Claude Giroux's goal with 1:24 remaining in overtime completed a furious rally as the Ottawa Senators overcame a three-goal deficit to earn a 4-3 win over the Nashville Predators in Monday's lone game of the NHL schedule.

Ottawa trailed 3-0 after one period before goals from Drake Batherson, Tim Stuetzle and Brady Tkachuk in the second tied the game, and the Senators received a superb relief effort from goaltender Joonas Korpisalo to help spur the comeback.

Korpisalo stopped all 17 shots he faced after taking over for Mads Sogaard, who was pulled after one period after allowing three goals on 11 shots.

After the Predators failed on a 2-on-1 attempt late in overtime, the Senators countered with an odd-man rush of their own. Stuetzle worked a give-and-go with Giroux, who blasted his teammate's pass over Nashville goaltender Juuse Saros for the game-winner.

Ottawa, tied for last in the Eastern Conference with 40 points, had lost two in a row coming in but improved to 4-1-2 over its last seven games.

The Predators lost for the fourth time in five games despite a solid performance from Saros, who made 14 saves in the third period to force overtime and finished with 31.

Michael McCarron staked Nashville to an early lead when he rocketed a loose puck past Sogaard 8:26 in. Philip Tomasino and Yakov Trenin then scored 2:30 apart before the end of the first period to give the Predators a seemingly comfortable 3-0 advantage. 

England fly-half Marcus Smith is awaiting scan results on a leg injury sustained in training just five days before the Guinness Six Nations’ opener against Italy.

Steve Borthwick’s squad are on a training camp in Girona and the England head coach is scheduled to announce his starting line-up on Thursday.

England’s Six Nations’ hopes would be given a huge blow if Smith is ruled out as fellow fly-half Owen Farrell is ineligible for selection following his move from Saracens to French side Racing 92 last week.

Farrell had already made himself unavailable for this season’s Six Nations in order to focus on his mental well-being and Smith was a leading contender to fill his boots.

Smith left England’s training camp on crutches and headed for a scan after his session had been cut short.

England attack coach Richard Wigglesworth told several national media outlets: “Hopefully it’s very precautionary, but if he is not (available) it would definitely be a blow for us.

“It wasn’t a big incident. He was just jogging, but he pulled up and happened to be right next to a physio by the sideline, so they walked off after that. All the usual stuff (medical assessments) will happen.”

Andy Murray remains winless in 2024 after losing in three sets to France’s Benoit Paire in the first round of the Open Sud de France.

Murray, who exited both the Brisbane International and the Australian Open after his opening match, let slip a one-set lead against Paire, currently ranked 112, to lose 6-2 6-7 (5) 3-6 in just short of two and three-quarter hours.

Former world number one Murray raced into a 3-0 lead in the opening set after breaking Paire’s first service game and broke the Frenchman for a second time in the eighth game to wrap it up 6-2 in 38 minutes.

Paire, who reached a career-high ranking of 18 in 2016, responded by breaking Murray in the opening game of the second set and after the Briton broke back to level it up at 4-4, it headed for a tie-break.

Murray won three successive points from 5-1 down and saved a set point to claw it back to 6-5, but lost the next point on his serve and Paire clinched the tie-break 7-5 to level the match.

After both players had lost their serve early in the decider, Paire made the decisive break when 4-3 ahead and served it out to seal an impressive win.

Murray, who has said this year could be his last on tour if he is “not enjoying it”, lost in the opening round to Grigor Dimitrov in Brisbane and fell to Tomas Martin Etcheverry in straight sets at the Australian Open.

The British Horseracing Authority has said it is looking into how leading Randox Grand National contender Monbeg Genius may be affected by a freezing order placed on the assets of owners Baroness Michelle Mone and her husband Doug Barrowman.

Assets linked to the couple have been frozen, as a National Crime Agency investigation into PPE firm Medpro continues.

