World number two Carlos Alcaraz has retired hurt after twisting his ankle in the first round of the Rio Open.
The two-time grand slam winner hurt his ankle after just two points while playing Brazilian Thiago Monteiro before the Spaniard went on to break his serve.
But just one game later, Alcaraz had his serve broken, shook Monteiro’s hand, and left the court shortly after, retiring from the match.
It comes a week after the 20-year-old lost to Chile’s Nicolas Jarry in the semi-finals of the Argentina Open.
After the match, world number 117 Monteiro said it was “strange” for an injury to occur so early in the match.
“On the court it didn’t look so serious, but then I saw it in the big screen and it was a bad twist,” he said.
“Now I can only cheer for him to recover. He is a star, a dominant one in the new generation.”
Ronnie O’Sullivan reeled off five frames in succession to beat Zhou Yuelong 6-2 and reach the quarter-finals of the Players Championship.
Competing for the first time since withdrawing from the Wales Open due to anxiety, O’Sullivan was far from his fluent best in the early stages but improved markedly after the interval in Telford.
The seven-time world champion produced a superb total clearance of 136 in the sixth frame, won the next after Zhou inexplicably missed a simple green and wrapped up the win with a run of 73.
O’Sullivan was in no mood to give any insight into his performance, however, telling ITV4: “I don’t assess my performances really, I make that a golden rule. Bit of match practice, take what I can from the tour and move on.
“I’m just trying to get away with playing as least as I can, I feel happier doing that.
“This is all icing on the cake for me, whatever I get off this tour. I’ve got my exhibitions, my ambassador work and that’s my main thing – I just fit in a few tournaments around that.”
Mark Allen earlier made three consecutive centuries, including a tournament record 146, on his way to an impressive 6-3 win over three-time world champion Mark Williams.
Allen followed his 146 in the opening frame with breaks of 112 and 102, restricting Williams to a solitary point in the process, and also made breaks of 94, 70 and 68 to ease into the quarter-finals.
“Any win against Mark is a good win, but to play like that and score like that, that’s what I needed because I haven’t been doing that much,” Allen told ITV4.
“I’m not going to go into it, but I am trying something a bit different this week so we’ll see if it works. It is a timing issue that I feel like I’ve had in recent months so the technical change I’ve made I’m hoping will correct that.
“I started the match as good as you could with three centuries and disappointed not to make four, but that’s the way you need to play.
“I lost a few (against Mark) early on when I first turned pro and I think that’s nine of the last 10 I’ve won now so maybe that’s in his head a little bit as well.”
Allen will play Gary Wilson in the quarter-finals after he came from 2-0 down to beat Hossein Vafaei 6-4, the Welsh Open winner sealing victory with a break of 95.
Ali Carter will take on Judd Trump after breaks of 116, 97, 66 and 69 helped secure a 6-2 victory over Tom Ford.
England are considering unleashing Manu Tuilagi against Scotland amid a warning from Kevin Sinfield that the midfield powerhouse remains a potent force.
Tuilagi is in contention to make his first appearance of the Guinness Six Nations at Murrayfield on Saturday, having been sidelined since December because of a groin tear.
It is the latest of many injury setbacks for the 32-year-old Sale Sharks centre, who broke his hand twice at last autumn’s World Cup, ruling him out of the start of the club season.
Tuilagi’s return would provide the ball-carrying muscle missing from England’s back line – Ollie Lawrence is also an option for the role – and Sinfield insists he still has plenty to offer the national side.
“I would say this without any doubt – don’t write him off yet,” the assistant coach said.
“He’s still got some really good years ahead of him and he’s very much a big part of how we move forward and what we are doing here.
“When you play like he has done for so long, and you are so physical, it is inevitable that at some point in your career you will have a run of injuries.
“What you find with the powerful-type guys, one injury tends to lead into another.”
Also back in contention for the pivotal round-three encounter in Edinburgh is George Martin, the star of England’s heartbreaking World Cup semi-final defeat to South Africa who is fully fit after tweaking his knee.
The 22-year-old enforcer, who can operate at lock or blindside flanker, stood toe to toe with the Springboks and his physicality will be a valuable asset against Scotland.
“Big. Physical. Aggressive. Great ball carrier and he’s one of our better defenders,” Sinfield said.
“In the semi-final he really stood out on the international stage against some of the biggest, nastiest, most aggressive forwards in the world. He was in and amongst it.
“If selected I have no doubt he’ll leave a mark on somebody. He’s already a top player, but he’s going to get better and better.”
England have won only one of their last six meetings with Scotland and visit Murrayfield knowing it is the most hostile of all opposition venues for Red Rose teams.
Fly-half George Ford has braced his side for a “niggly game” – he was targeted in the tunnel by Scotland number eight Ryan Wilson in 2018, sparking a brawl with Owen Farrell – and Sinfield insists frayed tempers are inevitable.
“There’s certainly going to be some niggle. When you’ve got two angry, nasty forward packs wanting to go at each other, there will be some niggle,” he said.
“It’s a Test match, there’s a lot at stake and we haven’t won against them for a number of years, so no doubt there’ll be some niggle.
“There will be some bits thrown at us over the next couple of days that we haven’t planned for or we haven’t quite expected.
