Iga Swiatek has moved a step closer to reclaiming the world number one spot with a straight-sets victory over Aryna Sabalenka in the WTA Finals.
Swiatek, the world number two, claimed her 67th win of the year and her 10th win in a row in the 6-3 6-2 victory against the current number one Sabalenka on Sunday in Mexico.
The match, which began on Saturday, was suspended after the fourth game due to wet weather which has featured consistently throughout the tournament.
When it resumed on Sunday, Swiatek broke Sabalenka in the first game back and went on to take the win in just over 90 minutes.
“I’m really, really happy, I think that was the toughest and nicest match that I have played here,” Swiatek said after the match.
The 22-year-old from Poland went unbroken throughout the match and won more than 75 per cent of her service points.
She will meet world number five Jessica Pegula in the final on Monday for a chance to finish the year as the world number one.
It only took an hour for Pegula to beat her doubles partner and fellow American Coco Gauff on Saturday in a 6-2 6-1 win to continue her exceptional tournament form.
Both Pegula and four-time grand slam winner Swiatek have gone through the tournament undefeated with neither player dropping a single set.
Daniel Ricciardo said he was thankful to be alive after he narrowly avoided being struck by a flying tyre in Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix.
The race in Sao Paulo was suspended after a chaotic start which saw the loose carcass hit Ricciardo’s rear wing following a collision between Alex Albon and Nico Hulkenberg.
Albon, 13th on the grid, drew alongside Hulkenberg ahead of the first corner, but the two machines made contact, sending the London-born driver into Hulkenberg’s Haas team-mate Kevin Magnussen and then into the barrier.
The force of the impact tore the left-rear off Albon’s Williams, with the bouncing tyre, which weighs 13 kilograms, narrowly flying over the top of Ricciardo’s head before smashing into the back of his AlphaTauri.
Footage from Ricciardo’s cockpit shows him turning sharply to the left to avoid the airborne rubber.
“I saw a big crash in front of me and lots of debris,” said Ricciardo.
“I felt I was getting through it and then saw a tyre off the rim coming at me like a frisbee through the air and it started getting closer.
“I remember ducking my head. I didn’t feel anything hit me, so I was happy, but I checked my mirrors and saw my rear wing was pretty much off, so I assumed the tyre hit the wing, and that was frustrating. But looking back, it is nice it did not hit me.
“My immediate relief was turned into disappointment because I realised the race could be over. When you are in race mode you don’t think about it, but in hindsight I am thankful we all got out of it safe.”
Ricciardo, 34, was able to limp back to the pits for the repairs following the fortunate escape, while both Albon and Magnussen emerged unscathed, albeit out of the race.
Hulkenberg was able to carry on before a 25-minute delay ensued as the tyre barrier on the approach to the opening bend was repaired.
The red flag allowed Ricciardo’s mechanics to fix his machine, but he was a lap down for the restart.
Ricciardo continued: “The team did a great job fixing the car so we were ready to go and then I was told I would start a lap behind. All the excitement to race again gets zapped out of you.
“Common sense should be used and we should not have been a lap down because there was not one lap of green-flag racing. It is frustrating that they ruined our day from the beginning.”
Lewis Hamilton all but wrote off his chances of challenging for a record eighth world championship for the next two years following Mercedes’ “inexcusable” performance at Sunday’s Brazilian Grand Prix.
As Max Verstappen extended his winning record to 17 races in the most dominant season Formula One has ever seen, Mercedes endured an abysmal afternoon.
Hamilton took the chequered flag in eighth, an eye-watering 63 seconds behind, with George Russell forced to retire the other Mercedes.
Performances at the previous two rounds had afforded Hamilton and Mercedes hope that they were closing the gap to Verstappen’s Red Bull team.
Armed with a new floor, Hamilton finished second in Austin, before he was disqualified after his Mercedes failed a post-race scrutineering check. He was runner-up again in Mexico seven days later, this time with a legal car, 14 sec adrift of Verstappen.
But the Silver Arrows were dealt a grizzly reality check here.
Far from being any closer to Red Bull, Mercedes were slower than McLaren, Aston Martin, Ferrari and the mid-table Alpine team, with Pierre Gasly embarrassing the former world champions when he batted aside Hamilton and Russell.
Hamilton admitted after Saturday’s sprint race – where he laboured to seventh, 35 seconds behind Verstappen – that he was counting down the days until the end of the season.
Twenty-four hours later he expressed his fear that he will not be in a position to take on Verstappen before his £100million two-year deal expires at the end of 2025.
Hamilton, 39 in January, said: “All I can do is try to remain optimistic. But the Red Bull is so far away, they’re probably going to be very clear for the next couple of years.
“I knew it would be a tough one. In the moment, it is a setback. But as a team we will just come together and try to push forward.”
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff could not hide his despair at the result.
“An inexcusable performance,” the 51-year-old Austrian said.
“There are no words for it. The car finished second last week and the week before and whatever we did to it was horrible.
“Lewis survived out there. I can only feel for the two driving. It is a miserable thing. The car is on a knife’s edge and we have to develop it better for next year because in seven days you cannot have one of the quickest cars (in Mexico) and then you are nowhere.
