Joseph O’Brien is looking forward to seeing Banbridge make his belated reappearance in the Coral Silviniaco Conti Chase at Kempton on Saturday.
The eight-year-old won three of his five starts as a novice over fences last season, rounding off his campaign with a Grade One victory in the Manifesto Novices’ Chase at Aintree’s Grand National meeting.
Also a Grade Two winner at Cheltenham and placed behind the top-class pair of Mighty Potter and El Fabiolo last term, Banbridge has not been seen since his success on Merseyside nine months ago, but is poised for a comeback this weekend.
“He’s an intended runner at the moment,” O’Brien confirmed on Monday.
“He’s missed a couple of races earlier this season, just because of unsuitable ground and things have meant he hasn’t got to run, but we’re looking forward to hopefully getting him started at Kempton.
“The spring was always going to be his time, he’s training well and everything has been going well. We’ll keep an eye on the going, but we’re looking forward to getting him started all being well.”
Banbridge is one of seven entries for the Grade Two, with the sponsors making him a 2-1 joint-favourite alongside the Paul Nicholls-trained Pic D’Orhy, who was last seen winning the 1965 Chase at Ascot.
Alan King looks set to step Edwardstone up in trip, with the crack two-miler having proved no match for Jonbon in either the Shloer Chase at Cheltenham or the Tingle Creek at Sandown so far this season.
Paddy Power Gold Cup runner-up Notlongtillmay could represent Laura Morgan, while Willie Mullins could send Janidil across the Irish Sea.
Olly Murphy’s Thunder Rock and Elixir De Nutz from Joe Tizzard’s yard are the other contenders.
Bookmakers have reported turnover on Sunday evening’s historic meeting at Wolverhampton “on a par” with a typical midweek all-weather fixture.
Racing took place at Dunstall Park as the first of six trial meetings scheduled on Sunday evenings through the winter, in an attempt to boost racing’s finances through increased contribution from bookmakers to the Levy.
The card featured strong numerical fields and enhanced prize-money with a minimum of £15,000 per race, with most races run for almost three times the minimum value for their respective grade.
However, concerns remain about the well-being of the participants and winning jockeys Callum Shepherd and Robert Havlin both spoke out against the trial but felt they would lose rides in the future if they did not take part.
Coral spokesperson David Stevens said: “New initiatives such as this should always be given time to bed-in, and this first meeting was up against a big FA Cup match live on terrestrial TV (Arsenal versus Liverpool), which would have had an impact, but overall it was a very solid start, with turnover on a par with a typical evening meeting.”
Betfred’s Matt Hulmes offered a similar assessment, saying: “We took what we would normally expect on an evening all-weather meeting – it was our best performing Wolverhampton meeting of the week, but you would expect that to be the case given the increased prize-money.
“It was broadly what we take at most evening all-weather meetings, but it was the second-highest turnover meeting on the all-weather last week.”
Paddy Power painted a brighter picture, with the firm’s Paul Binfield saying the new meeting was among their best staking fixtures of the week.
He said: “The new Sunday evening fixture performed really well with competitive fields of more than 11 runners and an average favourite SP of more than 2-1.
“The card was in our top five highest-staking fixtures of the week with a double-figure stakes increase on the average Wolverhampton card over the last three months.”
Wolverhampton is part of Arena Racing Company and their group operations director Mark Spincer told Sky Sports Racing on Sunday a view would be taken after all six of the trial meetings had taken place.
“As a group we decided Sunday night could be an area that would drive Levy, it gives us opportunity to own an area – when I say ‘us’, I’m talking about the all-weather tracks – that currently doesn’t have a huge amount of sport in which could mean increased turnover, which means better Levy and overall better financial performance,” said Spincer.
“I can only speak for ARC tracks and from our point of view, whatever public we get we want to accommodate. I think there’s a nice crowd, probably 6/700 being a part of history.
“I think we need to try new things, things take time to grow, look at the Racing League or Good Friday, things take time to get established, last year’s Racing League was our best attendance, Good Friday was a record attendance last year as well.
“Can we make something of the Sunday evenings? I’m sure we can at some point remembering that there are six, it’s a trial and then we pull up stumps and everybody looks at how well it has performed or not performed and then decisions will be made on the future. I’m not prepared to make any comments past six because it’s agreed as a trial and that is exactly what we are in.”
Richard Wayman, chief operating officer at the British Horseracing Authority, said one of the main aims of Sunday racing was to help grow interest in British racing.
“One of the things we are trying to do as part of the Industry Strategy is to try to grow interest in racing and grow the number of people who follow the sport,” he said.
“We’ve got various workstreams in relation to the fixture list which are designed to try to achieve that. Make more of the big stuff on a Saturday through Premierisation and we want to improve the quality of Sunday racing and through listening to our colleagues in the betting industry, who have told us there is significant growth in the amounts of money being bet generally on a Sunday evening, (we are staging the trial).