“But that’s the nature of being in top-level sport and we meed to make the best of some of the circumstances we are faced with.
“The history is important for us to understand but it won’t change anything – we’re not going up there with any fear.
“We know how dangerous they are, we know they’re a good team, we know they’ve got some great players. But so have we.”
The Minnesota Timberwolves are top of the Western Conference but know they will have to "maintain that edge" as they return to action following the NBA All-Star break.
Minnesota have not been beyond the first round of the playoffs in 20 years, yet they are in position to earn the number one seed through 55 games, boasting a 39-16 record and a 1.5-game lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
The All-Star break has been a busy one for the T-Wolves, with Chris Finch coaching the West outfit, which included Anthony Edwards and team-mate Karl Anthony Towns, who scored 50 points.
The team have also agreed a two-year contract extension with guard Mike Conley Jr., according to reports. He had been set for free agency at the end of the season.
Finch is now hoping he will find a focused team in Minnesota as they seek to build on a superb start to the year.
"We've just got to try to pick up where we left off," he said. "We know the intensity in these games are going to ramp up more and more.
"We've got to make sure that we maintain that edge. We've done a good job of developing a good offensive rhythm in the past few weeks, so we've got to maintain that.
"Hold serve at home; we've got a lot of home games coming up here out of the break. There's lots of things we can do to keep furthering ourselves."
There was an unfamiliar feeling for Finch in the All-Star Game, seeing his team handily beaten by the East in an encounter that drew criticism for its lack of competitive play.
The format may no longer be widely popular, but Finch certainly enjoyed the rare opportunity to coach players like LeBron James and Stephen Curry.
"Looking around the locker room, there's probably 12 first-ballot Hall of Famers in there," he said. "It's something I'll remember forever."
The Timberwolves return against the Milwaukee Bucks at Target Center on Friday.
Penrith head coach Ivan Cleary is eager to see his all-conquering NRL giants belatedly join the roll call of world club champions with victory over Wigan at the DW Stadium on Saturday.
The Panthers fell short against Wigan and Bradford in 1991 and 2004 respectively before suffering an agonising golden point defeat to St Helens on home territory in February last year.
Despite being one of the NRL’s greatest sides by common consensus after three-straight title wins, Cleary knows an asterisk will remain beside his side’s achievements until they have ascended to the global crown.
“It’s the one thing we haven’t been able to do – only 12 teams have managed to win this thing and we’ve had three goes and missed out on it,” said Cleary.
“You look through the list of winners and only the big clubs have done it, so for us to be on that list would be big.
“I’ve watched these games for many years from growing up as a kid and it’s a big game – you don’t play for a world championship every day and I think both teams will show what it means on the night.”
Both sides have been hit by injury setbacks ahead of the fixture with Cleary confirming Penrith will hand 20-year-old Jack Cole only his second senior start at stand-off in place of absent star Jarome Luai.
Wigan meanwhile will draft youngster Harvie Hill into their front row after losing new signing Luke Thompson to concussion in Saturday’s Super League season-opener at Castleford, with another new boy Sam Walters already sidelined.
But Wigan head coach Matt Peet admitted he breathed a huge sigh of relief when half-back Harry Smith escaped a ban following a yellow card for a tip-tackle in the same fixture, meaning he can line up at the sold-out DW Stadium.
Peet admitted he had been concerned but was “chuffed” by the news and added: “I think both teams want to come up against the best of one another.
“We want to see Harry on that stage, particularly because of the journey he’s been on, coming through that pathway.
“Harvie is another home-grown lad which is brilliant and it is an exciting opportunity for him.”
Jack Catterall insisted he would knock out Josh Taylor when the bitter rivals faced each other for a second time in April.
Catterall controversially lost a split decision for the undisputed super-lightweight championship two years ago and there were many inside and outside the sport who thought he had every right to feel aggrieved.
The British Boxing Board of Control launched an investigation into the scoring of the bout and subsequently downgraded judge Ian John-Lewis, who had scored it 114-111 in favour of Taylor.
The Scot vacated three of his titles before losing his WBO championship to Teofimo Lopez last June in his only bout since facing Catterall, whom he will meet again in a non-title fight on April 27 at the First Direct Arena in Leeds.
“It’s an exciting fight, it gets the juices flowing,” Catterall told a press conference in Manchester.
“It’s been talked about for the last two years, everybody asking when this rematch is so it’s good to finally have the date locked in and I’m ready to settle it.
“They’ve said it’s the England v Scotland narrative but it’s more of me just fighting a p***k. He’s just not a nice person.
“I know what lies ahead of me. I’m preparing for the best version of Josh Taylor, so when I beat him – and I beat him convincingly – I can move on with my career.”
Asked if he believed he would win the fight within the distance, Catterall added: “One hundred per cent.
“I think he’s there to be beat, I think I’ve got his number. I know I’ve got his number and it’s only a matter of time before he touches the canvas again.”
Taylor’s microphone did not work properly during the press conference, although his words were also drowned out by boos from fans of local favourite Catterall.
Scotland are hopeful that talismanic wing Darcy Graham will be fit enough to play a part in the Guinness Six Nations even though he will stay on the sidelines for Saturday’s Calcutta Cup showdown with England.
