Nicky Henderson did not want to speculate on what might have been after seeing his admirable mare Luccia finish third in a Unibet Champion Hurdle lacking stable star Constitution Hill.
The undoubted ace in the Seven Barrows pack, Constitution Hill was mesmeric when leaving the Willie Mullins-trained State Man in his wake 12 months ago, but a very public sub-par workout at Kempton, followed by unsatisfactory scopes and blood test results meant he was unable to defend his crown.
State Man was therefore a short price to claim the feature event on day one of the Cheltenham Festival and duly landed the odds, but the proximity of the 140-rated Luccia in third, beaten just three and a half lengths, only made Constitution Hill’s absence all the more conspicuous.
“I’m thrilled for State Man and Willie and Joe and Marie (Donnelly, owners), I’ve got three runners for them (Donnellys) on Friday and they’re the best,” said Henderson afterwards.
“We’ve had plenty of banter throughout the winter of how State Man and Constitution Hill are going to have a good battle and it wasn’t to be, which is a shame.
“There’s no point in speculating where Constitution Hill would have finished in front of Luccia, I think you can probably guess where he’s going to finish, but that’s for another day.”
Whether Constitution Hill will run again this season, either at Aintree or at Punchestown for a belated rematch with State Man, remains to be seen, but Henderson did issue an upbeat update on his well-being.
He added: “Constitution Hill was ridden out with the others this morning, which was nice to see. His bloods are better, but we’ve got a long way to go.
“He’s not 100 per cent (over the infection), but it’s a long way going down the road of improving dramatically.”
Constitution Hill’s setback aside, there is no doubt Henderson’s string has not been firing on all cylinders ahead of the Festival and the fact both Supreme Novices’ Hurdle contender Jeriko Du Reponet and Champion Hurdle hope Iberico Lord were pulled up gave the trainer further food for thought.
“Some of these horses probably aren’t running how they ought to, in which case he (Constitution Hill) is probably safer where he is,” he said.
“Everything you do at home tells you they’re all perfectly right, otherwise to be honest with you they wouldn’t be here.
“We’ll just have to play it quietly and take them as individuals. (The tests) say they’re all OK, but this ground has gone against quite a few of them, so we’ll have to regroup. I can think of two or three that won’t want to be running on that ground, but I need to talk to the owners first.”
The owner of National Hunt racing’s pre-eminent star, Michael Buckley, was also in attendance.
He said: “It’s not very gracious but I think if he ran, he’d have won the race, that is what I think. If I don’t believe in my horse, no one else will.
“He had his blood test yesterday and while they were remarkably improved from where they were a week ago, they weren’t ‘normal’ – but he is out and about.
“It’s not really for me to talk about Nicky’s horses, but on home work Iberico Lord would beat Luccia so, as everyone is commenting about, Nicky has something running about his yard.
“Obviously, Luccia is fine but Iberico Lord pulled up and so did the one in the first (Jeriko Du Reponet), so maybe I’m better off out of it and in a weird way I’m better off not running.”
While the Constitution Hill questions kept coming, Henderson was keen to praise 33-1 shot Luccia’s better than anticipated performance, saying “It was all Paul’s (Sandy, owner) idea to run, the idiotic trainer said ‘you’re mad’ and if I’d had any say in the matter she’d have run in the County Hurdle, but I’m not the boss.
“From two months ago, we’ve said we’d run her and give it a go, she’s a very good mare. She might be going to stud now, but I’ll try to persuade Paul to have another bash.”
Jamaican international Khadija ‘Bunny’ Shaw played a pivotal role in Manchester City’s FA Cup quarter-final clash against Tottenham, setting up one goal before succumbing to injury in the 70th minute.
Despite Shaw’s early assist to Mary Fowler, City failed to secure victory, ultimately losing in a penalty shootout.
After assisting Fowler’s close-range finish in the sixth minute, Shaw endured missed opportunities on both sides of the halftime break, including a chance created by Filippa Angeldahl’s cross just before halftime and a header over Laura Hemp’s cross shortly after the resumption of play.
