Cieren Fallon produced Montassib to perfection in winning the William Hill Cammidge Trophy Stakes at Doncaster.
Content to sit at the back of the field until just over a furlong out, Fallon weaved his way through on the William Haggas-trained 4-1 chance to beat 3-1 joint-favourite Marshman by a neck, with the other market leader Orazio another length and a quarter back.
It did look like Marshman had done enough after hitting the front, but his supporters were sunk by Fallon’s late surge, on a horse who ended last season with victory in the valuable Coral Sprint Trophy at York and is now a Listed winner.
It was Fallon’s first winner since returning from a lengthy injury.
He said: “Last year, he was a frustrating horse for me because I felt I should have won the Ayr Gold Cup on him, but we at least ended the season with a win at York.
“I rode him work the other week and I said to the boss he’d improved again, he’d got quicker. He was such an easy ride today, anyone could have won on him.
“I’m very lucky that I was looked after well at Oaksey House, they’ve spent a lot of hours with me, I took my time as I was off for four and a half months, I didn’t want to come back too soon, I wanted to make sure I was 100 per cent.
“I’ve been back riding out the last three weeks and the boss has put me on some quiet horses to give me some confidence that way. I had a spin yesterday and I feel great, I feel better than ever and I don’t feel like I’ve lost any race-sharpness at all.
“I’m in a really great position, I’m very lucky to be riding horses like this.”
Assistant trainer Maureen Haggas said: “I thought Cieren gave him a lovely ride – it was a bit testing about a furlong out, but he got there.
“He was a talented two-year-old, then early the following year he had a problem with his heart, so he had the whole year off.
“He’s really done nothing but improve since then, he got his act together at the end of last year and he’s carrying on now. I think he needs a bit of cut to be seen at his best.
“We thought he was quite big today, as he had a good blow in his work, but he doesn’t look like he’s had much of a race today.
“He’s a lovely horse, one of those lovely people, so straightforward.”
The mercurial Look Back Smiling provided Gemma Tutty with the biggest success of her training career when winning the William Hill Epic Boost Spring Mile at Doncaster.
Bought out of Ed Dunlop’s stable by Nick Bradley for what now looks a snip at £10,000, the four-year-old was defying a career-high mark of 83.
A winner in heavy ground at Town Moor last October, he had conditions to suit once more and was delivered perfectly by 5lb claimer Brandon Wilkie.
The only worry was that under pressure he drifted into Jamie Spencer on the 5-1 favourite Thunder Roar, bidding to give Tony Coyle and Kaine Wood a first winner since the start of their new joint venture. The stewards left the original result alone, though.
Tutty said of the 17-2 winner: “As you could see in the final furlong, he’s not the most straightforward and he doesn’t make life easy for his jockeys.
“That’s another fantastic run at this track though, so we’re going to have to look at coming back here.
“He doesn’t do a stroke at home. In his work, we put the least experienced jockeys on him and just play catch me if you can, then he just keeps going and going.”
She went on: “He won three races last year, but I suppose in racing like he does, it’s protected him from the handicapper. It’s just a shame he needs the ground this soft because some of those big handicaps in the summer would be perfect for him.
“We’ve had a really good start to the year, we’ve targeted the All-Weather Championships, so we’ve had more runners than we’d normally have and they’ve been running well, but you can’t have a better start to the turf season than this.
“It’s my biggest win, I suppose, we’ve got about 20 horses in and the staff have worked so hard all winter, the staff have been up and down that motorway all winter, so I can’t thank them enough.
“Nick Bradley has a few horses with me now, so it’s nice to repay the faith he has shown in me.”
Dylan Cunha put a feather in the cap of his training career in Britain as Zminiature landed the William Hill EBF Brocklesby Stakes at Doncaster.
Traditionally the curtain-raiser for the Flat season, this time the juvenile contest – won 12 months ago by Persian Force, who went on to prove very smart – was the second race on the Town Moor card.
