Warren Gatland offered to resign after Wales picked up their first Wooden Spoon since 2003.
Gatland said Wales had reached “rock bottom” after a 24-21 defeat to Italy in Cardiff – their seventh successive Six Nations home loss – and revealed that he had offered his resignation to Welsh Rugby Union chief executive Abi Tierney after the final whistle.
The 60-year-old New Zealander is contracted until the 2027 World Cup, having returned to start a second spell as Wales head coach in December 2022.
Asked if he wanted to remain until 2027, Gatland replied: “Yes, absolutely. I’ve made that commitment.
“I just said to Abi in the changing room, ‘If you want me to resign, I’m quite happy to do that’.
“She said, ‘Like hell, that’s the last thing I want, that’s what I’m really afraid of’.
“But I can promise you we’ll go away and review this really carefully. We’ve already done some review stuff and (we’ll) work on areas that need to improve.”
Wales last suffered a Six Nations whitewash in 2003 and have enjoyed plenty of glory days over the past two decades, many of them under Gatland.
The Kiwi was in charge of Wales from 2007 to 2019 when his side won four Six Nations titles, three Grand Slams and reached two World Cup semi-finals.
Gatland steered Wales into the quarter-finals of the 2023 World Cup last autumn, but a raft of senior players retired either side of that tournament and a new generation has come up well short at Test level.
“We’re gutted and we are hurting as players and coaches – and I know the fans are hurting,” said Gatland.
“We’re probably a little bit rock bottom at the moment, but I do see light at the end of the tunnel. I see some excellent players who with time are going to be fantastic internationals.
“We’ve got a huge amount of inexperienced players who haven’t played a lot of regional rugby. We’re exposing them at Test level, which is a bit of a challenge.”
Italy dominated the first half to lead 11-0 at the break and extended that soon after through a brilliant try from full-back Lorenzo Pani.
Despite a late rally, which brought tries for Elliot Dee and replacements Will Rowlands and Mason Grady, veteran centre George North’s final Wales appearance was to end in disappointment.
Gatland said: “We didn’t give ourselves an opportunity to get enough forward and it didn’t help with the amount of mistakes we made.
“The scrum was under pressure and as a result we didn’t put them under enough pressure.
“We did get some momentum in the second half but we didn’t get wide and behind them enough.”
Italy had propped up the table for eight campaigns in a row, but they avoided that fate this time around.
The Azzurri’s return of two wins and a draw from five games was a clear sign of progress under new head coach Gonzalo Quesada.
“We’ve been working hard for five months and the first thing we needed to do was to redefine our identity to make Italy different from the other teams,” said Quesada.
“The main thing we did was go to the roots and basics of Italian rugby without losing our power and capacity of attack.
“We needed to be stronger and have that belief and pride in the Italian jersey, which has always been there, and that we needed to be organised better.”
Shannon Royal denied Summerville Boy a repeat victory in the End Of The Season Hurdle at Thurles.
Now a 12-year-old, Summerville Boy won the 2018 Supreme Novices’ Hurdle when trained by Tom George before switching to the care of Henry de Bromhead during a 420-day break in his career.
He ended a lengthy losing streak when taking this contest last year and was sent off the 8-13 favourite to repeat the trick after chasing home Monkfish on his most recent outing.
Summerville Boy had plenty of ground to make up on Shannon Royal jumping the last though, with Jack Kennedy having gained a seemingly decisive advantage aboard the Gordon Elliott-trained runner.
However, Shannon Royal’s stride began to shorten on the run to the line, allowing Summerville Boy to get within a neck of him at the line.
Despite the narrow margin of victory, Kennedy felt he his mount was always doing enough.
He said: “He has plenty of ability but he has his own ideas about things. He’s done it well enough but was fairly idle in front.
“He jumped the last well and was always going to hold on. He stays well and a bit of company is a help on him.”
Answering (11-10 favourite) landed the Adare Manor Opportunity Maiden Hurdle, with 4-1 shot Something Abouther prevailing in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Mares Beginners Chase.
Lilian Bland (9-1) landed a first win under rules in the Well Done To Our Irish Cheltenham Winners Handicap Chase, the same feat Cloudy Fountain (15-2) completed in the Leugh Handicap Hurdle.
Below The Radar could soon become a household name after enhancing his unbeaten record in the bet365 “National Hunt” Novices’ Hurdle at Uttoxeter.
Paul Nicholls’ six-year-old was picked up for €60,000 after two seconds in the pointing field, but he is yet to taste defeat under rules, supplementing a bumper victory at Chepstow with his second win over timber at the Staffordshire track on Saturday.
Sent off a 3-1 shot in the hands of Freddie Gingell, his proven stamina came to the fore in the testing ground, as even some untidy jumping was unable to stop him notching up a game two-length success.
“He had to be very tough and his jumping wasn’t quite there but he has done it easy enough in the end,” Gingell told Sky Sports Racing.
“He won a nice bumper at Chepstow and then went to Hereford and won a novice hurdle there and the form of that has turned out good.
“He’s won nicely here today and he’s a lovely horse. He probably isn’t the quickest in the world, he has just the one pace, and I think the ground probably suited him.”
There was a shock in the bet365 Novices’ Handicap Chase as Jonjo O’Neill’s Regal Blue put his best foot forward to score at 16-1.
Owned by one of O’Neill’s chief backers in Martin Tedham, the mount of Nick Schofield has proven rather hit or miss this season, but was on a going day as he relished testing conditions.