The 26-year-old – who is second on the national team’s all-time try-scoring list – missed the opening two matches of the championship against Wales and France with a quad problem.
Graham was scheduled to return to the fold for this weekend’s Murrayfield clash with England, but it emerged on Monday that he had suffered a new groin issue while training with Edinburgh last week, which has ruled him out of contention.
The free-scoring back – who missed the entirety of last year’s Six Nations with a knee injury – is due to be assessed this week and Scotland are hoping he will be able to return for the championship-concluding fixtures away to Italy and Ireland next month.
“Darcy had started back with Edinburgh and we were very happy about that,” said scrum coach Pieter De Villiers at a media briefing on Tuesday.
“But he’s picked up a bit of a groin niggle at the moment so he’s just nursing that. We’ll see how that goes.”
Asked if Graham was expected back before the end of the tournament, De Villiers said: “We’ve got another fallow week (after England) so that will hopefully give him enough time and then we’ll just assess things from there.”
Despite Graham’s ongoing absence, Scotland will welcome back two senior members of their back three this weekend, with Glasgow wing Kyle Steyn returning after missing the France game for the birth of his child and Toulouse full-back Blair Kinghorn available after sitting out the first two games with a knee injury.
“Blair has been training really well and we’re excited to see him back in the squad again,” reported De Villiers.
Saturday’s Calcutta Cup clash will be Scotland’s first outing since their agonising defeat at home to France, when the officials controversially decided not to award them what would have been a match-winning try after Sam Skinner appeared to ground the ball on the whitewash in the last action of a tightly-contested affair.
De Villiers admitted that having last weekend off was beneficial in helping the Scots banish any lingering frustration at having their hopes of a Grand Slam dashed in such galling fashion.
“Yes, it almost feels long ago,” he said of the extra time out of camp to regroup. “A bit of time off was good for the team.
“There’s obviously been frustration and disappointment. I thought we’d done enough to win that game but that’s the way rugby goes. Sometimes things don’t go your way.
“It’s the best thing for us to move on and prepare for England which is a fantastic game to look forward to. It’s all behind us.”
De Villiers has no concerns about any hangover from the France game plaguing Scotland this weekend as he feels recovering from such setbacks is “part of what we do”.
“It’s important to be able to move on,” he said. “It’s important to be able to be frustrated as well.
“As much as there were things we could have done better, it’s good to know that we did enough (to potentially win the game) as well.
“That’s important for our psyche and for moving on. It’s not the first decision to go against us and it won’t be the last decision to go against us.”
Andy Murray snapped a six-match losing streak as he beat Alexandre Muller 6-1 7-6 (5) in the first round of the Qatar Open.
The 36-year-old held his nerve in a tight second set tie-break to secure his first win since October 2023 and renew hopes of a late career swansong.
Victory over the world number 75 seemed imperative if Murray was to continue to quell retirement talk and progress in a tournament in which he reached the final last year.
He eased into a 3-0 lead against the French qualifier and spurned two break points for a 4-0 advantage before a brief interruption as he sought treatment for an apparent knee injury.
Murray showed few ill effects as he completed a one-sided first set but Muller became more aggressive at the start of the second and sought to capitalise on his opponent’s restricted movement.
The Scot fought off a series of break points before grabbing a break of his own with his first opportunity in the seventh game, only to surrender his lead immediately and allow Muller to haul back level.
Muller held the advantage for much of the tie-break and looked set to level the match when he led 5-3, but Murray dug deep to reel off four points in a row and seal victory and set up a second-round clash with 18-year-old Jakub Mensik.
Murray said on court: “The last few months have been tough on court for me. I’ve clearly not won many matches and lost a lot of close ones as well.
“I’m proud I managed to get through the match and get another win, happy for my team who have been working hard trying to find solutions. Hopefully this is the start of a better run.”
Rugby League Jamaica (RLJ) staged its annual New Year 9’s festival at the UWI Mona Bowl in Kingston last Saturday.
Nineteen teams turned up to contest four categories, including Wigan-Leigh College from England.
Tries from Kenneth Walker (2), Marvin Thompson, Jade Harrison and Akel Jenson led Duhaney Park Redsharks to a 24-12 win over Washington Blvd Bulls in the men’s final.
For the Bulls, Oshane Edie (2) and Linval Green replied with tries. Jamaica Defence Force shutout St Bess Sledgehammers 24-0 for third, while St Catherine OB Thundercats and Liguanea Dragons finished 5th and 7th respectively, topping West Kingston Hyenas and Spanish Town Vikings.
The Women’s final was a hotly contested affair between Redsharks and Sledgehammers. Shanique Smith and Allison Frazier rushed the winners to 8-0 lead before Sledgehammers came roaring back through scores from Yanique Days and Yianna Wilson. It needed sudden death extra time to settle the affair, and it was Smith who produced a brilliant solo break to settle the matters.
In Boy’s Academy U19 finals, Jamaica Hurricanes Academy A edged English outfit Wigan-Leigh College 12-8. Scorers for Jamaica were Damoy Palmer, Tyreke Hutchinson and Shevaugh Smith, the latter scoring in extra time. Both Wigan tries came from Toa Bayliss. The win marked the first ever by a Jamaican domestic team over an English team in any format of the game. Meanwhile, in the High School U19 Category, BB Coke High school got the better of The Cedar Grove Academy 12-8.