However, Shaw’s contributions were cut short when she suffered a shoulder injury midway through the second half, forcing her to exit the match.
City manager Gareth Taylor conceded that his team did not deserve to win, citing a lackluster performance following a promising start to the game. Despite their early lead, City’s wastefulness in front of goal proved costly, allowing Tottenham to equalize in stoppage time and ultimately secure victory in the penalty shootout.
With the defeat, Manchester City failed to reach the semi-finals of the FA Cup for the first time in their history, as Tottenham advanced to join Chelsea, Manchester United, and Leicester City in the final four.
While Joe Mixon's time with the Cincinnati Bengals is over, he has a different means of departure.
The Bengals will now trade Mixon to the Houston Texans, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network.
It was reported on Monday that Cincinnati was planning to release Mixon after it agreed to terms with free-agent running back Zack Moss, but by Tuesday the Texans offered to trade for the 2021 Pro Bowler.
It has not yet been reported what Houston is sending to the Bengals to complete the trade, which won't become official until the new league year begins on Wednesday.
By trading Mixon, who had spent his first seven NFL seasons in Cincinnati, the Bengals will save $6.1million on their salary cap.
A second-round pick in the 2017 NFL draft, Mixon is coming off a season in which he started 17 games, rushing for 1,034 yards with nine touchdowns and another 376 receiving yards and three touchdown receptions for his fourth season with at least 1,400 scrimmage yards.
Since his 2017 rookie season, Mixon and Christian McCaffrey are the only two players in the NFL with four seasons of at least 1,400 scrimmage yards.
Mixon had career highs of 1,205 rushing yards and 13 rushing touchdowns in 2021 for a Cincinnati team that reached the Super Bowl.
In 97 career games, he has 6,412 rushing yards, 2,139 receiving yards and 62 total TDs.
He now joins a Texans team that ranked 22nd in the NFL in rushing in 2023, averaging 96.9 yards per game on the ground.
UEFA is bracing itself for the “extremely challenging” possibility of a Rangers v Liverpool Europa League final in Dublin.
European football’s governing body has reserved the 82,000-capacity Croke Park stadium as a potential fan zone, but is concerned even that might not be enough to accommodate everyone who may come to Dublin without a ticket to soak up the atmosphere for the match on Wednesday, May 22.
Both clubs have big followings in Ireland and remain in contention to reach the finale at the Aviva Stadium, with Rangers level with Benfica heading into the second leg at Ibrox on Thursday and Liverpool 5-1 up against Sparta Prague with the return at Anfield to come.
There are other permutations too which may also prove a headache for UEFA, whose general secretary Theodore Theodoridis said on Tuesday: “One of the biggest challenges for us this year could be the Europa League final.
“Under certain conditions, because of the potential teams that could qualify, this might end up being the most challenging for us.
“We know they will bring a number of supporters without tickets and then there is the issue of potential public viewing venues.
There are a couple of pairings – I won’t speculate on the names but you are clever enough to work it out – that would be extremely challenging to find ways to accommodate everybody that will be present for that game
“We have already reserved Croke Park as a potential public viewing venue, but that could not be enough.
“There are a couple of pairings – I won’t speculate on the names but you are clever enough to work it out – that would be extremely challenging to find ways to accommodate everybody that will be present for that game.
“We are working on this already, together with the local authorities and also Football Supporters Europe.
“If we do get to one of those scenarios, we will also go to the supporters of the clubs involved to find the best solution.
“The biggest problem we have now is whether Croke Park would be big enough – because we think we would need more alternatives for public viewing for the people who will be in Dublin.
“It’s not an easy operation and it is just for a couple of scenarios which would make it extremely complicated – especially with clubs who already have a large fanbase on the island of Ireland.
“But we are working on it and will involve the fanbases as well. We have to see who gets to the semis and then we will start to work with them as well.”
Lossiemouth was a straightforward winner of the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
The top-class five-year-old grey is trained by Willie Mullins in the colours of Rich Ricci, and Paul Townend never had any reason for concern at any stage riding the 8-13 favourite in a field of 11.
