Giannis Antetokounmpo has no time left for excuses after the Milwaukee Bucks put injury struggles to one side in a convincing victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder.
Bucks star Antetokounmpo recorded 30 points and a season-high 19 rebounds, while Khris Middleton registered his second career triple-double in Sunday's 118-93 thrashing of the Thunder.
Middleton had missed 16 straight games with a sprained left ankle, while Antetokounmpo returned for Thursday's victory over the Brooklyn Nets after missing two games due to an issue with his left hamstring.
Indeed, Sunday was the first time Antetokounmpo, Middleton and seven-time All-NBA guard Damian Lillard had shared the court since February 3.
"I just feel this appreciation of having everybody healthy and available to play," Antetokounmpo said.
"When we're not healthy, I think sometimes we play well, sometimes we don't, sometimes we create this excuse in our mind that like, 'OK, when he gets back, we're going to be better.'
"But now we're all here. There are no more excuses."
Middleton had 11 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his first triple-double since January 2018 and echoed Antetokounmpo's sentiment.
"With a full team out there, we realise what we can do," said Middleton. "We have so many guys, so many weapons that can carry us, or guys that can make a play or just attract a crowd."
In total, Milwaukee had seven players score in double figures as Bobby Portis posted 15 points, Brook Lopez 14, Lillard and Pat Connaughton 11 each and Jae Crowder 10.
"Just having everybody together makes the game easier for everybody,” Antetokounmpo added. "We don't have to force anything. We just keep on playing good basketball, keep on moving the ball.
"There's going to be some nights that it's going to be my night. There's going to be some nights that it's going to be Khris' night. There's going to be some nights that it's going to be Dame's night.
"But we don't have to force anything. Everybody out there is a threat. I think our bench is unbelievable, and they keep on getting better."
Such was Milwaukee's control, Oklahoma City's Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 12 points – the first time since January 16 he has been held below 20 – and sat out the entire fourth quarter as the Bucks dominated.
"They had him in a crowd for much of the night and made it very difficult for him to get his cracks," Thunder coach Mark Daigneault said of Gilgeous-Alexander.
"I thought as a team, just our overall pace and sharpness on offense wasn't where it needed to be."
Harlequins scrum-half Danny Care has retired from international rugby after winning 101 caps in a 15-year England career.
The Leeds-born 37-year-old, who has a record 369 Quins appearances, played in all five of England’s matches during this year’s Guinness Six Nations, including his 100th cap in the 23-22 win over Ireland.
He posted on Instagram: “To play for England once was a dream come true. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d get the opportunity to do it over 100 times.
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“After a lot of reflection the past few months, the time feels right for myself and the team, to retire from international rugby.
“The past 12 months in this England team have been arguably my favourite, making memories that my family and I will cherish and remember forever.”
Care, whose final international appearance came on March 16 in the thrilling narrow defeat to France in Lyon, is just the sixth player to win 100 caps for the England men’s team.
Steph Curry may have been surprised to not feature more in the Minnesota Timberwolves defeat but Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr insists his side will not solely rely on their star.
That message from Kerr was clear after Sunday's 114-110 loss to the Timberwolves, with the Golden State chief prioritising Curry's fitness over chasing results.
Curry scored 31 points on 9-of-21 shooting in his 30 minutes, including five 3-pointers, despite sitting out 11 straight minutes between the end of the third quarter and the closing stages of the fourth.
"I want to play as many minutes as I'm fresh and able to, so I'm a little bit [surprised] knowing that they were going on a run," said Curry.
Curry acknowledged "our lead was withering away" as the Warriors man was removed with four third-quarter minutes left and not introduced until just over six final minutes remained.
Kerr refuted suggestions Curry should have been reinstated sooner, though, pointing to the fitness load already on his strained shoulders.
"We can't expect to just ride Steph game after game after game," Kerr said. "We've put the burden of this franchise on his shoulders for 15 years.
