Dean Wade sank five 3-pointers and scored 20 of his career-high 23 points in the fourth quarter as the Cleveland Cavaliers rallied from a 22-point deficit in the final period to end the Boston Celtics’ 11-game winning streak, 105-104 on Tuesday.
Wade personally outscored the Celtics in the fourth quarter, 20-17, as he came to the rescue with his barrage of 3s and a putback dunk with 19.1 seconds left to put the Cavs up 105-104.
Boston’s Jayson Tatum appeared to draw a foul on Darius Garland while shooting a jumper with 0.7 seconds left, but Cleveland challenged the call, and following a review, officials said it was Tatum’s leg that caused the contact and not Garland.
Jarrett Allen scored 21 points and Garland had 16 with 11 assists for the Cavs, who made 8 of 11 3s in the final quarter, including two from reserve Georges Niang.
Tatum led Boston with 26 points and Kristaps Porzingis added 24 as the league-leading Celtics lost for the first time since Feb. 1.
Doncic extends triple-double streak in loss
Luka Doncic notched his fourth straight triple-double, but Tyrese Haliburton had 19 points and 11 assists to lead the Indiana Pacers to a 137-120 win over the Dallas Mavericks.
Doncic had 39 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds for his 14th triple-double of the season. Russell Westbrook is the only player in NBA history with five consecutive 30-point triple-doubles and Oscar Robertson is the only other player with four.
Myles Turner scored 20 points to lead nine players in double figures for the Pacers, whose bench outscored the Mavericks’ 69-32.
Suns cool Nuggets with win in overtime
Kevin Durant scored eight of his 35 points in overtime and the Phoenix Suns recovered after blowing a 22-point lead to beat the Denver Nuggets, 117-107.
After being held to 12 points in the fourth quarter, the Suns erupted for 15 in overtime, with Durant and Beal combining for 13.
Beal finished with 16 points and Grayson Allen scored 28 with eight 3-pointers as Phoenix avoided a third straight loss.
Jamal Murray had 28 points and Nikola Jokić added 25 points, 16 rebounds and five assists for Denver, which had a six-game winning streak stopped.
Nick Cousins scored twice and the Florida Panthers held on for their sixth straight victory, 5-3 over the New Jersey Devils to spoil the debut of interim coach Travis Green on Tuesday.
Eetu Luostarinen, Evan Rodrigues and Sam Reinhart had the other goals as Florida won for the 12th time in 13 games and extended its NHL lead with 43 wins and 90 points.
The Panthers, who are 25-4-2 since Dec. 23, have won 14 of their past 15 road games.
Jack Hughes, Timo Meier and Colin Miller scored for the Devils, who lost their third straight and fell in their first game since Lindy Ruff was relieved of his coaching duties on Monday.
Backup Anthony Stolarz made 21 saves to win his fourth consecutive start.
Oilers rally past Bruins
Leon Draisaitl scored his second goal of the game in overtime and the surging Edmonton Oilers rallied for a 2-1 win over the Boston Bruins.
Stuart Skinner made 25 saves and Connor McDavid assisted on both goals to help the Oilers win their fifth straight game.
McDavid extended his point streak to 12 games, during which he has two goals and 26 assists. He is one point away from his fourth straight 100-point season.
Pavel Zacha scored for the Bruins, who dropped to 2-2-3 in their last seven home games.
Canadiens rally to end Predators’ streak
Nick Suzuki scored just 17 seconds into overtime and the Montreal Canadiens rallied for a 4-3 victory, ending the Nashville Predators’ eight-game winning streak.
The Predators appeared headed for another win when Ryan O’Reilly scored with 7:41 left in regulation for a 3-2 lead, but Joshua Roy tallied the tying goal 2 ½ minutes later.
Filip Forsberg had a goal and an assist for Nashville, which suffered its first loss since Feb. 15.
Brendan Gallagher and David Savard also scored for the Canadiens, who have points in four straight (2-0-2).