According to the Financial Times, about £75million of assets, including a townhouse in Belgravia and an estate on the Isle of Man, have either been frozen or restrained following an application by the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

Purchased for £80,000 via a Goffs sale in November 2020, Monbeg Genius is trained by Jonjo O’Neill and was third in the Ultima Handicap at last year’s Cheltenham Festival when coming home behind subsequent National hero Corach Rambler and multiple Grade One winner Fastorslow, who is now among the favourites for the Gold Cup.

He was most recently seen finishing third again in the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury in early December, but a setback meant he missed potential outings in the Welsh Grand National at Chepstow and the Classic Chase at Warwick.

A spokesperson for racing’s governing body said: “The BHA is aware of reports regarding a court order in relation to the assets of Michelle Mone and Doug Barrowman.

“We are in contact with the relevant individuals to understand what implication, if any, there are for their involvement with racing.”

Speaking earlier this month, O’Neill said he hoped Monbeg Genius would come right in time for Aintree, but that he would need a run beforehand in order to make the cut for the race, which this year will have a reduced field of 34 runners, adding that should he not make the National then races like the Scottish National and Midlands National will be considered. His ante-post price for the National on April 13 ranges from 14-1 to 20-1.

In a statement last week, a spokesman for the couple said: “Doug and Michelle did not contest the application (by the CPS) and were happy to offer up these assets, which means they can begin the task of proving their innocence more quickly.”

New York Knicks forward Julius Randle reportedly avoided a serious injury but will still be out for several weeks.

There was a fear that a dislocated right shoulder could've sidelined him multiple months, but Shams Charania of The Athletic reported on Monday he'll likely only miss a few weeks.

Despite the positive news, he'll likely still be sidelined through the All-Star Game on February 18.

The Knicks' first game after the break is against the Philadelphia 76ers on February 22.

Randle dislocated his shoulder in Saturday's 125-109 win over the Miami Heat. He exited with 4:27 to play after appearing to land hard on his right shoulder after colliding with the Heat's Jaime Jaquez Jr. 

Saturday's win marked the sixth straight victory for the Knicks, who improved to 12-2 this month.

Randle has been instrumental to New York's success, averaging 24.0 points, 9.2 rebounds and 5.0 assists per game.

The 10-year veteran has yet to miss a game, recording 18 double-doubles and 10 30-point games.

His play has helped the Knicks climb into fourth place in the Eastern Conference, and he was likely on his way to earning a third All-Star Game selection.

Willie Mullins and Paul Townend continued their sensational run of form with a Monday double at Punchestown.

Even by his own high standards, the Closutton handler has been firing on all cylinders since the turn of the year, with his latest brace meaning he has now trained 39 winners in January.

Stable jockey Townend is enjoy a similar hot streak, with his last 20 rides yielding 14 victories.

It did not take the formidable partnership long to find the target, with Anotherway bolting up in the opening Get Best Odds Guaranteed At Bet Victor Maiden Hurdle.

The five-year-old was the 8-15 favourite despite finishing down the field on his Irish debut at Leopardstown over Christmas and justified his cramped odds with a comfortable 12-length success.

Coral cut Anotherway to 33-1 from 100-1 for the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at Cheltenham, but Mullins indicated he could well step up in distance if he does make the trip to the Cotswolds.

“He stayed well and galloped well the whole way to the line, but his jumping left a lot to be desired and he has to improve on that,” said the champion trainer.

“Maybe it was the heavy ground today because he jumped much better in Leopardstown the last day. I’m disappointed with his jumping but at least he did what he was showing us at home today.

“Looking at that performance he might be more of a Ballymore (Baring Bingham Novices’ Hurdle) horse.”

Mullins and Townend doubled up in the Group Ticket Deal At Festival 2024 (C & G) Maiden Hurdle with the similarly promising Billericay Dickie (8-11 favourite).

Another recruit from the French Flat scene, the five-year-old cruised to the front under a motionless Townend before kicking 11 lengths clear.

Mullins added: “I was delighted with that. I didn’t think he’d go on that ground, but Paul said he handled it well.