"We can't expect him to play 35 minutes ... If you want to say that him playing 30 minutes instead of 32 is a difference between a win and a loss, I totally disagree with that.
"We're trying to win the game. And we're trying to keep him fresh, too."
Unlike the Timberwolves defeat, Curry played the entirety of the fourth quarter and 35 minutes overall in Friday's 123-11 loss to the Indiana Pacers.
"I played the whole fourth quarter against Indiana and it didn't work out, this didn't work out [against Minnesota]. We've got to find somewhere in the middle," Curry added.
"The situation will define itself in real-time. Every game matters as we're inching closer to the other end of the standings we never thought we would be in.
"No one is going to wave the white flag and say we are mailing it in. If that means playing more minutes, I'll be ready to do that."
The Warriors are just one game up on the in-form Houston Rockets, hanging on to the no.10 seed in the Western Conference by a slight margin.
Curry had earlier stated there remains no concern as to where Golden State finish in the standings, so long as the Warriors develop a winning habit to regain form for the postseason.
"What Steph is saying is if we don't build the habits, it doesn't matter," Kerr clarified as the final 12 games loom.
"You make the play-in, you don't, if you don't have the habits you're not going anywhere."
Julie Camacho’s Significantly will bid for more handicap riches this season after a productive campaign last year.
The six-year-old ran seven times and never finished far from the action when winning twice and placing second on three occasions.
He was in particularly good form in the latter part of the term, missing out by just a short head when second in the Portland at Doncaster before going on to land the Ayr Gold Cup.
He then ran another fine race to end the season in the Coral Sprint Trophy at York, finishing second again when outdone only by William Haggas’ Montassib.
The latter horse began his campaign in good style when taking the Listed Cammidge Trophy Stakes on Town Moor at the weekend, a nice boost to Significantly’s form from the Knavesmire.
Listed and Group level races could end up on his agenda this season, but there may be more lucrative handicap pots to be targeted before that transition is made.
“He’s in really good shape, he’s forward,” said Steve Brown, Camacho’s husband and assistant.
“He’s a horse that likes cut in the ground so he may start in a fortnight at the Craven meeting in the six-furlong handicap there.
“There are a couple of races we’re keeping an eye on for him but he’s wintered really well.
“He had a positive year last season and he looks every bit as well, he’s on as good terms with himself as he was then.
“We’re in the twilight zone, that grey area where we’re behind the handicapper but it doesn’t quite make sense yet to run in a Listed or Group Three race.
“We’ll keep an eye on them all though, because the one thing we know is that there are a lot less runners in them than in these big-field handicaps.
“It was interesting to see that the horse that beat him at York at the back end of last year won a Listed race quite cosily on Saturday.
“That catches your attention, he’s a horse that might suit a Listed race in Ireland. We’ll keep an open mind and we’re really pleased with his well being, which is the main thing at this time of year.”
Significantly is owned by Niall O’Keeffe, who, alongside the Camacho team, had a good result at Doncaster at the weekend with new purchase Lattam.
The Lope De Vega gelding was bought out of William Haggas’ yard at the end of last season with an Irish Lincolnshire title to his name after he landed that Curragh contest in 2023.
He aimed to add a Lincoln to that title on Saturday and found only one horse too good, finishing second to Mr Professor when having to throw down a challenge from fairly far back in the field.
The run still earnt him over £36,000 and replenished a good chunk of his 50,000 guineas purchase price, with connections hopeful there will be more where that came from as the big mile handicaps will be considered for him throughout the season.
“He’s come out of it fresh and well, he’ll have a quiet week and then I suppose the obvious place to look at is Newbury,” Brown said of the chestnut.
“We know he’s a horse who is ground dependent so we’ll be keen to get another run or two into him in the spring and go from there.
“It was a good, solid start. He could have been a touch closer but I don’t think he’d have beaten the winner, who won well on the day.
“That was pleasing for Niall, these are the sorts of horses he targets to run in the big handicaps and festivals on Saturdays.
“He was thrilled with him, we all were, and we’re looking forward to seeing him run again.”
