D'Angelo Russell set a new Los Angeles Lakers record for the most 3-pointers in a single season as his team snapped a seven-game losing streak against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Los Angeles won 101-94 on Friday, earning their first victory over Philadelphia since March 2020.
The Lakers improved to 38-32, now the same record as the Sixers, with the fourth quarter proving key as they edged a close, low-scoring game.
It was the Lakers' lowest points tally in a game since January 3 and LeBron, who had 11 of his 20 points in the fourth quarter, as well as eight rebounds and six assists, accepted it had not been a vintage performance.
"It was ugly, but we got the job done," he said, per ESPN. "We defended well in the second half. They only had 18 points in the fourth. That's big-time when the offense was struggling like it was.
"We turned the ball over way too much and gave up too many easy baskets, but when we got in the half-court, we buckled down and made them take tough shots."
Davis had 23 points and 19 rebounds for Los Angeles, while Russell finished with 14 points and four 3-pointers.
Nick Van Exel had 183 successful 3s for the Lakers during the 1994-95 season, but Russell hit his 184th of this season in the first quarter, having sunk six from deep in the win against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.
Russell said: "It just feels good to be part of one of these type of deals.
"This franchise is one of the most prestigious, so to have my name be a part of it, more than grateful.
"Just continue to shatter it, if I can. Make it really hard for the next person!"
Tyrese Maxey scored 27 points for the Sixers, who have lost seven of 10 without MVP Joel Embiid and are 0-2 on their four-game West Coast road trip which continues against the Los Angeles Clippers next.
"We played unbelievably hard and executed the game plan," Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse said. "I just thought we could not get enough offense to hang in there.
"As long as we play our guts out, I can live with it. I’m having a hard time living with it right now because I thought we played so hard and executed so well."
The Lakers, meanwhile, have won seven of their last 11 and host the Indiana Pacers (40-31) on Sunday. They are ninth in the Western Conference standings.
Lewis Hamilton said the inconsistency of his Mercedes “messes with the mind” following his worst qualifying performance in Australia for 14 years.
Hamilton, who boasts a record eight pole positions at Melbourne’s Albert Park, will start Sunday’s 58-lap race from a disappointing 11th after he was eliminated in Q2.
Max Verstappen took pole – his third in as many races – as he bids to complete a record-equalling 10 victories, with Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz joining him on the front row.
Hamilton qualified eighth in Saudi Arabia a fortnight ago, and ninth the week before in Bahrain.
He trails team-mate George Russell, who will line up in seventh on Sunday, 3-0 over one lap this season, and after finishing only seventh and ninth at the opening two rounds, he has scored just eight points to Russell’s 18 so far.
“The inconsistency in the car really messes with the mind,” said Hamilton, who had finished fourth in final practice, less than a tenth off the pace.
“There is a long list of things to fix. Our car is on a knife edge. In the afternoon the wind picks up and the car becomes unstable. But the others can pick their pace up in qualifying and I am not sure why.
“It didn’t feel the same in qualifying from practice even though we had lighter fuel. It is not a great feeling for everyone in the team but we will keep working away.”
Hamilton has not won a race since the penultimate fixture of the 2021 campaign in Saudi Arabia, 57 rounds ago.
Mercedes have adopted a different design philosophy this season, but Hamilton is low on confidence in the last Silver Arrows he will drive before he heads to Ferrari in 2025.
“It is three years in a row where I have had a similar feeling,” continued the seven-time world champion.
“There are spikes like this morning in practice where I think it can be good, and then it disappears.
“If we can make the car more consistent maybe we can be more competitive but there is a lot of work to do and everyone is pushing as hard as they can.”
Hamilton’s Mercedes boss Toto Wolff pulled no punches with his assessment of his team’s performance.
“It’s especially underwhelming because we were within a tenth in final practice,” he said. “The conditions were a little bit different but there is no excuse.
“We have a car that is difficult, and as much as I am annoyed at myself for saying this for a long time, we just need to continue working on it and trying to get better.
“It is not because of a lack of trying that we are where we are, but it’s not good enough.”
At the sharp end of the grid, Verstappen’s third pole in as many races appeared under threat with Ferrari threatening to knock the all-conquering Dutchman off his perch.
But Verstappen upped the ante in front of a record Saturday crowd at a sun-cooked Albert Park of just shy of 131,000, to see off Sainz by 0.270 seconds.
After winning the last nine rounds, stretching back to his victory at September’s race in Japan, Verstappen heads into Sunday’s main event as the overwhelming favourite to take another triumph and match his own record.
“It was a bit unexpected today, but I am very happy with Q3,” said Verstappen. “Both of my laps felt nice and enjoyable. It has been a tricky weekend so far but we managed to be there at the end.”
