Fergal O’Brien’s Dysart Enos is likely to be seen once more before taking aim at a Cheltenham return for the Festival in March.
Last season the mare made her mark when winning three bumpers in good style, including a defeat of the useful Queens Gamble at Market Rasen and then a wide-margin success in a Grade Two event at the Grand National meeting.
Her hurdling career has been equally successful so far, with the five-year-old taking her debut over obstacles by seven and a half lengths at Huntingdon in November.
She then lined up at Cheltenham on Friday in what has historically been a good race, previously won by the likes of Datsalrightgino, Chantry House and Elixir De Nutz.
Under Paddy Brennan she was the 5-6 favourite and cantered home a comfortable victor, with the runner-up beaten two and three-quarter lengths and the third over 13 lengths away.
A return to Cheltenham for the showpiece meeting is the ultimate aim, with O’Brien hoping to find another suitable outing for the mare before then.
“She’s very well and we’re really pleased with her. She did it well at Cheltenham, I’m not much into timing but people say she did it very fast,” he said.
“You need a fast one and her last furlongs were fairly fast, so fingers crossed that bodes well.
“You couldn’t fault her, she did everything we wanted her to do and took the whole thing in really well.
“Cheltenham is different to anywhere else, I know it’s not March and there’ll be twice as many people there, or three times as many, but it’s still great to get her there.
“When, hopefully, she goes back there in March, she’ll be in familiar surroundings having been there before.
“There was plenty of depth in there, it was a nice race to go for and it ticked a lot of boxes for us.”
O’Brien will now scour the calendar for the mare’s next outing, with early February considered the ideal time for her final run before the highlight of the National Hunt season.
“The obvious one is Doncaster in January, but Paddy (Brennan) feels that might be too soon, we’d probably be happier with the first week in February,” he said.
“It’s just trying to find somewhere where she hasn’t got a load of weight, we’ll give it a go and try to find something.”
Whilst Dysart Enos made a success of the meeting, the O’Brien team did suffer some disappointment when Bonttay unseated Brennan in the Virgin Bet Every Saturday Money Back Mares’ Handicap Hurdle.
The mare has been incredibly consistent for connections having never finished out of the top two coming into the race, and on the turn for home she looked poised to add to her record as she approached the penultimate hurdle on the bridle.
A third Cheltenham success was not to be, however, as the six-year-old misjudged the obstacle and pecked heavily on landing before parting ways with her rider.
Thankfully both horse and rider were unharmed and O’Brien hopes to find another day for the mare to shine.
“It was a long way out so it’s a bit difficult to know whether she’d have won or not, but she’s come out of it fine,” he said.
“She had a little scratch on her hind leg but other than that she’s OK, she’ll be fine for another day.”
England batter Harry Brook has been signed by the Delhi Capitals for four crore rupees (around £380,000) at the Indian Premier League 2024 player mini auction.
The 24-year-old began his first IPL season with Sunrisers Hyderabad but will now make the switch to Delhi and was the second player to be auctioned behind West Indies batter Rovman Powell.
Last year, Sunrisers paid over £1.3million for Brook but he scored just 190 runs in 11 matches in the 2023 season.
James Harden scored a season-high 35 points to lead the scorching Los Angeles Clippers to an eighth consecutive win with Monday's 151-127 blowout of the Indiana Pacers.
Kawhi Leonard added 28 points and Paul George had 27 as the Clippers' two other stars also had big nights to keep the league's hottest team rolling. Harden chipped in nine assists as well, while Ivica Zubac compiled an 18-point, 16-rebound double-double.
The Clippers took control with a 10-0 second-quarter run that gave them a 67-57 lead with under 3 1/2 minutes left in the first half, then headed into the break with a 77-66 advantage.
Los Angeles then outscored the Pacers by a 37-28 margin in the third quarter to stretch the margin further, and Harden ended any hopes of an Indiana comeback by putting up 21 points on 7-of-8 shooting in the fourth.