“What we don’t know at this stage is the appetite for betting on British racing on a Sunday evening, so the purpose of the six trial meetings is just to try to ascertain what demand there is. These six fixtures will tell us what the demand is.
“Callum’s comments are perfectly understandable as this does put a lot of strain on those people servicing the fixtures such as jockeys, trainers, stable staff, our own staff, the racecourse staff servicing those fixtures as there are a lot of people involved in putting a race meeting on, so as part of the trial we will get feedback from all of those people.
“At the end of those six fixtures we’ll take a view on whether this is something we should be thinking about long term or not, but only by trying it can we make that decision.
“The betting industry will make the figures available to the BHA and we have set targets. We’d like to see these meetings outperform a regular all-weather night meeting by 15-20 per cent, even if it does do that it doesn’t necessarily mean it will carry on.”
The next Sunday evening fixture is scheduled for Chelmsford on January 21.
Henrietta Knight is feeling the nerves as she prepares to resume her training career with two potential runners at Wincanton on Friday.
The 77-year-old handed in her licence back in 2012 following a stellar career highlighted by Best Mate’s three victories in the Cheltenham Gold Cup between 2002 and 2004.
She also counted 2000 Queen Mother Champion Chase winner Edredon Bleu among her stable stars, while Somersby, Calgary Bay, Racing Demon and Lord Noelie were other leading lights for the West Lockinge yard.
Zettabyte and Ballywalter, who could contest the Start Your RacingTV Free Trial Now Handicap Hurdle and Stayers Maiden Hurdle at Wincanton respectively, are evidently some way below the calibre of those stable luminaries, but Knight admits the butterflies are setting in.
She said: “I’m quite nervous thinking about it and I think I’m more nervous than when I sent out Best Mate in his third Gold Cup.
“Lots of people have been writing about us and I think there is an expectation for us to have a winner as we had a winner with our first runner in 1989 at Bangor.
“The plan is very much to go to Wincanton on Friday providing it is on. Zettabyte would prefer better ground, while Ballywalter is not a particularly fast horse but he will love the ground. He is a very honest and game horse that jumps and stays well.
“He is owned by my niece, who will be there at Wincanton with me, and he will run in my late sister’s (Celia) colours so it will be an extremely emotional day.”
Knight has kept her hand in the racing world over the intervening years, writing several books, as well as setting up a pre-training and schooling business, which she will be continuing to operate, and acting as racing manager to the late owner Mike Grech.
She will have former trainer Brendan Powell as her assistant, while secretary Dawn Graham has returned to her old role.
Knight saddled seven Cheltenham Festival winners during her first spell in the training ranks and the ultimate goal is to add to that tally – although she does not anticipate that success in the immediate future.
She added: “I would love to have another winner at Cheltenham, but I might have to wait until I’m in my 80s for that to happen as a lot of the horses we have are young and exciting and some are only two or three years old.
“It would be my aim to have another winner at Cheltenham as you can’t describe that feeling. However, for all that those previous days there were wonderful, I never look back.
“I don’t really have the time to sit back and watch those races. Racing is about planning ahead and keeping on going forwards. You can’t keep winding the clock back.
“We are already halfway through this season, and next season we will start to have targets. At the moment, it is just going to be one step at a time, but it will be nice when we get the first winner on the board.”
Ted Walsh expects Any Second Now to be suited by conditions should he line up in Saturday’s Wigley Group Classic Chase at Warwick.
The 12-year-old is one of 21 entries for the three-mile-five-furlong feature, with his trainer eager to make an inaugural visit to the track as he seeks a winning opportunity for the veteran.
Any Second Now finished down the field on his return at Navan last month and after racing off a career-high mark of 167 in last year’s Grand National, his rating has now fallen to 148 in Ireland.
“I’ve never had a runner at Warwick, I’ve never been to Warwick, but it’s a race I’ve often watched. It suits the National-type of horse, it’s a lot of jumping and you really have to stay there which I think will suit him,” he told the Nick Luck Daily podcast.
“I’m very limited in what I can do here. He’s not good enough for the better races and I ran him at Navan off 150, but a lot of the races here are confined at 150 – he’s now 148.
“If I don’t go there, I’ll go to the Thyestes, but the Thyestes is very, very heavy ground and it’s competitive. Warwick is definitely on the agenda to go there.”
Having finished third at Aintree in 2021 and second in 2022, Any Second Now is a 33-1 shot with bet365 for this year’s marathon, but Walsh feels his chance of National glory has gone.
He said: “He’s now 12 years of age – he’s a pensioner. I haven’t any aspiration of him being a live contender for the National anymore, but I think he’s quite capable of winning a race somewhere.
“I need a lot of help (from the handicapper). He’s been a very good, consistent horse and he’s always run a good race but he’s not what he used to be, which you wouldn’t expect, and he crawled up the handicap through his good runs in the National.
“I don’t honestly think he was ever quite as high as the English handicapper rated him, he was up in the 160s at one stage. I never thought he was a Grade One horse.
