A pair of eliminated playoff teams announced front-office moves Wednesday, as the Seattle Kraken signed general manager Ron Francis to an extension and the Toronto Maple Leafs hired Brad Treliving as their next GM.
Francis received a three-year extension through the 2026-2027 season, while Treliving joined Toronto after spending the previous nine seasons as GM of the Calgary Flames.
Francis was named the first GM in Kraken history in July 2019 and the team posted a 27-49-6 record in its inaugural NHL season in 2021-22. Seattle then went 46-28-8 this season to reach the playoffs.
The Kraken upset the defending Stanley Cup champion Colorado Avalanche in the first round of the postseason before losing in seven games to the Dallas Stars in the Western Conference semifinals.
"Ron has done remarkable work over the last four years and deserves this recognition," Kraken co-owner Samantha Holloway said.
"He has built a tremendous team, putting Seattle hockey on the map. He is building for long term success and is dedicated to our city, our fans, and our community."
Treliving, meanwhile, left the Flames last month after they missed the playoffs with a 38-27-17 record.
That came after Calgary had 111 points last season – the second-most in franchise history – before being eliminated by the Edmonton Oilers in the West semis.
The Flames made the playoffs five times in Treliving’s nine seasons as GM.
Treliving takes over for Kyle Dubas, who was fired less than two weeks ago after Toronto won a playoff series for the first time since the 2003-04 campaign.
The Maple Leafs were ousted by the eventual Eastern Conference champion Florida Panthers in five games in the semis, extending the Original Six franchise’s Stanley Cup drought to 56 years.
"I'm very pleased to welcome Brad into the Maple Leafs organization," Maple Leafs president and alternate governor Brendan Shanahan said.
"Brad brings a wealth of knowledge from his years of experience as a general manager and hockey executive in Calgary, Arizona and beyond.
“He has earned tremendous respect amongst his peers throughout his years in the NHL and has built excellent relationships at all levels within the game.
“We are confident that Brad's leadership and strategic vision will elevate the Maple Leafs in our continued pursuit of a championship."
Attention is ramping up again on the French Open’s scheduling, with the night session so far exclusively featuring men’s matches.
Tournament director Amelie Mauresmo had to apologise last year after saying men’s matches had more appeal as a justification for only one women’s match featuring in the 10 prime-time sessions across the fortnight.
The French Open is unique among the grand slams in having only one match in its late slot and, in the first five days, that will be a men’s contest every time.
With fifth seed Caroline Garcia bowing out on Wednesday, the chances of a women’s match making the cut have reduced further, and former finalist Sloane Stephens hit out after her 6-2 6-1 win over Varvara Gracheva.
“I’m on the player council and we’ve had a lot of conversations about this and we’ve had a lot of conversations about equality,” said the American. “Four out of four men’s matches. That’s not what we talk about. That’s not what we’re about.”
Garcia’s 4-6 6-3 7-5 loss to Russian Anna Blinkova was a major blow to the home country.
Blinkova, ranked 56, had never beaten a top-five player before but battled back from a set down to triumph, finally taking her ninth match point.
Garcia was left hugely frustrated by her failure to seize the initiative, saying: “Sometimes when I’m on the court, I don’t dare go to the net. I don’t dare pummel through my balls. And the greatest regrets I have is that I don’t up my game when I should.
“My backhand is bad. Everything is bad. And this is what is tough to digest right now.”
Second seed Aryna Sabalenka was not at her best in the opening set against qualifier Iryna Shymanovich but finished strongly to win 7-5 6-2.
In her press conference, the Belarusian refused to answer questions about her previous support for president Alexander Lukashenko in a heated exchange with a Ukrainian journalist.
Former world number three Elina Svitolina continued to impress in her comeback grand slam, taking inspiration from husband Gael Monfils as she saw off Australian Storm Hunter 3-6 6-3 6-1.
Less than 11 hours after completing an emotional five-set win over Sebastian Baez, Monfils was back at Roland Garros cheering on Svitolina.
“I watched him, but not live, I was screaming in my room,” said the Ukrainian. “It was an unbelievable match. I don’t know what he is doing here now, I think he should be resting, but I’m really thankful for him coming to support me, especially in this tough match.”
Svitolina is playing her first slam in more than a year following the birth of baby Skai last October.
The new mother and father are juggling the day job with childcare, and Svitolina said: “It’s the first tournament for us where we are both playing at the same tournament, and Skai is here with us in Paris as well. It’s really, really special.
“So far everything is going well and we really enjoy our time off the court together and on the court we try to be focused and play as good as we can.”
Svitolina is also having to put to one side thoughts of the troubles in her homeland and is using the situation to inspire her on court.
She said: “When I step on the court, I just try to think about the fighting spirit that all of us Ukrainians have and how Ukrainians are fighting for their values, for their freedom in Ukraine. And me, I’m fighting here on my own frontline.
“I cannot be sad. I cannot be distracted in some ways. I’m just going to lose. I have a flag next to my name so I’m fighting for my country, and I’m going to do that each time I step on the court.”
Third seed Jessica Pegula had an untaxing afternoon, taking the first set 6-2 against Camila Giorgi before the Italian pulled out.