The Pacers lost their fourth straight game despite a career-high 34 points from Bennedict Mathurin. Tyrese Haliburton, Indiana's leading scorer for the season, dished out 11 assists but was held to eight points on 3-of-12 shooting.
Nuggets blow out Mavericks in clash of West contenders
Jamal Murray scored 22 points, Aaron Gordon tied a season high with 21, and the Denver Nuggets cruised to a 130-104 win over the short-handed Dallas Mavericks in a showdown between two of the Western Conference's top teams.
The defending NBA champion Nuggets shot 56.3 per cent from the field and led from start to finish en route to a fourth victory in five games. Reggie Jackson delivered 20 points off the bench on 9-of-12 shooting, while Gordon finished 7 of 9 and Murray was perfect on four attempts from 3-point range.
Dallas got 38 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists from Luka Dončić, but couldn't overcome the absence of fellow star Kyrie Irving as well as key contributors Josh Green and Dereck Lively and lost for the second time in three games.
Gordon had 16 first-half points as the Nuggets took a 68-59 lead into the break, then extended their advantage to 20 points after a 10-0 run late in the third quarter put the Mavericks at a 94-74 deficit.
Denver then rested its entire starting lineup in the fourth quarter while building a lead as large as 36 points.
Bulls continue surge, snap 76ers' six-game winning streak
Coby White racked up 24 points, eight rebounds and nine assists as the Chicago Bulls continued their recent hot play and cooled off the Philadelphia 76ers with a 108-104 victory.
Chicago has now won six of its last nine games following a 5-14 start despite two-time All-Star Zach LaVine being sidelined by a foot injury. Nikola Vucevic had 23 points and eight rebounds for the Bulls, who had a 12-point lead after three quarters reduced to one late before holding on.
The 76ers had a six-game winning streak halted despite another huge performance from Joel Embiid, who totalled 40 points, 14 rebounds and six assists.
Tyrese Maxey added 29 points and eight assists, but no other Philadelphia player managed more than eight points.
White had 16 first-half points as Chicago took a 55-44 lead into the break. Chicago was up 81-69 entering the fourth quarter before the 76ers rallied late to pull within 105-104 on a Maxey 3-pointer with 33.2 seconds left.
Embiid misfired on two shots afterward, though, and Chicago's DeMar DeRozan sealed the game by making three of four free throws in the final stages.
Sidney Crosby scored the go-ahead goal in the third period and moved further up the NHL's all-time points list in the Pittsburgh Penguins' 4-3 win over the Minnesota Wild on Monday.
Crosby also assisted on Jake Guentzel's power-play goal in the second period and now has 1,535 career points, two more than former teammate Mark Recchi for 13th in league history.
Guentzel and Evgeni Malkin also had a goal and an assist for Pittsburgh, which won for the third time in four games despite blowing an early 3-0 lead. Alex Nedeljkovic made 24 saves for the Penguins.
After Pittsburgh's Reilly Smith scored the lone goal of the first period, Guentzel redirected Erik Karlsson's one-timer 36 seconds into the second to give the Penguins a 2-0 advantage before Malkin extended the margin nearly three minutes later.
The WIld responded, however, as Ryan Hartman and Jake Middleton scored 2:24 apart late in the second to cut the deficit to 3-2 before Minnesota tied the game on Vinni Lettieri's tip-in 5:33 into the third.
Minnesota's Kirill Kaprizov was sent off for high-sticking just 12 seconds after Lettieri's goal, though, and Crosby converted on the ensuing power play to send the Penguins back ahead.
Filip Gustavsson finished with 26 saves for the Wild, who had a three-game winning streak halted.
Markstrom helps Flames down Panthers in return
Jacob Markstrom made 33 saves in a sharp return from a fractured finger to help the Calgary Flames to a 3-1 win over the Florida Panthers.
Mikael Backlund and Blake Coleman both had short-handed goals in the third period to back Markstrom in the goaltender's first appearance since Dec. 2. Martin Pospisil also had a goal as Calgary improved to 2-0-2 over its last four games.