“He’s a good handicapper and can win a Grade Three chase. He’s been a great servant and I’d like to think there’s another race in him somewhere and I put him in at Warwick because I think the conditions of the race will suit.”
Walsh was “absolutely shocked” last year when the British Horseracing Authority’s chase handicapper Martin Greenwood allotted Any Second Now top-weight for the National with a mark of 167, a rating the trainer still feels was inflated.
He added: “We don’t always agree with Martin Greenwood, but we’re on the other side of the fence and whatever he gives us, we would think he could give us a few pounds less, that’s the way it is.
“I didn’t think in the National last year, I’ve a good memory and he isn’t the calibre of horses I saw carry top-weight and run well in the National, the likes of L’Escargot, Crisp and Red Rum – he never was of that calibre.
“It’s up to Martin Greenwood to assess him, but I honestly thought he had what he had, but I think he wasn’t within 7lb of those horses.”
While the ante-post market for the National is still in its formative stages, a couple of those prominent in the betting are also pencilled in for Warwick.
The Jonjo O’Neill-trained Monbeg Genius leads the way as a 20-1 chance for Aintree, with the Dan Skelton-trained Galia Des Liteaux a 40-1 chance along with Malina Girl, who could be another Irish raider for Gavin Cromwell.
Other key names possible for Warwick include Beauport, Rowland Meyrick winner Fontaine Collonges, last season’s Midlands National hero Major Dundee and Guetapan Collonges, who finished fourth in last year’s renewal.
World Championship runner-up Luke Littler will make his World Series debut later this month following the 16-year-old’s stunning breakthrough at Alexandra Palace.
The Professional Darts Corporation has included Littler in the line-ups for the Bahrain Darts Masters and the Dutch Darts Masters after hitting the headlines around the world for his remarkable run to the record-breaking world final last week.
‘The Nuke’ lost 7-4 to Luke Humphries, denying him one of the greatest sporting stories of all time by becoming the youngest world champion, but his exploits have opened up several doors.
He has already secured a Premier League place and will now be part of the 16-player fields at the two-day events at the Bahrain International Circuit on January 18-19 and Maaspoort Den Bosch on January 26-27.
Humphries will be announced on stage as world champion for the first time in Bahrain, while Michael van Gerwen, Gerwyn Price, Michael Smith, Nathan Aspinall, Peter Wright and Rob Cross will all be competing against eight local representatives in both tournaments.
Paul Nicholls has raised the possibility of Bravemansgame contesting the Betfair Denman Chase at Newbury next month en-route to a second tilt at the Cheltenham Gold Cup.
The nine-year-old had to make do with the runner-up spot in his bid for back-to-back victories in the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day, with Nicholls of the belief he may have held off the fast-finishing Hewick had he not been hampered by Shishkin’s exit two fences from home.
Last season Bravemansgame headed straight from the King George to the Gold Cup, in which he finished second to Galopin Des Champs, but admitted in his latest ‘Ditcheat Diary’ instalment with Betfair that he is having a change of heart as how best to approach the blue riband this time around.
“He’s come out of the race very well actually, he’s had an easy time and has kept his condition this year better than ever before,” said the champion trainer.
“There’s lots of debate going on about who would have won and I think if Shishkin and Bravemansgame hadn’t got in a bit of a muddle, it would have been really interesting. He (Bravemansgame) definitely showed signs he’s coming back to his best and I think it would have been very close.
“I was going to go straight to Cheltenham and I haven’t spoken to Bryan (Drew, owner), but I’ve spoken to Clifford (Baker, head lad) and I said ‘look, every time we went to the Gold Cup with Kauto Star or Silviniaco Conti or Denman, we always ran in the Denman Chase en-route to Cheltenham’.
“I just thought why not change tack a little bit and rather than being too hard on him at home, keep him nice and fresh and have a look, possibly, at the Denman Chase and then go on to Cheltenham.
“The Denman Chase is a possibility, I’m not saying it’s definite, but we could try to do something different with him and train him a little bit differently.”
Bravemansgame is one of two Gold Cup entries for Nicholls along with star novice Stay Away Fay.
Nicholls expects the latter to stick to novice company at the Festival at this stage, although that could change if he takes his chance and impresses in the Cotswold Chase on Festival Trials Day.
He added: “He’s very unlikely to run in the Gold Cup, I just put him in that because we were in the Cotswold Chase.
“He’s on schedule to run possibly in the Cotswold Chase, or the Reynoldstown is the other good option for him, and if you’re not in it (Gold Cup) you can’t run.
“Let’s just see how we run on our next start. I don’t think I’ve ever run a novice in the Gold Cup, but novices have won it, so it is possible.
“Last year’s winner (Galopin Des Champs) looks the one to beat – he looks head and shoulders above everybody else – but has he improved that much from when he beat Bravemansgame seven lengths last year?
“In that race the other day in Ireland (Savills Chase), he looked good, but I can’t believe he’s that far in front of all the others. Maybe he is, but we’ve got to keep all our options open.”