Ninth seed Daria Kasatkina produced the shot of the tournament so far, a fizzing tweener winner, in a 6-3 6-4 victory over former finalist Marketa Vondrousova, while 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko lost out 6-3 1-6 6-2 to American Peyton Stearns.
Meanwhile, Leylah Fernandez, the young Canadian beaten in the US Open final by Emma Raducanu in 2021, is close to dropping out of the top 100 after losing to her former junior rival Clara Tauson.
Cameron Norrie called for video replays to be used in tennis after another umpiring controversy in his second-round victory over Lucas Pouille at the French Open.
The British number one was fuming at being given a hindrance penalty for shouting out during his five-set win over Benoit Paire on Monday, with Norrie insisting he had merely grunted.
He came out on the right side of things back on Suzanne Lenglen against another Frenchman, with umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore failing to spot a double bounce at a key moment in the third set of Norrie’s 6-1 6-3 6-3 victory.
TV replays showed Pouille, who lost three games in a row to trail 5-1 after the incident, was right to complain, and both men believe umpires should have the benefit of reviewing their decision at such moments.
“I think that would be great,” said Norrie. “There’s been so many different situations over my career where there’s been things happening, and I think we definitely can use it to our advantage. We have the technology to do it. I don’t know why we’re not doing it in all aspects.
“We all make mistakes. The umpires make mistakes. It was a tough call in the moment. From the replay, for me, it looks like she got it wrong.”
Players often know whether they have reached the ball or not but Norrie insisted he did not in the moment and Pouille had no complaints with his opponent.
“You have no obligation,” said the Frenchman. “You do whatever you want. When you run to the ball and you hit it, sometimes you don’t know if it bounced twice or not. I was pretty sure it did.
“I think today we have so many options to check if it bounced twice or not. It’s easy with the video.”
The incident led to more booing for Norrie at the time and at the end of the match, but the 14th seed was relieved to have kept the crowd much quieter than in his rollercoaster clash with Paire.
Norrie may feel tempted to take to the stage in the off-season given the practice he has now had at being a pantomime villain.
Booed onto court, the partisan home crowd light-heartedly jeered his shots during the warm-up while cheering those of Pouille.
“It’s a great atmosphere,” said Norrie. “It’s the matches you want to be playing. It’s really tough with the crowd chanting and definitely getting behind and changing the momentum of the match. They’re a tough crowd but I enjoy it.
“Obviously I’d prefer with it being on my side but it’s going to happen that way. It just so happened that I played two guys from France back-to-back. It was definitely a bit more low stress today and I was able to keep them pretty hushed for the majority of the match.
“I was really pleased with my performance and there was a lot of good changes that I made in my level today, so I was really happy with it.”
Ranked down at 675 after injury and problems with depression and alcohol, Pouille was bidding to make the last 32 at a slam for the first time since Wimbledon in 2019.
Norrie wore strapping under his left knee but came out looking much sharper than he had against Paire and imposed his game straight away, allowing his nervous opponent just six points in the first five games.
There were two periods where Pouille threatened to make a match of it – when he won three games in a row from 0-2 in the second set and after he broke Norrie when he served for the match.
Pouille created two break points to get back on serve in the third set but Norrie fought off the danger and will try to get past talented young Italian Lorenzo Musetti to reach the fourth round here for the first time.
A lost set was not enough to take the smile off Carlos Alcaraz’s face as he defeated Taro Daniel to move through to the third round of the French Open.
Taking on the Japanese player on a breezy Philippe Chatrier, world number one Alcaraz won the first set easily only for his opponent to fight back at the start of the second.
It proved only a temporary blip, though, as the young Spaniard dominated the final two sets in a 6-1 3-6 6-1 6-2 triumph.
“I’m really happy with the level that I played today,” said Alcaraz. “I overcame the problems in the match because of the wind and it has been a really complete match from my side, and I’m really happy with that.”
Alcaraz’s positive attitude and sunny disposition has made him not just popular with his rivals but also made some of them rethink their own approach, with Stefanos Tsitsipas thanking the Spaniard during a practice session.
“I’m winning all the time because I am smiling,” said Alcaraz, who next faces Denis Shapovalov. “And I always said that smiling for me is the key of everything.
“I enjoy being in this kind of stadium, these kind of tournaments, cities. That’s the most important thing for me to enjoy, and that’s why I smile all the time.”
Tsitsipas joined Alcaraz in the third round with a 6-3 7-6 (4) 6-2 victory over Roberto Carballes Baena but former champion Stan Wawrinka lost out in the match of the day, going down in five sets to Thanasi Kokkinakis.
The Australian would have felt that was justice after his epic defeat by Andy Murray at his home grand slam in January.
“It definitely feels better when you come out on the winning end of those,” said Kokkinakis.
“I had a heart-breaker against Andy earlier in the year and not many moral victories. It was a tough one to take. You can’t count these guys out no matter how old they are. They get better and better, and you can see why they are multiple grand slam champions.