“The car almost drove like it was on three wheels and not on four. This car doesn’t deserve a win.”
The start had been mildly encouraging for Hamilton. The seven-time world champion started third, up from his grid spot of fifth, when the race resumed after Alex Albon crashed into the wall and his loose tyre narrowly missed striking Daniel Ricciardo on the head.
But Mercedes’ abject pace was soon laid bare for all to see. Fernando Alonso wasted no time in racing past Hamilton at the Curva do Lago on lap four.
With Russell one place behind Hamilton, and having no luck in calling on Mercedes to move his team-mate out of the way, the black-liveried duo started tumbling back through the field.
Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll and Ferrari’s Carlos Sainz made light work of the two Englishmen. Gasly was next, leaving Hamilton in eighth and Russell one place back. Russell was then told to retire his car with an engine failure 12 laps from the end.
Hamilton now trails Perez by 32 points in the race for runner-up in the championship after the Red Bull driver failed to take the final spot on the podium.
Perez got ahead of Alonso on the penultimate lap only for the Spaniard to blast back past the next time round. The two drivers then went toe to toe on the 200mph drag to the chequered flag, with Perez finishing just 0.053 seconds behind.
Lando Norris took second, following another fine drive. He even threatened Verstappen for the lead on lap eight before the Dutchman reasserted his authority.
The 26-year-old’s latest triumph ensures he will end the year with the greatest win ratio ever seen over a single season.
Verstappen has won 85 per cent of the races, and with just rounds in Las Vegas and Abu Dhabi to follow, he will post a greater one-campaign ratio than Alberto Ascari’s 71-year record which stands at 75 per cent.
Max Verstappen completed an emphatic victory at the Brazilian Grand Prix after Daniel Ricciardo escaped injury when his car was struck by a flying tyre.
Lando Norris finished second for McLaren, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso holding off Verstappen’s Red Bull team-mate Sergio Perez by just 0.053 seconds for third.
But it was an abysmal afternoon for Mercedes, with Lewis Hamilton eighth and George Russell forced to retire his car with an engine failure 12 laps from the end. Hamilton crossed the line an eye-watering 63 seconds behind.
The race in Sao Paulo was suspended following a chaotic start which saw a loose tyre hit Ricciardo’s rear wing following a collision between Alex Albon and Nico Hulkenberg.
Albon, 13th on the grid, drew alongside Hulkenberg ahead of the first corner, but the two machines made contact, sending the London-born driver into Hulkenberg’s Haas team-mate Kevin Magnussen and then into the barrier.
The force of the impact tore the left-rear off Albon’s Williams, with the bouncing tyre – which weighs 13 kilograms – narrowly flying over the top of Ricciardo’s head before smashing into the back of his AlphaTauri.
Footage from Ricciardo’s cockpit shows him turning sharply to the left to avoid the flying rubber.
“I tried to miss it, but the tyre was in the air and it clipped my rear wing,” he said.
The Australian driver, 34, was able to limp back to the pits for the repairs following the fortunate escape, while both Albon and Magnussen emerged unscathed.
Hulkenberg was able to carry on before the race was red-flagged for 25 minutes as the tyre barrier on the approach to the opening bend was repaired following Albon’s shunt.
Norris lined up in second place for the restart following a fine getaway by the British driver from sixth. Hamilton made up two places from fifth to take third on the grid for the second start.
Verstappen mastered the getaway to keep his Red Bull ahead of Norris before Alonso made light work of Hamilton to gazump the British driver at the Curva do Lago.
On lap eight, Norris was suddenly in Verstappen’s slipstream and for a handful of corners it looked as though he could do the unthinkable and take the lead.
Norris drew alongside Verstappen at the outside of Turn 4 to provide the Dutchman with a rare fright. But by the start of the lap, Verstappen had established a lead of more than one second, and for Norris, Verstappen was out of DRS range.
Behind, and it was starting to unravel for Mercedes. Performances at the previous two rounds had afforded Hamilton and the grid’s once-all-conquering team hope that they were closing the gap to the top. But they were dealt a desperate reality check here.
On laps 14 and 18, Perez cruised ahead of Russell and Hamilton respectively before Russell bemoaned that he was being held up by his team-mate.
“Are we working together, or are we just doing our own races?” Russell asked.
Hamilton stopped for rubber, with Russell following his team-mate in on the next lap. Perez came in three laps later than Hamilton and had to re-pass the seven-time world champion, which he did with ease on lap 23. Aston Martin’s Lance Stroll then blasted his way past the out-of-sorts Mercedes pair.
Russell, now seventh, was growing increasingly frustrated with Hamilton struggling for pace. Russell wanted Mercedes to order Hamilton out of his way.
“Do you want me to race or concede positions?” he asked.
Later, he added: “I haven’t been on the radio because I thought it was quite obvious about the pace.”
Mercedes were unmoved as Russell tried and failed to make his way ahead of Hamilton.
Carlos Sainz was soon all over the back of the squabbling Mercedes men, cruising past Russell on lap 35, and then Hamilton two laps later.
The Silver Arrows tumbled back through the field, with Alpine’s Pierre Gasly moving ahead of Russell for eighth on lap 43.