Kyrie Irving hit a go-ahead 3-pointer with 2:05 remaining and finished with 35 points to lead the Dallas Mavericks to a hard-fought 115-108 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Sunday.
The Mavericks trailed 106-100 with under four minutes left before moving ahead to stay with a late 13-0 run highlighted by two Irving 3-pointers, the first of which tied the game with 2:59 left before he connected again less than a minute later.
Luka Dončić added 34 points and eight assists to help Dallas to a third straight win. The Mavericks also stayed in a first-place tie with New Orleans in the Southwest Division after the Pelicans rolled to a 133-100 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Sunday.
Anthony Edwards had 36 points and 10 rebounds for the suddenly scuffling Timberwolves, while Karl-Anthony Towns scored 24 points in the loss.
Minnesota remains atop the Western Conference but has now lost three of its last four games.
The Timberwolves did rally in the fourth quarter, though, as they trailed 96-87 with nine minutes left before shifting momentum with a 19-4 run sparked by its two stars. Edwards had 10 points during the spurt and Towns contributed nine.
Grizzlies stun Suns with big fourth-quarter rally
Jaren Jackson Jr. scored 28 points and led a fourth-quarter rally that propelled the Memphis Grizzlies to a stunning 121-115 road victory over the Phoenix Suns.
The Grizzlies trailed by 11 points after three quarters before outscoring the Suns by a 35-18 margin in the fourth to spoil the return of Phoenix star Kevin Durant, who was back in the lineup after missing three games with a sore hamstring.
Memphis' comeback also came without the services of its top player, as point guard Ja Morant sat out the contest with a right shoulder injury.
Jackson had 10 points in the fourth quarter and Desmond Bane nine as the Grizzlies took control late. The Grizzlies opened the period on a 14-1 run to take a 100-98 lead, though the Suns regrouped to go back ahead when Durant's jumper with 2:49 left broke a 112-112 tie.
Bane countered with a 3-pointer with 1:47 remaining, though, as Memphis closed the game on a 9-1 spurt to prevail.
Bane finished with 23 points and Marcus Smart had 25 along with eight assists in the Grizzlies' third win in four games.
Durant had 23 points and 10 rebounds in his return, while Devin Booker recorded 24 points and eight assists for Phoenix, which had won five of six coming in.
Lakers hold off rival Clippers to end four-game skid
Taurean Prince hit a tie-breaking 3-pointer with 1:17 left as the Los Angeles Lakers got back on track with a 106-103 win over the cross-town rival Los Angeles Clippers.
The Lakers also got 25 points, eight rebounds and seven assists from LeBron James as they snapped a four-game skid and ended the Clippers' five-game winning streak. James finished 11 of 19 from the field, while Anthony Davis went 10 of 15 while contributing 22 points and 10 rebounds.
The Clippers got 22 points each from Paul George and Ivica Zubac and fought back from a 10-point deficit with eight minutes to go to tie the game at 98-98 entering the final two minutes.
George missed a would-be go-ahead 3-pointer, though, and Prince buried a 26-footer before James scored on the Lakers' next possession to put his team up 103-98 inside the final minute.
The Clippers had a chance to force overtime after the Lakers' Austin Reaves made just one of two free throws to make the score 106-103 with 4.2 seconds left. However, Norman Powell's 3-point try just before the buzzer landed off the mark.
Zubac added 19 rebounds for the Clippers, who also got 15 points each from Kawhi Leonard and James Harden despite the star duo going a combined 10 of 30 from the field.
Andy Murray underwent major hip surgery on this day in 2018.
The three-time major champion surprised the tennis world by announcing he had gone under the knife in a bid to eradicate worsening hip concerns.
The British star declared the surgery a success at the time and targeted a return to tennis’ very pinnacle.
“I’m very optimistic because, having spoken to the surgeon, he was very happy about how it went,” Murray said.
“He felt my hip will be feeling better than it did a year ago.
“I was still doing fine a year ago, ranked number one in the world.”
Leading hip surgeon John O’Donnell’s confidence in Murray’s recovery would ultimately not materialise in the craved manner, however.
The two-time Olympic champion was able to make a full playing return, but did not overcome the hip problem in the desired fashion.
Murray in fact all but admitted his retirement in a tearful press conference in January 2019, having been forced to accept his ongoing debilitating and painful hip situation. A premature tribute montage was played on court at the Australian Open before he ultimately underwent a second surgery later that month.
That hip resurfacing procedure allowed him to return to the tour, winning the 2019 European Open in Antwerp and reaching three further ATP finals and the top 50 in the world rankings, though the last time he went beyond the third round at a grand slam was in 2017.
The Atlanta Falcons announced they have fired head coach Arthur Smith after three seasons of missing the playoffs and delivering middling results.
Owner Arthur Blank disclosed the decision in a statement released hours after the Falcons ended their 2023 campaign with Sunday's 48-17 loss to the New Orleans Saints.
