The weather appears set to dictate if Salver will be handed a shot at the JCB Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham next month.
A comfortable winner of his first two starts over obstacles, he romped to a 21-length success in Chepstow’s Grade Two Finale Juvenile Hurdle over the Christmas period to announce himself as one of the UK’s best juvenile operators.
He enhanced his unbeaten record over timber at Haydock when claiming the Victor Ludorum Juvenile Hurdle in easy fashion and is as short as 10-1 for Grade One glory at Prestbury Park, with only heavy favourite Sir Gino and a handful of Willie Mullins-based contenders ahead of him in the betting with most bookmakers.
However, having shown a real liking for testing conditions, Moore has always suggested his Festival participation will hinge on a wet forecast during the second week of March.
“He’s fine after Saturday and if this weather keeps up he’ll be going to Cheltenham, but if it doesn’t I don’t know what I will do,” said Moore.
Other options for Salver include holding fire in hope of a wet few days in Merseyside during Grand National week or a trip to France for one of their big end-of-season juvenile events.
But being seen as a horse for the future, Moore would have no qualms if his charge did not run again this season.
He continued: “There’s the possibility he could go to France but that is very unlikely though.
“He’s still a big, weak, immature horse and I’m not sure he is ready for France yet. We could always look at Liverpool as well but that would depend on ground and be weather permitting.
“If he doesn’t run again this year, he’s done more than his fair share and it wouldn’t matter.”
Auston Matthews scored his 50th and 51st goals of the season to become the fastest to 50 in 28 years and the Toronto Maple Leafs won their fifth straight, 6-3 over the reeling Arizona Coyotes on Wednesday.
Matthews, from nearby Scottsdale, Arizona, reached the milestone in his 54th game of the season to become the fastest to 50 goals since Mario Lemieux accomplished it in 50 games with Pittsburgh in 1995-96.
Wayne Gretzky holds the record, scoring his 50th in his 39th game for Edmonton in 1981-82 on his way to a record 92 goals. Matthews is the fastest to 50 among U.S.-born players.
Matthews, who added his 51st of the season in the second period, is on pace to surpass 70 goals, which hasn’t been done since Teemu Selanne and Alexander Mogilny each had 76 in 1992-93.
William Nylander also scored twice and Mitch Marner had three assists as the Maple Leafs won for the ninth time in 11 games (9-0-2).
The Coyotes lost their 11th in a row and have allowed at least five goals in five of their last seven contests.
Bruins edge Oilers in overtime
Charlie McAvoy scored in overtime and the Boston Bruins snapped the Edmonton Oilers’ eight-game home winning streak, 6-5.
McAvoy was the sixth different goal scorer for the Bruins, who got three assists from Mason Lohrei to extend their road point streak to 10 games (7-0-3).
Warren Foegele had a pair of goals for the Oilers, who hadn’t lost at home since a 5-1 defeat to Florida on Dec. 16.
Flyers beat lowly Blackhawks
Samuel Ersson stopped 22 shots and Travis Konecny and Garnet Hathaway scored third-period goals to lift the Philadelphia Flyers to a 3-1 win over the league-worst Chicago Blackhawks.
Travis Sanheim had the other goal as the Flyers improved to 5-1-1 in their last seven games.
Colin Blackwell scored the lone goal for Chicago, which has lost 10 of 11.
Arvid Soderblom made 30 saves to lose his 12th consecutive start. He is 0-11-1 since defeating Toronto on Nov. 24.
Tyson Fury beat Deontay Wilder by seventh-round stoppage to win the WBC world heavyweight title in Las Vegas, on this day in 2020.
Fourteen months on from his controversial draw with Wilder in their first bout – when he out-boxed the champion only for two knockdowns to deny him victory – Fury had vowed to take the fight to the American.
He did just that, flooring his opponent twice and completely dominating the action before Wilder’s corner threw in the towel to save the bewildered champion from more punishment.
A right hand which landed near Wilder’s left ear saw the American go down heavily in the third and a right to the head and left hook to the body in the fifth had a tired Wilder down again.
Fury said: “Big shout-out to Deontay Wilder. He came here tonight, he manned up and really did show the heart of a champion.
“I hit him with a clean right hand and dropped him and he got back up and battled on into round seven. He is a warrior, he will be back, he will be a champion again.
“But I will say, the king has returned to the top.”
The rivalry concluded with a third fight the following year when it was Fury’s turn to take punishment, getting knocked down in the fourth round, only to rise off the canvas and produce a storming comeback and retain his title.