Russell stopped for a second time on lap 45 with Hamilton in a lap later, only for Gasly to take another position off Hamilton to leave the seven-time world champion in eighth – that is where he would finish.
Hamilton now trails Perez by 32 points in the race for runner-up after the Mexican failed to take the final spot on the podium.
Perez got ahead of Alonso on the penultimate lap only for the Spaniard to blast back ahead on the last lap. The two drivers then went toe to toe on the drag to the finish line, with Alonso narrowly remaining ahead.
Daniel Ricciardo escaped injury after his car was struck by a flying tyre following a chaotic start to the Brazilian Grand Prix.
The loose carcass hit Ricciardo’s rear wing following a collision between Alex Albon and Nico Hulkenberg moments after the start in Interlagos.
Albon, 13th on the grid, drew alongside Hulkenberg but the two machines made contact, sending the London-born driver into Hulkenberg’s Haas team-mate Kevin Magnussen and then into the barrier.
The force of the impact tore the left-rear off Albon’s Williams, with the bouncing tyre, which weighs 11.5 kilograms – roughly 1.5 times the weight of a ten-pin bowling ball – narrowly flying over the top of Ricciardo’s head before smashing into the back of his AlphaTauri.
Footage from Ricciardo’s cockpit shows him turning sharply to the left to avoid the flying rubber.
“I tried to miss it, but the tyre was in the air and it clipped my rear wing,” he said.
The Australian driver, 34, was able to limp back to the pits for the repairs following the fortunate escape, while both Albon and Magnussen emerged unscathed. Hulkenberg was able to carry on before the race was red-flagged.
Max Verstappen was afforded the front row to himself for the beginning of the race after Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc crashed out on the formation lap.
Leclerc blamed a hydraulics failure for the accident. The race was suspended for 25 minutes as the tyre barrier on the approach to the opening bend was repaired following Albon’s shunt.
Lando Norris will line up for the restart in second place following a fine getaway by the British driver from sixth on the grid. Lewis Hamilton made up two places from fifth to third.
Dermot Weld’s Falcon Eight was a wide-margin winner of the Comer Group International Loughbrown Stakes at the Curragh.
The dual-purpose eight-year-old is often seen to good effect on the track and finished second in the Irish Cesarewitch over a trip just a furlong shorter in September.
On heavy ground he returned to bid for Group honours under Chris Hayes and at 11-4 he succeeded, defeating Willie Mullins’ 2-1 favourite Echoes In Rain by six and a half lengths.
“He’s as tough as teak and is unlucky not to win the last two runnings of the Irish Cesarewitch, so he deserved a nice win here,” Weld said.
“He’s been a great dual-purpose servant and his full-sister Search For A Song won this race two years ago.
“It’s a possibility that he might go over hurdles at Leopardstown at Christmas or he might go to Dubai for the two-mile race.
“He has stacks of enthusiasm but he is a character.”
Trainer Richard Donohoe enjoyed a poignant first Listed win as Vischio stayed on to take the Start Your Racing TV Free Trial Now Finale Stakes under Gary Carroll.
An outsider at 16-1, the mare was not for beating and had victory in her sights a furlong from home as she refused to be passed in a three-quarter-length triumph over Noel Meade’s Helvic Dream.
“It’s absolutely brilliant for the syndicate involved – my cousin Michael and his sister Mag and the sons,” said Donohoe.
“She was bought for a good friend of mine, John Kennedy, who was fighting cancer at the time. She was second in a seller and we were able to claim her for about 8,000 (euros).
“She won a hurdle race just before Michael died and the current syndicate have had nothing but fun with her ever since.
“She started off this spring and has been at nearly every festival since. We thought she might not go on heavy ground and it’s better she’s got on heavy ground.
“You could see lately she was in brilliant form and she’s really strengthened. The races have taken nothing out of her.
“She had a bit to find on several horses in the race today but there is always a chance in an end-of-season race that horses may not run to form and there was a chance to sneak some black type.
“She was definitely going to be in the first three under two furlongs down, but to win was a dream.
“We are dealing with cheap, low grade horses most of the time and she was low grade too at one time. We never have more than about 10 horses but luckily we’ve had horses that have been able to win races this year which makes it enjoyable.
“I’d say she’ll race away. I had it in my head to go to Leopardstown at Christmas for a hurdle race but I don’t know if that will happen now. She has a mark over hurdles that you’d say she might be able to compete off, but we’ll have to sit down and talk with Michael and Mag.”
Novak Djokovic eased past Grigor Dimitrov to claim a record-extending seventh Paris Masters title on Sunday.
After needing three sets to win each of his previous three matches, the world number one found the going more straightforward in the final as he saw off the Bulgarian 6-4 6-3.
It was also the Serbian’s 40th Masters 1000 crown, another record, and his 97th on the ATP Tour.
Djokovic allowed his opponent few opportunities, and a single break of serve in each set proved decisive as the 36-year-old won in 98 minutes.
“I think the match was closer than the scoreline indicates, but another amazing win for me,” said Djokovic on atptour.com.
“I’m very proud of this one, considering what I’ve been through this week – basically, coming back from the brink of losing three matches in a row.
