Marco Ghiani has been given a 34-day suspension following a referral from the Whip Review Committee.
Ghiani, who was crowned Britain’s champion apprentice in 2021, is set for a lengthy spell on the sidelines having been found in breach of the whip rules for the fifth time in the last six months.
Nine days of his ban have been deferred for six months and he has also been instructed to complete a two-day training course.
Ghiani has enjoyed plenty of big-race success during his relatively short career so far, scoring aboard Saeed bin Suroor’s Real World in the Hunt Cup at Royal Ascot and in Group-race company in 2021.
Having subsequently served a six-month suspension after testing positive for cocaine, the Sardinian native enjoyed two Group Three wins on foreign soil last year, with Jane Chapple-Hyam’s Mill Stream in France and in the Italian St Leger aboard the Mick Appleby-trained Roberto Escobarr.
Apprentice rider Tommie Jakes has also been suspended for 24 days, with eight days deferred for six months. He too will have to complete a two-day training course before his return to the saddle.
Christian Horner vowed to go racing after breaking his silence amid the latest allegations whirling around the Red Bull team principal.
Horner’s Formula One future is again in the spotlight after hundreds of WhatsApp messages appearing to be written by him to a female colleague were leaked.
On Wednesday, Horner was cleared to continue as Red Bull team principal following an internal probe into “inappropriate behaviour” by the F1 team’s parent company, Red Bull GmbH. He has always denied the claims.
But just 24 hours later, a number of messages and images apparently exchanged between Horner and the complainant were sent from an anonymous email account to 149 members of the F1 paddock – including FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and the grid’s nine other team principals, as well as members of the media – on the eve of this weekend’s season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
Domenicali and Ben Sulayem will meet on Friday to discuss the next steps.
Horner was quizzed about the latest allegations as he made his way from Red Bull’s hospitality suite to the team’s garage for third practice ahead of qualifying.
“I am not going to comment on anonymous speculation from unknown sources,” he said. When asked what comes next, Horner replied: “We go racing.”
It is understood that neither F1’s American owners, Liberty Media, nor its regulator, the FIA, has seen Red Bull GmbH’s report into Horner, which is thought to stretch to 150 pages and was said to be “confidential”.
It is believed that the FIA is considering the legalities of asking Red Bull to hand over its report, and examining if Horner might have breached two clauses of its International Sporting Code.
Article 12.2.1.c states that a competitor will have committed an offence if there was “any fraudulent conduct or any act prejudicial to the interests of any Competition or to the interests of motor sport generally”.
Article 12.2.1.f highlights “any words, deeds or writings that have caused moral injury or loss to the FIA, its bodies, its members or its executive officers, and more generally on the interest of motor sport and on the values defended by the FIA”.
Meanwhile, article 12.2.1.g states that “any failure to cooperate in an investigation” would breach the code.
Horner continues to operate in his role as team principal and CEO, although it is understood there is considerable unease among the team’s plethora of sponsors and partners.
Horner said in a statement on Thursday: “I will not comment on anonymous speculation, but to reiterate I have always denied the allegations.
“I respected the integrity of the independent investigation and fully cooperated with it every step of the way.
“It was a thorough and fair investigation conducted by an independent specialist barrister and it has concluded dismissing the complaint made.
“I remain fully focused on the start of the season.”
Under Control can put herself in line for a £100,000 bonus when she heads to Kelso for the bet365 Morebattle Hurdle.
Nicky Henderson’s five-year-old signed off last season by downing stablemate – and subsequent Greatwood and Betfair Hurdle winner – Iberico Lord at Sandown and although misfiring when favourite for the Gerry Feilden in November, she bounced back to form when second to Ashroe Diamond in a Doncaster Grade Two in January.
She holds a plethora of entries for the Cheltenham Festival and has the chance to scoop the sponsor’s six-figure incentive on offer if following up victory in the Scottish Borders at Prestbury Park later this month.
That was something achieved by The Shunter in the very first year this race was run as a handicap and although set to carry a hefty weight burden, Under Control rates as one of the classiest operators in the field.
“She ran a blinder at Doncaster and was beaten by a good mare there,” said owner JP McManus’ racing manager, Frank Berry.
“Nicky has been very happy with her and although she has a lot of weight to carry, we are hoping for a good run. She did well to get back to Doncaster and run well and everything has gone well since.”
On the bonus, he added: “We’ll work it (Cheltenham) out after Saturday, once we’ve seen how she goes. If she doesn’t run well on Saturday, she will have no business going anywhere else.”
Benson provided Sandy Thomson with a popular local victory in this contest 12 months ago and, having advertised his well-being since the turn of the year, is another aiming not just for back-to-back Morebattle triumphs, but to tee-up a second shot at the Cheltenham bonus.
“His last two runs have been really good and two miles at Musselburgh last time would be sharp enough for him,” said Thomson.
“Obviously, he has a lot of weight to carry, but he seems well and he carried that weight at Musselburgh on New Year’s Day, so we will go and give it a shot.
