Ballyburn is clear favourite for the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham with most bookmakers after predictably outclassing his rivals on the fourth and final day of Leopardstown’s Christmas Festival.

Unbeaten in a point-to-point and two outings in bumpers, the Willie Mullins-trained five-year-old suffered an odds-on reverse at the hands of Firefox on his hurdling debut at Fairyhouse four weeks ago but was a 2-9 shot to bounce back to winning ways in the Pigsback.com Maiden Hurdle.

The result was never really in any doubt, with Ballyburn taking a lead from Saddle Her Up for much of the two-and-a-half-mile journey before taking over before the home turn.

With the final flight omitted, Paul Townend only had to keep the short-priced favourite up to his work in the straight and he passed the post a full 25 lengths clear of nearest pursuer Cleatus Poolaw.

“He did what we were hoping he might do in Fairyhouse,” Mullins said.

“We were happy – he jumped well and galloped to the line, so he is improving. He has improved hugely from Fairyhouse, where he was probably beaten in a sprint.

“We are hoping there is plenty more improvement to come as well, we think there is anyway.”

BoyleSports were suitably impressed by Ballyburn’s performance, making him their 5-1 market leader (from 7-1) for the Ballymore at the Festival in March.

Mullins added: “He settled well enough – that’s what I was worried about, he would get too keen. He was more in his comfort zone today over two and a half miles.

“I’m not thinking of anything (future plans) – I’m just delighted we got today out of the way. He did it impressively. You’d be thinking he is more of a two-and-a-half-mile horse.

“Paul told me he appears keen, but it is just the way he carries his head low. He said every time he gave him a little feel on the reins, he came back underneath him. I’m very happy that the horse is learning all the time.”

Erik ten Hag is confident incoming minority owners INEOS want to work with him despite admitting he has yet to speak to Manchester United’s new head of football operations.

The Old Trafford giants announced on Christmas Eve that a long-awaited deal has been reached for Sir Jim Ratcliffe to buy a 25 per cent stake in the Premier League club.

INEOS is taking responsibility for United’s footballing operations under the terms of a deal that is expected to take four to six weeks to receive regulatory approval.

Sir Dave Brailsford, INEOS’ director of sport, was at Old Trafford on Boxing Day for the stunning 3-2 turnaround against Aston Villa, and Ten Hag says he will be speaking to the new minority owners soon.

“The schedule is so condensed so I didn’t have the time so far to speak with them, but it will come and I look forward (to it),” the United boss, who has been the subject of scrutiny and criticism this season, said.

“They want to work with me, I want to work with them. We will have the conversations, the meetings, so we will see.”

Asked if he is expecting INEOS to be a regular presence at United’s Carrington training base, Ten Hag said ahead of Saturday’s trip to Nottingham Forest: “I’m focused on the game so far.

“So, I said, no, in this moment I don’t want to have distractions but in the coming days, weeks, there will be time for this and then I know more.

“But I think it’s a good thing, it’s very positive and, as I said, we are looking really forward to work together.

“INEOS wants to work with me, in this structure, and I want to work with them.”

The United States Securities and Exchange Commission filing related to the deal contains a provision guaranteeing that INEOS will be consulted on football matters at United in the interim.

This includes “appointing, dismissing or accepting the resignation of any director of football or first team manager of the company” as well as entering into or continuing any discussion concerning the purchase or sale of any player.

“We always want to win and it doesn’t matter who is in the lead (of the club),” Ten Hag said.

“We are appointed here to win, so in this area we need a winning culture no matter who is in the lead, no matter who is the owner. But, of course, the owners can inspire you.”

United head to Forest looking to build on Tuesday’s thrilling triumph against Villa at the end of a topsy-turvy 2023.

“I don’t think (players will be back), so it will be a similar squad as we had against Villa,” Ten Hag said.

“You see with them the reaction when the new manager (Nuno Espirito Santo) is coming in, you see the spirit. We have to be ready for that and it’s always about us but be aware of it.