It is hard not to be impressed by the sheer willpower and determination of Jamaica’s diving flagbearer Yona Knight-Wisdom.
While it is not surprising, as Olympians are often seen as the epitome of human performance given their incredible physical and mental strength, the manner in which Knight-Wisdom conducts himself is so businesslike that his financial challenges pale in comparison to his performances.
Despite having very little financial backing since he rose to prominence as Jamaica’s first-ever male diver to compete at the Commonwealth Games in 2014, Knight-wisdom has never lost hope and continues to establish himself on the global stage.
But while his ambition and immense ability shines through like the noonday sun, Knight-Wisdom is once again left contemplating his future in the sport, as he believes the hard work and sacrifice that goes into a thriving career means very little without the necessary funding.
This, as the task of achieving the Olympic dream requires financial accessibility, which Knight-Wisdom seldom has, as he sometimes struggles to make ends meet where preparation for, and getting into competitions are concerned.
It is for this reason why the talented diver, who recently qualified to represent Jamaica at a third-consecutive Olympic Games, might not push for a fourth, as the sport has been cruel in returning dividends on his spend.
“There are many factors that I will have to take into consideration when looking at the future. I think my body would be able to cope with another four years because I’m very professional and committed to doing things in the right way,” he declared.
“The main question for me is value. Of course, it would be amazing to chase a fourth Olympic Games, but there isn’t much money in diving, it takes a lot of personal and financial sacrifice, and I need to figure out if there is enough value in it,” Knight-Wisdom told SportsMax.TV from his base in the United Kingdom.
Though Knight-Wisdom’s hardship isn’t unique, as many athletes look for ways to make ends meet while training, it is the grace and faith that the English-born diver, whose mother is Barbadian and father Jamaican, exudes as he represents the country with much gusto that stands out.
Like his admirers, Knight-Wisdom continues to bask in the fact that he will again represent the country at a third consecutive Olympic Games, as he recently secured an automatic quota spot to this summer’s Paris Olympics Games.
Unlike Rio in 2016 and Tokyo 2020, this qualification struck an emotional chord for Knight-Wisdom, whose progress was derailed by ruptured rectus femoris tendons in his left knee late in 2022, which required surgery and months of rehabilitation for recovery.
“Yes, the emotion certainly caught me briefly after the preliminary round. Competing against 70 other divers and doing a dive every 50 minutes or so was a major mental battle…when you know you can’t afford to make a big mistake with each dive, 50 minutes is a lot of time for your brain to play tricks on you,” Knight-Wisdom shared.
“The hard work I put in before my injury and the motivation to recover and get ready for 2024 meant that I was feeling good and confident coming into this event, so I’m grateful and relieved it has resulted in a positive outcome,” he added.
That confidence stemmed from the fact that Knight-Wisdom sets appropriate goals, which helps to track his progress and provides feedback about the areas of his dives that need to be strengthened.
Add to that the fact that he holds strict expectations which does not allow for areas of his dives to be weak, thereby ensuring that he gives a capital effort on each occasion.
Still, the results were not always what he expected along the way.
But given his unwavering commitment and determination to reap success for the black, green and gold, Knight-Wisdom kept plugging away at training knowing very well that it takes flawless routines to turn his fortunes around.
The 28-year-old has shown in the past that he possesses enough ability to rise to the occasion when it matters most, and that he did at the World Aquatics Championships, where he ended with a semi-final score of 368.95.
“My performances were actually a little lower than I was hoping for, though that is because I anticipated the qualification standard would be a little higher than it was in the end. My dives were good and solid throughout, with only one major mistake in the semi-final, but they all need to be refined and improved to attract even higher scores from the judges when I do them well. But overall, my performances were similar to how my training has been, so I have no complaints,” Knight-Wisdom said.
