High Class Hero looks likely to be part of Willie Mullins’ Cheltenham Festival squad after making it five from five under Rules in the W.T. O’Grady Memorial Irish EBF Novice Hurdle at Thurles.
This race has been won by some smart performers in the past, with Gerri Colombe, Monkfish and The Storyteller on the roll of honour.
High Class Hero was a red-hot 2-7 favourite to join them after following up a Listowel bumper win with three victories over timber between early August and late October.
A break of 92 days since his last success at Limerick was a minor concern, but the son of Sulamani made light of that lay-off by tracking What Path and Easy Fella before easing smoothly between the pair after the second last, going on to oblige by a comfortable length and three-quarters from the latter.
Winning jockey Paul Townend said: “He settled relatively well, it turned into a dash off the final bend and he made up a lot of ground when we quickened. The conditions are testing, we didn’t go quick early and it was like what he did at Limerick.
“He hadn’t gone anywhere (from Mullins’ yard) since his last run but just hadn’t run in a while, so on the whole I’m very happy and he is progressing.
“I think he has enough runs, which is a help going for the Albert Bartlett (Novices’ Hurdle) and he has the right attitude as well.”
Betfair cut High Class Hero from 9-1 to 7-1 for that Cheltenham Festival contest.
David Christie’s Ferns Lock cruised to victory in the Carey Glass Hunters Chase, having hacked up by 20 lengths in the same race 12 months ago.
This year, he had eight lengths in hand over Romeo Magico at the finish, but Barry O’Neill enjoyed another armchair ride and could easily have extended that advantage on the 8-15 favourite.
Coral reacted by cutting Ferns Lock to 10-3 from 4-1 for the St James’s Place Festival Hunters’ Chase at Cheltenham.
“He had to give away 7lb and 10lb and in that ground that is very tough. The only time he has ran on nice ground was here last year and while everyone thinks he is a big, strong horse who likes soft, he is a beautiful mover who wants better ground,” said Christie.
“After finishing races on heavy ground last year, he would make a palate noise but it was nothing major so we put on a tongue-tie as a safeguard. On nicer ground he wouldn’t really need it but I’ll leave it on as he is happy and relaxed with it.
“Cheltenham is his goal, he is coming on all the time and I’m hoping he’d step up from that again now.
“He has an awful size of an engine but is very immature, although is learning in every race. We’ll build for Cheltenham now.”
Purse Price (7-4) showed a smart turn of foot to land the Connolly’s Red Mills Irish EBF Auction Maiden Hurdle in emphatic fashion for Gordon Elliott and Jack Kennedy.
Kennedy said: “It was a weak maiden hurdle but she had been consistent and did it well today. It looked a nice opportunity, so it was good to get her head in front.
“She travelled, jumped well and put the race to bed – it all went to plan. Hopefully there will be another race or two to be won with her and she can also get confidence from today.”
Falco Blitz (16-1) came with a smooth, late surge to land the Duggan Veterinary 4Cyte Handicap Chase under a confident ride by Conor McNamara for his father Eric.
The latter said: “I’m delighted for (owner) Shane Carmody, who is a great supporter of ours, so that winner means an awful lot to me. I’m really delighted to win for him.
“The horse had been a solid, consistent horse who deserved his day and thankfully it came. He was bought the same day as Real Steel (Paddy Power Chase winner) but unfortunately took longer to win. He has been a solid and sound horse, though.
“If he hadn’t won today, we were thinking of the veterans’ chase at Limerick in a month’s time but he is entered in the Leopardstown Chase, so we can think bigger now – if you’re not in, you can’t win.”
Little Mixup (12-1) was another to come through in the latter stages when securing his fourth career victory in the Horse & Jockey Handicap Hurdle under Mark McDonagh, giving trainer Denis Hogan a welcome boost following a recent suspension.
“I thought the handicapper had this lad and I asked him to drop the horse a pound to get him into a 0-116, but it looks like he was right,” said Hogan. “The race cut up though – the favourite tipped up and it probably wasn’t the strongest race.”
He added: “I have to thank all the owners who all stood by me (during the suspension), as it was a tough end to the year. It was messy and I advised owners to send horses here and there, and thankfully I got them back.”
Ronnie O’Sullivan clawed his way back into contention after a torrid opening session of the World Grand Prix final against Judd Trump in Leicester.
The world number one had swept into the final on the back of a dazzling semi-final win over Ding Junhui, but his touch looked to have deserted him as he slumped to a 4-0 deficit by the mid-session interval.
But O’Sullivan, looking to build on his recent UK Championship and Masters titles, recovered to narrow the gap to two frames at 5-3 ahead of Sunday evening’s resumption in their best-of-19 clash.
Despite questioning his future in the sport during much of his run to the final, O’Sullivan conceded he had barely played better than in his last-four win over Ding, when he rifled four centuries to triumph 6-1.
But it was Trump who seized the initiative on Sunday with a break of 74 giving him the first frame, before O’Sullivan uncharacteristically spurned a chance to steal the second as he fell two behind.
O’Sullivan once again failed to punish his opponent for a pair of misses in the third frame, going in-off during an attempted safety which enabled Trump to chisel out the points required to extend his lead.
A nightmare mini-session was complete as Trump made 69 to move further in front, but O’Sullivan finally stirred upon the resumption to take the fifth frame in two visits.
Trump failed to punish O’Sullivan for more misses in frame six, but he got the better of frame seven in what was proving an increasingly scrappy encounter to restore his three-frame lead.
Trump again spurned a fine chance to wrap up the afternoon session four frames in front when he missed a black on a break of 33, and O’Sullivan finally showed a glimpse of his earlier form with an excellent response of 63, enough to leave it with all to play for on Sunday evening.
Damian Lillard said he had rediscovered his rhythm after his season-high 45 points helped the Milwaukee Bucks past the struggling Detroit Pistons on Saturday.
