In-form Harry Derham is targeting the Betfair Hurdle with former smart Flat performer Brentford Hope.
Third in the Gerry Feilden to Hansard last time out, Derham has kept his powder dry, resisting the temptation to run the seven-year-old at Christmas.
Brentford Hope is one of 33 left in contention for the valuable contest, for which the sponsors make Nicky Henderson’s Luccia their 7-1 favourite with Brentford Hope a 10-1 chance.
“The Betfair Hurdle is very much the plan for Brentford Hope, we’ve had it in the back of our minds all season,” said Derham.
“Obviously, he has run very well around Newbury previously, we were thinking about running him at Christmas, but we decided to keep him fresh.
“These big handicaps take a lot of winning, we wanted to have him as fresh and well and in as good a form as possible going into a race like this.
“He’s training well, he’s got a few strong pieces of work to go between now and then, but we are very much planning to go and very much looking forward to it.”
Kerry Lee’s Nemean Lion is at the head of the weights, while Willie Mullins has left in Ocastle des Mottes, Alvaniy and Onlyamatteroftime.
A drained Daniil Medvedev scrapped his way into a third Australian Open semi-final with a five-set victory over Hubert Hurkacz.
Ninth seed Hurkacz, who was looking to make the last four at a grand slam for only the second time, twice fought back from a set down but Medvedev came out on top 7-6 (4) 2-6 6-3 5-7 6-4 after three hours and 59 minutes.
The Russian finished it off with a drop shot before blowing kisses towards his box.
Medvedev will now try to reach the final for the third time in four years, and he said: “I’m so destroyed right now. I was feeling very tired physically at the end of the second set already.
“In the fourth set, he played good, I wasn’t beating myself up. I had no more concentration, I thought, ‘I just have to try my best to do whatever I can. If I lose, I lose and I go home. It’s OK’. I’m happy that like this I managed to win and I really liked the match point.”
It was a back-and-forth contest throughout between the two big servers, who both move tremendously well for such tall men.
Medvedev edged the first set on a tie-break and looked to be in full control when, having dropped the second, he took the third and moved a break ahead in the fourth.
But Hurkacz, who had won his last two matches against the Russian and their only previous grand slam meeting at Wimbledon in 2021, did not allow his head to drop and levelled at 4-4.
It was now Medvedev under real pressure on serve, and Hurkacz clinched his opportunity to force a decider when his opponent sent a forehand long.
Medvedev had survived a five-setter in the second round, coming from two sets down to defeat Emil Ruusuvuori at nearly 4am.
And the third seed was not to be denied, a break in the seventh game proving the difference.
Nikola Jokic scored 31 points as part of his league-leading 13th triple-double of the season and Jamal Murray also had 31 points to lead the Denver Nuggets to a 114-109 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday.
Jokic sealed Denver’s third straight win with a 3-pointer with 4.7 seconds remaining. He leads all active players with 118 triple-doubles.
Myles Turner had 22 points and Pascal Siakam added 16 with 10 rebounds in his first home game since the Pacers acquired him from Toronto last week.
Indiana lost its third in a row overall and eighth straight against Denver.
The Nuggets took a 93-81 lead into the fourth quarter, but the Pacers took the lead 103-102 on Ben Sheppard’s 3-pointer with 3:42 left.
Jokic’s layup with 1:38 to play gave Denver the lead for good and Murray’s running finger roll 22 seconds later made it 111-107.
McCollum sinks 9 3-pointers as Pelicans erupt
CJ McCollum matched his season high with 33 points and went 9 for 13 from 3-point range as the New Orleans Pelicans set a franchise scoring record in a 153-124 win over the Utah Jazz.
Zion Williamson added 17 points and a career-high 11 assists and Herb Jones scored 22 points for the Pelicans, who surpassed their previous franchise record of 149 points in a win over Sacramento in October 2018.
McCollum shot 11 of 17 from the field and New Orleans connected on half its attempts from long range (23 of 46) as part of a 57.7 percent overall shooting effort.
Brunson, Randle team up to keep Knicks hot
Jalen Brunson had 30 points and Julius Randle flirted with a second straight triple-double as the New York Knicks rallied for a 108-103 win over the Brooklyn Nets.