“Be aware they have the right spirit and they built the confidence but that is what we did as well, so we have to continue in the performance.”

The trip to the City Ground could prove Andre Onana’s final United appearance for a while after the goalkeeper was named in Cameroon’s squad for the Africa Cup of Nations.

“The situation is that we’re talking,” Ten Hag added.

“We have good relationships with all the federations – it’s about Sofyan (Amrabat), it’s about Hannibal (Mejbri), it’s about Andre – so we are talking with them.”

Harry Derham’s promising hurdler Queens Gamble will look to take the next step in her career in the Byerley Stud Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at Taunton on Saturday.

The chestnut was previously trained by Oliver Sherwood, who is now Derham’s assistant, and won twice in bumper contests before making a winning start over obstacles in May, ahead of her summer break.

Now trained from Derham’s base, the five-year-old started this season at Kempton in November and was the winner once again, taking a two-mile novice hurdle by two and quarter lengths.

Now Queens Gamble will step up to Listed level at Taunton, taking on five rivals under Jonathan Burke.

“It’s time to step up now, she has won twice and is in good form and we’re looking forward to running her,” Derham said.

“We were thinking of going to Newbury for the handicap and forecasts are hard to predict, but we think the Taunton forecast is slightly better than the Newbury one.

“It was quite soft there last week, so we thought we would go to Taunton instead and she looks to have a leading chance.

“She’s had no problems at all and going along well, she had a school in the week and Johnny was pleased with her and she goes there in good form.

“She won her two novice hurdles now so she’s entitled to take the step up in the grade, she’s second-best on ratings in this race but we think she goes there with a very good chance.”

Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou has tried to temper expectations after he insisted nothing magical would happen in the January transfer window for his injury-hit side.

Spurs’ mini-revival hit a major speed bump on Thursday night after they were blown away in a 4-2 defeat by Brighton.

Nine players were unavailable for Postecoglou and he will lose the suspended Yves Bissouma, Pape Sarr and captain Son Heung-min for January due to international commitments after Sunday’s clash with Bournemouth.

While a centre-back is top of the club’s wish list and the PA news agency understands talks are under way with Nice over defender Jean-Clair Todibo, Postecoglou played down any assumption that a flurry of activity would occur in N17.

“Nothing magical’s going to happen in the January window,” Postecoglou said.

“What we need to do is just keep building. We’ve had one window with this team to change it around, to do things differently.

“The fact that we’re in the (fifth) position we are is a credit to the players. For all the challenges we’ve had, we just kept ploughing forward and that’s what we’ll do.

“We’ll see what we can do in January, but ultimately it’s about building a side that will get us to where we want to.”

One outgoing expected to be finalised in the coming days is Hugo Lloris’ departure with the former captain close to agreeing a move to Los Angeles FC on a free transfer, PA understands.

Postecoglou added: “Obviously there’s stuff happening but I’ve been focused on the game. I’m sure we’ll hear something next couple of days.”

Further movement in Spurs’ current squad could depend on incomings and especially with options light in midfield.

Tottenham’s long list of absentees means Postecoglou has used 27 players in all competitions this season, but he refuted suggestions this injury-crisis has enabled him to learn more about his team in a shorter space of time.

“I don’t think you need to go through injuries to see that,” he said.

“It would be unfair to judge some players. The way we play takes a fairly hefty physical toll, more than the way other clubs play. For us to sustain and maintain that and be a team, it’s no secret we need a strong squad.

“We’re nowhere near that at the moment, understandably so. Obviously we’ve only had one window. It was never going to happen (in one window).

“We’re still at the beginnings. Within that context, we want to compete. We’ve got ourselves in a position where we can compete. That’s what we need to keep pushing forward for.”

Meanwhile, captain Son urged his team-mates to bounce back from their Brighton humbling when Bournemouth visit on New Year’s Even.