Lattam is likely to be campaigned in two phases, making the most of the softer spring ground and then lying low in the summer before returning to action in the autumn with Ascot’s Balmoral Handicap in his sights.
Brown said: “The race we’d really love to run him is the Balmoral Handicap, by virtue of him being a soft ground horse, he could go into that race without as much racing as some of them have had at that time of year.
“You’re almost working back from that to a degree, obviously we hope he can strike before then but it would be very much on our minds if you were asking me to name one race for him now.”
Karl Burke’s Marshman has a Group race return pencilled in after a pleasing second-placed run in the Cammidge Trophy.
The four-year-old was stepping back up to six furlongs for his first outing of the season after predominantly running over shorter distances last year.
Under Clifford Lee, the colt started as the 3-1 joint-favourite and ran a fine race to finish second by a neck when collared by William Haggas’ Montassib on the line.
The performance has warranted the decision to return to the six-furlong trip over which Marshman was second in the Gimcrack as a two-year-old, with the Group Three Abernant at Newmarket and the Group Two Duke of York Stakes on the agenda for the spring.
Nick Bradley of owners Nick Bradley Racing, who also owned the sixth and seventh-placed horses in the race, said: “My other two horses were in the brunt of the headwind and both found the last furlong a furlong too far.
“Marshman took it up and he was just beaten by a very good horse that the race was run to suit.
“I couldn’t have been happier with Marshman’s performance, for me it was one of the best three or four performances of his career.
“I was speaking to Kelly and Karl (Burke) this morning and we’re now thinking that we’re going to go to the Abernant at Newmarket and he’ll have an entry in the Duke of York next week.
“That’s the plan, Abernant then Duke of York.”
Marshman’s run was part of a successful meeting for Bradley’s horses, with Look Back Smiling taking first place for trainer Gemma Tutty in the Spring Mile Handicap.
“I did think going into it that he was our best chance of the weekend, he had underfoot conditions to suit, the track was perfect for him and the trip was perfect for him,” he added.
“Brandon (Wilkie) gave him a brilliant ride, when he got to the front he didn’t idle but he did wander around a bit and Brandon did a great job of keeping him straight to the line.
“Hats off to Gemma – to get a horse like that ready on the opening day of the season deserves a great amount of credit.”
Look Back Smiling will require cut in the ground wherever he goes next and there is a long-term plot to target a valuable handicap at Ascot in October.
“He is ground dependent, I’ve sent a list of about 12 races to the owners – a couple at Redcar, a couple at the Craven meeting,” Bradley said.
“He’s a horse that when we get him on a straight track over a mile, he is in his optimum conditions.
“I’m thinking a long way ahead but I’ve got the Balmoral Handicap on Champions Day in mind.
“He isn’t going to be high enough to get in that just yet, I’m hoping by the end of the season he’ll be rated high 90s and we can go for something like the Balmoral.”
Bradley also looks to have a promising recruit in Grant Tuer’s Indication Ember, who finished third with a taking run on her racecourse debut in the Brocklesby.
“Her pedigree screamed soft ground at us, so we wanted to get her out when soft ground was a certainty,” he said.
“She was staying on right to the line, she ran the fastest final furlong and she’s going to go to Redcar on April 15, all being well.
“I don’t think I’d swap her for any other horse in the race. Sam (James, jockey) was very bullish after the race and we’ve got a couple at home who go as well as her.
“It did put a spring in our step, a nice run in what was the first two-year-old race of the season.”
Newbury’s John Porter Stakes has been identified as a possible starting point for Arrest, with connections confident last year’s St Leger runner-up can become a high-class middle-distance operator this term.
John and Thady Gosden’s son of Frankel was sent off the 4-1 favourite for the Derby in 2023 after an impressive three-year-old debut when claiming the Chester Vase.
Although he failed to handle the Epsom undulations on lightning fast summer ground, he showed his true colours towards the end of the campaign where he came close to both correcting his Classic record and providing Frankie Dettori with a swansong success at Doncaster.
