a training session on Wednesday.

The Tottenham players wore a range of colourful mismatched socks, provided by Nike, to show their support for the #LotsOfSocks campaign, which embraces the fact that no two people are the same regardless of the number of chromosomes they have.

Individuals born with Down’s syndrome typically have three copies of chromosome 21 instead of two, with mismatched socks the perfect way to illustrate no two people are the same ahead of World Down Syndrome Day on March 21.

Postecoglou met the group of young people with Down’s syndrome and got the chance to see Spurs fan Bright again, who stole the show at the club’s Fans Forum event in September with a question to the Tottenham boss.

Bright greeted Postecoglou with a big hug before the Australian coach showed the young Tottenham fan a picture of the pair from the Fans Forum event, which took pride of place in his manager’s office at the training ground in Enfield.

The young fans, who are members of Tottenham’s official disabled supporters’ association SpursAbility, also got to meet players from the men and women’s teams.

Asked ahead of Saturday’s trip to Fulham if providing joy to fans was one of the best parts of his job, Postecoglou replied: “Yes it is but it is also reciprocal.

“I get a lot of joy out of it too, mate.

“It is not every day you walk out to training and someone runs up to give you a hug. It’s not the usual greeting I get!

“And it wasn’t just Owen. There were quite a few of his friends there and I walked out and saw a bunch of Spurs supporters buzzing. There is no better feeling.

“As much as we understand particularly the players, they are their heroes and the joy they give them, we get equal joy out of it mate because it’s such a fantastic feeling to see people who are passionate about their football club and how much joy it gives them.

“Yeah, it’s just a privilege to be in that space.”

Paul Townend produced Absurde to perfection as last year’s Ebor hero got the better of L’Eau Du Sud in the BetMGM County Handicap Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.

Willie Mullins and Dan Skelton have dominated this event in the last decade, winning eight of the last nine runnings between them, so it was no surprise to see the week’s top two trainers involved at the business end once again.

Paul Nicholls’ Afadil had led the field into the straight where Skelton’s 7-2 favourite L’Eau Du Sud appeared to be travelling supremely in the hands of the trainer’s brother, Harry.

However, Townend was weaving a passage to the front and after the last it was Closutton’s dual-purpose star who pulled out extra to land the spoils at 12-1.

As well as winning the Ebor when given an equally-inspired ride by Frankie Dettori, Absurde finished seventh in the Melbourne Cup, and Townend said: “I got a lot of satisfaction out of that one. What a horse to travel the world and then come back and put in a performance like that on that ground.

“I thought I’d have the pace of them all on his Flat form, but the ground was a big worry.”

Mullins said: “Paul can’t have a warm bone in his body, he was so cold the whole way and delivered him at the right time. He just missed the last but everything else went right.

“I was very worried about the ground, that’s why I thought Risk Belle was the best of my squad, I’d more or less drawn a line through him.

“They went very slow and his Flat speed was a big factor at the end. When I saw where he was early on I thought it wasn’t the place to be, but they were doing 18-second furlongs so I thought he might have a chance.

“He had to find his way through and while he missed the last, it was one hell of a ride, it was the ride of the week for me.

“He’ll probably go to Punchestown and then back on the Flat I’d have thought. It might be hard to qualify for Melbourne – I’d like to go though.”

Skelton said of his runner-up: “Ten or 15 strides out from the last I thought it was on, but Townend suddenly appeared!

“We didn’t jump the last great, but it hasn’t cost us. Absurde was always cantering over us and if we’d jumped the last Townend would have looked even cleverer than he did, which is a big statement because he looked very clever coming from last!

“It’s been a magic, remarkable week. I’m very proud of the owners and horses.”

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp hailed the “pure quality” of Mohamed Salah as the forward prepares to face his favoured opposition Manchester United.

The German also praised the way his team coped without their leading scorer for the two months he was absent first at the Africa Cup of Nations and then with a hamstring problem sustained at the tournament.

Salah scored and had three assists in his first 90 minutes since New Year’s Day in the 6-1 Europa League demolition of Sparta Prague but Sunday’s FA Cup trip to Old Trafford will offer a better barometer of whether he is back to his sharpest.

The Egypt international will be relishing the game as he has scored more goals for Liverpool against United – a club-record 12 in 13 appearances – than any other team.

“Super good, you saw it last night. How many goals did he set up first half? He scored and was involved in all the others pretty much. Exceptional,” said Klopp.

“I would have loved to take him off but it was not possible because of Bobby’s situation (midfielder Bobby Clark had a minor problem) and he could manage that pretty well – even then he set up another goal which was offside.

“Mo is pure quality. Ask him what he likes most about Man Utd but the more we talk about it the less likely it will happen again. Exceptional guy, world-class player and how we dealt without him was unbelievable. Unbelievable.

“The boys did really well – but it is better to have him around and on the pitch than just in the dressing room.”

Salah and Darwin Nunez’s nine goals in his last 11 appearances should at least pose a significant threat at Old Trafford.

United are the only team in the last 55 matches to prevent Liverpool scoring, although since that goalless draw at Anfield in December they are on a run of 20 games with a goal.

Klopp said that day was the beginning of phase two of their season, even if ultra-defensive opponents frustrated them.

“I don’t know in the moment if we can play the same game again, it was a really good game,” he added.

“I would call this game the start of when we reached the next level for the season. Until then we were quite OK, we only lost one game, but it was still ‘Ah, sometimes really good, sometimes not so good’.

“It was difficult to judge us: we had so many things to overcome like red cards, being 1-0 down, so it was not clear how good we actually are.

“That game I first saw that was really us in the next gear. The result didn’t show that and I have no clue whether it will be the same game – I don’t expect it, obviously it’s a home game for them.

“But a lot of aspects in our game that day were really good and these aspects we try to bring on the pitch again.

“But the opponent had a full week to prepare, they might do a few things differently and then we have to adapt to that.”

Liverpool are chasing an unprecedented quadruple and Friday’s Europa League draw, a quarter-final versus Atalanta which could be followed by a semi-final against Benfica or Marseille, has made them even stronger favourites for that competition.

“Tricky but Atalanta we played there (in 2020) – not that I watched them since then 500 times, but still the same manager, pretty sure a similar structure so it means uncomfortable to play against, very well organised,” he said.

“It is a quarter-final – I didn’t expect any easy opponent. I have a lot of respect for what Atalanta is doing in the last years, very consistent.”