He told SpursPlay: “Sometimes you have to be honest and take the result.

“Going 4-0 down is just hard and not the way we want to play, it is not our style of playing football.

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“It is very disappointing, but we have to move on because another game is coming very quick.

“A bad performance from us and it shouldn’t happen this, but the last 15 minutes we have to take that good energy into the next game because it’s at our home and we have to get three points before the new year starts.”

Oliver Skipp (knock) will be checked on, but Dejan Kulusevski is suspended for Bournemouth’s visit.

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp faces a hugely-significant January without talismanic top scorer Mohamed Salah but is confident he can find an acceptable solution among the attacking options at his disposal.

Salah will leave for the African Cup of Nations after Monday’s visit of Newcastle, the first of at least six matches which includes an FA Cup tie at Arsenal and a two-legged Carabao Cup semi-final with Fulham.

The 16-goal forward, second behind only Erling Haaland in the Premier League goalscoring stakes with 12 in the top flight this season, will link up with Egypt as they head to the Ivory Coast next week and will potentially be away for over a month.

Klopp has had to deal with it in the past and remains confident his side will do so again as they seek to maintain their place as Premier League leaders.

“It is not the first time, it is a really at least very average situation that you lose your goalscorer but we had it even worse in the past when Sadio (Mane) and Mo left,” he said.

“We came somehow through it and traditionally one of them went pretty far in the tournament, which made it worse.

“We knew the Africa Cup of Nations from time to time appears and Mo has to go and we have (Wataru) Endo as a participant of the Asia Cup (played at the same time) as well, so it is like it is. We have to deal with it and we will.

“Each long-term plan I could have had depends massively on who is available so why should I think in October who I can use when Mo is away when I have no clue who is available?

“We would have solutions today, I hope we have that after the Newcastle game as well.”

The timely return of Diogo Jota after a month out injured is a boost as the Portugal international scored a comeback goal against Burnley on Boxing Day.

Jota’s versatility means he can operate across the forward line, as can Cody Gakpo, while Harvey Elliott has played in Salah’s position even though he is more of a midfielder in Klopp’s system.

“The return of each of the boys is super-important but Diogo especially. Everybody was quite positive about our five options, but I don’t think we had it that often to be honest,” added Klopp.

“Especially with the amount of games we play it is so important these boys can rotate and now with Mo leaving and Endo leaving we need everyone to get back.”

On Jota’s return, Klopp said: “The game is blessed with some of these players who really understand the game on a different level and he is one of them.

“It gives him the chance to see the situations slightly earlier, to adapt to different things the opponent is doing a little bit quicker. On top of that, he is both-footed, a great finisher.

“For these last few games, even when the results were not always outstanding, we found a good rhythm, good fluidity, which is really important.

“It gives you a good feeling, you’d probably call it momentum, and for that you need to be connected and be together in the right moment.”

It is not all good news, however, with left-back Andy Robertson’s recovery from a dislocated shoulder likely to keep him out now for the whole of January.

The Scotland captain, sidelined since October, was expected to return next month but that now may be delayed.

“Robbo still needs more range in his shoulder. Obviously it was a big surgery. (He is) still not even close to team training or whatever,” said Klopp.

“For sure, I think, the full January he has to get closer and closer.”

Roberto De Zerbi saluted Joao Pedro after his two-goal display against Tottenham, but admitted he fears the forward’s stay at Brighton may be brief.

Pedro starred in a thrilling 4-2 win for the Seagulls on Thursday night, scoring twice from the penalty spot and also setting up Jack Hinshelwood’s opener.

Brazilian attacker Pedro only moved to Brighton in May for a fee in the region of £30million, but has hit 13 goals for his new club, with seven of them in the last nine matches.

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De Zerbi said: “He is the best player on the pitch, I think. He played another incredible game.

“I am really pleased for his improvement on mentality, on attitude. In defensive phase, incredible because he defended 90 minutes like a centre-back in terms of mentality.

