Gold Cup runner-up Gerri Colombe will meet last year’s winner Shishkin in the Aintree Bowl on Thursday.

Trained by Gordon Elliott, Gerri Colombe put up a game fight in the blue riband at Cheltenham when beating all bar reigning champion Galopin Des Champs.

Gerri Colombe is owned by Brian Acheson’s Robcour operation and the same colours will be sported by the Mouse Morris-trained Gentlemansgame.

Shishkin, winner of the race 12 months ago for Nicky Henderson, will attempt to put a dreadful Cheltenham Festival behind the trainer after he withdrew many of his intended runners due to the form of his string.

Corbetts Cross, so impressive in the National Hunt Chase, will step into open company for the first time while Bravemansgame, Ahoy Senor and Thunder Rock are also running in a field of seven.

Champion Hurdle third Luccia will step up in trip for the William Hill Aintree Hurdle.

One of only a few to run well for Henderson at Cheltenham, she will face the likes of Impaire Et Passe and Bob Olinger in a field of eight, with Coral Cup winner Langer Dan stepping up in grade.

Grey Dawning and Ginny’s Destiny will meet again in the Manifesto Novices’ Chase.

The pair served up a real treat in the Turners at Cheltenham, with Dan Skelton’s Grey Dawning coming out on top by two lengths.

Il Etait Temps, third in the Arkle, steps up in trip for Willie Mullins, while Blow Your Wad and Colonel Harry complete the quintet.

Sir Gino, a Cheltenham absentee for Henderson, will get the chance to strut his stuff in the Anniversary 4-Y-O Juvenile Hurdle.

He will take on Mullins’ Kargese, who finished second to stable companion Majborough in the Triumph Hurdle, the Joseph O’Brien-trained pair of Intellotto and Nurburgring, Paul Nicholls’ Kalif Du Berlais and Dirty Den.

There are 22 in the Randox Foxhunters’ Open Hunters’ Chase which include Cheltenham runner-up Its On The Line and Cat Tiger for David Maxwell.

What the papers say

West Ham will join Liverpool, Tottenham and AC Milan in the hunt for 26 -year-old Fulham defender Tosin Adarabioyo, according to the Guardian. The former Manchester City player will be a free agent in summer, but Fulham are hoping to retain his services.

Football Insider says Chelsea are trying to secure the signature of Athletic Bilbao forward Nico Williams for £43million. The 21-year-old Spain international has scored six goals and had 14 assists for Athletic in all competitions this season.

Former Arsenal loanee Dani Ceballos is set to leave Real Madrid for rivals Atletico Madrid as he struggles for game time at the LaLiga leaders, the Sun reports. The 27-year-old Spain midfielder has played just 14 games for the Real Madrid in the league this season, mostly as a substitute.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Mohamed Salah: The 31-year-old Liverpool striker is set to be targeted once again by Saudi Pro League clubs this summer with Al Ittihad reportedly set to offer £70million for the Egypt star, Talksport says.

Lucas Paqueta: French media outlet L’Equipe says Manchester City have agreed to terms with the 26-year-old West Ham midfielder.

The New York Yankees received eight stellar innings from Nestor Cortes and three-run homers from Juan Soto and Anthony Volpe to continue their hot start with Monday's 7-0 win over the floundering Miami Marlins.

Cortes retired 24 of the 26 batters he faced, yielding just a pair of singles, to record his first victory since May 30 and help New York match the best 11-game start to a season in franchise history at 9-2. The left-hander struck out six while throwing 70 of 102 pitches for strikes.

The Yankees have opened a season 9-2 seven times previously, most recently in 2020.

Volpe and Soto's homers both came in the fourth inning off Jesus Luzardo, with Soto's blast his first at Yankee Stadium since New York acquired the star outfielder from the San Diego Padres in the offseason.

Soto finished 2 for 3 and Alex Verdugo went 3 for 3 with an RBI as the Yankees extended Miami's early-season woes. The Marlins have now lost 10 of their first 11 games for the second time in team history, having previously done so in 1998.