Sainz, who had emergency surgery in Jeddah to remove his appendix just 15 days ago, added: “It has been a tough couple of weeks, a lot of days in bed, waiting to see if I would be here today, and to make it to this weekend and then to put it on the front row, I almost didn’t believe it.
“I was rusty yesterday but I got up to speed and found the pace and I feel good with the car. I am not going to lie, I am not in my most comfortable state when I am driving out there but I can get it done.”
Max Verstappen is on course to take a record-equalling 10 consecutive victories after putting his Red Bull on pole position for the Australian Grand Prix.
Verstappen’s third pole in as many races appeared under threat with Ferrari threatening to knock the all-conquering Dutchman off his perch.
But Verstappen upped the ante in front of a record Saturday crowd at Melbourne’s Albert Park of just shy of 131,000, to see off Carlos Sainz, who missed the last round in Saudi Arabia with appendicitis, by 0.270 seconds.
Lewis Hamilton holds a record eight pole positions here, but the British driver was eliminated in Q2, leaving him a disappointing 11th on the grid – his lowest starting position in Melbourne for 14 years.
Hamilton failed to progress to Q3 after he finished 0.059 seconds behind George Russell in the other Mercedes.
Russell, who will start seventh, holds a 3-0 qualifying lead over Hamilton who will leave the Silver Arrows at the end of the season to join Ferrari.
Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez qualified third, ahead of McLaren’s Lando Norris and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc, who aborted his last lap after he made a mistake.
Great Britain rugby league captain Andy Farrell switched codes to union and signed for Saracens on this day 19 years ago.
The Rugby Football Union (RFU) confirmed Farrell’s three-year contract with Sarries on March 23, 2005.
Current Ireland head coach Farrell had enjoyed 13 heavily-decorated years at Wigan, winning 34 caps for Great Britain and 11 for England.
RFU chief executive Francis Baron said: “Andrew is an outstanding player who has been a superb ambassador for rugby league on and off the field and we believe that he will do the same in rugby union.
“Wigan and Saracens have been very co-operative and I’d like to thank them for all their help over the last few weeks.”
A string of injuries delayed Farrell’s Saracens debut until 2006 but he went on to make his England bow in the Six Nations the following year.
Injuries continued to hamper Farrell at every turn and he only managed eight caps, although he did go to the 2007 World Cup where defending champions England were beaten finalists.
A successful coaching career followed, with Farrell impressing with Saracens before joining England’s backroom staff in 2012.
Farrell helped the British and Irish Lions to a series win in Australia in 2013 but lost his England job after the 2015 World Cup, where head coach Stuart Lancaster’s side became the worst-performing hosts in tournament history.
The 48-year-old became Ireland defence coach in 2016.
He succeeded Joe Schmidt as head coach following the 2019 World Cup and has led Ireland to back-to-back Six Nations titles, including a Grand Slam in 2023.
Jaylen Brown scored 33 points to lead the NBA-leading Boston Celtics to their eighth straight victory, 129-102 over the short-handed Detroit Pistons on Friday.
Payton Pritchard had 20 points and Derrick White added 19 with 11 assists for Boston, which has won 18 of 20 games to continue cruising toward the top seed in the Eastern Conference.
Leading scorer Jayson Tatum sat out to rest an ankle for the second time in five days.
James Wiseman scored a season-high 24 points for the Pistons, who have lost five in a row overall and the last nine meetings with the Celtics.
Detroit was missing its top post players in Jalen Duren (back), Stanley Umude (ankle), Simone Fontecchio (toe), Isaiah Stewart (hamstring) and Ausar Thompson (illness).
Pelicans roll over Heat
CJ McCollum scored 30 points and the New Orleans Pelicans exacted a measure of revenge on the Miami Heat with a 111-88 rout.
Jose Alvarado added 17 points and Trey Murphy had 14 with eight rebounds as the Pelicans had no trouble in the first meeting between the teams since four players were ejected in the most recent matchup in New Orleans last month.
Zion Williamson was limited to only four points in 25 minutes, but the Pelicans won their eighth in 10 games.
Jimmy Butler scored 17 points as the Heat dropped to 17-16 at home, the 19th-best mark in the league. Miami dropped four games behind Southeast Division-leading Orlando.
Thunder down reeling Raptors
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 23 points, eight assists and seven rebounds in his only regular-season trip to his native Canada and the Oklahoma City Thunder pulled away to defeat the Toronto Raptors, 123-103.
Jalen Williams added 20 points and Kenrich Williams and Cason Wallace scored 12 apiece as the Thunder won their fourth straight and remained on top of the Western Conference.
Rookie Gradey Dick scored 21 points for the Raptors, who lost their ninth straight game. Toronto was without seven players, including five regular starters.