The Briton has since continued his unbeaten record with victories over Dillian Whyte, Derek Chisora and Francis Ngannou but recently pulled out of a fight with Oleksandr Usyk after suffering a cut in the build-up.
Australian tennis player Thanasi Kokkinakis has beaten Britain’s Daniel Evans to advance to Mexico’s ATP Los Cabos quarter-finals.
Kokkinakis advances with back-to-back top-60 victories after his 6-4 6-2 win against the world number 42 Briton.
The win, which took just over two hours, marks his second consecutive win against a British opponent.
The Australian defeated world number 53 Jack Draper earlier in the week.
Kokkinakis made it to his first tour-level quarter-final since the beginning of 2023, securing a win with five aces compared to three for Evans.
Evans hit three double faults during the match, while Kokkinakis had the better of the clutch moments, saving four out of the five break points against him.
The loss also marks Evans’ third loss to the Australian.
In the next round, Kokkinakis will play world number six Alexander Zverev and the top seed at Los Cabos.
Ali Carter held his nerve to beat top seed Judd Trump 6-4 and book his place in the Players Championship semi-finals in Telford.
Trump went close to levelling the match at 5-5, but a potential frame-winning break ended with just the colours remaining and after 11 minutes of cat and mouse, Carter sank the yellow and closed out the match.
The world number eight will now face Northern Ireland’s Mark Allen or Gary Wilson, who won the BetVictor Welsh Open on Sunday, for a place in the final.
Trump made a break of 115 to level the match at 3-3, but Carter moved 5-3 up thanks to a score of 82 in the eighth frame. Although Trump responded with his fifth half-century to make it 5-4, it was not enough.
Earlier on Wednesday, Mark Selby reeled off four frames in succession to beat Barry Hawkins 6-3 and set up a quarter-final clash with Ronnie O’Sullivan.
Hawkins dominated the early stages of the match, easing into a 2-0 lead and edging back in front with a break of 91 in the fifth frame after Selby had fought back to level the scores at the mid-session interval.
However, Hawkins made an increasing number of mistakes as the match wore on and Selby took full advantage with breaks of 56, 66, 75 and 67 to advance.
“Barry was getting on top of me from the start, I started off slow and Barry’s had a good season so far,” four-time world champion Selby told ITV4.
“It was a tough game for me because you’re playing one of the top players on form and he’s also a good friend so it’s hard to try to overcome both of them.”
Looking ahead to Thursday’s quarter-final with O’Sullivan, Selby joked: “It gets easier next game doesn’t it?
“I cherish every game I play against Ronnie so I’m really looking forward to that. If I play like I did after the interval with that authority and that confidence, then I’ll go into the match with a chance.
“You know what you’re going to get with Ronnie, he very rarely plays to a bad level.
“It’s either very good or unplayable so it makes your job a lot easier going into the match because you know you have to turn up and, if you don’t, you’re going home.”
The quarter-final line-up was eventually completed when China’s Zhang Anda edged past Thailand’s Noppon Saengkham 6-5 in a contest lasting more than four and a half hours.
Zhang, who came from 5-4 behind and sealed victory with a break of 65 in the decider, will face John Higgins in the last eight.
In a bid to unearth potential curling talents for Jamaica's international representation, Vice President of Curling Jamaica, Robert Richards, outlined three key avenues during the launch of Curling Jamaica at the Jamaica Olympic Association's headquarters in Kingston.
A former president of the Jamaica Badminton Association and national badminton champion, Richards expressed his commitment to Curling Jamaica's mission, especially with President Ian Anderson's ambitious goal of securing Olympic gold by 2040. Speaking at the launch on Monday, Richards emphasized the three areas from which they aim to identify and develop curling talents.
"The development of this sport is going to come from, of course, those based overseas, and there are three avenues that we're going to take on to actually have the sport developed," said Richards. The first avenue involves Jamaicans based overseas, particularly those waiting for an opportunity or currently participating in another sport. Richards sees potential among young Jamaicans in colleges, not only in Canada and the US but also in Europe.
The second avenue focuses on students leaving Jamaica to study abroad. Traditionally, sports like football and track and field have been the primary choices, but with the establishment of the Curling Association, students now have an additional option. This diversification allows talented youngsters to explore new avenues and consider curling as a viable sporting path.
The third avenue involves collaboration with the Canadian team to identify potential curling talents in Jamaican schools. The vision includes sponsoring selected youngsters to attend the Curling Academy in Canada, covering their accommodation and training expenses. This initiative aims to nurture talent from an early age and potentially pave the way for scholarships and further opportunities in the sport.
Earlier, JOA Secretary General and CEO Ryan Foster welcomed Curling Jamaica to the Olympic family during the launch.