“He is becoming, I think, a top player. I hope in the next year to work with him but I think it will be very tough.”

While Pedro tormented Tottenham all night long, it was a superb team display by Brighton, especially for the first hour on the south coast.

To top off an excellent end to 2023, Pervis Estupinan marked his first Premier League appearance since September with a superb 25-yard strike.

“It’s an incredible goal but the most important thing about Estupinan is we recover an important player because we are losing a lot of players on injuries,” De Zerbi admitted.

“We cannot play with 10 or nine players.”

Estupinan’s return from a muscle problem occurred at half-time with fellow left-back Igor Julio forced off with a tendon problem.

Youngster Facundo Buonanotte also had to be replaced with an injury concern and De Zerbi admitted they are initial doubts for the trip to West Ham next week.

He added: “Igor and Facundo suffered injuries. I don’t know if important and I don’t know for the next game in West Ham’s stadium but Igor couldn’t play the second half (due to) a tendon injury.

“And Facundo is a muscular problem.”

De Zerbi also fielded questions on Japan winger Kaoru Mitoma, who has been ruled out for four to six weeks with an ankle injury which has placed in doubt his participation in next month’s Asian Cup.

“I hope it can be less than four (weeks), but the medical staff say four, five or six weeks and I am working for Brighton, not for Japan. I can say nothing for Japan,” the Italian insisted.

“I hope for you that Kaoru can play in Asian Cup but I don’t know.”

Meanwhile, Brighton have confirmed long-serving board members Derek Chapman and Marc Sugarman will step down as non-executive directors on June 30.

Chapman has been involved with the club since 1999, while Sugarman first joined in 2009.

Paul Nicholls hailed Frodon as a “fantastic horse” and a “wonderful servant” after announcing the retirement of his stable stalwart following his fourth outing in the King George VI Chase at Kempton.

The hugely popular 11-year-old memorably landed the Boxing Day highlight in 2020 under his regular partner Bryony Frost, one of 19 victories in a 52-race career.

Frost steered Frodon to the majority of his big-race triumphs, with the 2019 Ryanair Chase at the Cheltenham Festival and the 2021 Ladbrokes Champion Chase at Down Royal also featuring on his CV.

Having given a bold sight in front for a long way in his latest bid for King George glory, the veteran weakened to come home last of five finishers on Tuesday and Nicholls feels the time has come to give his charge the retirement he so richly deserves.

“Frodon ran a good, solid race again, he just hasn’t got the legs, so I’d like to announce this morning that we’ve taken the decision to retire him,” he said in his Betfair ‘Ditcheat Diary’.

“We’re not going to ask him to run again. He’s been a fantastic horse winning King Georges, Ryanairs and Festival handicaps, you could go on and on.”

The champion trainer confirmed Frodon will spend his retirement with Frost, alongside a former stablemate in Black Corton.

He added: “He’s been a wonderful servant since he was a three-year-old and he’s going to have a wonderful home along with Black Corton with Bryony down on Exmoor.

“What a wonderful horse he’s been – I wouldn’t mind a few more like him. He’s finishing in one piece and Bryony is going to give him a home for life.”

Uttoxeter’s New Year’s Eve fixture appears to be under serious threat after officials called a precautionary inspection for noon on Saturday due to the prospect of further rain.

In conjunction with the British Horseracing Authority, the Staffordshire venue has already abandoned the chases that were originally scheduled to take place, leaving a card comprising of five hurdle races and a National Hunt Flat race.

However, with the going described as heavy and some “small areas of standing water” on the track on Friday morning, there is no guarantee racing will take place at all at this stage.

Clerk of the Course Richard Fothergill said: “We’ve got a mainly dry day forecast today, but tomorrow is a challenge.

“Some forecasts are giving up to 20 millimetres of rain (on Saturday), which we couldn’t take. We need the absolute bottom end of the forecast to have a chance.