Red-hot Mikko Rantanen scored two more goals and Nathan MacKinnon extended a pair of streaks as the Colorado Avalanche won their eighth consecutive game, 6-1 over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday.
Cale Makar had a goal and an assist and Ross Colton also scored for the Avalanche, who have won 10 of 11 to remain tied with Dallas for the top spot in the Central Division.
Rantanen had a hat trick in Tuesday’s win over St. Louis and has eight goals in his last five games.
MacKinnon had a goal and an assist to extend his home point streak to 33 games. He also has 11 goals and 23 assists during a 17-game overall point streak.
Elvis Merzlikins stopped a season-high 44 shots for the last-place Blue Jackets.
Milano has hat trick in Capitals’ shootout win
Sonny Milano notched his first career hat trick and Dylan Strome scored the lone shootout goal to lift the Washington Capitals to a wild 7-6 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.
Strome had three assists in regulation and Alex Ovechkin, John Carlson and Ivan Miroshnichenko also scored as the Capitals won their fourth in five games to get within one point of Detroit for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot.
Sebastian Aho scored three goals and Jake Guentzel had three assists for Carolina, which had won four straight. The Hurricanes moved to 7-1-1 in their last nine games and are within one point of the Rangers for the lead in the Metropolitan Division.
Benn lifts Stars over Penguins
Jamie Benn scored two goals in a 77-second span in the second period and the Dallas Stars topped the sliding Pittsburgh Penguins, 4-2.
Joe Pavelski and Sam Steel also scored and Jake Oettinger stopped 20 shots for the Stars, who have won three in a row to tie Colorado for first place in the Central Division.
Michael Bunting and Rickard Rakell tallied for Pittsburgh, which fell to 0-6-1 in its last seven road games.
The Tennessee Titans are finalising a deal to acquire cornerback L’Jarius Sneed from the Kansas City Chiefs in exchange for a pair of draft picks, according to multiple sources.
The Chiefs are expected to receive a third-round pick in next year's draft and swap picks with the Titans in next month's draft. The two sides are working on a new contract to make Sneed one of the highest-paid cornerbacks in NHL history.
After the Chiefs placed the nonexclusive franchise tag on Sneed earlier this month, he was allowed to talk to other teams, who could then work out a deal with Kansas City.
The 27-year-old Sneed has developed into one of the best cornerbacks in the league since he was drafted in the fourth round in 2020. He was a key part of a defence that helped Kansas City win back-to-back Super Bowl titles.
Sneed allowed a passer rating of just 55.9 on throws when he was in coverage in the regular season, ranking fifth best among cornerbacks.
Often tasked with following the opponents’ top receiver all over the field, Sneed didn’t allow a single touchdown pass until the playoffs against Buffalo and only Davante Adams of the Raiders had more than two catches in a game when Sneed was in coverage.
He had two interceptions and 14 passes defended in 16 games last season, giving him 10 picks and 40 passes defended in his four-year career.
Aryna Sabalenka claimed a straight-sets victory over Paula Badosa to progress into the last 32 of the Miami Open days after the death of her former boyfriend Konstantin Koltsov.
Two-time Australian Open champion Sabalenka returned to the tennis court after Koltsov died at the age of 42 on Monday in what police described as an “apparent suicide” in Miami.
Koltsov’s death led Sabalenka to reveal her “heart is broken”, but she was able to show incredible composure and poise to beat good friend Badosa by a 6-4 6-3 score after an emotional few days.
Wet weather in Miami resulted in a lengthy delay before play on day three could finally get under way, with Sabalenka welcomed onto the Grandstand court to warm applause.
Dressed in black and with a baseball cap on, the Belarusian looked up to the sky before she gave Badosa a fist pump at the coin toss with her opponent also kitted out in all-black.
After a cagey start with the pair exchanging double-faults, Sabalenka forced two break points opportunities in the fifth game but Badosa fought back to hold.
It was brief respite for the Spaniard, with Sabalenka able to eventually clinch the first break point of the match to move 4-3 up when Badosa sent her return long.
Sabalenka sealed the first set when her fierce backhand was returned wide to claim a 46-minute opener in windy conditions.
The pair shared a smile during the second game of set two when a big gust of wind forced Sabalenka to abandon her serve which sparked laughter from the crowd and the world number two.
It was soon back to business for the 25-year-old and she broke Badosa again to move 2-1 up.
Badosa was able to force a break point opportunity of her own in the eighth game of the second set, but Sabalenka responded with a sumptuous winner that earned applause from her opponent.
There was no looking back for Sabalenka now and she broke Badosa again to secure a 6-4 6-3 victory before the good friends embraced at the net as the second seed opened her account for the tournament with an emotional win.