“For a maiden I thought he jumped very well and he could go wherever he wants.

“We’ll look at a novice hurdle somewhere and we’ll see if Paul thinks he’s good enough for a race across the water (at Cheltenham). I’d like to get another run into him before we go there, if we go there.

“That was two and a half, he’s by New Bay and his dam won on the Flat over a mile and a quarter. I wouldn’t be going three miles with him, but he could stick around that trip or two-six.

“I might get another novice in him and then decide if he’s good enough to go.”

Bioluminescence was another winning odds-on favourite in the Download The Bet Victor App Mares Maiden Hurdle, landing odds of 4-7 for trainer Gavin Cromwell, jockey Mark Walsh and owner JP McManus.

Cromwell said: “She’s a three-mile chaser in the making, she ploughed through that ground and it’s nice to get her head in front.”

Martin Brassil’s Built By Ballymore (11-4) was hard at work a long way from home in the Punchestown Members Club From 215 Rated Novice Hurdle, but stuck to his guns to stay in contention and in the end pulled 12 lengths ahead of the chasing pack under JJ Slevin.

“He just handles the muck. He mightn’t quicken up but he just keeps going in it,” said Brassil.

“I felt he might have been put in high enough, but in those conditions he handles it better than most.”

British success stories at the Dublin Racing Festival are few and far between – and virtually non-existent when it comes to Grade One contests. But in 2019 La Bague Au Roi broke the mould, as she lifted the roof off the Leopardstown grandstand.

Many had questioned the sanity of trainer Warren Greatrex when fresh from holding off the likes of Topofthegame and Santini in the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase, he suggested heading into the backyard of the Irish rather than trotting down the typical pathway of the Cheltenham Festival.

However, the Lambourn handler had a plan and whereas the undulations of Prestbury Park were never going to be La Bague Au Roi’s ideal cup of tea, the parkland on the outskirts of the Irish capital were seen as the ideal ballpark for the star mare to double her Grade One tally.

“She won the Kauto Star and it was just thinking outside the box really,” said Greatrex.

“We knew historically the ground wasn’t always too bad there and she never really coped with bottomless ground, so it was just the case of a little plan hatched after Kempton and the owners were very sporting and willing to give it a go.

“There was a lot of pressure and a lot of people were thinking I was mad to take an English mare over to a Grade One in Ireland. But I thought the track and ground would suit and Richard Johnson had won the Irish Gold Cup on Florida Pearl so he knew the track inside out.

“I never thought Cheltenham would be her gig, she was fancied the year after and ended up unseating Richard Johnson in the Plate when I thought she would have taken some beating.

“Sometimes thinking outside the box pays off and it pays off to be a little bit braver, which is what sport is all about I think.”

Crossing the Irish Sea unbeaten in three over fences, La Bague Au Roi had every right to be among the favourites for the Flogas Novice Chase.

And when top Irish novice Delta Work was pulled out of the contest by trainer Gordon Elliott, she became the odds-on 10-11 favourite for an away game, leaving her trainer with some last-minute jitters to contend with,

“Delta Work was pulled out in the morning which meant she was a very short-priced favourite. As a trainer you like to see that, but obviously the pressure is then even bigger,” said Greatrex.

“To go over there, which is pretty unusual for the English to go over with a fancied horse, you are sort of panicking. You believe in the horse, but you are panicking and thinking ‘Is this the right thing to do?’.”

If the nerves were beginning to get to Greatrex, then no one informed big-race pilot Johnson, who bounced La Bague Au Roi out in customary fashion and began to put the best of Ireland’s novice chasers to the sword.

Having dictated terms throughout the time came to stamp her authority when challenged by 33-1 outsider Kaiser Black after the last and she displayed toughness in abundance to repel her only danger close home.

It remains the only British triumph in a Grade One at the Dublin Racing Festival and for all the big-race victories Greatrex has won in his training career, it is a day that will live long in the memory.

