Champ is poised to make his reappearance in the Howden Long Walk Hurdle after featuring among the 10 confirmations for this weekend’s Ascot showpiece.

The Nicky Henderson-trained 11-year-old was the Long Walk champion in 2021 which was the last time the race was held at its traditional home of Ascot, but he had to settle for third when the race was rearranged for Kempton’s Boxing Day card 12 months ago.

The Cheltenham Festival scorer was last seen finishing a well-held fifth at Aintree in the spring but is reported to be in good heart ahead of his belated return to the track.

“He’s a great old horse, Nicky is happy with him and the plan is, all being well, to go there,” said owner JP McManus’ racing manager Frank Berry.

“He runs well fresh so you would hope he would run well.

“He enjoys Ascot and has run some good races around there and Nicky is happy with him at the minute.”

Last year’s race went to Emma Lavelle’s Paisley Park who has been something of a permanent feature in the Grade One contest in recent years, now seeking a fourth victory.

That would make the popular 11-year-old the joint most successful horse in the race’s history, tied with the great French raider Baracouda in the record books.

Paisley Park showed the fire still burned brightly when a fast-finishing second to Jeremy Scott’s Stayers’ Hurdle runner-up Dashel Drasher in Newbury’s Long Distance Hurdle and the duo will do battle once again.

Meanwhile, it was Botox Has who got the better of Dashel Drasher at Wetherby before that and he is one of two in the race for Gary Moore alongside the enigmatic Goshen.

Paul Nicholls’ recent course winner Blueking d’Oroux is two from two at Ascot and will step up in trip attempting to continue his fine start to the current campaign, while Dan Skelton’s West Balboa is another on a steep upwards curve and throws her hat into the mix having impressed at Aintree on her return last month.

Marie’s Rock is one of the more notable names missing from the list of possibles, with owners Middleham Park Racing relying on the second Ditcheat candidate, Red Risk.

Fergal O’Brien’s Crambo and Nigel Twiston-Davies’ Gowel Road are the others that remain in contention.

The 2023 BBC Sports Personality of the Year winner will be announced during a live show on Tuesday at MediaCityUK in Salford.

The six nominees have been revealed, with Mary Earps the favourite to succeed fellow England footballer Beth Mead.

Here, the PA news agency takes a closer look at those in the running.

The 30-year-old Manchester United and England goalkeeper helped the Lionesses reach the World Cup final in Australia in August. Spain ran out 1-0 winners to prevent England adding to their European crown, but Earps, who saved a penalty in the final and kept three clean sheets during the tournament, was awarded the Golden Glove.

The second-highest England Test wicket-taker with 604 scalps, 37-year-old Broad announced his retirement on July 29 on the penultimate day of the fifth and final Ashes Test against Australia at the Oval. He signed off in dramatic fashion, hitting a six off his final ball faced and taking a wicket with his final delivery to secure a win that resulted in the series being drawn, with Australia retaining the Ashes.

The three-time British flat racing champion jockey triumphed in two British classics this year, winning the 2000 Guineas on Chaldean and the Oaks on Soul Sister. Milan-born Dettori, 52, announced in December 2022 that he would retire after 2023 but in October he revealed plans to move to California and continue to race in the United States and on the international circuit.

The Liverpool-born heptathlete came back from injury to win her second world title in Budapest this year. She claimed her first world crown in Doha in 2019. Her build-up to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics was undermined by an Achilles injury and it flared up during the 200 metres, forcing her to pull out. The 30-year-old bounced back with a Commonwealth Games title in Birmingham last year and then conquered the world again in Hungary.

The Northern Irishman was Europe’s top-scorer, winning four out of five matches, as the team bounced back from their heaviest defeat to the United States in the 2021 to triumph in this year’s Ryder Cup – the fifth time he has won the event. Four-time major champion McIlroy, 34, also registered 13 top-10 finishes on the PGA Tour in 2023, won the Scottish Open, retained the Race to Dubai and spent time in the world number one spot.

World number one wheelchair tennis player Hewett this year was singles champion at both the Australian Open and US Open and runner-up in the French Open and Wimbledon tournaments, while in doubles, he claimed three out of the grand slam titles alongside Gordon Reid. The 26-year-old also helped Great Britain win the World Team Cup.

