Top-class filly Nashwa is being readied for a trip to Meydan next month, with the Dubai Turf pencilled in as her planned comeback target.
Winner of the French Oaks and the Nassau Stakes as a three-year-old in 2022, the John and Thady Gosden-trained daughter of Frankel notched a third Group One win in last season’s Falmouth Stakes at Newmarket, as well as being placed in the Nassau, the Juddmonte International and the Irish Champion Stakes.
She was well beaten on her final start of the year in a soft-ground Queen Elizabeth II Stakes at Ascot, but owner Imad Al Sagar has sportingly brought her back for another campaign.
“The plan at the moment is to head for the Dubai Turf,” his racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe said.
“There doesn’t seem to be an ideal race for her beforehand, so she’ll probably have a racecourse gallop, just to make sure she’s in good shape.
“She’s won Group Ones at a mile and a mile and a quarter, so in between (nine furlongs) should be ideal.
“She’s wintered well and is really just beginning her preparation. She’s a lovely, scopey filly and very important to Imad and his Blue Diamond Stud – and it’s exciting to have her back in full work.
“She ran some really top-class races last year, she had quite a hard end to the season but she seems to have got over it well and we’re looking forward to this season.”
Long Run can lay claim to many astonishing achievements throughout his stellar career, but he will always be remembered best for the day he ended an era in the 2011 Cheltenham Gold Cup, bursting through the clouds to slay the great Ditcheat duo of Kauto Star and Denman.
Owned by Robert Waley-Cohen, Nicky Henderson’s first Cheltenham Gold Cup winner was for a long while considered the heir apparent of the staying division and had already marked his territory by winning the King George earlier that season.
But it was the moment he crossed the Gold Cup finishing line that was seen as the passing of the torch moment and a victory made all the more remarkable by the fact the man in the plate going toe-to-toe with Ruby Walsh and Sam Thomas up the Prestbury Park hill was in fact an amateur in the owner’s son, Sam Waley-Cohen.
Of course, the by-day dentist was far from plucked off the streets to partner a horse who was already a multiple Grade One winner. But it added to the mystique of this brilliant French import, who at the tender age of six had climbed to the top of racing’s mountain.
“Winning the Gold Cup has to be classed as his best performance ever – you can’t beat that,” said Waley-Cohen senior.
“You had multiple Gold Cup winners in that race and they were the ones coming down hill who looked like they were going to do it all over again.
“Sam was brilliant on him that day and he was not an easy ride – he did thump some fences on the way round.
“I still treasure the front cover of Owner Breeder magazine that has a picture of him coming over the last in front of Kauto Star and Denman and says ‘The Greatest Gold Cup’.”
Even though only six when storming up the Cheltenham hill to claim National Hunt racing’s greatest prize, Long Run had already cemented his place in his owner’s affections.
For this was a horse that had seen the winner’s enclosure eight times in France before he burst onto the British scene aged only four.
Long Run’s Feltham Novices’ Chase success would be the first of three magnificent victories at Kempton, with the gelding returning a year later to claim the King George VI Chase and then adding a second victory in that contest in 2012.
That second King George, when rallying to collar Captain Chris in the shadow of the Kempton winning post, would be the final top-level success of Long Run’s decorated career, but by that point he had already accomplished things his connections could only dream about.
Waley-Cohen continued: “He achieved things no other horse has ever done. He’s the only horse to win the Grade One three-year-old hurdle and the Grade One four-year-old chase in France and the only four-year-old to win a Grade One chase in the UK when he won the Feltham.
“The shortest race he ever ran in was the Kingmaker over two miles and he won that – and there isn’t many horses who would have won a Kingmaker and a Gold Cup.
“He was unbelievable in the Feltham and after the race he walked into the winner’s enclosure and looked around as if to say ‘ah, my subjects have come to admire me, how nice’. He was imperious, totally imperious and only four years old.
“What he achieved as a youngster was astonishing and when he won a Gold Cup, he was only six. He won Grade Ones for five consecutive years, not many horses can do that.
“They say French horses don’t last and they are right, but if you can win Grade Ones over five straight years, it doesn’t matter. Not many stay at the top that long.”
Waley-Cohen has since added a Grand National to Long Run’s Gold Cup triumph thanks to the exploits of Noble Yeats in 2022 and although there may have been 11 years between those two big-race successes, the one constant was his son in the saddle, adorned in the family’s orange and brown silks.
Sam may have hung up his saddle after sprinkling Aintree glory on his decorated amateur CV, but the part he played in many special days – especially aboard Long Run – will live long in his father’s memory.
“He really was an amazing horse and gave us an enormous amount of pleasure. Doing everything with Sam on board only added to the pleasure,” explained Waley-Cohen.
“You can’t match winning Grade One races at the highest level with your son on board. You would be thrilled to win them anyhow, but when your son is on board – which we were quite strongly criticised for – it is special. In the end, the jockey didn’t do too bad.
“To my mind, he only ran one disappointing race in the whole time we had him and that was in the Gold Cup the following year (2012), where Sam rode him impeccably and produced him at the exact right moment, but for whatever reason he didn’t spark and finished third. Something didn’t fire that day, but horses are horses.”
Long Run is now very much part of the furniture at the Waley-Cohen family farm in Warwickshire, where he enjoys a well-earned retirement and serves as a constant reminder that just sometimes, racing dreams do come true.
