Real Mardid head coach Carlo Ancelotti has warned his players only their best will do against RB Leipzig as they look to secure a place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Los Blancos will defend a slender 1-0 lead from the first leg in Germany when Brahim Diaz scored a fine solo goal.
Ancelotti’s side have been held to three frustrating draws in their last five domestic matches, with Jude Bellingham shown a red card after the game at Valencia ended 2-2 when he thought he had headed in a dramatic stoppage-time winner as the referee blew up for full-time.
The 14-time European champions may be favourites to get the job done against Leipzig at the Bernabeu on Wednesday night, but Ancelotti insists there can be no sense of entitlement.
“It’s a big opportunity to progress in a competition that is very special for us, but we will have to be at our best,” Ancelotti told a press conference.
“The tie is not over, even if we do have a small advantage. We have to be at our best from the first minute to the last.
“The first leg was difficult against Leipzig, even though we created a lot of chances.
“We have to improve on that and be more dangerous because it’s going to be a different game tomorrow.
“They will look to play more in transition than us. Dealing with that defensively is going to be very important.”
Ancelotti reported no fresh concerns from the weekend, with captain Nacho Fernandez in contention to return to the side having missed some training with a minor issue which saw him start on the bench at Valencia.
England midfielder Bellingham, making his own return from an ankle injury, was sent off after the players surrounded the referee in the wake of his disallowed goal, with Madrid having earlier fought back from 2-0 down.
Ancelotti, though, feels there is no need to add further fuel to the situation, with his side now seven points clear at the top of LaLiga.
“I have not spoken to Bellingham about this matter,” the Italian coach said.
“He is someone who tries to give everything on the pitch and he is doing very well.
“The red card the other day was a mistake. He was a bit frustrated, but he didn’t insult anyone.”
Leipzig head to Madrid on the back of a 4-1 win at Bochum which left them fifth in the Bundesliga.
Defender Mohamed Simakan is suspended for the second leg, while Lukas Klostermann is doubtful because of a hip problem.
Leipzig coach Marco Rose said: “We are going to travel to Madrid and try everything.
“We want to be the most difficult opponent possible for Madrid so that they really have to stretch.”
Gavin Cromwell is leaning towards the Stayers’ Hurdle with two-time former champion Flooring Porter.
The nine-year-old won the contest in both 2021 and 2022 before finishing fourth behind Sire Du Berlais last season.
He began his steeple chasing career this term, beating Broadway Boy on debut at Cheltenham and then finishing third in both the Florida Pearl and the Neville Hotels Novice Chase.
It has not been guaranteed that he will stick with the discipline at the Cheltenham Festival, however, and with the withdrawal of Constitution Hill from the Champion Hurdle picture there has been a ripple effect on other races.
Gordon Elliott’s Irish Point now looks likely to start in the Champion Hurdle and in his absence Cromwell is minded to bid for another Stayers’ Hurdle with Flooring Porter.
Speaking on a stable tour for Attheraces.com, the trainer said: “We are leaning towards the Stayers’ Hurdle. That isn’t 100 per cent confirmed, but with Irish Point looking likely to go for the Champion Hurdle, that might just seal it.
“We had a really tough preparation for Cheltenham with him last year as he missed a month after Christmas, but he still ran really well. We’ve had a much better preparation with him this year.
“It’s a very competitive race, but if he brought his best form to the table, he’d be entitled to be in the mix with the best of them.”
Perceval Legallois is the second favourite for the Kim Muir at present. but will not line up for the race as Cromwell feels the mark of 144 he has been allocated is prohibitive.
He said: “We’ve decided not to run him at the Cheltenham Festival. The British handicapper was very tough on him, so we’ll stay at home with him.”
My Mate Mozzie holds entries for both the Grand Annual and the Arkle and is most probably going to run in the latter race, especially considering Marine Nationale has been ruled out of the contest.
“He’s more than likely going to run in the Arkle,” said Cromwell.
“He’s going to have to run a career-best to win it, but he shaped really well right on the tail of the current favourite Found A Fifty at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting and that form has worked out well since.
“Maybe the winner was idling, but we got further back than was planned and finished off very well, so we have reasons to rate him better than the bare form too.
“Marine Nationale coming out can only help him too. The better the ground, the better his chance.”
Pep Guardiola claims winning the Champions League is getting tougher every season.