Luzardo permitted all seven runs while being tagged for eight hits and five walks in 4 2/3 innings.

The Miami left-hander had kept the Yankees scoreless until Volpe followed fourth-inning singles by Giancarlo Stanton and Anthony Rizzo with a drive into the left field seats.

Verdugo then doubled and Luzardo walked Jose Trevino before retiring the next two batters to bring up Soto, who launched the first pitch he saw over the wall in right for a 6-0 lead.

Stanton doubled to open the bottom of the fifth before scoring the Yankees' final run on Verdugo's two-out single.

Nationals rout Giants to spoil Snell's San Francisco debut

Lane Thomas went 3 for 5 with a home run and three RBIs as the Washington Nationals spoiled Blake Snell's San Francisco Giants debut with an 8-1 rout in the opener of a three-game series.

Trey Lipscomb also had three hits, including an RBI single, and delivered a steal of home to help pin a loss on Snell in the reigning National League Cy Young Award winner's first start as a Giant.

Snell, who went 14-9 with an MLB-leading 2.25 ERA and 234 strikeouts with the San Diego Padres last season, joined San Francisco on a two-year, $62 million contract in March.

The ace left-hander struck out five in three innings, but surrendered three runs on three hits while walking two.

Washington received a more effective outing from starter Trevor Williams, who held San Francisco to one run on three hits over five innings to move to 2-0 on the season.

Snell's trouble came in the second inning, as he issued consecutive one-out walks before Lipscomb singled to left to drive in a run and tie the score at 1-1. 

Luis Garcia followed with an infield RBI single that put Washington ahead before stealing second base, with Lipscomb running home from third on the play and beating the throw to the plate.

The Giants had taken a 1-0 lead when Jung Hoo Lee singled and LaMonte Wade doubled two batters later, with Lee crossing the plate on an errant throw from Nationals left fielder Jesse Winker.

Thomas' two-run homer off Landen Roupp in the fifth pushed Washington's lead to 5-1, and the Nationals tacked on another run in the inning on Ildemaro Vargas' RBI double.

Washington scored twice more in the ninth via an RBI single from Thomas and a bases-loaded walk to Vargas that forced in Winker.

Ohtani's homer, three hits power Dodgers past Twins

Shohei Ohtani tied a career high with three extra-base hits, including a solo homer, as the Los Angeles Dodgers got back on track with a 4-2 win over the Minnesota Twins.

Ohtani added two doubles along with his third homer in five games to help Los Angeles take the opener of this three-game series. The Dodgers entered Minnesota off two losses in three games to the Chicago Cubs over the weekend.

James Paxton did his part for Los Angeles by holding the Twins to two runs on three hits over six solid innings to win his second straight start to begin the season.

Paxton's lone blemish came when he served up a two-run homer to Manuel Margot in the third inning that gave Minnesota a 2-1 lead.

The Twins maintained a one-run edge until the sixth, when Ohtani greeted reliever Steven Okert with a double and later scored on Will Smith's single.

Okert came on for Bailey Ober, who allowed just one run and three hits over five innings before departing in line for the win.

James Outman put Los Angeles ahead with a solo homer off Jay Jackson in the seventh. Two batters later, Ohtani connected for an opposite-field blast off Jackson that increased the lead to 4-2.

Ober's lone run allowed came after issuing a lead-off walk to Mookie Betts in the first inning. Ohtani followed with a double before Betts crossed the plate on Freddie Freeman's sacrifice fly. 

Sergio Garcia claimed his first major title after beating Justin Rose in a play-off to win the Masters on this day in 2017.

Garcia became the third Spanish winner at Augusta National with a birdie on the first extra hole following a sensational duel with Ryder Cup team-mate Rose.

The pair had finished tied on nine under par after closing rounds of 69, with Rose overturning an early three-stroke deficit to lead by a shot after 16 holes, only to bogey the 17th and then fail to convert a birdie attempt from seven feet on the last.