Durham chief executive Tim Bostock says the club are “100 per cent committed” to bringing a Hundred team to the north east and would be ready to take part in an expanded tournament as soon as 2025.

Consultations over the future direction of the competition, which has divided opinion since its launch three years ago, are ongoing and a decision on proposals for new, external investment is expected in the coming months.

The likeliest outcome would see the sale of stakes in the eight existing sides and there is also support for expanding the field to 10 teams.

Durham are currently affiliated to the Yorkshire-based Northern Superchargers but, with around 90 miles between Chester-le-Street and Headingley, they are eager to branch out on their own.

Bostock is an unabashed supporter of the tournament and is busily preparing a pitch to join the fray at the earliest opportunity.

“We are 100 per cent committed to bringing a franchise here to the north east,” he told the PA news agency.

“We pitched for it originally and I think we were close. We don’t have a divine right, that would be complacent, but we are very confident we would be able to mobilise very quickly.

“The north of the country cannot be ignored and we have an international ground ready to go; the facilities and infrastructure are in place.

“We’ve got to make the business case, put our best foot forward and make sure the ECB can’t turn us down.

“I don’t think we need to get too hung up on when you move to 10 teams, that could be 2027/28, why not go to nine first? If I go to the ECB in six months’ time and say, ‘we have a very powerful backer, we’re ready to go’ there’s no reason the ECB won’t make us the ninth team.

“People are sports mad in the north east and we sell out every international we get, which is one of things they look at when awarding teams. I have no doubt if we got one as part of any expansion it would be brilliantly supported. We’ve got a following wind behind us, to say the least.”

There are county cricket fans who remain stridently opposed to the entire concept of the Hundred but Bostock insists its commercial potential is unparalleled in the domestic game. The Bridgepoint private equity group offered the ECB a reported £400million for a 75 per cent share of the competition in 2022 and overseas interest would be high if individual teams went on the market.

Bostock believes his region is well placed to cash in and argues that a fresh influx of cash would be a lifeline that would prop up the rest of the national framework.

“There’s probably no bigger strategic decision to be made than this one. You’re not going to please everybody but you’ve got to get it right,” he said.

“This is the silver bullet, game-changer for the game. Despite all the criticism, I’m yet to see another product three years on from start up that is thought to be worth £750m.

“That money will sustain 18 counties, accelerate the growth of the women’s game and support recreational cricket. The economic reality is that without the advent of the Hundred and the huge investment it’s going to bring, it’s unlikely we’d still have 18 counties in five years’ time.

“We need to make sure the Hundred is monetised to become recognised as the second best short-form competition in the world, after the IPL. To do that, you’ve got to pay the money that attracts the best players and for that we need investment.

“As a destination, the north east is well placed. We’ve seen the Saudis have bought Newcastle United just down the road and you don’t need to be a brain surgeon to see they are building a portfolio.

“We are very confident we could attract a lot interest.”

Mary Earps is the bookmakers’ odds-on favourite to be voted the BBC’s Sports Personality of the Year for 2023 on Tuesday night.

Earps was a key part of the England football team which reached the Women’s World Cup final in the summer, having been crowned champions of Europe in 2022.

She has been shortlisted for the prestigious BBC prize alongside former 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 Jenni Hermoso in the World Cup final, but the Lionesses slipped to a 1-0 defeat in Sydney. The 30-year-old was awarded the FIFA Golden Glove as the tournament’s best goalkeeper.

In September she was also voted England’s 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 at 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. Earps told Sky News at the weekend she thought the company had learned its lesson.

“On this topic, they know that they got this wrong and that’s why they’ve done this correction – a big company like Nike, they wouldn’t do that if they didn’t know it wasn’t right and that there was an injustice there,” Earps said.

“They did the right thing and I can’t thank the public enough for their support and we wouldn’t be in this position without it.

“I was really ‘um-ing and ah-ing’ whether to use my voice and to speak on it or not. I thought I was just speaking for a niche of goalkeepers, but it turned out to be support from much wider group of people.

“I think from that, collectively, we’ve really changed the world, so thank you to everyone.”

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, 52, 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.