Backlund's goal with the Panthers on a power play snapped a 1-1 tie 3:31 into the third period. Markstrom made 10 saves in the final stanza, which Coleman capped with an empty-net tally with 1:33 remaining to thwart Florida's comeback hopes.
Pospisil put Calgary ahead 8:45 into the opening period before Sam Reinhart's 18th goal of the season, a power-play score, tied the contest 31 seconds before the first intermission.
Anthony Stolarz stopped 22 of 24 shots in the Panthers' third loss in four games.
Duchene sparks Stars' overtime win over Kraken
Matt Duchene scored twice before assisting on Thomas Harley's goal 2:16 into overtime that lifted the Dallas Stars to a 4-3 victory over the Seattle Kraken.
The Stars stretched their point streak to four games (3-0-1) behind Duchene's big night and a 35-save performance from Scott Wedgewood filling in for regular goaltender Jake Oettinger, who is week-to-week with a lower-body injury he sustained Friday against the Ottawa Senators.
Wedgewood did allow Eeli Tolvanen's goal with 21.8 seconds left in regulation that enabled the Kraken to also extend their point streak to four games (2-0-2).
Dallas built a 2-0 lead after one period on goals by Duchene and Jason Robertson, but Seattle's Tomas Tatar scored just 32 seconds into the second. Duchene struck again later in the period, though Matty Beniers scored off a Jordan Eberle feed with 6:12 left in the second to bring the Kraken within 3-2.
Beniers and Tatar also added assists for Seattle, which received 24 saves from Joey Daccord.
What the papers say
Crystal Palace are interested in a move for Chelsea defender Trevoh Chalobah this January, with the 24-year-old yet to play under Chelsea manager Mauricio Pochettino, the Daily Express reports. There is also reportedly interest from Serie A teams and Bayern Munich.
The Daily Mail reports Manchester United are willing to sell Jadon Sancho, Raphael Varane, Anthony Martial and Casemiro after their director of football John Murtough spent time in Saudi Arabia this month.
However, the Manchester Evening News says Varane is hoping that the club will trigger their one-year contract extension option for him.
Wolves are reportedly looking to sign Nigerian striker Rafiu Durosinmi from Viktoria Plzen for around £7million, despite reportedly being set to report losses of £65million.
Social media round-upPlayers to watch
Ian Maatsen: Chelsea are reportedly willing to sell the 21-year-old Dutch defender in January, with Manchester City, West Ham, Roma and Napoli among clubs interested in him, 90min says.
Clement Lenglet: The Aston Villa defender’s loan deal from Barcelona could be terminated by the Spanish club as they look to sell the 28-year-old, Football Insider reports.
Mark Hughes was sacked as Manchester City manager on this day in 2009, paying the price for a run of two wins in 11 games.
Roberto Mancini was installed as Hughes’ replacement, with Brian Kidd as his number two, in a move which confirmed speculation that a decision had already been taken before an eventful 4-3 win over Sunderland, at which the Italian was present.
A three-goal hammering at Tottenham convinced owner Sheikh Mansour and chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak that Hughes could not steer City into the top four, as had been expected following a summer outlay of £120million.
“A return of two wins in 11 Premier League games is clearly not in line with the targets that were agreed and set,” Khaldoon said in a statement.
“Sheikh Mansour and the board felt there was no evidence that the situation would fundamentally change.
“The targets were agreed as a result of the player acquisition strategy of the club being radically accelerated in the summer as a result of very favourable conditions for any buying club.
“It was also based on the fact that the infrastructure of the club had been overhauled completely at great cost in order to create the best possible environment for the team.”
City also confirmed that Mark Bowen, Eddie Niedzwiecki, Kevin Hitchcock and Glyn Hodges – all part of Hughes’ coaching staff – had left the club.
There was an argument Khaldoon should have waited until after the Christmas fixtures against Stoke and Wolves, and even an FA Cup tie at Middlesbrough and a League Cup semi-final – the first time City had reached the last four of any domestic competition in almost 29 years – against Manchester United.
But, with another transfer window about to open, Khaldoon took the view it was better to act when he did.