Smith went 7-10 in each of his three seasons after being hired in 2021. The 41-year-old previously served 10 seasons as an assistant with the Tennessee Titans, including the last two as that team's offensive coordinator.
The Falcons said they will conduct a search for a new head coach immediately, with Blank and team CEO Rich McKay to lead the operation.
“Decisions like this are never easy and they never feel good,” said Blank in a statement. “We have profound respect for Coach Smith and appreciate all the hard work and dedication he has put into the Falcons over the last three years. He has been part of building a good culture in our football team, but the results on the field have not met our expectations. After significant thought and reflection, we have determined the best way forward for our team is new leadership in the head coaching position.”
Smith came to Atlanta with a reputation as a successful play-caller during his time with the Titans, but the Falcons never finished in the top half of the NFL in total offence in any of his three seasons despite investing high draft choices on expected playmakers in tight end Kyle Pitts (2021), wide receiver Drake London (2022) and running back Bijan Robinson (2023).
Additionally, young quarterback Desmond Ridder struggled in his first season as a full-time starter in 2023 after displaying potential in a four-game stint as a rookie the previous year.
Smith did have the Falcons in position to end the franchise's five-year playoff drought, as the team owned a one-game lead atop the NFC South in early December. Atlanta lost four of its final five games, however, to finish two games back of the Saints and the eventual division champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The Falcons last made the postseason in 2018 and their six consecutive seasons of missing the playoffs is tied with the Carolina Panthers for the longest active stretch in the NFC.
Mark Scheifele scored two goals and the Winnipeg Jets dominated the Arizona Coyotes from start-to-finish to extend their point streak to 12 games with Sunday's 6-2 victory.
The Jets outshot the Coyotes by a 36-17 margin en route to their sixth consecutive victory. Connor Hellebuyck needed to make just 15 saves for the Western Conference leaders, who improved to 10-0-2 since Dec. 13.
Nikolaj Ehlers chipped in a goal and an assist for Winnipeg, which also got goals from Vladislav Namestnikov, Cole Perfetti and Adam Lowry.
Namestnikov recorded the lone goal of a first period in which the Jets finished with a 14-4 shot advantage. Ehlers made it a 2-0 lead early in the second before Nick Schmaltz scored off a Clayton Keller feed to get the Coyotes on the board later in the period.
Perfetti restored Winnipeg's two-goal advantage by scoring unassisted with 5:56 left in the second, and Ehlers set up Scheifele's first goal 5:11 into the third to extend the margin to 4-1.
Scheifele and Lowry each scored in the final two minutes after Arizona cut the lead to 4-2 on Dylan Guenter's unassisted goal with 7:27 remaining.
Karel Vejmelka stopped 30 of 35 shots in the Coyotes' third straight loss.
Carlson's late goal gives Capitals comeback win over struggling Kings
John Carlson's goal with 52.9 seconds remaining capped a third-period rally that lifted the Washington Capitals to a 4-3 win over the scuffling Los Angeles Kings.
Carlson and Nicolas Aube-Kubel scored in the final 11 1/2 minutes to bring the Capitals back from a 3-2 deficit and allow Washington to avoid a third straight loss on its current homestand.
Aube-Kubel added two assists and Nic Dowd had a goal and an assist to support a strong 38-save effort from Capitals goaltender Darcy Kuemper.
Kevin Fiala's second goal of the game, a power-play tally 1:01 into the third period, gave Los Angeles a 3-2 lead it held until Aube-Kubel fired a wrist shot past Kings goaltender Cam Talbot with 11:24 left to play.
Carlson later sent a shot on net that got through a screened Talbot inside the final minute for the eventual game-winner.
After a scoreless first period, Dowd put Washington ahead 4:22 into a frantic second period before the Kings answered less than three minutes later on Adrian Kempe's power-play goal.
Fiala knocked in a rebound with 6:58 left in the second to send Los Angeles in front, though the Capitals countered just 2:33 afterward on Dylan Strome's 15th goal of the season.
Talbot finished with 30 saves for Los Angeles, which has lost a season-high five straight games (0-3-2).
Blackwell lifts Blackhawks in first game without Bedard
Colin Blackwell gave the Chicago Blackhawks a needed spark with two goals and an assist that led the way in a 4-3 win over the Calgary Flames.
Blackwell capped his big day by scoring the eventual winning goal on a power play with 5:23 remaining, helping Chicago win in its first game since rookie sensation Connor Bedard fractured his jaw in Friday's loss to the New Jersey Devils.
The Blackhawks stopped an overall five-game losing streak behind Blackwell and Nikita Zaitsev, who registered a goal and an assist to back 28 saves from Petr Mrazek.
Calgary held a 2-1 lead following Andrew Mangiapane's power-play goal 3:26 into the second period, but Philipp Kurashev and Zaitsev scored 2:40 apart later in the stanza to send Chicago ahead.
After Blackwell's second goal of the day gave the Blackhawks a 4-2 advantage, Nazem Kadri got the Flames closer by recording his second goal of the game with 4:41 left to play.