That gave Garcia the opportunity to win his first major at the 74th attempt, but his putt flashed wide of the hole forcing a play-off.

The players returned to the 18th, where England’s Rose was unable to save par after pushing his drive into the trees and hitting a poor recovery, but Garcia finished in style by holing from 12 feet for a birdie.

Garcia’s victory was made all the more sweeter by winning the title on what would have been the 60th birthday of his idol Seve Ballesteros.

“It’s been a long wait but it’s that much sweeter because of that wait. I get to call myself Masters champion and that’s amazing,” Garcia said.

“It’s amazing to do it on Seve’s 60th birthday and to join him and (Jose Maria) Olazabal, my two idols in golf.

“Jose sent me a text on Wednesday telling me how much he believed in me and what I needed to do, believe in myself, be calm and not let things get to me as I had in the past.”

Cyriel Dessers believes Rangers can get the Celtic Park win they might need in the final Old Firm cinch Premiership game of the season.

The Gers striker described Sunday’s 3-3 draw at Ibrox as “one of the craziest games of my life” and it left the Light Blues one point behind the Hoops at the top of the table having played a game fewer.

Rangers will play their game in hand against Dundee at Dens Park on Wednesday night but still  have to go to Parkhead after the split.

Despite a 2-1 defeat there in December, which followed a 1-0 defeat at Ibrox in September, Dessers revealed confidence when asked if the Light Blues were capable of winning in the east end of Glasgow.

The 29-year-old Nigeria international said: “We showed on Sunday we can score three goals against a good team and also in the previous two games, obviously we lost them, but I don’t think it was fully deserved.

“We showed we can hurt them and if we’re a little more lucky – like with the first goal – and we can take our moments then we can get a good win there.

“Obviously it is very close, like I said.

“I think we saw that quality-wise we are also very close to each other. But I hope after Wednesday that I can say that we are on top of the league.

“With the result and performance on Sunday, in the second half especially, that will give us a mental boost as well.

“So I hope we are slightly ahead. We will have to be ready from now until the last game, but I think we are.”

Philippe Clement’s side found themselves a goal down after just 21 seconds when an attempted clearance from hesitant skipper James Tavernier rebounded off Daizen Maeda and sped past keeper Jack Butland.

Celtic midfielder Matt O’Riley dinked in a penalty but Tavernier scored from the spot as the hosts rallied after the interval.

Dessers had a strike ruled out for an earlier infringement before Abdallah Sima levelled in the 86th minute, only for Adam Idah to restore Celtic’s lead.

There was more drama when Ibrox substitute Rabbi Matondo levelled in eight minutes of added time.

Dessers has scored 17 goals this season since signing from Cremonese last summer but hopes to break his Old Firm duck at Parkhead.

He said: “Yeah, I thought I scored and I celebrated as well. So I had a little taste of the feeling.

“But I was unlucky because it got chalked off. I heard it was a foul which was unlucky for me and for the team in that moment. But we bounced back.

“I am getting closer all the time so the next game would be a very good moment to score my first Old Firm goal.

“It is difficult to sum up the things I felt on Sunday. It was one of the craziest games of my life.

“That is obvious if you see what happens after 21 seconds, if you see what happens after the first-half, if you see what happens at the end, in the last 10 or 15 minutes of the game. It is too much to sum up.

“But I think I can sit here and speak for the team, speak for Rangers, and say we have to have a positive feeling.

“If we can come back like that in a big game like that with the pressure full on then it says a lot about the team and the mentality of the team.”

Sir Nick Faldo believes Rory McIlroy has at least another decade of opportunities to win the Masters, despite the scar tissue from his previous attempts.

McIlroy famously squandered a four-shot lead in the final round in 2011 and has recorded six top 10s at Augusta National since victory in the 2014 Open left him needing a green jacket to complete a career grand slam.

The world number two finished second behind Scottie Scheffler in 2022 thanks to a thrilling final round of 64 and is second favourite behind the same player this week after finishing third in the Texas Open on Sunday.