Foster highlighted the significance of Jamaica's expansion into winter sports, citing the growth in disciplines like skiing, ice hockey, figure skating, and now curling. He commended Curling Jamaica for contributing to the country's multiplicity of representation in the Winter Olympics, opening avenues for potential medals.
Foster assured Curling Jamaica of the Jamaica Olympic Association's support in fostering a holistic approach to sports governance, including educational perspectives, coaching development, equipment resources, and infrastructure support. He expressed pride in the association's open-minded approach to sports, expanding from 36 to 52 sporting disciplines.
In closing, Foster welcomed Curling Jamaica to the Jamaica Olympic family, expressing hope that the organization would manage the sport with enthusiasm, providing hope to athletes and embodying the national motto, "Out of Many, One People." He pledged the JOA's unwavering support in Curling Jamaica's quest for achievement, emphasizing the shared commitment to success in the Winter Olympics.
Sean Marks says the Brooklyn Nets must improve their "level of compete" after head coach Jacque Vaughn was fired.
Vaughn was dismissed on Monday after the Nets lost 136-86 to the Boston Celtics last week, leaving Brooklyn at 21-33 and 11th in the Eastern Conference heading into the All-Star break.
The Nets had made the postseason in the last five seasons, but a 6-18 run has left the team with it all to do if they are to keep their playoff streak going.
Nets general manager Sean Marks pointed to a perceived lack of effort as one area that must be fixed by the new head coach.
"It's about the level of compete," Marks told reporters. "We're not going to be the most talented team in the league. I'm not an idiot. I totally understand that.
"But at the same time, this is a talented group of young men out there. And my expectations, and I think their expectations, should be to hold each other accountable to do the little things. The effort plays, the loose balls, the contested shots and so forth, diving on the floor.
"These are things that should be expected when you're in a place that we're at right now, where we're clawing and grappling for every single thing we can. That's what I would hope to see over these next 28 games, and that's probably, to be quite frank, some things I haven't seen. The level of effort and the level of compete has not always been there."
Many pointed to the Nets' 144-122 defeat against the Milwaukee Bucks as the reason for Vaughn's firing. The Nets were fined $100,000 for violating the NBA's player participation policy after choosing to both rest and sit a number of key players.
However, Marks said the Bucks drubbing was not the reason for Vaughn's exit, commenting: "I don't think we lost the team that day.
"I appreciate the fact that players want to play. They want to play night in and night out.
"Again, I don't think there was one decision that ultimately affected the record or [making] this decision this day. I think a lot of things went into that."
Tiger Woods’ son Charlie will attempt to qualifying for next week’s Cognizant Classic, PGA Tour officials have revealed.
The 15-year-old will compete in Thursday’s pre-qualifier at Lost Lake Golf Club in Hobe Sound, Florida, which is one of four pre-qualifying sites.
Approximately 25 players and ties will advance to the full qualifier on Monday, February 26, from which four players will earn places in the Cognizant Classic from February 29 – March 3 at PGA National in Palm Beach Gardens.
The tournament has a prize fund of £7.1million and boasts a field which includes the likes of Rory McIlroy and Ryder Cup team-mates Shane Lowry, Justin Rose and Matt Fitzpatrick.
Charlie Woods has competed in the last four editions of the PNC Championship alongside his father, who was forced to withdraw from the Genesis Invitational last week due to illness.
Charlie also competed in last year’s Notah Begay III Junior Golf National Championship, with his father acting as his caddie, and finished tied for 17th in the boys 14-15 division.
Danny Care has revealed the unconventional secret behind his career longevity as he closes in on becoming England’s sixth Test centurion – cookies and saunas.
Care will make his 99th international appearance in Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations clash with Scotland and even at 37-years-old the high-tempo Harlequins scrum-half is in the form of his life.
On top of showing the persistence needed to emerge from a three-and-a-half-year spell in England exile, he has taken his own approach to making sure he can perform at the highest level.
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And unlike former Red Rose team-mate Jonny May, who is famed for his dedication to training and preparation, Care takes a more unorthodox route.
“I’m definitely not like Jonny May! I’m on the opposite end of the spectrum to Jonny May. More cookies. Cookies and saunas. And why not if it works? Everyone is so different,” Care said.
“I’ve always been quite lucky in that I’ve not been massively into nutrition or believe fully in it, which the nutritionists hate me for!
“I don’t think I’ve cracked it, but I’m 37 and I like to think I’ve shown an alternative way of doing it. Rather than all the protein and the supplements every day…
“I’ve definitely put a bigger emphasis on my recovery in the last few years but I feel better now than I did four or five years ago.