Guardiola finally ended Manchester City’s long wait for European glory when he guided the club to success in the competition last season.
It had been City’s 12th successive campaign in the Champions League and their seventh under Guardiola, who had previously won it twice as Barcelona boss.
City will look to cement their place in the quarter-finals of this year’s competition on Wednesday when they go into the second leg of their last-16 tie against FC Copenhagen holding a 3-1 aggregate lead.
City manager Guardiola said: “It’s getting better and tougher. Always I had the feeling, when I arrived in Barcelona in the first years that OK, we arrive in semi-finals.
“Now to reach the semi-finals is so difficult. The teams are better, managers are better.
“Everything is even more difficult than when I was a football player.
“But at the end, the better teams always go through. When you play two good games, you have more chance to go through.”
Guardiola insisted, however, his triumphs with City were no more special than those he achieved with a Lionel Messi-inspired Barca side in 2011 and 2013.
He said: “I would not say that. Otherwise we would undermine what we achieved in Barcelona and I would not like that.
“Every moment is every moment. Every title you win is difficult. It’s not taken for granted.”
City outplayed Copenhagen in the first leg at the Parken Stadium three weeks ago and could have won more comfortably than the scoreline suggests.
Yet Guardiola maintains the tie is not over and will not allow focus to switch to Sunday’s crunch Premier League showdown with title rivals Liverpool yet.
He said: “Selection will depend on how people recover from the last game and that’s all.
“In this competition it is so really important to be focused because in football everything can happen and you have to be aware of that.”
Erling Haaland has refused to rule out a move from Manchester City despite stressing his happiness at the club.
The prolific Norwegian was linked with Real Madrid earlier this season and he did not dismiss the idea he may one day move at a press conference on Tuesday.
Showing an awareness of media operations, the 23-year-old even said this could be the main news line to come from his appearance in front of reporters to preview Wednesday’s Champions League clash against FC Copenhagen.
He was therefore especially keen to point out how satisfied he is with life at City, for whom he has scored a staggering 80 goals in 84 appearances since joining in the summer of 2022.
Haaland said: “I’m really happy, especially with the people that I’m surrounded with – the manager, the directors, the board, they are a group of amazing people and I’m really happy, I have to say.
“If I say this now it’s probably going to be a massive headline – tomorrow you never know what the future brings. But I’m happy. You can write this but you also have to write everything I said before! I’m happy.”
Haaland is contracted to 2027 but refused to comment on whether he might sign a new deal.
The former Borussia Dortmund striker said: “My focus mainly now is on the pitch, there’s a lot of games.
“Two days ago was the Manchester derby, now Champions League. Sunday is Liverpool. I think I should focus on that. I don’t think I should focus on anything else at the moment.”
Haaland helped City win a glorious treble in his remarkable first season at the club but getting his hands on so many trophies has not dulled his appetite to win more.
He said: “You can think about it in two ways. One thing, I came here and won it all, and the other thing, I’m 23 years old and I won everything and I got the taste of it, how it is to win everything.
“How I work is that when I feel this is, I want to win it again. Easy as that.”
Such has been Haaland’s stunning impact at City that him missing a chance can now create headlines.
This was the case on Sunday when he contrived to volley over an open goal from close range against Manchester United, although he did later get on the scoresheet in a 3-1 win.
Haaland said: “People say I’m good at scoring goals but I missed the biggest chance in the world ever a couple of days ago.
“Yes, I’ve been missing, I missed a lot of chances. I will still keep on missing chances, but I will still keep on scoring goals.
“I’ll probably miss a big chance in the future as well, and people are going to criticise me, but what can I do then? Should I think of that? No, just focus on scoring more goals and to help the team.”
Haaland admitted when he was younger such a miss would have bothered him a lot but now he has learned to bounce back from disappointments.
“It’s been a challenge for me,” he said. “I remember when I was young I would start crying if we lost and I missed a lot of chances.
“I’ve been working on it a lot and in the end everything is in here (taps head).”
Red Bull’s controversy-hit Formula One team will be back in the spotlight on Wednesday when superstar driver Max Verstappen faces the media for this weekend’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
The triple world champion, whose father, Jos, claimed Red Bull will “explode” if team principal Christian Horner is not removed from his post, is due to answer questions in Jeddah on Wednesday.