Asked if McIlroy, who will turn 35 next month, was running out of chances to win the Masters, Faldo said: “I disagree.

“The game has changed. We have brought the physical element in and we understand the physical side.

“It was always 30-35 when you were in your prime and he is still in his prime. They are so fit and trained now so he has got at least another 10 years I would say of being supersonically fit.

“I still think the problem is times gone by. We are nearly 10 years now since his last major. That is the problem.

“Unfortunately it’s just going on, time after time. It’s not just this season. There’s four or five or six years of scar tissue now, of Rory coming in as favourite, playing great.

“He has tried his best at times. ‘Can I re-set, can I literally forget the past, who I am? Look how talented I am and go and play golf again’. It is not that easy. Can you turn back the clock? Can you delete all the negativity that you have seen and felt?

“I think there is a way where he could find his stride because, as we know, when he finds that stride and gets that trust, then he is phenomenal. I bet that is all he wants to do – just set me free.”

To achieve that goal Faldo believes McIlroy has done the right thing by stepping down from his role on the PGA Tour’s policy board after almost two years of being the most prominent figure in the Tour’s fight with LIV Golf.

But the six-time major winner remains incredulous that McIlroy agreed to conduct a live “walk and talk” interview during the first round of last year’s Masters, an event in which he went on to miss the cut.

“I didn’t like it,” Faldo added. “I thought, ‘You’re kidding me! The Masters?’. Sure, do that any other week but why the Masters?

“I mean, that is one of the most beautiful things about the Masters. It’s you and your caddie, just the two of you and the other players. That’s all that’s inside the ropes.

“And to suddenly bring other people in? Because that’s got to be organised, hasn’t it? And this sort of thing, your manager is going to say to you before, ‘Will you do this?’. Gosh, no, you need 100 per cent concentration.

“I think he’s trying to put priorities into golf. You’ve got to look out. You have a window as an athlete, don’t you? You’ve got tons of time once you’ve stopped playing your sport to go and do all your other stuff.

“But while you’re an athlete, give it 100 per cent. That was kind of my attitude. You know, once you get your mind into other things, business and all sorts, then it’s hurting your golf. It really does.”

:: The Masters will be available on Sky Sports Golf and via a NOW subscription from 11th – 14th April, and you can follow all the latest news on Sky Sports social and digital channels throughout the week.

Davide Frattesi scored in the fifth minute of time added on as Serie A leaders Inter Milan snatched a 2-1 win over Udinese.

Frattesi had the simple task of tapping in after Marko Arnautovic’s shot from the edge of the box hit the post and rolled across goal, completing the turnaround after Hakan Calhanoglu’s second-half penalty cancelled out Lazar Samardzic’s goal late in the first half.

There had been an element of fortune about Samardzic’s deflected strike but no luck for Udinese in the end as a battling performance from the relegation battlers went unrewarded, leaving them two points above the drop zone.

Instead, Inter went 14 points clear at the top of the table, still in with a chance of winning their 20th league title when they face arch-rivals AC Milan on April 22.

Simone Inzaghi’s side looked off their best in the first half, dominating possession but doing little with it as Udinese defended in numbers.

Maduka Okoye did not have a serious save to make until the 29th minute, when Lautaro Martinez saw the run of Calhanoglu and pulled the ball back for the Turkey captain to drill a powerful shot at goal, albeit too close to the goalkeeper.

It was against the run of play that Udinese snatched the lead five minutes before half-time.

Samardzic was trying to hit a diagonal cross into the box as Udinese came forward on the break, but the ball took a deflection off Carlos Augusto, with Yann Sommer and Denzel Dumfries looking at each other as it rolled between them and into the far corner of the net.

Inter thought they were level three minutes into the second half when Federico Dimarco curled a free-kick into the box and it came through a crowd of players to fall for Augusto to prod home from close range, but after a lengthy VAR check the goal was ruled out for offside.

Moments later Okoye came off his line to challenge Marcus Thuram for the ball and got his timing wrong to concede the penalty which Calhanoglu dispatched with a drilled shot into the bottom corner.