“He loved that ground and unraceable really suits him,” said O’Neill.
“He jumped away grand, Nick gave him a good spin and it all went well for a change.
“He’s really ground dependant and if he doesn’t like it, he just says ‘thank you very much, I have had enough’ – he’s a bit of a character, just like his owner!
“I thought he might have been beat at the last and in fairness to him, he battled away to the line and was going away again. I don’t think it is the trip that bothers him, it’s just the ground that is more important.”
Also relishing the heavy going was Gary Moore’s Jupiter Du Gite, who opened his fences account at the second attempt in the bet365 Handicap Chase.
A runner in graded company as a juvenile hurdler, the five-year-old was second on his chasing bow at Hereford in January and produced a fine round of jumping to oblige at odds of 11-2.
“He’s a tricky character but when things go right, he’s a very talented horse.” said jockey Niall Houlihan.
“I’m delighted for Alan Jamieson (owner), he’s had a few seconds and thirds recently, but to get Jupiter’s head in front will mean a lot to him.
“He’s a half-brother to Editeur Du Gite and he has lots of scope, but he still has to learn. At three out he was very brave but he was always going to get away with it.
“It was a pleasurable round of jumping and he got into a great rhythm and when it all works out for him, he’s a very talented horse.”
In a week when Irish trainers dominated proceedings at Cheltenham, it was no surprise to see the concluding bet365 Open National Hunt Flat Race go the way of John McConnell’s raider Lieutenant Mayne, with the 7-2 shot romping to a four-length success in the hands of Ben Harvey.
Dan Skelton will be giving it his all to win the trainers’ championship after adding to his brilliant Cheltenham Festival with winners at both Uttoxeter and Kempton on Saturday.
Fresh from being the standout British trainer in the Cotswolds, when saddling a career-best four winners over the four days, he edged ahead of Paul Nicholls in the trainers’ standings when keeping the ball rolling across the cards on Saturday.
However, he is predicting a tough battle to end his former Ditcheat boss’ stranglehold on the trophy and is hoping he has the right horses in reserve to run at the latter end of the season.
“I will give it a good go to win it and Paul will give it a good go to defend it and it will have to be worked for,” said Skelton.
“I will give it a go, but what I won’t be doing is running horses unnecessarily. Horses like the bumper horse, Royal Infantry, it’s correct for him to finish his season now, so I won’t be asking horses it is inappropriate to do so to come out. However, those that are, will.”
Skelton saddled a double at Uttoxeter thanks to the victories of Santos Blue and Gwennie May Boy, while Boombawn made a successful return from 302 days off the track in Kempton’s Read Nicky Henderson’s Exclusive Unibet Blog Handicap Hurdle.
The progressive seven-year-old was once again showing his love for Kempton having struck in Listed company at the Sunbury track in October 2022 and after travelling with real enthusiasm in the hands of Harry Skelton, the 13-2 chance dug deep to hold off the rallying Titan Discovery at the finish.
He told Racing TV: “We had him ready for the Silver Trophy at Chepstow in the autumn, but it was an unusually wet autumn and then we had him ready two weeks later for somewhere that went soft or heavy and in the end I just sent him home to one of his owners, Sarah Faulks, and she just gave him a week off at home and freshened him up.
“We got him back around Christmas time and he’s just been aching for this bit better ground. I know it’s not officially good today, but it’s a lot better (than it has been) and he’s entitled to be progressive – what you saw at Aintree (on his last start) showed you he was going in the right direction.
“He will have Aintree, Ayr and Sandown on the last day of the season on his agenda and we might even consider going over fences with him, depending on the time of year and if there are any races we can get him in.
“If it got to May and he was beyond the rating ceiling to get into a novice chase, we could even take him to France.”
Meanwhile, Skelton is hopeful his quartet of Festival winners will be a part of his arsenal for his title challenge after providing a positive update on their wellbeing.
“They are all really good. Langer Dan just has a little infection in a leg and all the other winners are good. Langer Dan is fine by the way, it is just something that is mentionable,” Skelton added.
“Grey Dawning will probably run (again) at three miles, Protektorat will have the option of two (races) and I would love to step Langer Dan up to Grade One company. Unexpected Party will have a heap of entries and we will see what’s best.”
Wales suffered the ignominy of a first Six Nations wooden spoon since 2003 after Italy posted a 24-21 victory over them in Cardiff.
Not even George North’s farewell appearance before international retirement – he suffered an injury late in the game and was helped off – could lift a dismal Wales effort in suffering a fifth successive Six Nations defeat this season and finishing bottom of the table.
It was a thoroughly deserved Italian win and came via tries from wing Monty Ioane and full-back Lorenzo Pani, with fly-half Paolo Garbisi kicking three penalties and a conversion and Martin Page-Relo landing a late penalty.
While Wales boss Warren Gatland has pleaded for patience as he embarks on an extensive post-World Cup rebuilding job, stark statistics cannot be avoided as late tries from Elliot Dee, Will Rowlands and Mason Grady, with Ioan Lloyd kicking two conversions and Sam Costelow one, provided scant consolation.
Wales have now suffered seven successive Six Nations home reversals, two on the bounce to Italy and won just one game from 10 starts in the tournament since Gatland returned for a second stint as head coach.
Italy had propped up the table for eight campaigns in a row, but they avoided that fate this time around, and the Cardiff mood was in stark contrast to five years ago when Wales stormed to the Six Nations title and a Grand Slam by crushing Ireland.