Lillard became the first player in Milwaukee history to finish a game with at least 40 points, 10 assists and five three-pointers as they opened their double-header in Detroit with a 141-135 success.
The guard's dominant performance came after he went seven of 20 shooting in a blowout defeat to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday, and coach Adrian Griffin was delighted with his response.
"Dame was so great tonight, and he was competing on both sides of the ball," Griffin said after Saturday's win.
"I had no idea he had 45, but he's a rhythm player and he definitely got into a rhythm out there. He made big shots, and that's why he's on this team."
Lillard echoed his coach's sentiments, saying: "I knew it was an important game. I picked my spots. I moved the ball when I needed to move it. I attacked when I needed to attack.
"I've been slowly getting back to how I play more naturally and tonight was one of those nights."
Milwaukee were boosted by the return of two-time NBA MVP Giannis Antetokounmpo, who added 31 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists after missing the Cleveland game with a shoulder issue.
Antetokounmpo had chances to boost that tally, missing with 11 of 22 free-throw attempts, but Griffin was pleased with his overall contribution.
"Giannis was big on both ends," Griffin said. "He got us some stops at the start of the second half and he was aggressive with the ball and getting to the rim.
"When he draws fouls, he gets us to the bonus faster than a lot of teams, and that's invaluable."
The Bucks are now up to 29-13 after winning four of their last five games, ahead of another meeting with the Pistons at Little Caesars Arena on Monday.
All roads lead to the Cheltenham Gold Cup for L’Homme Presse following a triumphant comeback in the Fitzdares Fleur De Lys Chase at Lingfield.
The nine-year-old claimed Cheltenham’s Brown Advisory as one of two Grade One novice wins two seasons ago and kicked off last term with a fine weight-carrying victory in the Rehearsal Chase at Newcastle.
However, he subsequently unseated Charlie Deutsch when seemingly booked for second behind Bravemansgame in the King George VI Chase at Kempton and missed the rest of the campaign through injury.
Despite an absence totalling 391 days, L’Homme Presse was the 8-11 favourite to make a successful return in Lingfield’s £165,000 Winter Million feature and proved his ability remains very much intact with a two-and-a-quarter-length win over a race-fit dual Grade One winner in Protektorat.
Venetia Williams said: “It’s been a long time coming and I’m thrilled for Andy, Pat and Peter (owners) to have been as patient as they have been.
“There were proper stayers in there today who were going to eke out any weakness and he’s a stayer of course, but you can’t expect them to plumb the depths of their stamina first time out after a long time off.
“It (injury) was enough to keep him off for a good few months and then the season was coming to an end and we wanted to give him a long, steady preparation this autumn. It’s taken a while.
“In fairness, he hasn’t had much schooling and I was going to school him this week, but wasn’t able to because of the weather. He’s an intelligent horse, though.
“We brought him here and he could possibly have run a bit earlier but the races weren’t there. We wanted him to run somewhere where it was an appropriate race and we also had enough time to get him fit. I’m sure he will improve a bit, but don’t expect masses of improvement.”
The two-and-three-quarter-mile contest was an intriguing watch, with Harry Skelton seemingly keen to make the most of Protektorat’s fitness edge with an aggressive front-running ride.
The nine-year-old looked to have L’Homme Presse in trouble at one stage, but the latter’s jumping kept him in the fight as the pace increased and he was the one travelling the better as the big two straightened up for home.
Protektorat did not go down without a fight and it was still all to play for between the final two fences, but L’Homme Presse stamped his class on the run-in to take top honours with something to spare.
Coral trimmed the winner’s Gold Cup odds to 12-1 from 16-1, while Paddy Power were clearly more impressed and offered 9-1 from 14-1.
Williams did, however, raise the prospect of L’Homme Presse running again between now and March, with next month’s Ascot Chase on her radar.
“That’s been on our mind and we want to see how he comes out of this, but there is a possibility of that. Maybe it will be (Ascot), that is one of the races on the shortlist,” she added.
The trainer houses another potential Gold Cup contender in Royale Pagaille, who having been denied a run in Saturday’s Peter Marsh Chase at Haydock after the meeting was abandoned, will be rerouted to next weekend’s Cotswold Chase at Cheltenham.
Which horse Deutsch will be on board come the big day remains to be seen, with Williams saying: “It’s far too early for questions like that. Hopefully we will run Royale Pagaille in the Cotswold Chase next Saturday and Ruby (Walsh) never used to make his mind up until final declarations did he?”
Jeriko Du Reponet remains likely to head for the M1 Agency Sidney Banks Memorial Novices’ Hurdle at Huntingdon, despite the Rossington Main Novices’ Hurdle being rearranged for Doncaster next Saturday.
The two-mile Grade Two event was lost from Haydock’s abandoned Saturday card, but was swiftly added to Town Moor’s fixture on January 27.
However, despite discussing a trip to Yorkshire with owner JP McManus, trainer Nicky Henderson is content to follow the ‘Shishkin route’ to the Cheltenham Festival and visit Huntingdon on February 8 with his unbeaten Supreme Novices’ Hurdle contender, who has done nothing but impress in two facile Newbury victories.
“It will probably still be Huntingdon, although I did talk to JP about it (Doncaster),” said Henderson.
“If JP wants him in there (then he will be entered for Doncaster), but he did say he did have the other horse (Jonjo O’Neill’s Fortunate Man) who was going to Haydock anyway. We weren’t going to Haydock because we don’t like the track in bad ground.
“The race goes to Doncaster and my first reaction was ‘goody-goody, we can go there with Jeriko’, but he did say the other horse was due to go to Haydock and he’s entitled to have first pick – and I’m perfectly happy with the Sidney Banks.”
Rory McIlroy completed the best weekend comeback of his career to successfully defend his title and win a record fourth Dubai Desert Classic.