“This time round I think I was more expectant that I would qualify, even considering the injury. It definitely wasn’t a certainty, but I wasn’t relying on hope and belief as much as I was for Rio or Tokyo. I feel like I’ve done what most people, including myself, thought I would do. I don’t think many people will be shocked or surprised that I have qualified this time so it did sink in very quickly and I was straight to thinking how I can get better,” he reasoned.
That said, the lanky six-foot tall diver declared his intentions to possibly spring a surprise in Paris, provided he maintains a clean bill of health to improve on his current vein of form.
“I’d love to put myself in a position to produce a shocking result in the summer. I just need to keep doing what I’ve been doing,” he stated.
“This (qualification) was another stepping stone on my journey back to peak performance, a potential obstacle successfully negotiated, so I will just continue working on improving the finer details of my dives and on more consistent execution. My confidence will continue to build going forward which will be displayed in my dives,” Knight-Wisdom ended.
Novak Djokovic still remains the favourite to win any tournament he enters and is capable of winning six more grand slams before the end of next year.
That is according to former Wimbledon winner Richard Krajicek, who told Stats Perform he considers Djokovic the sport's all-time greatest.
Djokovic won three majors last year and reached the final of a fourth, but he was knocked out of the 2024 Australian Open at the semi-final stage.
Jannik Sinner defeated the 10-time Melbourne champion in four sets before beating Daniil Medvedev in the final, seeming to usher in a new era for tennis.
However, Krajicek insists Djokovic is far from done as he continues to pick and choose which tournaments he enters.
"Five or six years ago, I was wondering how long he's going to maintain his level, but he's still doing it," Krajicek told Stats Perform.
"He played very few tournaments last year and still managed to be number one.
"I doubt that he's going to stay number one for long if he only plays 11 or 12 events because then you basically have to win every event.
"But for me, he's still going to win one to three grand slams a year, for the next two years at least."
Wimbledon was the only major at which Djokovic fell short last year as his streak of four straight titles at SW19 came to an end against Carlos Alcaraz.
Krajicek, who won the tournament in 1996, believes the 36-year-old remains the man to beat in this year's competition.
"For sure, at Wimbledon," Krajicek said when asked if Djokovic is the favourite. "The French Open and the US Open has more competition.
"It's difficult as there are more strong, fit players like Medvedev, Sinner and Alcaraz.
"That will be very difficult to win the US Open, but for me, he is still the favourite to win Wimbledon."
Djokovic won his 24th grand slam singles title when triumphing at the US Open last September with victory over Medvedev in the final.
The world number one is two in front of Rafael Nadal for the most majors won by a male in the Open Era, while the retired Roger Federer finished on 20.
On that basis, Djokovic is the greatest of all time in the view of Krajicek, who also cites his longevity.
"For me, he's the best player that ever played the game," the Dutchman said. "He has won every grand slam at least three times.
"He's won 24 grand slams, and he's also won four grand slams in a row previously. Those are just incredible stats.
"He's been number one for over 400 weeks, and I think Federer is the next one with about 310 weeks.
"So, for me, Federer and Nadal are unbelievable players, but Djokovic is just a little level higher."
The Cleveland Cavaliers will be without Max Strus as well as Donovan Mitchell as they take on the Boston Celtics on Tuesday.
Cleveland had already been without Mitchell for the past two games due to a left knee bone bruise, and he is to miss at least the next three.
Strus, who had started every game this season, will join his team-mate on the sideline as the Cavaliers take on the Eastern Conference leaders.
The 27-year-old guard, in his first season with the Cavs, has sustained a right knee strain.
Cleveland follow Tuesday's home game against Boston by visiting the Atlanta Hawks the following night.
The Cavs are third in the East but enduring a sticky patch, 5-5 across their past 10 games and slipping behind the second-placed Milwaukee Bucks.
Formula One’s governing body has broken its silence on claims surrounding president Mohammed Ben Sulayem by admitting a report “detailing potential allegations involving certain members of its governing body” exists.