The Azzurri, though, could reflect on a memorable campaign that also saw them defeat Scotland and draw with France in Lille.
And life is not about to get any easier for Gatland or his players. Their next game is against world champions South Africa in June, followed by a two-Test tour of Australia.
Wales monopolised early possession without making any real attacking headway, and Italy went ahead when Garbisi booted a sixth-minute penalty.
Italy comfortably absorbed continued pressure from Wales, before Garbisi doubled their lead through a second penalty after North infringed by not releasing the ball on the floor.
And Wales’ promising start soon unravelled, with North’s midfield partner Nick Tompkins dropping a pass and Italy storming upfield to post an outstanding try.
Garbisi, centre Tommaso Menoncello and lock Federico Ruzza combined superbly, setting up a strong attacking platform before Wales were unlocked defensively when Ioane sprinted through a gap and touched down.
Garbisi missed the conversion, but Italy had an 11-point advantage after 20 minutes, leaving the wooden spoon hovering closer into view for Wales.
The home side were at sixes and sevens, a situation underlined when a defensive mix-up between Sam Costelow and Cameron Winnett saw the ball knocked-on to gift Italy an attacking scrum 20 metres out.
Although the Azzurri could not capitalise, there was continued uncertainty and hesitancy from Wales, and even when they established a threatening position inside Italy’s 22, Tompkins knocked on again.
Wales looked completely fazed by the occasion, in contrast to Italy’s largely calm and assured presence, and an 11-0 interval lead confirmed a sense of control for the visitors.
It had been an opening 40 minutes for Wales as poor as the first half against Scotland in their Six Nations opener, when the Scots built up a 20-point advantage.
Italy struck again just six minutes after the restart, with Ioane heavily involved and Pani producing a blistering finish as he cut back inside Wales wing Rio Dyer. Garbisi’s conversion put them 18 points ahead, with seemingly no way back for Wales.
Gatland began ringing the changes, and a glimmer of hope was provided when Dee crashed over for a try 16 minutes from time that Costelow converted.
But Garbisi snuffed that out when he kicked a 45-metre penalty, and Page-Relo then found the target from even longer range as Wales’ abject Six Nations season reached its sorry conclusion despite late tries from Rowlands and Grady.
Mister Policeman ensured Cheltenham Gold Cup winners Willie Mullins and Paul Townend kept the bandwagon rolling with Grade Three glory in the Pierce Molony Memorial Novice Chase at Thurles.
The six-year-old was a winner in France before joining Mullins and he made a winning start for the yard when beating stablemate Cash Back in a Cork hurdle last April.
Switched to fences subsequently, Mister Policeman was an odds-on winner at Fairyhouse in November but let down his supporters when well held in third by Quilixios at Navan on his next start.
A six-length win at Punchestown bolstered his confidence according to jockey Paul Townend, who settled his mount in second before making his challenge with four fences to jump in his latest assignment.
The 30-100 favourite was clearly travelling best of all coming to the last and he kept on well to record a length-and-a-half victory over Thecompanysergeant.
Townend said: “He jumped fantastic for a horse that his jumping probably let him down in the past. He loved jumping and is probably getting the hang of it.
“I still think he can go out in trip, but the way he’s jumping now is getting him through. He got a lot of confidence from the last day and he’s built on that again today.
“Hopefully he can keep building, but he has a bit to go to fulfil what he was supposed to be.”
Mister Policeman was the only runner in Ireland for the Mullins-Townend team the day after another fruitful Cheltenham Festival.
Galopin Des Champs provided a perfect finale in winning the Gold Cup for a second successive year, impressing Townend with his cosy three-and-a-half-length verdict.
He said: “He won in a different way (than the previous year) and he dug in so much. We got racing at the top of the hill and on heavy ground it’s a long way home.
“They are really, really good when they can do that.”
Townend finished the week at top jockey with six winners, although he rode a couple of beaten favourites, most notably El Fabiolo who relinquished his unbeaten record in the Champion Chase.
Sent off the 2-9 favourite, El Fabiolo made a bad mistake at the fifth fence and was soon pulled up by Townend.
He added: “It was an amazing week. Obviously El Fabiolo was disappointing.
“There were a few disappointments, he was the main one, but outside that everything went great through the week.”
Jordan Nailor enjoyed one of his biggest days in the saddle when steering Nigel Twiston-Davies’ Beauport to bet365 Midlands Grand National glory at Uttoxeter.
The 25-year-old has regularly partnered the Bryan and Philippa Burrough-owned eight-year-old and was aboard when landing the Colin Parker Memorial Intermediate Chase in the autumn of 2022.
However, having been narrowly denied in the London National in December and then disappointing when last seen at Warwick in the Classic Chase in January, the duo’s triumph in the £150,000 contest was the perfect way to get back on track.
Sent off at odds of 18-1, Beauport was always handy despite hanging to his right as he was forced to chart a wide path around the Staffordshire track.
Moving into the home straight for the final time, he proved the biggest danger to Emma Lavelle’s My Silver Lining on the front end and after jumping the final obstacle locked together, they held a slim advantage with Mr Incredible and Autonomous Cloud also staying on not too far behind.
But it was the Twiston-Davies runner who had most left in reserve at the end of four and a quarter miles, staying on strongly to the line as the petrol tanks of his rivals began to empty.
It is of course not the first time the Burrough colours have been worn to National success and the gelding’s trainer hopes he could one one day follow in the footsteps of Corbiere and line up at Aintree for the Grand National itself.