Verstappen, 26, will not appear in the FIA’s official press conference to preview the second round of the Formula One season, but he is set to face questions – as per his normal media duties – at Red Bull’s hospitality suite.
Horner, who is understood to currently be in Dubai with wife Geri, is set to be back on the Red Bull pit wall for practice on Thursday.
He will also feature alongside a number of other F1 team principals in an FIA press conference between practice sessions at the Jeddah Corniche Circuit.
Horner, 50, held clear-the air-talks with Verstappen’s manager Raymond Vermeulen in Dubai on Monday.
Neither Max nor his father were present at the summit which took place after Verstappen Snr claimed that Red Bull “is in danger of being torn apart”.
A source told the PA news agency that discussions between Horner and Vermeulen “went well”.
The intra-team tensions will be eased in Saudi Arabia, with Verstappen Snr absent as he participates in a Belgian rally.
Verstappen’s victory in Bahrain was overshadowed by continued controversy surrounding Horner.
Following the race Horner said he was “absolutely confident” he would stay on as Red Bull boss for the remainder of the season.
Horner has faced intense scrutiny in recent weeks following allegations made against him by a female colleague. He has always denied the claims.
Verstappen has won 18 of the last 19 F1 races and will be the favourite to claim another victory on Saturday night – despite the ongoing controversy surrounding Red Bull.
Garry Ringrose, Hugo Keenan, Iain Henderson and Oli Jager are in contention for Ireland’s Guinness Six Nations clash with England after training on Tuesday.
Leinster centre Ringrose is yet to feature in this year’s championship because of a shoulder injury.
Full-back Keenan and lock Henderson missed the round-three win over Wales due to a knee issue and a dislocated toe respectively.
Munster prop Jager made his Test debut as a replacement in that 31-7 success on February 24 before sustaining a knee problem.
Grand Slam-chasing Ireland, who play at Twickenham on Saturday before completing their campaign at home to Scotland seven days later, reported a clean bill of health ahead of holding a more physical training session on Wednesday.
“We were all on the field today, it was great,” scrum coach John Fogarty told reporters.
“Garry and Hugo, Hendy, all trained today, Oli as well.
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“So, yeah, it’s such an important day for us to be on the field. A healthy squad training today is important for selection and it was great they were all on the field.”
Ciaran Frawley deputised for Keenan against Wales and marked his first international start with one of four tries for Andy Farrell’s side.
Asked about the progress of Ireland’s first-choice number 15, Fogarty said: “Well, he trained today.
“Again, they are on the road to recovery, training on the field today live was important for them. We’ll see how they got through the session.
“We’ve another session tomorrow, which is the most physical session of the week where we’ll properly test our plan and the players so we’ll see how he gets through tomorrow and then Andy will select his side.
“(Today) it’s full speed, there’s no huge contact in it, it’s kind of a coaching day.
“Monday is forming a plan, Tuesday we put it on the field and we’ll see the timings of our launch plays and how our defence works, and tomorrow we’ll test that full contact.
“We want to get as live as possible, ready for what’s going to be a huge test in Twickenham.”
Connections of L’Homme Presse are metaphorically applying the bubble wrap as they anxiously count down the days to the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Venetia Williams’ nine-year-old gave co-owners Andy and Pam Edwards and Peter and Patricia Pink a day to remember when scooping the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase on a wet Wednesday in 2022, but they were forced to watch on as he missed the blue riband through injury 12 months ago.
Seen as one of Britain’s best chances of Gold Cup success, L’Homme Presse is now close to finally getting his chance to bid for glory in the week’s feature event.
Having shown no signs of any reoccurring injury worries since returning from a long 391-day lay-off, connections will soon be able to dream of a second triumph at National Hunt racing’s showpiece meeting.
“We haven’t had any little niggles or anything so far, touch wood, but we still have 10 days or so to go and that is plenty of time for a racehorse to do something silly,” said Edwards.
“It’s a slightly anxious time, rather than a nervous time. At this time (of year), everyone is in the same boat and they are trying to wrap their horses in cotton wool, while keeping the horses ticking over – and it’s a massive effort to get them to any race, never mind the Festival.
“The beauty of any other race is, if you don’t get them to a said race, there is always another one. But if you don’t get them to the Festival, that is it until next year, so the pressure is on all the staff and trainers at the moment.”
He went on: “From our point of view, we just want to get him there and what chance he has and all the rest of it, right now that is immaterial. Once we are there on the day, that’s when we can start thinking about what sort of chance we have.