The Northern Irishman’s previous biggest recovery with two rounds to go was from five shots back at the 2015 BMW PGA Championship but having begun round three 10 adrift he closed out a one-stroke victory at the Emirates Golf Club.
Saturday’s 63 catapulted him into contention but there were far fewer fireworks in his final round and, while McIlroy escaped with some loose shots, rivals Cameron Young and Adrian Meronk were unable to exert any meaningful pressure.
“If the scores on the weekend had been flipped and I shot 70, 63, I’d probably be like ‘Yeah, that was amazing’,” said McIlroy, who finished 14 under.
“The course definitely played a little trickier at the weekend. After I finished on Friday I thought if I shot two 67s over the weekend I would have a decent chance to win, and if that had been the case I would have tied on 13 under.
“I wasn’t too far away with the prediction and I went one better than that and ended up winning the tournament.”
McIlroy, who now has a victory and a second place in his first two starts of the season, added: “I played that front nine so well that I didn’t really have to do anything that special on the back nine just to get the thing won.
“I got away with a couple of things: I didn’t make birdie on 10 and then I made the bogey on 13. Luckily for me the guys around me didn’t make a ton of birdies on the way in.
“I knew I always had one or two shots to play with so I think that gave me a certain level of comfort.”
McIlroy began the day two shots behind leader Young but his birdie after driving the 351-yard second, combined with the American’s bogeys at four and six, saw the advantage swing a stroke in the Northern Irishman’s favour.
And with Young not recording his first birdie until the 10th, Meronk emerged as his chief challenger – briefly sharing the lead before chipping across the seventh green and into the water for a double-bogey five.
McIlroy extended his lead to three at the turn with successive birdies including from 31 feet on the eighth.
His only real moment of concern came with a first bogey in 38 holes at the 13th, where he could not escape from the waste area at the first attempt after taking an aggressive line and going too far left.
Meronk’s third birdie since the turn put him within one but then he bogeyed the 16th while McIlroy brilliantly salvaged par from the left waste area, meaning two closing pars were enough to secure his landmark win.
McIlroy’s positive start to 2024 will give him renewed optimism he can break his nine-year major drought, with the chance to complete a career Grand Slam first up at the Masters in April.
“Augusta is still a long way away in golfing terms. A lot can change in two and a half months,” he said.
“But it’s always nice nice to feel like you’re playing well going into it.
“I’ve still got some big events to come but until that first or second week in April at least a part of my mind is going to be towards getting myself absolutely ready for there.”
Luke Littler intended to celebrate turning 17 by taking his family out for a meal.
The teenager, who took the world by storm with his run to the World Championship final at Alexandra Palace earlier this month, is back in the country after winning the Bahrain Masters on Friday.
It was a whirlwind visit to the Middle East as he hit a nine-dart finish on his way to winning a first senior PDC title, earning him a £20,000 payday.
He then attended the Misfits Boxing on Saturday night and was pictured with celebrity KSI before planning some family time on Sunday.
Littler, who is now old enough to drive, revealed after his win in Bahrain that he would treat his family on his special day, saying: “On Sunday, we’ll all go out as a family for a meal, and even though it’s my birthday, I’ll treat them.”
He will not need to splash out on dessert, though, as his local bakery in Warrington provided him with a lavish cake to mark his special day.
There will not be much time for rest as the teenager heads out to the Netherlands for the Dutch Darts Masters this week before the Premier League kicks-off in Cardiff on February 1.
It will be the start of a gruelling schedule for Littler, who is determined to make the most of every opportunity he gets on what will be a breakout year on the PDC Tour.
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He is also in high demand on the celebrity circuit, having met a host of footballers and reality stars over the past few weeks.
And Michael van Gerwen, who was beaten by Littler in the final in Bahrain, had warned about exploiting the teenager too much.
“Everyone says he’s the new kid, but everyone knows what he is capable of,” the Dutchman said after the Bahrain final. “The crowd, the television, everyone wants to make him bigger, but he’s already a good player.
“I know we all want to push him, but let him grow, let him do other things. You have to learn, the crowd has to learn and everyone who is involved in television has to learn. Don’t push him too much.
“Of course we know he’s a good player, but give him his time and after, he will come, no problems.”
Allaho returned to winning ways when claiming victory in the Horse & Jockey Hotel Chase at Thurles for a third time.
The Willie Mullins-trained 10-year-old was successful in the two-and-a-half-mile Grade Two event in 2021 and 2022, but missed the entirity of last season through injury.
Having returned to action this term with a smooth triumph at Clonmel, he was beaten into third behind Hewick when favourite for the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day.
However, Allaho made all the running under Paul Townend to enjoy a straightforward 8-13 triumph here, seeing off stablemate Stattler by 13 lengths.
Assistant trainer Patrick Mullins said: “Allaho looked back to himself, having not quite got home in the King George.
“He isn’t getting any younger, it took him a while to warm up into his jumping (at Kempton) and he is better going left-handed.
“Paul was a little worried that he got a hard race in the King George and was coming back quite quickly but the further he went, the better he travelled and jumped.
“He is a big big horse who likes better ground and going left-handed at Cheltenham suits him down to the ground. I’d imagine it is all roads back to the Ryanair (Chase) now.
“Today’s race was a Grade One in all but name, with all being Grade One winners, so it is great for Thurles and it is a brilliant race to target every year.”
Allaho’s task was made all the more easier by the defection of Henry de Bromhead’s Envoi Allen and Capodanno.
Their absence left just four runners, with Appreciate It rated the main danger at 11-4 and 6-1 chance French Dynamite making up the numbers for Mouse Morris.
Allaho did all that was asked of him, though, travelling strongly throughout and only having to be nudged out to draw clear of 20-1 longshot Stattler up the home straight, with Appreciate It a further 11 lengths back in third.