“It was really brilliant and really exciting,” said Twiston-Davies.
“It’s brilliant for Jordan as he’s had a bit of a quiet season and it was great, we’re all really happy.
“Jordan has won a few big races on him before and it all went well on the day. We have no idea why he ran so bad at Warwick but it all went better for him this time.
“I hope it will be the Grand National one day. The owners had Corbiere and he will hopefully follow in his footsteps.”
Nailor told Sky Sports Racing: “He went so well and his jumping was keeping him up there, so I just sat and let him travel. It wasn’t exactly plan A.
“He’s such a nice horse and has given me some brilliant days in my career. All the thanks go to Faye who rides him out every day and Carl (Llewellyn) and the owners and I’m very, very happy.
“He tries every time and we’ve had an up-and-down season. He was good in the London National but apart from that he hasn’t been himself really. It is nice to see him win another big one.
“This horse has been with me since I was a 5lb claimer, so all the way through to now it has been a brilliant partnership. It means an awful lot.”
Nicky Henderson is planning a quiet few days as he tries to get to the bottom of the issue that scuppered his Cheltenham Festival hopes.
With Constitution Hill ruled out of a Champion Hurdle defence the week before the fixture due to a respiratory infection, Henderson’s week got off to an inauspicious start with five of his six runners pulled up on Tuesday.
That prompted the Seven Barrows trainer to rule out a string of leading contenders, with Jonbon missing his Champion Chase date, ante-post favourite Sir Gino sidestepping the Triumph Hurdle and Shishkin ruled out of his Cheltenham Gold Cup assignment due to an unsatisfactory scope.
A handful of Henderson runners did perform with credit at Cheltenham, most notably Champion Hurdle third Luccia, and Persian Time offered a further glimmer of hope when digging deep for a neck verdict in the Try Unibet’s New Acca Boosts Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase at Kempton on Saturday.
Henderson has no entries until Spring Note at Newbury on Friday and will now attempt to establish what has troubled his recent runners.
He told Racing TV: “It has been a difficult 10 days because to be fair, I think we knew before we went there that they hadn’t been running to what you would hope for.
“It’s nice just to sort of close the whole week down, we have nothing else (running) today.
“We probably will have hardly any runners next week and let the whole thing settle down and see if we can get to the bottom of what has been ailing, although it’s difficult to say ailing as they seem to be well, everything checks out right but they certainly checked out wrong at the top of that far hill last week – they couldn’t get over the top of it.
“I think we just take the whole thing apart and try to put it back piece by piece to see if there is a piece missing anywhere. I think there is something missing – there is no doubt about that – they’ve got to keep ticking over and I’d like to go quietly for one week and just let the whole thing die down.
“Everyone has been so incredibly helpful and I really appreciate it. We have just to got to see if there is a piece of the jigsaw missing and I hope it’s as simple as that, but it’s not there in black and white.
“Normally with the blood tests and scopes you can identify a problem – there’s just no sign of an issue. I do think the horses look well, they seem to be well, their work has been good, everything checks out right but they just weren’t performing at all and at the end, we just didn’t run – you were just getting scared to run.
“We will be quiet next week, hopefully we can then kick on to Aintree and Punchestown. There’s a lot still to come and they will come back I am sure. We have got a wonderful team at home and are surrounded by great people and we will get it back on track.
“I think everyone knows what Cheltenham is to nearly all of us and to come out of there like that – we’ve just had some wonderful years but you’re never going to get complacent about it. The amazing thing was the support we have had, everybody has been fantastic and I’m very grateful.”
Persian Time was last seen when pulled up behind Ginny’s Destiny at Cheltenham’s Trials day in January, but after bouncing back to form, a trip to Ayr could now be on the agenda for the gelding, who is owned by the McNeill and Stone families.
Henderson added: “He’s been good at home. On Trials day, he didn’t really want to have a cut at his fences there, then he was much happier today. He was tanking going down to the start and you could tell after the first three fences he was a different horse today.
“He’s a nice fellow and he’s going the right way, so let’s hope we can keep it going. There will be plenty more for him this season I would hope.
“I know Ayr is their (owners) very favourite track so I would think we might be scouring the programme book to see what there is for him there. he ran very well in a novice hurdle up there last year and just got touched off by what’s turned out to be a decent horse – Ayr could be good.”
Ace Trinidad and Tobago cyclist Nicholas Paul was involved a two-cycle crash in the Mens Keirin semifinals at the UCI Championships in Hong Kong, on Saturday.
Fortunately, Paul, 25, an Elite sprinter and World Record holder, only suffered minor bruises and will rest up for the Men's Sprint competition on Sunday.
“I am good. Just some track burns,” Paul told SportsMax.TV.
Though slightly disappointed by the fall, he remains focused on the task at hand, and is intent on making amends in Sunday's event.
The decorated Paul, whose accolades includes Pan American Games and Commonwealth Games Sprint gold medals, will be joined by his compatriot Kwesi Browne in Sunday’s men’s sprint competition.
Despite Paul’s fall, Browne pushed on to reach the finals of the keirin and had a creditable performance and finished sixth overall.
Jamaica’s former World Boxing Association (WBA) Super featherweight champion Nicholas “Axe man” Walters is set to continue his comeback later this month, when he squares off with American Joseph Adorno, at the White Sands Events Center in Plant City, Florida.