“He was very new to us last season and we know a lot more about him now – and hopefully we have trained him accordingly. Whether we get the same result (as last year), who knows? But we’re very happy with where we have him.”
Plenty of this year’s Morebattle contenders arrive looking to extend a winning run – including the hat-trick-seeking pair of Kerry Lee’s Black Hawk Eagle and Donald McCain’s Geromino.
However, they still have some way to go to match James Moffatt’s Bingoo, who arrives at Kelso unbeaten in three and rapidly climbing the ranks.
“He’s in good order with himself,” said Moffatt. “We’re dropping back in trip a bit, but hopefully there is a very strong gallop up in front, which we should get – I think there’s three or four front-runners in it.
“We’re just going to take our chance and it’s well worth a punt at that sort of prize-money.”
Another in good order is Dr Richard Newland and Jamie Insole’s Rewired, who has followed up some encouraging performances last term by winning both outings this season.
Newland believes now is the time to give his charge a shot at a valuable prize and said: “He’s done really well and certainly seems in a very good place.
“He came out of his race at Taunton well and is in good form and we’re very happy with him.
“He possibly doesn’t want too much rain, but I just thought he deserved a chance at a slightly better race, really. The owners are excited and we are excited to have a go at it.
“I think if you had asked me if we would be going for this off this mark, I wouldn’t have been as confident, but he’s become a very sharp, quick hurdler and that is helping him. Let’s hope there is more to come.”
Skycutter got off the mark for new trainer Dan Skelton at Carlisle last month and will bid to go two places better than the stable’s L’Eau Du Sud did 12 months ago, while Brian Ellison won this with Cormier two years ago and will saddle Scottish Champion Hurdle fifth Salsada, who returns from 315 days off.
Fernando Alonso's legacy in Formula One will be defined by questions about what might have been, according to former Force India driver Paul di Resta.
However, Di Resta hopes Alonso will not call time on his glittering career for some time yet, as the 42-year-old begins his second season with Aston Martin.
Alonso impressed en route to a fourth-placed finish in the drivers' championship last year, securing eight podium finishes in his first campaign with the team.
The two-time world champion's future has been a subject of speculation throughout the offseason, with the Spaniard touted as a candidate to replace Lewis Hamilton at Mercedes when he joins Ferrari in 2025.
Ahead of Saturday's season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix, Alonso said he is yet to decide whether he will race at all next year, and Di Resta would be disappointed if F1 lost one of its biggest characters.
Di Resta also believes Alonso will look back upon his short-lived move to McLaren in 2007 – and his subsequent switch back to Renault – with a few regrets.
"I've got a huge amount of respect for him. I wish he hadn't taken that [break] when he disappeared out of Formula One for a couple of years," Di Resta told Stats Perform.
"I think the biggest thing with Fernando is what could have been, with the championships he probably should have won and the ones he came close to.
"Some of the choices he made, moving to teams… I'm sure he's not scared to talk about that. I think he's just a born racer, absolutely committed to it.
"His spatial awareness, in race starts or on the first lap, wheel to wheel, there's probably not many people like it.
"I will miss watching him. I hope he's around for a long time and I think he's showing that age is not a thing, he can still grab great results.
"I think he's happier than he's ever been, less emotional, he sees the journey for what it is, he probably sees the end is closer in that sense and he's milking everything he can from it.
"I just love to see [Max] Verstappen, [Charles] Leclerc, Alonso, Hamilton in different teams going against each other, and I think people definitely respect what he's done, and he draws a lot of attention, and attention is a great thing for the sport."
While reigning world champion Verstappen is expected to dominate again in 2024, Alonso is among a group of drivers looking to take race wins off Red Bull.
McLaren's Lando Norris is another with lofty ambitions for the new season, and Di Resta thinks the 24-year-old has a big future ahead of him.
"I'd be surprised if he doesn't win a world championship, given his ability," he said. "I think the key for him will be reading where the best place to be for the future is, whether McLaren are back to being a consistent team to deliver a world championship.
"I think Lando definitely is up to that. Oscar [Piastri], he did a very good job for a rookie last year. He was a bit short of Lando in the races if you're being honest.
"In qualifying, he definitely had the measure and had the speed, so I'm expecting him to push Lando even more and I'm expecting him to be even closer to Lando.
"They've got great foundations and great team spirit to move forward. They will get into battles and you can see there's some frustration in their races with strategy and how it's going to play out, but Lando is very comfortable and I think he's probably in the top three picks within the grid."
Max Verstappen may be the clear favourite for a fourth straight Formula One championship, but Paul di Resta does not see Red Bull having it all their own way in 2024.
Verstappen has dominated the sport in the past two seasons after pipping rival Lewis Hamilton to win his first title back in 2021.
The Dutchman was champion by 146 points in 2022, then stretched that gap to a staggering 290 points last year as he won 19 of 22 races.