A Group One-winning handler in his native South Africa, Cunha is now based in Newmarket, and in this 16-1 winner he looks to have a nice colt on his hands.
Given a patient ride by Rhys Clutterbuck, the Territories youngster moved smoothly through runners to pick up long-timer leader Paddy’s Courage inside the final furlong, before keeping on nicely to hold Bob The Bandit and Indication Ember by a length and a short head.
Cunha said: “It was expected. We really fancied him. He’s small but he’s tough and does everything right. It’s nice to get a good early two-year-old winner.
“I said to the owners halfway through the race ‘it’s been a great experience, he’s learning to race’, as it looked like he was going to be fourth or fifth.
“We took him to Chelmsford for a gallop last Monday, we did all the work that needed to be done.
“I’ve got to thank the Sarkar family, they were the first owners in the UK to support me, so to pay them back with a Brocklesby winner is massive.
“His name is Zminiature because he’s tiny, he’s only up to my chest!
“We started with three horses 18 months ago but we’re up to 50 now, 25 of those are two-year-olds. It’s been hard work, 18-hour days, but I’ve got to thank the team at home, I just conduct it all.
“There’s a conditions race at Chester and a Listed race at Sandown, then after that we’ll take stock.
“I’m pleased for Rhys, I don’t think he gets the opportunities he deserves but he’s quite softly spoken and in this game you’ve got to make a bit of noise and talk yourself into jobs, but it meant I was able to get him. He’s a great jockey, I love him.”
Silvestre de Sousa made the best possible start to the new turf season when teaming up with Roger Varian’s Charyn to win the William Hill Doncaster Mile.
The former champion jockey has only recently returned from a 10-month suspension picked up in Hong Kong for breaching betting rules.
De Sousa, 43, has been getting his eye in on the all-weather recently but will have been thrilled to pick up the first Listed race of the season on the Group One-placed Charyn.
Last year’s winner Astral Beau made another bold bid for Pam Sly but she had no answer close home to the 2-1 winner, who streaked three and a half lengths clear under hands and heels riding.
“He’s a lovely horse, he just felt a little bit lazy out there,” said De Sousa.
“He’s ended up picking up really well. There wasn’t much of a pace, so I just rode the race to suit him.”
With David Egan taking up his role with Amo Racing this season, Varian will be employing a new team of jockeys, with De Sousa in line to pick up plenty, along with James Doyle.
“That was a nice start to the season. Last year, he put up some really good efforts in the Irish Guineas, St James’s Palace Stakes and Sussex Stakes against some top opposition,” said Varian.
“He was a Group Two-winning two-year-old, he’s always been a nice horse and had some big questions asked of him last year, hopefully this can be his year.
“He looks to have done well through the winter, he’s a stronger horse this year and we were always keen to come here just to try and get a win on the board and build him back up again.
“I was worried about the ground, as while he has run some good races on testing ground, he’s at his best on a sounder surface. I think he’ll go on any ground.
“I’d like to go to Sandown for the Group Two (Bet365 Mile) and then the Lockinge.”
On the jockey situation, Varian added: “We’re in a good position. Some of our owners have their own jockeys, James Doyle is going to ride quite a few for us when available.
“Silvestre has been in riding work, I’ve got Jack Mitchell to call upon, Cam Noble, Raul de Silva, Aiden Keeley, so I’ve got a good team and they are all in every morning putting in the work, so hopefully they’ll all get opportunities.
“Silvestre is a good jockey, we like him a lot, we’ve known him a long time.”
Daryl Jacob will miss the ride on Intense Raffles in the Boylesports Irish Grand National on Easter Monday due to a broken collarbone.
The 40-year-old was riding Moon Hunter for Henry Daly at Newbury on Friday when he parted company with his mount at the third fence.
He is hoping to be back in time for the Punchestown Festival but will know more next week.
Jacob told SportingLife.com: “It was an unfortunate accident as Moon Hunter clipped heels with a horse in front of him coming down, taking his footing away from him, and I landed on my collarbone.