Donte DiVincenzo scored 11 points and OG Anunoby added 10 for the Knicks, who have won four straight and improved to 10-2 since acquiring Anunoby from Toronto.
Randle finished with 30 points, nine rebounds and seven assists after he had 18 points, 16 boards and 10 assists in Saturday’s win over the Raptors.
Mikal Bridges scored 36 points with a career-high seven 3-pointers for the Nets, who entered the fourth quarter with a nine-point lead, just two nights after squandering an 18-point advantage in a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers.
Evander Kane and Connor McDavid scored 55 seconds apart in the third period and the Edmonton Oilers extended their franchise-record winning streak to 14 games with a 4-1 victory over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Tuesday.
Warren Foegele and Dylan Holloway also scored and Stuart Skinner made 27 saves as Edmonton became the seventh team in NHL history to win 14 in a row.
Edmonton improved to 22-3 in its last 25 games and is nearing the NHL record for longest winning streak of 17, set by Pittsburgh in 1992-93.
Skinner won his 11th straight game, passing Grant Fuhr for the longest single-season winning streak in franchise history.
Dmitri Voronkov had the lone goal for the Blue Jackets, who dropped to 1-4-1 in their last six games.
Kucherov powers Lightning
Nikita Kucherov had a hat trick and set up another goal as the surging Tampa Bay Lightning defeated the Philadelphia Flyers, 6-3.
With his four points, Kucherov moved into the NHL lead with 80 points, three ahead of Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon.
Brayden Point and Brandon Hagel each had a goal and an assist to help Tampa Bay win for the sixth time in seven games.
Jamie Drysdale, Cam York and Cam Atkinson had goals for the Flyers, who dropped their third straight following a five-game winning streak.
Hill sharp in return as Knights win
Adin Hill turned away 40 shots in his return from injury and the Vegas Golden Knights held on for a 3-2 win over the New York Islanders.
Ivan Barbashev and Nicolas Roy had a goal and an assist apiece for Vegas, which has point in five straight games (4-0-1).
Hill made his first start since Dec. 17 after missing 22 of the previous 23 games with a lower-body injury.
Brock Nelson notched his 500th career point with a first-period goal and Jean-Gabriel Pageau had a short-handed tally for the Islanders, who fell to 1-1 under new coach Patrick Roy.
Nick Kyrgios says the prospect of life after tennis now “excites” him as he takes to the commentator’s box for the Australian Open.
The Australian former world number 11 has taken time off from the professional circuit due to injury, filling in his time by working at the grand slam for Eurosport.
He wrote on Wednesday in Australian newspaper The Age that he is now seriously considering retirement.
“I’m at a crossroads in my career and have reached a point where life after tennis is a prospect that excites me,” he wrote.
His words come hours after he conducted his first on-court interview of the Australian Open on Tuesday night, speaking to 24-time grand slam winner Novak Djokovic.
But, despite enjoying his time in the commentator’s box, the 28-year-old says he still feels the urge to play.
“Over the past week being at Melbourne Park for the Australian Open, I’ve been happy,” he said.
“Of course, there’s a part of me watching on that would love nothing more than to be out there.
“I know I can be one of the best in the world and win major tournaments – if my body lets me.
“The fire still burns, but it’s not my everything.”
Kyrgios attempted a comeback in June. However, his return only lasted one match thanks to continuing knee and wrist injuries.
Kyrgios said a return to the professional circuit has not been totally ruled out, but he stressed he will not put his name forward to represent Australia at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Dayana Yastremska is two wins away from emulating Emma Raducanu after beating Linda Noskova to reach the Australian Open semi-finals.
Raducanu is the only qualifier ever to win a grand slam title but Yastremska increased her tally of wins in Melbourne to eight with a 6-3 6-4 victory on Rod Laver Arena.
The stories are not exactly comparable, given Yastremska was ranked 21 in the world as a 19-year-old before serving a six-month provisional suspension for a failed doping test, for which she was later deemed to bear no fault.