Next up for Sabalenka is a third round clash with Ukraine’s Anhelina Kalinina after she beat Caroline Wozniacki on Thursday.
Coco Gauff joined Sabalenka in the last 32 with a rapid 6-1 6-2 triumph over Nadia Podoroska.
England manager Gareth Southgate joined other members of the sporting world in sending a message of support to the Princess of Wales following her cancer diagnosis.
Kate revealed she was undergoing treatment for the disease in an emotional video message shared on Friday evening.
“Clearly we’ve just heard about the Princess of Wales and we just wanted to send our thoughts and best wishes to her and all her family,” said Southgate, speaking ahead of Saturday’s friendly with Brazil.
“Remarkably dignified statement she gave and we have a close relationship with family so upset by the news but hope everything goes well for her.”
The Football Association, of which the Prince of Wales is president, earlier posted on X: “Our thoughts are with the Princess of Wales, the Prince of Wales and their family.
“We send our very best wishes to the Princess for a full recovery.”
Former tennis player Billie Jean King – who sat alongside the Princess at Wimbledon last year – and ex-England striker Gary Lineker were among the well wishers on social media.
“Sending our love, support, and best wishes for a full and complete recovery to Catherine, The Princess of Wales,” wrote King.
Match of the Day host Lineker, also using X, posted: “Awful news. Wishing The Princess of Wales a full recovery.”
Kate, 42, is patron of the Rugby Football Union and attended some of England’s matches at last year’s World Cup in France.
A message from England Rugby read: “Everyone at England Rugby is wishing our Patron HRH The Princess of Wales a full and speedy recovery.”
Dan and Harry Skelton’s memorable March continued at Newbury on Friday as Doyen Quest rediscovered winning ways in the Daily Racing Specials At BetVictor Handicap Hurdle.
The Alcester-based team claimed four winners at the Cheltenham Festival last week, a run of results which saw older brother Dan Skelton go ahead of his former boss and mentor Paul Nicholls in the race to be crowned this season’s champion trainer.
Subsequent victories at Kempton, Uttoxeter, Chepstow and Market Rasen have kept the Skelton ball rolling in the past week and Doyen Quest did his bit for the team with a narrow verdict in Berkshire.
The six-year-old was the 100-30 favourite to notch a second career win, having had to make do with the runner-up spot on his latest appearance at Taunton, and got on top close home to score by a neck from the Sam Thomas-trained Steel Ally.
Dan Skelton said: “I’m delighted with that, we were able to turn him out quickly before the penalty kicked in and he finished really well. Hopefully there’s a bit more to come from him.”
On the title race, he added: “The horses are obviously in good form, but we’ve got to keep it going.
“We’re in front at the moment, but there’s still some major meetings to come – it’s going to be a long five weeks!
“I won’t be coming back here (Newbury) tomorrow (Saturday) thinking we’ll definitely have a winner, but hopefully we have a few chances.”
The Skeltons were denied a double by the narrowest of margins in the following Steve Jobar MND Handicap Hurdle, with Take No Chances coming off second best in a pulsating three-way finish.
Lucy Wadham’s Zain Nights (5-1) was called the winner by a nose in the hands of Tom Cannon, with Take No Chances second and Hermino AA only a short head further away in third.
The Bet In-Play On Racing At BetVictor Novices’ Hurdle was a similarly close-run affair, with Harry Derham’s newcomer Huffin A Puffin (10-1) lunging late under Paul O’Brien to pip the more experienced favourite 6-4 favourite Ballybentragh by a short head.
Derham, another successful graduate of the Nicholls academy at Ditcheat, said: “He’s a lovely big horse and I wasn’t really sure he’d be ready enough to win today, so that was a nice surprise.
“He’s learning on the job and I’m not in a rush to do anything mad with him. He could have another run this season, but we’ll see.
“Hopefully he’s a horse to look forward to. He doesn’t have enough experience to go novice chasing next season so we’ll probably stick to hurdles.”
Nicholls himself got on the scoresheet with the Natalie Parker-ridden Secret Investor (3-1) in the Lengthen The Odds At BetVictor Open Hunters’ Chase, while David Pipe and Jack Tudor combined for a double on the card with Neon Moon a 12-1 winner of the Get Best Odds Guaranteed At BetVictor Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase and Bumpy Johnson scoring at 11-1 in the Download The BetVictor App Handicap Hurdle.
Richard Bandey’s Maclaine (3-1) impressed in the Get A Run For Your Money At BetVictor Handicap Chase, with Harry Bannister the winning pilot.
Harry Cobden’s hopes of winning the 2023-24 champion jump jockey title were boosted after he successfully appealed a three-day suspension imposed at the Cheltenham Festival.