“I’m very relaxed and he will get there or he won’t. What will be, will be, and I’m very relaxed about that side of things.”
It was an emotionally-charged afternoon when L’Homme Presse returned from injury in imperious style in Lingfield’s Fleur De Lys Chase, but the gelding failed to read a similar script when tuning up for his Gold Cup bid in the Ascot Chase.
Sent off the 5-4 favourite, L’Homme Presse’s usual zest was lacking as he struggled to hunt down the boldly-ridden Pic D’Orhy on ground quicker than ideal – and over a trip shorter than optimum.
However, connections are taking encouragement from the way their charge finished the race and with two runs now under L’Homme Presse’s belt, they feel he is in the ideal spot to challenge for top honours in the Cotswolds on Friday week.
“He came out of the race really well and we were really happy with him,” continued Edwards.
“I think Ascot has put him right, but not by design. We went there to win it and for whatever reason, he just wasn’t quite himself.
“He didn’t jump with the same sort of passion that he had at Lingfield and Charlie (Deutsch, jockey) had to kick him in the belly twice to get him started. He was just always slightly behind the bridle going into the fences and in his racing style.
“The result of that is he ran below his best, but he ran through the line and it’s brought him on nicely, which means we have a nice fresh horse going to Cheltenham.”
With the Ascot Chase contested over two miles and five furlongs, the L’Homme Presse team can look forward to a much more suitable stamina test in the Gold Cup for their staying star.
And while the current ground updates coming out of Prestbury Park may be unnerving for some connections ahead of the Festival, Edwards will be willing the rain to keep falling for a repeat of the soft conditions L’Homme Presse has previously relished.
“Everyone is desperate for a bit of sunshine but I only want sunshine on March 16,” he added.
“Soft ground is in our favour and we would be happy with it being soft. We are going to enjoy the moment and we will always keep the faith.”
England and the Republic of Ireland have been drawn together in the same group for Euro 2025 qualifying.
Sarina Wiegman’s defending champions and Eileen Gleeson’s Girls in Green will also play against France and Sweden in Group A3, with matches to take place from April to July.
Scotland are in Group B2 with Serbia, Slovakia and Israel, while Wales will face Croatia, Ukraine and Kosovo in B4 and Northern Ireland take on Portugal, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Malta in B3.
The winners and runners-up from the four League A groups will qualify automatically for the Euros finals, joining a Switzerland side already assured to be there as hosts.
The third and fourth-placed teams will enter the play-offs, along with teams finishing in the top three in each of the four League B groups.
If Switzerland finish in the top three of Group B1, the best-ranked fourth-place team from League B will go into the play-offs.
There will also be five group winners and three best-ranked runners-up from League C, making 28 teams in total, in a two-round play-off system that will start in October and see seven sides advance to the finals.
The Lionesses claimed the first major trophy in their history when they won the Euros on home soil in 2022 under Wiegman.
Kim Bailey’s has paid handsome tribute to his Grade One-winning chaser First Flow after announcing his retirement.
The 12-year-old was last seen winning the Godstone Handicap Chase at Lingfield during the Winter Million meeting, carrying top-weight to a length-and-a-quarter victory over Saint Segal.
That run will be his last as the decision has been been made to retire Bailey’s stable stalwart after a career that saw him win 12 races and amass over £300,000 in prize-money.
A €4,500 Tattersalls purchase with a pedigree that offered little insight into his ability, First Flow became a smart novice hurdler who won his first three starts over obstacles after a brief bumper career.
He then went novice chasing in the autumn of 2019, acquitting himself well when winning four times and never finishing out of the top three in eight starts in his opening season over fences.
The following term he won three successive starts and shone at the top level when landing the Clarence House Chase at Ascot, defeating the likes of Defi Du Seuil and Politologue.
Reaching a career-high mark of 166, he was subsequently sixth in the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the 2021 Festival and from there was consistently placed in graded chases from two miles and a furlong to two miles and six – including a second-placed finish behind Hewick in the Oaksey Chase at Sandown.
“He was a unique horse and a complete star for the yard,” said Bailey.
“It’s very sad to see him retire but it’s something I expected to happen last year and he’s done another season, I’ve got no races to run him in so I think it’s a good time to stop.