“It’s fractured in two places and I’ll know more about recovery timelines when I see Geoff Graham, a specialist, next Wednesday.
“The timing is terrible as I was looking forward to riding Intense Raffles in the Irish National and then there’s Aintree just around the corner.
“My motivation is to work hard and be back as soon as I can, hopefully for Punchestown, but I’ll know more on that score next week.”
D'Angelo Russell set a new Los Angeles Lakers record for the most 3-pointers in a single season as his team snapped a seven-game losing streak against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Los Angeles won 101-94 on Friday, earning their first victory over Philadelphia since March 2020.
The Lakers improved to 38-32, now the same record as the Sixers, with the fourth quarter proving key as they edged a close, low-scoring game.
It was the Lakers' lowest points tally in a game since January 3 and LeBron, who had 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, as well as eight rebounds and six assists, accepted it had not been a vintage performance.
"It was ugly, but we got the job done," he said, per ESPN. "We defended well in the second half. They only had 18 points in the fourth. That's big-time when the offense was struggling like it was.
"We turned the ball over way too much and gave up too many easy baskets, but when we got in the half-court, we buckled down and made them take tough shots."
Davis had 23 points and 19 rebounds for Los Angeles, while Russell finished with 14 points and four 3-pointers.
Nick Van Exel had 183 successful 3s for the Lakers during the 1994-95 season, but Russell hit his 184th of this season in the first quarter, having sunk six from deep in the win against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.
Russell said: "It just feels good to be part of one of these type of deals.
"This franchise is one of the most prestigious, so to have my name be a part of it, more than grateful.
"Just continue to shatter it, if I can. Make it really hard for the next person!"
Tyrese Maxey scored 27 points for the Sixers, who have lost seven of 10 without MVP Joel Embiid and are 0-2 on their four-game West Coast road trip which continues against the Los Angeles Clippers next.
"We played unbelievably hard and executed the game plan," Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse said. "I just thought we could not get enough offense to hang in there.
"As long as we play our guts out, I can live with it. I’m having a hard time living with it right now because I thought we played so hard and executed so well."
The Lakers, meanwhile, have won seven of their last 11 and host the Indiana Pacers (40-31) on Sunday. They are ninth in the Western Conference standings.
Lewis Hamilton said the inconsistency of his Mercedes “messes with the mind” following his worst qualifying performance in Australia for 14 years.
Hamilton, who boasts a record eight pole positions at Melbourne’s Albert Park, will start Sunday’s 58-lap race from a disappointing 11th after he was eliminated in Q2.
Max Verstappen took pole – his third in as many races – as he bids to complete a record-equalling 10 victories, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz joining him on the front row.
Hamilton qualified eighth in Saudi Arabia a fortnight ago, and ninth the week before in Bahrain.
He trails team-mate George Russell, who will line up in seventh on Sunday, 3-0 over one lap this season, and after finishing only seventh and ninth at the opening two rounds, he has scored just eight points to Russell’s 18 so far.
“The inconsistency in the car really messes with the mind,” said Hamilton, who had finished fourth in final practice, less than a tenth off the pace.
“There is a long list of things to fix. Our car is on a knife edge. In the afternoon the wind picks up and the car becomes unstable. But the others can pick their pace up in qualifying and I am not sure why.
“It didn’t feel the same in qualifying from practice even though we had lighter fuel. It is not a great feeling for everyone in the team but we will keep working away.”
Hamilton has not won a race since the penultimate fixture of the 2021 campaign in Saudi Arabia, 57 rounds ago.
Mercedes have adopted a different design philosophy this season, but Hamilton is low on confidence in the last Silver Arrows he will drive before he heads to Ferrari in 2025.
“It is three years in a row where I have had a similar feeling,” continued the seven-time world champion.
“There are spikes like this morning in practice where I think it can be good, and then it disappears.
“If we can make the car more consistent maybe we can be more competitive but there is a lot of work to do and everyone is pushing as hard as they can.”