“The team hotel is also an amazing five-star spa, which helps. The sauna and the ice bath are our best friends.
“It’s amazing when you’ve got that on your doorstep and have the time to do it. When I’m at home I can’t just nip out for a couple of hours to ‘recover’, my wife would… well, she wouldn’t be my wife any more!
“But when you’re here and you’ve got the best S&C guys, nutritionists, everyone and it’s all for you. You can be selfish in that way and that helps me a lot.”
Care refuses to put a timeframe on his retirement but knows this will almost certainly be his final visit to Murrayfield and is hoping to have clarity on his club future after the Six Nations.
He was among those dropped by Eddie Jones after the ‘black hole game’ against Japan in 2018, so called because the dismal performance spelt the end of several Test careers.
But having compelled Jones to reconsider on the basis of his swashbuckling form for Harlequins, he continues to be an important part of the England set-up under Steve Borthwick.
“I feel more liberated, I feel more free, I feel like I can just enjoy it. You never know which one is going to be the last one so in a way that gives me freedom to just be myself and really enjoy it,” Care said.
“That’s something that is hard to do when you play for England because you’re constantly on the edge of being judged and want to do well and stay in.
“There are also so many other lads who people think should be playing instead of you, but I don’t care about any of that any more, which is nice.”
Wales will face world champions South Africa at Twickenham in June due to Taylor Swift’s Principality Stadium concert.
The Springboks’ first game since their World Cup triumph in France will take place on June 22 as Wales prepare for their summer tour to Australia.
And the Qatar Airways Cup clash will be followed later the same afternoon by the Barbarians tackling Fiji at English rugby headquarters.
Twickenham last staged a Wales versus South Africa fixture during the 2015 World Cup, when the Springboks won a tense quarter-final 23-19.
Wales’ normal home in Cardiff is unavailable as Swift’s ‘Eras Tour’ continues there on June 18, followed by the Foo Fighters the following week.
After playing the Springboks, Wales then have two Tests against Australia, meeting the Wallabies in Sydney on July 6 and then Melbourne seven days later.
Were a Welsh region to reach this season’s United Rugby Championship final, then Wales would be without those players as it is scheduled to take place on the same day as the Springboks encounter.
Ospreys are the highest-placed Welsh region in seventh spot, with the top eight of 16 teams reaching the play-offs. Cardiff, Scarlets and Dragons are further adrift.
And the same situation would apply to South Africa in the event of securing a URC finalist. Bulls and Stormers are currently second and sixth, respectively.
“I am incredibly excited about the fixture list for Wales this summer,” Wales head coach Warren Gatland said.
“To have the opportunity for our young squad to test itself against the world champions at a neutral venue is an extremely important experience, and something that we will relish.
“We are also excited for the opportunity we have with our two Tests in Australia in July.
“We know the Wallabies will be hurting after the Rugby World Cup (Australia made a pool stage exit), but we are expecting a fired-up side led by new head coach Joe Schmidt.”
Andy Murray’s future will come under further scrutiny after he lost in the second round of the Qatar Open to teenager Jakub Mensik.
Murray has repeatedly said he is not about to retire after a horror run of form but the fierce competitor inside him will not be able to put up with too many more defeats like this, at one point appearing to shout to his team: “this game is not for me any more.”
Murray, whose first-round win over Alexandre Muller on Tuesday was his first victory since October, was beaten 7-6 (6) 6-7 (3) 7-6 (4) in over three hours by the 18-year-old.
The Scot will have nightmares about a volley he missed on set point in the first-set tiebreak and then the way he lost the final-set tiebreak after fighting back will frustrate him.
Murray will consider Mensik an opponent he should not be losing to, especially has he had already won eight games on the ATP Tour by the time the Czech was born.
But he handed the advantage to his opponent in the third game of the first set when two successive failed drop shots allowed the Czech to break serve.
Mensik, just 18, had played some scintillating tennis in the first set but lost his nerve when he tried to serve it out at 5-4, with Murray breaking back.
It went to a tiebreak and Murray will be going to bed thinking of the simple volley he missed when he had two set points.
Instead of putting it into an empty court he dumped it into the net and went on to lose the next four points and the set.
The second set went on serve, with Murray fashioning a break point at 5-5 which would have left him serving it out.
However, he hit a short ball into the net and vented his frustration to his team.
To his credit, he recovered to send the second set to a tiebreak and this time he did not mess about to level up at one set all.
Murray appeared to have thrown it away as his level dipped at the start of the third and Mensik broke twice to lead 5-2 on the decider.