“I was very close to losing those matches and somehow managed to find an extra gear when it was needed.
“Today, I think we both were quite tight at the beginning. I could see that he was running out of gas a little bit, myself as well, but I somehow managed to find an extra shot over the net.”
Djokovic is unbeaten since losing to Carlos Alcaraz in the Wimbledon final in July and will head to the ATP finals in Turin next week on an 18-match winning run.
Connections of Vauban are harbouring high hopes as he faces his moment of destiny in Tuesday’s Lexus Melbourne Cup at Flemington.
The Willie Mullins-trained five-year-old heads the market for the Group One handicap after making a seamless switch to the Flat following three wins at the highest level over hurdles.
A seven-and-a-half-length winner of the Copper Horse Handicap at Royal Ascot, Vauban then struck Group Three gold in the Ballyroan Stakes on his prep run, leaving big-race rider Ryan Moore confident his mount has plenty in his favour in the 24-runner race.
The jockey told Betfair: “You’d be happy enough with his draw in three, but there are pros and cons to being housed in any stall, so let’s focus on what we know. And that is that Vauban looks to hold excellent credentials, second to none, though maybe connections of Gold Trip and Without A Fight, and others, may disagree.
“Whether or not he deserves to be so short in the betting in a 24-runner handicap in which luck in running can be a big factor, I’ll let others decide. I only ride them.
“But you’d rather be on a 5-2 favourite than a 50-1 outsider and this 160-rated Grade One-winning hurdler was pretty awesome for me when winning the Copper Horse at Royal Ascot from his stablemate and subsequent Ebor winner Absurde, who also runs here, and he set himself up nicely for this when winning his Group Three at Naas, a race in which I actually rode the third, Peking Opera.
“Obviously, the Ascot win came off a mark of just 101 and this is a far deeper handicap and sterner test for him, but it seems like they are delighted with the way he has travelled and has settled in and here is hoping he can give me my first winner of this race since Protectionist in 2014. My only win in the race, in fact.”
Mullins is equally upbeat, rating Vauban and Absurde as his best Melbourne team yet, having saddled Max Dynamite to finish second in the race in 2015 and third two years later.
He told www.racing.com: “I think he’s (Vauban) as good as Max Dynamite and maybe better, we’ll find out that on Tuesday.
“It’s our strongest chance ever, it probably will be my strongest chance ever.
“We wouldn’t want to forget Absurde either, he did it very well with Frankie (Dettori) in the Ebor, Frankie gave him a terrific ride there.
“He has quarantined very well, and I think he’s in great shape.”
There are no British-trained runners this year, with Joseph O’Brien’s Okita Soushi the only other European contender, but there are plenty of familiar names in the line up with last year’s winner Gold Trip going again for Ciaron Maher and David Eustace, while Gai Waterhouse and Adrian Bott run 2020 Derby hero Serpentine and Chris Waller has last year’s Irish Oaks victor Magical Lagoon.
The Maher and Eustace team field five, with Hollie Doyle getting the leg up on former French runner Future History for the training duo.
Michelle Payne is the only woman to have ridden a Melbourne Cup winner having steered home Prince Of Penzance in 2015 and Doyle would love to add her name to the roll of honour on her first attempt.
She said: “I’m really excited to be coming to Melbourne and having a ride in the Cup on such a horse with a live chance as in Future History – it’s great for connections to have put me up.
“Obviously, with only 50kg, anything can happen in the Cup and, obviously, you need a lot of luck!
“I’ve spoken a little bit to Peter Trainor (owner), but I’ve been keeping myself up-to-date and following Future History and took an in-depth look into his career so far to get to know him.
“I think he’s got a great chance – he’ll obviously have to take a step forward again, but he seems to have been taking the right steps recently.
“He’s a Bart Cummings winner around Flemington, which is a plus – he’s got that experience on the track.
“He needs to prove he can stay the two miles, which I think he should do. His run in the (Moonee Valley) Gold Cup last week was very solid, around a track that’s probably quite sharp for him, and from a bad draw.”
Caulfield Cup winner Without A Fight, ex-William Haggas runner Soulcombe and Japanese contender Breakup are others to the fore in the betting.
Sir Bob snatched success in the final strides of the Paddy Power Cork Grand National Handicap Chase.
The Robert Tyner-trained gelding was a 9-1 chance under Simon Torrens for the Listed staying event over three miles and four furlongs.
The 11-year-old had not won since December 2022 and narrowly missed out on a valuable prize when just beaten in the Colm Quinn BMW Handicap Chase at the Punchestown Festival in April.
Success was not assured at Cork until the closing seconds of the race, when Sir Bob edged past Barry Connell’s Call The Tune, the 5-2 favourite, to prevail by a short head.
“That was grand and great that it worked out as his jumping kept him in it,” said Tyner.
“He is inclined to be lazy through his races but once he was there turning in, I thought he had a great chance.
“Staying is his job and he was unlucky in Punchestown when only beaten in a photo finish having been jumped across at the last fence. This is well deserved and he is tough.
“We were happy with his first run back over hurdles but disappointed with his second run, although today’s extra distance helped.