Di Resta, who drove for Force India, hailed Red Bull's "incredible job" as they "pulled out a couple of wins they shouldn't have", but he expects Verstappen to at least have some competition in the coming campaign.
"People will get closer this year, 100 per cent," Di Resta told Stats Perform. "It's not going to be a runaway like it was.
"But to get on top of that at every grand prix with the advantage that he had at some tracks last year, I don't see how they can lose the championship, to be honest, unless somebody's got something hiding in the wind tunnel that they're going to bring out and surprise everyone with.
"Over the course of the season, I think he'll get the job done.
"I think he'll have a harder time at it, and I'd like to see them more in battle. I'd like to see them up against Lando [Norris], I'd like to see them up against Lewis, Ferrari in there as well.
"The biggest thing is when it's closer, when you're having a bad day, you're having a bad day. When you're having a good day, you're having a good day. The swing was not big enough ever because he was always winning last year."
Mercedes did not win a single race in 2023, but Di Resta sees the Silver Arrows as Red Bull's biggest rivals again in what is set to be Hamilton's final season with the team before joining Ferrari.
"I think it'll be Mercedes," he said. "They've said they're coming out with a car that's very different, very different philosophy.
"They are undoubtedly still one of the best teams in Formula One, and I think just when you look at the last 10 years and how they've gone about their business, you have to believe in that."
Joel Embiid is aiming to return to action before the end of the NBA season, as he targets making an appearance at the Paris Olympics.
Embiid, the reigning NBA MVP, underwent surgery on a knee injury in early February.
The Philadelphia 76ers star was averaging 35.3 points, 11.3 rebounds and 5.7 assists prior to sustaining the injury in a loss to the Golden State Warriors at the end of January.
While there is no firm timeline on his return, Embiid is confident he will be back for the end of the campaign.
"That's the plan," Embiid said.
"Obviously everything has to go right, as far as getting healthy and being as close as I'm supposed to be. But yeah, that's the plan."
Embiid suggested playing at the Olympics influenced his decision to have surgery.
"I think when you look at what unfolded and what we saw, there was only one decision, and it was to go the route that I did," he added.
Embiid looked well in with a shot of retaining the MVP crown, though that now looks unlikely.
"That's why it was extremely disappointing," Embiid said. "I was on a roll and I felt like I wasn't even close to where I wanted to be, body-wise and basketball-wise, because I wasn't at my best, so I felt like there was still another level that I could go to. It was very disappointing. But I was having fun, playing, getting a lot of wins, dominating.
"The 70-point game was fun. I never would've thought that I could be in a position to score 70 in a basketball game and having the dominance that I was doing. It was fun, but it's not over. The mindset is 'come back if everything goes well, go from there.'
"My mindset is playing basketball, playing as much as I can.
"For two months, I was not at 100 per cent, I was not even close to it. And I just felt the need to give my all to the team and just wanting to win. Because I know I can, you know, I can add that to this basketball team.
"So there's nothing different I would've done. This was very depressing. But the way I also look at it is that's another way to work on myself, on my body, and just get as healthy as possible."
The San Antonio Spurs are not looking to change Victor Wembanyama, so says teammate Tre Jones.
Wembanyama recorded a stat line that had never been seen in an NBA game in the Spurs' 132-118 win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Thursday.
The rookie sensation finished with 28 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists, five blocked shots and five 3-pointers. He is the first player in NBA history with at least 10 boards, five assists, five blocks and five made 3s in a game.
And Jones says the Spurs are just letting Wembanyama do his own thing.
"I think just let him be him," Jones said. "We don't want to change that. Look where it's gotten him to this point."
Spurs coach Gregg Popovich added: "He obviously is not afraid to put himself out there.
"He will take shots and he is not afraid. He is not worried if he misses it or what the consequences are or anything like that. He likes those moments."
Wembanyama, meanwhile, channeled the words of the late, great Kobe Bryant.
"It's a lot [to do with] mentality," he said. "You know Kobe said to win a game, it mostly takes shots, big shots, because they don't call like any fouls.
"It's not as much the physical battle. Even though in defense it's 90 per cent effort, but offensively it's a lot of mental."
Wembanyama came out on top in the tussle of the rookies against Chet Holmgren, who finished with 23 points as the Thunder saw a six-game winning run come to an end.
"It's just another reminder that this is the NBA," Holmgren said.
"No team is in the NBA for no reason. No player is in the NBA for no reason. Any team can beat another on any given night regardless of record or anything. They came out confident. Part of that was them, part of that was us. We should be better [in] the next one. A lot of guys stepped up and hit big shots. Credit to them for coming ready to play."
Embattled Red Bull team principal Christian Horner is back in the Formula One paddock for qualifying ahead of Saturday’s Bahrain Grand Prix.
Horner’s future is again in the spotlight after hundreds of WhatsApp messages appearing to be written by him to a female colleague were leaked.