Director of Romeo Monteith commented, "RLJ is extremely pleased with the execution of the tournament, we had competitive games all round and Wigan-Leigh added an excellent international flair to this staging."
Mark Allen made three consecutive centuries, including a tournament record 146, on his way to an impressive 6-3 win over Mark Williams in the Players Championship.
Allen followed his 146 in the opening frame with breaks of 112 and 102, restricting Williams to a solitary point in the process, and also made breaks of 94, 70 and 68 to ease into the second round in Telford.
“Any win against Mark is a good win but to play like that and score like that, that’s what I needed because I haven’t been doing that much,” Allen told ITV4.
“I’m not going to go into it, but I am trying something a bit different this week so we’ll see if it works. It is a timing issue that I feel like I’ve had in recent months so the technical change I’ve made I’m hoping will correct that.
“I started the match as good as you could with three centuries and disappointed not to make four, but that’s the way you need to play.
“I lost a few (against Mark) early on when I first turned pro and I think that’s nine of the last 10 I’ve won now so maybe that’s in his head a little bit as well.”
Officials at Aintree believe they are better prepared to deal with any protests that may occur at this season’s Randox Grand National, after last year’s race was delayed by around 15 minutes.
More than 100 protesters from animal rights group Animal Rising were arrested after some managed to get onto the course.
The Jockey Club, which owns Aintree, was able to put more stringent plans in place by the time of the Derby at Epsom in June, when it secured an injunction which made it illegal for anyone to attempt to get on the track.
Aintree clerk of the course Sulekha Varma said: “We’re lucky that we’ve got a very good relationship with the police and we will take guidance from them.
“We learned a lot last year, and we saw that at Epsom, so we are going into this year with a different outlook.”
Dickon White, Aintree and North West regional director of the Jockey Club, said: “We’ve had nothing at all (threat of protests).
“We’re still reviewing last year’s incidents, as we would through the normal planning process with Merseyside Police and our security advisers. But there’s nothing at this stage which tells us there is going to be anything different to previous years. At this stage we’re not planning to do anything different.”
Nicholas Wrigley, outgoing chairman at Aintree, felt the incident emphasised just what place the race still holds in the public consciousness.
“What last year showed was how important the Grand National is, not just to racing but to the general public. It triggered a National debate which went on for days,” he said.
“It showed what the future is and what the future may hold for jumps racing. What was clear was the one thing that was at the front of everything was the safety of the horse.
“It’s why we’ve spent so long discussing everything, making everything safer for the horse because that is vital for the future of the race.
“What Sulekha and Dickon and the team have done is so important going forwards and we need all the people to support the changes and what Lucinda (Russell) and Peter (Scudamore) said in the aftermath of last year’s race which they won (with Corach Rmabler) was very helpful.
“We need people to focus on the horse rather than looking back in time at what has gone before so we’ll be asking people to get behind the changes.”
Those changes involve a new start time of 4pm, moving the first fence nearer to the starting tape and perhaps more significantly reducing the field to 34 from 40 runners.
“The changes were made on the back of the review, which happens every year, and my thought is always how do we keep the race moving forwards,” said Varma.
“The biggest change is the reduction to 34 runners and that is down to the way the race is run. Since the changes to the fences 10 years ago as it has altered the speed of the race.
“We couldn’t move the start so we’ve moved the first fence 60 yards closer and that worked in the Becher and Grand Sefton. The change in race time is also helpful as it stops some of the build up of pressure.”
Kevin Sinfield insists Ollie Lawrence and Manu Tuilagi are “ready to kick the door down” if England beef up their backline for Saturday’s Calcutta Cup clash with Scotland.
The hard running centres are available for the first time in the 2024 Guinness Six Nations having recovered from the respective groin and hip injuries that forced them to miss the opening two rounds.
Head coach Steve Borthwick must decide whether to break up the midfield partnership of Fraser Dingwall and Henry Slade that started the wins against Italy and Wales or add more ball-carrying clout to the backline.
“Ollie and Manu bring power,” assistant coach Sinfield said ahead of the trip to Murrayfield.
“Fraser and Henry offer a bit more ball movement and a bit more finesse at the line but what Manu and Ollie bring is they will kick the door down.
“It’s about trying to find the right balance for us this weekend. Ollie and Manu haven’t been in with us that long but we know them pretty well from the World Cup and what they’ve done previously.
“Then there’s the experience of Henry and Fraser’s ball skills and games management in and around that midfield, so we’ve got a real healthy competition there.”
Borthwick will make at least one enforced change when he names his team on Thursday after scrum-half Alex Mitchell was ruled out by a knee injury sustained in training.
Mitchell was due to see a specialist on Tuesday when a date for his return will be set.
It clears the path for 37-year-old veteran Danny Care to win his 99th cap as a starter in Edinburgh on Saturday, if he holds off the challenge of Ben Spencer who is likely to feature on the bench.
“Danny’s had a great career and I’ve loved working with him. He looks after himself really well and to still be playing at 37, you’ve got to be doing that early in your career,” Sinfield said.