“It looks like a lot of rain is going to come after 12pm, but we’re going to assess it then, as we may have had a few showers in the morning.

“It’s a hugely supported raceday in the local community, so it’s such a shame. We’ll do what we can and give it every chance, but as I say, we do need the absolute best of the forecast.”

Danny Mullins has played down his altercation with cousin Patrick Mullins following the Guinness Faugheen Novice Chase at Limerick on Thursday.

Patrick ultimately claimed a comfortable victory in the race on board his father Willie’s Gaelic Warrior, with Danny five and a half lengths back in second on stablemate Il Etait Temps.

However, the pair did come close when Danny attempted to sneak up the inner on the run to the second-last and Patrick appeared to react angrily to that incident as they pulled up after the finishing line.

The stewards looked into the episode but Danny later made light of the whole affair via his regular diary on the Tote Twitter site.

He joked: “The main question on everybody’s lips is what did Patrick say? I don’t fully recall what he did say, I think it was something along the lines of ‘Danny, get a haircut’, but I’m happy with my hair as it is at the moment.”

On a more serious note, Danny added: “It’s one of those things, I’m always going to ride to win the race and that’s what I have to do for my owners and we had a go and unfortunately I finished second – but we had a go and that was the main thing.”

Regarding the incident approaching the penultimate fence, Patrick Mullins earlier said: “I told Danny going out that there will be a gap on my inside going down to the second-last and ‘do not come for it’ but he hasn’t listened to me. Luckily it didn’t get the two of us beaten.”

Willie Mullins was at Leopardstown, where he told Racing TV with a wry smile: “I had my son and my nephew trying to kill each other going to the second-last. I don’t know what Patrick said to Danny, but I don’t imagine they’ll be going home in the same car anyhow!

“Danny was riding his horse and he had to try to go for Grade One glory on his horse. Anyhow, it will make fun for this evening when we are disseminating the whole thing.”

The stewards investigated the incident two out and took no action, but also inquired about Patrick Mullins’ post-race comments.

The report read: “The Raceday Stewards interviewed Mr. P.W. Mullins, rider of Gaelic Warrior, and D.E. Mullins, rider of Il Etait Temps, regarding comments made to the media about an incident on the run to the second-last.

“Mr. P.W. Mullins stated that he had advised D.E. Mullins during a conversation prior to the race that he would be leaving a gap down the inner to get a breather into his horse and he advised him not to go for it.

“D.E. Mullins confirmed the conversation happened as such. Having considered all the evidence, the Raceday Stewards referred the matter on to a Senior Racing Official.”

Jarrod Bowen praised a shift in West Ham’s mindset as they won at Arsenal in the Premier League for the first time since 2015.

The Hammers secured a 2-0 victory at the Emirates Stadium to go four points behind the top four and prevent their hosts moving back to the top of the table.

Bowen capitalised on rocky Arsenal defending to cross for Tomas Soucek to open the scoring, the goal standing after a lengthy VAR check could not conclude if the ball had gone out of play before the England international’s centre.

Former Arsenal defender Konstantinos Mavropanos then headed in his first West Ham goal to seal the three points – with David Moyes’ side now having beaten Tottenham, Manchester United and Arsenal this month.

While those victories have been tinged with setbacks – a 5-0 league thrashing at Fulham and a meek Carabao Cup exit at Liverpool – Bowen feels building on Saturday’s win over United with another three points against a title challenger shows progress.

“It’s a massive win,” Bowen told the club’s official website.

“We knew it was going to be difficult as these are top side, but we managed to build on what we did against Manchester United.

“I think, for us, we haven’t been consistent enough. We might have won one game and then the Fulham game springs to mind when we conceded five, and if we want to be spoken about to go to the top six and finishing higher in the division then we need to be consistent.

“Like I say, this was a hard game, but I said after the Man United game that we needed to come here with a mindset to take points and we’ve done that.