“There’s a picture I have of her at the last and Richard asked her from miles away and she delivered,” continued Greatrex.

“When you see the picture it’s fairly scary how far she was standing off it and she was all heart and never gave up.

“The Leopardstown win was big. I believed in her and I have to say – and I’ve trained a few Grade Ones – that was one I really enjoyed because to go to Ireland and beat them at their own back door is pretty cool. That win was a big feather in our cap, I think”

La Bague Au Roi would return to Leopardstown the following year to finish a battling fifth in the Irish Gold Cup, but no one can ever take that glorious afternoon from 12 months previous away from her.

It was the final triumph in a 28-race career that yielded 14 victories across the space of six seasons and she is now under the watch of former Premier League and Ireland international footballer Kevin Doyle at his family’s Slaney River Stud in County Wexford.

Always keen to hear about one of his star pupils, Greatrex keeps in contact with those in Ireland who report she shows the same character in retirement as she did when one of the leading lights on the racecourse.

Greatrex added: “I’ve been told that in the paddock she is the boss and she was very much like that here. Everyone knew when she was about as she would walk around Lambourn like she owned it.

“She was an amazing mare and won two Grade Ones and I hope somewhere down the line I can train one of her offspring.

“She was just so straightforward, she never missed a day and you could read her like a book. The more annoying she became, you knew you were having her ready.

“She just went through the grades and was phenomenal. She was like a model to look at, she was tall and leggy, never carried too much condition, but she was just very easy to train and just a brilliant horse to train.

He went on: “You would never look at her at home and think she was exceptional, she went through the motions and wasn’t very fast, but she had a big heart.

“Even when she ran in the Kauto Star, the way she fended them off, she was as tough as a boy and will live long in the memory. They only come around once every so often and she was a one-off I think.”

David Christie classes Ferns Lock as the best horse he will send to the Cheltenham Festival as he eyes up the St. James’s Place Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase.

Christie saw Winged Leader edged out by Billaway in 2022, while last year he saddled 9-4 favourite Vaucelet to finish seventh in the amateurs’ contest.

However, the exciting Ferns Lock has always looked a class above his contemporaries and having claimed Thurles’ Carey Glass Hunters Chase at a canter for the second year running, he is now poised to be unleashed at Prestbury Park on the final day of the Festival.

“It looks like Cheltenham is the way to go,” said Christie.

“I would probably be in agreement with Ruby Walsh and a few other people in that Aintree would maybe be more his cup of tea because he has so much class and speed, but saying that, you can’t really not go to Cheltenham.

“We’ve been patient and we may as well give it a go and see what it brings us.

“He’s a really exciting horse and has lots of pace. If you were to run him in handicaps or even Graded races then you would be wanting to run him over two and a half miles or even shorter. He’s exciting and his half-brother won a bumper for Ben Pauling at Newbury, so the family have that speed and class about them.”

Ferns Lock was high-up in the ante-post betting 12 months ago when Christie decided to take a patient approach with his young and inexperienced charge.

He swerved the Festival in favour of assignments closer to home then and although set to get his passport stamped this time around and as short as 5-2 with Sky Bet, his handler still has slight concerns about his maturity for a task as mammoth as National Hunt’s showpiece meeting.

“He’s a big horse, but he’s a very immature horse in his head and we probably in an ideal world would like to get another race into him before Cheltenham,” added Christie.

“We are wary with younger and immature horses that no matter how easy he won (at Thurles), he still has to run three miles and carry 12st on his back over fences on soft enough ground. So I’ll have to just leave it and train him for Cheltenham now but the worry is his immaturity a little bit.”

There is little doubt where Ferns Lock stands in Christie’s pecking order though, with the County Fermanagh trainer describing the seven-year-old as “just a better horse” than those he has travelled to Cheltenham in the past.

He said: “Winged Leader was just beaten there and Vaucelet loves really good ground and has won plenty of hunter chases. He was actually sick at Cheltenham and we didn’t realise until we got back home. He was beaten 10 lengths but he was sick and we didn’t know and then the travelling and that brought these things out.