“He is in great order and he’s out in the field at 19 years old and very happy,” said Waley-Cohen.
“He had a very good time after he retired from racing, we used to ride him round the farm and the great thing about him, like so many horses, he completely understood when Sam wanted to put his very small daughter on a leading rein, he would behave impeccably. Now he’s fully retired and out at grass.
“He’s been with us a long time and we’ve owned him for 16 years now and we bought him as a three-year-old, so we’ve had him a long time.”
Wigan head coach Matt Peet shrugged off suggestions of a seismic shift in rugby league’s balance of power, despite his side’s dramatic World Club Challenge win over triple defending NRL champions Penrith at a sold-out DW Stadium.
Wigan’s 16-12 triumph, which was confirmed when Taylan May’s potentially match-equalling try on the hooter was ruled out by a matter of millimetres, marked the first time in 16 years that English clubs have claimed back-to-back wins over their Australian counterparts.
The big-money razzmatazz of the NRL – which kicks off with an historic season-opener in Las Vegas next weekend – has often been regarded as a source of envy, but Peet is adamant the constant comparisons with the game Down Under are doing the English game a disservice.
“I don’t think it is a matter of comparison,” said Peet, for whom victory completed his fairytale rise through the Wigan coaching ranks and added the sport’s only global club honour to recent Challenge Cup and Grand Final successes.
“The NRL is an unbelievable competition, it’s got so much going for it, but we know what we’ve got in this country and we should take more pride in it.
“We talk too much about what they think of us. We should just be concerned with what we think of ourselves.
“We watch their games and we learn from it and we admire it. But we have got a special competition ourselves with some special individuals in it and we should just talk about that.”
Peet’s side held firm in the face of relentless Penrith pressure, snatching an opening try through Abbas Miski then regaining their lead through Kruise Leeming after Penrith talisman Nathan Cleary had put his side in front for the first time.
Penrith full-back Dylan Edwards restored his side’s lead in a thrilling, see-saw encounter, but Jake Wardle wriggled over early in the second half to restore Wigan’s advantage before Jai Field dumped May into touch when he looked a near certainty to level the scores.
Bevan French was denied a potential match-winning try by a slim offside call then Wigan were forced to live on their nerves when May looked to have reached the corner as the seconds ticked down.
Vanquished Penrith head coach Ivan Cleary, whose starting line-up featured 10 of the players who had also been edged out by St Helens in Sydney last year, conceded the result reflected a further step towards parity between the two competitions.
“We’ve always realised that the top teams in Super League are very good. Probably it’s the strength in depth where the NRL is a little different in that sense, but I hope tonight’s result is only going to help,” said Cleary.
“I feel like the best teams can match each other, but I’m not sure about the rest.
“One really good thing about the NRL is you never get an easy game and that’s probably the difference in the competitions.”
Wigan will return to more mundane matters when they host Huddersfield in their first home game of the Super League season next Friday, but the epic manner of their victory has only fuelled Peet’s desire for more success.
The rare sight of sold-out signs around the DW Stadium reflected a continued passion for the club in a town weaned on famous rugby league nights, not least memories of their four previous World Club Challenge trophies, all of which had been paraded on the pitch by former players prior to kick-off.
“It was a special night tonight but who is to say that we can’t have more nights like that and make it more of a regular thing, to increase attendances and the impact this club has on the town,” added Peet.
“There is plenty to build on, on and off the field. There is no reason why we shouldn’t get more big games if we keep learning and improving.
“The thought of that being our last big night would be horrendous.”
Jamie George conceded England were “not good enough” in their Calcutta Cup defeat to Scotland but the captain remained adamant they were heading in the right direction overall under Steve Borthwick.
The Red Rose lost 30-21 at Murrayfield on Saturday, bringing to an end their unbeaten start to this year’s Guinness Six Nations campaign after narrow wins away to Italy and at home to Wales.
England had arrived in Edinburgh having won eight of their previous nine matches, with their only setback in that run being the agonising World Cup semi-final defeat by eventual winners South Africa in October.
George understood the negative reaction to losing the Calcutta Cup match for a fourth year in succession – the first time that had happened since 1896. However, the 33-year-old rejected the suggestion that talk of English progress since last summer had been overblown.
“If you look at our run of form over the last nine/10 games, we’ve won a lot of them,” George pointed out.
“If you look at the more global picture of where we are as a team and how we are progressing as a team, if you take a step back and look at it as a whole, there are a lot of positive signs.
“Do we need to get better? Absolutely. Are we doing everything we can to do that? Yes.”
George felt England gave a snapshot of their potential in the opening quarter at Murrayfield, when George Furbank’s try helped them open up a 10-0 lead and knock the Scots out of their stride.
However, he knows they fell out of the game all too easily thereafter as Duhan Van Der Merwe scored a hat-trick to turn the game heavily in the hosts’ favour before a 67th minute score from England substitute Immanuel Feyi-Waboso reduced the deficit to nine points.
“The foundations are good but as players we need to execute the gameplan better,” said George. “We knew it would be difficult coming up here, with the history that goes into the game, but we weren’t good enough.
“One thing that hopefully the fans saw in the first 20 minutes of the game is a blueprint for how we want to play as a team. Now it’s about our ability to do it for 80 minutes.