David Raya believes his battle with Aaron Ramsdale to be first-choice goalkeeper at Arsenal has made them both better players.

Spain international Raya is currently Mikel Arteta’s preferred option between the sticks and he became the first goalkeeper this season to keep a Premier League clean sheet against Brighton as the Gunners won 2-0 on Sunday to go top of the table.

Second-half goals from Gabriel Jesus and Kai Havertz secured the points for Arsenal, with Raya returning in goal after Ramsdale played in the 1-1 Champions League dead-rubber group game against PSV Eindhoven on Tuesday.

Since breaking into the side in September, Raya has unquestionably become Arteta’s number one as debate and argument reigns over who should fill the position long-term.

Raya, though, feels the fierce competition has improved both himself and England international Ramsdale.

Asked if the battle has made him a better goalkeeper, Brentford loanee Raya replied: “Of course, and I think I have made him a better goalkeeper.

“I think that battle – I wouldn’t say battle, it’s just pushing each other in training, trying to help each other.

“If we see with each other when we are training that we can help each other, that’s how we are and that’s how we do. That’s the GK union that from the outside that you see.

“He is a top, top goalkeeper and a top, top team-mate. I hope he can say the same about me! We are team-mates, we are fighting for one position.”

Next up for Arsenal is a trip to face Liverpool at Anfield in a game where victory would put some space between the sides at the top of the table – where Aston Villa also feature after their comeback win over Brentford.

“Of course it is a massive game for any of the top teams playing against Liverpool away from home,” added Raya.

“I think comparing the last time I played there with Brentford and what we are going to face on Saturday is completely different. I think obviously they (the fans) will be more on top of us now, especially as we are fighting to be on top of the Premier League.

“It is going to be very, very important but we don’t have to focus on the atmosphere. We have to focus on ourselves and the football, and win the match.”

Brighton, meanwhile, will be looking to recover from one of their worst performances of the campaign to date.

Roberto De Zerbi’s visitors managed just one shot on target at the Emirates Stadium as they were roundly beaten – with captain Lewis Dunk calling for a response against rivals Crystal Palace on Thursday.

“I think obviously, we’re disappointed,” he said.

“We had to do the dirty side of the game, where we usually control the game and have plenty of the ball but Arsenal stopped us doing that. We’ve just got to brush ourselves down, we’ve got a massive game on Thursday and we need to move on.”

Jonny Evans was pleased by Manchester United’s hard-fought, morale-boosting point at Liverpool as Erik ten Hag’s men blocked out the memories of last season’s 7-0 Anfield annihilation.

Pressure and scrutiny has increased as the Dutchman’s difficult second season has worn on, with last weekend’s 3-0 home humbling by Bournemouth the nadir of a wretched campaign.

A lifeless 1-0 home loss to Bayern Munich followed on Tuesday night, with United exiting the Champions League and European football just days before a daunting trip to in-form rivals Liverpool.

Jurgen Klopp’s men had won every home match this season and had 34 attempts on Sunday, but Andre Onana pulled off eight saves as the visitors dug deep to secure a much-needed 0-0 draw.

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“We’ll take the point,” experienced centre-back Evans said. “I think we are obviously seventh in the league at the moment, but we were eighth going into the match. Liverpool were top.

“It was a hard-fought point. They dominated the game in terms of being around our box, but we probably had two of the best chances.

“I’ve played games here where you have to grind it out. You don’t always come to Anfield and play well.

“I’ve been a part of this club in the past – even back then, in 2013, we got a win here but the game was very difficult. You have to grind it out.

“It’s a battle, really. It is a game of moments, big moments in the game. We’ll come away, take the point, and move on.”

Sunday match was United’s first trip to Anfield since March’s 7-0 thumping – the largest defeat for either side in this fixture.

Evans was among the United fans watching through his fingers on that occasion and, having returned to the club over the summer, said the whole squad put that loss to the back of their minds.

“I think you block it out by not listening to that,” the 35-year-old academy product said.

“I think we have our own responsibilities going into the game and every game is a chance to win. We always go into every game thinking we are going to win.”

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk certainly did not believe that judging by his comments after a frustrating afternoon, claiming only one team tried to win and United were “buzzing” with a point.