“This is my first time winning this race, it is a good pot and he is an 11-year-old, so it is great to get it. He is getting near the edge in handicaps now but we’ll look to the Porterstown Chase and to longer-distance hurdles now.”
Letsbeclearaboutit continued to make strides in his chasing career with a decisive success in the Paddy Power Feel Like A Favourite Irish EBF Novice Chase.
Gavin Cromwell’s eight-year-old made a winning debut over fences at Gowran in late September, with the form subsequently franked when the second-placed horse, Largy Debut, was runner up in the Munster National.
Letsbeclearaboutit lined up as the 5-4 favourite at Cork and duly delivered when scoring by 10 lengths after a prominent passage through the race and a neat round of jumping under Sean Flanagan.
“He was very good and looks an out-and-out chaser,” Cromwell said.
“You’d have to be excited by him and it was very straightforward for Sean, 11st 2lb is Keith’s (Donoghue) minimum weight so he missed the ride.
“We’ll probably give him a Drinmore entry, it’s four weeks away and that’s what’s on my mind at the moment.
“I don’t think he needs to go three miles, as he has plenty of gears and he loves jumping.”
Enda Bolger enjoyed a Listed victory on the same card when Solitary Man scored by two and a half lengths in the Paddy Power “I Still Call It Twitter” Irish EBF Novice Hurdle.
Darragh O’Keeffe did the steering and rode the five-year-old to a smooth success.
“Darragh said he’s manning up all the time and his jumping is excellent,” Bolger said.
“After the last day here, I was saying that he had been busy enough and would we leave him alone, but I just saw the entries and said we’d have a shot at it. It was a good call and good prize money to get.
“I don’t know what I’ll do now – he definitely likes nice ground and I’d prefer to put him away. He’s only five and if they’re good, they’re worth minding, so we mightn’t see him now until the spring.
“Fences will be his real thing, so maybe we could eventually look at a beginners’ chase at Killarney.”
Colin Keane was crowned champion jockey in Ireland for the fourth successive year – and fifth in all – at the Curragh on Sunday.
Keane took a stranglehold on the championship from August onwards and was able to compete over the last few weeks of the season stress-free.
While he did not manage to win a Group One this season, he did win the Group Two Minstrel Stakes on Zarinsk for his boss Ger Lyons.
With Lyons not as prolific this year as in recent times, Keane struck up relationships with the likes of Noel Meade, Willie Mullins and Henry de Bromhead, while he also rode six winners for his father, Gerry.
For the second year running, Keane’s closest challenger was Billy Lee.
He said: “I suppose it was a little bit more enjoyable this year, I was certainly able to relax these last few weeks.
“I got a good lead in August which was a big help and thankfully I was able to win it for a fifth time.
“Unfortunately Ger hasn’t had the firepower that he’s usually had, but thankfully the likes of Noel Meade, my father and Michael O’Callaghan have all chipped in and my agent, Ruaidhri Tierney, has done a great job.
“Zarinsk was a great filly this year, she won her Listed (race), a Group Three and a Group Two and that’s important for a filly like her.
“The highlight would have to be riding a first Royal Ascot winner (Villanova Queen) or riding a winner for my father here on Champions Weekend (Crystal Black) for a great bunch of lads
“Any day you ride a winner, you are enjoying it.
“I’ll keep going from now to Christmas and then take a break in the new year.”
Jamie Powell claimed the leading apprentice title having ridden 28 winners, which put him 13th overall in the jockeys’ championship.
He said: “I’ve received so much support from so many people since I’ve started.
“I didn’t really sit on a racehorse until I was 16 or 17 and didn’t do pony racing. I went to the Racing Academy in Kildare Town and I got going from there and was sent out to Patrick Prendergast and then he joined up with John Oxx.
“I learned plenty in there and riding work with the likes of Niall McCullagh, who has been a big help to me.
“I then joined Johnny Murtagh and have been there for two or three years now. He gives me plenty of feedback watching back races and is able to tell me where I’m going wrong.
“The Curragh is right on my doorstep and I’ve gone racing here since I was a kid. It’s been very lucky for me and I’ve won big handicaps here this year on Aussie Girl and Tawaazon, so to be crowned champion apprentice here is great.”
Aidan O’Brien took the trainers’ title for a 26th time, having won the Irish Derby and Irish Champion Stakes with Auguste Rodin, the Irish 2,000 Guineas with Paddington and the Irish Oaks with Savethelastdance in another stellar campaign.
Royal Ascot winner Burdett Road made an immediate impression on his hurdles bow with a clear-cut victory at Huntingdon.
Winner of the Golden Gates Stakes for Michael Bell in June, Burdett Road then tackled the Gordon Stakes at Goodwood before finishing third to Passenger in the Winter Hill Stakes.
Subsequently gelded and transferred to the care of James Owen by owners the Gredley Family, Burdett Road was sent off the 4-9 favourite in the Follow Us On Twitter @betrhino Juvenile Hurdle and he made short work of five rivals in the hands of Harry Cobden.
Though not foot perfect at the first attempt, Burdett Road galloped home 12 lengths clear of Palio and is a 33-1 chance with Paddy Power for the Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in March.
Owen said: “It can only go wrong when they are odds-on like that, but he had done lots of schooling at home. He was a keen horse on the Flat and that is why we put the hood on him.