“There will be things that we look back on and go, ‘that’s what English rugby needs to be about, that’s what this team needs to be about going forward’.
“I think we saw a lot of that in the first 20 minutes but I didn’t see it in the second 20 and the contrast will be pretty clear when we look back at it.
“It’s a huge learning for us. We’re a young team excited to learn and we need to learn fast going ahead to the Ireland game.”
George courageously led England into the Murrayfield showdown just over a week after losing his mother Jane following a short battle with lung cancer.
Asked if it was important for him to get a couple of days off to take stock before returning to camp to prepare for the home match against Ireland a week on Saturday, the hooker said: “Yes, I guess so.
“We’re assembling again on Wednesday. It’s important for everyone to get some time off in these breaks. Test rugby can be pretty cruel at times and we saw that today.
“I think it’s important for everyone to spend some time with their families.”
Despite Saturday’s setback, George was already looking forward to hosting Grand Slam-chasing Ireland.
“The fact we are back at Twickenham is very exciting to me,” he said. “We’ve spoken a lot about the record we want to create at Twickenham and how hard a place it needs to be for opposition to come to.
“That’s very much going to be our focus. Ireland are a great team, we know that, but we’re going to be a very tough team to beat at Twickenham.”
Nicky Henderson is predicting an uphill task for British handlers in April’s Randox Grand National, with the home team responsible for just seven of the horses currently guaranteed to make the cut for the Aintree showpiece.
Victory for Lucinda Russell’s Corach Rambler last year was the first for UK-based trainers since the Kinross handler struck with One For Arthur in 2017.
And with Irish raiders dominating both the recent roll of honour and this season’s ante-post betting, it is easy to envisage the trophy heading across to the Emerald Isle once more.
Henderson has three entries for this year’s race but only 150-rated Dusart is presently set to make the final line-up, with the Seven Barrows trio all available at odds of 100-1.
Fantastic Lady and last year’s eighth Mister Coffey are Henderson’s other two runners, but he hinted that he may not be represented in this year’s race and was clear about what he thought of the home team’s chances when asked about the current make-up.
“We’re not going to win it are we – and I’m not, because I haven’t got one in it,” he said.
“There’s nothing I can do about it and I’ve been trying to win it for 42 years, so I can tell you something about it, but that’s probably how not to win it.”
Leading Irish duo Willie Mullins and Gordon Elliott are responsible for over half of the current top 40 in the National, but Henderson is not in favour of limiting the number of runners each trainer or owner can have in the race – something which the British Horseracing Authority were considering for major handicaps earlier in the season.
“That was crazy,” he added. “I wouldn’t agree with that unless they said Henderson is the only one who can have a runner!”
Henderson is currently putting the finishing touches to his Seven Barrows string ahead of the Cheltenham Festival and believes he is in the fortunate position of having not only a talented bunch of horses at his disposal, but a loyal and supportive network of owners.
“We’ve been very lucky and I have the best bunch of owners anyone can wish for,” he added.
“They are all great guys and great mates and great people.
“We have to enjoy it and that’s our game, this is an entertainment hobby sort of thing – it’s their hobby and I have to make it entertaining.”
The Minnesota Timberwolves "needed a win desperately", according to head coach Chris Finch, whose team beat the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday.
Minnesota came out on top 101-86 to claim a fifth win in the space of six games, bouncing back from a defeat to the Milwaukee Bucks last time out.
The Timberwolves are now clear at the top of the Western Conference with a 40-17 record, one win better than the 39-17 Oklahoma City Thunder.
But coach Finch said his team "desperately" needed a victory.
"We needed a win desperately," Finch said. "Still not playing really sharp basketball, particularly on the offensive end. But defensively, we were really strong."
Anthony Edwards led the Timberwolves with 29 points, while Karl-Anthony Towns added 28 to Milwaukee's total.
"It was ugly, sloppy. I think by both teams, actually," said Timberwolves center Naz Reid.
"But we [were] able to buckle down in the last quarter and handle business."
The Nets dismissed coach Jacques Vaughn over the All-Star break, though are now 0-2 under interim Kevin Ollie.
"I thought we did a great job coming together as a team and facing adversity," Ollie said. "But we've got to make shots."
Al Horford says the Boston Celtics are "not where we need to be yet" despite beating the New York Knicks to claim an eighth-straight win.
The Celtics won 116-102 on Saturday to mark a season-best winning streak, while they are also eight games clear at the top of the Eastern Conference.
Jaylen Brown finished with 30 points, Kristaps Porzingis had 22 and Jayson Tatum had 19, while Horford chipped in with 10 points from the bench, as Boston sealed their fourth win of the season over the Knicks.
But in spite of their fine form, Horford says the Celtics must demand more from themselves.
"It's just the way kind of the season has gone," he said.
"We've kind of held our own, continued to work through things. Obviously, the [Philadelphia 76ers] have injuries, different teams have different stuff going on, so that all goes into account.
"But I can just speak to we're continuing to play good basketball. We're really trying to play the right way. I feel like [Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla] is really challenging us to continue to get better. This is the stretch of the season where we can really take it to another level, and that's what we're trying to do.
"I feel like we're not where we need to be yet, and that's a good thing."
Mazzulla added: "The guys understand how to positively impact each other.
"They understand how going into something at one point in the game is going to open it up for someone else later in the game. And we have different combinations, and the guys trust those combinations, and it puts us in a better position to win.