Inter continued to push in search of a winner but there was a hint of the threat Udinese posed on the break in the 65th minute when Hassane Kamara raced forward and squared the ball. Florian Thauvin looked to have a tap-in but Henrikh Mkhitaryan made a superb recovering tackle to clear the danger.

At the other end, Thuram cut in from the right and tried to pull the ball back for substitute Frattesi, but the pass was slightly behind him and Frattesi could not keep his shot down.

Udinese defended doggedly in the closing stages, with Thauvin playing through injury after they had made all their substitutions, but were cruelly undone deep into time added on.

There was a chaotic end to the card at Wolverhampton on Monday night as a false start resulted in the original 12-strong field being reduced to just two runners.

The 8.30pm Download The Racecourse App Raceday Ready Handicap saw the starter flag for a false start after the stalls opened, but the majority of runners covered most of the seven furlongs before pulling up.

When they lined up again, the field had been reduced to Rose Fandango and A Pint of Bear.

The former, trained by John O’Shea and ridden by Rossa Ryan, prevailed at 25/1.

The mass withdrawal led to an 85p Rule 4 being applied.

Real Madrid have asked for permission to close the Bernabeu Stadium’s new retractable roof for Tuesday’s Champions League clash with holders Manchester City.

It is thought the record 14-time winners of the competition hope playing under the optional covering of their newly-redeveloped arena can enhance the atmosphere and make it more intimidating for the visitors.

The PA news agency understands Real have approached organisers UEFA with the request and the European governing body will consider it, in collaboration with the referee, on the morning of the quarter-final first-leg encounter.

Some Real players have also been urging supporters to wear the club’s traditional white in the build-up to add a further strong visual element to the environment at the 81,000-capacity stadium.

Real previously had the roof closed for their last-16 second leg against Leipzig last month.

If a decision is made to close the roof, it will remain closed for the entire match. City are not thought to have any influence in the matter.

Open champion Brian Harman believes his experience of handling a hostile Hoylake means he is better equipped to chase more major glory.

Harman was heckled by a minority of spectators at Royal Liverpool and even had one persistent offender ejected from the course before completing a comprehensive six-shot victory.

As a Georgia native and graduate of the state’s university, it will be a totally different story at Augusta National – although Harman insisted he would relish proving his doubters wrong again as much as hearing cries of support for his alma mater’s Georgia Bulldogs.

“It seems like I do better when everyone’s rooting against me than rooting for me,” Harman said. “That’s a new challenge.

“Around Augusta there’s a lot of Dawgs out here, and you hear it all week, and it’s fantastic. So I’ll have to try to channel it. Maybe I’ll just pretend that they’re yelling mean things instead of nice things.

“After The Open I feel as though I’m more prepared to handle whatever comes my way because at the Open and then the Ryder Cup, these pressure-packed situations, I’ve seen myself perform pretty well under that pressure.

“I live to feel those moments. Like, that’s like the drug for me. I want to get in contention in big golf tournaments. So my goal is to try and get to those uncomfortable places as many times as I can.

“I think it just unlocks something (in me), like proving people wrong, or just being your back against the wall.

Harman is making just his sixth start in the Masters and has missed the cut in three of his five previous appearances, although he was one shot off the halfway lead in 2021 before fading to 12th.

The 37-year-old is also well aware that fellow left-handers Phil Mickelson , Bubba Watson and Mike Weir have all won the Masters in recent years.

“Lefties have done pretty well around here (but) I think the conditions kind of have to go in my favour,” Harman added.

“It’s a long golf course. I make no bones about that. I don’t make any excuses about how far I hit the ball or make any gripes about how long courses are. I just show up and try to be ready to play.

“The US Open I had a chance to win (in 2017) was the longest one in US Open history. So the length doesn’t scare me. I’ve just got to prepare myself.

“It’s evolved into a really hard golf course. It’s just one of those things where you want to fast-forward and be on the back nine Sunday making lots of birdies.