“We’ve very much run out of options, he isn’t good enough for Grade One races anymore and he’s carried top-weight in handicaps three times this year.
“He was very tired after the last one and you can only go to the well so many times.
“I probably should have retired him there and then, but emotionally I couldn’t cope with that idea.
“He is a freak of nature, I think most good horses are, it’s been an interesting journey the whole way through because he’s such an interesting character – if he was a human being you would enjoy a night out with him!
“I hope we can find him a home close by so I can keep an eye on him, he is quite special to me.”
Declan Rice knows in-form Arsenal cannot afford any slip-ups as they continue to fight with Liverpool and Manchester City in an almighty title tussle.
Having ended 2023 with back-to-back defeats to West Ham and Fulham, the Gunners have responded with a run of seven straight Premier League victories.
The latest came on Monday as shambolic Sheffield United were humbled 6-0 at Bramall Lane, moving Mikel Arteta’s third-placed side back within two points of leaders Liverpool.
Jurgen Klopp’s Reds host fellow title contenders City on Sunday – a match both sides will start bumped down the standings should Arsenal beat Brentford the previous day.
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“I think it has been a hell of a comeback since the Christmas period, when we lost two in a row,” big-money summer signing Rice said. “I think there was a lot of talk when we had the winter break.
“We came back and that full week in Dubai was just full focus on Palace and winning that game, getting the momentum back swinging our way.
“Since we have had that game, we have really done that and we are looking really strong, really positive.
“But it is the Premier League, you need to be on it every single game. You can’t have any slip-ups. We are really enjoying and relishing winning football matches.”
Rice and his team-mates have to maintain that focus for 11 more matches, with Arteta suggesting 90 points may be needed to win the Premier League.
“I think if you look at the two other teams at the top, they don’t look like they are going to slip up anytime soon,” the England midfielder said.
“Obviously we were the last to play, so it is always on our mind that we have to win if we want to stay in it.
“There is such a long way to go, anything can happen, 11 games of football is a really long way.
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“Hopefully we can keep winning matches, but it is one game at a time.
“We have been in this position before and I think it is just stay humble. Wait for the games to come and attack them when the day arrives.”
Those comments underline the cutting edge, maturity and swagger about Arsenal, which saw them enter the record books at Bramall Lane.
Never before had an English league side won three straight away matches by five goals or more – and there was even talk of a potential record-breaking Premier League win during a stunning first half.
Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz, Gabriel Martinelli and Rice’s efforts were complemented by a Jayden Bogle own goal during Monday’s wild opening period against the beleaguered Blades.
“I think when you come to a team like Sheffield United, who are fighting for their lives, it can always be a sticky game,” Rice said.
“But it is about mindset, it is about mentality, body language, pushing each other and straight from the first whistle it was on our mind.
“The manager has been on at us all week, that we have to go out and give it absolutely everything to get three points. It was a beautiful first half.”
Five-time Olympic champion Dame Laura Kenny has only a “slim chance” of competing at the Paris Games this summer, according to British Cycling performance director Stephen Park.
Britain’s most successful female Olympian outlined her ambition to compete at a fourth career Games last November, only a few months after giving birth to her son Monty in July, her second child with husband and seven-time Olympic champion Sir Jason Kenny.
The 31-year-old admitted then it would be a tall order to get back up to speed in time and, as she has not raced competitively since the arrival of Monty, she does not yet have the points required to qualify for Paris, let alone earn selection for a squad that won the world team pursuit title last year.
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With Kenny not in the frame to compete at this month’s Nations Cup in Hong Kong, her final chance to earn those points would come at the final round in Milton, Canada, in April.
“She has a slim chance of being in Paris,” Park said. “The first challenge is for her to be in a position where she feels she is going to be competitive and… put her hand up to be selected for events that would allow her to qualify herself, as well as to qualify in the team.
“Both of those are fairly significant hurdles because you need to get to the right events on the individual level to qualify and secondly she’s got to be competitive in a team that’s more competitive than it’s ever been.”
Kenny is yet to return to regular training at the Manchester velodrome as she follows her own programme and Park said the more likely target for her would be the UCI Track World Championships in Denmark in October.
“We’ve got ongoing and continuing dialogue with Laura and we are supporting her and have been supporting her in terms of her return to training,” he added. “She is still optimistic around the World Championships as the primary event and that was what she has always said she would do.