But the 37-year-old, who is playing with a metal hip, unlocked prime Murray mode and won four successive games, including two where Mensik was serving the match.
The youngster stopped the rot to send it to a deciding tiebreak and picked himself up off the canvas to claim a memorable scalp.
Will Biddick is set to get the leg-up on Kilbeg King at the Cheltenham Festival after Anthony Honeyball stated his intention to go for the National Hunt Chase with his Reynoldstown runner-up.
The National Hunt Chase is a race in which both Honeyball and Biddick have previous, having joined forces with Ms Parfois in 2018, leading inside the final half-furlong only to be pipped close home by Willie Mullins’ Rathvinden.
Although Biddick has a Festival winner to his name as both a trainer and a jockey, Honeyball is still searching for his first strike at the Prestbury Park showpiece and is confident his star novice chaser can play a key part in the marathon event after a fine effort at Ascot when beaten only a head by Ben Pauling’s Henry’s Friend.
“I went to the Reynoldstown with slightly different expectations than I did the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase (when third on Boxing Day) – in my mind and my world he was favourite, so I wasn’t over the moon to finish second at Ascot,” explained Honeyball.
“At the same time, the dream is still alive and he’s run a really good race with reasons to think he could go to the National Hunt Chase and have a really good chance.
“Hand on heart we’re probably not good enough to run in the three-mile novice (Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase) and while we’re not a million miles away, we’re probably right in going for the National Hunt Chase.
“He’s definitely got that bit of class and he would travel through that race, while I think his jumping would be economical and good enough. So I feel he would have a decent chance in that.
“It’s one of those races where he would tick a lot of boxes. He’s a nine-year-old and he’s got that bit of experience. I see no reason why he wouldn’t stay and he’s got what you need really.”
On the booking of Biddick for the nine-year-old, he went on: “I think it’s a race you have to get organised early for and we’ve got Will Biddick provisionally booked to ride him. I think he will be OK (to take the ride) as he often rides for Paul Nicholls in those types of races, but he doesn’t have one in it.”
Not only does Kilbeg King’s Cheltenham Festival bid give both Honeyball and Biddick the chance to correct the record of Ms Parfois’ National Hunt Chase reverse of six years ago, her owner Martyn Chapman is a member of the partnership that co-owns the Grade Two runner-up.
Honeyball continued: “Will was second for us in the race aboard Mrs Parfois when she was beaten by Willie and Patrick Mullins. It was an agonising one as halfway up the run-in she was back in front, but just got nabbed.
“One of the owners of Kilbeg King used to own Ms Parfois so there is a nice bit of symmetry to it as well. We’re looking forward to it and we wouldn’t run him unless we thought we had a decent chance of winning and we think we have.
“We will give it a go and who knows, you need a lot of luck, but we just hope he does everything right and if he does then we should at least be thinking we have a chance turning in, we hope.”
Kilbeg King has built up a wealth of fencing experience in four starts this season and having plied his trade in graded company the last twice, there are plenty of positives for his connections to cling to ahead of his Festival bid.
“His jumping was good in the Kauto Star and his jumping for the most part was good, solid and safe at Ascot,” said Honeyball
“There was just a slight frustration that at both two out and the last he just jumped them OK but landed a bit flat-footed. If he had jumped just one of them OK then that would probably been enough, but it is about jumping and Ascot is a good test.
“It’s good he has come through that and it is good experience under his belt and we’re hoping we can just do a few little things at home now to help him when the pressure is on.
“When he won at Punchestown we thought he fitted the same type of mould as Fountains Windfall and Ms Parfois and we were very much hoping he would end up in races like this.
“He was a good third in the Kauto Star and he’s backed that up with a really good performance in the Reynoldstown.”
Mark Selby reeled off four frames in succession to beat Barry Hawkins 6-3 and set up a quarter-final clash with Ronnie O’Sullivan in the Players Championship in Telford.
Hawkins dominated the early stages of the match, easing into a 2-0 lead and edging back in front with a break of 91 in the fifth frame after Selby had fought back to level the scores at the mid-session interval.
However, Hawkins made an increasing number of mistakes as the match wore on and Selby took full advantage with breaks of 56, 66, 75 and 67 to advance.
“Barry was getting on top of me from the start, I started off slow and Barry’s had a good season so far,” four-time world champion Selby told ITV4.
“It was a tough game for me because you’re playing one of the top players on form and he’s also a good friend so it’s hard to try to overcome both of them.”
Looking ahead to Thursday’s quarter-final with O’Sullivan, Selby joked: “It gets easier next game doesn’t it?