“The plan was to go to Warwick, but as the ground was going to be so soft there we decided to come here. He has learnt a lot, but he will be better in a truer run race.
“We all know that he has got an engine and we have got to just keep teaching him now.
“I would have loved to have seen him settle better, but he did switch off fine when he got to the front and he jumped fine on the whole, with the exception of a couple of little mistakes.
“As far as juveniles go first time out, that was OK. He got the job done and he was not for stopping.
“So much thanks go to the Gredley family for sending him to me. That has relieved the pressure a bit. Let’s hope we can keep building on that.”
The Grade Two JCB Triumph Trial Juvenile Hurdle at Cheltenham on November 18 could now be the plan for Burdett Road.
Owen said: “If it is not deep ground in a couple of weeks’ time we will go for the Triumph Hurdle trial at Cheltenham and learn a bit more about him.
“He needs education, and he is not a horse that wants to be running too fresh. He had plenty of Flat runs and he improved almost every time he ran.
“I don’t think the track at Cheltenham will pose any problems to him. I just hope he is a bit more amenable.”
Cobden told Racing TV: “He’s a very good horse. He’s done a lot of things wrong there, but still won with his head in his chest.
“I was confident, I knew there was one down my inside but I had so much horse left under me it wasn’t a problem. He’s definitely a Triumph Hurdle horse anyway, I’m confident of that.”
Cobden, who was celebrating his 25th birthday, went on to register a double aboard the Paul Nicholls-trained Mofasa (5-4 favourite) in the Premier League Offers At Rhino.Bet Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase.
Thunder Rock got his season off to a perfect start with victory in the Colin Parker Memorial Intermediate Chase at Carlisle.
The seven-year-old was placed in graded company on multiple occasions last term after winning his first two outings over fences, rounding off his campaign with a length-and-three-quarter second in an Ayr Grade Two.
Beauport and Monbeg Genius were both non runners in the Carlisle, leaving just four runners to go to post with Thunder Rock sent off the 11-8 favourite in the hands of Sean Bowen.
Mahler Mission set out to make all in his usual style and it looked as though he might well prevail with two fences to jump as both Thunder Rock and Bill Baxter were under pressure.
However, Thunder Rock kept finding for Bowen on the run to the last, taking the final obstacle slightly ahead before pulling away from Mahler Mission on the run to the line to win by three and a half lengths. Bill Baxter was a further 10 lengths back in third, with the other runner, Bass Rock, pulled up.
Thunder Rock won four of his six hurdles starts for trainer Olly Murphy in the 2021-22 season and the trainer admitted he could well have turned the gelding’s attentions back to the smaller obstacles had he met with defeat in Cumbria.
He said: “He’s a horse with a big engine and we were kind of coming here today thinking if he wins, great, but if he doesn’t we will probably go back over hurdles. You can see he’s not the most robust horse in the world but he’s a got a big heart and he wants it and when a horse wants it, you’re sort of three-quarters of the way there.
“Where we go from today, I haven’t a clue. I discussed the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury with Max (McNeill, part-owner) and I just thought maybe a 20-runner handicap probably wouldn’t be for him. He’s (rated) 146 and I would imagine he will go up to the guts of 150 after today.
“I don’t know, off his rating he’s a horse that probably wants to step up into proper open graded company. There’s a Grade Two at Ascot over Christmas, I don’t know, something along the lines of that and see where we go.
“It’s very early to be talking about the Ryanair, but it’s the first step up the ladder, he’s a horse we will definitely keep chasing for the time being.
“He’s a gritty horse and I would love to have another 10 like him, he has a fantastic attitude, Sean got a good tune out of him and he’s giving his owners a lot of fun.”
McNeill is looking forward to seeing how far Thunder Rock can go now he is set on a chasing course.
He said: “It was a bit of a cup final for him today in terms of where do we go. You know, you’re standing at the station and could we go left or right – do we stick over hurdles if he didn’t run well today or were we going to keep over fences?
“On that performance, he missed the third last a bit, but I think he’s going to have to stay over fences. He’s an exciting prospect, he really is – I mean he was nearly there last year wasn’t he?”
Paddy Power cut Johnnywho to 16-1 from 20s for the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival following an easy victory in the Beaumont Novices’ Hurdle.
Trained by Jonjo O’Neill and ridden by his son Jonjo jnr, the 4-5 favourite beat Moon D’Orange by two lengths having barely come off the bridle.
Guyana’s Leslain Baird fought valiantly to win a bronze medal in the men’s javelin on the final day of track and field action at the 2023 Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile on Saturday.
The 36-year-old thrower, who won a silver medal at the South American Games in Bolivia 2018, threw a commendable 78.23m to secure the final podium position in the event won by the USA’s Curtis Thompson. It was Guyana’s third medal of the games.
The American produced a winning throw of 79.65m, miles off Anderson Peters’ Pan American record of 87.31m set in 2019.
Brazil’s Pedro Henrique Nunes won the silver medal with his best effort of 78.45m.
Royal Ascot winner Burdett Road made an immediate impression on his hurdles bow with a clear-cut victory at Huntingdon.