“The first big piece is her having the confidence she can get to the place. Nobody knows better than Laura what you have to do to win a medal in women’s track and I’ve no doubt if she was going to put her mind to it and felt she was physically and mentally in the right place to make that she would do.”
Kenny won Olympic gold in both the team pursuit and omnium at the London and Rio Olympics. In Tokyo, four years after the birth of her first son Albie, Kenny won a fifth Olympic gold in the Madison alongside Katie Archibald, having also won team pursuit silver.
At last year’s World Championships in Glasgow, Archibald teamed up with Elinor and Meg Barker, Josie Knight and Anna Morris to win gold in the team pursuit and they will head to Paris among the favourites to take the title.
“(Kenny) knows what she needs to do to be competitive and ride at the pace, with the efforts, that she needs to be competitive,” Park said.
“But she’s also conscious as well that she’s getting back into the place and she doesn’t want to be in a situation where she’s affecting the training of the others.
“She’s really conscious of the progress the others are making too and she wants to make sure as and when she’s ready… she is in a place to step into that environment and not hold the others back.”
Former England captain Sarah Hunter has hailed World Rugby’s high performance academy as a “brilliant initiative” for the women’s game.
Hunter was among 16 aspiring female coaches to emerge through the inaugural programme last year, which saw them being embedded with their respective nations before and during the WXV tournament in New Zealand.
There were also a series of online and in-person workshops that apart from rugby also looked at areas such as cultural elements, building relationships and campaign planning.
Hunter is now part of England’s coaching team preparing for the Guinness Women’s Six Nations, which kicks off on March 23.
And World Rugby has a target of seeing women make up a minimum 40 per cent of all coaches involved at the England-hosted 2025 World Cup that sees Twickenham staging the final.
Year two of the Gallagher High Performance Academy will feature 10 sevens coaches, including Saracens full-back Sarah McKenna and Leinster wing Emily McKeown, participating in a programme now extended to all formats of the women’s game.
“Having been part of it, World Rugby and Gallagher have brought to life what they said they wanted to do,” Hunter told the PA news agency.
“It is a brilliant initiative, one that has been about making really positive change and immersing coaches within high performance teams.”
Hunter retired from playing in 2023 after winning a world record 141 caps. She led England to World Cup glory in 2014 and was named women’s world player of the year two years later.
“The last six years of my playing career I was player-coach at Loughborough Lightning, where I looked after the forwards, so I have always had a real passion to try and help people get better,” she added.
“I was probably teeing myself up for some kind of coaching job, but I had no idea it would be the role I am currently doing.
“Having been a very recent former player, I’ve got a good understanding of how players want to be coached because I’ve heard many a time about what was right, what was wrong, what could be better, so I’ve tried to remember that.
“The game has changed significantly, and it is about having opportunities for females. It is such an exciting time for the game, so let’s be really ambitious, keep setting targets.
“Knowing the talent that is out there and having sat as part of the high performance academy, their knowledge of the game is incredible. These people can make a significant difference to their teams.
“A lot of the players have an interest in coaching, and if we are creating more opportunities we are going to be keeping more great people within the game. Hopefully, people can see the impact the academy is having.”
Jo Yapp, who had a 12-year England playing career, recently became the first female head coach of Australia’s women’s rugby union team, and it is that level of progression Hunter believes the academy can help underpin.
“Hopefully, the way in which the academy works, the major outcome goal with that is to transition those candidates who are on it in to those coaching roles,” she said.
“We have already seen something like a 20 per cent uplift of people going into coaching roles in different unions, and it is really important to have ambitious targets.
“It means people have to make change and people have to be seen to be making change, so it puts pressure on governing bodies around the world. Let’s set the bar high and let’s strive for it.
“What would be brilliant is almost changing perception. We’ve got brilliant female coaches out there around the world and they probably just need a bit of a nudge of ‘right, you’re in’. And when they are in, people see how good they are.”
The Jockey Club has announced the opening race on day two of next week’s Cheltenham Festival will be run as the Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle.
The Grade One contest, registered as the Baring Bingham Novices’ Hurdle, has had several different sponsors in recent years, including Neptune Investment Management and Ballymore.
Gallagher, a global insurance broking and risk management firm, joined The Jockey Club as its Official Community Partner in May 2023 and has now agreed to put its name to a two-mile-five-furlong contest that features the brilliant Faugheen (2014), Envoi Allen (2020) and Impaire Et Passe (2023) on its recent roll of honour.