“We all know the type of professional that he is and the experience he has. You can’t measure how valuable experience is because it gives confidence, belief and trust to those around him.
“He’s really good around the group because of his personality. He’s always got a smile on his face.
“He understands people really well and he gets the best out of those around him. It would be awesome if he can get to 100 caps.”
Rob Howley says Wales will aim to create rugby chaos when they face what most people believe is mission improbable against Ireland on Saturday.
Wales have not won a Guinness Six Nations game against Ireland in Dublin since 2012, drawing one and losing four of the subsequent fixtures.
Ireland are chasing back-to-back Grand Slams – a feat never previously achieved in the Six Nations – and have taken pole position following emphatic bonus-point victories over France and Italy.
Andy Farrell’s team will also equal a record, currently held by England and set seven years ago, of 11 successive Six Nations wins if they topple Wales.
“The challenge for us is making them as uncomfortable as we can, for every minute that we can do that, and ask different questions of them,” Wales assistant coach Howley said.
“I think if we can be comfortable in a chaos game and challenge them, because they are very well organised. We need to create chaos. Everyone reacts differently under pressure.
“We have to be able to create pressure on both sides of the ball on Saturday, for 80 of those one-minute games. If we can do that, it is 23 against 23 at the end of the day.
“It is our ability to create pressure on both sides of the ball, our ability to be clinical when we need to be. There might only be two or three opportunities, and we have to be clinical and ruthless.
“Against a world-class side that hasn’t been beaten, you have to be on it for 80 of those one-minute games.
“They (Ireland) have come out of the World Cup probably with a slight disappointment, knowing Andy Farrell and how he drives their coaching team.
“It’s a great opportunity to go to Dublin and face a formidable side. It is something we are looking forward to, and we will look to challenge them at every opportunity.”
Fly-half Sam Costelow has been recalled to the Wales starting line-up for Saturday’s clash.
The Scarlets number 10 went off because of a neck problem suffered when Wales were beaten 27-26 by opening Six Nations opponents Scotland.
He was replaced by Ioan Lloyd, who started at fly-half in the Twickenham appointment with England, but Costelow now returns as a solitary change from that game.
Elsewhere, there are further starts for squad newcomers Cameron Winnett and Alex Mann, with centre George North winning his 120th cap and becoming only the third Wales player to reach that mark after Alun Wyn Jones and Gethin Jenkins.
Uncapped Cardiff back-row forward Mackenzie Martin, meanwhile, features on the replacements’ bench.
The 20-year-old is in his first full season of professional rugby and totals just nine Cardiff appearances, but he is now set to make a Test debut at the Aviva Stadium.
Howley, who served as Wales attack coach from 2008 to 2019, is back involved with the national squad this season following his ban for breaching betting regulations.
He was forced to step back from the game in the build up to the 2019 World Cup when his betting activity came to light, resulting in an 18-month ban from rugby, half of which was suspended.
“I am so grateful to the coaches, and Warren (Wales head coach Warren Gatland) in particular, to think of me and bring me back into the fold,” Howley said.
“Every time I’ve been out with my family, it is the first time my girls have smiled for a pretty long time. The public have been fantastic in terms of what they have said to me.
“I am so lucky and glad to be back in a role I have loved for a long period of time.”
British Horseracing Authority handicapper Martin Greenwood is anticipating just a single-figure home representation in this year’s Randox Grand National at Aintree.
A total of 56 of the 87 handicapped entries are trained in Ireland, with the new safety limit of 34 meaning the current minimum rating at the initial weights stage is 149 – with just seven UK runners making that cut as things stand.
Although Greenwood expects the bottom rating to be slightly lower come the day, he does not anticipate a strong British squad numerically. Last year there were 13 British-trained starters, with Lucinda Russell’s Corach Rambler coming home in front for Scotland.
Greenwood said: “If the top 34 stood their ground, there would be seven UK runners. I reckon the cut-off will be about 144, even with a slightly small field. There’s every chance the will be single figures from the UK this year.
“I just get the horses and handicap them, the politics of the sport are nothing to do with me, I just get the horses and give them figures.
“I think the quality is there. Noble Yeats will definitely run, all being well, so the top-weight will be no lower than 165 and who knows with Hewick, they are such a game team. He could run a stormer in the Gold Cup and they might think it is ‘off we go’.”
In previous years the handicapper has taken advantage of what has been termed ‘the Aintree factor’ in allowing some tweaking of the weights, compressing the ratings in the hope of encouraging the best horses to take part.
This year’s top-weight Hewick is off his true mark of 169 following his King George VI Chase success, with Greenwood believing that to be an accurate assessment and a good starting point for the handicap.
Greenwood, who took over handicapping responsibilities from Phil Smith in 2019, said: “There’s no compression at all this year which is the first time, certainly since I’ve been doing the race.
“Hewick was on 169 after the King George and Ireland have rated him the same. I thought the King George flattered him to some extent. We all know his story, it’s a great one but they went flat out at Kempton and it is probably the one race in the calendar year in that division that doesn’t fit in if you like, given the nature of the track.
“We all know he’s a blinking good horse, but 169 is his actual UK rating. I just didn’t think there was any need to tinker.”