Townend was a picture of patience, allowing others to make the running before cruising through to sweep up the hill to an unchallenged success from Telmesomethinggirl aboard a mare who had been talked of as a possible Champion Hurdle contender after her scintillating win on Trials day in January.
James Anderson insists his history-making 700th Test wicket was “nothing to celebrate” after England’s series defeat in India and is already looking to booking his place in the side this summer.
Anderson became the first fast bowler to reach the remarkable landmark when he dismissed Kuldeep Yadav in Dharamsala, joining spinners Muttiah Muralitharan and Shane Warne in one of cricket’s most elite clubs.
The 41-year-old seamer has been collecting various records since he first surpassed Sir Ian Botham as England’s leading wicket-taker back in 2015 and, with his big moment coming in an innings defeat and a 4-1 loss overall, he was happy to downplay the significance of an achievement which is unlikely to be matched.
“I didn’t really celebrate, I’ll be honest. There’s nothing to celebrate,” he told his Tailenders podcast.
“My dad was here so I had a drink with my dad, which was nice. He was more excited than I was. Maybe I would’ve felt more excited if we’d have won the Test or the series.
“I don’t know how I felt really.”
Anderson has been garlanded with praise, including his former captain Nasser Hussain’s suggestion that his final career tally will one day go down alongside the great Sir Donald Bradman’s batting average of 99.94, but claimed that was not the kind of of glory he sought.
“That’s irrelevant to me. I don’t get anything out of what other people say,” he added.
“I don’t play cricket to get personal milestones, I guess. I want to win games. I love playing a team sport, that’s when I get the biggest buzz. So I’m a little flat because we lost 4-1 in the series.”
Anderson has been swatting aside questions over when he might hang up his boots for several years but looked fit, held his pace and bowled skilfully enough to leave no question that he would be in contention for yet another domestic season in 2024, with England facing Test series against the West Indies and Sri Lanka.
“I’m really excited for the summer. I’m definitely in the best shape I’ve ever been in,” he said.
“I’m not getting any worse. I like where my game is at and I still have that enjoyment of turning up every day and trying to get better in the nets.
“My place in the team is not a given, so I’ve got to work hard to prove I’m worth a place in the summer.”
The Orlando Magic agreed to a contract extension with Jamahl Mosley on Tuesday, keeping the head coach that has turned the franchise around in the fold through the 2027-28 season.
Mosley was named head coach of the Magic in July 2021 after spending time as an assistant with the Denver Nuggets, Cleveland Cavaliers and Dallas Mavericks.
Orlando went 22-60 in his first season in charge in 2021-22 and wound up winning the NBA Draft Lottery.
The Magic used the No. 1 overall pick in 2022 on Paolo Banchero, who went on to win the NBA Rookie of the Year Award last season as Orlando finished 34-48 and missed the playoffs for the third straight year.
This season, the Magic are 37-28 and currently lead the Southeast Division by 1.5 games over the Miami Heat.
Orlando’s .569 winning percentage is its highest since posting a 52-30 record (.634) in 2010-11.
“Jamahl and his staff have done a tremendous job not only this season, but since we hired him back in 2021,” Magic president of basketball operations Jeff Weltman said.
“His preparation, work ethic, ability to connect with the players and passion he brings to the job every day brings positive results, both on the court and off.
“We are very happy to have Jamahl lead the Magic for years to come.”
Paris St Germain boss Luis Enrique is treating their Coupe de France quarter-final clash with Nice “like a final” as they look to avenge their league defeat earlier in the season.
PSG have won the competition a record 14 times and will be looking to reclaim the trophy for the first time since 2021.
Enrique’s side have run riot in the competition so far, beating sixth-tier Revel 9-0 and US Orleans from the third tier 4-1 but Enrique knows Nice will provide a tougher challenge.
He told a press conference: “It’ll be a very interesting game.
“One of the teams will be knocked out after the final whistle, so that means it’ll be a very open and complex game.
“There will be high pressing and commitment from both teams. It’s a match we’re really looking forward to, and we’re treating it like a final.
“The Coupe de France is a very attractive competition, just as cup competitions are in every country. They’re historic competitions that lots of fans love.