Hamilton’s Mercedes boss Toto Wolff pulled no punches with his assessment of his team’s performance.
“It’s especially underwhelming because we were within a tenth in final practice,” he said. “The conditions were a little bit different but there is no excuse.
“We have a car that is difficult, and as much as I am annoyed at myself for saying this for a long time, we just need to continue working on it and trying to get better.
“It is not because of a lack of trying that we are where we are, but it’s not good enough.”
At the sharp end of the grid, Verstappen’s third pole in as many races appeared under threat with Ferrari threatening to knock the all-conquering Dutchman off his perch.
But Verstappen upped the ante in front of a record Saturday crowd at a sun-cooked Albert Park of just shy of 131,000, to see off Sainz by 0.270 seconds.
After winning the last nine rounds, stretching back to his victory at September’s race in Japan, Verstappen heads into Sunday’s main event as the overwhelming favourite to take another triumph and match his own record.
“It was a bit unexpected today, but I am very happy with Q3,” said Verstappen. “Both of my laps felt nice and enjoyable. It has been a tricky weekend so far but we managed to be there at the end.”
Sainz, who had emergency surgery in Jeddah to remove his appendix just 15 days ago, added: “It has been a tough couple of weeks, a lot of days in bed, waiting to see if I would be here today, and to make it to this weekend and then to put it on the front row, I almost didn’t believe it.
“I was rusty yesterday but I got up to speed and found the pace and I feel good with the car. I am not going to lie, I am not in my most comfortable state when I am driving out there but I can get it done.”
Max Verstappen is on course to take a record-equalling 10 consecutive victories after putting his Red Bull on pole position for the Australian Grand Prix.
Verstappen’s third pole in as many races appeared under threat with Ferrari threatening to knock the all-conquering Dutchman off his perch.
But Verstappen upped the ante in front of a record Saturday crowd at Melbourne’s Albert Park of just shy of 131,000, to see off Carlos Sainz, who missed the last round in Saudi Arabia with appendicitis, by 0.270 seconds.
Lewis Hamilton holds a record eight pole positions here, but the British driver was eliminated in Q2, leaving him a disappointing 11th on the grid – his lowest starting position in Melbourne for 14 years.
Hamilton failed to progress to Q3 after he finished 0.059 seconds behind George Russell in the other Mercedes.
Russell, who will start seventh, holds a 3-0 qualifying lead over Hamilton who will leave the Silver Arrows at the end of the season to join Ferrari.
Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez qualified third, ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who aborted his last lap after he made a mistake.
Great Britain rugby league captain Andy Farrell switched codes to union and signed for Saracens on this day 19 years ago.
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) confirmed Farrell’s three-year contract with Sarries on March 23, 2005.
Current Ireland head coach Farrell had enjoyed 13 heavily-decorated years at Wigan, winning 34 caps for Great Britain and 11 for England.
RFU chief executive Francis Baron said: “Andrew is an outstanding player who has been a superb ambassador for rugby league on and off the field and we believe that he will do the same in rugby union.
“Wigan and Saracens have been very co-operative and I’d like to thank them for all their help over the last few weeks.”
A string of injuries delayed Farrell’s Saracens debut until 2006 but he went on to make his England bow in the Six Nations the following year.
Injuries continued to hamper Farrell at every turn and he only managed eight caps, although he did go to the 2007 World Cup where defending champions England were beaten finalists.
A successful coaching career followed, with Farrell impressing with Saracens before joining England’s backroom staff in 2012.
Farrell helped the British and Irish Lions to a series win in Australia in 2013 but lost his England job after the 2015 World Cup, where head coach Stuart Lancaster’s side became the worst-performing hosts in tournament history.
The 48-year-old became Ireland defence coach in 2016.
He succeeded Joe Schmidt as head coach following the 2019 World Cup and has led Ireland to back-to-back Six Nations titles, including a Grand Slam in 2023.