On Wednesday, Horner was cleared to continue as Red Bull team principal following an internal probe into “inappropriate behaviour” by the F1 team’s parent company Red Bull GmbH. He has always denied the claims.
But just 24 hours later, messages and a number of images apparently exchanged between Horner and the complainant were sent from an anonymous email account to 149 members of the F1 paddock – including FIA president Mohammed ben Sulayem, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and the grid’s nine other team principals, as well as members of the media – on the eve of this weekend’s season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
Horner said in a statement: “I will not comment on anonymous speculation, but to reiterate I have always denied the allegations.
“I respected the integrity of the independent investigation and fully cooperated with it every step of the way.
“It was a thorough and fair investigation conducted by an independent specialist barrister and it has concluded dismissing the complaint made.
“I remain fully focused on the start of the season.”
On Friday, Horner, 50, was seen speaking to a Formula One official at the front of Red Bull Racing’s hospitality suite.
F1 and its governing body, the FIA, are considering whether to get involved in the controversy that’s engulfed the sport.
It is understood that neither F1’s American owners Liberty Media, nor its regulator the FIA, has seen Red Bull GmbH’s report into Horner which is thought to stretch to 150 pages – and was said to be “confidential”.
Third practice begins at 3:30pm local time (12:30pm GMT), with qualifying for Saturday’s 57-lap race due to get under way at 7pm (4pm GMT).
Auston Matthews added to his NHL-leading goal total and the Toronto Maple Leafs added to Arizona's misery, pulling away for a 4-2 win on Thursday to deal the Coyotes a 14th straight loss.
Matthews scored at 13:12 of the second period for his 53rd goal of the season - 12 more than the Florida Panthers' Sam Reinhart for the most in the league.
Matthews entered having gone back-to-back games without lighting the lamp following a five-game stretch in which he scored 10 goals.
The Maple Leafs (34-17-8) went ahead 3-0 on Matthews' goal and got back in the win column after their seven-game winning streak ended with a 6-2 home loss to the Vegas Golden Knights on Tuesday, their first defeat since February 10.
The Coyotes (23-31-5), meanwhile, are 0-12-2 since January 22, when they beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-2.
Arizona's losing streak is the longest in franchise history, and the longest by any team in a single season since the Buffalo Sabres dropped 18 in a row in 2020-21.
Matthew Knies opened the scoring for Toronto with his 11th goal of the season at 13:04 in the first period.
Tyler Bertuzzi also scored for the Leafs, while William Nylander tallied an empty-netter for his 32nd goal of the season and added two assists.
Joseph Woll turned aside 30 shots in his return after missing 35 games with a high ankle sprain sustained on December 7.
His counterpart, Connor Ingram, stopped 22-of-25 shots, and fell to 0-6-2 with a 4.23 goals-against average in his last eight starts.
Alex Kerfoot and Logan Cooley each scored for Arizona, which has been outscored 64-33 during its losing streak.
Stankoven scores again as Stars move atop Central Division
Rookie Logan Stankoven scored in his third straight game as the Dallas Stars beat Winnipeg 4-1 on Thursday to move two points ahead of the Jets for first place in the Central Division.
The 21-year-old Stankoven didn't score in his NHL debut last Saturday, but has scored in each game since.
Stankoven's goal against the Jets capped a three-goal first period for the Stars (36-17-9).
Jason Robinson opened the scoring at 6:52 of the opening period with his 20th goal off an assist by Joe Pavelski, who 10 minutes later added his 21st goal of the season.
Roope Hintz ended the scoring with an empty-netter for his 24th of the season, while Jake Oettinger had 25 saves for his 100th win.
Connor Hellebuyck stopped 32-of-35 shots for the Jets (37-16-5), whose four-game winning streak was snapped.
Winnipeg's lone goal came from Vladislav Namestnikov on the power play at 13:24 of the second period.
Predators rout Wild 6-1 for seventh straight win
The Nashville Predators extended their season high winning streak to seven games with a 6-1 rout of the Minnesota Wild.
Roman Josi had a goal and two assists, and Yakov Trenin, Cole Smith, Filip Forsberg, Ryan O’Reilly and Ryan McDonagh also scored for the Predators, who are outscoring their opponents 32-12 during their winning streak.
Minnesota's Connor Dewar opened the scoring at 9:51 of the first period, but Trenin was able to tie it up just 49 seconds later, scoring off a backhanded pass from Josi.
Just eight seconds later, the Predators (34-25-2) pulled ahead on an unassisted goal by Smith.
Nashville took a 3-1 lead in the second period on Forsberg's team-leading 29th goal on the power play.
Juuse Saros finished with 33 saves for the Predators, who had lost seven of nine (2-6-1) prior to their current winning streak.
Filip Gustavsson stopped 25-of-31 shots for Minnesota (28-26-6), which has lost two straight after losing just two of its previous nine games (7-1-1).
One game after going without a point in the first half, Stephen Curry had nine points before the New York Knicks even scored.