“I cherish every game I play against Ronnie so I’m really looking forward to that. If I play like I did after the interval with that authority and that confidence, then I’ll go into the match with a chance.
“You know what you’re going to get with Ronnie, he very rarely plays to a bad level.
“It’s either very good or unplayable so it makes your job a lot easier going into the match because you know you have to turn up and, if you don’t, you’re going home.”
New father Kyle Steyn is intent on helping Scotland maintain their recent ownership of the Calcutta Cup this weekend after watching helplessly from his couch as his team-mates suffered an agonising Guinness Six Nations defeat against France last time out.
The Glasgow wing was named in the starting XV for the Murrayfield showdown with Les Bleus a week past Saturday, but he had to withdraw on the morning of the game after his wife Ally went into labour late on the Friday afternoon.
Steyn’s daughter, Arabella, eventually arrived via Caesarean section late on Monday morning, almost two days after the 20-16 defeat by France in which the Scots were controversially denied victory after the officials decided against awarding them a late try when Sam Skinner thought he had grounded the ball on the whitewash.
“My wife had been in labour from about 4 o’clock on Friday and we were hoping maybe I could make it back (in time to face France) if baby was born in the middle of the night, but it didn’t go that way,” explained Steyn.
“I was busy on the couch, trying my best to watch, but every five minutes my attention went elsewhere.
“I was the same as every other Scot at the end, screaming ‘that’s down, that’s a try’. I was gutted for the boys, you could see it on their faces and that’s what really hurt, the feeling that it was one that got away.
“But it was brilliant to be back in this week and see everybody. You can see the guys have very much put that behind them and I think the Calcutta Cup at home is an easy reason to move on from that and focus forward.”
Steyn has “amazing memories” of helping Scotland win 29-23 at Twickenham last February to make it three victories in succession over England.
Gregor Townsend’s side have lost only once in their last six meetings with their old rivals.
“We definitely take confidence from that, and a bit of momentum, but coming off the back of the World Cup, they’ve just made the semi-finals and they seem to be finding their gears under the new management,” said Steyn.
“They are a really good side with a lot of threats, so it’s a great challenge for us. It’s an amazing game to play.
“I’ve never played (for the) Calcutta Cup at home so I can’t wait for that. As far as the Six Nations goes and being a Scottish rugby player, there’s no bigger occasion than the Calcutta Cup at home.
“We’re really excited by the opportunity, especially in a year where we’ve only got two home games.
“We had the force of Murrayfield behind us for the France game and the boys are really looking forward to feeling that support again on the weekend.”
Dual Grade One winner Gala Marceau finished a disappointing third as Hispanic Moon claimed top honours in the Bet Victor Quevega Mares Hurdle at Punchestown.
Gala Marceau locked horns with fellow Willie Mullins-trained mare Lossiemouth on several occasions last season, coming out on top at the Dublin Racing Festival before her esteemed stablemate turned the tables in the Triumph Hurdle at Cheltenham and confirmed the form at Punchestown.
Gala Marceau did though round off her campaign with a top-level win in France, and while she was beaten by another Mullins mare in Ashroe Diamond on her return to action at Doncaster late last month, she was widely expected to get back on the winning trail at Grade Three level on home soil.
Ridden by Paul Townend, the 2-7 shot travelled well for much of the of the two-and-a-half-mile contest, but was being ridden along before the home turn and soon emptied in the ultra-testing conditions.
Saylavee, also trained by Mullins, did her best to make a race of it with Henry de Bromhead’s 11-2 chance Hispanic Moon, but the latter kicked eight lengths clear in the hands of Darragh O’Keeffe.
Coral reacted by trimming Hispanic Moon’s odds for the Mares’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival to 16-1 from 50-1, while easing Gala Marceau to 12-1 from 7-1. Lossiemouth is the 1-2 favourite.
Robbie Power, the winning trainer’s race planner, said: “That was great. She was impressive here back in November and I don’t know what went wrong at Christmas, there was no real excuse for her, she just didn’t run her race for some reason.
“That was much more like it today and Darragh knew himself after jumping two hurdles that she was back to herself. She was a different mare, she travelled and jumped really well. She winged the last and went from there to the winning post with her two ears pricked.
“Hopefully there is a bit more in the locker. She’s in the Mares’ Hurdle at Cheltenham and we’ll see how she comes out of this, we might take a punt.
“You’d have to be tempted after that, she’s beaten Saylavee a lot easier than she did here back in November.”
Of the market leader, Mullins said: “Paul thought she ran a bit keen and she was very disappointing, especially after her promising run in Doncaster.
“I haven’t seen anything wrong with her yet, but she was blowing quite hard when she came in. Unfortunately it’s one of those things.”