Calgary managed just two more shots on Mrazek the rest of the way, however, and was dealt a second straight loss following a three-game winning streak.
Blackwell and Kadri traded goals in the opening period as the teams entered the first intermission tied at 1-1.
Dan Vladar ended with 16 saves for the Flames.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers showed they can still challenge in the post-Tom Brady era by clinching their third consecutive NFC South title with a 9-0 win over Carolina Panthers.
It is the fourth time in a row that they have qualified for the play-offs but the first without Brady, their superstar quarterback replaced by Baker Mayfield.
Mayfield was struggling with a rib injury but still contributed to the drives that enabled Chase McLaughlin to kick three field goals.
View this post on InstagramThe Buccaneers finished the season with a 9-8 record – the same as New Orleans Saints but progress ahead of their rivals due to their higher win percentage in common games.
The Saints defeated the Atlanta Falcons 48-17 but the result in North Carolina meant their win was not enough to advance.
The Jacksonville Jaguars’ 28-20 loss to the Tennessee Titans saw the Houston Texans take the AFC South title and sent the Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers into the play-offs.
View this post on InstagramThe Texans will face the Cleveland Browns in the super wild card round with the Browns losing 31-14 to the Cincinnati Bengals after fielding a large number of reserve players.
Callum Shepherd questioned the need for Sunday evening racing after his mount Charlie’s Choice entered the record books as a new era for British racing began under the lights at Wolverhampton.
Floodlit all-weather meetings on a Sunday evening are being trialled throughout the winter as part of the British Horseracing Authority’s wide-range of initiatives to improve the sport, with the enhanced prize-money incentives on offer attracting a bumper field of entrants to Dunstall Park.
Eleven went to post for the opening Find More Big Deals At BetUK Handicap and it was David Simcock’s Charlie’s Choice (3-1) who came home best in the hands of Shepherd to score by three-quarters of a length.
Shepherd was booked for four mounts on the Wolverhampton card, with his final ride scheduled for the last race of the day at 8.30pm, and after claiming the opener, he voiced his opinion on Sunday racing.
“It would be nice if it wasn’t a Sunday evening,” Shepherd told Sky Sports Racing.
“We don’t need to be here on a Sunday evening. I think in the summer, during peak season, you accept it is part and parcel and jump racing can facilitate Sunday racing throughout the winter as we do through the summer.
“Bar the festive period, I don’t think there is any great need for Sunday racing and certainly not Sunday evening racing.
“We might get a couple of hundred quid extra in our pockets, but I don’t think it is healthy.
“I want to be able to go watch football with my dad and things like that and if this becomes a regular thing – which it will – you just cross that brink between having absolutely no work-life balance and I don’t think that is right.
“My desire to ride winners and my desire to ride for David outweighs that, and it has to as a rider with the dedication it requires, it is not an option not to come. So I will always be available. But I don’t think I should be here at 8.30pm on a Sunday night.”
Golden State Warriors point guard Chris Paul is expected to be sidelined for four-to-six weeks after fracturing his left hand in Friday’s 113-109 victory over the Detroit Pistons.
Paul sustained the injury when he tried to grab a long rebound and collided with Detroit’s Jaden Ivey. He could be out through the NBA All-Star break.
“That’s tough, I feel so bad for Chris, I know he’s had a couple of hand surgeries before I believe, maybe on the other hand,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said Friday.
”I saw him holding it and instantly was worried. Just got the word after walking off the floor. So I feel terrible for Chris and obviously guys will step up and be ready to play.
“We've got to hold down the fort without him."
Golden State acquired the 38-year-old Paul in the deal that sent Jordan Poole to the Washington Wizards last July.
The 12-time All-Star and former NBA Rookie of the Year is averaging 8.9 points, 7.2 assists and 3.8 rebounds in 32 games (11 starts) this season.
Julius Randle says the New York Knicks won't get carried away after extending their winning streak to four games on Saturday, when his 39-point haul helped them past the Washington Wizards.
Randle finished two points shy of his best return of the season as the Knicks improved to 21-15 for the campaign with a dominant performance at Capital One Arena, earning a 121-105 win.
The Knicks never looked back after bringing up a 26-point lead in the first half, building on their impressive 128-92 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers one day earlier.
They are now up to fourth in the Eastern Conference standings, but Randle says they are not looking too far ahead and will continue to take things game by game.
"Don't play with your food," Randle said after Saturday's win. "Take care of what you're supposed to take care of and just keep improving.
"The basketball gods have got a funny way of rewarding you or humbling you. We just try to approach every game the right way."
Jalen Brunson supported Randle with 33 points and eight assists, and the 27-year-old is enjoying playing with the two-time All-Star.
"Collectively, we both have the same mindset," Brunson said of his team-mate. "As long as we're winning, we can get better the next day and keep going from there.
"It was important to come out with energy, especially on a back-to-back. It's fun whenever you're winning."