The four-year-old colt is now poised to return to Newbury – the scene of his Group Three Geoffrey Freer Stakes victory last season – with the Arrest team hoping the mile-and-a-half John Porter on April 20 is the first step of a season that will encompass plenty of high-ranking targets.
“He was consistent all year apart from the Derby, which I think was our own fault,” said Barry Mahon, European racing manager for owners Juddmonte.
“John, Thady and myself got wrapped up a little bit in it being the Derby and we probably shouldn’t have run as the ground was a bit quick and the track obviously didn’t suit.
“He showed his true form on his next couple of starts and has wintered very well. John and Thady were very happy with him when speaking to them last week and the current plan, all being well, is to start in the John Porter.
“I think we will start off at middle distances and see how we go and if he shows us in the middle of the summer he wants a bit further, then we will try it. But I think he has shown enough class at a mile and a half to suggest he can be competitive in those top mile-and-a-half races throughout the year.”
Juddmonte also have high hopes for the Gosden-trained Laurel as she returns to training after an interrupted campaign last year.
The five-year-old impressed when winning Kempton’s Snowdrop Stakes last April which teed-up a shot at the Lockinge the following month and although that tough assignment proved a step too far, she was amongst the leading contenders for Royal Ascot’s Duke of Cambridge Stakes before injury curtailed her season.
An appearance in that Royal Ascot Group Two will be Laurel’s main aim in the early part of 2024, with connections keen to get the daughter of Kingman to the summer showpiece in peak condition.
“Laurel is back in training and John and Thady are happy with her,” continued Mahon.
“She’s just having a slow preparation with a view to getting her to Royal Ascot later in the year, so we will probably just give her a prep run at the end of May or the beginning of June and then it will be straight to Royal Ascot if all is well with her.
“She is in good shape and seems to have got over her little injury, so with a bit of luck, if she stays injury free she could be an exciting prospect for the year.”
Adrian Murray has issued an upbeat report on the wellbeing of his Group One-winning colt Bucanero Fuerte ahead of a possible tilt at the Qipco 2000 Guineas.
The Wootton Bassett colt won three of his five starts as a juvenile, landing the Railway Stakes and the Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh as well finishing a close-up third in the Coventry at Royal Ascot.
He finished a well beaten third behind Henry Longfellow when a hot favourite to double his top-level tally in the National Stakes in September and he has not been seen in competitive action since, but Murray is thrilled with how his stable star has wintered ahead of his three-year-old campaign.
“We couldn’t be happier with him now. He did his first bit of work the other day and it was very, very good,” said the trainer.
“He’s entered for the Guineas and it hasn’t been decided yet whether he’ll go or not, whether we go up in trip or stick to six or seven (furlongs), we’ll see nearer the time.
“He’s improved a lot in the last six or eight weeks and has gotten very strong, he’s come in his coat and looks fantastic.
“It’s hard to say what we’ll do and he’ll tell us, but if we were to go for the Guineas we might just go straight there.
“He turned out to be a super horse for us last year. He didn’t run up to his best in the National Stakes, our horses were under a bit of a cloud at that stage, and he never travelled at all in the race – he wasn’t the same horse that we’d seen before that.
“I’m very happy with him at the moment and hopefully he’ll step up to the plate again this year.”
Bucanero Fuerte is just one of several Amo Racing-owned horses Murray is looking forward to seeing in action this term, with Crypto Force an exciting addition to the team.
The son of Time Test claimed the notable scalp of dual Derby winner Auguste Rodin on his debut two years ago, but has been off the track since winning the Group Two Beresford Stakes later that season for Michael O’Callaghan, having since failed to make the track during spells in training with John and Thady Gosden and latterly George Boughey.
Now a four-year-old, Crypto Force holds big-race entries in the Alleged Stakes (April 6) and the Tattersalls Gold Cup (May 26) at the Curragh and appears to be nearing a comeback.