Ben Sulayem is reportedly under investigation for interfering with the result of last year’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix and attempting to block the certification of the Las Vegas Grand Prix.
F1’s regulator said in a statement on Tuesday: “The FIA confirms that the compliance officer has received a report detailing potential allegations involving certain members of its governing bodies.
“The compliance department is assessing these concerns, as is common practice in these matters, to ensure that due process is meticulously followed.”
According to the BBC, a report by motorsport governing body’s compliance officer Paolo Basarri to the ethics committee says Ben Sulayem acted to overturn a penalty given to Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso at the 2023 Saudi Grand Prix.
A BBC report published on Monday claims a whistleblower alleged Ben Sulayem called Sheikh Abdullah bin Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa – FIA vice-president for sport for the Middle East and North Africa region, who was in Saudi Arabia for the race in an official capacity – and made it clear he thought Alonso’s penalty should be revoked.
The removal of Alonso’s 10-second penalty, imposed for work done on his car while he was serving a previous five-second penalty, returned him to the podium behind Red Bull duo Sergio Perez and Max Verstappen, after the sanction had dropped him to fourth.
At the time there was no suggestion there was anything untoward with the decision after Aston Martin’s sporting director Andy Stevenson had put the team’s case to stewards in a right of review.
On Tuesday a further allegation – also published in a BBC report – said Ben Sulayem had told officials not to certify the Las Vegas circuit for its Grand Prix last year.
An FIA spokesperson told the BBC: “From a sporting and safety perspective, the Las Vegas circuit approval followed FIA protocol in terms of inspection and certification.
“If you recall, there was a delay in the track being made available for inspection due to ongoing local organiser construction works.”
Francis Ngannou has claimed Anthony Joshua has been looking nervous ahead of their heavyweight bout in Saudi Arabia on Friday.
Joshua is the clear favourite to win in Riyadh but Ngannou, the 37-year-old former UFC star preparing for only his second professional boxing contest, went the full 10 rounds with Tyson Fury last year and floored the WBC champion in a match-up he controversially lost on points.
That will give Joshua, 34, plenty to think about as he eyes a potential world title fight against Filip Hrgovic, or a bout against the winner of May’s showdown between Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.
“We were doing the promo and he was very chilled, very relaxed,” Ngannou told reporters at a workout on Tuesday.
“I asked him if he was OK, because he looked a little nervous or something. I asked him if he was OK, because I was OK. I had no problems. I was just talking around, laughing.
“I think we are both professional enough to know what we have to do to get to where we want to go.”
Joshua opted against hitting the pads during his own workout, instead shadow boxing alongside a number of local young boxers invited to attend.
“It’s a great chance for me to let other people use the platform that I’ve created to express themselves and their talent,” Joshua said.
“I know how much the people of Saudi are embracing boxing and health in general. I gave them a chance to get on TV and hopefully their parents will see and it will boost their morale.
“I’m here to fight, I wasn’t acknowledging (the fans) with all due respect, I’m here to fight. This is my life. Talk is cheap.”
Pete Horne has given an insight into the driven mindset of record-chasing Scotland wing Duhan Van Der Merwe ahead of the Guinness Six Nations showdown with Italy in Rome.
The 28-year-old’s match-defining hat-trick against England a week past Saturday took him to 26 international touchdowns, within one of Stuart Hogg at the top of the Scots’ list of all-time try-scorers.
Van Der Merwe could equal or break the record if he crosses the whitewash at the Stadio Olimpico this weekend.
But assistant coach Horne revealed how the combative wing returned to camp last Thursday – just five days after his Calcutta Cup heroics – and immediately wanted to start working on becoming stronger in contact and not getting turned over as often.
“He just showed against England how much quality he’s got,” said Horne.
“The match before (against France), I think he was a little bit disappointed that he hadn’t broken a tackle for the first time in his life.
“It just shows the manner of him as he saw that almost as a challenge and he was outstanding against England.
“I love Duhi’s character. I probably underestimated how much of a student of the game he is before I came in (as a coach).