Curry finished with 31 points and 11 rebounds and the Golden State Warriors rode a fast start for a 110-99 win at Madison Square Garden on Thursday.
The Warriors scored the game’s first 14 points, as the Knicks missed their first nine shots until Donte DiVincenzo converted a layup with 6:35 left in the opening quarter. By that time Curry already had nine points.
After failing to score in the first half in Tuesday's win over the Washington Wizards, Curry opened the scoring at MSG with a 27-foot 3-pointer 20 seconds after the opening tip. He finished 8-of-18 from 3-point range.
Jonathan Kuminga had 25 points and Klay Thompson had 16 points off the bench for the Warriors, who pushed their road winning streak to seven games. This is their longest road winning streak since reeling off 11 in a row in the 2018-19 season.
Overall, Golden State (31-27) has won 12 of 15 games following a 4-10 stretch.
New York (35-25), meanwhile, wrapped up a 4-8 February after going an NBA-best 14-2 in January.
Jalen Brunson led the Knicks with 27 points and DiVincenzo added 16, though he missed 15 of his 21 shot attempts.
As a team, New York shot 36.8 per cent - its worst shooting performance since shooting a season-worst 34.8 per cent in a 117-100 loss to the Minnesota Timberwolves on November 20.
Wembanyama stuffs stat sheet as Spurs beat Thunder
Victor Wembanyama recorded a stat line that had never been seen in an NBA game in the San Antonio Spurs' 132-118 win over Oklahoma City, ending the Thunder's six-game winning streak.
The rookie sensation finished with 28 points, 12 rebounds, seven assists, five blocked shots and five 3-pointers.
He is the first player in NBA history with at least 10 boards, five assists, five blocks and five made 3s in a game.
Wembanyama won the battle of first-year big men, coming up with a huge block of Chet Holmgren in the final minutes.
Although the Spurs (12-48) have the worst record in the Western Conference, they beat a Thunder team that was hoping to move into a tie with the Timberwolves atop the conference.
Oklahoma City (41-18) had won its last six games by an average of 20.2 points, but shot just 29.0 per cent from 3-point range (9 for 31).
Shai Gilgeous-Alexander paced the Thunder with 31 points, while Jalen Williams scored 26 and Holmgren added 23.
Devin Vassell had 28 points and nine assists for the Spurs, who were playing in San Antonio for the first time since February 3 following a 1-8 road swing.
Nuggets hold on to beat Heat in NBA Finals rematch
Meeting for the first time since Denver captured the franchise's first NBA title last June, the Nuggets held on for a 103-97 win over the Miami Heat.
The Nuggets looked like they were going to win easily, leading by 16 in the fourth quarter, but the Heat pulled within 99-97 on Jimmy Butler's floating bank shot with 11 seconds to play.
The Heat would get no closer, however, as Denver (41-19) improved to 5-0 since the All-Star break and moved within 1 1/2 games of the Timberwolves for the best record in the West.
Michael Porter Jr. had 30 points and 11 rebounds, while Nikola Jokic had 18 points, 11 boards and seven assists.
Denver overcame an injury to Jamal Murray, who sprained his right ankle when he landed on Aaron Gordon's leg just before half-time.
The Heat (33-26) arrived in Denver riding a five-game winning streak, in which they were averaging 113.0 points, but they had just 70 points through three quarters against the Nuggets.
Bam Adebayo led Miami with 22 points and eight rebounds, while Butler had 21 points and seven boards.
Trainer Gordon Elliott saw his career cast into doubt on this day in 2021 after a picture emerged of him sitting on a dead horse.
The distasteful image was shared on social media and quickly confirmed as genuine by Elliott, who apologised “profoundly for any offence this photo has caused”.
Elliott, who had guided Tiger Roll to successive Grand National wins in 2018 and 2019, was immediately subjected to a full investigation by the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board. The British Horseracing Authority also moved to act, effectively banning him from racing horses in its jurisdiction until the conclusion of the IHRB probe.
The organisation issued a strongly worded statement on the matter, noting: “The BHA is appalled by the image that appeared this weekend. We expect all those in our sport to demonstrate respect for
horses, on the racecourse, in the training yard, on the gallops, and wherever they have horses in their care.
“People who work in our industry believe their values – of caring for and respecting our horses – have been deeply undermined by this behaviour. On their behalf, and on behalf of all horse lovers, we say loudly that British horseracing finds this totally unacceptable.”
Bookmakers Betfair ended Elliott’s role as an ambassador but he received the support of the horse’s owners – Gigginstown House Stud. Owner Michael O’Leary accepted Elliott was sorry for “a grievous but momentary lapse of judgement” and opted to continue working with him.
A hearing on March 5 led to a 12-month suspension, with half of the term suspended, and a fine of 15,000 euros. Elliott returned to the racecourse at Punchestown in September, telling reporters: “It’s great to be back racing and seeing faces that I haven’t seen in a long time.