West Indies captains Shai Hope and Hayley Matthews, as well as star athlete Sada Williams, were among the highlights, as the National Sports Council recognized a number of Barbados standout athletes from a range of disciplines at the 39th staging of its awards ceremony on Friday.
The event staged at the Garfield Sobers Sports Complex was flocked by the country’s finest, who were rightly celebrated for their dedication to achieving sporting excellence.
Williams, who enjoyed a stellar year capped by her bronze medal performance in the 400m at the World Athletic Championships in Budapest, received the much-deserved nod for the coveted Minister’s Award and the National Sports Personality Award for 2023.
Matthews and Hope stood out in their respective categories, winning that award in the senior division. Claiming the school awards were St Gabriel’s School and Harrison College, while Esther Maynard was honoured with the Lifetime Achievement Award for her committed service in the athletic community.
Diminutive golfer Ashton O’Kola Physically topped his peers in the Junior Outstanding Sportsperson category, as Chess phenom Hannah Wilson won the honours in the female side.
The Wesley Worrell Award was presented to table tennis player Chad Doughty. Signia Finance and the Barbados Bottling Company received the Sponsors Award for their continued support, while well-known sports journalist Kenmore Bynoe secured the Media Award.
In the Team Award category, the Barbados Women’s Squash team reigned supreme. Emerging Athlete awardees were Desean Boyce in athletics and rising tennis star Hannah Chambers.
Kofi Hinds received the Alvin Burgess Award for Sports Administrator, recognizing his excellent work in the hockey arena, and The Coach-of-the-Year award went to Jesse King in athletics.
Youth Awards were distributed to Rejada Hinds, Scott Galbraith, Shakobi Gittens, Sarama James, Zachary Maynard, Laila McIntyre, and Chaz Reifer-Belle. Special awards were given to Paul Bernstein, Dorian Best, Michelle Elliot, Roberta Foster, and Akeem Rudder.
Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment Charles Griffith in his remarks called for greater support from the private sector.
“From the time I took up this role as Minister of Sports I have been asking the private sector to come on board because it is impossible for government to fund all of the programs that we think are necessary to move our athletes to the next level,” Griffiths said.
“The onus is on us to ensure that every single playing field on this island is active with youngsters engaging in sporting disciplines and we have started the process of lighting all of those playing fields across the island. It is an ongoing project, but we expect to see the finishing line at some point in time,” he added.
David Bridgwater was back in the big-race winner’s enclosure having saddled Dom Of Mary to a decisive victory in Plumpton’s BetGoodwin Sussex National Handicap Chase.
The eight-year-old was the 9-2 second-favourite in the hands of Caoilin Quinn for the £35,000 marathon and his in-form pilot was in no rush in the early stages, biding his time and riding his mount with supreme confidence.
Dom Of Mary gradually worked his way into a position to strike with the business end of the race approaching, and as the field rounded the turn for home, there was only Seamus Mullins’ hat-trick-seeking Tommie Beau left to pass.
The duo jumped two out matching strides, but the momentum lay with Dom Of Mary who took control running down to the last, extending clear and ultimately romping home 10-lengths clear of Tommie Beau who kept on gamely for the silver medal.
“He ran well last time and the time before and he deserved to get his head in front again,” said Bridgwater.
“It was the ideal race for him really. Any of these three-mile-plus races we will have a look at them and I always thought he would be a horse who would win a race like that, so it’s worked out well for once.
“Caoilin rides exceptionally well and I think he is a boy that will be around for a few years yet.”
Dom Of Mary is owned by one of Bridgwater’s long-standing owners in Peter Cave, whose colours were carried to Cheltenham Festival glory by The Conditional in the Ultima in 2020.
The handler is now keen to give Dom Of Mary his own shot at Prestbury Park success, but concedes it may have to be the Kim Muir rather than the Ultima depending on how the handicapper assesses his Plumpton triumph.
“He’s been a lucky owner for us and it’s really exciting for Peter and just what the doctor ordered really,” continued Bridgwater.
“He’s won by 10 lengths off 118 so where is the handicapper going to put him? That (Kim Muir) is what I’m thinking.
“I’d love to run him in the race we won with The Conditional really, but he might have to win again (to get in). He’s that type of horse, off a low weight in those big handicaps, he’s going to sneak into it isn’t he.
“We’ll see what’s about and it’s all exciting stuff.”
Dom Of Mary’s success continued a brilliant run in the saddle for the 22-year-old jockey Quinn, who was seen tasting success aboard Gary Moore’s Nassalam in the Welsh Grand National over the Christmas period and has now got his hands on a second prestigious staying prize in the space of two weeks.
He told Sky Sports Racing: “This lad made it very easy for me, he travelled and jumped well which is what you need round here and I know it’s a staying race, but you do need to travel round here.
“I sort of lost my place at halfway, but I wasn’t too worried as they went a good gallop early and just down the hill I was just trying to creep into it as I knew when I did go for him, he would pick up. Turning into the straight he put it to bed in a matter of strides.