Corach Rambler is rated 13lb higher this time around, but Greenwood is far from certain he has got to the bottom of Russell’s charge.
He explained: “Corach Rambler is 159 this year which is the rating Tiger Roll won his second National off for a bit of historical precedence.
“He won off 146 last year but whatever he won by didn’t tell the whole story. He’s an incredible horse, he keeps a lot in the tank, he idles, we all know that and that makes him a handicapper’s nightmare.
“I think he’s going to run a big race and he’s joint-favourite. He ran pretty well on the maths last time in a small field at Haydock (when third in the Betfair Chase in November), he’s got a lot going for him, he’ll be well ridden by Mr (Derek) Fox who knows him very well and that is why he’s joint-favourite.
“(Runner-up) Vanillier ran off 147 last year and this year is 151. You could argue he did everything too late last year but part of that is because Corach Rambler was idling.
“In my eyes nothing would have beaten Corach Rambler last year but Vanillier did shape really well and has been hiding his light under a bushel this year like many do, but I think we know enough about him.”
One horse who does have a sizeable discrepancy in his official rating versus his National weight is the Mouse Morris-trained Foxy Jacks, winner of a cross-country event at Cheltenham in November.
His mark is 147 but he is off 11st in the National, which puts him at a perch of 157, although Greenwood offered his explanation.
He said: “I just have to treat this as any other race, and that is not me being blase. The one horse who sticks out on UK v Ireland ratings is Foxy Jacks but that is because the Irish don’t take into account cross country races so he’s 147 in Ireland and he ran off 149 at Cheltenham in November when he beat Latenightpass. That is why there is 10lb gap.”
Trainer Willie Mullins – Capodanno (11st 4lb), I Am Maximus (11st 2lb), Janidil (11st 2lb), Asterion Forlonge (11st 1lb), Stattler (11st 1lb), Classic Getaway (11st), James Du Berlais (10st 9lb), Bronn (10st 8lb), Mr Incredible (10st 7lb), Adamantly Chosen (10st 5lb), Meetingofthewaters (10st 4lb), Glengouly (10st 3lb) and Ontheropes (10st).
“Once we get a look at the weights in more detail then we’ll be firming up plans for the National. There are some very interesting looking ratings there and we’d love to have horses with real chances for the race.
“It would be an honour to have another winner of the Grand National on our CV (with Hedgehunter), but we’ve already been very lucky to have won it once and been placed a couple of times. It’s a world-renowned race and always a great day out for anyone with a runner in it – it’s the day that Liverpool is on the world map.
“The Grand National is certainly an option for Capodanno, and Mr Incredible (unseated at 24th fence last year and not run since) is one who could come back this year. I’m very happy with his work at home.
“If Meetingofthewaters got in he’d be very interesting.”
Sam Waley-Cohen, owner’s son and Grand National-winning jockey – Noble Yeats (11st 8lb)
“Emmet Mullins is rightly called out as a genius and I think if anyone can do it (train Noble Yeats to win a second Grand National) then Emmet can.
“The plan is still to run him at Cheltenham (in the Stayers’ Hurdle) and then at Aintree. He’s obviously got a liking for the course at Aintree and he’s in good form. Everyone likes a nice weight but we’ll see if he can do it again.
“In many ways (his Grand National win in 2022) still feels like yesterday and feels fresh in the memory. It was such a great day. It’s just great to see him running with such enthusiasm and showing what he can do.
“We always get excited weeks before the Grand National so it’s such a privilege to have a horse like him. It’s so hard to have a horse in these races so I’d say we’re already excited and by the time the day arrives everyone will be nearly boiling over!
“It’ll just be a great family day. My kids will come up and my parents will be there. It’ll be great.”
Trainer Jonjo O’Neill – Monbeg Genius (10st 4lb)
“I worked him this morning and he went lovely. We’re all set for Kelso (Premier Chase, March 2). It’s a nice prep race and the right timing.
“He’s had a few mishaps, nothing serious, and he missed the Welsh Grand National and the Warwick race (Classic Chase), but he’s in grand form now.
“He’s a good jumper normally and he stays well but whether he has enough class for the Grand National, it’s a classier race now, that would be a bit of a doubt if it came down to the last half-mile.”
Trainer Gary Moore – Nassalam (11st 4lb)
“I’d have liked him to be given a bit less (weight), but it could be worse. I did send in an email stating my facts, that while he did win very, very well nothing has come out of the race (the Welsh Grand National) and won since and he’d want to be winning that race if you were even thinking of entering him in the National.
“He overachieved and they underachieved – that’s my thinking. But I guess you need to be that high to get in!
“I’ve never had a Grand National runner before and I’m actually looking forward to training a horse for it. It’s another thing and I’m looking forward to it.
“He had a little break and now we’re starting to try to bring him along slowly. He probably won’t need the ground to be really heavy over four and a half miles.”
Trainer John McConnell – Mahler Mission (11st 1lb)
“I knew he got up to 158 after the Coral Gold Cup so it doesn’t come as much of a surprise. It’s fine isn’t it? It’s a nice weight.
“He’d be my first National runner. It’s very exciting to be going there with a horse and maybe a horse with a chance as well.