“I have really missed coming racing over the last few months, so I’m looking forward to getting back into that routine again.”
Jack Draper cruised into the semi-finals of the Mexican Open in Acapulco as he beat Miomir Kecmanovic 6-2 6-2.
The British number three is ranked three places higher than his opponent at world number 50, but the gulf between them on court proved much greater.
Draper broke Kecmanovic in the third game of the opening set and repeated the feat for a 4-1 lead, serving out to take the opening set in 31 minutes.
The start of the opening set proved a tighter tussle, the first four games going with serve as Draper survived a break point to level at 2-2.
Draper took control from that moment, capitalising on his fourth break point to win the fifth set and adding a double break to move 5-2 ahead.
He served out to love in the final game, booking his place in the last four in 80 minutes.
Draper beat both Kecmanovic and American Tommy Paul, who he defeated in his opening match in Acapulco, en route to the final in Adelaide in January.
Rory McIlroy hit five birdies as he opened the Cognizant Classic in Florida with a four-under-par 67.
A bogey on the 17th was the only blemish on McIlroy’s card as he finished three strokes off the pace on a day of favourable conditions at PGA National.
American Chad Ramey and South Korea’s SH Kim shared the opening-day lead with seven-under-par 64s – one clear of a group which included England’s David Skinns.
“It was so benign,” said McIlroy. “You’re not going to get this course much easier.”
Skinns, the world number 278 and without a top-10 finish on the PGA Tour, had a putt on his last hole for a seventh birdie and a share of the lead.
Ireland’s Shane Lowry was alongside McIlroy on four-under-par, part of a large group which also includes Sweden’s Alex Noren and France’s Victor Perez – the best placed of the final two groups who were unable to complete the final hole due to darkness.
England’s Harry Hall and Ben Taylor, Scotland’s Martin Laird and Austrian Ryder Cup star Sepp Straka were among an even larger group on three-under-par, which included American Daniel Berger who has recently returned to the tour after a 19-month injury lay-off.
Among those a short further back were Robert MacIntyre, who was among those yet to finish, and Justin Rose, whose 69 was highlighted by a par on the 13th after his tee shot came to rest against a mesh out of bounds fence.
Nathan Aspinall earned his first Premier League darts victory of the season after beating Rob Cross 6-2 on night five in Exeter.
The Asp reached back-to-back finals with wins against Peter Wright and Luke Humphries before beating Voltage to move into fourth in the table.
His victory ended Michael van Gerwen’s run of three successive Premier League darts victories, with Humphries knocking the Dutchman out in their quarter-final clash.
Aspinall was beaten 6-4 in last week’s final in Newcastle and admits he has had a slow start to this year’s campaign.
He told Sky Sports: “It was a slow start to the season, last week was massive for myself and I made the decision tonight to forget about double 16 because I’ve missed it so many times and I went for tops.
“I’m very happy, the last two weeks I’ve really dug deep. Everyone knows I’m a fighter and I’ve been down the first three weeks, but a final and then a win the last two weeks, I’m over the moon.”
Aspinall took the early advantage in the final, winning the first three legs and after a series of missed attempts on the outer ring, he eventually hit double four to take the fourth leg.
Cross struggled on the doubles and missed a double eight, allowing Aspinall to snatch the fifth leg with a 160 checkout.
Voltage pulled two legs back to give his opponent a scare, but missed double 10 in the eighth leg before the Asp swooped in, hitting double 20 to secure the win.
“I like proving people wrong, that was my plan, didn’t start off like that. I’ve been down in the dumps but I think I’ve shown my fighting spirit the last two weeks,” Aspinall added.
“Granted, I’ve not performed at the level that I know I’m capable of but by God do I dig and I’ve dug deep tonight, last week was the same. That win against Michael Smith last week first game, scrappy game but that’s kickstarted my season.”
It was a disappointing evening for Cross, who stormed into the semi-finals with a dominant 6-1 victory over Gerwyn Price, throwing a 109.69 average during that game.
Voltage then met Luke Littler in the final four following Littler’s victory over Michael Smith in the quarter-finals.
He took a 2-0 lead before Littler found momentum and the game was tied at 3-3, but after missing six match darts Cross eventually reached the final hitting double two.
LeBron James felt like he had a "superpower" after authoring the best fourth-quarter comeback of his career on Wednesday, leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a stunning win over the Los Angeles Clippers.
The Lakers found themselves 21 points down in the fourth quarter and heading for a third loss in four games, but the NBA's all-time leading scorer had other ideas.
James finished with 34 points, single-handedly outscoring the Clippers 19-16 in the fourth quarter, as the Lakers roared back at Crypto.com Arena to improve to 32-28 for the season.
The 39-year-old hit five of his season-best seven 3-pointers in the final frame, also finding Cam Reddish for the final dunk in a 116-112 success, with the Lakers having trailed 89-77.
Asked about his mindset during that decisive period, James said: "It's just a zone, and you can't really describe it.