The ban was initially handed out by the raceday stewards at the meeting when they deemed Cobden to have ridden carelessly aboard Handstands in the Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle.
The horse finished sixth and was judged to have interfered with the progress of Ile Atlantique and Predators Gold, both trained by Willie Mullins and ridden by Patrick and Danny Mullins respectively.
That finding was contested at the appeal and the panel, chaired by James O’Mahony, found in Cobden’s favour and overturned the suspension.
Those three days he is now free to ride could prove pivotal for the jockey, who is locked in a title race with Sean Bowen and was 12 winners ahead at the end of the action on Friday.
New Orleans Pelicans star forward Brandon Ingram will miss at least two weeks with a left knee injury he sustained in the team's loss to the Orlando Magic on Thursday.
The Pelicans announced Friday that Ingram has been diagnosed with a bone contusion following the results of an MRI and will be re-evaluated in two weeks.
Ingram, New Orleans' second-leading scorer at 20.9 points per game, exited Thursday's 121-106 loss to the Magic early in the second half with what the team initially described as a hyperextended left knee.
Though subsequent testing showed he avoided a serious, long-term injury, Ingram still figures to miss a good portion of the Pelicans' remaining games of the regular season, which concludes April 14.
New Orleans currently sits in fifth place in the Western Conference and is trying to avoid a spot in the play-in tournament, which would contain the teams that finish between seventh and 10th. The Pelicans are just 1 1/2 games ahead of the seventh-place Phoenix Suns.
Ingram, the 2019-20 NBA Most Improved Player, has been mostly healthy this season after missing significant time in each of the previous two campaigns. A left toe contusion sidelined him for 29 games last season, while various injuries limited him to 55 games in 2021-22.
The eight-year veteran is on track to average over 20 points per game for a fifth straight season and is averaging 5.1 rebounds and 5.8 assists through 63 games in 2023-24.
Defending champion Judd Trump set up a last-four clash with 22-year-old Welshman Jackson Page at the World Open, while home favourite Ding Junhui will face Neil Robertson in the other semi-final.
Trump, who won the last edition of the tournament – held in 2019 before the coronavirus pandemic, overcame Kyren Wilson 5-2 on Friday in Yushan.
With the quarter-final level at 2-2, the world number two clinched frame five on the black after benefiting from a couple of flukes before completing the job thanks to half-century breaks of 59 and 63.
“It is nice to get a run here and I feel a lot more excited to play snooker than the last three or four seasons,” Trump told the World Snooker Tour.
World number 52 Page, who eliminated former world champions John Higgins and Mark Selby en route to the last eight, made a break of 140 during his 5-2 success over Elliot Slessor.
“I think Jackson has played brilliantly well, he’s scored heavily,” said Trump.
“From what I’ve seen, him and Ding have been the players of the tournament.
“When you are young and playing well in this kind of scenario there is no better feeling. I’m the grumpy old man now trying to stop him.”
Ding delighted the Chinese crowd by firing in breaks of 73, 74, 135 and 102 during a 5-0 whitewash of Ronnie O’Sullivan’s conqueror Hossein Vafaei.
Hundreds of fans gathered on the streets of Yushan to watch their hero in action against Iranian Vafaei, with the match broadcast on a big screen.
Robertson, the 2010 world champion, awaits Ding after breaks of 127 and 115, plus two 87s and a 79, saw him defeat Barry Hawkins 5-2.
If the Australian goes on to win the event, he will retain his top-16 ranking and avoid a trip to World Championship qualifying.
“My game is absolutely back to where it should be now and that is really exciting heading into the back end of the season,” he said.
“It is a blockbuster match tomorrow. If you can’t enjoy playing Ding in a semi-final in China then there’s something wrong.”
Porta Fortuna is pencilled in to make her seasonal bow in the Ballylinch Stud ‘Priory Belle’ 1,000 Guineas Trial Stakes at Leopardstown in early April.
The Caravaggio filly landed the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot last year before going on to place in both the Phoenix and Moyglare, before striking Group One gold in the Cheveley Park Stakes at Newmarket.
Trainer Donnacha O’Brien then headed to America where Porta Fortuna was only narrowly denied in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, beaten just half a length by Hard To Justify.
O’Brien admits her juvenile brilliance raises some doubts ahead of her Classic campaign, with a trial run dependent on conditions suiting at Leopardstown.
In a stable tour for Attheraces.com, he said: “She was brilliant for us last season. When they are so good as two-year-olds, you can never be sure how well they’ll train on, but she seems to have wintered particularly well and her recent work has been very good.
“I’d like to run her in the 1,000 Guineas Trial at Leopardstown on April 7, but if the ground is bad, I’ll be happy enough to give her a racecourse gallop instead and go straight to the 1000 Guineas at Newmarket.”