Walters, who went into retirement shortly after he lost his unbeaten record to former pound for pound king Vasiliy Lomachenko in a seven-round bout in November 2016, will be hoping to extend his winning momentum on return to the ring for his 2024 debut on Wednesday, March 27.
The 38-year-old Walters had comeback victories over Luis Marmol in Colombia February 2023, and Reynaldo Esquivia, nine months later, and another against Adorno would certainly add impetus to his charge going forward.
Although he doesn’t have a particular opponent that he craves, Walters hopes to get in the mix for big fights after this rust-shedding exercise.
“My plan is to go down to 135, where the real warriors are fighting – all the big names. Being a world champion at 135 and a double-world champ [is the goal],” Walters said in a previous interview.
The Panama-based Walters boasts a ring record of 28 wins (22 kos) against one loss and one draw, while Adorno has 18 wins (15 kos) against three losses and two draws.
Walters had turned pro in 2008 after an amateur career that included bronze at the Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games and two gold medals at the Caribbean Championships in 2005 and 2006. Within a few years he became one of the world’s most exciting fighters of the lower weight divisions after defeating big names like Nonito Donaire and Vic Darchinyan.
Originally from Montego Bay on Jamaica’s north coast, Walters became the first Jamaican ever to win a world boxing title at home when he defeated Daulis Prescott via a seventh round TKO to cop the WBA World Featherweight title in December 2012.
British Horseracing Authority chief executive Julie Harrington has warned the dominance of Irish trainers at the Cheltenham Festival is “damaging” for the sport.
Irish handlers won 18 of the 27 races across the four days, with 12 of the 14 Grade One contests also going their way and Willie Mullins accounting for eight of those on his own among an overall tally of nine winners for the Closutton team – a total which also took him over 100 Festival winners.
Dan Skelton flew the flag for Britain by sending out four winners, including a memorable top-level double with Ryanair Chase victor Protektorat and Turners Novices’ Chase hero Grey Dawning on Thursday, with Ben Pauling, Paul Nicholls, Kim Bailey, Jeremy Scott and Fiona Needham also getting on the scoresheet.
While Harrington praised those achievements, she feels the Irish supremacy is “becoming more pronounced”.
She said: “I would like to offer my congratulations to every winner this week, and everyone connected with those horses. We again tip our hat to the Irish, and in particular Willie Mullins whose achievement in reaching 100+ Festival winners is truly remarkable.
“Congratulations also go to the British trainers who secured winners this week, in particular Dan Skelton for his impressive haul.
“I have no doubt that the men and women who train horses here in Britain are more than a match for their Irish counterparts. However, they need the ammunition and at present the balance of power and the best horses are going to our colleagues in Ireland, and in particular one yard.
“This is not a new issue. The direction of travel has been set for a number of years now. The sport has been alive to this and taken measures to seek to address it, through attempting to tackle funding issues associated with the sport, seeking increased investment, looking at the race programme, and more recently the delivery of the recommendations of the Quality Jump Racing Review.
“However, the Irish domination of the Grade One races this week has illustrated that the issue is becoming more pronounced and more damaging for the sport on both sides of the Irish sea.”
Following a nightmare Festival for the home side in 2021 which saw just five winners for British trainers, the BHA set up the review group which made a series of recommendations that were unveiled at the start of 2022, with further tweaks to the fixture list this term in an attempt to improve the upper tier of British National Hunt racing.
However, Harrington concedes more now needs to be done and at a faster pace to ensure no further ground is lost.
She said: “Put simply, the rate of decline of jump racing in Britain at the top end has outstripped the measures that have been put in place to tackle it. We must do more, more quickly, and in a more coordinated and decisive manner if we are going to restore British jump racing to the standing at which it belongs.
“Central to this is the delivery of the industry strategy. The strategy is all about growth. At the core of this is investment in the top echelons of our sport, with a view to incentivising the best horses to be bred, owned, trained and raced on these shores. An additional £3.8million in prize-money has already been earmarked for investment in 2024 across the top end of the sport in both codes.
“The strategy is also about much more than just investing in prize money. We need to grow our fanbase by encouraging new fans and retaining existing fans and owners, improve the experience of ownership and attending and viewing racing, and much more besides.
“To achieve this the sport must work together with urgency and clarity of purpose. The times of being reluctant to embrace change or new ideas, lack of transparency and focusing on narrow self-interest must be put firmly behind us.”
Talks are currently ongoing between the BHA and bookmakers on levy reform, which Harrington believes is another key factor in improving British fortunes in the future.
She concluded: “The very visible deterioration in British racing’s competitiveness with our international colleagues has also been at the heart of our discussions with the betting industry and DCMS around the levy, and our representations to Government around the risk of the damaging impact of affordability checks.
“We have seen great progress in the last 18 months and a spirit of collaboration is clearly developing. I am confident that if the sport and its allies work together around this shared goal then it can flourish once again. Not just across four days in March, but across the whole year. Jump racing’s popularity in Britain is immense and its potential limitless.”
Zion Williamson wants to take ownership of the situation as the New Orleans Pelican hunt down the fourth seed in the Western Conference.
Williamson finished with 34 points as the Pelicans beat the Los Angeles Clippers 112-104 on Friday.
That victory moved them to within two wins of the Clippers, who occupy fourth spot in the West.
Williamson was drafted by the Pelicans as the first overall pick in 2019, though has so far been unable to deliver in big games, in large part due to injuries. He wants that to change now.
"It's just getting to that part of the season," he said.