"You wish you could stay in it forever, but obviously it checks out once the game ends. But during it, you don't feel anything. It's just like a superpower feeling.
"If I'm in a lineup, if I'm on the floor, I've got to make plays. Sometimes I've got to make even more plays.
"Tonight was one of those moments where I had to make even more plays in order for us to even get back into the game and then ultimately win the game."
James also added six rebounds and eight assists, and was supported by Anthony Davis (20 points), D'Angelo Russell (18) and Rui Hachimura (17).
Lakers coach Darvin Ham also compared James to a superhero in his post-game press conference, saying: "He had to take the cape, tuck it under his seat on the bench, I guess.
"It was time for him to whip it out. He definitely did that, put the cape on and just got aggressive and got into good rhythm."
While crestfallen after the defeat, Clippers coach Tyronn Lue acknowledged there was little his team could do to defend James in such form, saying: "I don't think that's ever happened in my career, to lose a 21-point lead in the fourth quarter.
"But LeBron got hot. We talked about it before the game, you can't turn the ball over against this team because it's deadly."
Lewis Hamilton admitted he was shocked to finish fastest in practice for Saturday’s Formula One curtain raiser in Bahrain.
The seven-time world champion has not won a race for more than two years, but he led a surprise Mercedes one-two under the lights of the Sakhir Circuit on Thursday night.
Hamilton finished two tenths clear of team-mate George Russell, with Aston Martin’s Fernando Alonso third.
On yet another explosive off-track day for Red Bull, Max Verstappen bemoaned the handling of his machine. He finished sixth.
The Silver Arrows went under the radar at last week’s test in the Gulf kingdom, but they were quietly optimistic heading into Thursday’s running – and the second session belonged to the team that once dominated the sport.
“This has been a crazy Thursday,” said Hamilton, 39. “I don’t understand it, and it is a shock to see us where we are, but we will take it for now.
“We cannot get ahead of ourselves. We need to keep our head down and keep working on the setup.
“But I am much happier with the car. I have a better feel of it approaching the corners, and there are other areas that have been fixed and improved.
“It feels like a race car and the last two cars didn’t feel like that. It is a really good platform to work from. We have to keep our heads down and keep on chasing.”
Hamilton is gearing up for his final season with Mercedes after he elected to terminate his £100million deal 12 months early to join Ferrari in 2025.
Mercedes have carried Hamilton to six of his record-equalling seven titles. But last year marked a second straight season without a victory for the British driver – a losing streak which now stands at 45 races – and Mercedes’ first winless campaign in a dozen years.
However, Hamilton, in his radically revised car – after the design concept which failed so spectacularly for the past two seasons was abandoned – will take faith from an encouraging day.
But Hamilton expects Verstappen, who has raced to the past three world championships, will still be the one to beat.
“I think we are going to be in the mix,” added Hamilton. “We are there or thereabouts with Ferrari and maybe Aston Martin and McLaren.
“It is going to be close, but if Max is out in front he will drive off as he has done for the past couple of years.”
Verstappen had been regarded as the heavy favourite heading into Saturday’s curtain-raiser in the Gulf kingdom.
But he struggled in the first running and then failed to match the speed of the Mercedes cars later in the day.
“Everything is s***,” yelled Verstappen over the radio. “Like miles off.”
However, the 26-year-old remained confident he would be in a strong position for the 57-lap Grand Prix.
“It is very close and maybe some people around us have turned up the engine in terms of top speed,” he said.
“I’m not too worried about the gap to first, for example. It is going to be close in qualifying. I was happier about the long run for the race.”
England attack coach Richard Wigglesworth insists it is a time for cool heads in their aftermath of their dismal 31-20 Six Nations defeat to Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday.
Wigglesworth is central to what England head coach Steve Borthwick promised would comprise a “thorough and honest” review of the performance as they brace for their next clash with Ireland a week on Saturday.
But speaking in York where the squad has gathered ahead of sold-out training session at the LNER Stadium on Friday night, Wigglesworth is adamant that frustration about a performance littered with “basic errors” will not be allowed to boil over.
“If it was needed, anyone who knows me will know I can be pretty straight and to the point,” said Wigglesworth, who made 33 England appearances before moving into coaching in 2019.
“But I think you have a very limited lifespan if you are going to stand and bang a TV and call things out, because there will be reasons, mine as much as any players.
“If I start shouting and having a go at them, that’s right back at me. We’ll be in this again and make sure we’re better.”
Wigglesworth reiterated the tentatively positive prognosis on half-backs Marcus Smith and Alex Mitchell as they target being available for the daunting clash against the favourites for back-to-back Grand Slams.
Smith has missed England’s last three matches with a calf injury while Mitchell started in wins over Italy and Wales but missed the Scotland defeat after picking up a knee injury in training.
“We’re going to have to see what they get through this week,” added Wigglesworth.