“But even when you take that into account, this is still a better horse than Winged Leader and Vaucelet. He’s just a better horse. If you asked me to put them 1-2-3, then he would be the best.”

Preparing his string this winter in the west of Ireland has proved tricky for Christie, but if an upturn in the weather can revitalise Vaucelet, he could be handed a second bite of the Festival cherry, with former Willie Mullins inmate Ramillies another on track for the Cotswolds.

“It’s been such a horrendous year in terms of ground and weather and for someone like me who trains in one of the most westerly spots in Ireland, you can’t underestimate how difficult a year that makes it,” explained Christie.

“Vaucelet is a spring horse and as the days get longer and everything else, if there is a bit of a spark between now and Cheltenham, then I would definitely consider him.

“The other horse who will run, all being well, is the ex-Willie Mullins horse, Ramillies. He’s just turned nine and I’m basically keeping him fit point-to-pointing and doing very little with him at home – that is his work.

“He’s getting his confidence in the point-to-points and we will aim for Naas on February 10 and if all goes well there, then we will go to Cheltenham.”

He went on: “You can go with a couple of nice horses, but it is difficult to win at Cheltenham and you need so many things to go your way.

“There’s plenty of us in Ireland who have good horses, but you have to have plenty of respect for the likes of Will Biddick and Bradley Gibbs, who won it last year, because they are just good at what they do and they deserve what they get. It’s OK me saying I have a nice horse, but they do too and they know how to train as well.”

Galopin Des Champs remains on course to spearhead what is sure to be a formidable team for Willie Mullins into battle at this weekend’s Dublin Racing Festival.

The reigning Cheltenham Gold Cup hero bounced back to his best with a scintillating performance in Leopardstown’s Savills Chase over Christmas period and will be short odds to follow up with a successful defence of the Irish Gold Cup at the Foxrock circuit on Saturday.

Following six winners across three meetings in Britain and Ireland on Saturday, a Sunday treble at Naas and two more victories at Punchestown on Monday, the champion trainer is firing on all cylinders ahead of a high-profile meeting he traditionally dominates.

And with Galopin Des Champs set to be joined by the likes of State Man, El Fabiolo and a whole host of promising novices, another Mullins bonanza could be in store.

“Everything is going well and at the moment everything is on song, unless something works bad during the week,” he said.

“He (Galopin Des Champs) is all set for it and he’s going to work tomorrow or the next day.

“We’re happy, there is no reason that we’re not happy at the moment – we’re very happy with him.

“They are getting enough rain up there. I think they got plenty today and there is more forecast, it was probably needed.”

Steve Borthwick insists England’s battle-hardened players are ready for the Guinness Six Nations as a result of facing greater club demands than any of their rivals.

Borthwick’s 36-man squad have comfortably racked up the highest number of minutes played since the World Cup due to their Gallagher Premiership and European commitments.

But while they will enter the Six Nations depleted by a greater workload – they have accumulated over two hours of game time more per player than next highest France – Borthwick believes they have benefited from the competitiveness of English clubs.

Six Premiership teams have reached the knockout phase of the Investec Champions Cup while the domestic league itself is more compelling that ever following its reduction in  teams.

“The players are match-hardened, so that’s a great benefit. Generally I will try to look at the positive side and I have a group of players that are match-hardened. They are ready to go,” Borthwick said.

“The other thing is the nature of the Premiership. All of the games are counting so the leverage of all these games is huge.

“And there have been teams fighting in Europe to get qualification, fighting to find a way to win which, again, is a real positive.

“Everything we’re getting is saying all the clubs are running more than they were 12 months ago, so that’s a real positive.”

England may enter Saturday’s opener against Italy in a fitter state than they were at the equivalent stage in 2023, but Premiership duty will not have equipped them for breakdown and contact area demands of a Six Nations.