Porta Fortuna is a best-priced 25-1 with Paddy Power for the 1000 Guineas on May 5.
Flooring Porter will attempt to finally get his hands on the Jrl Group Liverpool Hurdle following his brave second in the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
The dual Prestbury Park champion had been plying his trade over fences prior to reverting to timber at the Festival, where he showed plenty of his old zest to chase home Teahupoo in the day three feature.
He will now continue to operate over the smaller obstacles, with trainer Gavin Cromwell pointing the nine-year-old towards Aintree next month and the three-mile Grade One in which he has finished second and third to Gordon Elliott’s Sire Du Berlais.
“He’s come out of Cheltenham really well and the plan is to go back to Aintree, we’re really happy with him and looking forward to it,” said Cromwell.
“He was good over fences, but is probably better over hurdles, they certainly lit him up again.
“He acts round Aintree and we’re looking forward to it. A similar performance at Aintree should put him very much in the mix.”
Meanwhile, it appears handicaps are off the agenda for highly impressive Kim Muir winner Inothewayurthinkin, who received a significant rise for his easy eight-length Cheltenham Festival success.
Owned by JP McManus, the exciting six-year-old will be forced into trying his hand in graded company if he runs again this season, with top-table targets both at home and in England possible options.
“He’s a nice horse to have going forward, he’s a young horse with hopefully a bright future,” continued Cromwell.
“He’s gone up considerably in the handicap so we will probably just have to look at the graded novice route (if he is to run again). The obvious options are Aintree or Punchestown and there is a race at Limerick as well. He’s not certain to run again before the end of the season, but if he does he will probably go for one of them.
“Hopefully the handicapper is right, and if so, he will be an exciting horse to have.”
Chazzesmee is out to complete an historic double in the William Hill Lincoln at Doncaster on Saturday.
Just five days after plundering the €100,000 Irish Lincolnshire at the Curragh, the six-year-old is sent back into battle by trainer Fozzy Stack for the British Flat season’s traditional curtain-raiser.
Sweet Lightning is the only horse to have won both races, scoring at Doncaster in 2011 when trained by Michael Dods before striking gold the Irish equivalent in 2013 for Tommy Carmody.
Not only is Chazzesmee looking to become the first to win the two prestigious handicaps in the same season, but he also bids to become the first Irish-trained winner of the Lincoln on Town Moor since Dermot Weld’s Saving Mercy 40 years ago.
“It’s kind of a shot to nothing, he’ll either be there or thereabouts or they’ll be sending out a search party for him,” said Stack.
“It’s hard to know with the short turnaround, but it’s a good pot, so it’s worth a chance.
“He’s always been a horse that has had plenty of talent, he’s just been a bit unfortunate through his life.
“He handles soft ground, obviously, so we’ll see what happens.”
One of the chief hopes for the home team is Karl Burke’s Liberty Lane, a narrow winner over the course and distance in September before failing to fire in the Cambridgeshire at Newmarket a fortnight later.
Burke is looking forward to stepping the four-year-old up in trip later in the year, but is happy to start off over the straight mile on testing conditions.
“A mile is the minimum trip for him, he should be staying a mile and a quarter, but you need that (stamina) for that type of race,” said the Spigot Lodge handler.
“If he can keep tabs on the leaders, he loves that soft ground and fingers crossed he can run a big race, but we’re going there hopeful rather than confident.
“I think I’d rather be drawn high (stall 20) than low and I think they’ll probably arrowhead up the middle. Most of the fancied horses are drawn low, so it will be interesting.”
Charlie Johnston fields two contenders, with Qipco Champions Day winner The Gatekeeper joined by stablemate Dutch Decoy.
The Gatekeeper has not been seen in competitive action since his lucrative Balmoral Handicap victory at Ascot in October, while Dutch Decoy makes his first appearance since finishing a close-up sixth in the Cambridgeshire.
Johnston said: “The Gatekeeper is in very, very good shape, I couldn’t be happier with him in that regard. He’s proven with some cut in the ground and goes well fresh, so he’s got lots in his favour.
“Life’s going to be a bit tougher for him as he’s rated 100 now. The handicapper rightly didn’t miss him for his Balmoral win, but that’s the only negative I think. Other than that he’s got all conditions in his favour. He’s a solid contender and this has been the target for a long time.
“If there’s any ambition for this season, one is that Dutch Decoy gets his day in the sunshine because he’s often been the bridesmaid and he’s been a real stalwart with us in the top handicaps, but generally running well in defeat.
“He was just behind The Gatekeeper in the Golden Mile at Goodwood last summer on soft ground, so he has got some soft ground form, but generally I don’t think he would want the extremes and I think he’s a little bit better on slightly better ground.