Jaylen Brown scored 33 points to lead the NBA-leading Boston Celtics to their eighth straight victory, 129-102 over the short-handed Detroit Pistons on Friday.
Payton Pritchard had 20 points and Derrick White added 19 with 11 assists for Boston, which has won 18 of 20 games to continue cruising toward the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
Leading scorer Jayson Tatum sat out to rest an ankle for the second time in five days.
James Wiseman scored a season-high 24 points for the Pistons, who have lost five in a row overall and the last nine meetings with the Celtics.
Detroit was missing its top post players in Jalen Duren (back), Stanley Umude (ankle), Simone Fontecchio (toe), Isaiah Stewart (hamstring) and Ausar Thompson (illness).
Pelicans roll over Heat
CJ McCollum scored 30 points and the New Orleans Pelicans exacted a measure of revenge on the Miami Heat with a 111-88 rout.
Jose Alvarado added 17 points and Trey Murphy had 14 with eight rebounds as the Pelicans had no trouble in the first meeting between the teams since four players were ejected in the most recent matchup in New Orleans last month.
Zion Williamson was limited to only four points in 25 minutes, but the Pelicans won their eighth in 10 games.
Jimmy Butler scored 17 points as the Heat dropped to 17-16 at home, the 19th-best mark in the league. Miami dropped four games behind Southeast Division-leading Orlando.
Thunder down reeling Raptors
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 23 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in his only regular-season trip to his native Canada and the Oklahoma City Thunder pulled away to defeat the Toronto Raptors, 123-103.
Jalen Williams added 20 points and Kenrich Williams and Cason Wallace scored 12 apiece as the Thunder won their fourth straight and remained on top of the Western Conference.
Rookie Gradey Dick scored 21 points for the Raptors, who lost their ninth straight game. Toronto was without seven players, including five regular starters.
Red-hot Mikko Rantanen scored two more goals and Nathan MacKinnon extended a pair of streaks as the Colorado Avalanche won their eighth consecutive game, 6-1 over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday.
Cale Makar had a goal and an assist and Ross Colton also scored for the Avalanche, who have won 10 of 11 to remain tied with Dallas for the top spot in the Central Division.
Rantanen had a hat trick in Tuesday’s win over St. Louis and has eight goals in his last five games.
MacKinnon had a goal and an assist to extend his home point streak to 33 games. He also has 11 goals and 23 assists during a 17-game overall point streak.
Elvis Merzlikins stopped a season-high 44 shots for the last-place Blue Jackets.
Milano has hat trick in Capitals’ shootout win
Sonny Milano notched his first career hat trick and Dylan Strome scored the lone shootout goal to lift the Washington Capitals to a wild 7-6 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.
Strome had three assists in regulation and Alex Ovechkin, John Carlson and Ivan Miroshnichenko also scored as the Capitals won their fourth in five games to get within one point of Detroit for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
Sebastian Aho scored three goals and Jake Guentzel had three assists for Carolina, which had won four straight. The Hurricanes moved to 7-1-1 in their last nine games and are within one point of the Rangers for the lead in the Metropolitan Division.
Benn lifts Stars over Penguins
Jamie Benn scored two goals in a 77-second span in the second period and the Dallas Stars topped the sliding Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-2.
Joe Pavelski and Sam Steel also scored and Jake Oettinger stopped 20 shots for the Stars, who have won three in a row to tie Colorado for first place in the Central Division.
Michael Bunting and Rickard Rakell tallied for Pittsburgh, which fell to 0-6-1 in its last seven road games.
The Tennessee Titans are finalising a deal to acquire cornerback L’Jarius Sneed from the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for a pair of draft picks, according to multiple sources.
The Chiefs are expected to receive a third-round pick in next year's draft and swap picks with the Titans in next month's draft. The two sides are working on a new contract to make Sneed one of the highest-paid cornerbacks in NHL history.
After the Chiefs placed the nonexclusive franchise tag on Sneed earlier this month, he was allowed to talk to other teams, who could then work out a deal with Kansas City.