“David has targeted this race all year for him and when I first rode him here at the beginning of the season he said this was his big target. We’ve got that now and hopefully he can keep improving.”
Joe Anderson made an astonishing recovery to produce one of the rides of the season and register the biggest victory of his career aboard Transmission at Plumpton.
Placed the last twice in the hands of the conditional jockey, Neil Mulholland’s seven-year-old was sent off at 9-2 to claim the most valuable race on Sunday’s card, the BetGoodwin Sussex Stayers Handicap Hurdle.
However, victory seemed unlikely when an error early in the contest catapulted Anderson out of the saddle and clinging on for dear life around the horse’s neck.
He showed supreme horsemanship to vault back into the plate and then maintain the momentum aboard his mount as he eventually returned his feet to his stirrups.
Thanks to the extended three-mile trip, Anderson still had plenty of time to then gather his thoughts and approaching the home straight was travelling best of all aboard Transmission.
He was ridden and took the lead approaching the final flight of hurdles and stuck on gamely to the task at hand to record a two-and-a-quarter-length victory over Robert Walford’s Hititi.
“It was great and we were hopeful before the race, but we weren’t planning on what happened,” said Mulholland.
“The horse had a couple of good runs and was going the right way and speaking to his owner Paul McKeon, this race came up with plenty of money on offer and we decided to target it.
“It was all going well until the first hurdle down the back and then it looked like it was all going wrong, but Joe made a fantastic recovery – he’s a good horseman and he’s ridden plenty of winners for us in the last year.
“It’s great for racing and it’s a good positive story. The applause the horse got when he came back in after the race, it was nice to be a part of it you know.”
He went on: “I’ve seen Paul Carberry at Leopardstown go under one side and come back up the other, but I’m not sure he won.
“For that to happen and then to win, it was a great result for me, for the owners, for Joe and for racing really.”
Anderson, speaking to Sky Sports Racing, added: “Thank God that is over and done with.
“I lost my irons and I thought he was going down – he did very well to stand up.
“I kept going for one of my irons but it had gone over my saddle, so I was trying to get it back and every time I moved he kept lighting up and then jumping the last second time around he settled away, so I was able to have a little play around and get it back. It’s very good he’s very good at jumping.”
He went on: “It wasn’t actually that uncomfortable to be honest with you and he jumps so well – if he was one who needed a good helping hand I might have struggled, but it worked out in the end.
“It will probably be one of those where I watch it back and it will make me look a bit better than I actually am, but it all worked well today.”
Giannis Antetokounmpo believes the Milwaukee Bucks must do "every little thing" better after slipping to a third defeat in four games.
The Bucks were defeated 112-108 by the Houston Rockets on Saturday, dropping Milwaukee to 25-11 on the season and leaving them three-and-a-half games behind the conference-leading Boston Celtics in the East.
The Bucks' defeat to the Rockets came in spite of a brilliant display from Antetokounmpo, who finished with 48 points and 17 rebounds in a seventh-straight double-double.
Antetokounmpo says the Bucks must improve every facet of their game if they are to repeat their run to the 2021 title, telling reporters: "We have to be better.
"We have to play better, we have to defend better, we have to trust one another better, we have to be coached better.
"Every single thing, everybody has to be better. It starts from the equipment manager – he has to wash our clothes better. The bench has to be better, the leaders of the team have to be more vocal, we have to make more shots, we have to defend better, we have to have a better strategy, we have to be better.
"We have four months to get better, so we'll see."
The Rockets held a 16-point lead heading into the fourth quarter, and though the Bucks could not quite get the comeback completed, Milwaukee head coach Adrian Griffin is confident his team will get over their struggles soon.
"It'll come," Griffin stated. "It's a team sport, it's five guys out there.
"I thought we dug ourselves in a hole as a unit and did a good job of getting out of it but just ran out of time."
Nick Nurse had no excuses after his injury-hit Philadelphia 76ers team fell to a second straight defeat against the Utah Jazz on Saturday.
The 76ers were without reigning MVP Joel Embiid because of swelling in his knee, while Tobias Harris, De-Anthony Melton, Robert Covington and Furkan Korkmaz were also out injured.
Philadelphia could not overcome those absences, going down 120-109 against the Jazz after suffering a heavy 128-92 defeat to the New York Knicks in their previous game.
Despite his team's injury troubles, Nurse insists the 76ers must perform better, telling reporters: "I believe even though you're missing five guys, that those guys can collectively play together better than that,"
"They can execute better. They can defend better than that. They can make those open shots. There were plenty of shots to step into and make in that game.
"When you’re short-handed, you got to play better than that. You've got to shoot the ball better and you've got to finish better than that."
Tyrese Maxey, who finished with 25 points but made just one of his eight three-pointers against the Jazz, acknowledged the team must play better going forward.
"Coach [Nurse] said we just didn't play hard enough," Maxey said. "He felt like the guys who came in, we could've played a lot harder and with a lot more force so he said we'll work on that.
"We'll get back to doing that and playing that way."
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