“He’s doing grand and he’ll probably shortly be out, I’d say. We’re happy with him at the minute,” Murray added.
Another top-class prospect set to return to Ireland is Valiant Force, who provided Murray with a first Royal Ascot success when claiming a shock 150-1 victory in last summer’s Norfolk Stakes and finished a half-length second to Big Evs at the Breeders’ Cup.
The three-year-old stayed in America for the first part of the new year, but is soon set to make his way back across the Atlantic for a European campaign.
“We have some right nice horses to go war with this year. Valiant Force is coming back to us as well so we’re going to have him for Royal Ascot all being well,” said Murray.
“He’s ran twice in America (since the Breeders’ Cup), finishing second and fourth. It will be great to get him back and he’ll be targeted at all the top sprints.”
In the wake of the Cheltenham Festival and with thoughts turning to Fairyhouse, Willie Mullins has lavished praise on Paul Townend as their association goes from strength to strength.
If anyone questioned whether Townend was the right man to replace Ruby Walsh when Mullins’ former number one called it quits at the Punchestown Festival in 2019, the champion trainer was certainly not one of them.
Townend rode six of Mullins’ nine Cheltenham winners – five of them coming at Grade One level, while his other winner, Absurde in the County Hurdle, was lauded as the ride of the week.
Galopin Des Champs’ second Gold Cup win means Townend has won four of the last six renewals and now his sights are switched to winning another Boylesports Irish Grand National on Easter Monday.
His ride on last year’s winner I Am Maximus also earned plenty of plaudits, none bigger than from Mullins himself.
“I thought Paul was going to pull him up, but when he pulled him to the outside he started to gallop a bit better. Undoubtedly it was some ride,” said Mullins.
“Paul was thinking on his feet the whole way and to get that performance out of that horse after the performance he put in for the first two miles was extraordinary horsemanship.
“Paul was a real jockey in Cheltenham winning on Galopin Des Champs last year, but then he showed what a real horseman he is when he came back to Fairyhouse, putting in that performance was what I call horsemanship.
“I never thought about it when Ruby retired. To me Paul was always going to be his replacement because he’d been second jockey to Ruby for however many years.
“Any time Ruby went to England or was injured Paul stepped into his shoes and we never had any problems. I was actually surprised at the time that the press were wondering if he would take over, it never crossed my mind.
“Paul probably felt the pressure a little in the early days as he did say to me about six months after he took over could he have his old job back because he was after picking the wrong one at Punchestown a couple of times, it’s much easier to ride as second jockey all right.
“But I had full confidence in him, I always had. He has a totally different style of riding to Ruby and you have to get used to it, but I’d been used to it for years. I’m happy with how he does it and for everyone the winners keep coming.”
Dominic Ffrench Davis is keen to see the rain keep falling ahead of a Classic tilt with Persian Dreamer later this spring.
She holds entries for both the Qipco 1000 Guineas and the Irish equivalent at the Curragh, with the daughter of Calyx winning both a Rowley Mile maiden and the July course’s Duchess of Cambridge Stakes impressively in Newmarket during her two-year-old season.
She signed off her juvenile campaign with a respectable effort in the Cheveley Park Stakes and with her best form coming at HQ with cut in the ground, her handler is hoping conditions allow her to take part in the opening fillies Classic of the season back on the Rowley Mile.
“Persian Dreamer is not back in the yard yet, she’s over with Robson Aguiar in Ireland but he tells me she’s doing well so we’re looking forward to her coming back,” said the Lambourn-based handler.
“I hope this rain continues because to win a Group One with her would be the aim, but she needs to get her toe in.
“She’ll run in one of the Guineas, whether she runs before that we’ll see what happens with the weather. If the word ‘soft’ was in the description we’d love to be at Newmarket because she’s two from three there.”
A key member of Kia Joorabchian’s Amo Racing operation, Ffrench Davis also oversaw the two-year-old campaign of Ornellaia in 2023, with the daughter of Night Of Thunder third in the Group One Moyglare Stud Stakes when last sighted.