In Mancini, he brought in a manager who had guided Inter Milan to three successive Serie A titles from 2006 before being sacked in 2008 after failing to make any impact in Europe.
A late touchdown from the arm of Seattle Seahawks quarterback Drew Lock sealed his side’s three-point victory over the Philadelphia Eagles with less than 30 seconds left in the contest.
Lock threw for 208 yards throughout the match, including the match-winning 29-yard touchdown to rookie wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, while Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts scored two touchdowns in his team’s 20-17 loss.
The Eagles were first to score with Hurts running into the end zone from three yards in the first quarter to give the away side an early lead.
Both teams scored field goals in the second quarter, before running back Kenneth Walker III tied the game up at 10 early in the third with a 23-yard running touchdown.
Jalen Hurts ran over for his second s ore with four minutes to go in the third quarter to give the Eagles a seven-point lead.
A field goal early in the fourth quarter and Smith-Njigba’s last-gasp touchdown then gave the Seahawks their first lead of the game.
The Eagles had a late chance to steal the win but the hail Mary pass from Hurts was intercepted by Julian Love, giving Seattle their seventh win of the year and handing the Eagles just their fourth loss this season.
Mary Earps is the favourite to secure the BBC’s 2023 Sports Personality of the Year prize tonight.
Bookmakers have made the 30-year-old goalkeeper the odds-on choice to win the prestigious award after she played a key role in England’s run to the Women’s World Cup final in the summer.
She is joined on a six-person shortlist by cricketer Stuart Broad, jockey Frankie Dettori, athlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson, tennis player Alfie Hewett and golfer Rory McIlroy.
Earps saved a penalty from Spain’s Jennifer Hermoso in the World Cup final but the Lionesses were unable to add to their 2022 European crown as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat in Sydney. Earps was awarded the FIFA Golden Glove as the tournament’s best goalkeeper.
In September she was also voted as England Women’s Player of the Year and helped her club Manchester United finish second in the Women’s Super League last season with 14 clean sheets.
Her future at United is uncertain however, with Earps’ contract with the club due to expire next summer.
Earps also hit the headlines early on in the World Cup when she spoke about the hurt she felt that sportswear manufacturer Nike had not made her England goalkeeper’s replica jersey available to purchase before the tournament.
After mounting pressure, the sports brand released her green long-sleeved Lionesses shirt, and it sold out in five minutes.
Broad announced he was retiring from cricket during the fifth Ashes Test in the summer and bowed out in spectacular fashion. The 37-year-old hit a six off his final ball and took the final wicket as England won the match to level the series, though Australia retained the urn.
Dettori, 53, secured a series of big wins in his farewell year in UK racing including the 2000 Guineas on Chaldean and the Oaks on Soul Sister. He is set to continue riding in the United States next year.
Johnson-Thompson claimed the world heptathlon title for the second time in Budapest in the summer after a calf injury wrecked her hopes of Olympic glory in Tokyo in 2021.
Hewett won seven wheelchair tennis singles tournaments in 2023 including the Australian and US Open titles. He also secured the doubles titles at the Australian and French Opens plus Wimbledon alongside partner Gordon Reid.
McIlroy was a key part of Europe’s victorious Ryder Cup-winning team in October and finished in the top 10 at three of the year’s four majors.
Former Liverpool player and manager Kenny Dalglish will receive the Lifetime Achievement Award at the ceremony in Salford on Tuesday night.
Former winner Gerwyn Price is convinced he can finally win over the Alexandra Palace crowd after breezing into the third round of the PDC World Darts Championship.
The Welshman has had an often troubled relationship with the fans and last year wore ear protectors during his 5-1 quarter-final defeat to Germany’s Gabriel Clemens.
Price’s solitary crown came in 2021 when the crowd was shut out due to Covid-19, but he is hopeful of more support after outclassing Connor Scutt with a 3-1 win.
“It’s really difficult to come here when the crowd’s on your back,” Price told Sky Sports.
“I’m glad the crowd were really good to me today and if they continue like this there’s no reason I can’t win it.