But it is nevertheless a very impressive run from the Ukrainian, now 23, who is set to soar back into the top 30 from her current ranking of 93.
She is the second qualifier in the open era to reach the last four here in the women’s singles after Australian Christine Dorey in 1978.
Yastremska said: “I think it’s nice to make history because at that time I still wasn’t born. I’m super happy, and tired. I arrived here on January 3. On the days when I have a match, they do go very fast. When I have a day off, it feels like I’ve been here for six months already.”
This was a contest of first-strike tennis, with both women looking to seize the initiative in rallies as early as possible.
But it was the extra power of Yastremska that made the difference, with the Ukrainian hitting 19 winners compared to only six for 19-year-old Noskova.
“I don’t really feel like I’m playing really good,” said Yastremska, who has beaten Wimbledon champion Marketa Vondrousova and two-time winner Victoria Azarenka during her run.
“I just try to play like I can and take the maximum from myself. Everything I have left is just fighting.”
Ronnie O’Sullivan limped through his World Open qualifier against Alfie Burden in Barnsley to book his place in the final stages of the tournament.
O’Sullivan, who has been given special permission by World Snooker to wear trainers due to a foot injury, kicked them off midway through the fourth frame while Burden was on a break of 61.
The world number one, who added the World Grand Prix title to his recent Masters win on Sunday, then slightly delayed the start of the fifth frame whilst he restored his footwear.
A break of 104 from Burden threatened an upset as he pulled back to 3-3, but breaks of 83 and 58 gave O’Sullivan a 5-3 lead and a place in the tournament proper in China later this year.
The Milwaukee Bucks have fired first-year head coach Adrian Griffin, multiple media outlets reported Tuesday.
ESPN analyst and veteran NBA coach Doc Rivers has emerged as Milwaukee's primary target as Griffin’s replacement, according to multiple reports.
Assistant Joe Prunty is expected to be the team’s interim coach until a permanent hire is made.
The stunning move comes after Monday’s 122-113 win over the Detroit Pistons. The Bucks have won five of their last six and currently sit in second place in the Eastern Conference with a 30-13 record.
Despite the team’s solid record, the Bucks have been criticised for their lacklustre defence this season.
Milwaukee is allowing 120.5 points per game this season after giving up 113.3 per game last season. That decline of 7.2 points per game is the second largest in the league this season.
Despite winning both games, the Bucks surrendered 135 and 113 points in consecutive contests against the lowly Pistons.
Another coaching change is just the latest in a busy stretch for the 2021 NBA champions. The Bucks fired Mike Budenholzer last offseason after a first-round play-off exit. Milwaukee was able to keep Brook Lopez and Khris Middleton in free agency, then swung a blockbuster trade that replaced Jrue Holiday with Damian Lillard.
In October, franchise centrepiece Giannis Antetokounmpo signed a three-year maximum contract extension, pausing speculation about his long-term future in Milwaukee.
The onus now falls on general manager Jon Horst to find a coach who will tighten up the Bucks’ defence and maximise the pairing of Antetokounmpo and Lillard.
Milwaukee’s pool of candidates reportedly centres around accomplished coaches with winning pedigrees, with Rivers topping the list.
Rivers, who joined ESPN last summer after being fired by the Philadelphia 76ers, has 1,097 career wins as a head coach and a .590 record. Rivers coached the 2007-08 Boston Celtics to a championship and reached the Finals again in 2010.
England’s midfield options for their Guinness Six Nations opener against Italy are dwindling after Ollie Lawrence and Oscar Beard withdrew from Steve Borthwick’s squad because of injury.
Hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie has also been replaced in a triple setback as the squad departed for their pre-Championship training camp in Girona.
Beard suffered concussion in Harlequins’ European victory over Ulster on Saturday while Cowan-Dickie was replaced early in the second half of Sale’s defeat by La Rochelle a day later because of an undisclosed medical condition.
Ollie Lawrence finished Bath’s loss at Toulouse on Sunday but there are no details of his injury.
Bath’s Max Ojomoh and Will Muir have been called into England’s 36-man Six Nations squad to plug the gaps in midfield, while Jamie Blamire of Newcastle replaces Cowan-Dickie.