"At the end of the day, it's about winning, and the guys are understanding that. They understand how they affect each other."
Brown, however, pointed to the postseason as when the level of performance will truly count for the Celtics.
He said: "When it comes down to the playoffs, none of that stuff really matters.
"I feel like it's going to be about matchups, it's going to be about playing hard. Obviously, home court matters, so that is key, but when you get into the thick of it, you;'ve got to win basketball games. Regardless of what your seed is.
"If anything, it puts more pressure on you. But I think we're an experienced team. We've been in these situations before and I think we're ready."
Warren Gatland is convinced Wales are on course to become “an excellent team” despite a third successive defeat in another gloomy Guinness Six Nations campaign.
Gatland’s inexperienced side are battling to avoid the ignominy of the wooden spoon following Saturday’s 31-7 loss to title favourites Ireland.
Defeat in Dublin followed narrow losses to Scotland and England in this year’s tournament and was a 10th in 11 championship matches overall.
New Zealander Gatland, whose team host France in round four before Italy visit Cardiff on the final weekend, remains upbeat and offered an example from his playing days to demonstrate how fortunes can improve.
“I look back on my own career as a player, playing for Waikato against Auckland after the 1987 World Cup,” he said.
“They had a number of All Blacks and they probably put 40 points on us.
“We were starting to become a good team and coming off that experience, I wanted to play them next week.
“Because that’s what I learned from as a player and hopefully these guys are getting the same experience from that.
“A couple of years later, we ended up turning the tables on them.
“I have no doubt where we’re going, this team is going to be an excellent team going forward, when we get some more experience.”
Wales registered a third scoreless half in as many games as tries from Dan Sheehan and James Lowe helped the Grand Slam-chasing hosts lead 17-0 at the break.
A positive response brought a penalty try early in the second period but the visitors failed to capitalise on further chances in Ireland’s 22 before scores from Ciaran Frawley and Tadhg Beirne killed off the contest.
More than a third of Wales’ match-day 23 arrived at the Aviva Stadium with cap totals in single figures, and Gatland is keen to keep things in perspective.
“I think that we’ve said all along that it’s about the development of this team and learning,” said the 60-year-old, who returned for a second spell in charge ahead of last year’s Six Nations.
“They’ve played against one of the best teams in the world.
“Eight or nine of their team are over 30 and have been around for a while.
“It’s just making sure we keep working hard, doing what we’re doing and looking forward to the next game.
“It’s all about talking to players individually about how they found it out there, what did they learn from it, how they’ll be better next time as an individual.”
Wales captain Dafydd Jenkins hopes to help his country reach the same level as reigning champions Ireland.
“That’s where we want to be as a team,” said the 21-year-old Exeter lock, who is 13 years younger than Irish skipper Peter O’Mahony.
“Personally, I’ve seen where I want to get to as a player. I’m sure the rest of the team has as well.
“We’re going to push and work hard every day to make sure we get to that level.”
Robbie Henshaw insists Grand Slam-chasing Ireland must improve on a “scrappy” win over Wales in order to topple England at “cauldron” Twickenham.
Andy Farrell’s men kept themselves on course for successive Guinness Six Nations clean sweeps by registering a third consecutive bonus-point victory with Saturday’s 31-7 triumph in Dublin.
Ireland raced into a 17-0 half-time lead but then endured some nervy moments against Warren Gatland’s unfancied visitors before running out resounding victors.
The reigning champions have a fortnight’s break for fine tuning ahead of taking on Steve Borthwick’s side in south-west London on March 9.
“We knew Wales had nothing to lose and they threw the kitchen sink at us,” said Henshaw, who came off the bench in a 32-15 win away to England in the 2022 championship.
“The game itself was quite scrappy and we got momentum and it then stalled a bit.
“The fact we finished strong was a positive for us and it sets us up nicely for the next few weeks.
“Twickenham’s always a tricky place to go. It’s always that kind of cauldron environment.
“The last time we played there we had a good result but it’s going to be a tough game. We’ll have to get better again.”
Tries from Dan Sheehan, James Lowe, Ciaran Frawley and Tadhg Beirne, plus 11 points from the boot of Jack Crowley, were sufficient to comfortably dispatch Wales.
Ireland are now the only team yet to lose in this year’s tournament after England were beaten 30-21 in their Calcutta Cup clash with Scotland on Saturday evening.
The Scots are due to visit the Aviva Stadium on the final weekend.
Henshaw says Grand Slam talk will remain muted for the time being.
“It (back-to-back Grand Slams) is out there but we’re literally taking it game to game and training session to training session,” he said.
“Our next focus will be England and putting in a huge performance there.
“That (the Grand Slam) is in the background. We need to be looking at England and probably no further.”
Henshaw has played all-but 17 minutes of Ireland’s campaign so far on the back of a frustrating World Cup, severely hampered by injury.
The 30-year-old, who has partnered both Bundee Aki and Stuart McCloskey amid the injury absence of Garry Ringrose, is pleased to be back on track at Test level and feels midfield competition is fierce.
“Form comes with minutes you play and the more games you play, probably the better you will get,” he said.
“For me, the positive thing is just getting that run of games with Leinster and then into this campaign. It’s great to have back-to-back games and just building on it.
“Everyone who’s been playing this season has been on fire for their club.