“Stan is a legend. Still is, obviously, but he was a legend out on court today. He was very nice, very respectful. Hats off to him. The crowd was going nuts for him, but it’s a fun atmosphere. I love playing against that, so it was awesome.”
London Irish have been given a one-week extension in their battle for survival with the Rugby Football Union setting a final deadline of June 6 to prove they have a future.
Irish will be suspended from the Gallagher Premiership unless a takeover has been completed or they can demonstrate they have the funding needed to operate for the entirety of the 2023-24 season.
The May payroll for all staff and players must also be paid in full after it was confirmed that only 50 per cent has been received so far.
The RFU said it had granted the extension until 4pm next Tuesday at the request of Irish employees.
“It’s deeply frustrating for all the staff, players and fans that there have been months of multiple missed deadlines,” RFU Club Financial Viability Working Group chair Paula Carter said.
“We are extremely disappointed that the club has so far only funded 50 per cent of the staff and player wages. However, we have to respect the wishes of those most affected.
“The 4pm deadline on June 6 is final and we have added the stipulation that the club must also fulfil its contractual obligations to its employees by paying the May salaries in full.”
Cameron Norrie reached the third round of the French Open for the third year in a row with a comfortable win over home hope Lucas Pouille.
Ranked down at 675 after injury and personal problems, Pouille was bidding to make the last 32 at a slam for the first time since Wimbledon in 2019, but Norrie was too strong in a 6-1 6-3 6-3 victory.
The 14th seed wore strapping under his left knee and will no doubt be relieved to have avoided the drama of his raucous five-set duel with another Frenchman, Benoit Paire, in the first round.
The Suzanne Lenglen crowd were not as much of a factor this time, although there was another moment of umpiring controversy, this time in Norrie’s favour, in the third set.
Pouille was convinced Norrie, who was bizarrely penalised for a hindrance shout against Paire, had not got to a ball before it bounced twice but the British player did not stop play and umpire Eva Asderaki-Moore sided with him.
Pouille complained – and was shown to be correct by TV replays – amid booing from the crowd, and the French player lost four games in a row to move to the brink of defeat.
He roused himself for a late stand, breaking Norrie when he served for the match at 5-1 and having two opportunities to get back on serve, but the British number one took his second match point before a final round of booing from the crowd.
Norrie said: “All credit to Lucas, it’s great to see Lucas back and enjoying his tennis. It was a tough battle, tough to get over the line. Thank you to everyone, great atmosphere. Sorry to take another Frenchman out but hopefully you can support me in the next one.”
Norrie may feel tempted to take to the stage in the off-season given the practice he has now had at being a pantomime villain.
Booed onto court, the partisan home crowd light-heartedly jeered his shots during the warm-up while cheering those of Pouille.
The support had played a big part in inspiring Paire and Norrie appeared determined not to let the same thing happen, imposing his game straight away and looking significantly sharper than he had on Monday.
Pouille, who looked very nervous, won only six points in the first five games and, although he saved a set point to avoid the dreaded bagel, Norrie wrapped up the set in less than half an hour.
Pouille briefly became a top-10 player back in 2018 before reaching the Australian Open semi-finals the following year.
Elbow issues triggered a downward spiral that led to depression and a problem with alcohol, and he took time out of the game last year before returning at the start of this season.
A run through qualifying made him the toast of Roland Garros and he led fans in a rendition of the Marseillaise after winning his first-round match.
The 29-year-old swiftly found himself 2-0 down in the second set as well but raised home hopes by winning three games in a row and applying some real pressure to Norrie.
The British number one did well to nip Pouille’s comeback in the bud before things got complicated, and can look forward to trying to make the last 16 here for the first time.
Sports stars and clubs across the world continue to provide an insight into their lives on social media.
Here, the PA news agency looks at some of the best examples from May 31.
FootballEngland named their World Cup squad.
The countdown was on.
Harry Kane enjoyed himself.
Diogo Dalot signed a new deal at United.
John McGinn wished Ashley Young well.
Tyler Adams reacted to Leeds’ relegation.
DartsThe PDC hit the Big Apple.
CricketEngland were ready for the Test match summer.
No let-up for Virat Kohli.
GolfBryson DeChambeau set his sights on the US Open.
Padraig Harrington was raring to go.
Motor racingLewis Hamilton wished his dad a happy birthday.
AthleticsUsain Bolt rolled back the years.
Katharine Merry paid tribute to Mike McFarlane.
BoxingConor Benn sent out a message to Chris Eubank Jr.
SwimmingSharron Davies recovered from a bee sting.
Craig Lidster has called on the services of Arc-winning rider Cristian Demuro as Land Lover forms part of a three-pronged Nick Bradley Racing assault on the British EBF 40th Anniversary Woodcote Stakes.
Demuro – who is Italian but primarily rides in France – is making the trip to Epsom to partner Heartache Tonight for David Menuisier in the Betfred Oaks and will get the chance for a sighter of the Surrey Downs aboard Lidster’s Land Force colt, who caught the eye when fourth in a competitive maiden at York on debut.