“I love working with him because he’s always looking for little bits to work on.
“The first thing he said to me was, ‘We need to catch up. I need to work on when defenders are soaking on me I keep getting reefed because I’ve got nobody to bump’.
“He’s scored three tries, got man of the match and that was the first thing he’s come out with when we came in last Thursday. He’s got a real growth mindset around his game. He’s constantly looking at ways to get better.
“I think it’s only a matter of time before he scores another couple and gets that record for himself.”
Scotland have lost influential centre Sione Tuipulotu for the remainder of the Six Nations due to a knee injury sustained against England, with Bath’s Cam Redpath expected to deputise in Rome.
“Cam was outstanding off the bench against England,” said Horne. “He’s been pushing the boys who have been starting really hard and has been pushing for an opportunity for a long time.
“He was so well prepped and performed so well after having to come on early in the game. I was so chuffed for him.
“Cam’s having a great season. He and Finn are going really well together at Bath. Speaking to their coaches, I know Cam is very highly regarded there.
“He’s just got something about him. He’s a Test match animal and he’s got real X Factor. If he gets the nod this weekend, we’ll all be really excited to see him play.”
Scotland are currently second in the Six Nations table after winning two of their three matches so far, but they would need a favour from England against Ireland on Saturday in order to take their title bid to a last-weekend showdown in Dublin.
“We’re not talking too much about any of that,” said Horne. “We’ve spent the whole week talking about controlling everything that is in our power.
“We need to do a professional job this weekend, go over there and beat Italy. That’s all we are focused on.
“We’re pretty happy with where we’re at. We feel like the tweaks to our game, the way we’ve evolved since the World Cup, have been good.
“We’re right in the mix and we should be three from three (after what would have been a match-winning try against France was controversially disallowed).
“We can’t be disappointed with that but we definitely feel that we’ve left a lot of opportunities out there.
“It’s a good place to be where we’re getting some decent results but we’re still not playing quite at our potential.”
Fin Smith is a major doubt for England’s clash with Ireland on Saturday with Marcus Smith ready to step into the breach for the penultimate round of the Guinness Six Nations.
Fin Smith was the solitary member of Steve Borthwick’s squad to miss training on Tuesday as he recovers from a calf injury and with only Thursday’s main session left before the Twickenham showdown, time is running out to prove his fitness.
The 21-year-old fly-half has won his first two caps in his breakthrough season for England, coming on as a replacement for George Ford against Italy and Scotland, but could now slip out of the 23.
“We have tried to look after him the last couple of days and we are hoping he will be in full training on Thursday. We are looking after him,” skills and kicking coach Kevin Sinfield said.
If Fin Smith is unable to convince Borthwick on Thursday that he is capable of facing Grand Slam-chasing Ireland, Marcus Smith is available to take his place on the bench.
The Harlequins player missed the first three rounds of the tournament, also because of calf damage, but could even challenge Ford for a place in the starting XV if Borthwick decides significant changes are needed in response to the 30-21 mauling by Scotland.
“Fly-half is a position where we have plenty of strength so Steve will make that call on Thursday after the session. If everyone comes through on Thursday, Steve has obviously got a headache,” Sinfield said.
“To have Marcus available having not had him available throughout the Six Nations is a big boost for everybody.
“Not only with what he brings on the field, but off the field as well. He has got some bounce about him, a big smile and he loves being out on the training field. He has had a big impact this week.
“He comes in and is himself all the time so we missed him in those first few weeks. I’ve loved working with him and he’s an incredible talent. He can play, that boy.”
Borthwick names his team on Thursday afternoon and England’s head coach will be hoping for a response after the backwards step taken at Murrayfield.
The most damning statistic to emerge from a fourth successive Calcutta Cup defeat was the 25 handling errors made, a staggering number that prevented their attack from functioning.
“That was an anomaly for us. We certainly haven’t seen that throughout training at all,” Sinfield said.