“He had a break after that run and he’s back now in full training. There is a possibility that we could give him a hurdle run maybe, but he’s fine and at the minute he’s very well.
“He definitely wouldn’t be going to Cheltenham though. He doesn’t need to be having a hard race before the National.
“Obviously you need an awful lot of luck and you need to be 110 per cent for it, but he certainly ticks a lot of the boxes.”
Jamaican Alex Powell entered Round 5 of the F4 UAE Championship with a mathematical chance to win the title, but mechanical problems would hamper his weekend and ultimately scuttle his chances in the championship.
Powell started his quest on a strong note, securing P3 in both qualifying sessions on Saturday morning. However, during Race 1, his clutch started to slip, taking away any opportunity to challenge for the win and valuable points. With skillful management of the slipping clutch, he secured a 3rd place podium finish, although it wasn’t enough to keep him in contention for the overall championship.
In the reverse grid for Race 2, Powell started in P10, making his way through the field to 8th before half the distance of the race. An over-exuberant competitor forced Alex wide off track into a very sandy area; recovering from the excursion dropped Alex to 11th place, where he finished out of the points.
While any chance of a Top-3 finish in the championship was now gone, Alex could still finish in the Top-5 with a good result in Race 3. Unfortunately, disaster struck before the very start of the race. While waiting for the red lights to extinguish, signaling the start of the race, the clutch problems resurfaced, this time resulting in his car creeping forward before the actual start, then stalling completely. Powell was out of the race before it began and eventually finished 6th in the Driver’s championship.
Still, Powell's accumulated points proved to be crucial for the Team Championship, won by his Mumbai Falcons team. He also finished 2nd in the Rookie championship.
"Not the weekend we hoped for. Some mechanical circumstances were completely out of my control. A special thanks to Prema and the Mumbai Falcons team for all their hard work over the course of the championship! Let’s keep pushing, and I’m already looking forward to the F4 Italian Championship," Powell said after the event.
The 16-year-old Jamaican sensation will next compete in the F4 Italian Championship, beginning in May.
Lucinda Russell expressed her satisfaction after her reigning Grand National hero Corach Rambler was allotted 11st 2lb for the defence of his title at Aintree in April.
The 10-year-old provided his Scottish trainer with her second success in the great race last season when triumphing by two and a quarter lengths under Derek Fox, adding his name to the roll of honour alongside 2017 winner One For Arthur.
He carried a burden of 10st 5lb on that occasion when running off 146, but inevitably the victory has triggered a rise in his rating and he now carries a mark of 159.
Russell had expected the hike as the horse is also a contender for the Cheltenham Gold Cup and will turn his attentions to Aintree after his visit to the Cotswolds in March.
“It’s more than he carried last year, but I was hoping he’d get around 11st, so 11st 2lb is ideal. I just really hope Shark (Hanlon) runs Hewick (top-weight),” she said.
“His prep is going fine, at the moment he looks super.
“It seems a bit of an odd thing to run him in the Gold Cup and we have entered him in the Ultima (at Cheltenham) too, but he’d be carrying a lot of weight in that.
“He’s a stayer, he loves it round Cheltenham and we’ll take our chance.
“Winning the National is incredibly addictive. When you win it the first time it’s fabulous, when you win it the second time you want three and you think ‘we can do it again!’. It’s obsessive!”
Corach Rambler is ridden at home by Russell’s partner and assistant trainer, the eight-time champion jump jockey Peter Scudamore.
He said of the horse, who was last seen finishing fifth in the Betfair Chase: “We’re very, very happy with him. We just take it each day at a time. He seems to be enjoying his work – I thought he ran a good race at Haydock.
“He clearly enjoys Aintree. He seems to come together this time of year, too.”
Corach Rambler won the Ultima Handicap Chase at Cheltenham last March before going on to win the National the following month and Scudamore is confident that his chances of repeating last year’s Aintree feat will not be hindered by his Gold Cup exertions.
He said: “I remember Rough Quest did it (ran in both). Miinnehoma did it. The Gold Cup is a furlong further than the Ultima so I don’t see it being an issue.
“The timing is right. I don’t think if he runs in the Gold Cup that he’d be having a harder race than he did in the Ultima (last year). We had a pattern to work from last year and we’ve tried to stick to it. I think sometimes it’s easier to run well in a conditions race than it is in a top handicap off a high weight.”
Gordon Elliott has nominated Galvin as one of his leading hopes as he goes in search of a record-equalling fourth victory in the Randox Grand National at Aintree.
The master of Cullentra had not even trained a winner in Ireland when he first struck National gold with Silver Birch in 2007 and he has, of course, since trained the hugely-popular Tiger Roll to land back-to-back runnings of the world most famous steeplechase in 2018 and 2019.
None of Elliott’s five runners in the 2023 Grand National managed to complete the course, but with 23 horses currently entered and qualified for this year’s renewal – including eight in the top 34 guaranteed a start – he is looking forward to having another crack at the Aintree showpiece on April 13.
Elliott, who is looking to join Ginger McCain, Fred Rimell and 19th Century trainer George Dockery as a four-time winner of the race, said: “It’s the greatest race in the world, if you’re not in you can’t win and we’ll probably end up running eight or 10 horses.