Mullins added: “It is brilliant run out of Stattler, he had just started to sparkle in the last month, so it is great he is getting back to form. He had lost his form completely after the Gold Cup, so now we can aim big with him again.
“Danny (Mullins, on Appreciate It) said he had a good position, travelled great but once they quickened he found nothing. It is disappointing, as I thought he’d be challenging Allaho. He wears a tongue-strap, so maybe nicer ground will help him.”
Allaho was cut to 5-2 from 3-1 to win a third Ryanair Chase by both Betfair and Paddy Power, while Coral were even more impressed, promoting him to 2-1 favourite.
Tripoli Flyer booked his ticket to Aintree in the spring with an impressive display at Lingfield.
A keeping-on fifth on his rules debut at Chepstow in October, Fergal O’Brien’s five-year-old was a 15-2 shot for the opening Winter Million Open National Hunt Flat Race that kicked off the action on Sunday.
He showed plenty of speed and class to down the well-regarded Nicky Henderson-trained 8-11 favourite Kingston Pride in the hands of Paddy Brennan and now has connections dreaming of bigger and better objectives later in the season.
“We’ve got some lovely bumper horses, but I thought he was very good, he was very impressive,” said O’Brien.
“I thought the Henderson horse had solid point-to-point form and the horse who was second to him (The Enabler) has won a Listed race.
“We thought he would appreciate the surface and the good thing about this horse is his owner as he gave him time after his first race at Chepstow because he had a hard race.
“He was only a four-year-old then and we put him away, I think he went to Paddy’s for a bit and then to an event rider down the road who did a lot of work with him. He came back to us and we just had to put the finishing touches to him ready for today.
“Today was always a plan because we thought he would appreciate the better ground.
“The plan, please God, is to go straight to Aintree. We think he will love the flat track and Paddy said the ground, although he got through it at Chepstow, will be important to him.
“I thought he was impressive but he will have to do it on grass now. Going forward he’s a beautiful jumper, so we will look forward to him.”
There was a shock in the Weatherbys Digital Solutions Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle as Ben Clarke’ 40-1 shot Ooh Betty landed the spoils with the assistance of the stewards.
It was Henderson’s Aston Martini that was first past the post following a ding-dong battle after the last, but the placings were reversed after an inquiry.
“She is battle-hardened and she’s not the sexy option in the race, but I think running in handicaps has served her well as she had to battle hard there and be brave,” said Clarke.
“She got bumped a couple of times coming up the home straight and Ben Jones (jockey) felt it cost him, but saying that, it is not the way we want to win a horse race – Nicky was incredibly gracious so I will drop him a bottle of wine.
“At the back of my mind, I’ve always thought if we get half-decent ground at Cheltenham, she could go there for the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle. We’ll sit tight and she doesn’t want a bog – she can’t run in proper, proper soft ground – so we will plot our way there.
“Endless Escape was beaten just over 10 lengths in the Cheltenham race last year and this mare would be a much speedier type, so we have half an idea what it takes – not as much as Nicky does – so we’ll see, it could be an option.”
Harmonya Maker bounced back to form with a gutsy victory in the Grade Two Carey Glass Irish EBF Mares Novice Chase at Thurles.
The seven-year-old had jumped left when beaten at Cork last month and put in a below-par effort when a distant third behind Hauturiere in Limerick’s Dawn Run over the festive period
However, Gordon Elliott’s charge turned the tables to beat that rival with a one-and-a-half-length verdict at 100-30 on this occasion.
Silent Approach set the pace, followed by Harmonya Maker and then Hauturiere, who was put on the back foot by a mistake five out.
Harmonya Maker took control between the final two fences and was always doing enough under Jack Kennedy to fend off Hauturiere’s late challenge.
Kennedy said: “She threw her race away jumping left at Cork two runs ago – whatever that was about that day, but she jumped straight today.
“She had been disappointing in her last couple of runs but did what we had been expecting her to do all along.
“For whatever reason, she had been disappointing but it is great for her to put her best foot forward and is back to what we thought she’d be.”
The winner was cut to 16-1 for the Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase at Cheltenham with Betfair and Coral.
JPR One stamped his class on the Download The Racing App Now Lightning Novices’ Chase at Lingfield.
A winner on his chasing debut at Newton Abbot in October, Joe Tizzard’s charge looked set to follow up in the Arkle Trial at Cheltenham the following month when unseating Brendan Powell at the final fence.
In December, he finished a creditable third in the Grade One Henry VIII Novices’ Chase at Sandown and got back on the winning trail in this Grade Two event, which was saved and rescheduled following the abandonment of the opening day of the Winter Million Festival on Friday.
There was drama from the off, with Matata hanging violently left on the approach to the first fence, badly impeding the 9-4 favourite Djelo, who had nowhere to go and ultimately came to grief.
Matata attempted to make every yard of the running from that point on, but 6-1 shot JPR One took over travelling strongly five fences from home and looked in control for the remainder of the race.
Matata did his best to make a race of it in the home straight and was making inroads on an idling JPR One late on, but the latter was good value for the winning margin of half a length.
Tizzard said: “He was really good today. I’m not making too many excuses for Sandown, I just think he got stuck in the Sandown ground, which you can.
“We had a little walk down the straight today and I was amazed by how well it walked. It was an easy watch today, he travelled great and jumped for fun and that’s the horse we think we’ve got up against the best two-mile novices in England anyway.
“We’ve always held him in pretty high regard and he perhaps didn’t get to the levels over hurdles, but certainly over fences, if he didn’t have that little stumble at the back of the last at Cheltenham, he was going to look majorly impressive.
“I think the ground at Sandown just took its toll but today is the best we’ve seen him and he’s got a fair bit about him on the day.
“He’s got so much athleticism and Brendan has got the hang of not getting too excited – and you could tell he enjoyed that today. We think he’s a smart horse with a big future.”