If he is definitively ruled out against Italy on Saturday week, Lawrence will be a significant loss given he was expected to form a centre partnership with Henry Slade at the Stadio Olimpico.
Lawrence has been a force for Bath this season and, crucially, is able to switch from his preferred position at 13 to 12 where England are short of credible options.
Slade has filled inside centre in the past but is a better fit at outside, leaving the uncapped Fraser Dingwall in pole position to secure the number 12 jersey.
Beard will still travel to Girona as he completes the return to play protocols for concussion but Cowan-Dickie will remain at home to see a specialist.
Some famous colours were carried to victory at Newbury on Tuesday when Gaye Legacy came with a late run to win the Ray Dalfsen Mares’ Handicap Hurdle.
Gaye Legacy’s dam Gaye Memories was out of a half-sister to Gaye Brief and Gaye Chance, the former famously winning a Champion Hurdle and the latter a Stayers’ Hurdle for Mercy Rimell, who took over at the famous Kinnersley yard that was put on the map by her husband, Fred.
Upon her retirement Rimell still owned horses, arguably the most famous of which was Simon, brother of Gaye Memories, trained by John Spearing, and it was those claret with blue spots silks that were on show at Newbury.
Gaye Legacy is owned by the Chase The Dream partnership and Mrs Robin Knipe, otherwise known as Scarlett Knipe, daughter of Fred and Mercy.
Scarlett’s late husband Robin also bred the likes of Master Oats and Thistlecrack so it is a family steeped in racing history, which winning trainer Tom Symonds was well aware of.
“It’s wonderful and the mare was really tough today under a good ride by Ben (Poste), I thought she was unlucky at Kempton last time and she proved that today,” said Symonds after the 11-2 success.
“Given there is stamina in abundance like it is in her pedigree you have lots of options. She’s still a novice and there’s the Listed race at Doncaster on March 2, so depending how she rates after today we’ll see. Three miles is easy enough for her. She’s not very big, but I think she will jump fences.”
He added: “It’s thrilling for Scarlett to keep her eponymous family going. When Scarlett lost Gaye Memories, the sister to Simon and Gaye Legacy’s mother, her own mother Mercy not long after died so she bought this mare in her memory, hence the name.”
The card began with two divisions of a two-mile maiden hurdle, sponsored by BetVictor.
The opener saw a very nice performance from Dan Skelton’s Be Aware (11-1), who was making his debut but looked the part under Harry Skelton.
“That was a lovely performance, he’s a horse we’ve liked since we got him but to be honest we’ve been trying to keep the lid on him as he’s by Martaline and he can be immature a bit at home,” the jockey told Sky Sports Racing
“We’ll see how we go. You do try to turn them into chasers and he’s got size and scope. We’ve just got to look after him, he’s got a lot of talent.”
The second division went to Into The Park (9-4 favourite), trained by Philip Hobbs and Johnson White.
Warren Greatrex’s Abuffalosoldier (10-1) defied top-weight in the Remembering Bob Olney Novices’ Handicap Chase, while Gary Moore’s Issar d’Airy (11-10 favourite) followed up a recent win at the track but found life tougher under 8lb more, beating I’d Like To Know by a short head.
Ben Pauling’s Roysse (6-1) looks to have a future given how strongly he travelled in the concluding bumper before tiring a little late on, beating previous winner Jurancon by two and a half lengths.
One-time Derby hope Reach For The Moon could yet have a starring role for the royal family after being entered for the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
The five-year-old had been viewed as a potential Classic contender for the late Queen in 2022 after winning the Group Three Solario Stakes as a juvenile, but an injury dashed those hopes and the son of Sea The Stars struggled to regain his form.
Out of luck in five subsequent starts, Reach For The Moon was last seen when beating just three horses in last year’s Royal Hunt Cup at Royal Ascot, on what transpired to be his final start for John and Thady Gosden.
Now with Jamie Snowden, Reach For The Moon has yet to jump a hurdle in public, but his trainer feels his Flat rating of 105 merits at least having the Festival option, should things fall into place ahead of the March 12 feature.