“We’re blessed that we have such talent in the country that Stuart McCloskey last week stepped in and did an unbelievable job and Bundee’s been bringing his World Cup form through to this season.
“We’re in a great place with the talent we have and it’s great to see the performances being put on the pitch.”
On this day in 2009, Jason Robinson was appointed head coach of Premiership club Sale.
The former England back spent seven years as a player with the Sharks, captaining them to the Premiership title in 2006, before hanging up his boots after the 2007 World Cup final.
Prior to that, Robinson played nine years of rugby league before switching codes in 2000, where he played a key role in England’s 2003 World Cup victory.
The former Great Britain rugby league international joined Sale on a two-year deal and the club announced he would work beneath director of rugby Kingsley Jones, who described Robinson as a “proven 100 per cent winner”.
“It’s fantastic news for the club that Jason has agreed to join the coaching staff,” Jones said.
“It’s no coincidence that the three years that Jason was captain was the most successful in the club’s history.
“Jason has been a professional since the age of 16 and everything he has done in both codes he has been successful at.
“He is renowned for his enthusiasm and drive and is a proven 100 per cent winner.
“He also has great mentoring skills which will prove invaluable in his work with the senior and academy players at the club.”
Robinson spent just over a year in the role as head coach before he was replaced by ex-New Zealand All Blacks forward Mike Brewer.
Igor Shesterkin turned aside 39 shots and the New York Rangers held off the Philadelphia Flyers 2-1 to tie a franchise record with their 10th straight victory on Saturday.
Alexis Lafreniere scored in the second period and Matt Rempe tallied the first of his NHL career to snap a third-period tie as the Rangers matched 10-game runs by the 1939-40 and 1972–73 teams. They can set the franchise record Sunday on the road against last-place Columbus.
New York, which hasn’t lost since Jan. 26, moved into a virtual tie with Boston for the Eastern Conference lead.
Tyson Foerster had the lone goal for the Flyers, who have lost three of four (0-2-1) after four consecutive wins.
Philadelphia played without leading scorer Travis Konecny, who sat out with an upper-body injury.
Streaking Maple Leafs score late to beat Avalanche
Tyler Bertuzzi scored his third goal of the game on a power play with 2:51 remaining and the Toronto Maple Leafs edged the Colorado Avalanche 4-3 for their seventh straight win.
Bertuzzi, playing on his 29th birthday, scored his first goal of the game with 6:18 left in the first period to pull the Leafs within 2-1 and tallied his second of the contest with 5:15 to play in the second to make it 2-2.
He completed his third career hat trick and first since Oct. 14, 2021, with Mikko Rantanen in the penalty box for sending the puck out of play.
The seven-game streak is Toronto’s longest since an eight-game run from Nov. 22-Dec. 6, 2003.
Rantanen had a goal and an assist and Nathan MacKinnon set up three scores for the Avalanche, who had a six-game home winning streak snapped.
MacKinnon has recorded at least one point in all 28 home games this season.
Canucks rally past Bruins for overtime win
Brock Boeser scored his second goal of the game on a power play in overtime to complete the Vancouver Canucks’ 3-2 comeback win over the Boston Bruins in a matchup of division leaders.
Boston took a 2-0 lead into the third period but Boeser scored with 7:11 remaining and Filip Hronek tied it with 71 seconds left.
J.T. Miller assisted on all three goals for the NHL-leading Canucks, who had lost a season-high four straight.
Jesper Boqvist and Danton Heninen had goals for the Bruins, who played past regulation in their fifth consecutive game. They are 2-0-3 during that span.
Jaylen Brown had 30 points and eight assists and Kristaps Porzingis added 22 points to lead the Boston Celtics to their eighth straight win, 116-102 over the New York Knicks on Saturday.
Jayson Tatum scored 19 points and Derrick White contributed 13 for the league-leading Celtics, winners of 10 of 11.
Jalen Brunson scored 34 points and Josh Hart was next with 16 for the Knicks, who were swept in the four-game season series by Boston.
Porzingis ignited a 10-0 run with a 3-pointer and Brown closed it with a layup to give the Celtics an 88-71 lead with 3:53 left in the third quarter.
New York got the deficit down to 99-90 with 9:17 to play, but the Celtics took advantage of three turnovers and six missed shots to go on a 10-0 run for a 19-point cushion.
Banchero’s last-second 3-point play lifts Magic
Paolo Benchero converted a 3-point play with 0.8 seconds remaining to snap a tie and give the Orlando Magic a 112-109 win over the Detroit Pistons.
Banchero made an 18-foot jumper and the ensuing free throw for the winning points before Cade Cunningham hit the rim on a 70-plus-foot shot at the buzzer.
Banchero finished with 15 points as each Orlando starter scored in double digits in the Magic’s third straight win.
Cunnigham led NBA-worst Detroit with 26 points.
Timberwolves pull away from reeling Nets
Anthony Edwards scored 11 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter and the Minnesota Timberwolves assumed sole possession of first place in the Western Conference with a 101-86 victory over the reeling Brooklyn Nets.
Karl-Anthony Towns had 28 points and nine rebounds as Minnesota bounced back from Friday’s loss to Milwaukee with its fifth win in six games.
Cam Thomas scored 18 points for Brooklyn, which fell to 0-2 under interim coach Kevin Ollie and dropped to 1-7 in its past eight games.