The 27-year-old Sneed has developed into one of the best cornerbacks in the league since he was drafted in the fourth round in 2020. He was a key part of a defence that helped Kansas City win back-to-back Super Bowl titles.
Sneed allowed a passer rating of just 55.9 on throws when he was in coverage in the regular season, ranking fifth best among cornerbacks.
Often tasked with following the opponents’ top receiver all over the field, Sneed didn’t allow a single touchdown pass until the playoffs against Buffalo and only Davante Adams of the Raiders had more than two catches in a game when Sneed was in coverage.
He had two interceptions and 14 passes defended in 16 games last season, giving him 10 picks and 40 passes defended in his four-year career.
Aryna Sabalenka claimed a straight-sets victory over Paula Badosa to progress into the last 32 of the Miami Open days after the death of her former boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov.
Two-time Australian Open champion Sabalenka returned to the tennis court after Koltsov died at the age of 42 on Monday in what police described as an “apparent suicide” in Miami.
Koltsov’s death led Sabalenka to reveal her “heart is broken”, but she was able to show incredible composure and poise to beat good friend Badosa by a 6-4 6-3 score after an emotional few days.
Wet weather in Miami resulted in a lengthy delay before play on day three could finally get under way, with Sabalenka welcomed onto the Grandstand court to warm applause.
Dressed in black and with a baseball cap on, the Belarusian looked up to the sky before she gave Badosa a fist pump at the coin toss with her opponent also kitted out in all-black.
After a cagey start with the pair exchanging double-faults, Sabalenka forced two break points opportunities in the fifth game but Badosa fought back to hold.
It was brief respite for the Spaniard, with Sabalenka able to eventually clinch the first break point of the match to move 4-3 up when Badosa sent her return long.
Sabalenka sealed the first set when her fierce backhand was returned wide to claim a 46-minute opener in windy conditions.
The pair shared a smile during the second game of set two when a big gust of wind forced Sabalenka to abandon her serve which sparked laughter from the crowd and the world number two.
It was soon back to business for the 25-year-old and she broke Badosa again to move 2-1 up.
Badosa was able to force a break point opportunity of her own in the eighth game of the second set, but Sabalenka responded with a sumptuous winner that earned applause from her opponent.
There was no looking back for Sabalenka now and she broke Badosa again to secure a 6-4 6-3 victory before the good friends embraced at the net as the second seed opened her account for the tournament with an emotional win.
Next up for Sabalenka is a third round clash with Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina after she beat Caroline Wozniacki on Thursday.
Coco Gauff joined Sabalenka in the last 32 with a rapid 6-1 6-2 triumph over Nadia Podoroska.
England manager Gareth Southgate joined other members of the sporting world in sending a message of support to the Princess of Wales following her cancer diagnosis.
Kate revealed she was undergoing treatment for the disease in an emotional video message shared on Friday evening.
“Clearly we’ve just heard about the Princess of Wales and we just wanted to send our thoughts and best wishes to her and all her family,” said Southgate, speaking ahead of Saturday’s friendly with Brazil.
“Remarkably dignified statement she gave and we have a close relationship with family so upset by the news but hope everything goes well for her.”
The Football Association, of which the Prince of Wales is president, earlier posted on X: “Our thoughts are with the Princess of Wales, the Prince of Wales and their family.
“We send our very best wishes to the Princess for a full recovery.”
Former tennis player Billie Jean King – who sat alongside the Princess at Wimbledon last year – and ex-England striker Gary Lineker were among the well wishers on social media.
“Sending our love, support, and best wishes for a full and complete recovery to Catherine, The Princess of Wales,” wrote King.
Match of the Day host Lineker, also using X, posted: “Awful news. Wishing The Princess of Wales a full recovery.”
Kate, 42, is patron of the Rugby Football Union and attended some of England’s matches at last year’s World Cup in France.