Land Lover now steps up in trip to six furlongs – a distance the Yorkshire handler believes will suit his charge – as he joins Amy Murphy’s Ripon runner-up Fifty Grand Slater and Kevin Philippart De Foy’s Maymay representing the Nick Bradley Racing syndicate that won this contest with Oscula two years ago.
“He ran a good race at York in what looked a nice novice,” said Lidster.
“Take nothing away from him, but he wasn’t as fit as I would have liked that day and he has come on from that run. We’re pretty sweet on him.
“It’s giving the owners a nice day out and what will be will be, but I think six furlongs will suit. He was never a five-furlong horse in our eyes, but York is just down the road and he needed the run. So we put him in that nice race to see what would happen and to be fair to him, he came up trumps and finished a nice fourth.
“That paved the way for thinking this horse could be above average and Nick Bradley thought while everyone is thinking of Ascot why don’t we think Woodcote.”
On the booking of Demuro he added: “Nick said he rides a lot for him in France and was coming over for the meeting and asked if he could book him. Sam James has had to reroute up to Carlisle otherwise it would have been his ride.”
It could prove to be a red-letter weekend for Lidster if his venture south proves successful and 24 hours after Land Lover’s run in the Woodcote, he could saddle Dickieburd in the inaugural Aston Martin 3YO “Dash'” Handicap.
A maximum of 14 will go to post for the five-furlong contest and Lidster is left sweating ahead of declarations with his three-year-old on the cusp of making the final line-up.
“I think it’s the best decision all year to put in a race like that and we’ve put our apprentice on to take the 7lb off,” he continued.
“He’s in great order at home and we’re going there with the hope that we might get in.
“If we do we’ll need the luck of the draw, but he’s a very fast horse and a front-runner and we know Epsom is the fastest five furlongs in the world and a front-runners track so hopefully it will play to his strengths a little bit.”
Rory McIlroy has reiterated his opposition to LIV Golf players being allowed to represent Europe in the Ryder Cup.
World number two Jon Rahm believes the likes of Sergio Garcia, with whom he formed a successful partnership in 2021, should be able to compete in Rome and said he was sad that “politics have gotten in the way” of the biennial event.
Garcia is the leading points scorer in Ryder Cup history, but made himself ineligible by resigning from the DP World Tour in the wake of increased sanctions being imposed for playing LIV Golf events without permission.
American players remain eligible despite being banned or resigning from the PGA Tour in the wake of joining the Saudi-funded circuit, with Brooks Koepka set to qualify automatically following his victory in the US PGA Championship.
“I certainly think Brooks deserves to be on the United States team,” McIlroy said in his pre-tournament presser ahead of the Memorial Tournament.
“I think with how he’s played, I mean, he’s second in the US standings, (having) only played two counting events.
“I don’t know if there’s anyone else on the LIV roster that would make the team on merit and how they’re playing. But Brooks is definitely a guy that I think deserves to be on the US team.
“But I have different feelings about the European team and the other side and sort of how that has all transpired and, yeah, I don’t think any of those guys should be a part of the European team.”
McIlroy finished in a tie for seventh behind Koepka at Oak Hill, despite struggling with his long game, but the lack of faith in his “biggest weapon” may not prove as much of an issue at Muirfield Village.
“I can’t remember a time where I felt so uncomfortable over the ball for four days,” McIlroy said.
“The golf course allowed me to manage it. There was only two holes I felt at Oak Hill that really penalised big misses, which was six and seven. So you take those two holes out of it and it was what I would describe as a bogey golf course.
“It was very hard to make anything worse than a bogey. So you hit it in the rough off the tee, you got these openings into greens, you can run it up into the openings, make your par and move on.
“I needed to go back home and work on some things and, yeah, feeling a lot better about it, not fighting the club face quite as much. Feel a little bit more free, which is obviously a nice feeling.
“I think the one thing here, if you look at the recent winners, maybe apart from Jon (Rahm), they have all been sort of like medium-length hitters.
“I only hit four or five drivers on this golf course so it takes the driver out of my hands a lot. A lot of fairways bottleneck at like 330, 340 (yards) so the biggest weapon in my bag isn’t quite the weapon that it is at some other golf courses.
“I have played okay here and had some decent finishes, but I guess it sort of surprises me with the four par fives and the way the golf course sets up that I haven’t at least had a real chance to win here.”
France’s great home hope, Caroline Garcia, was bundled out of Roland Garros in the second round after a dramatic encounter with Russian Anna Blinkova.
As the fifth seed, Garcia is by a distance the top-ranked French player in either the men’s or women’s singles but the country’s wait for a new grand slam champion goes on.
Blinkova, ranked 56, had never beaten a top-five player before but battled back from a set down to triumph 4-6 6-3 7-5, finally taking her ninth match point.
Nerves were clearly affecting the 24-year-old, who served for the match twice, while the partisan Philippe Chatrier crowd were willing Garcia on, but Blinkova did not let the opportunity for the biggest win of her life slip away.
Former world number three Elina Svitolina continued to impress in her comeback grand slam, taking inspiration from husband Gael Monfils as she saw off Australian Storm Hunter 3-6 6-3 6-1.
Less than 11 hours after completing an emotional five-set win over Sebastian Baez, Monfils was back at Roland Garros cheering on Svitolina.