Rookie Jake Knapp made 11 birdies to take the third-round lead in the Mexico Open as Matt Wallace’s challenge faded away.
Knapp had seven birdies as he carded a 63 to move to 19-under-par at Vidanta, four clear of fellow PGA Tour newcomer Sami Valimaki of Finland.
The American opened with a pair of birdies and added five more in six holes to reach the turn in 28.
Wallace had started the day alongside Knapp in a four-way tie for the lead, but the Englishman could only manage a level par 71 to finish the day eight strokes off the pace.
He was joined at 11-under par by Scotland’s Robert MacIntrye, who shot a 65 with four birdies topped off by an eagle at the 18th.
Canada’s Ben Silverman, Sweden’s Henrik Norlander and Chan Kim were on 12-under-par, completing a top five without a win on the PGA Tour.
Cameron Norrie’s defence of his Rio Open title is over after he was beaten by qualifier Mariano Navone in a gruelling semi-final.
Norrie struggled physically in the Brazilian heat as Navone, playing in his first ATP semi-final, pulled away to win 6-4 6-2.
The pair traded breaks in the opening two games, and then Navone, showing little fear in his first appearance on such a stage, got the break again to go 4-3 up.
Norrie saved break point three times in the next service game, but it was only a temporarily reprieve before Navone took the first set.
The pair traded further breaks at the start of the second set before another slog of a battle in the third game, which saw Norrie save four points on his serve before eventually succumbing.
That proved a turning point as Navone reeled off the next two games to take a commanding lead over a fading Norrie, whose resistance had been broken.
After falling 5-2 down, Norrie received treatment from the physio but got back on his feet to see the game out even though his fate was already sealed.
Wigan head coach Matt Peet promised more nights to match their nerve-shredding World Club Challenge win over triple NRL champions Penrith at a sold-out DW Stadium.
The hosts clung on for a record-equalling fifth triumph – to emulate Super League rivals St Helens – with a 16-12 victory in a thrilling game in which the lead swung five times and Penrith came within inches of levelling on the hooter.
Peet told the BBC: “Nights like this are the ones we crave and we’re going to have plenty more.
“It was a fantastic game between two outstanding teams and you could see all the way through what a fantastic team Penrith are.
“You play Penrith on another night and they beat any team, they never give in, but tonight we wanted it a bit more.
“It was going to take a special effort to get over against us tonight, we just wanted it so much.”
Tries from Abbas Miski, Kruise Leeming and Jake Wardle ensured the hosts matched their illustrious opponents who pressed valiantly with Taylan May denied a match-levelling try on the final hooter following a video replay.
“I couldn’t be prouder of the players, I love them to bits and everyone in the organisation deserves tonight,” added Peet.
“I thought the players were very brave with the ball in the second half, they kept playing and playing and obviously with our defence, it was a game we won by never giving in.”
Penrith head coach Ivan Cleary conceded the gap between the NRL and Super League was beginning to narrow after a second-consecutive northern hemisphere triumph for the first time in 16 years.
“Absolutely,” accepted Cleary on Sky Sports. “I think that’s the thing about this particular competition, we get to see the best teams together and Wigan were too good tonight.
“I guess we didn’t execute as well as they did. They had three opportunities and scored three tries and that was the difference. They executed better than us and maybe that was enough.”
Wigan clinched the World Club Challenge for a record-equalling fifth time after surviving last-gasp video drama to confirm a 16-12 victory over triple defending NRL champions Penrith Panthers at a sold-out DW Stadium.
Tries from Abbas Miski, Kruise Leeming and Jake Wardle, plus four points from the boot of Harry Smith, ensured Matt Peet’s men emulated Super League rivals St Helens, who edged the same team in Sydney one year ago.
Yet in an absorbing clash in which the lead swung in a different direction five times, Wigan were forced into an agonising wait for confirmation of their victory after Taylan May crashed over on the final hooter – only for replays to determine he had been bundled into touch.
As Wigan celebrated the big-screen verdict, the agony was evident on the face of Penrith’s resident superstar Nathan Cleary, who could not prevent his side, all-but three of whom also started in the golden point loss to Saints, failing in their quest to land the trophy for the first time.
It was a night for Wigan to add to their list of previous title wins – the most recent of which came in 2017 – and all of which were recalled in a pre-match presentation which saw representatives of all four of those illustrious sides parading their silverware.
Yet Wigan’s glory night began in ignominious fashion when Willie Isa spilled the ball on the edge of his own 10 in the opening set, but with inexperienced Penrith half-back Jack Cole still finding his feet, the hosts survived the early onslaught.
In their first foray forward after 10 minutes, Jai Field took advantage of a repeat set to jink inside the visitors’ danger zone and the ball was dispatched out to the right when Bevan French sent Miski over in the corner.
With Cole’s confidence growing in only his second top-level start, the triple NRL champions responded with more pressure, Brian To’o held up inches from the line on the last, and Moses Leota fumbling another fine opportunity.
Penrith’s leveller arrived just before the half-hour mark through Cleary, whose initial kick was flapped at by Miski, allowing Cole to feed the experienced scrum-half to dart over and subsequently convert to give the Australian side a 6-4 lead.
Just as Penrith’s speed and pressure seemed to be making a difference, Wigan dredged up another response, again down the right flank where Adam Keighran found Miski and he sent the ball in-field through Isa for Leeming to touch down.