“It is their home patch, they’ve got a good record here and they are playing well,” Evans said.

“They are at the top of the league, they’ve got some dangerous players. We’ll take the point, we defended our box well and move on from it.”

Evans impressed alongside Raphael Varane in the heart of an injury-hit defence, with Harry Maguire, Victor Lindelof, Lisandro Martinez and Tyrell Malacia ruled out for a game that ended with Diogo Dalot’s sending-off.

“When you are defending on the edge of your box, there are always fine margins at that point,” he said.

“When you come away with a clean sheet after defending like that, it is always enjoyable.”

Asked if this can be the start of something, Evans said: “I think you can take this game in isolation, Man United versus Liverpool is a big match.

“I think we can take the fact that we have been able to defend our box as something we have probably… in the last three or four weeks when we have had to defend our box, we haven’t done that well enough.

“It is something we have discussed, so we take that out of it. Take confidence from it.”

Holders Manchester City will face FC Copenhagen in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Arsenal, the current Premier League leaders, will take on Portuguese side Porto in the first knockout round.

The ties, the first legs of which will take place in February 2024, were confirmed after the draw at the Swiss headquarters of organiser UEFA in Nyon on Monday.

Brighton and Liverpool both saw their long scoring streaks ended on Sunday, leaving Tottenham to chase the Premier League’s records.

Here, the PA news agency looks at how the trio compare to the best of the Premier League era.

Brighton’s wings finally clipped

The Seagulls’ 2-0 defeat to Arsenal ended a 32-game scoring run and a Premier League record 20 consecutively in which they had both scored and conceded.

The latter sequence covered every fixture this season and the final four of last term, since their clean sheet in May’s 3-0 win over the Gunners.

The last time they had failed to score was way back in February, a 1-0 defeat at home to Fulham, with that 32-game stretch marking the fourth-longest in the Premier League.

Arsenal themselves hold the record, 55 games from May 2001 to November 2002 which covered the last game of 2000-01, the entirety of their 2001-02 title-winning season and the first 16 games of the following campaign’s second-placed finish, before losing 2-0 to Manchester United who went on to win the league.

United had a scoring run of 36 games from December 2007 to November 2008, matched by Liverpool between March 2019 and February 2020 for a distant second place behind Arsenal, with Brighton next up under impressive manager Roberto De Zerbi.

Brighton scored 66 goals in those 32 games, winning 15 and drawing eight with nine losses.

Spurs left standing

Liverpool were held to a goalless draw by Manchester United in Sunday’s late game to halt their own scoring run at 26 games.

Since another 0-0 in April against Chelsea, Jurgen Klopp’s side had scored 63 goals across 18 wins, seven draws and one defeat before their 34 shots proved insufficient to break down a stubborn United side at Anfield.

That leaves Spurs as the only side whose current scoring streak stretches to double figures, and at 29 games after beating Nottingham Forest 2-0 it ranks joint-fifth in Premier League history.

Manchester City also had a run of 29 between December 2018 and September 2019, before a shock 2-0 home defeat to Wolves, with Spurs losing 1-0 to the same opponents before embarking on their current run.

Beginning in March in Antonio Conte’s penultimate match in charge and continuing through the chaotic end to last season, under the caretaker stewardship of first Cristian Stellini and then Ryan Mason, Spurs have kicked on under new boss Ange Postecoglou this term.

They have scored 59 goals in the 29 games, with a record of 14 wins, six draws and nine defeats.

Scoring against Everton, Brighton and Bournemouth in their remaining fixtures of 2023 would take them alongside Albion’s 32 in the Premier League list, with the chance to chase down second-placed Liverpool and Man Utd  by February’s return fixture with the Seagulls.

After Spurs, the longest current streak belongs to Bournemouth, who had scored in eight straight games prior to Saturday’s fixture against Luton. They also found the net before that match was abandoned.

Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk insists he was not being arrogant in dismissing Manchester United’s overly defensive display at Anfield.

The Dutchman provoked a response from former United midfielder Roy Keane when he said only one team played to win.

Keane said the comments were arrogant and disrespectful, adding: “He needs a reminder himself; he’s playing for a club that have won the title once in 30-odd years.”