“It was difficult, my game was steady, it wasn’t my ‘A’ game and there were some first-round jitters, but I’m through so I’m happy.”
The performance of the night came from Hong Kong’s Man Lok Leung who hit 11 maximums as he battled back from 2-0 down to see off Dutchman Gian van Veen 3-2.
Leung looked down and out after missing 10 darts at double for the second set, but stormed back with a thrilling performance to book his place in round two for the first time.
Martin Lukeman had too much for New Zealand’s Haupei Puha as he eased to a 3-0 win, while Tibault Tricole was a 3-1 winner over Mario Vandenbogaerde.
Bradley Beal won't play another game for the Phoenix Suns until the calendar flips to January.
Beal will miss the rest of December because of a right ankle sprain sustained in Friday's loss to the New York Knicks. He will be re-evaluated in early 2024.
He was injured in the first quarter when shooting a 3-pointer, which he made. Upon landing, he fell on the foot of the Knicks' Donte DiVincenzo, who was called for a Flagrant 1 because he didn’t give Beal space to land.
This is the latest setback for the 30-year-old Beal, who has been dealing with a sore back since the onset of the season and has appeared in just six games.
He is averaging 14.7 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.2 assists after averaging 27.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 5.5 assists over the previous five seasons.
The Suns acquired the three-time All-Star over the summer hoping to create a super team with fellow All-Stars Kevin Durant and Devin Booker. But injuries to Durant and Booker have resulted in the trio playing just two of a possible 26 games together.
Phoenix, which has two wins in its last six games, is in fourth place in the Pacific Division after reaching the Western Conference semi-finals each of the past three seasons.
In a bid to foster a new era of athletic excellence across multiple sports, St. Lucia's Sports Minister Kenson Joel Casimir, has revealed the government's strategic investments in developing young talents on the island.
The success of notable athletes like Bowerman Award winner Julien Alfred, cricket icons Darren Sammy and Johnson Charles, and rising star sprinter Naomi London has ignited a wave of inspiration and paved the way for broader support for sports development.
Minister Casimir shared insights into the government's commitment to nurturing talent across various sports, including track and field, cricket, and football. The shift in paradigm also involves reimagining the island's inter-school track and field championships to enhance stakeholder engagement.
“We as a government, we've decided that we are going to take the added step of moving our inter-schools’ competition, that we have coined Island Champs, to a weekend event. And of course, we've been trying to get public buy-in, you know, parental support," the minister revealed in an exclusive interview with Sportsmax.TV
Explaining the rationale behind the change, he added, "We found that during the week in St Lucia, we've not been able to really get the amount of support that we want from the commercial sector, from parents, and from all walks of life and so we have rebranded our schools’ championship in track and field to ensure that the likes of a Julien (Alfred) or Naomi London could be on display for all of St Lucia to see, not just on television. (So), a Sunday event, a Sunday afternoon family event for St Lucians to see some of the next athletes that we are going to be exporting to the world."
Highlighting strides made in cricket, Minister Casimir revealed that plans to develop the next great cricketers from the island are well underway.
“We have a high-performance centre that has been set up for cricket for the first time in our history where we've put 15 of our best male and female cricketers into a program where they are given nutritional support, they're given the best facilities to work with, the best coaches to work with."
The government has collaborated with the St Lucia Kings, a CPL franchise, to bring in coaches from India, contributing to the holistic development of cricket talent on the island.
Turning to football, Minister Casimir revealed exciting plans for grassroots development with renowned figures in the sport.
“With the likes of Coach Stuart Charles-Fevrier and Earl ‘Ball Hog’ Jean, we're going to be seeing the launch of a grassroots development program in football," Minister Casimir revealed while highlighting the contributions of Stuart Charles and Earl Jean to St. Lucia's global representation and their involvement in an elite program for under-17 footballers.
The initiatives revealed by Minister Casimir reflect a broader vision to elevate sports in St. Lucia and create a lasting legacy of sporting excellence.