“That would be a slight concern with him, but he’s fit and well and there’s not a lot else for him for a while, so we thought we’d take our chance.”
Simon and Ed Crisford’s Awaal, the Julie Camacho-trained Lattam and Jack Channon’s 2022 Lincoln hero Johan also feature in a fiercely-competitive field.
Channon said: “He’s just a very good horse and 100 per cent a great servant. He’s not got any black type but he’s a black-type horse. Those big-field mile races just seem to really suit his running style.
“He’s won two big ones already and hopefully he can add another to that.”
George Boughey’s Baradar bids to start his season on the right note when he lines up at his favourite track for the William Hill Cammidge Trophy Stakes.
The six-year-old was twice a winner last term, taking a Doncaster handicap over a slightly longer trip at the peak of his form in the autumn.
His Town Moor form in general is impressive, and he was a good third on heavy ground in the Lincoln at this meeting last year.
Now dropping back in trip to six furlongs, Boughey is hopeful he will relish a return to his favoured course at Listed level.
“Baradar was good back at six and a half furlongs at Doncaster in the autumn, before probably just finding it one too many runs at Ascot at the end of last year,” he said.
“I’m really looking forward to seeing him at six (furlongs) for the first time. He loves it at Doncaster, he’s done lots of work and is very straight. He’s in a super shape, he’s an absolute legend.
“In four runs at Doncaster he’s won twice, been 1-3 in the Lincoln in-running and placed in the Futurity Trophy.
“It’s his first run in stakes company for a long time and he goes there with a good chance.”
Nick Bradley Racing have three chances in the race, chief among them being the Karl Burke-trained Marshman.
Second in the Gimcrack as a two-year-old, the bay started his season well when winning the Prix Sigy on debut last year and was then fifth in the Duke of York when beaten three lengths.
He was subsequently a close third in the Prix du Gros-Chene, before finishing unplaced in both the King’s Stand and the Coral Charge.
The latter three runs were over five furlongs, and the talented colt will now step back up to six as he wears a tongue tie for the first time.
Burke said: “He’s a nice horse, I’m not sure he wants the ground as testing as it’s going to be but he’s in good form.
“It’s his first run of the year obviously and he’ll come on for it, but hopefully he’ll run very well.”
Bradley added: “He came back from Sandown with a pelvic injury last year but he’d started the season off well when winning the Prix Sigy.
“If we were selecting what ground we’d want we’d choose good ground, and it wouldn’t surprise me if he were a little bit fresh.
“As a two-year-old he wasn’t a tearaway but he wasn’t far off, we’re excited to get him back on the track.
“We’ve got three in the race and we hope to come home in the first three.”
Bradley’s other two chances are both trained by Grant Tuer, the four-year-old fillies Sophia’s Starlight and Glorious Angel.
William Haggas will saddle Montassib, a six-year-old who was fifth in the Ayr Gold Cup last term before winning the Coral Sprint Trophy at York.
“He was a bit unfortunate at Ayr, he had been running over seven furlongs for a while and I dropped him back in trip for the Ayr Gold Cup and they went fast and he came home well,” said the trainer.
“He finished well at York when he won as well.
“I think this is his trip and I think he likes the cut in the ground and he will be as fit as we can have him.
“Most of the Exceed And Excels we have had have wanted fast ground, but we think he definitely doesn’t. Maybe it’s because he has got hold and prefers a bit of dig in the ground, but he definitely wants cut.
“He always runs a good race, but he has never run off 108 before. Handicaps are now a bit out for him and it’s races like this and the Abernant Stakes and see where we are.”
Charlie Hills’ Orazio and Rod Millman’s Adaay In Devon complete the field of seven.
England scrum-half Natasha Hunt believes this season’s Guinness Women’s Six Nations could be the most competitive in its 22-year history.
The tournament kicks off on Saturday when France host Ireland in Le Mans and Wales tackle Scotland at Cardiff Arms Park.
England, winners of 14 Six Nations titles and 12 Grand Slams since the tournament began in 2002, launch their campaign against Italy in Parma on Sunday.
The Red Roses’ two home fixtures against Wales and Ireland will be played at Ashton Gate and Twickenham respectively.
Wales’ appointment with Italy on April 27, meanwhile, is their first stand-alone women’s Test at the Principality Stadium, with a possible title decider taking place later that day between France and England in Bordeaux.
England are bidding for a sixth successive Six Nations crown, and the world’s number one-ranked team look like being tough to stop.
Former New Zealand men’s head coach and England assistant John Mitchell is now at the helm, while his support staff includes World Cup winner and 141 times-capped former Red Roses number eight Sarah Hunter.
“I think it could be the most competitive ever,” Hunt, 35, told the PA news agency.