Coral cut JPR One to 16-1 from 25-1 for the Arkle Trophy and Tizzard confirmed that Cheltenham Festival contest as his next objective.
He added: “We’ll have to take him to the Arkle now, he deserves to be there.
“He’s only a novice for one year, so I would have thought we would have a crack at it. He’s already proved he runs well around Cheltenham, so I don’t know why we wouldn’t.”
Defending champions Novak Djokovic and Aryna Sabalenka cruised into the quarter-finals of the Australian Open.
Djokovic was on course for a ‘triple bagel’ against Adrian Mannarino before eventually winning 6-0 6-0 6-3 while Sabalenka was a 6-3 6-2 winner over Amanda Anisimova.
Sabalenka appears very likely to face Coco Gauff in the semi-finals, while Australian hopes were ended when Andrey Rublev defeated Alex De Minaur in five sets.
Picture of the dayShot of the dayKicking offNext gen
Cruz Hewitt, the 15-year-old son of former world number one Lleyton, was beaten on his junior grand slam debut. But 16-year-old Jagger Leach, whose mother is three-time major champion Lindsay Davenport, did make it through to round two.
Murray magic
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Fallen seeds
Women: None
Men: Stefanos Tsitsipas (7), Karen Khachanov (15), Adrian Mannarino (20)
Who’s up next?
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Cameron Norrie will bid for a first victory over a top-10 player at a grand slam when he takes on sixth seed Alexander Zverev on Margaret Court Arena on Monday.
The winner will face either second seed Carlos Alcaraz or Serbian Miomir Kecmanovic, who meet in the night session, while third seed Daniil Medvedev plays Portugal’s Nuno Borges.
After beating Iga Swiatek, teenager Linda Noskova plays Elina Svitolina, and 12th seed Zheng Qinwen plays two-time former champion Victoria Azarenka.
Rory McIlroy completed the best weekend comeback of his career to successfully defend his title and win a record fourth Dubai Desert Classic.
The Northern Irishman’s previous biggest recovery with two rounds to go was from five shots back at the 2015 BMW PGA Championship but having begun round three 10 adrift he closed out a one-stroke victory on one of his favourite courses at the Emirates Golf Club.
Saturday’s 63 had catapulted him into contention but there were far fewer fireworks in his final round and, while McIlroy escaped with some loose shots over his last few holes, rivals Cameron Young and Adrian Meronk were also guilty of scrappy play and were unable to exert any meaningful pressure.
“I didn’t really think about that (the comeback) during the course of the round,” McIlroy, who shot a one-under-par 71 to finish 14 under, told Sky Sports.
“I thought the way the course was trending, two 67s would really have a chance and the 63 put me in a great position.
“I thought on Friday night 10 under for the weekend I’d have a really good chance and I shot 11 under and won by one.
“It was a really tricky day, it was hard to get it close and make a ton of birdies. The pivotal moment came on eight and nine when I made two threes.”
McIlroy, who now has a victory and a second place in his first two starts of the season, added: “It wasn’t one of those days where there was a ton of fireworks but I held on as best I could and thankfully no-one at the top of the leaderboard made a run.
“I made that one blunder on 13 and made bogey but felt I steadied the ship well over the final few holes.”
Glasgow back-rower Rory Darge and Bath stand-off Finn Russell have been named as Scotland’s new co-captains for the upcoming Guinness Six Nations.
It has also been revealed that free-scoring wing Darcy Graham has been ruled out of the opening two matches through injury.
Jamie Ritchie had been the skipper since replacing Stuart Hogg in the role for the 2022 Autumn series but, with the Edinburgh flanker having been hindered by shoulder and jaw injuries following last year’s World Cup, Gregor Townsend has opted to make a change in order to “further grow and develop the leadership within the squad”.
Both Russell, 31, and Darge, 23, have previous experience of captaining the team in Ritchie’s absence.
The talismanic Russell, who has been in impressive form since moving to Bath from Racing 92, is likely to lead the Scots in the opening match away to Wales as 23-year-old Darge is expected to miss the early part of the championship as he battles to recover from a knee injury sustained at the end of December.
“Appointing co-captains for this year’s Guinness Six Nations allows us to further grow and develop the leadership within the squad,” head coach Townsend told Scottish Rugby on Sunday morning.
“Rory and Finn captained Scotland last summer and bring different strengths and styles of leadership to the table.
“Both are highly respected within our squad and have been part of our leadership group for some time.
“I’m sure they will thrive with this responsibility and lean on our other leaders to drive certain aspects of our preparation, mindset and performance.”
Ritchie was sidelined for a month after the World Cup due to a shoulder injury sustained in the first half of the pool-stage defeat by Ireland in October. After returning in mid-November for six Edinburgh matches, the back-rower suffered a jaw injury in the win over Glasgow on 30 December.
Townsend said last week that he was undecided on the captaincy and that he needed to see Ritchie “put his best foot forward” in Friday’s Challenge Cup match away to Scarlets.
However, the 27-year-old was restricted to a second-half substitute appearance as he made his return to action.
Russell’s appointment as captain is particularly significant as the influential fly-half has had a strained relationship with Townsend at times in the past.
Russell was cut from the squad ahead of the 2020 Six Nations after he missed a training session following a late-night drinking session and he was also controversially omitted from the initial squad for the 2022 autumn Tests as Townsend appeared intent on phasing him out before injuries prompted him to recall the former Glasgow fly-half midway through the series.
“Playing for Scotland is a huge honour and to co-captain the side is a privilege and something I am proud of,” Russell said.
“We have such a talented squad and to lead them alongside Rory represents a massive opportunity. I can’t wait to get started with this year’s championship.”
In the same update that confirmed the change of captaincy, Scottish Rugby revealed that Edinburgh wing Graham will miss the opening two matches away to Wales and at home to France with a quad injury.