“I watched him, but not live, I was screaming in my room,” said the Ukrainian. “It was an unbelievable match. I don’t know what he is doing here now, I think he should be resting, but I’m really thankful for him coming to support me, especially in this tough match.”
Svitolina is playing her first slam in more than a year following the birth of baby Skai last October.
The new mother and father are juggling the day job with childcare, and Svitolina said: “It’s the first tournament for us where we are both playing at the same tournament, and Skai is here with us in Paris as well. It’s really, really special.
“So far everything is going well and we really enjoy our time off the court together and on the court we try to be focused and play as good as we can.”
Svitolina is also having to put to one side thoughts of the troubles in her homeland and is using the situation to inspire her on court.
She said: “When I step on the court, I just try to think about the fighting spirit that all of us Ukrainians have and how Ukrainians are fighting for their values, for their freedom in Ukraine. And me, I’m fighting here on my own frontline.
“I cannot be sad. I cannot be distracted in some ways. I’m just going to lose. I have a flag next to my name so I’m fighting for my country, and I’m going to do that each time I step on the court.”
Third seed Jessica Pegula had an untaxing afternoon, taking the first set 6-2 against Camila Giorgi before the Italian pulled out.
Ninth seed Daria Kasatkina produced the shot of the tournament so far, a fizzing tweener winner, in a 6-3 6-4 victory over former finalist Marketa Vondrousova, while 2017 champion Jelena Ostapenko lost out 6-3 1-6 6-2 to American Peyton Stearns.
Any delay to the Betfred Derby caused by protesters would be a “big negative” for everybody involved, according to Aidan O’Brien.
The animal rights group Animal Rising has made no secret of its intention to cause as much disruption as possible at Epsom on Saturday.
Some of its members made it on to the track at Aintree before the Grand National, causing around a 10-minute delay, but while there was an attempt to repeat that at Ayr and the Scottish National the following weekend it was quickly thwarted by police and security staff.
The Jockey Club, which owns Epsom and Aintree, among other courses, has admitted it may well be harder to prevent the protestors from gaining access to the track this weekend due to the public areas around Epsom.
However, it was granted a High Court injunction last week which means those that do attempt to enter the track itself or other prohibited areas could be subject to proceedings for contempt of court, which may lead to a fine and/or imprisonment.
In the National, Hill Sixteen suffered a fatal fall at the first fence, with trainer Sandy Thomson adamant afterwards the delay caused by what he called “ignorant” protesters had been a contributing factor.
“It’s out of our control,” said O’Brien.
“Any delay would be a big negative. Things happen every day to test us all and you just have to make the best of a situation whichever way it has fallen and it will be the same for everybody, that’s all any of us can do really.
“Obviously it is not ideal for anybody (if there is a delay). The horses, the people involved, everybody.
“Hopefully everybody will see sense and it won’t be like that, but all any of us can do is our best and hopefully everybody will see sense and look at the welfare of the animals and people and everybody first.”
O’Brien appears to have finalised his Derby plans, with Adelaide River and Chester winner San Antonio getting the go-ahead to join favourite Auguste Rodin.
O’Brien usually flies his runners in on Derby day, but has been forced to rethink with the race moved to a 1.30pm start time to avoid a clash with the FA Cup final.
“I think we’re going to run three, Auguste Rodin, Adelaide River and San Antonio at the moment,” he said.
“They all came out of their last races well, the two from Chester seem fine and Auguste Rodin seems fine.
“They are leaving Ballydoyle on Thursday afternoon, I think that’s the plan. We usually travel on the day, but with the early start we couldn’t take that risk.
“We don’t have any choice other than to take them earlier this year, we think it’s the sensible thing to do and the responsible thing to do.
“The fillies’ race (Oaks on Friday) is not as early as the colts, but we’re sending them early so they are doing the same route as the colts.
“We just think it’s the responsible thing to do for everybody involved and we’ll see what happens.”
London Irish could be the latest victims of the financial crisis gripping the Gallagher Premiership.
Here the PA news agency looks at the clubs most affected by the grim outlook.
GONE:
Worcester
The first club placed into administration back in September, Worcester’s future is still uncertain despite being taken over by Jim O’Toole’s Atlas Group.
Entrance into the second tier Championship has been blocked by the Rugby Football Union for their failure to meet certain conditions and their plan of joining with Stourbridge and relaunching in the fifth tier appears dead in the water.
Wasps
The month after Worcester folded, Wasps followed them into administration as the league suffered the crushing blow of losing one of English rugby’s most famous brands. Further misery was to come as having targeted rebirth in the Championship, the failure to meet certain conditions forced the RFU to revoke their license and demote them to the foot of the rugby pyramid.
TEETERING:
London Irish
Burdened by debts of around £30million and with an owner desperate to sell in Mick Crossan, London Irish are shaping up to become the next club to be removed from the Premiership. All staff must be paid today for the month of May for Irish to be granted a deadline extension for their proposed takeover by an American consortium. The clock is ticking.