Winner of the Golden Gates Stakes for Michael Bell in June, Burdett Road then tackled the Gordon Stakes at Goodwood before finishing third to Passenger in the Winter Hill Stakes.
Subsequently gelded and transferred to the care of James Owen by owners the Gredley Family, Burdett Road was sent off the 4-9 favourite in the Follow Us On Twitter @betrhino Juvenile Hurdle and he made short work of five rivals in the hands of Harry Cobden.
Though not foot perfect at the first attempt, Burdett Road galloped home 12 lengths clear of Palio and is a 33-1 chance with Paddy Power for the Triumph Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in March.
Cobden told Racing TV: “He’s a very good horse. He’s done a lot of things wrong there, but still won with his head in his chest.
“It probably wasn’t the world’s greatest juvenile hurdle, but just the manner he has gone around in the race – he was too keen, he’s a very good jumper and when he hit the front he danced away. He’s obviously got a good brain on him.
“I was confident, I knew there was one down my inside but I had so much horse left under me it wasn’t a problem. He’s definitely a Triumph Hurdle horse anyway, I’m confident of that. James has got a job to settle him down, manage him as well as we can.
“There’s an £80,000 juvenile hurdle at Cheltenham in just under two weeks and we were discussing whether to go for it or not – I’d say definitely run.
“The way he travelled through this race took the freshness off him, but he hasn’t had a race today. It’ll take a smart one to beat him.”
LeBron James urged the Los Angeles Lakers to improve as his injury-hit side were blasted away by the Orlando Magic, who were inspired by Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero.
The Lakers' seven-game winning streak against the Magic came to an abrupt end as Los Angeles were outclassed in a 120-101 road defeat on Saturday.
Wagner led the Orlando charge with 26 points, one more than the impressive Banchero, while rookie Anthony Black scored 10 on his first Magic start.
Hosts Orlando were without injured guards Markelle Fultz (knee) and Gary Harris (groin), yet it was Los Angeles' James who bemoaned fitness issues hampering his team.
"That's definitely been our trend – offensive rebounds and points off turnovers," said James, who finished with 24 points, nine rebounds and five assists.
"We'll do a good job of getting a stop and then an offensive rebound allows them to score.
"It definitely helps when you have bigger bodies. We have three of our bigger bodies out right now with injuries.
"It would help, but that's definitely one of the ways we have to look at to get better."
Anthony Davis was a rare bright spark, managing 28 points, 13 rebounds and seven blocks for the Lakers, who were without five injured players for the road game.
Los Angeles played without Rui Hachimura (concussion protocol), Taurean Prince (knee), Gabe Vincent (knee), Jalen Hood-Schifino (knee) and Jarred Vanderbilt (knee).
However, injuries were no excuse for Los Angeles coach Darvin Ham.
"They're down bodies, we're down bodies and so the game basically comes down to mental approach," added Ham. "Their energy, their effort, they outworked us."
Just five days after a 106-103 reverse in Los Angeles, Banchero suggested the victory shows his Magic side can compete with any side in NBA.
"We don't look at any other team and think we can't match up," said last season's NBA Rookie of the Year Banchero, who went on to laud the performance of Black.
"Plus-32 for my dawg right here. Plus-32 is nuts. He just stepped up right away."
Magic coach Jamahl Mosley echoed Banchero's sentiment on Black, adding: "He wasn't afraid. He embraces moments, and he's willing to make the easy play, the easy pass and the right decision."
Lookaway will return to Cheltenham for the Unibet Greatwood Handicap Hurdle later this month having impressed at the track recently.
Neil King’s six-year-old was the winner of Aintree’s Grade Two bumper in 2022 and following a lacklustre start to life over hurdles last term, struck at Graded level for the second time when making all in the Sky Bet Novices’ Hurdle at Prestbury Park.
That was the perfect way to build on two successful outings over timber at Uttoxeter in the early part of summer and with a hurdling hat-trick secured, Lookaway will now head for the competitive handicap which headlines the final day of Cheltenham’s November meeting.
He is available at 11-1 for the race with the sponsors and his handler feels this is the ideal time to try his hand in deeper company.
“It was the perfect start to his season and we were obviously thrilled,” said King.
“We went there with high expectations and he couldn’t have done it any more nicely. Jack (Quinlan, jockey) has given him a nice positive ride from the front there, he’s jumped great, he’s travelled and won his race.
“The Greatwood is on the agenda. He’s gone up 10lb which one has to take on the chin. He could have gone up 5lb, 10lb or 15lb so we will take that there and that’s the definite next plan for him, to go back to Cheltenham for the Greatwood.
“He’s a young and improving horse and that’s the time to go for a handicap, isn’t it?”
Jayson Tatum found it "hard to process" the achievement of becoming the Boston Celtics' youngest player to 10,000 points in NBA history after Saturday's win over the Brooklyn Nets.
Tatum was one of five Boston players to finish with double-figure scores as the Celtics improved to 5-0 for the new season with a 124-114 win over the Nets.
Victory marked a memorable outing for 25-year-old Tatum, too, as he brought up the points landmark for the Celtics – surpassing previous record holder Antoine Walker, who was 26.