“We’ve worked particularly hard in trying to understand why it happened. Some of it is difficult to understand.
“When you’re trying to understand why someone’s dropped a ball, or someone’s thrown a pass without looking where the pass is going, there’s a bit more to it than the numbers.
“We’re trying to understand the people, what they are feeling and what they are seeing at that moment in time. So we’ve delved pretty deep into that.
“We put some balls down in the Scotland game, why that is we’ll never know for sure. But what we have to try to make sure is that it doesn’t happen again.”
Tom Dreaper took the first step in continuing the family legacy as he enjoyed his maiden winner as a trainer at Thurles with Folly Master.
Dreaper is the son of Jim, from whom he has taken over the training licence, and the grandson of the great Tom Dreaper, trainer of the one and only Arkle.
Dreaper guided Arkle to three consecutive victories in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, a King George and an Irish Grand National among countless other famous triumphs.
Upon retiring in 1971, Tom handed the reins over to Jim, who has now in turn done the same and passed the baton to his own son, Tom, 40, who is named after his grandfather.
The switch happened on March 1 and so the new Dreaper in the training ranks wasted no time in getting off the mark when Folly Master won the Leugh Beginners Chase at Thurles.
Ridden by Keith Donoghue as the the 11-10 favourite, the chestnut could well have been Jim Dreaper’s last winner rather than Tom’s first as the race was an afterthought when another contest was lost due to abandonment.
“Our licences changed over on March 1 and while I’d love to say this was a master plan, it wasn’t,” said the winning trainer.
“I trained point-to-point winners in my own name in recent years to differentiate the two set ups, when selling began to get going, but this is different and is great. I’m glad to get that out of the way.
“He is a lovely horse who has improved hand over fist and this time last year he wouldn’t have run in a point-to-point so was a long way down the pecking order.
“He has got better with racing and I know this was relatively low grade stuff, but he is what my father would want and what I want and that’s a staying chaser for the future.
“I have a good few point-to-pointers to run and a handful left to run on the racecourse before going out for the summer.”
Dreaper now hopes to continue in the same vein through the spring and into the summer and build momentum as the year progresses.
He added: “We’ll definitely push on now and the way this game has gone, it is a 12-month a year job now so we’ll need to roll all jobs (winter and summer) in together. The job is changing and anything that will win a race, we’ll hope to give it a rattle.
“We have had some great traditional owners down through the years – long before I was ever thought of, and we don’t ever worry too much about the number of horses. As long as we keep the quality up and maybe push on.”
The New York Giants will not place the franchise tag on Saquon Barkley, allowing the two-time Pro Bowl running back to become an unrestricted free agent when the new league year begins next week.
Multiple media outlets reported the news on Tuesday, which is the deadline for teams to use their tag.
Barkley has been with the Giants since they selected him second overall in the 2018 NFL draft.
New York tagged Barkley last July, one day before the team opened training camp for the 2023 season.
In 14 games last year, Barkley rushed for 962 yards with six touchdowns, and also caught 41 passes for 280 yards with another four TDs.
His average of 3.89 yards per carry ranked 32nd among 48 qualifying players, and his 38 carries of negative yards were the most in the NFL.
As a rookie, he made an immediate impact, gaining a league-leading 2,028 yards from scrimmage with 15 touchdowns to win Offensive Rookie of the Year.
Following injury-marred years in 2020 and 2021, Barkley enjoyed a bounce-back season in 2022, finishing seventh in the NFL in scrimmage yards with 1,650 and earning a Pro Bowl selection - his first since 2018.
Although his production dipped last season, his 26 rushes of 10 or more yards in 2023 were tied for eighth in the league among running backs.
In 74 career games, he has 5,211 rushing yards with 35 touchdowns and 2,100 receiving yards with another 12 TDs.
Barkley can still return to the Giants, but will also be one of the most coveted players available on the open market.