SHAKY FOUNDATIONS:
Leicester
Leicester needed an emergency cash injection of £13million from directors Peter Tom and Tom Scott in to address what chief executive Andrea Pinchen described as “very challenging conditions”. A letter from the club to shareholders sent in March stated that if the funding was not approved, there would be no option but to appoint administrators.
Exeter
Even Exeter, one of the few clubs in the pre-pandemic era to operate at a profit, were forced to take special measures in December. Chiefs owner Tony Rowe bought a stake in a hotel owned by the club in order for it to service its debts, including Covid loans issued by the Government. Rowe’s intervention has sured up the finances for the time being.
G4D Open champions Brendan Lawlor and Kim Moore will compete in the inaugural Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed event next week.
The tournament at Ullna Golf and Country Club from June 5-6 will see five male players and five female players competing for the same trophy on the same course for the first time.
Lawlor, who edged out Kipp Popert to win the inaugural G4D Open at Woburn earlier this month, will be joined in Sweden by Popert – the current number one on the World Rankings for Golfers with a Disability (WR4GD) – Juan Postigo Arce, Kurtis Barkley and home favourite Rasmus Lia.
“I’m very excited for the Volvo Car Scandinavian Mixed,” Lawlor said. “The fact that there’s a whole diverse range of disabilities and it’s a mixed field between five men and five women, it’s absolutely game-changing.
“We’ve gained some massive strides in the men’s side of the game and in disability golf, and I think we’re going to gain some massive strides in the women’s side of the game.”
Moore, who won the female category of the G4D Open by four shots, is joined by Aimi Bullock, Julia Bowen, Fiona Gray and Jennifer Sraga.
“I feel with the growing number of new golfers being women, it’s extremely important for the G4D Tour to be opening up the event to both male and female golfers,” Moore said.
“The exposure that this event gets will be huge in motivating and inspiring others with disabilities to give golf a chance.”
Impressive York scorer Mostabshir will head to Royal Ascot for his next start – but connections are still to decide if it will be the St James’s Palace Stakes or Jersey Stakes for the talented son of Dark Angel.
Trained by John and Thady Gosden and a half-brother to Clarehaven’s eight-time winner Mostahdaf, the three-year-old made a taking debut at Kempton in November before being somewhat underwhelming when put on trial for the 2000 Guineas in the Craven.
However, he left that performance well behind him when striding out on the Knavesmire, surging to a commanding five-length success and reaffirming his team’s lofty opinion of him.
Now it is whether to take the leap into Group One company for the St James’s Palace Stakes at the Royal meeting or drop back in trip to seven furlongs for the Jersey.
“We’ve left him in the St James’s Palace and we may or may not make an entry for him in the Jersey, we’re going to discuss that nearer the time and see how he is,” said Angus Gold, racing manager for owners Shadwell.
“I saw him last night and he looks very well. John and Thady and the team are very happy with him and it will be Ascot and one of the races next all being well.”
On the prospect of stepping into Group One company to remain at a mile for the St James’s Palace, he added: “It would be a huge step up into a Group One and we will see nearer the time.
“He was obviously very impressive at York and touch wood he seems to have come out of it in one piece.
“He’s out of a very good mare and his brother and sister improved as they got older so hopefully he keeps going the right way.”
Another Shadwell-owned colt who is a possible for the summer showpiece is Enfjaar following his successful reappearance at Chelmsford.
The Roger Varian-trained colt downed Derby contender Military Order amongst others in a red-hot Newmarket maiden last October and having confirmed the promise of that victory on his return with a professional six-length victory, could be in line for a step up in trip for the Hampton Court Stakes.
“He did it well (at Chelmsford), but I haven’t really spoken to Roger since,” continued Gold.
“There is a thought we might step him up in trip and possibly look at the Hampton Court, but plans are still up in the air with him and I have to catch up with Roger. It was mooted as a possible, but we got no further than that.
“With any luck he is a progressive horse and if we can keep him in one piece we will have some fun with him.”
Charlie Johnston was always destined to take over from his record-breaking father Mark at their Middleham base. But to have a realistic Betfred Derby contender through Dubai Mile in his first year with just his name on the licence has certainly exceeded his expectations.
While Johnston senior went close at Epsom with Dee Ex Bee in 2018, finishing second to Masar, the blue riband event was one of only a handful of major races to elude him during a stellar career.
Charlie initially shared the licence with his father last season before Mark took his name off completely, sooner than many thought but done partly through paternal pride so that his son would get the credit he felt he deserved.
Now, with Dubai Mile having won a Group One over 10 furlongs at two in France and run perfectly well in the 2000 Guineas when fifth, Charlie has a real shot at putting the Johnston name on the illustrious Epsom roll of honour.
“I wouldn’t be singing from the roof if he wins having done so in my name, in fact I’d be a bit embarrassed after dad had been trying for 30 years and we won it for the first time without his name on the licence!” said Johnston.
“There’s still no greater race for a trainer to win, I think.
“There’s no race I can win this year that would give me greater assurances that when I go to the yearling sales, people will want to fill this barn again next year and try to find the next one.
“This game is a cycle and you always want people to invest in you, by winning the Derby there is no greater advertisement.”