“We’re hopeful, but we’ve not done anything yet in terms of seeing if they could be involved in a Test match. Tomorrow (Friday) will be a big day for them. Then we’ll see how they go at the start of next week but we’re hopeful.”
In the meantime Wigglesworth will work with the squad on ironing out the issues which cost them dear against the Scots.
“We didn’t really play as us,” he added. “We didn’t play how we set out to and how we’d been building to, so that was the disappointment for everyone.
“There were signs from early on that we weren’t attacking the line. We were passing early away from the line and not challenging the defence. Then we made basic errors on the back of doing things we hadn’t done in the previous couple of weeks.
“We looked slightly tense and maybe we got more tense as things went on. It is hard to learn from errors when we are not attacking as we want to, but our mindset is that if it doesn’t go right then we will improve and take the lessons.”
Christian Horner’s Formula One future is back in the spotlight after WhatsApp messages appearing to be sent by him have been leaked.
On Wednesday, Horner was cleared to continue as Red Bull team principal following an internal probe by the F1 team’s parent company Red Bull GmbH.
But just 24 hours later, hundreds of messages and a number of images apparently between Horner and the complainant were sent from an anonymous email account to members of the Formula One paddock – including FIA president Mohamed ben Sulayem, F1 CEO Stefano Domenicali and the grid’s nine other team principals, as well as the media – on the eve of this weekend’s season-opening Bahrain Grand Prix.
It is unclear at this stage whether the alleged exchanges, which have been seen by the PA news agency, formed part of the investigation – of which Horner was cleared of “inappropriate behaviour” towards a female colleague – or whether it is new evidence.
Horner has always denied the claims.
The PA news agency has approached Red Bull Racing for comment, and is also trying to confirm if the exchanges are genuine.
Horner, 50, was on the Red Bull pit wall on Thursday for both practice sessions.
Speaking on Sky Sports earlier on Thursday, he said: “I am pleased that the process is over, and I cannot comment about it.
“I am here to focus on the grand prix and the season ahead and trying to defend both of our titles.”
Horner added: “I can’t give you any further comment, but the process has been conducted and concluded.
“I am pleased to be here in Bahrain, and with the team, focused on the season ahead. Within the team it (the unity) has never been stronger.”
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff has challenged Formula One and its governing body to demand greater transparency from Red Bull’s investigation into Christian Horner.
Horner has been cleared to continue as Red Bull team principal following an internal probe into “inappropriate behaviour” towards a female colleague.
Horner was on the Red Bull pit wall on Thursday for both practice sessions of the new season.
“I am pleased that the process is over and I cannot comment about it,” he told Sky Sports. “I am focused on the season ahead. Within the team it (the unity) has never been stronger.”
Red Bull Racing’s parent company, Red Bull GmbH, said it was confident the investigation into Horner had been “fair, rigorous and impartial” but added that the report – understood to stretch to 150 pages – is “confidential”.
It is understood that neither Formula One’s owners, Liberty Media, nor its regulator, the FIA, has seen the report.
However, there were growing calls in Bahrain on Thursday night for Red Bull GmbH to share the details of their investigation.
“I just read the statement, which was pretty basic,” said Wolff. “My personal opinion is we can’t really look behind the curtain.
“There is a lady in an organisation that has spoken to HR and said there was an issue and it was investigated and yesterday the sport has received the message that it’s all fine, we’ve looked at it.
“I believe with the aspiration as a global sport, on such critical topics, it needs more transparency and I wonder what the sport’s position is?
“We’re competitors, we’re a team and we can have our own personal opinions or not. But it’s more like a general reaction or action that we as a sport need to assess, what is right in that situation and what is wrong.
“Are we talking with the right moral approach, with the values based on the speculation that is out there?
“As a sport, we cannot afford to leave things in the vague and in the opaque on critical topics like this, because this is going to catch us out.”
McLaren CEO Zak Brown agreed with his Mercedes counterpart.
“It’s the responsibility ultimately of the organisers of Formula One, the owners of Formula One, to make sure that all the racing teams and the personnel and the drivers and everyone else involved in the sport are operating in a manner in which we all live by,” said the American.
“I don’t think it’s the teams’ roles and responsibilities. That’s up to FIA and Formula One to ultimately decide and ask what they feel gives them the level of transparency they need to ultimately come to their conclusion and we just have to count on them that they fulfil that obligation to all of us.”
The PA news agency has contacted Formula One and the FIA for comment.
Horner, who has protested his innocence throughout, was questioned by a lawyer for eight hours earlier this month at a secret London location.
He has been Red Bull team principal since they entered F1 19 years ago and is the longest-serving boss on the grid.
He has overseen seven drivers’ world championships and six constructors’ titles.
Red Bull have dominated the sport in recent seasons and last year won 21 of the 22 races, with Dutch driver Max Verstappen setting a new record for 10 consecutive victories as he wrapped up his third title.
Horner, who is married to former Spice Girls singer Geri Halliwell, was awarded a CBE for his services to motorsport in the New Year Honours.
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