The 26-year-old – Scotland’s second highest try-scorer of all time – has been replaced in the squad by Ross McCann, a 26-year-old wing who played for Scotland Under-20s before becoming a full-time Scotland 7s player.
Britain’s Hannah Klugman is looking to follow in the footsteps of teen sensation Mirra Andreeva at the Australian Open.
Sixteen-year-old Andreeva lost in the junior final 12 months ago but beat Ons Jabeur on Rod Laver Arena on her way to the fourth round of the women’s singles in Melbourne before losing to Barbora Krejcikova.
Klugman, from Wimbledon, does not turn 15 until next month but she is already ranked seventh in the junior game and has been attracting attention well beyond British shores.
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In December, she became the first British girl to win the prestigious under-18 Orange Bowl title in Florida, whose former champions include Coco Gauff, Caroline Wozniacki and Chris Evert.
“I went into the week with not much expectations,” said Klugman. “I wasn’t playing that great. I went into Orange Bowl with a fresh mind and really played some great tennis.
“It was amazing. I was walking past a poster with all the winners. There’s some pretty amazing people on there. So it’s great.
“Nothing’s massively changed. But, obviously, I think I have more confidence in myself. I know I can do it, I have the level. I’ve just got to bring it to the court. I want to go deep this week.”
Klugman described winning a junior grand slam title as a “massive goal” but preparing her for the senior game is the main focus.
The teenager has a powerful forehand and serve, which reached 113mph during a first-round win over Antonia Vergara Rivera in the girls’ singles on Sunday.
Age restrictions designed to prevent the kind of teenage burnout seen in the women’s game in previous decades mean Klugman is heavily restricted in the number of senior tournaments she can play – only 10 in a year even once she turns 15.
But her ranking is already in the top 700 and Andreeva’s rapid rise provides inspiration.
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“It’s not that far away,” said Klugman. “People think it’s quite far away, but it’s actually not. She was here this time last year and a lot can change really quickly.
“I don’t think some people would have said it would happen that quickly and now she’s in the fourth round here. It’s crazy.
“It definitely gives me a lot of confidence and trust in myself that, if I keep working hard every day, I can do it.
“I think I play a bit similar to her. She changes the pace. She doesn’t hit like crazy. I think that’s what I do.”
There is a great deal of excitement within British tennis about the potential of Klugman, who was given a wild card into Wimbledon qualifying last summer and could well be in line for a shot at the main draw this time.
She insisted she is in no hurry, saying: “It’s such a great honour to even get a qualies wild card. So I honestly don’t mind if it’s really far into the future.”
Unlike Emma Raducanu, who stayed in school to complete her A Levels, Klugman has just left Wimbledon High School and switched to online learning.
Asked if she would miss it, Klugman, who is also a talented hockey player, said: “Massively, but I’ll definitely keep in touch with my friends.
“I want to do well in my GCSEs. I want to get a good education. So it’s tough to be juggling all that when you’re away in Australia. I know I will have to be disciplined, but I know I can do it.”
Former trainer Keith Reveley has spoken of his immense pride after seeing son James belatedly break his Grade One duck in Britain aboard the hugely impressive Il Est Francais at Kempton Park on Boxing Day.
The Reveley name is, of course, steeped in northern jumps racing history, with Keith’s late mother Mary a pioneering female trainer who saddled more than 2,000 winners during an illustrious career.
Son Keith later took over the reins at the family’s Saltburn base before calling it a day himself in 2017, while James Reveley has gone on to establish himself as a leading jockey in France.
It is eight years since the proud Yorkshireman took the Gallic plunge and it could hardly have worked out better, as he has been crowned French champion jumps jockey on three occasions and won a whole host of major prizes, including a hat-trick in the prestigious Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris.
His father is delighted with his son’s achievements across the Channel, but admits it was extra special to see the Reveley name back in the big-race winner’s enclosure on home soil after Il Est Francais, jointly trained by another French-based Englishman in Noel George, produced a scintillating display in the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase.
“It was a great day and what made it even better was we managed to go, as we were en route to France to see the grandchildren and called in at Kempton on the way, so it was absolutely brilliant,” he said.
“The style with which the horse did it took me back to the old days, as James always rode well from the front. I remember him riding a horse called Night In Milan for me, who used to make the running and jump for fun around Doncaster.
“Funnily enough, we walked the track together an hour before the race at Kempton and for once everything worked out as we’d hoped. I said to him ‘Harry Cobden always likes to go a bit wide, so you should be able to get a nice run down the inside and it’s all about rhythm and jumping’.
“I said ‘make sure you give him a breather round this last corner, don’t press him the whole way’, and I honestly couldn’t believe how well everything was working out just as we’d spoken about, as it not very often does.”
Keith Reveley himself landed the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase – then the Feltham – with the Mick Fitzgerald-ridden Ungaro in 2006, while James partnered the stable’s Tazbar to finish second to the brilliant Long Run three years later.
In Il Est Francais, though, Keith feels his son has come across the horse of a lifetime.
He added: “The Feltham was the only Grade One I actually won as a trainer, so it was a magical day to see James win it and we just pray the horse stays in one piece. Hopefully he won’t need to start training just yet, as long as that horse is still around!
“He’s an exceptional horse. I’ve actually been to Noel’s to see him work in a morning and he’s the most gorgeous horse to look at.”
Connections have already nominated the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris as Il Est Francais’ first major target for this year, with a return to Kempton for the King George also high on his agenda.
Should he come through both of those assignments unscathed, then a tilt at the Cheltenham Gold Cup may loom large in 2025, although Reveley senior does have some reservations about the suitability of that particular test.
“I must admit I think the Kempton track suits him, as the horse has got loads of natural pace, and whether he wants three and a quarter miles around Cheltenham is another thing,” he went on.
“I know he’s won around Auteuil on soft ground, but they go much slower early on in the races there and whether he’ll suit the slog of Cheltenham, we’ll have to wait and see.