She has since switched to Roger Varian and also has a crack at the 1000 Guineas on her agenda, with Ffrench Davis feeling she could possess real star quality.
He continued: “We’ve still got Persian Dreamer but Ornellaia has gone to Roger Varian. She’s a lovely filly and I hope she goes on and wins a Group One this year because Kia deserves it, it’s a hell of an operation he’s put together.
“It rained heavy before Persian Dreamer won the Duchess of Cambridge and if it did the same before the Guineas, who knows. The race has opened up with Aidan’s (O’Brien, Opera Singer) not running, but Ornellaia will be a hard one to beat.”
Mercedes boss Toto Wolff will be absent from the next Formula One race in Japan, the PA news agency has learned.
It is understood that Wolff’s decision to miss the race in Suzuka on April 7 was taken before the start of the new season and is not connected to the team’s performance in Australia.
Wolff admitted after Sunday’s race at Melbourne’s Albert Park that it is “fair” to question his future as team principal following Mercedes’ troubling weekend.
Lewis Hamilton qualified only 11th and the worst start to his 18-season career was confirmed when his engine expired on lap 17, while team-mate George Russell was seventh when he crashed out.
Wolff, who lives in Monaco, will be on the intercom remotely throughout the race weekend in Japan – with his duties at the circuit to be divided between senior members of the Brackley team.
The Austrian also missed last year’s Japanese GP and the ensuing round in Qatar, following knee surgery. On those occasions the team’s driver development director Jerome d’Ambrosio was handed the effective on-site team principal baton.
But it emerged earlier this month that D’Ambrosio is set to end his association with the team when his contract expires at the end of the season.
Wolff admitted in an interview with the PA news agency last year that he intends to scale back his on-track presence in the coming years.
The 52-year-old, who has been in charge of Mercedes since 2013, recently signed a new three-year deal to remain as chief executive and team principal of the F1 operation he co-owns with Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Ola Kallenius.
Mercedes won an unprecedented eight consecutive constructors’ titles between 2014 and 2021 but they have tasted just one victory from their last 48 outings.
Fresh from his harrowing accident in Melbourne, Russell is expected to be at the team’s HQ in Northamptonshire later this week as Mercedes search for solutions to their underwhelming start to the season.
Russell failed to make it to the end of Sunday’s race after hitting the wall on the penultimate lap in his pursuit of Fernando Alonso.
The double world champion was adjudged to have driven dangerously by the stewards and was demoted from sixth to eighth following a post-race 20-second penalty.
However, the 42-year-old protested his innocence in a message posted on social media.
Alonso wrote: “A bit surprised by a penalty at the end of the race regarding how we should approach the corners or how we should drive the race cars. At no point do we want to do anything wrong at these speeds.
“I believe that without gravel on that corner, on any other corner in the world we will never be even investigated.
“In F1, with over 20 years of experience, changing racing lines, sacrificing entry speed to have good exits from corners is part of the art of motorsport.
“We never drive at 100 per cent every race lap and every corner, we save fuel, tyres, brakes, so being responsible for not making every lap the same is a bit surprising. We have to accept it and think about Japan, to have more pace and fight for positions further up the field.”
Promising fillies Queen Of Zafeen and Star Music will put their Classic credentials to the test next month, with Richard Hughes confident he has some smart operators to unleash during the 2024 season.
Both fillies are owned by Jaber Abdullah and hold entries in the Qipco 1000 Guineas, but the Weathercock House handler may look outside of Newmarket depending on how the duo perform in their respective trials.
Queen Of Zafeen was last seen being narrowly denied in Lingfield’s Spring Cup and after a rapid rise through the ranks, she will tackle Newmarket’s Lanwades Stud Nell Gwyn Stakes before connections consider whether to challenge for a version of the Guineas home or abroad.
“It was a shame she didn’t go and win the Spring Cup and she was only beat on the line, but I suppose two colts were beside her,” said Hughes.