Iroko has connections excited as he prepares to complete his comeback from injury in the Turners Novices’ Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.
The six-year-old gave upwardly mobile training duo Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero a landmark first Festival success when claiming the Martin Pipe 12 months ago.
It seemed unlikely he would feature at this year’s showcase meeting, with an injury suffered shortly after his imperious chasing debut expected to keep him out of action for the rest of the campaign.
However, he returned to full training quicker than anticipated and will head to Prestbury Park’s New course attempting to repeat last year’s heroics in an open Turners Novices’ Chase that kicks off day three of the Festival.
“He’s absolutely fine and in good health and is all set to run – we’re looking forward to running him on the Thursday in the Turners,” said Greenall.
“He seemed to really handle the New course (in the Martin Pipe), but I think he’s pretty versatile and he would handle the Old course just as well.”
The injury sustained by Iroko earlier in the season has left his training team in a race against time to prepare their stable star for the Cheltenham Festival.
Despite failing to beat the clock in order to provide the gelding with a prep run, Iroko successfully came through an away day at nearby Haydock recently, with Greenall believing the experience he has garnered running in handicaps will stand him in good stead for his Turners assignment.
“It (possible races) just came too soon really, fitness wise, but he has been away and schooled at Haydock and we’ve done everything we can,” continued Greenall.
“I think the fact he has run in some good juvenile races and some good handicaps, he is streetwise in that sense and it will just be jumping the fences at speed he will lack experience in, I suppose.”
It could be a big afternoon for the Greenall and Guerrero partnership, as fast on the heels of Iroko, in the very next race they will saddle White Rhino in the Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle.
A general 10-1 shot to land a knockout blow with the bookmakers, the eight-year-old brings solid course form to the table, having finished second at the November meeting before going one better over the Pertemps track and trip the following month.
He was last seen qualifying for this event by finishing third at Huntingdon and is predicted to sharpen up for that outing back in the Cotswolds.
“He will go in the Pertemps on the same day, if he gets in,” continued Greenall.
“He seems to have come on nicely since his Huntingdon run, has a nice weight and we look forward to running him.”
City Of Troy tops the 49-strong list for the initial entry stage of the season’s first Classic contest, the Qipco 2000 Guineas.
The Aidan O’Brien-trained colt was unbeaten in three runs as a juvenile, culminating in a superb three-and-a-half-length Dewhurst victory at Newmarket in October.
He has his name on the long list to return to Headquarters on May 4, alongside stablemate Henry Longfellow – also unbeaten and the winner of the Vincent O’Brien National Stakes.
Richard Hannon’s Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere champion Rosallion features, as does the well-regarded Godolphin colt Ancient Wisdom, winner of the Futurity Trophy for Charlie Appleby.
Owen Burrows is represented by Shadwell’s Alyanaabi, second to City Of Troy in the Dewhurst and the winner of the Tattersalls Stakes, plus Futurity Trophy fourth Deira Mile.
Coolmore and O’Brien also have the leading fancy in the 1000 Guineas with Opera Singer, a Justify filly last seen winning the Prix Marcel Boussac at Longchamp. Ylang Ylang, winner of the Fillies’ Mile, is another for Ballydoyle.
Karl Burke’s Fallen Angel won both the Sweet Solera and the Moyglare Stud Stakes last season and is another exciting prospect put forward to head to the Rowley Mile on May 5.
Simona Halep is free to resume her career after the Court of Arbitration for Sport reduced her doping ban from four years to nine months.
The former Wimbledon champion tested positive for the blood-boosting drug Roxadustat at the US Open in 2022 and was handed the long ban last September.
Halep appealed to CAS and, following a hearing last month, the court has dramatically reduced the Romanian’s suspension.
A CAS statement read: “The CAS panel has unanimously determined that the four-year period of ineligibility imposed by the ITF (International Tennis Federation) independent tribunal is to be reduced to a period of ineligibility of nine months starting on October 7, 2022, which period expired on July 6, 2023.”