“It’s difficult, because the games are played over just 90 minutes and then it’s straight to penalties. So tomorrow, we’ll have to be better than Nice throughout the whole of the game.”
Ligue 1 leaders PSG sit 10 points clear the top of the table and have only suffered a single defeat so far, that being to Wednesday’s opponents when they slipped to a 3-2 defeat at home in September.
Despite that, Enrique says revenge will not be on their mind come kick-off.
He said: “There’s not a feeling of revenge. Our game against Nice is our only defeat of the league season, and up until a few weeks ago, they were title rivals.
“They’re a very good team with and without the ball. Along with Brest, they have the best defensive record, and they’re also the team that gives up the fewest chances.
“I like this team a lot, it’ll be a very tough game. But tomorrow there won’t be a feeling of revenge.”
France winger Ousmane Dembele has enjoyed a successful debut season at PSG so far this term since arriving from Barcelona.
Dembele has proved to be one of the most creative players in the league with 11 assists to his name in all competitions and Enrique thinks he is one of PSG’s best players at the moment.
He added: “Ousmane Dembele is one of our best players, and I think he’s one of the best players in terms of winning one-on-one situations.
“We know the majority of teams keep things compact in the middle of the pitch, so Ousmane usually plays out wide.
“But Real Sociedad were pressing well on the flanks, so I wanted to put Ousmane in the middle for that game to better exploit the space.”
State Man justified short-priced favouritism to take the Unibet Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
Ridden by Paul Townend, the Willie Mullins-trained chestnut started as the 2-5 market leader in the absence of reigning champion Constitution Hill, who had run out such a convincing winner 12 months ago.
The seven-year-old enjoyed an untroubled passage through the race on the inside rail and when he kicked for home only Gordon Elliott’s Irish Point could go with him, but it was State Man who held the upper hand to go one better than last year by a length and a quarter.
Luccia ran a fine race in third for Constitution Hill’s trainer, Nicky Henderson.
Mullins said: “I was amazed with the way Paul rode him, I thought he’d be much more forward, I didn’t dream that he’d only be fifth or sixth jumping the fourth-last. But he just rode him with supreme confidence.
“I thought he’d make more use of his stamina, but Paul seemed to ride him for speed today and he clearly felt there was enough in the ground to take it out of the horses in front of him.
“But when jockeys are riding with confidence, they can do things like that and I feel that’s the way he’s been riding all season. He’s a fantastic jockey.”
Asked if his charge is truly suited by Cheltenham and whether Constitution Hill would have been a big challenger, Mullins added: “He’s probably a better horse around Leopardstown, but he’s a Champion Hurdle winner. You’ve got to turn up to win a Champion Hurdle – we turned up.”
Ireland pair Calvin Nash and Ciaran Frawley are on track to feature in Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations title decider with Scotland, according to assistant coach Simon Easterby.
Munster wing Nash, who was forced off by a head injury inside five minutes of the 23-22 round-four defeat to England, trained with Andy Farrell’s squad on Tuesday.
Versatile Leinster back Frawley came on to replace Nash at Twickenham but departed with a similar issue 10 minutes into the second half. He is understood to be undergoing rehab with his province.
“Obviously Nashy and Frawls have to go through the process and return to contact and then the return-to-play part of that is making sure they don’t have symptoms,” Easterby told a press conference, according to the Irish Independent.
“Those symptoms would put them back a day, but they are both on track to be up for selection this weekend.”
Ireland will retain the championship crown by avoiding defeat against the Scots in Dublin, while two losing bonus points would also be sufficient.
Their pursuit of successive Grand Slams was ended in agonising fashion by a last-gasp Marcus Smith drop goal in south-west London.
Easterby insists Ireland cannot afford to “feel sorry for ourselves” ahead of a pivotal St Patrick’s weekend at the Aviva Stadium.
“Expectation within the group is high,” he said.
“Obviously the previous games during the Six Nations had been good, (but) we still feel there are things every week that we can get better at.
“We just didn’t get on the front foot enough versus England. We let them come at us and get momentum.