“But there’s a lot that happens in between teeing off Thursday and that back nine.”

Pep Guardiola has urged his Manchester City side to hurt and punish Real Madrid as they clash again in the Champions League.

The holders take on the competition’s record 14-time winners in the first leg of their quarter-final at the Bernabeu on Tuesday.

It is the third successive season the two clubs have met in the knockout stages, with Real having staged a stunning comeback to win the 2022 semi-final but City avenging that loss 12 months later.

Speaking at his pre-match press conference in the Spanish capital, Guardiola said: “It’s the same managers, but we have new players and they have new players, so they will be completely different games.

“We have a little advantage with the second leg at home, where we play strong and are incredibly confident, but we have to play 90 minutes here and the games are long for different reasons.

“They will be able to press high, so aggressive, so dangerous. Everybody knows their strengths and they have incredible pace.

“We cannot come here just to control the game. We have to come here to try to hurt them, to punish them, to let them feel we are here and score goals. That is what we have to do.

“But we are talking about Real Madrid, who have the ability to control many aspects of the game. We have to impose our game with who we are.”

City midfielder Rodri feels the treble winners have learned from their past experiences of playing the Spanish giants and are a stronger proposition as a result of last season’s successes.

The Spain international, who joined City from Real’s city rivals Atletico in 2019, said: “Now we are more mature and have experience of winning the competition. It gives you a bit more composure, serenity on the pitch.

“You learn. We’ve learned from the past and I think we have more maturity than when we first played them.

“The one we lost – the semi-final – that was (because of) 10 or 15 minutes and it happens.

“We didn’t think much about that last year. We played with the desire to win it again and that’s what happened.

“We come here with a different mentality and more composure.

“We know nothing will be done tomorrow, but we need to get a good result. I see the team more mature and the experience will give us the confidence to do things well.”

City are again without England full-back Kyle Walker in Spain due to a thigh injury, while fellow defender Nathan Ake is also out with a calf problem. Josko Gvardiol has travelled with the squad but is doubtful with a knock.

Thomas Tuchel has warned Arsenal that Bayern Munich “want to cause them pain” in their Champions League quarter-final first leg at the Emirates Stadium.

The Bayern boss, who managed Chelsea between 2021 and 2022, returns to London to face the Premier League leaders on Tuesday.

Tuchel’s side trail Bundesliga table-toppers Bayer Leverkusen by 16 points after Saturday’s 3-2 defeat at Heidenheim.

Despite a lacklustre league campaign, Tuchel insists his team can hurt the Gunners.

“Arsenal are currently the best team in the Premier League and that is deserved, all the data shows that,” Tuchel told a press conference on Monday.

“They are in great form and have been at the highest level for the last two seasons so it’s a massive test for us.

“It’s the second year for them where they’re playing at this really high level, they have so much energy on the pitch and they can keep it for a long time.

“We know about our own strengths and how we want to cause them pain. We know the Champions League is a competition where we have more experience over the last few years. We want to use it to our advantage.”

Arsenal finished fifth during Tuchel’s first full season as Chelsea manager in 2021-22.

Tuchel credited Gunners boss Mikel Arteta as the reason behind their rise in recent years.

“There’s been a complete change in culture since Arteta joined, it is clear what way the club wanted to go with him and the club are harvesting that,” he added.

“It was a difficult start, but the team stood by him and they overcame the difficult phase.

“Tactically they are at a very high level, they are very stable against the ball. You have to give them a big compliment.

“We will try to be strong nonetheless. The style in the Champions League is different to that in the Premier League.”

Former Manchester City winger Leroy Sane worked alongside Arteta, who was Pep Guardiola’s assistant manager until 2019, at the Etihad Stadium.

Sane credited the current Arsenal boss for developing him as a young player.

He said: “It was great and I was pleased to work with him because he helped me a lot at City. We had some talks about how I can improve in my game, what my weakness and strengths are.

“I think I made huge improvements because of the ideas he had and what he gave to me. I still keep them in my mind.”