Snowden said: “He was obviously a very good horse for John and Thady Gosden and he was a leading contender at one stage for the 2022 Derby.
“He had a few little issues on the Flat hence the reason why he has ended up jumping with us as opposed to doing anything else.
“With a horse that has that kind of rating on the Flat, we have to give him an entry in the Supreme, but we will see how he takes to everything over the next month to six weeks.
“Racing is steeped in the tradition of the royal family. The Queen Mother loved it, and the late Queen was a big supporter of the sport.
“It is wonderful that the King and the Queen are supporting racing as much as ever before.
“They have got a nice team on the Flat, and it was great to see them have a Royal Ascot winner last year in Desert Hero, who won the King George V Stakes.
“We have got some nice horses for them and hopefully Reach For The Moon can fly the flag high. We are lucky to have a horse of his talent and hopefully we can do him justice.”
Snowden has been satisfied with Reach For The Moon’s recent progress but has yet to decide on a starting point over obstacles for the gelding, who is owned by the Queen and former Arsenal chairman Sir Chips Keswick.
Snowden added: “He is a very talented individual and has taken well to his jumping. He did a lot of jumping when he came in off the Flat and then he went for a bit of a break back at Sandringham.
“He worked around the bowl (a gallop in Lambourn) nicely and his jumping is great. Hopefully he will be ready to run mid-February.
“We will see how he progresses and runs first time out over hurdles and then we will make a decision.
“We don’t need to make any big decisions just yet, but we have stuck the Supreme entry in as if you aren’t entered, you can’t run.
“He is a very exciting horse to have in the yard and it is great to have the support of the royal family.”
The Miami Heat are in first place, but their offence ranks as one of the worst in the NBA.
The Heat strengthened their offence Tuesday by trading for Terry Rozier of the Charlotte Hornets.
To complete the deal, Miami is sending veteran Kyle Lowry and a 2027 first-round draft pick to Charlotte.
The trade was reported by Adrian Wojnarowski of ESPN.
Rozier should provide an immediate impact for the Heat, who rank 26th in scoring with an average of 110.9 points per game.
The 29-year-old is averaging career highs of 23.2 points per game and 6.6 assists. He is also shooting a career-best 45.9 per cent and hitting an average of 2.8 3-pointers per game.
He is making $23.2million this season and under contract for two more seasons, and leaves a Charlotte team that is 10-31 to join a Miami club that sits atop the Southeast Division with a 24-19 record, but has lost its last three games.
The defending Eastern Conference champion Heat have had some issues with their offence, scoring fewer than 100 points in three of their last four games. On the season, they've scored fewer than 100 points 10 times, and only the Hornets (12) and Trail Blazers (12) have had more game of being held to double digits.
Lowry had come off the bench in Miami's last two games after being in the starting lineup in each of his first 35 appearances of the season for the Heat.
A six-time All-Star and 2019 NBA champion with the Raptors, Lowry hasn't had much of a presence in Miami's rotation lately, totalling just 10 points, 18 assists and 15 rebounds in the last five games he's played.
The 37-year-old Lowry is in his 18th NBA season and is on a $29.7million expiring contract.
Mystical Power, ante-post favourite for the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, leads the way as bumper entries for the Cheltenham Festival contests were revealed.
Willie Mullins’ charge is bred to be a Prestbury Park superstar as a son of Champion Hurdle-winning mare Annie Power and the late Flat supersire Galileo and he propelled himself to the head of affairs for the two-mile curtain raiser with a seven-length stroll in the Grade Two Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle at Punchestown earlier this month.
However, he is certainly not the only key contender for the Closutton team with 25-length Leopardstown winner Ballyburn also to the fore and Mullins responsible for 23 of the 63 initial entries.
Jeriko Du Reponet is the leading home-trained hope for Nicky Henderson, while Gordon Elliott is another with plenty to pick from, headed by Caldwell Potter, Farren Glory and Firefox.
As is usual at this early stage, plenty hold more than one Festival ticket, with Ballyburn at the top of the ante-post betting for the Baring Bingham Novices’ Hurdle, which is run over two miles and five furlongs.