Gary Moore is looking to Peking Opera to continue his stable’s fine form with the one-time Irish Derby fourth seeking to book his ticket to the Triumph Hurdle in Kempton’s Coral Adonis Juvenile Hurdle.
Moore, whose son Jamie recently announced his retirement from the saddle, enjoyed a big-race double at Haydock last weekend as Salver confirmed himself as one of the UK’s leading juveniles and Botox Has claimed Grade Two success in the Rendlesham.
Lower Beeding-based Moore is now on the hunt for further graded honours with his former Ballydoyle inmate, who made the perfect start over hurdles at Sandown earlier this month.
He showed there he had plenty of speed to go with his staying power and he has forced a change of thinking from his trainer, with Moore conceding he never had a trip to Kempton in mind for the hot juvenile prospect.
“Going into Sandown, on his Flat form, I thought he would want a stiff two miles,” explained Moore.
“The last place I thought I would run him was Kempton, even though the Adonis was probably the obvious race anyway. But I thought he would want a stiff two rather than an easy two and as it worked out, I thought he travelled well (at Sandown) and if they had gone a better gallop it would have helped him more.
“Hopefully the track will suit him and hopefully he will show enough to be a Triumph Hurdle horse – he will need to because it’s quite a good race.”
Moore’s success with Salver this season has seen him clipped into as short as 10-1 for the Triumph Hurdle next month, while it is Peking Opera’s exploits on the Flat combined with his Sandown hurdles debut that are driving his odds, ranging from 16s to 33-1.
Those prices could plummet with a bold showing from the son of Galileo on Saturday, but Moore says he has collected few clues on the gallops as to who may be better, with both kept separate in their work at home.
“I’ve never galloped them together,” continued Moore.
“One is an out-and-out stayer and the other should be as well, but on his pedigree and what he’s done (on the Flat), he (Peking Opera) should have a bit more class.”
Moore could also be represented on the card by Grade One scorer Le Patron, who could attempt to get back on track in the Coral Pendil Novices’ Chase after seeing his jumping fall apart in the Scilly Isles last time.
The six-year-old finished a long way adrift of Nickle Back on that occasion, with Moore having plenty of respect for that rival who is also entered at the weekend.
“My biggest concern in that race is Nickle Back and I don’t know if he will run or not, but I wouldn’t be in a rush to take him on to be honest,” added Moore.
Stuart Edmunds will saddle his first ever runner in Ireland on Thursday when Marsh Wren bids for Listed honours in the Carey Glass Irish EBF Colreevy Mares Novice Chase at Thurles.
The eight-year-old, who is part-owned by former Cardiff and Coventry City defender Ben Turner, has won two of her three starts over fences to date, with victories at Warwick and Uttoxeter sandwiching a second-placed finish in Listed company behind Nicky Henderson’s Arclight at Wincanton.
Edmunds admits taking on the Irish in their own back yard is a stiff test, but with conditions in Marsh Wren’s favour and Turner and other members of the Far Bihoue Partnership set to make the trip, the trainer is excited by the challenge.
“We thought about going for a previous mares’ race there, but in the end we decided to go for what was not too difficult a race at Uttoxeter,” said Edmunds, who is based near Milton Keynes.
“We just thought she’s already Listed placed, she loves soft ground and the boys are all very excited about going to Ireland, so she’s gone.
“We wouldn’t be going if we thought it was a waste of time, we think she’s gone there in good order and the more rain they get the better, as long as it’s on.
“She loves testing conditions, the trip (two and three-quarter miles) in Ireland is about right and it’s worth a few quid at €30,000, so why not have a go?”
Marsh Wren features in a six-strong field, with Gordon Elliott’s pair of Harmonya Maker and Jumping Jet and Gavin Cromwell’s Law Ella seemingly her biggest threats.
There is also British interest in the BoyleSports Michael Purcell Memorial Novice Hurdle, with the Willie Mullins-trained Stoke The Fire carrying the colours of Middleham Park Racing.
An impressive winner on his hurdling debut at Tramore, the five-year-old lines up as one of three runners for the champion trainer in the Grade Three contest alongside Largy Hill and What Path.
Middleham Park’s National Hunt racing manager, Tom Palin, said: “He’s the first horse we’ve had with Willie, but we’ve obviously been huge admirers of his for a long time. We like to have our horses with trainers who provide you with the best chance of having good runners on the best days, and there’s probably no finer man than Willie for that.
“We actually bought this horse as a possible Irish Cesarewitch contender, that’s more of a longer-term plan, but he might give us a little bit of fun over hurdles in the interim.