Dubai Mile is owned by Ahmad Al Shaikh, who himself has had two of his horses finish second at huge prices in recent years – Khalifa Sat at 50-1 behind Serpentine in 2020 and Hoo Ya Mal at 150-1 to Desert Crown last year.
Johnston said: “He’s gone close twice in the Derby at huge prices, so I’m sure he’s going there with huge expectations and he’s great fun to train for.
“He flew a team from his favourite restaurant in London up here and we had a huge lunch with all the staff while watching the (Saint-Cloud) race and he gave prizes out and I don’t think the team has ever felt closer or more involved than he made them.”
Having only cost €20,000 at the Goffs Orby Sale, despite being by Roaring Lion and out of Beach Bunny, who was beaten just a short head by Dar Re Mi in the 2009 Pretty Polly, Johnston has shown he can look beyond the obvious – and feels others may have been put off by Dubai Mile’s big white face.
“We thought we’d got a bargain at £20,000. To us he’s a very good looking horse, but bizarrely a lot of people would be put off by his markings for a start. He’s got so much white about him and he must have had a fight with a fence at some point as a foal as when you take the saddle off, he’s got white marks all over his withers,” said Johnston.
“His pedigree, as is always the case, put us on to him. We’ve been fortunate to have horses for Lady O’Reilly (Beach Bunny’s owner), so would always pay close attention to her horses. Another factor was probably the fact that his stallion was sadly dead at the time, which meant he was never going to get the same support as most first-season sires and he was a weak, backward yearling.
“I’m not going to say we knew right away (he was good) as we buy 70 every year in that price bracket, but am I confident that out of 20 every year we’d find one good one? Yes, but was I confident he was the one? Probably not until he ran in the Royal Lodge, if I’m honest.
“The Royal Lodge (second to The Foxes) looked ambitious at the time, because of his price he’d been astutely placed to win two restricted novices, but I think the handicapper would have said he had no chance going into the Royal Lodge, as did the market. But it was a small field and it was a race we always like to target which led us to roll the dice.
“We’ll be taking the winner on again and a lot of water has gone under the bridge for both since the Royal Lodge. I got the impression up until York they thought he (The Foxes) was a 10-furlong horse and there was talk of the French Derby, whereas we’ve always known where we were going.
“Ahmad was always keen to go for the Guineas and, in hindsight, it was clearly the right decision because there’s been a hell of a lot more interest in him since then than before it. People take him a lot more seriously now.
“I said if he finished in the first six and hit the line strong I’d be delighted and that is exactly what he did. He’d have been fourth in another stride which would have been lovely but knowing he wants further, we couldn’t have wished for much more.”
Since the Guineas, John and Thady Gosden’s Arrest has won the Chester Vase on soft ground. His first run since being beaten a head by Dubai Mile in France and yet Dubai Mile is available at a much bigger price.
“A lot has been made of our form with Arrest and interestingly he’s about a quarter of the price we are. It’s probably not surprising given John Gosden’s Derby record and ours, but the weather forecast means it should be a good to firm Derby, whether it is or not we’ll wait and see,” said Johnston.
“I’m sure Arrest’s camp are a lot more worried about that than us. We might have won a Group One on heavy, but we’d rather it was quicker as it might inconvenience a few others.”
Of the others, he said: “I have a lot of respect for the (Jessica) Harrington horse (Sprewell), he looks overlooked in the market simply because Aidan (O’Brien) doesn’t get beaten in that (Leopardstown) trial and if you do beat him, you must have a good one.
“It’s been a bit different this spring as the two trials you’d expect Aidan to win he’s been beaten in, with the (John) Murphy horse (White Birch) winning the other (Ballysax) – and he ran a nice race at York (second to The Foxes).
“It should always be the best test of a three-year-old and all the ones who deserve to be there will be there. Does 14-1 represent our chance? It probably does, it might underestimate him a little.
“There’s no horse in this race that we know is better than ours, on ratings we’re right there with them all. He’s a Group One winner who ran a good trial over an inadequate trip in the Guineas, so in that sense I think we’ve got a rock-solid profile.
“The fact he was a €20,000 yearling and a bit more unfashionable probably explains why he’s 14-1 rather than 4-1. There’s nothing in there that scares me or we have 7lb to find with. If he improves for the trip, which we all expect he will, then he goes there with a good chance.
“I don’t feel it has added any pressure, it’s great to have a horse like this, you need them any time but to have one the first year the licence is in my name is great.”
David Menuisier is confident a step up in trip can help Heartache Tonight hit the big time when she races in the UK for the first time in the Betfred Oaks on Friday.
A €160,000 purchase as a yearling, she is a half-sister to two-time Group One-winner Wonderful Tonight, Menuisier’s former stable star.
The daughter of Recorder now has the chance to step out of her sibling’s shadow and she heads to Epsom with an encouraging book of form in France to her name, placing in the Prix Cleopatre and beaten less than two lengths when a close-up fourth in the Prix Saint-Alary last time out.
Despite bringing that Group One form to the table, Heartache Tonight is still available for the Oaks at odds as big as 33-1.