The partnership sees The Jockey Club and Gallagher work together with the collective aim of opening up the sport to young people from a broad range of backgrounds and communities to the industry of racing and encourage them to consider it as a potential career.
Sophie Chambers, managing director of Gallagher’s bloodstock practice, said: “We are thrilled to be expanding our relationship with The Jockey Club by sponsoring the Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival later this month.
“Our partnership has made real progress in our aim to expand the sport to more young people and this is the natural next step.
“Horseracing is a fantastic sport and we want to encourage more youngsters who traditionally would not consider this a career choice to consider coming into the racing and thoroughbred industry.
“There are hugely diverse roles available, beyond just the jockeys we see on the racecourses, all offering great future progression. We hope our series of experience days will open youngsters’ eyes to the opportunities.”
Acting director of partnerships at The Jockey Club, Matt Powell said: “Gallagher has been instrumental in expanding the Junior and Youth experience days which are a hugely important part of our joint efforts to engage communities that the sport doesn’t traditionally reach.
“We are excited to see our partnership grow with the Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle opening the card on Style Wednesday.”
Katie Boulter has set her sights on pushing further up the rankings after winning the biggest title of her career.
The British number one defeated five top-40 players to win the San Diego Open, bringing her a first WTA 500 trophy and elevating her ranking to 27.
With Cameron Norrie slipping to 28, it means Boulter is the highest-ranked British singles player of either gender heading into the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, which begins on Wednesday.
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The same week a year ago, Boulter was ranked outside the world’s top 150, and she does not have many points to defend until the grass-court tournament in Nottingham in June, where last year she picked up her first WTA title.
“I feel like I’ve started the year very well and I’ve given myself the best opportunity to set myself up for the rest of the year,” said 27-year-old Boulter.
“I’ve got a free swing, I don’t really have too much pressure. I’m just here enjoying myself and working as hard as I possibly can with a great team. You never know what could happen so I’m looking forward to the rest of the year.”
The weekend was made even more special for Boulter by the success of boyfriend Alex De Minaur, who successfully defended his title in Acapulco on Saturday before catching an early morning flight to cheer on the British star.
They join the likes of former couples Jimmy Connors and Chris Evert and Lleyton Hewitt and Kim Clijsters in winning titles on the same weekend, and Boulter said: “I think that is very cool.
“I had no idea other people had done it. To share something with my other half is going to be something that we won’t forget.”
While the two titles both earned their recipients 500 ranking points, De Minaur took home around £325,000 and Boulter just £112,000, highlighting the continuing disparity between the ATP and WTA Tour away from the biggest joint events.
Boulter has mixed feelings, saying: “I’m obviously very happy with my first WTA 500 title, not too many players can say that they’ve won a 500 so I feel very special.
“Regarding the prize money, I feel like there’s a lot of equality in our sport in the biggest events. I really hope that the WTA can continue to help bridge the gap between the other events.”
There is parity in Indian Wells, where the tours come together at a big event for the first time since the Australian Open.
Boulter’s elevation to the top 30 comes too late to earn her a seeding and she will be back in action on Wednesday against dangerous Italian Camila Giorgi.
If she can maintain or improve her ranking through to the French Open and Wimbledon, she will earn herself a seeding, meaning she would not face a player in the top 32 until at least the third round.
“It’s definitely an aim of mine,” said Boulter. “I want to make sure that I can get as close to a seeding as possible. At the moment I’m in but it takes time to build more ranking points and to get myself to that place.
“Every single place in the ranking counts and I’ve just got to do my best because obviously it makes a difference as to who you play in the tournaments.”
Boulter is joined in the Indian Wells draw by Emma Raducanu, who has been given a wild card and will take on a qualifier in the first round.
Raducanu enjoyed one of her best weeks in the Californian desert last year, defying the wrist problems that subsequently forced her to go under the knife to reach the fourth round.
Norrie has a bye in the men’s event as the 28th seed while Andy Murray plays a qualifier, Jack Draper meets Christopher O’Connell and Dan Evans plays Roman Safiullin.
Rafael Nadal returns to the tour for the first time since suffering a muscle injury in Brisbane in January and will take on fellow veteran Milos Raonic, while Novak Djokovic makes his first appearance in Indian Wells for five years following the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions.
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