A message from England Rugby read: “Everyone at England Rugby is wishing our Patron HRH The Princess of Wales a full and speedy recovery.”
Dan and Harry Skelton’s memorable March continued at Newbury on Friday as Doyen Quest rediscovered winning ways in the Daily Racing Specials At BetVictor Handicap Hurdle.
The Alcester-based team claimed four winners at the Cheltenham Festival last week, a run of results which saw older brother Dan Skelton go ahead of his former boss and mentor Paul Nicholls in the race to be crowned this season’s champion trainer.
Subsequent victories at Kempton, Uttoxeter, Chepstow and Market Rasen have kept the Skelton ball rolling in the past week and Doyen Quest did his bit for the team with a narrow verdict in Berkshire.
The six-year-old was the 100-30 favourite to notch a second career win, having had to make do with the runner-up spot on his latest appearance at Taunton, and got on top close home to score by a neck from the Sam Thomas-trained Steel Ally.
Dan Skelton said: “I’m delighted with that, we were able to turn him out quickly before the penalty kicked in and he finished really well. Hopefully there’s a bit more to come from him.”
On the title race, he added: “The horses are obviously in good form, but we’ve got to keep it going.
“We’re in front at the moment, but there’s still some major meetings to come – it’s going to be a long five weeks!
“I won’t be coming back here (Newbury) tomorrow (Saturday) thinking we’ll definitely have a winner, but hopefully we have a few chances.”
The Skeltons were denied a double by the narrowest of margins in the following Steve Jobar MND Handicap Hurdle, with Take No Chances coming off second best in a pulsating three-way finish.
Lucy Wadham’s Zain Nights (5-1) was called the winner by a nose in the hands of Tom Cannon, with Take No Chances second and Hermino AA only a short head further away in third.
The Bet In-Play On Racing At BetVictor Novices’ Hurdle was a similarly close-run affair, with Harry Derham’s newcomer Huffin A Puffin (10-1) lunging late under Paul O’Brien to pip the more experienced favourite 6-4 favourite Ballybentragh by a short head.
Derham, another successful graduate of the Nicholls academy at Ditcheat, said: “He’s a lovely big horse and I wasn’t really sure he’d be ready enough to win today, so that was a nice surprise.
“He’s learning on the job and I’m not in a rush to do anything mad with him. He could have another run this season, but we’ll see.
“Hopefully he’s a horse to look forward to. He doesn’t have enough experience to go novice chasing next season so we’ll probably stick to hurdles.”
Nicholls himself got on the scoresheet with the Natalie Parker-ridden Secret Investor (3-1) in the Lengthen The Odds At BetVictor Open Hunters’ Chase, while David Pipe and Jack Tudor combined for a double on the card with Neon Moon a 12-1 winner of the Get Best Odds Guaranteed At BetVictor Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase and Bumpy Johnson scoring at 11-1 in the Download The BetVictor App Handicap Hurdle.
Richard Bandey’s Maclaine (3-1) impressed in the Get A Run For Your Money At BetVictor Handicap Chase, with Harry Bannister the winning pilot.
Harry Cobden’s hopes of winning the 2023-24 champion jump jockey title were boosted after he successfully appealed a three-day suspension imposed at the Cheltenham Festival.
The ban was initially handed out by the raceday stewards at the meeting when they deemed Cobden to have ridden carelessly aboard Handstands in the Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle.
The horse finished sixth and was judged to have interfered with the progress of Ile Atlantique and Predators Gold, both trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by Patrick and Danny Mullins respectively.
That finding was contested at the appeal and the panel, chaired by James O’Mahony, found in Cobden’s favour and overturned the suspension.
Those three days he is now free to ride could prove pivotal for the jockey, who is locked in a title race with Sean Bowen and was 12 winners ahead at the end of the action on Friday.
New Orleans Pelicans star forward Brandon Ingram will miss at least two weeks with a left knee injury he sustained in the team's loss to the Orlando Magic on Thursday.