And Borthwick has also told his players that there is a minimum requirement every time they pull on a Red Rose jersey.

“The Six Nations is a real contest. It’s breakdown contest game so we need to ensure that we’ve got that running right as well as the level of repeatability around the contact area,” Borthwick said.

“We are going to improve as a rugby team. We will get tactically and technically better, and we will get fitter.

“The supporters also need to see that this team fights all the time, is competitive all the time and plays at the intensity required in an England team.

“That is the base standard and if you have that, you can add the technical and tactical elements that will then follow.”

Argentinian coach Gonzalo Quesada took charge of Italy after the World Cup, replacing Kieran Crowley, and Borthwick insists England will have to think on their feet to contain a repurposed Azzurri.

“Under Kieran Crowley Italy played a phased attack game,” he said.

“They beat Australia, pushed South Africa, beat Wales in Cardiff and in the first game of the Championship last year they went very close to beating France. This is a very dangerous team.

“Quesada played a very different style to that at the Jaguares and at Stade Francais, much more of a blend of forward dominance with competitive kicking, lower phase count.

“They are two contrasting styles so the interesting question for Italy is what can they put together in that first game? We’ll have to be ready to recognise what style they are bringing very early in the game.”

Baaeed has sired his first foal with a new arrival at Haras de la Perelle in Normandy.

The Shadwell-owned superstar was trained to six successive Group One victories by William Haggas, landing the Lockinge, Queen Anne, Sussex Stakes and Juddmonte International in his four-year-old season before meeting with the only defeat of his career in the Champion Stakes.

He subsequently retired to Beech House Stud in Newmarket, having earned over £2.5million in prize-money and stands there for a current fee of £80,000.

His first foal is a bay filly out of Mejthaam, a well-related Exceed And Excel mare who is a half sister to Alflaila – also owned by Shadwell and trained by Owen Burrows to three Group-race successes so far.

William Rimaud, manager of Haras de la Perelle, said of the new arrival: “We are delighted with her.

“She is a strong, good-sized foal, full of energy and has a great temperament.

“She is doing everything right. It is very exciting to have had the first foal of the brilliant champion Baaeed.”

Harry Fry will not shirk a Cheltenham Festival rematch with Lossiemouth despite seeing his own star mare Love Envoi come off clear second best in their clash in Saturday’s Unibet Hurdle.

The latter is already a Festival winner having claimed the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle in 2022 and last season gave the retiring Honeysuckle a real run for her money in the Mares’ Hurdle itself.

Fry admitted to being disappointed with Love Envoi’s performance when filling the runner-up spot in the rescheduled Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Sandown last month, but was much more encouraged by her display on Cheltenham Trials day, albeit she was no match for the impressive Lossiemouth.

“Obviously the winner was in a different league, but we were pleased with the run,” he said.

“She travelled and jumped with her usual fluency and it was good to see that she was much sharper for her reappearance.

“The Mares’ Hurdle has always been the plan, we were runner-up in the race last year and we’ve got six weeks to look forward to going back there.

“Obviously Lossiemouth is going to be very hard to beat on the form she showed on Saturday, but it’s a horse race at the end of the day and you’ve got to be in it to win it.”

Love Envoi is a general 14-1 shot for the Mares’ Hurdle, with the Willie Mullins-trained Lossiemouth odds-on to record her second Festival win following last year’s Triumph Hurdle success.

Such was the impression she made on her comeback, plenty have suggested Lossiemouth should be heading for the Champion Hurdle, a notion Fry is unsurprisingly fully behind.

He quipped: “I don’t know what they’re thinking, I think it’s a no-brainer to go for the Champion Hurdle. If anything is going to give Constitution Hill a race it must be her, surely!

“I can understand where they’re coming from (going for the Mares’ Hurdle), but they’ve all got to get there and in six weeks anything can happen.

“We know the trip on Saturday is short of our best and we prefer slower ground as well. Hopefully we get conditions in our favour and the more testing it is the better, basically.”