Mystical Power is also entered in that, although stablemates Readin Tommy Wrong and Ile Atlantique, who finished first and second in a Naas Grade One, have been popular picks so far.
Farren Glory and Caldwell Potter also feature on a list of 86 entries, with the Harry Fry-trained Gidleigh Park the shortest-priced British runner after winning each of his three starts to date.
Mullins appears to hold the aces in the Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle, with Readin Tommy Wrong, High Class Hero, Lecky Watson and Loughglynn filling the top of the ante-post lists, with Paul Nicholls’ Challow winner Captain Teague, who is also entered in the Baring Bingham, rated the main opposition by the bookmakers in a race with 63 entries.
The JCB Triumph Hurdle bucks the Mullins trend with Burdett Road the current favourite for trainer James Owen having won each of his two starts over obstacles, both victories being registered in impressive style.
Ex-French runner Sir Gino is next best for Henderson after hacking up by 14 lengths on his British bow, while the Mullins-trained Storm Heart is the shortest-priced Irish contender at this point having won by 22 lengths on his debut for the team.
The 44 entries also include the Harry Derham-trained Givemefive, Monday’s Warwick winner who is owned by golf Major winners Graeme McDowell and Brooks Koepka.
Novak Djokovic suffered in the heat at the Australian Open but made it past Taylor Fritz and into the semi-finals.
There he will face Jannik Sinner, who finished his straight-sets victory over Andrey Rublev at 1.22am after long matches in the day session.
There will be a rematch of the US Open final in the women’s semi-finals, where defending champion Aryna Sabalenka will face Coco Gauff.
Picture of the dayStat of the dayBromanceMum’s the word
Gauff was not too impressed with mum Candi’s moment in the spotlight, saying: “I saw the video of her celebrating. I was, like, ‘it wasn’t that hard of a ball to catch. You know, celebrate your little wins’.
Fallen seeds
Women: Barbora Krejcikova (9)
Men: Andrey Rublev (5), Taylor Fritz (12)
Who’s up next?
The quarter-finals conclude on Wednesday, when Carlos Alcaraz’s battle with Alexander Zverev takes centre stage in the night session.
The winner will face either third seed Daniil Medvedev or ninth seed Hubert Hurkacz, while China’s Zheng Qinwen is the only seed left in the top half of the women’s draw and plays Anna Kalinskaya.
Czech teenager Linda Noskova, who beat Iga Swiatek in the third round, faces qualifier Dayana Yastremska in the opening match of the day.
Finn Russell believes Owen Farrell will be the ideal fit for Racing 92 as England’s fly-half follows in the footsteps of his 2021 Lions team-mate.
Farrell will become ineligible for England selection until 2026 after agreeing a two-year deal that will bring an end his trophy-laden time at Saracens, his only professional club.
The move to Paris next season will reunite the 32-year-old with Stuart Lancaster, Racing’s head coach who gave Farrell his England debut in 2012.
Russell spent five years with the Top 14 leaders before joining Bath after the World Cup and the Scotland playmaker, speaking before Racing confirmed the move on Monday, is backing Farrell to make it a success.
“I loved my time in Paris,” Russell told the PA news agency at the premiere of Netflix’s Six Nations: Full Contact documentary series.
“It’s really close to London so it will be easy for him to go backwards and forwards to his family.
“I don’t know what it’s like under Stuart Lancaster and it will potentially be better for Owen with Stuart being there. The two of them will know each other from the past because of Lancaster’s time at England.
“It’s a great club and a great city to live in. I loved my time there. Owen will be great, he will fit the way they are playing just now really well.
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“Everyone views him as a kicking 10 but he’s got a great attacking game as well. He will be great for them.”
Russell’s own change of scenery has revitalised the 31-year-old as well as Bath, who are riding high in the Gallagher Premiership and have reached the knockout phase of Europe.
Scotland fans will be hoping some of that magic rubs off on their team heading into the Guinness Six Nations in the wake of a disappointing group exit from the World Cup, albeit having competed in one of the toughest pools in the tournament’s history.