The Pelicans announced Friday that Ingram has been diagnosed with a bone contusion following the results of an MRI and will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
Ingram, New Orleans' second-leading scorer at 20.9 points per game, exited Thursday's 121-106 loss to the Magic early in the second half with what the team initially described as a hyperextended left knee.
Though subsequent testing showed he avoided a serious, long-term injury, Ingram still figures to miss a good portion of the Pelicans' remaining games of the regular season, which concludes April 14.
New Orleans currently sits in fifth place in the Western Conference and is trying to avoid a spot in the play-in tournament, which would contain the teams that finish between seventh and 10th. The Pelicans are just 1 1/2 games ahead of the seventh-place Phoenix Suns.
Ingram, the 2019-20 NBA Most Improved Player, has been mostly healthy this season after missing significant time in each of the previous two campaigns. A left toe contusion sidelined him for 29 games last season, while various injuries limited him to 55 games in 2021-22.
The eight-year veteran is on track to average over 20 points per game for a fifth straight season and is averaging 5.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists through 63 games in 2023-24.
Defending champion Judd Trump set up a last-four clash with 22-year-old Welshman Jackson Page at the World Open, while home favourite Ding Junhui will face Neil Robertson in the other semi-final.
Trump, who won the last edition of the tournament – held in 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic, overcame Kyren Wilson 5-2 on Friday in Yushan.
With the quarter-final level at 2-2, the world number two clinched frame five on the black after benefiting from a couple of flukes before completing the job thanks to half-century breaks of 59 and 63.
“It is nice to get a run here and I feel a lot more excited to play snooker than the last three or four seasons,” Trump told the World Snooker Tour.
World number 52 Page, who eliminated former world champions John Higgins and Mark Selby en route to the last eight, made a break of 140 during his 5-2 success over Elliot Slessor.
“I think Jackson has played brilliantly well, he’s scored heavily,” said Trump.
“From what I’ve seen, him and Ding have been the players of the tournament.
“When you are young and playing well in this kind of scenario there is no better feeling. I’m the grumpy old man now trying to stop him.”
Ding delighted the Chinese crowd by firing in breaks of 73, 74, 135 and 102 during a 5-0 whitewash of Ronnie O’Sullivan’s conqueror Hossein Vafaei.
Hundreds of fans gathered on the streets of Yushan to watch their hero in action against Iranian Vafaei, with the match broadcast on a big screen.
Robertson, the 2010 world champion, awaits Ding after breaks of 127 and 115, plus two 87s and a 79, saw him defeat Barry Hawkins 5-2.
If the Australian goes on to win the event, he will retain his top-16 ranking and avoid a trip to World Championship qualifying.
“My game is absolutely back to where it should be now and that is really exciting heading into the back end of the season,” he said.
“It is a blockbuster match tomorrow. If you can’t enjoy playing Ding in a semi-final in China then there’s something wrong.”
Porta Fortuna is pencilled in to make her seasonal bow in the Ballylinch Stud ‘Priory Belle’ 1,000 Guineas Trial Stakes at Leopardstown in early April.
The Caravaggio filly landed the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot last year before going on to place in both the Phoenix and Moyglare, before striking Group One gold in the Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket.
Trainer Donnacha O’Brien then headed to America where Porta Fortuna was only narrowly denied in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, beaten just half a length by Hard To Justify.
O’Brien admits her juvenile brilliance raises some doubts ahead of her Classic campaign, with a trial run dependent on conditions suiting at Leopardstown.
In a stable tour for Attheraces.com, he said: “She was brilliant for us last season. When they are so good as two-year-olds, you can never be sure how well they’ll train on, but she seems to have wintered particularly well and her recent work has been very good.
“I’d like to run her in the 1,000 Guineas Trial at Leopardstown on April 7, but if the ground is bad, I’ll be happy enough to give her a racecourse gallop instead and go straight to the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket.”
Porta Fortuna is a best-priced 25-1 with Paddy Power for the 1000 Guineas on May 5.
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