"Just trying to let my teammates know, 'I'm here. I with y'all.
"Whether it's diving on the floor on defense, passing or scoring."
Pelicans coach Willie Green added: "It's great to have him on the floor, playing as well as he's playing."
Williamson has scored 99 points across the Pelicans' four meetings with the Clippers this season, a series New Orleans lead 3-1.
"All three games they've won this year, he [Williamson] dominated," Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said.
"We did some good things to come back and make it a game but our margin for error was very slim at that point.
"I like our fight. I like the way we competed. We just came up short."
The Clippers have now lost three of their last four games, while the Pelicans have won six of their last eight.
The female employee suspended by Red Bull has appealed against the decision to clear team principal Christian Horner of controlling behaviour, the PA news agency understands.
Red Bull’s investigation dismissed the complainant’s grievance earlier this month but she has lodged a formal appeal with the Formula One team’s parent company GmbH.
The employee is understood to have been suspended on full pay as a direct result of Red Bull’s inquiry, which concluded at the end of last month.
The complainant was told she had acted dishonestly and received a legal letter, which gave her five working days on receipt of the letter, to appeal against the outcome of the investigation.
Horner, 50, who has always denied the claims made against him, was allowed to continue in his role when GmbH cleared him of any wrongdoing.
When asked about the matter before the recent Bahrain Grand Prix, Horner said: “There was a grievance that was raised, it was dealt with in the most professional manner by the group – not by Red Bull Racing but by the owners of Red Bull Racing, Red Bull GmbH – that appointed an independent KC, that is one of the most reputable KCs in the land, and he took time to investigate fully all of the facts.
“He interviewed all of the people involved as well as others of interest. He looked at everything and he came to the conclusion where he dismissed the grievance.
“As far as I am concerned, and as far as Red Bull are concerned, we moved on and we look to the future. The time now is to draw a line under it.”
The PA news agency has approached Red Bull Racing and its parent company GmbH for comment.
Maria Sakkari fought off a Coco Gauff fightback to book a place in the final of the BNP Paribas Open at Indian Wells.
She will face top seed Iga Swiatek after beating the American third seed 6-4 6-7 (5) 6-2 in a lengthy, rain-interrupted battle which finished after 1am.
Gauff broke the Greek ninth seed early, but Sakkari fought back to take a first set interrupted by a short rain delay 6-4.
A lengthy break for the weather delayed the start of the second set, Sakkari settling quickest on the resumption and breaking the American twice to lead 5-2.
But she could not serve out the match, despite having a match point, as Gauff broke back and took the set on the tie break.
Gauff broke again at the start of the third set, but Sakkari dug in and rattled off four games in a row to take control again.
And this time she was able to complete the job, breaking Gauff again to complete the win after two hours, 41 minutes on court.
Swiatek’s path to the final, in which she has lost just 20 games, was more straightforward as she saw off Martya Kostyuk 6-2 6-1.
The world number one needed little more than an hour to see off the 31st seed without facing a break point.
Zion Williamson scored 34 points to lead the New Orleans Pelicans to a 112-104 win over the slumping Los Angeles Clippers on Friday that tightened the race for the Western Conference's No. 4 seed.
The surging Pelicans moved within two games of Los Angeles for fourth place in the conference and improved to 14-5 since Jan. 31, tied with the Oklahoma City Thunder and Denver Nuggets for the best record in the West over that span.
Los Angeles was dealt a third loss in four games despite 26 points from Paul George and 23 from Kawhi Leonard. The Clippers played a second straight game without starting point guard James Harden due to a left shoulder strain.
Williamson recorded 16 of his points during a dominant third quarter in which he went 7 of 7 from the field. The star forward closed out the period with a layup that snapped an 80-80 tie and ignited a 12-3 run that put the Pelicans ahead for good.
Trey Murphy and Naji Marshall each had 3-pointers during the spurt, which Murphy capped with an alley-oop dunk that gave New Orleans a 92-83 lead with 10:24 remaining.
Leonard's hook shot with two minutes left brought the Clippers within 107-102, but Los Angeles came up empty on its next three possessions as New Orleans scored the next five points to put the game out of reach.
The Clippers trailed by 11 points early in the third quarter before putting together a 12-3 run that trimmed the Pelicans' lead to 65-63 with five minutes left in the period.
Heat handle Pistons to end four-game skid
Bam Adebayo recorded 22 points and nine rebounds to help the Miami Heat end a four-game losing streak with a 108-95 win over the lowly Detroit Pistons.
Terry Rozier scored 10 of his 18 points in the second half as Miami pulled away in the final two quarters to get back on track and remain 2 1/2 games behind first-place Orlando in the Southeast Division. The Magic also won on Friday, earning a 113-103 victory over the Toronto Raptors.
After Adebayo's floater in the closing seconds gave Miami a 56-54 lead at the half, the Heat dominated the final six minutes of the third quarter to stretch their advantage.
Miami broke things open with a 15-0 run, which began with six straight points from Rozier and ended with three consecutive 3-pointers by Duncan Robinson. The last of those baskets increased the margin to 83-65 with 2:29 to go in the third quarter.
The Heat maintained a double-digit cushion over the entire fourth quarter to end Detroit's modest two-game winning streak.
Simone Fontecchio led the Pistons, who own the NBA's second-worst record at 12-54, with 24 points. Jalen Duren compiled 15 points and 17 rebounds in the loss.