“We weren’t at our best, but we could have won it.
“It’s important we tidy that up, get over it, and there’s plenty to play for this week.
“Like any team that loses and has high expectations of themselves, they’re disappointed in how they performed.
“We can’t feel sorry for ourselves. We need to pick ourselves up for Saturday.”
England, who travel to France, can capitalise on an Ireland slip-up to snatch the title, while Les Bleus and Scotland are mathematically still in the mix.
Realistically, Gregor Townsend’s men are playing for the consolation of the Triple Crown following their shock loss to Italy due to Ireland’s vastly-superior points difference.
“There’s no lack of clarity of what they need to get ready this week,” said Easterby.
“There are subplots everywhere and we’ve been very fortunate over the last couple of seasons to play for something on the last weekend.
“We also know that Scotland will be smarting after that defeat to Italy, who deserved that result, but we know their back three can create problems, Finn Russell pulling the strings and when he’s on form it’s difficult to stop their momentum.
“We have a huge amount to play for and want to finish on a high. We want to put to bed what happened last weekend.
“We can’t change that, but it’s the last game of the Six Nations and a title on the line.
“Winning the Grand Slam last year was hard to do. We fell short last weekend, but we still have something special to play for this weekend at the Aviva.”
Kim Bailey’s Chianti Classico produced a smooth round of jumping to take the Ultima Handicap Chase for David Bass and Kim Bailey.
The gelding was one of two runners in the contest for Bailey, and after Trelawne fell early on it was left to his stablemate to carry the hopes of the yard.
He did so dutifully and travelled well throughout to turn for home full of running and claim victory at 6-1, getting British trainers off the mark for the week.
Bass said: “It meant a lot, it’s actually quite a good feeling to win here. It’s a privilege to ride these horses. It’s hard to win here though – 2020 was the last time and it’s been too long.”
Bailey said: “I thought at one stage ‘oh no, David is getting too brave’, but he jumped for fun and was cantering coming down the hill wasn’t he?
“David has been confident the whole way through, so he was right. He was absolutely adamant from day one he was riding this horse (instead of Trelawne). He adores the horse and says he’s a complete terrier, and he’s done that today like a terrier.
“He’s as hard as nails, he’s not very big but he’s got so much ability and is so agile, he always has been.
“When Aiden Murphy and I bought him, we said we’d bring him here, but I never thought it would actually happen!
“We’ve been knocking at the door for a while, so it’s great for everybody that we got it today. It’s huge for team, having a runner at Cheltenham is what it’s all about.
“Today has been the plan for a long time, we trained him for today.”
On Bass, he joked: “I’m not sure he’s that special, we’ve been trying to get rid of him for ages. We’ve got nothing in common, I’m not a vegan anyway!
“He’s been a huge supporter of the yard and we’ve been together for 11 years now. He’s a do-or-die pilot and I thought he was quite reserved today!”
Tom Lockyer will return to the scene of his terrifying on-pitch cardiac arrest when Luton face Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium on Wednesday night.
Lockyer, 29, was hospitalised for five days after his heart stopped for two minutes and 40 seconds in the Hatters’ abandoned Premier League game against Bournemouth on December 16.
The 29-year-old Welshman, subsequently fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, has since admitted it is “out of his hands” if he will ever play again.
But, 88 days on from the incident which rocked the game, Lockyer is due to meet with the medical team who saved his life before being presented to the crowd at half-time of Wednesday’s re-arranged Premier League fixture.
“It will be emotional going back and reliving that experience but we know we have to do it,” said Luton manager Rob Edwards.
“Locks will meet the people who helped saved his life and see their supporters, who were unbelievable on the day.
“It will be nice to be able to close that part of the story up and concentrate on moving forward.
“It was a really difficult experience that we all went through. The main thing now is that Locks is okay and the silver lining is that some good will have come from it with more awareness on CPR and the importance of knowing what to do in those emergency situations.”
A Bournemouth supporters’ trust has raised more than £2,000 to put on four coaches for Luton fans to make the 240-mile round-trip from Bedfordshire to the south coast.