“James is adamant he will suit the Grand Steep – because the pace is quite relaxed early on over there, he’s confident that the trip won’t be a problem for him, but off a flat-out pace over three and a quarter miles at Cheltenham, it’s a different ball game altogether.”
While Reveley certainly does not begrudge his son’s success, he admits he had initially harboured hopes he would continue to ride in Britain at least part-time to aid his own career before the lure of French riches proved too much for him to resist.
“He used to stay with me for the winter and then go back to France every April time and stay there for the summer,” he recalled.
“I always thought it was working well, as he’d usually get maybe 50 winners in England during the winter and I thought he had a good career, but the French people kept saying if he went full-time he’d be champion and, as it turned out, the first year he went there full-time, he was champion, so it worked out.
“I wouldn’t say it was devastating for me because I’m proud he’s done so well, but it more or less put paid to my training career because it’s a hard enough job as it is without your son moving away.
“To be fair, I think the French racing suits him because he’s always been a good horseman over a jump and obviously in France, you’ve got the bullfinch fences and different types of obstacles.
“In English races, they go very fast early on and it’s a little bit of a war of attrition, whereas the French tend to be a little more tactical and rely on the jumping a little bit more. It’s worked out very well, he’s had a great time and hopefully he has a few more years at it yet.
“It was nice to see him do it on English television at Kempton. I’ve had a lot of people commenting how good it was to see him winning over here and how it’s nice to see he’s still got his northern accent!”
Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Coneygree is reported to be loving life in retirement, almost five years after running his final race.
In an era increasingly dominated by a handful of powerhouse yards and owners with deep pockets, the recently-turned 17-year-old was an all too rare diamond in the rough for the husband and wife training partnership of Mark and Sara Bradstock.
Nine wins from 18 starts tells only half the story of a rollercoaster ride which saw Coneygree become the first horse since Captain Christy 41 years earlier to claim Gold Cup glory as a novice in 2015.
Just minutes after being pulled up in a handicap chase at Ascot in February 2019, Sara Bradstock announced the fairytale had come to an end, but she is delighted with how her pride and joy is enjoying life out of the spotlight.
“He’s at home with me and lives just outside the house. He’s having a lovely time and goes out leading the babies and does whatever he wants really,” she said.
“He enjoys letting himself out of his stable quite often! He has done a bit of ROR (Retraining of Racehorses) in the past and actually he did a team chase with my son in the autumn, which he very much enjoyed, but he won’t be doing too many of those because it’s a bit hard on the old limbs!
“He’s pretty happy really and I think it’s very important these horses stay in a place where people know them well. We know everything about him and therefore we know if he’s feeling a bit sore or what have you, but at the moment he’s in good nick and gets ridden out whenever I’ve got time.
“He deserves everything he gets. He quite likes people coming round and saying ‘can I look at Coneygree’, because he likes to be the centre of attention and is not very happy when there’s people in the yard and they’re not looking at him!
“There is something weird about good horses, they just know they’re important – and he definitely knows he’s very important.”
Coneygree’s racing journey began in November 2011, when the son of Karinga Bay – bred by Sara Bradstock’s late father, Lord Oaksey – made a successful start to his career in a Uttoxeter bumper.
“We had him in training as a three-year-old but he was very big and tall and weak, so he’d probably been with us for a year by the time he ran,” Bradstock recalled.
“We knew he was nice before he went to Uttoxeter, but he was never a flying workhorse. We knew he was a great athlete, in that you couldn’t seem to make him tired, but if anything wanted to work faster than him, he was happy to let them.
“We knew he was pretty good, but we didn’t know he was as good as he was.”
While well beaten in a Listed bumper at Newbury on his next outing, Coneygree bounced back with a vengeance the following season, winning his first three starts over hurdles, including back-to-back Grade Two victories at Cheltenham.
He had to make do with minor honours in third behind two subsequent Festival winners in At Fishers Cross and The New One next time, on what proved to be his final outing over hurdles, as he suffered the first of several injury setbacks which plagued his career.
Bradstock added: “He’s got these very long back legs, which were partly what made him so good, but they were awfully fragile and it was during that season over hurdles when he got his first stress fracture.
“When we were getting him ready the following season, he jumped onto a stone and cut his tendon, so he had another five months off after that, so he ended up being off for about 18 months in all.”
Coneygree’s chasing career belatedly got under way in the winter of 2014, although not at the first time of asking, as he was withdrawn at the start prior to his planned fencing debut at Plumpton by the on-course veterinary team, much to the frustration of his connections.
In the end, though, it mattered not, as the following week he made a successful start over the larger obstacles in Grade Two company at Newbury before striking Grade One gold for the first time when landing the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day by a distance.
If it was not clear already, it was becoming obvious the Bradstocks had a serious weapon on their hands.
“I’d much rather have cruised around Plumpton, but the vets wouldn’t let us, which was just one of those stupid things, so we ended up going into a Grade Two at Newbury and then Kempton,” said Bradstock.
“I remember everybody saying he only won like he did at Kempton because a couple of the others fell over, but they fell over because they were novices trying to jump with him and they just couldn’t.”
It was a couple of months later when the Gold Cup dream came into sharper focus after Coneygree made it three from three over fences in Newbury’s Denman Chase, his first forray outside of novice company.
The Wantage team considered going back into novice company at the Cheltenham Festival, but Bradstock insists the decision to go for Gold Cup glory was ultimately relatively straightforward.
She said: “Everybody thought it was the most extraordinary thing they’ve ever seen, but for us it was a no-brainer because he was very fragile.
“You could see he had a chance in the Gold Cup and if he went and won the RSA (Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase) by 30 lengths, we’d have been thinking ‘why didn’t we go for it?’.
“He had already had a couple of stress fractures, so while he was fit and well, we just thought ‘why not give it a go?’.”