Jokic outduels Wembanyama, Nuggets top Spurs to stay hot
Nikola Jokić put up 31 points as the Denver Nuggets continued their strong recent stretch with a 117-106 victory over the San Antonio Spurs in a game played in the Texas capital of Austin.
Jokic finished 13 of 19 from the field while adding seven rebounds and five assists to outshine Spurs rookie sensation Victor Wembanyama, who was held to 17 points on 4-of-12 shooting.
Jamal Murray accumulated 15 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists to help Denver improve to 11-1 since the All-Star break. The defending NBA champions have won five straight games.
Jokic and the Nuggets imposed their will early on, as Denver closed out the first quarter on an 18-4 run to take a commanding 37-18 lead into the second. The two-time NBA MVP finished the period with 15 points.
The Spurs shot 60 per cent in the second quarter to close the gap to 58-49 at half-time, and got Denver's lead down to four when Zach Collins' jumper with 16.7 seconds left in the third quarter made the score 83-79.
Denver's Justin Holiday ended the third with a 3-pointer, however, and had another during a 9-1 run in the fourth that put the Nuggets up 101-84 with seven minutes to play.
The game drew a crowd of 16,223, the largest attended sporting event in the history of Austin's Moody Center.
Anze Kopitar scored two of Los Angeles' four first-period goals as the Kings rolled to a 5-0 win over the Chicago Blackhawks on Friday to boost their playoff hopes.
Cam Talbot notched his third shutout of the season by stopping all 28 shots he faced from a Chicago team that had scored seven goals in each of its previous two games, both victories.
Pierre-Luc Dubois, Alex Laferriere and Jordan Spence each contributed a goal and an assist to help the Kings move two points clear of the Vegas Golden Knights for third place in the Pacific Divison.
The Kings dominated the first two periods and wasted no time getting on the scoreboard, as Dubois rocketed a rebound past Chicago goaltender Arvid Soderblom on a power play just 3:10 in.
Laferriere redirected a shot from teammate Matt Roy into the net a mere 2:23 later for a 2-0 lead, and Kopitar added his 19th and 20th goals of the season to cause the Blackhawks to pull Soderblom for Petr Mrazek after a little over 14 minutes.
Spence made it 5-0 with his first goal of 2023-24, a shot that trickled by a screened Mrazek 2:31 into the second period.
Soderblom stopped just 10 of 14 shots before being removed, while Mrazek finished with 22 saves.
Toffoli, Brossoit lead Jets' blowout of Ducks
The Winnipeg Jets, meanwhile, created a three-way tie atop the Central Division by cruising to a 6-0 rout of the floundering Anaheim Ducks.
Tyler Toffoli scored two goals to back a 21-save shutout for Laurent Brossoit as Winnipeg joined Colorado and Dallas in first place in the Central. All three teams have 89 points, though the Jets hold a game in hand on the Avalanche and two on the Stars.
Dylan DeMelo added a goal and an assist and Josh Morrissey recorded three assists as the Jets bounced back from Wednesday's 4-2 loss to the Nashville Predators.
The Ducks were shut out for a second straight game and now have lost five straight, all in regulation.
Kyle Connor got the Jets on the board with 3:40 left in the first period and Nate Schmidt extended the lead to 2-0 with a power-play goal in the second.
Winnipeg then put the game out of reach with a four-goal third, with DeMelo starting the barrage 4:59 into the period.
Toffoli, playing his third game since being acquired by the Jets from the New Jersey Devils at last week's trade deadline, then netted his first two goals with his new team within a span of less than three minutes to increase the margin to 5-0.
Mason Appleton closed out the scoring with a power-play goal with 5.5 seconds left.
John Gibson made 32 saves for Anaheim, which was outshot by a 38-21 margin.
Peter O’Mahony insists further Guinness Six Nations glory means “absolutely everything” to Ireland and stressed his countrymen would have metaphorically sacrificed limbs for such success in the recent past.
Retaining the championship crown has been touted as an anti-climax for Andy Farrell’s side after the holy grail of historic back-to-back Grand Slams was extinguished by last week’s agonising 23-22 loss to England.
Ireland are on the verge of a fifth title in 11 years going into Saturday evening’s Dublin showdown with Scotland, having endured a drought of more than two decades between 1985 and 2009.
Captain O’Mahony, who contributed to each of those successes, remembers the barren era and dismissed the suggestion current expectations have devalued the achievement of winning the tournament without a 100 per cent record.
“No, I don’t think so because it’s so rare,” said the 34-year-old.
“I know we’ve had a few in our most recent history but going back over a long period, we’re way down the list of championships won.
“You’re talking about back-to-back Grand Slams and no one has done it because it’s so hard, that’s why.
“You’ve got to win 10 Six Nations games in a row, win five away from home. It’s unbelievably difficult to win a game away from home in this championship, if you look at the stats across the board.
“So it’s everything to us tomorrow. Absolutely everything to us, another championship.
“It’s probably a manner of the Irish psyche, ‘Jesus, another championship’, you know what I mean? When all of a sudden a few years ago you’d have taken your arm and your leg off for one.
“We’re still in the same boat, it matters a massive amount to us. It’s what we’re here for, that’s the be all and end all of it, we’re here to win a championship for our country and it couldn’t mean any more to us.”
Ireland will be crowned champions by avoiding defeat to Gregor Townsend’s side or claiming two losing bonus points, while a single bonus point is also likely to be sufficient.