"It's kind of hard to process," Tatum said. "In the moment, it's a huge accomplishment. I'm extremely blessed to be part of such a great franchise.
"I've just been fortunate to be on some really good teams; have some really, really good coaches and obviously have some great teammates that have helped contribute to 10,000 points along the way."
Tatum is the 10th player in NBA history to reach 10,000 career points before his 26th birthday.
The Celtics star joined an illustrious list that includes LeBron James, Kobe Bryant, Kevin Durant, Carmelo Anthony, Tracy McGrady, Devin Booker, Bob McAdoo, Giannis Antetokounmpo and Dwight Howard.
However, his record-breaking efforts came as no surprise to Boston coach Joe Mazzulla.
"He shows up to work every single day," Mazzulla said. "He puts in the work and he dedicates his life to it.
"He doesn't miss days. He doesn't miss practices, games. And just his open-mindedness and wanting to be coached and wanting to be held to a high standard.
"When you have guys like that – that you can coach – it also allows you to bring the best out of everybody else and so he's one of the guys that sets the tone for us."
The four-time All Star finished with 32 points and 11 rebounds against the Nets before acknowledging he could not have foreseen his achievements after being the number three pick in 2017.
"I was ignorant when I got drafted," added Tatum. "First of all, I didn't even want to come [to Boston] because I didn't think I was going to play.
"They had Gordon [Hayward], and JB [Jaylen Brown], and IT [Isaiah Thomas], and [Marcus] Smart; I didn't think I was good enough to be on that team.
"It's been a long process. I've had to learn through the ups and downs, through my mistakes of late-game decisions or whatever it may be; just growing pains and playing enough games, being in enough playoff series, you learn from those things."
Queens Gamble is in line to continue her hurdles education when making her first start for Harry Derham at Newbury on Thursday.
The five-year-old was an early fancy for the 2023 Champion Bumper after impressively winning a pair of Cheltenham bumpers when previously trained by Oliver Sherwood.
She suffered a narrow reversal at the hands of Fergal O’Brien’s subsequent Aintree scorer Dysart Enos in her Cheltenham Festival tune-up at Market Rasen and although struggling to land a blow on rain-softened ground at the Festival itself, she remains of real potential as she seeks further experience over timber.
With Sherwood having bowed out from his illustrious training career, Queens Gamble now finds himself in the care of Lambourn-based Derham, with chestnut’s former handler working alongside as the young trainer’s assistant.
Derham is keen to get a run into the talented mare before her first key assignment of the year in the Listed Play Coral “Racing-Super-Series” For Free Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at Newbury in early December.
He said: “She obviously did very well in her bumpers and it is very kind of Alex Frost and Ed Galvin and their families to send her to me and we hope that she progresses over hurdles this season.
“She will be entered for Newbury and we would like to go there, but I don’t think her owners or any of us would like to run her on bottomless ground and that would be something to consider.
“She’s ready to start her season now, so if we can go to Newbury that would be great and if not then we will find a suitable alternative quite soon.
“Her first big target is at Newbury during the Winter Carnival on December 2, the mares’ Listed novice hurdle, so we would love to get a run into her before then if we can.
“She’s obviously got to go and do it over hurdles and I’m confident she will. I don’t want to plan too far in advance but she’s looked very good in her bumpers and I’ve no reason to believe she won’t do well over hurdles.”
Queens Gamble was given an early introduction to hurdles at Warwick in May and although the manner of victory was far from emphatic, her training team feel there is a lot more to come.
Derham continued: “She won at Warwick and I think everyone was a little underwhelmed that day, but Oliver and the team there just felt she wasn’t quite at her best and won despite that.
“Obviously I’ve only known her since the beginning of this season and Oliver’s team seem to think she is a lot stronger this year. I’m certainly very pleased with what I can see and really looking forward to her.”
Although keen to take his time with an operator who could easily become the fledgling handler’s stable star, a return to the Cheltenham Festival for the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle could be on the cards for the spring if Queens Gamble progresses as expected throughout the season.
“That would be a big target this season if she keeps improving,” added Derham.
“Her bumper form would make her a live contender for a race like that and her schooling this autumn has been really good.
“So I do have that in the back of my mind and I don’t want to over-race her this winter with the thought that if she keeps improving and we can get her to the spring in good form, then that would be lovely.”
White Birch skips an option at Kempton on Monday but connections have high hopes there are plenty of nice prizes for him to win next season.
Third in the Derby to Auguste Rodin and King Of Steel, his only disappointing effort was in the Irish equivalent when he was hampered by an injured rival.
After that he went close at Leopardstown in a Group Three behind Adelaide River and he was entered in the Listed Floodlit Stakes at Kempton.
However, he is now finished for the season but all the major middle distance races will be on his radar next term.
George Murphy, assistant trainer and son of trainer John, said: “We decided he wouldn’t travel and that looks like the end for this year.
“He stays in training and we’re really looking forward to him. It’s easy to put a line through the Irish Derby and other than that, he ran some massive races.
“We’re really looking forward to next year, when he should be able to compete in a lot of nice races and do very well.
“Something like the Tattersalls Gold Cup will be an option, there are lots of races we can aim at so we’ll sit down and make a plan over the winter.”
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