What followed was a sensational display in the Cotswolds as Coneygree belied his inexperience with a relentless front-running display under Nico de Boinville.
Asked what she could remember of the occasion, Bradstock replied: “Absolutely nothing! It was a complete blur.
“I remember coming home, but I actually don’t remember the day. The main thing I remember is getting him home and he was OK, which with him was always the main thing.”
The following November, Coneygree made a successful start to his next campaign in a small-field conditions race at Sandown, but it proved to be his final victory.
He returned from another year out to finish second in the Betfair Chase at Haydock and was third in a humdinger of a Punchestown Gold Cup later that season, but only made it to the track five times in the next two years and failed to complete on four occasions.
“He came back and won at Sandown and then he started having more problems, but he did run that great race at Punchestown, where he suffered another overreach, otherwise I think he could have won,” said Bradstock.
“It was difficult trying to keep him in one piece after that. I just think the wear and tear stopped him having control of his back legs and he started to overreach quite badly – and that was, in the end, what stopped him, as you don’t want to go on and on until they get hurt.
“He did extremely well for us and won a Gold Cup – and without all his problems, I think he could have won several.”
Sam Gagner snapped a tie early in the third period with a fluke goal and Stuart Skinner made 26 saves as the Edmonton Oilers extended their winning streak to 13 games on Saturday with a 3-1 victory over the rival Calgary Flames.
Ryan McLeod opened the scoring in the first period and Zach Hyman had an empty-net goal as Edmonton set the record for longest winning streak by a Canadian team, surpassing the 1967-68 Montreal Canadiens.
The Pittsburgh Penguins hold the NHL record with a 17-game winning streak in 1992-93.
From below the goal line near the corner, Gagner attempted to center to Dylan Holloway in the slot, but it deflected off Flames defenseman Rasmus Anderson’s skate, ended up on the top of goalie Dan Vladar’s trapper and fluttered into the net.
The Oilers improved to 23-6-0 since Kris Knoblauch took over as coach.
Red-hot Canucks beat Maple Leafs
Conor Garland and Nils Hoglander each scored twice and Quinn Hughes had three assists to lead the league-leading Vancouver Canucks to a 6-4 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
J.T. Miller and Tyler Myers also had goals for the Canucks, who are 7-0-1 in their last eight games and lead the NHL with 66 points.
William Nylander scored twice and Mitchell Marner had a goal and an assist as the Maple Leafs dropped to 1-4-1 in their past six games.
Lightning win 5th straight
Nicholas Paul and Tyler Motte scored 52 seconds apart in the first period and Jonas Johansson stopped 27 shots against his former team as the Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Buffalo Sabres 5-1 for their fifth consecutive win.
Calvin de Haan had an empty-net goal and Brandon Hagel added a pair of assists for the Lightning, who won the opener of a three-game trip after the first four victories of their current streak came at home.
Dylan Cozens scored for the Sabres after missing the previous game with an upper-body injury. Buffalo failed to win a season-high third straight game after shutout wins over San Jose and Chicago.
Cameron Norrie’s new attacking game style against Casper Ruud came as a surprise to many, but not to his next opponent Alexander Zverev.
The British number one eschewed his usual grinding baseline game, making frequent forays to the net, and his reward was the best grand slam victory of his career.
Through to the fourth round of the Australian Open for the first time, Norrie will try to break more new ground with victory over a top 10 player at a major.
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Zverev had a sneak peek at Norrie’s new tactics when they trained together during pre-season and the German said: “I actually thought he played exactly what he was working on in the off-season.
“We obviously spent the off-season together in Monaco, so I’ve seen him every single day. This is exactly what he was working on.”
He continued: “When you think of Cameron Norrie, you normally think of somebody who grinds a lot, a big fighter. But in the off-season he really worked on his game and he really worked on the aggressive style of play. He really worked on coming forward.
“It was very noticeable in December, and you can see it on the court now. The work is paying off for him.”
Norrie moved to Monte Carlo in 2022, partly because it would mean being able to train with some of the best players in the world, while he hired a new assistant coach in former Wimbledon doubles champion Stephen Huss.
Having struggled during the second half of last season, Norrie appears rejuvenated and he said: “Even just being in the second week for the first time in Australia, never done that. It means a lot to do that and start the year playing some good tennis.
“I think it just helped having a good break and a really good off-season to put a lot of time on the court and get better as a player.
“I think it just comes down to how can you play the biggest points the best and feeling calm and feeling good about yourself. I have done that, and I was feeling that coming into the season.
“I want to keep going. I know it just gets tougher. Next match is going to be tougher.”
Norrie will certainly have to adjust the game plan for his clash with sixth-ranked Zverev, who has made a strong return to the top of the sport following a serious ankle injury in 2022.
The British number one relentlessly attacked Ruud’s backhand but Zverev has one of the best in the business, while putting the German under pressure on serve will be a challenge.
Much of the attention on Zverev this fortnight has been regarding his forthcoming court case to contest domestic abuse charges, which he denies, but whatever the rights and wrongs of his position on the ATP Player Council or continued participation on the tour, he remains an exceptional player.
He has beaten Norrie on each of the four previous occasions they have played without dropping a set.
“I sat down with (coach) Facu (Lugones) and watched the matches with Casper back, and we talked a lot about what wasn’t working,” said Norrie, who had also lost three times to Ruud prior to Saturday’s victory.
“I think there will be a lot of things in there with Zverev. The last few times I have played him, it’s kind of been a similar match every time, a tough set and then he’s run away with it.”
Zverev is taking nothing for granted, saying of Norrie: “He’s playing great tennis, beating Casper. I think Casper was undefeated in Australia so far this year, also playing great tennis. I’m looking forward to a tough match.
“I think everybody is always improving. Everybody is always trying new things. I think with Cam this year, you definitely see that. I’m just going to try to keep going for it and just try to extend my lead.”
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