There are also plans for a minute’s applause in tribute to the medics who saved Lockyer.
“They are the true heroes,” added Edwards. “It is only football and there are more important things.
“What those guys did in the most pressurised moment was incredible and they deserve all the attention and affection that they are going to get.”
Lockyer, whose girlfriend gave birth to their first child, a daughter, at the end of last month also suffered a collapse during May’s Championship play-off victory against Coventry and it remains uncertain if he will return to the pitch.
“It is day-by-day at the moment, said Edwards. “He will enter into a period of rehabilitation but that can take a long time, months, so it is one step at a time at the moment.
“He will be coming down tomorrow which is great. He has got bigger things on his mind with a new baby and he is in a position where that is his main focus right now.
“We would love to have him here on a weekly basis and for him to be around more and lean on his experiences and he will help us.
“It will be really nice for him to meet those heroes and the supporters and he will get a brilliant reception. That will be really nice for him but it will be emotional, too.”
The Hatters, three points adrift of safety, will be looking to build on Cauley Woodrow’s late goal at Crystal Palace last weekend which salvaged a draw and ended a run of four consecutive league defeats.
Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola is confident his players will stay focused during what is expected to be an emotional occasion when they face Luton at the Vitality Stadium again.
Wednesday night’s Premier League game is the rearranged fixture from December 16, which was abandoned when Hatters captain Tom Lockyer collapsed on the pitch after suffering a cardiac arrest during the second half.
Lockyer – who was fitted with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator after he was hospitalised for five days – is set to travel with the Luton squad to the Vitality Stadium.
The 29-year-old Welshman – who had also suffered a collapse during the 2023 Championship play-off final at Wembley – is set to be meeting some of the people whose swift actions that afternoon helped save his life.
Iraola is happy to see Lockyer making a recovery and feels when the game kicks off, everyone will have their mind on producing the required performance.
“I have been a player and when the referee whistles at the start of the game, you focus because you have difficult things to do,” Iraola told a press conference.
“You think about the football stuff and the opponent you have, also what you can do whenever you receive the next ball.
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“I think the players will be focussed on the football side because they are used to it.”
Iraola has no doubts Lockyer will receive a warm welcome at the Vitality Stadium.
“Since the first seconds (after) it happened, everyone was very clear that the most important thing that mattered was for him to recover,” the Cherries boss said.
“The most important thing is he is much better. He has recovered well and I am happy to know that he is doing well.
“It will be amazing if he comes and we can see him. I am happy to know he is doing well.”
Bournemouth fought back from two goals down to draw 2-2 against Sheffield United on Saturday with a stoppage-time equaliser from Enes Unal.
Iraola is expecting just as stern a test against the Hatters, who could lift themselves out of the relegation zone if they win on Wednesday night.
“Luton and almost all of the teams, we are in a battle. All of the teams need the points and it’s important,” he said.
“The later you play, the more important the points are because you don’t have so many chances after.
“They are a team that have changed a little bit since the last time we played them here, they are much more aggressive in the press and are keeping more possession.
“They are playing more from the back, they have very good midfielders and then they have a lot of pace.
“We have to prepare for a very different game than the one we played the other day against Sheffield United.”
Dominic Solanke had not trained fully in the run-up to the Sheffield United game as he managed a knee issue, but completed 90 minutes so should feature again.
“He has not been affected by the injury, performance wise,” said Iraola, who remains without defender Marcos Senesi because of a thigh problem.
“He finished better in the game than the previous one against Burnley.”
Immanuel Feyi-Waboso has been ruled out of England’s Guinness Six Nations clash with France on Saturday after self-reporting symptoms of concussion.
Feyi-Waboso took a head knock in the 23-22 victory over Ireland in round four that has revived England’s title hopes and, while he finished the match, he later began to feel the effects of a possible concussion.
The electric 21-year-old wing was a likely starter in the climax to the tournament in Lyon after making an impact on his full debut against Andy Farrell’s men.
“Manny felt a bit groggy, so he is unfortunately ruled out of the game, but we don’t take any risks with that sort of stuff,” attack coach Richard Wigglesworth said.
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