Smith’s conversion from under the posts gave Wigan a four-point lead but their opponents responded on the stroke of half-time when lively full-back Dylan Edwards flopped over in a repeat set, Cleary having the last say of the first half to boot his side into a two-point interval lead.
Cleary continued to orchestrate Penrith’s assault at the start of the second half, his cleverness almost sending Sunia Turuva in the corner, but again Wigan withstood a tough spell and came back firing as Wardle twisted over to restore Wigan’s slender lead after 55 minutes.
Smith’s second-successful conversion put Wigan back four points in the clear and there were signs of frustration creeping into the Penrith ranks as Cleary, of all people, fumbled an opportunity after Isaah Yeo broke the Wigan line.
The hosts clung on as the clock ticked down, Field racing over for a stunning last-ditch tackle that dumped May into touch after the Penrith centre burst clear and looked a near certainty to level the scores.
French thought he had all-but won it when he raced onto a Smith kick with eight minutes left on the clock, only for Wigan’s celebrations to be cut short by an offside call.
The home side were forced to live on their nerves in the final moments as Cole barged close then May crashed over in the corner as the hooter sounded, forcing Wigan into an agonising wait until their famous victory was secured.
Frustrated Steve Borthwick felt his work-in-progress England team were taught “a real painful lesson” by a Duhan Van Der Merwe-inspired Scotland after the Red Rose crashed to a fourth consecutive Calcutta Cup defeat at Murrayfield.
The visitors arrived in Edinburgh hoping to make it three Guinness Six Nations victories in a row, but after a bright start in which a George Furbank try helped them carve a 10-0 lead in the opening quarter of an hour.
However, they lost their way and were put to the sword by their clinical hosts who ran out 30-21 winners.
Van Der Merwe – who scored a double in the Scots’ win at Twickenham last year – was again England’s tormentor-in-chief as he became the first man in a dark blue jersey to score a Calcutta Cup hat-trick.
“After a defeat and performance when you don’t think you’ve maximised your potential, it’s always disappointment,” said head coach Borthwick.
“I don’t think the team maximised their potential today.
“When you make that number of handling errors at this level, it’s very difficult to win, especially against a team of Scotland’s quality.
“Ultimately we made it too easy for Scotland to score, but they were very clinical.
“It’s a huge lesson for our team as we develop. The number of turnovers made it very difficult to win.”
England arrived in Edinburgh on the back of one defeat in nine matches, but they received something of a reality check at the hands of a Scotland side who are more established as a team under Gregor Townsend.
“We’d all love progression to be a nice linear path but ultimately it’s not, especially when you are trying to do it at this level,” said Borthwick.
“What you saw is a team that is trying to develop, a team that is trying to add layers to their game.
“We made errors today and got punished – sometimes you get away with it, sometimes you don’t. Against a team like Scotland, you don’t.
“It’s a big learning experience, it’s a real painful lesson against a Scotland team that’s been together a long time. They had a lot of experience.
“I think that’s the first time our 10, 12 and 13 had started together and it looked like that, didn’t it? There was a lack of cohesion and too many fundamental errors.”
Van Der Merwe’s match-winning treble – including a stunning burst from his own half to edge the Scots ahead – took him to 26 tries for Scotland, within one of the national team’s all-time record try-scorer Stuart Hogg.
Co-captain Rory Darge admitted it was a huge advantage to his side to have a powerful, jet-heeled outlet like the Edinburgh wing to get them up the pitch in such barnstorming fashion.
“It’s game-changing when he has a half-opportunity, takes it and scores,” said the back-rower. “That (second try while trailing 10-7) is a massive momentum-swinger.
“As a forward, it’s definitely nice when you’re working hard in the rucks and you see Duhan run the length. It’s such a good feeling.”
A fortnight after their agonising home defeat by France, Darge was delighted that Scotland got their championship back on track as they made it two wins from three, with trips to Italy and Ireland to come next month.
“It’s a very different feeling in the changing room compared to two weeks ago,” he said. “Even though there were bits we didn’t do well, to win with a nine-point margin, we’re delighted.
“It was scrappy to start with for sure, but we weathered that. We made a few mistakes and part of that was the pressure England put us under.
“But Finn (Russell) and Benny (White) controlled the game and put us in the right places, and the forwards went to work on the back of that.
“We had spoken about momentum through the week and when it was with us, we really leaned into it.”
Scotland have lost only one of their last seven meetings with England, although this was Darge’s first taste of the fixture.
The 23-year-old dismissed any notion that victories over the Auld Enemy can now be taken for granted by the Scots.
“We’re definitely delighted to get the win – it’s the Calcutta Cup,” he said. “It’s my first one so I’m delighted personally.
“I thought the atmosphere was outstanding and I’m going to enjoy it. You have to enjoy it then put it to bed so we can come back and really get after the Italy game.”
Senor Buscador grasped victory in the final strides to land the Saudi Cup for American trainer Todd Fincher.
The six-year-old was ridden by Junior Alvarado and started in stall four for the Group One, which is worth nearly £8million to the winning connections.
Saudi Crown made the running around the one-mile-one-furlong trip and as the field of 14 rounded the home turn, Senor Buscador had only fading horses behind him and a significant amount of ground to make up.
The bay, who was second to National Treasure in the Pegasus World Cup last time out, then began to accelerate and pass horses in the home straight.