“He certainly gave us a bit more than a little bit of fun on New Year’s Day with a fairly bloodless victory at Tramore, when he seemed to cope with the testing conditions well and we were very taken by how he jumped on debut.
“This feels like the right sort of race to pitch him in and I’m sure whatever happens, he’ll still be a nice horse capable of taking us to Festivals both on the Flat and over hurdles, whether that’s Fairyhouse or Punchestown in graded company or in handicaps, we’ll have to wait and see.”
The likely favourite for the race is Elliott’s Staffordshire Knot, who will carry the colours of Gigginstown House Stud for the first time after being bought to stay in the yard for €510,000 at Andy and Gemma Brown’s dispersal earlier this month.
After another fairly consistent season, Gary Subratie’s classy mare Atomica secured a second-consecutive Horse of the Year, after she was again named the country’s best performer for the 2023 season.
The Don Wehby-owned charged registered a number of outstanding performances for the season, as her five wins from seven starts included the prestigious Jamaica Cup, which all but etched her name in the minds of the 15 individuals –journalists and members of the promoting company –who cast their ballots.
Atomica, a five-year-old chestnut mare, registered her five victories in Grade 1 trophy races last year, namely the Labour Day Trophy, the Clovis Metcalfe Trophy, the Legal Light Trophy, the Menudo, and the Jamaica Cup. Those pushed her earnings to $6.3 million, some ways off the $14 million she earned won the award for the 2022 season, as her connections did highlight a few issues earlier in the season.
As such, Subratie was delighted at her achievement which he labelled as extremely special.
“I’m elated and it’s good to know that you have a horse that repeated horse of the year, only an elite group of horses has ever done that. I’m proud of her and I think we did a lot of work. Last year we went through some tough times with her, but we got through with everything. She’s proven herself last year and she’s going to show herself even stronger this year,” he said shortly after the announcement at Caymanas Park, on Tuesday.
Wehby, owner of Oakridge Farms, shared similar sentiments about the filly, who is said was the pride of his late father, Donald Wehby Sr.
“I’m extremely proud of my horse and extremely happy. She’s a very, very special filly,” said Wehby.
“She’s a very special horse to me and my family. My dad, who was the founder of Oakridge Farms, passed away on August 2, 2022, and she won the derby the week after and she has brought so much happiness to my family that I’m almost speechless,” he added.
Meanwhile, Mouttet Mile winner Rough Entry and Jamaica Derby winner Ability, were the runners-up to the Horse of the Year. Rough Entry was also named champion middle-distance performer, as well as champion foreign-bred runner.
Hughie Morrison reports Not So Sleepy to be firmly on course for next month’s Unibet Champion Hurdle after going up the Lambourn gallops “like a rocket” on Wednesday morning.
The mud-loving veteran has won 11 times over jumps and on the Flat combined, most recently proving the fire still burns bright despite his advancing years when claiming Grade One honours in a rescheduled Fighting Fifth Hurdle at Sandown in December.
Morrison has since given his 12-year-old a winter break and is now beginning to turn the screw ahead of what will be his fifth tilt at Champion Hurdle glory in just under three weeks’ time.
“I went away last week and I came back and thought he was looking rather fat, which is a good sign because you want them to be doing well,” said the trainer.
“Over the last year or 18 months we’ve taken him to Lambourn the odd time, because we’ve been snowed in or something like that, and he actually had a nice gallop in Lambourn this morning.
“Thanks to the people in Lambourn who accommodated us, he had a spin up The Long gallop and he went up there like a rocket.”
Not So Sleepy was pulled up in his first Champion Hurdle four years ago and has finished fifth in the last three renewals, twice behind Honeysuckle and once behind Constitution Hill.
With Constitution Hill and last year’s runner-up State Man again set to be in opposition, Morrison is under no illusions about the task facing his charge on March 12, but he is happy to roll the dice and will be praying for testing conditions on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival.
“I’m sure they will start quivering in their boots when they hear Sleepy is running,” he joked.
“We’d like a day like today on Tuesday March 12! Hopefully we get wet ground to make it hard work so the speed horses can’t quicken away from him. We also need Constitution Hill and State Man probably to have a day off.
“We are realistic, but at this moment in time I’m very happy with him.”
He added: “He’s lucky he’s not in a Willie Mullins or Gordon Elliott yard as he probably wouldn’t be running, would he? He’d be running in a County Hurdle or being saved for an egg and spoon race the week before or something.
“I know that sounds cynical, but I think the interest in Cheltenham is waning a bit because of the monopolisation. When you watch the Grand National weights yesterday, I found that deeply depressing.”
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