“It took us (England) two or three years to reap the benefits of having our professional contracts, and Scotland and Wales are now in that boat.
“Everyone wants to watch games that go down to the wire so the more competitive the games are, the better it is for the viewer.
“We have got a whole new game-plan, a whole new system that we are trying to implement, and we want to get that right and do what we can to put our best foot forward.”
Mitchell has made several changes from the team that beat New Zealand in the WXV1 final in November, with Emily Scarratt, Abbie Ward and Zoe Harrison among those returning.
Skipper Marlie Packer, meanwhile, becomes the seventh England women’s player to clock up a century of caps.
Hunt, Mitchell’s scrum-half bench option this weekend, was a surprise exclusion from England’s 2022 World Cup squad and the Six Nations presents another opportunity to show her quality after a successful WXV tournament.
“It was quite a shock,” she added, reflecting on her World Cup omission.
“I was at a bit of a crossroads in my career, I guess. At my age, it would have been quite easy to have thought ‘this is it’.
“But I just felt that I had so much more to give. I absolutely love playing for my country, and rugby is the best game ever.
“It did take me a while to consider whether I wanted to put myself back into that environment or not, but when I made that decision that it was something I wanted to go after, I have thrown everything at it.”
Wales full-back Jenny Hesketh will make her Test bow against Scotland, with Rachel Malcolm leading a Scotland team that includes debutant Alex Stewart among her back-row colleagues, while 18-year-old Leinster wing Katie Corrigan wins a first Ireland cap against France.
For the first time in a women’s rugby competition, the bunker system will operate, allowing referees an option to refer incidents of foul play for review when a potential red card is not clear and obvious.
And instrumented mouthguards, which were a feature of the men’s Six Nations this season and are designed to help with identifying a need for head injury assessments and provide in-game alerts to medical teams, will be worn by players throughout the tournament.
With its glittering history of welcoming A-list luminaries like Louis Armstrong and Tina Turner to its world-famous Variety Club, Batley could be forgiven for failing to string up the bunting when Super League strugglers Castleford roll into town on Saturday.
In fact, the perennially over-achieving Championship club are relishing the prospect of a Betfred Challenge Cup sixth round clash against a side whose head coach comfortably eclipses all those entertainment titans in the West Yorkshire town’s affections.
Craig Lingard’s career as first a player then head coach of the Bulldogs left such an impression that he has a section of terracing named after him at the club’s famously wonky Mount Pleasant stadium, and his departure for Cas last year was never going to threaten those bonds.
The historic knockout competition, of which Batley were the first winners in 1897, gifted Lingard an immediate return to the club whom he helped reach an improbable Championship Grand Final in 2022, as well as their first ever trip to Wembley in the 1895 Cup last year.
Small wonder his successor as head coach, Mark Moxon, who had previously served as an assistant for 12 years including the last three under Lingard, sees no reason to rip up the well-established blueprint that has served the unassuming club so well.
“We don’t really evolve at Batley,” Moxon told the PA news agency. “It’s about continuation, no shadow of a doubt. We live within our means year after year, and we continue to compete in a division in which the other teams have all historically spent much more money than we have.
“Craig is a bit of a club legend, and he had great success here that led him to Super League. I learned a lot from him as I continued my development. It’s important to maintain the culture that Craig was a part of. It’s all about working hard and togetherness, and I guess that’s the key to our success.”
Having pushed Featherstone close in their first game of the new Championship season on Sunday, Batley have every right to fancy their chances against a Castleford side who have made a dismal start to their new Super League campaign, failing to pick up a point from their first five games.
And while Lingard will draw on his experience to equip his players to cope with Mount Pleasant’s precipitous pitch, Moxon believes it could still prove a crucial factor in the underdogs holding their own against their top-level opponents.
“Craig might know all about the pitch but he’s not playing,” added Moxon. “There will be a few lads amongst them who have not played at Batley before. We are used to teams coming here and coming out of the tunnel and they can’t believe the steepness of the hill.
“Obviously we’re both very aware of each other’s game-plan. They’re going to be stronger and fitter than us, but the longer we are able to compete they might get nervous. It’s the kind of tie that you relish, and magic things can happen in sport.”
A full-time firefighter at Leeds-Bradford airport, Moxon has no immediate ambition to follow Lingard into the elite, and is instead content to work to create new memories at a club and town where Hollywood stars and Hollywood-style scripts are intertwined.
“I’ve got a job that I like and it’s secure, and the jump to go full-time is a big step, especially in professional sport where it can be quite fickle,” added Moxon.
“I love it here at Batley. It’s been a long time since we got anywhere near to winning the Challenge Cup, and the next best thing is to draw a Super League team at home. It should be a great occasion.”
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