What is being seen as a ‘golden generation’ of Scottish talent has yet to produce tangible success in the Six Nations and Russell, one of two co-captains for the Championship, wants to end a period of underachievement.
“For us the Six Nations has been frustrating over the last few years,” Russell said. “Last year we got off to a good start but never managed to continue it.
“This year it’s ideally about doing a bit better and winning the first two, three or four games if we can.
“It would definitely be frustrating if we didn’t manage to finish up with a title given the players and strength in depth that we have in the squad. However, all the other teams are getting stronger as well.
“We’ve got great strength in depth in the squad now and we potentially have the chance to win something, but we’ve had that for the last few years and we haven’t managed it.”
Equinox has been crowned the world’s best racehorse of 2023 – and with it the highest-rated Japanese horse of all time.
A year that started with a brilliant three-and-a-half-length beating of Westover in the Dubai Sheema Classic featured another three Group Ones, culminating in his farewell to the track in the Japan Cup.
Trained by Tetsuya Kimura, Equinox was only beaten twice in his 10-race career, winning six Group Ones in total.
He was given a rating of 135 in the Longines World’s Best Racehorse Rankings, which are compiled by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities.
His figure is 5lb below the 140 awarded to Flightline 12 months ago, which equalled the benchmark under the current system set by Frankel in 2012, but he sits 7lb ahead of last year’s Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe winner Ace Impact and dual Group One victor Mostahdaf, who were both rated 128.
Christophe Lemaire rode Equinox in every start and he attended a glittering ceremony in London on Tuesday afternoon to celebrate the son of Kitasan Black’s achievement.
Asked what it was like to ride Equinox, Lemaire joked: “To be honest it was quite enjoyable!
“Each time he ran there were big expectations, but I had so much confidence in the horse that I had no fear. To ride him, it was just a pleasure to be on a galloping horse.
“The way he ran was just amazing. Of course, I tried to do my job as well as possible and it was a great journey – I will miss him a lot.
“As have most top athletes, he had a combination of physical strength and mental strength. His physical allowed him to run fast and further using his beautiful stride, very well balanced and also he was very clever, so he understood very quickly what he had to do to win the race.
“My job was just to take a good start and put him in the right position to let him express his talent.
“He was nearly the perfect racehorse and we have to congratulate the breeder (Northern Farm) who could produce such a beautiful horse and the trainer for getting him mature to compete at the best level.
“Just after his debut, I could feel he was special, the way he moved, his acceleration, his attitude on the track – I could feel very quickly he would become a very good horse. Most other people discovered him in Dubai, but in Japan he was already a rising star.”
Equinox officially retired at the end of November, with thousands of people attending a ceremony for the horse in mid-December before he headed to his new role at Shadai Stallion Station, where he will stand for ¥20 million – just over £106,000.
Speaking through a translator, Kimura said: “I wasn’t prepared for it all (the praise he received after Dubai), I feel like I’ve still been in a dream since then.
“The expectations were very high (before the Japan Cup) and it was very difficult to stay calm, but Equinox showed an amazing start and he has the most beautiful stride in the world and he managed to beat all his rivals with his amazing stamina, so I have nothing else that I wanted from him at all.”
To add to the Japanese laurels, the Japan Cup was named the best race in the world for the first time, with a rating assigned on the first four finishers.
Luke Littler will make his Premier League debut against Luke Humphries in a rematch of their World Championship final in Cardiff next week.
The 17-year-old headlines the opening night of the weekly competition against the man who beat him in the showpiece at Alexandra Palace at the start of the month.
While Humphries became world champion and world number one in a brilliant tournament of his own, lifting the Sid Waddell Trophy after a 7-4 win, it was Littler who stole the headlines on his historic run where he transcended the sport, becoming front and back page news.
That earned him a coveted slot in the Premier League and he doubled down on his stardom by beating Michael van Gerwen and hitting a nine-dart finish on his way to winning the Bahrain Masters last week.
He opens his campaign against fellow debutant Humphries in the Welsh capital a week on Thursday, plays Rob Cross in a repeat of the World Championship semi-final a week later, meets Michael Smith in Exeter on week five and then faces Van Gerwen in Nottingham a fortnight later.