The International Tennis Integrity Agency, which oversees tennis’ anti-doping programme, had also appealed seeking an even longer ban, but this is a major victory for Halep, who was staring at the end of her career if the original sanction stood.
The independent tribunal had not accepted Halep’s explanation that a contaminated supplement was the source of the Roxadustat in her system, while a charge of irregularities in her athlete biological passport was also upheld.
But the CAS panel took a different view, with a statement reading: “Having carefully considered all the evidence put before it, the CAS panel determined that Ms Halep had established, on the balance of probabilities, that the Roxadustat entered her body through the consumption of a contaminated supplement which she had used in the days shortly before August 29, 2022 and that the Roxadustat, as detected in her sample, came from that contaminated product.
“As a result, the CAS panel determined that Ms Halep had also established, on the balance of probabilities, that her anti-doping rule violations were not intentional.
“Although the CAS panel found that Ms Halep did bear some level of fault or negligence for her violations, as she did not exercise sufficient care when using the Keto MCT supplement, it concluded that she bore no significant fault or negligence.”
CAS dismissed the biological passport finding, saying: “Contrary to the reasoning of the first instance tribunal, the CAS panel determined that it was appropriate in the circumstances to consider the results of a private blood sample given by Ms Halep on September 9, 2022 in the context of a surgery which occurred shortly thereafter.
“Those results, and Ms Halep’s public statements that she did not intend to compete for the remainder of the 2022 calendar year, impacted the plausibility of the doping scenarios relied upon by the ITF independent tribunal.
“Having regard to the evidence as a whole, the CAS panel was not comfortably satisfied that an anti-doping rule violation had occurred. It therefore dismissed that charge.”
The ITIA has also been ordered to pay Halep around £18,000 as a contribution to her legal fees and expenses.
Halep was the highest-profile tennis player since Maria Sharapova to fail a drugs test, having won the French Open in 2018 and Wimbledon the following year as well as being ranked world number one.
The 32-year-old, who strongly criticised the original process, will now look to rebuild her career.
The Ryanair Chase remains “very much the plan” for ante-post favourite Banbridge, despite concerns about ground conditions ahead of next week’s Cheltenham Festival.
Joseph O’Brien’s charge was a non-runner in the Turners Novices’ Chase at the showpiece meeting last year due to the rain-softened ground and the official going at Prestbury Park on Tuesday morning was soft, heavy in places.
Banbridge made an impressive start to his campaign when accounting for subsequent Ascot Chase winner Pic D’Orhy in the Grade Two Silviniaco Conti Chase at Kempton and he has since been saved for the Festival, with a final decision on his participation unlikely to be made until the morning of the race.
“There’s still a long time to go between now and then, there’s lots of racing to happen and lots of weather forecasts that will come and go,” said O’Brien.
“As we’ve said all along, we’ll look forward to the race and hopefully we’ll walk the track on the morning of the race and hopefully he can run.
“Very much the plan is to run. He’s prepared well for Cheltenham so far.”
Banbridge is set to lead a small but select team of “six or seven” runners for O’Brien across the biggest four days of the season in the Cotswolds.
He added: “Hopefully we’ll have something running most of the days, some of them would like the ground a bit softer and some of them would like it a bit quicker.
“At the moment, it looks as if it’s going to favour the horses that prefer a bit of juice, but let’s see what happens – it can dry out fast and it can get softer quickly too. We’ll keep an eye on things over the next week.”
Lark In The Mornin heads the betting for the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle, but O’Brien revealed his participation is “up in the air”.
Considering some of his other running plans, he said: “Nurburgring is an intended runner in the Triumph Hurdle, he is still entered in the Boodles but he’s going to run in the Triumph.
“Home By The Lee is in the Stayers’ Hurdle, we’ll have Solness in the Grand Annual and Busselton in the Ultima Handicap Chase, so there’s a few runners there.”
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.”
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.”
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.
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.”
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