However, a pointless defeat would leave Farrell’s men sweating on the outcome of England’s clash with France in Lyon.
Ireland are seeking a 10th-successive win over their rivals, while Scotland have a slim chance of snatching the title but are realistically aiming for a first Triple Crown since 1990.
Munster flanker O’Mahony anticipates another feisty affair following last year’s fiery Rugby World Cup pool-stage clash in Paris, which the Irish won 36-14 to eliminate the Scots.
“It’s a competitive game and both teams always get stuck in and that’s what you want, isn’t it? You want both teams flat out,” he said.
“We’re not playing tennis or golf, you know what I mean? It’s a physical game and you’ve got to get stuck in and you’ve got to be on the edge – and that’s rugby.
“It will be very special if we win it.”
Rory McIlroy’s bid for a second Players Championship victory suffered a potentially fatal blow as Scottie Scheffler played through the pain barrier to keep his hopes of an historic title defence alive.
McIlroy held a share of the overnight lead following an opening 65 at Sawgrass, but could only add a second round of 73 to slump eight shots behind US Open champion Wyndham Clark.
An erratic start saw McIlroy card three birdies and three bogeys in the first six holes and, after reaching the turn in 35 with a birdie on the ninth, the world number two bogeyed the 12th, birdied the 13th and double-bogeyed the next in a frustrating inward nine of 38.
Scheffler had earlier received treatment from a PGA Tour physio during a second round of 69 which left him six behind Clark, who reached halfway at 14 under par thanks to a second-consecutive 65.
“I hit a shot on my second hole today and I felt a little something in my neck,” Scheffler, who had started from the 10th hole, explained.
“Then I tried to hit my tee shot on 12 and that’s when I could barely get the club back. So I got some treatment, maybe it loosened up a tiny bit, but most of the day I was pretty much labouring to get the club somehow away from me.
“I did what I could to kind of stay in the tournament today and hopefully it’ll loosen up and then I’ll be able to make somewhat normal swings tomorrow.
“The way I was getting around the course, the way my neck was feeling, I didn’t know if I was going to be able to continue playing, so yeah, good fight out there.”
Scheffler, who won the Arnold Palmer Invitational by five shots on Sunday, is bidding to become the first player to successfully defend the Players Championship title in its 50-year history.
Clark made eight birdies – including five in six holes around the turn – to end the day four shots clear of Olympic champion Xander Schauffele and Canada’s Nick Taylor, with Matt Fitzpatrick and Maverick McNealy another stroke back.
“My iron play’s been very solid, I’ve rolled in a handful of putts and then I’ve really been mentally strong so I’d say all of those things are why I’m sitting where I am right now,” Clark said.
England’s Fitzpatrick held the outright lead when he carded his fifth birdie of the day on the third, his 12th hole, to reach 10 under par, only to find the water with his approach from the rough on the next to run up a double bogey.
“I felt the lie was good enough to kind of hack it on to the right side (of the green),” said Fitzpatrick, who birdied his final hole of the day to add a 69 to his opening 66.
“I was aiming at the right bunker, which if you kind of go back there, you realise how far right it was. It just kind of snagged me and went left.
“Otherwise I felt like I did everything well. Just felt like I played solid overall. Made a couple of putts when I needed to, drove the ball well and my approach play was good as well.”
Asked about trailing Clark by five shots, Fitzpatrick added: “Anything can happen over the weekend, there’s still two days, so you never know.
“Another couple of six-under rounds over the weekend and you never know what can happen. So, for me it’s just about trying to stay patient, just keep doing what I’m doing and go from there.”
Galopin Des Champs’ brilliant Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup double left bookmakers licking their wounds at the end of the Cheltenham Festival.
Willie Mullins’ defending champion was sent off the well-backed 10-11 favourite and barely gave his supporters a moment of worry as he stormed to back-to-back triumphs in the blue riband.
It means that three of the four feature-race favourites obliged over the four days and although the layers received temporary relief on day two when El Fabiolo fluffed his lines in the Champion Chase, Galopin Des Champs’ victory only compounded the misery inflicted by State Man and Teahupoo earlier in the week.
“When the Festival’s leading trainer Willie Mullins and jockey Paul Townend team up on the reigning Gold Cup champion and hot favourite in the biggest betting race of the week, victory for the combination is never going to be anything other than bad news for the bookmakers,” said Coral’s David Stevens.
“Overall it’s been a rollercoaster week for us, but Galopin Des Champ’s Gold Cup double means plenty of punters have ended this huge week on a high.”
BoyleSports were another firm losing on the Gold Cup, with spokesperson Lawrence Lyons adding: “It was already a bruising week with so many Mullins winners going in, but he rubbed salt in our wounds on Friday and Galopin Des Champs was the knockout blow as he was the best backed horse of the week.”
However, it was not all bad news for the old enemy, with BetVictor relieved to escape relatively unscathed after an up and down week.
Sam Boswell of the firm explained: “After a bruising day one and day two – which could have been much worse if El Fabiolo had obliged for the many multiple bets – days three and four proved fruitful for the bookmakers with only Galopin Des Champs being a significant negative result.
“It is safe to say both bookmakers and punters had lots of fun at this year’s Festival and it is more or less honours even, perhaps a small win for the punters, over the last four days.”
Paddy Power’s Paul Binfield echoed those sentiments adding: “El Fabiolo’s unfortunate defeat in the Queen Mother was the turning point of the week.
“It went downhill from there for punters and the books have come out on top after a rather worrying start.”
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