Girona’s dream season continued as they brushed aside Alaves 3-0 to return to the top of the LaLiga table.
Artem Dovbyk scored twice and Portu also hit the mark as Michel’s men stretched their unbeaten league run to nine games.
The hosts started well in their quest to leapfrog Real Madrid as Dovbyk connected with a cross from Yan Couto but his header was deflected wide.
The Ukrainian finally broke the deadlock in the 23rd minute after Couto’s initial effort was deflected by Alaves keeper Antonio Sivera into his path and he headed the opener.
Alaves fought back strongly and Girona keeper Paulo Gazzaniga had to be alert to catch a header from Samu Omorodion as the visitors continued to look dangerous on the counter-attack.
However, no-one was making a bigger impact than Couto who repeated his service for the second goal by firing in the cross from which Portu steered his first-time shot into the net.
Girona were well in command but Alaves continued to have their chances with Rafa Martin heading just wide from a Ruben Duarte free-kick.
Girona effectively wrapped up victory in the 59th minute when Couto fell under pressure from Javi Lopez, and Dovbyk swept home from the penalty spot.
Valery and Pablo Torre had further chances to increase Girona’s lead but their job was already done as they booked their place back at the LaLiga summit.
Pittsburgh Steelers safety Damontae Kazee's hit on Indianapolis Colts wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. was quite costly.
The NFL suspended Kazee without pay for the remainder of the season for violating rules designed to protect the health and safety of players.
The announcement came two days after Kazee was ejected in the second quarter of Saturday's 30-13 loss at Indianapolis for delivering a forceable hit to a diving Pittman. Kazee made contact with Pittman's head, and the receiver left the game and went into the concussion protocol.
NFL Vice President of Football Operations Jon Runyan issued the suspension on Monday, and wrote in a letter to Kazee that, "You had an unobstructed path to your opponent and the illegal contact could have been avoided."
Runyan also referenced multiple prior instances of hits that violated rules designed to protect player safety.
The suspension means Kazee will miss the Steelers' final three regular-season games and any potential play-off games, should Pittsburgh qualify. The Steelers are 7-7 and just outside the play-off cutoff.
By being banned for three games, Kazee will forfeit around $208,000 in game checks.
Kazee, a seven-year veteran, has appeared in all 14 games this season, ranking third on the Steelers in tackles with 61, and is tied for the team high with two interceptions.
Napoli manager Walter Mazzarri hailed a “thrilling” match in prospect after his side were drawn against Barcelona in the last 16 of the Champions League.
The Serie A champions will face their LaLiga counterparts in February after progressing from a tough group which contained Real Madrid, Braga and Union Berlin.
It took a victory on the final matchday against the Portuguese side before qualification was confirmed.
And their reward is a meeting with a Barca side who last played at this stage of the competition in 2021 having been eliminated in the group stage in each of the last two seasons.
Mazzarri replaced the sacked Rudi Garcia in November with two games of the group to go and helped salvage their campaign after dropped points against Real and Union had placed their future in the tournament in jeopardy.
“I said after the match against Cagliari that all the teams who have qualified for the round of 16 are strong and therefore any draw would be difficult,” said Mazzarri.
“This one against Barcelona is especially difficult. For Napoli it will be a thrilling prospect.”
Mazzarri could turn to youngsters Giovanni Simeone, Alessandro Zanoli and Gianluca Gaetano for Tuesday’s Coppa Italia last-16 meeting at home to Frosinone, with the opportunity to rest more established players against the side sitting 13th in Serie A.
Striker Victor Osimhen is one of the players likely to sit out, with either Simeone or Giacomo Raspadori coming in to deputise.
Piotr Zielinski, Mathias Olivera and Eljif Elmas all missed the recent meeting with Cagliari, but Mario Rui could return.
Frosinone boss Eusebio di Francesco called on his side to be more clinical in front of goal against the champions after they went down 2-1 to Lecce on Saturday.
“We have to be a little more concrete and, when the team plays interesting patterns, it’s good,” he said.
“But we have to be more determined and aggressive in front of goal.”
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