“It’s those consistency levels…We play Brighton in a few days (Tuesday) and we have to go there and win that as well.”

Things could have been even better for West Ham had Said Benrahma’s stoppage-time penalty not been saved by David Raya – but for Arsenal it was a night to forget.

Mikel Arteta’s men had 30 attempts on goal but could not trouble the scorers as they failed to produce the win required to usurp Liverpool at the summit.

“I think we created more than enough to score goals to win the game,” said captain Martin Odegaard.

“It was the little details and the little last pass or the finish that was missing. We have to learn from it and make sure we get sharper and better in front of the goals.

“The goals we conceded were too easy, so definitely in front of the goals, inside the boxes, that’s where the games are decided. We weren’t good enough.”

Rafael Nadal believes it is “impossible” for him to think about winning tournaments as he prepares to make his comeback from a year on the sidelines.

The former world number one has not played a match since injuring his hip during a second-round contest at the Australian Open in January but will take his place in the draw at the Brisbane International, which begins on Sunday.

Speaking at an appearance at Brisbane’s Queen Street Mall, Nadal said: “I am feeling good. I can’t complain. I’m feeling much better today than what I expected a month ago.

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“For me, it’s impossible to think about winning tournaments. But what’s really possible is to try to enjoy the comeback to the courts. I don’t expect much. Honestly, the only thing that I expect is to be able to go on court, to feel competitive and to give my best.

“It’s going to be a tough process at the beginning. At the end, it’s one year without being on the tennis court and I just have been practising for the last month in a very good intensity. I don’t say that nothing is impossible, but just to be here is a victory.”

In May, Nadal admitted that he was staring at the end of his career as attempts to recover from the injury failed and that he hoped to be able to play a final year on tour in 2024.

He had surgery in June and, although recent weeks have been encouraging, the 37-year-old is not looking too far ahead.

The 22-time grand slam champion said he would not be setting “super long-term goals, because I don’t see myself playing for a super long time”.

He added: “(I want to) try to give myself the opportunity to be more and more competitive as the season goes on. I am not the player that that tries to predict what kind of things can happen in the short term, and it’s even tougher in a medium period of time.

“How I need to approach this process is accepting the adversity and that things aren’t going to be perfect at the beginning. I just have to stay with the right attitude and the working spirit every day.”

Also making her comeback in Brisbane is four-time grand slam champion Naomi Osaka, who will play her first match since September 2022.

The Japanese star gave birth to daughter Shai in July, and she told reporters: “Being a mum has changed my life a lot. I think it changed my perspective on a lot of things.

“Giving birth was one of the most painful things I’ve ever gone through. It’s definitely made me feel like physically I can handle a lot.

“I want to show Shai that she’s capable of everything, so that’s one of my main purposes and main reasons why I want to be back out here.”

What the papers say

Mohamed Salah remains a target for clubs in the Saudi Pro League but they will have to wait beyond January, according to the Daily Mirror. Liverpool are not expected to agree to a mid-season sale for the 31-year-old forward with bids expected to come in the summer.

Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta is likely to concentrate on loan deals in January, reports the Daily Mirror. The club needs to offload players before making any signings with reinforcements on the cards after a string of injuries.

Steve Cooper has emerged as a potential option as manager at Crystal Palace after his sacking at Nottingham Forest, according to The Daily Telegraph. Roy Hodgson’s future in charge of the club is uncertain.

Crystal Palace are interested in Paris St Germain striker Hugo Ekitike, 21, reports the Evening Standard. Palace have also been linked with Sunderland’s 21-year-old French midfielder Pierre Ekwah.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Dan Gore: Borussia Dortmund are keen on Manchester United’s 19-year-old English winger, reports Football Insider.

Serhou Guirassy: Manchester United, Tottenham and AC Milan are interested in the Guinea striker, 27, who is preparing to leave Stuttgart in January, according to Gazzetta dello Sport in Italy.