“We’ve got a great bunch of horses. It’s still a great thrill for us. We’d love to win it again and if we did it would be very special. Tiger Roll winning it for a second time was unbelievable.”
With an allotted weight of 11st 9lb, Conflated is the highest-rated of Elliott’s 2024 squad, while Coko Beach (11st 4lb), Ash Tree Meadow (11st 2lb) and Delta Work (11st) are all above the 11st mark.
Galvin (10st 12lb) unseated Davy Russell at the first fence 12 months ago, but will be carrying nearly a stone less this time around.
“I think Galvin looks well in – he’s below 11st,” Elliott added.
“He went at the first last year, but he’s only been trained with two races in mind this season, the cross-country race at Cheltenham and the English Grand National. I like him with 10st 12lb.
“There’s every chance Conflated could run and Coko Beach will go for the cross country at Cheltenham and then for the National, that’s the plan. Coko Beach would have a great chance if it was soft.
“Ash Tree Meadow is probably not that well handicapped, I don’t know about him.
“Delta Work is a horse we’re forgetting about, he’s been around a couple of times, he’s not getting any younger but he’s coming down in the weights. He has loads of experience.”
Chemical Energy is an interesting contender, having been bought back by Elliott for €215,000 at the recent dispersal sale of owners Andy and Gemma Brown.
The eight-year-old, who will now carry the colours of Noel and Valerie Moran’s Bective Stud, is 38th in the order of entry with a weight of 10st 5lb.
Elliott said: “We’ve been waiting for nice ground for Chemical Energy. The Grand National has been the plan all year. If the ground was nice he could have a massive chance.”
Considering some of his other potential runners, he went on: “Farouk D’Alene (10st 11lb) might go to the Irish National and Salvador Ziggy (10st 11lb) will go for the National Hunt Chase and could go for the Grand National afterwards.
“All’s good with Fury Road (10st 9lb), he’ll definitely run, and Minella Crooner (10st 6lb) and Run Wild Fred (10st 6lb) will both run if they get in.
“We’ll have to wait and see with Favori de Champdou (10st 4lb) as he might go for the Irish National, but The Goffer (10st 4lb) will definitely run if he gets in.”
Elliott’s other entries are Embittered (10st 3lb), Gevrey (10st 3lb), Fakir D’Alene (10st), Diol Ker (9st 13lb), Riaan (9st 13lb), Samcro (9st 13lb), Dunboyne (9st 11lb), Tullybeg (9st 11lb), Frontal Assault (9st 9lb) and Where It All Began (9st 6lb).
Last year’s runner-up Vanillier is the ante-post favourite with most bookmakers following the publication of the weights for this year’s Randox Grand National.
Gavin Cromwell’s grey was rated 147 when finishing best of the rest behind Corach Rambler at Aintree last April and will this year compete from a mark of 151, which does at least guaranteed him a starting berth in what will be a reduced field of 34 runners for the first time.
Reflecting on last year’s performance, Cromwell said: “We were obviously thrilled to be second in the Grand National, but when you’re coming home well like that you do think about what could have been.
“But it was a great moment. We had lots of luck last year. He went round on the inside and got all the luck – you need luck in every National.
“It’s every trainer’s dream to win the Grand National and we’ll certainly give it a good shot again this year anyway.”
Assuming top-weight Hewick takes his chance, Vanillier will carry 10st 8lb on his return to Merseyside.
The nine-year-old has been well beaten in three starts so far this season, finishing fifth behind star two miler El Fabiolo in the Hilly Way Chase at Cork, fifth over hurdles at Punchestown and 15th on his most recent outing in a handicap chase at Leopardstown’s Dublin Racing Festival.
However, it is clear Cromwell has had one race in mind all along.
He added: “I’d have to be happy enough with that (rating). It’s a lovely racing weight and having been second last year it’s got to be expected.
“He’s been trained for this race really and it’s a case of him coming in the spring – he is a spring horse.
“He’s going to have to improve plenty but he does have the experience of last year.”
When told that Vanillier is the 12-1 favourite with the Grand National’s official betting partner, William Hill, Cromwell laughed: “I won’t be worrying about that, but I hope they’re right!”
The County Meath handler has three other potential National contenders in Letsbeclearaboutit (10st 10lb), Limerick Lace (10st 4lb) and Malina Girl (10st 2lb).
He added: “Letsbeclearaboutit is a possible for the race. He needs one more run to qualify. He’s likely to go to Cheltenham and hopefully that’ll qualify him, but the plan is certainly to go to Aintree.
“Limerick Lace will probably go to Cheltenham. We’ll see how that goes as to whether we go to Aintree. Malina Girl, she’s a fair way down the list but I would like to run her if we can.”
Corach Rambler (11st 2lb) is one of several horses just behind Vanillier in the betting with William Hill at 14-1, while Panda Boy has been cut to 16-1 after being allotted 10st 3lb.
Gordon Elliott’s pair of Delta Work (11st) and Galvin (10st 12lb) have also been trimmed to 25-1 from 33-1 and 40-1 respectively, while Mr Incredible (10st 7lb) has been pushed out to 40-1 from 25-1.
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