Van Dijk insisted there was honesty but no arrogance in his words on a frustrating afternoon where Liverpool had 34 shots but failed to score for the first time since April.

“I like Roy Keane, if he said that then it’s fine,” he said.

“He is Man United throughout and I understand he could react like that but I felt what I said and there is absolutely no arrogance in that.

“Everyone who watched the game probably felt the same. We move on. We had the opportunity and we couldn’t score and that’s the frustrating part.”

For the first time since April Jurgen Klopp’s side failed to score, ending a club record-equalling run of 34 successive matches, and the 34 shots they attempted was their most on record (since 2003-04) without scoring.

Striker Darwin Nunez has not found the net in 10 matches, Mohamed Salah, who scored 10 in 12 league games before November’s international break, has just one in the last five, Luis Diaz has scored once in the league since mid-August while Cody Gakpo’s two league goals were both in September.

December is the worst time to lose your form with the number of fixtures during the month and Van Dijk admits the players may have been trying just too hard against their arch-rivals.

“Maybe (we were) trying to force it a little bit at times and we could have made a better decision but it was hard to break the low block down,” he added.

“You push, you push, you push and try to do everything in your power but it was one of those days we couldn’t find the right decision to score a goal.

“At times – I won’t say every time – we forced it too much to find a solution which wasn’t there but that’s football.”

There is no time to dwell on the disappointing result which cost them top spot as West Ham are the midweek visitors for the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup, a competition Liverpool won in 2022.

“We move on and have to learn from a lot of moments – and we will – and focus on Wednesday,” said Van Dijk.

“Let’s go for it. It’s the first trophy that could be in reach and it will be a very tough game as West Ham are also in a good moment with good players.”

West Ham forward Jarrod Bowen is relishing their hectic schedule and urged his team-mates to make the most of Wednesday’s Carabao Cup quarter-final tie at Liverpool.

The Hammers’ made it seven wins in nine matches with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over Wolves on Sunday after Bowen struck late on following a first-half brace by Mohammed Kudus.

David Moyes’ side are in the middle of a three-week period where they play seven times and next up is a midweek trip to Anfield with a semi-final berth on the line.

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“It’s an exciting time. As a player, you want to be in as many competitions as possible,” top-goalscorer Bowen said.

“We’ve got a chance now on Wednesday night to get a place in the Carabao Cup semi-final and then we play Manchester United on Saturday too.

“That will be another tasty game and there’s a lot to look forward to. We’re glad we got the win. It moves us up the table and it makes things interesting over the Christmas period.”

West Ham moved up to eighth after Sunday’s result, which was inspired by their versatile attacking trio.

Lucas Paqueta created each goal against Wolves, finding Kudus for his 25-yard opener midway through the first half before he played in the summer recruit for his second in the 32nd minute.

Bowen rounded off the scoring after he collected Paqueta’s pass and it left boss David Moyes’ purring about his Brazilian playmaker.

Moyes added: “That is what Lucas Paqueta can do for us. I’m pulling my hair out half the time and the other part of it I’m celebrating because he can make passes that other people can’t see and don’t make.

“He’s a special player. I’ve not had huge amounts of special players with that individual talent. So, there’s a little bit of leeway we have to give him.

“I’m not someone who likes giving too much leeway to any of my players. I like to treat them all fairly but as I’ve got a bit older, I’ve realised that when you have that talent, you have to let them flourish.

“But I have to say as well, his work-rate for the team over recent months has been excellent.”

Bowen concluded: “We’re just playing with freedom and we have a real understanding me, Mo (Kudus) and Lucas.

“There were times when Mo was up front and I was out on the wing. Then times I was up front and Mo on the wing.

“That is the quality the three of us have, we can play with flexibility and on the training pitch it is the same. We all love playing together.”

Wolves head coach Gary O’Neil provided a positive injury update ahead of their Christmas Eve clash with Chelsea.

He said: “The good news is Rayan (Ait-Nouri) got through 25 minutes, Pedro (Neto) is nearly back and hopefully Jose Sa’s shoulder is not too serious.

“Disappointed (with the result) but still really positive around where we can get to and hopefully the turnaround we’ll see soon with some players back.”