He made his way to the front of the race and fell into stride with Japanese raider Ushba Tesoro as Saudi Crown slipped into third place.
The former two horses both lunged for the line and it was Senor Buscador who just came out on top to take the Saudi Cup back to America.
Joe Peacock jnr, who bred the horse with his late father and owns him alongside Sharaf Mohammed S Al Hariri, said after the victory: “Todd said early on that this race was set up perfectly for him.
“It’s the perfect distance, it’s just the one turn which is beneficial given his running style as we know he is going to come from way back and with two turns, he just gives up too much ground.
“I couldn’t be happier with the result. He knows where he needs to be and he got there on the day.
“I always worry about him because he gets so far back but we have a lot of confidence, a lot of faith in the horse.
“He has a big heart, he doesn’t always get there but we knew that given time, he would put it all together and win a big one. We didn’t really think it would be the Saudi Cup but we’ll take it.
“He’s the last horse my dad and I bred together so it’s very, very special.”
Fincher had expected the race to suit Senor Buscador and was delighted to see him show his ability despite his late-finishing style.
He said: “The set up was perfect, there was plenty of speed in there. It’s a track that plays fair, we’ve been on some really speed-biased tracks but we felt this one plays fair and it did.
“He ran with the best horses in the world and he showed what he can do.
“I can make excuses for him but he puts himself in that position a lot of the time, he gets behind 10 or 11 horses and has to weave his way through.
“He doesn’t get a clean trip and always gets dirt kicked in his face but he does it to himself, he sure tries to overcome it every time!
“It’s a big purse and the best horses in the world. This horse, he has never got the credit he deserves and I was just so adamant that I wanted him to prove how good he is and he finally proved it.”
Alvarado added: “I always knew he was a very good horse, we just needed to have a fair track where he can have a better chance to win and he proved that today,” he said.
“He is a horse that when he’s ready he lets you know and starts picking up horses late on, you just ride along with him.
“It’s just a matter of time to get there, you try to measure it perfectly.”
Magnificent Duhan Van Der Merwe became the first player to score a Calcutta Cup hat-trick for Scotland as they soared to their fourth consecutive victory over England in an intoxicating Guinness Six Nations showdown in Edinburgh.
The jet-heeled wing – who scored a stunning double at Twickenham just over 12 months ago – had the home crowd in raptures as he produced a Murrayfield masterclass to inspire his team to a 30-21 victory and move to within one of Scotland’s all-time record try-scorer Stuart Hogg.
England started brightly and opened up an early 10-0 lead, with George Furbank scoring his first international try, but Steve Borthwick’s men offered little thereafter as their unbeaten start to the championship shuddered to a halt.
Remarkably, the Red Rose have now won only one of the last seven meetings with Scotland.
Led into battle by courageous captain Jamie George just over a week after he lost his mother to cancer, England made a strong start.
Having forced the Scots back from the outset, the Red Rose got themselves ahead in the fifth minute when Northampton full-back Furbank – making his first start in almost two years – bounded over gleefully from close range after being played in by Elliot Daly at the end of a brilliant move.
Scotland suffered a further setback moments later when Zander Fagerson had to go off for an HIA, although the influential prop was able to return to the fray in the 18th minute.
By that point, England had opened up a 10-0 lead, with Ford kicking a penalty in the 15th minute.
Scotland had been in a state of disarray for most of the opening quarter, but they suddenly sparked into life and got themselves back into the game in the 20th minute.
Huw Jones made a dash for the line on the right and after being dragged to the ground, the centre flipped the ball up into the path of Van Der Merwe, who produced a superb piece of skill to find a gap and bolt over.
The early wind had been removed from England’s sails and Van Der Merwe edged the Scots in front on the half-hour mark with a breathtaking score from his own half.
As the visitors mounted an attack, Ford’s heavy pass bounced off the face of Furbank and into the hands of Jones, who instantly offloaded to Van der Merwe 60 metres out.
The wing put on the after-burners and raced clear up the left, leaving a trail of white jerseys in his slipstream. Finn Russell added the extras before stretching the hosts’ advantage to 17-10 with a penalty shortly afterwards.
England were wobbling, but Ford kept his cool to reduce their interval deficit to four points with an opportunist drop goal from 35 yards out.
Scotland suffered what appeared to be a blow within seconds of the second half kicking off when Sione Tuipulotu limped off to be replaced by Cam Redpath.
However, the substitute centre was instrumental in the hosts going further ahead in the 45th minute when he burst through a gap on the halfway line.
A ruck ensued as Redpath was halted in his tracks, and Russell produced one of his trademark cross-field kicks out to the left for Van Der Merwe, who burst over for his hat-trick and his 26th try for Scotland.
Ford reduced the deficit to 24-16 with a penalty in the 50th minute, but Russell put the home side firmly back in command with a couple of penalties either side of the hour mark.
England – having offered little since the opening quarter – gave themselves a glimmer of hope in the 67th minute when replacement wing Immanuel Feyi-Waboso bolted over on the left.
Fin Smith – with the chance to bring his side within a converted try of victory – hit the post with the conversion, leaving the Scots nine points ahead and able to see out the remainder of the match in relatively comfortable fashion.
Not even a yellow card in the closing moments for a tip tackle could take the shine off Van Der Merwe’s day.
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