But her handler is not fussed by her outsider status, with Cristian Demuro set to continue his association with the filly having ridden her in all three starts so far.
“I don’t mind being overlooked, that is the story of my life, but it won’t stop her from running well,” said Menuisier.
“It was a great effort in the Prix Saint-Alary and she has been craving the step up to a mile and a half. We decided to keep her at one-mile-two to try to gain more experience and more tactical speed and we are delighted so far.
“Cristian Demuro will come and ride. We get on well and he’s our go-to man when we go to France. He absolutely loves the filly and the schedule wasn’t too busy for him, so he’s really delighted to keep the ride on her.”
So far, all of Heartache Tonight’s appearances have come on ground described as soft or slower, but Menuisier is hopeful she might not be as ground dependant as her illustrious mud-loving half-sister ahead of her bid for Classic honours.
“We’re just hoping the ground isn’t too quick, we’re hoping for genuine good ground,” continued Menuisier.
“She seems different to the half-sister – she was really designed for soft ground and had a very high knee action.
“Heartache tonight is a bit more elegant, she moves much better, so we like to believe she might not need it as soft. Obviously she will handle soft/heavy conditions later in the year probably better than most, but if she could handle quicker ground then that is a definite plus.”
The handler also feels her performance in the Prix Saint-Alary shows she has the potential to match Wonderful Tonight’s achievements on track.
Menuisier added: “At the moment she is showing the right signs and is a little bit above Wonderful Tonight as she would have been unable to perform good over one-mile-two at Group One level in the spring.
“So whether the finished article will be ahead of the sister, it would be lovely to think so, but she has a serious challenge ahead of her, so we will see.”
Rhys Webb has become the latest Wales player to announce his retirement from Test rugby before the World Cup.
Scrum-half Webb, who won 40 caps, follows his Ospreys colleagues Alun Wyn Jones and Justin Tipuric in stepping down.
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All three were members of Wales’ preliminary World Cup training squad ahead of the tournament in France later this year.
Writing on Instagram, 34-year-old Webb said that “present uncertainty and difficulties in Welsh rugby” and “an opportunity to play abroad” had influenced his decision.
Savethelastdance heads a field of 11 declared for the Betfred Oaks on Friday when she will bid to give Aidan O’Brien his fourth straight victory in the Epsom Classic.
The daughter of Galileo has been favourite for the fillies’ showpiece ever since decimating the opposition in the Cheshire Oaks earlier this month and heads to Epsoms in anticipation of faring much better in the 12 furlong event than her dam Daddys Lil Darling who bolted to post during a thunderstorm, unshipped Olivier Peslier and was subsequently withdrawn in 2017.
As well as Savethelastdance, O’Brien will also saddle Be Happy and Red Riding Hood in his attempt to secure Oaks win number 11 and continue his domination of the Friday feature.
John and Thady Gosden are responsible for what the bookmakers feel will be Savethelastdance’s biggest challenge saddling both Pretty Polly winner Roaring Lion and Musidora scorer Soul Sister, the latter the mount of Frankie Dettori in his final Oaks outing before retirement.
Supplementary entry and Lingfield trial winner Eternal Hope is entrusted with trying to provide Charlie Appleby with his first Oaks success, while Heartache Tonight is an interesting contender for David Menuisier having finished a close-up fourth in the Prix Saint-Alary.
Jack Channon’s 1000 Guineas fourth Caernarfon steps up in trip from a mile for her first start since Newmarket, while Maman Joon (Richard Hannon), Sea Of Roses (Andrew Balding) and Bright Diamond (Karl Burke) are the others heading to the mile-and-a-half start on Friday afternoon.
The other Group One on the card is the Dahlbury Coronation Cup where Westover will look to erase the demons of his troubled run in last year’s Derby.
Ralph Beckett’s Frankel colt was a somewhat unlucky loser behind Desert Crown 12 months ago, but gained compensation in the Irish equivalent and arrives on the back of a fine run to finish second in the Dubai Sheema Classic in March.
Emily Upjohn was another to be narrowly denied in her quest for Classic success in 2022 and reappears having opened her Group One account in the autumn, while Hurricane Lane is Godolphin’s chosen representative having bounced back to his best in the Jockey Club Stakes.
Ballydoyle’s Point Lonsdale is unbeaten in two starts this term and races over 12 furlongs for the first time, with Tunnes an interesting raider from Germany rounding off a select field of five.
London Irish must pay all staff for May in full today or be withdrawn from the Gallagher Premiership.
The Rugby Football Union said it is giving owner Mick Crossan the chance to meet payroll as scheduled today or the offer of a deadline extension to complete a takeover will be withdrawn.
An American consortium is in discussions to take control of the club but has yet provide proof of funds to the RFU, as well as other documentation needed for the purchase to be approved.
“The RFU club financial viability group met yesterday evening. It noted the conditions set by the RFU had not been met and considered the application for an extension to the deadline,” an RFU statement on Wednesday morning read.
“It was agreed to defer the decision for 24 hours to establish if the club is able to honour the commitment it has made to staff that they will be paid for the month of May. The group will meet again this evening.”
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