Each weekly mini-event, where a night consists of quarter-finals, a semi-final and a final over the best of 11 legs, contributes to a league table where the top four players advance to the play-offs at the O2 in London in May.
The opening night also sees Van Gerwen and Smith go head-to-head in a blockbusting clash, while Welshman Gerwyn Price takes on Nathan Aspinall and Peter Wright battles Cross.
Britain’s John Ryder says he will walk away from boxing if he loses to Mexican Jaime Munguia in Phoenix this weekend.
Ryder, who faces Munguia (42-0, 33KOs) in the super-middleweight division on Saturday night, will be looking to bounce back from a unanimous decision defeat to Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez last May.
And the Londoner, who would not be willing to fight at a lower level if he is not victorious, is hoping he can cause an upset and spoil Munguia’s plans of a date with fellow Mexican Alvarez later this year.
“It really wouldn’t be ideal if I picked up two losses,” Ryder told the PA news agency. “I’ve been in this predicament before, where I have come from defeat so it’s a must-win.
“I need to win this to continue my career. A loss here would signal the end for me. I’m not willing to drop down levels and fight at a lower grade.
“I want to go out at a level I know I can operate at.
“They’re priming Munguia to fight Canelo in May and I’m looking to spoil that party.”
The 35-year-old, nicknamed ‘The Gorilla’, believes the knowledge garnered from previous fights will stand him in good stead when the pair meet at the Footprint Center.
“I’ve got more experience,” said Ryder (32-6, 18KOs). “I know it sounds strange because I have had less fights than him but I’ve got a vast experience at this level.
“Experience is one of those things you can’t buy.
“I’ve been in with many different styles, I’ve been in the away corner before so it’s nothing new to me and I have all the balls in my court.”
Hard-hitting Munguia has developed into a feared super-middleweight foe, having stopped three of his last four opponents, and Ryder feels he needs to take the fight to the 27-year-old.
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“He’s had it his own way so far so I’m going to take it to him, stick it on him in the middle of the ring,” the Briton added.
“I can’t let him push me back like he wants to do or let him get in a rhythm and fight his fight.
“He’s got a high work-rate with a good variation of punches. I wouldn’t say he’s massively quick but he throws a lot of shots so it’s going to be hard to keep the movement going and to keep rolling.
“I’m not expecting no easy rides, I learnt that (what it’s like to fight a Mexican) from fighting Canelo. I’m not expecting an easy night’s work but I am expecting to be victorious.”
Luke Donald has appointed Edoardo Molinari as his first vice-captain for Europe’s Ryder Cup defence at Bethpage Black in 2025.
Molinari’s statistical analysis played a key role in Europe regaining the trophy in Rome last year with a five-point victory over the United States at Marco Simone Golf and Country Club.
The 42-year-old former US Amateur champion, who also played on a winning team in 2010, said: “I’m very happy. It’s something that I’m very proud of and probably means I did a pretty decent job last time, so I cannot wait to help the team and Luke again in Bethpage and I’m really looking forward to it.
“Luke called me the very day he was named captain, a little before the official announcement, and said he really enjoyed working with me in Rome and would like my help again.
“We had another chat about a week later, maybe 30 or 40 minutes on the phone, chatted about a few things and he asked me and I said of course, I would happily do it all over again.
“I think Rory put it best in the press conference after Rome, he said the most difficult thing in golf these days is to win an away Ryder Cup.
“It hasn’t been done in many years now, Luke was part of the team in Medinah, the last one that Europe won away, and hopefully we can produce something similar.”
Donald, who has never been on a losing side in five Ryder Cups as a player or captain, said: “Edoardo is someone I have got to know very well over the last couple of years and he’s going to be a great addition again for the 2025 Ryder Cup.
“He plays a very significant role. He’s around the players a lot and he works with a lot of players on their statistics as well.
“I’ll lean heavily on him with the qualification criteria and then when we get close to the matches, how the team is forming, how their skillsets match to the golf course at Bethpage and whether they’re more foursomes-related pairings, fourballs-related players, and putting those pairings together.”
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