“I’m probably going to run her in the Nell Gwyn because she has no experience on grass and it has all happened a bit quick for her really.
“She will have had a nice break from the Spring Cup to the Nell Gwyn and I’m kind of thinking the German 1000 Guineas rather than the English Guineas, but we will let her do the talking first.”
Star Music will also be in action that week with the Oh So Sharp Stakes third set for action in the Dubai Duty Free Stakes – better known as the Fred Darling – at Newbury on April 20.
The form of her placed effort behind Dance Sequence and Skellet has already been franked by the fourth Chic Colombine this year and with connections of that rival hinting at a French 1000 Guineas bid, the daughter of Zoustar may end up joining George Boughey’s filly in the starting stalls at ParisLongchamp.
“She will go for the Fred Darling and a theory I have, which might be wrong, is that Zoustars prefer a really flat track,” continued Hughes.
“They are a bit like Exceed And Excels and just seem to act better when it is really flat.
“She was particularly impressive when she won at Kempton but I just feel Newmarket might not be her track, even though she ran a blinder in the Oh So Sharp. I might think of Longchamp for her if she runs well in her trial.”
Hughes is also holding plenty of hope for Derby entrant Kamboo, who is set for an early season appearance in the bet365 Feilden Stakes at Newmarket, while the former champion jockey turned trainer feels he is entering the season with some real talent at his disposal.
“Kamboo is one for the Feilden and is showing up well at home,” added Hughes.
“It’s all a bit undecided at the moment but it’s the first time I’ve had a handful of Group horses in my yard.
“Normally we have one that is a hopeful, but this time I’m pretty confident I have four or five to go to war with, which is pretty good for a small-enough string.
“I’m a bit of a realist and Lizzie (Hughes, wife) says I’m negative at times. It’s just this year I know I have nice horses to go to war with, so it’s been a little bit different in the spring.
“Now they are running so well it is a bonus – everything we seem to be running at the moment is winning or going close, so it’s going really well.”
Annaf will miss out on the chance to supplement his recent Saudi Arabian success on Dubai World Cup Night having met with a setback in transit.
Mick Appleby’s five-year-old enjoyed a fine 2023 season and having signed off with big wins at both Doncaster and Ascot, he has picked up from where he left off this term, going close in the Kachy Stakes before striking gold in the $2million Saudi National Bank 1351 Turf Sprint in Riyadh last month.
The son of Muhaarar was in line to seek an international double in Meydan’s Al Quoz Sprint on Saturday, but having picked up a respiratory illness on the flight over to Dubai, will now return to Appleby’s Oakham base to be prepared for a domestic campaign centred around a trip to Royal Ascot.
Appleby said: “He got taken ill on the flight over, but it is not life threatening or anything and he’s hopefully going to be fine, it’s just prevented him from running.
“It’s a shame but it’s a risk you take when they are flying a fair bit. He came home after Saudi and was heading back out so maybe it was just a bit too much for him.
“He should be fine and the vets out in Dubai in the hospital are happy with him – he should be fine to come back home when the other one (Roberto Escobarr) does.
“We’ll probably get him ready for Ascot now, that will probably be the main aim.”
The Royal meeting could also feature on the agenda for Appleby’s leading light Big Evs who is being readied for his three-year-old season.
The son of Blue Point excelled as a juvenile, winning top-quality two-year-old races at home before giving his team a day to remember when winning the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf Sprint at Santa Anita.
His handler is keen to keep his high-class speedster to five furlongs for the early part of the season, which would see ideas of the Commonwealth Cup put on the backburner for now. However, he does concede six-furlong contests will enter the equation at some stage.
Appleby continued: “He’s great and has wintered really well. He’s not far off being ready to run, we just need to decide where we are going to run.
“The obvious race (to target) would have been the Commonwealth Cup, but that is six furlongs and we don’t really want to try him over six first time back, so we’re not really sure where we will start back. The weather is not helping and it’s raining again here now.
“I think in the early season we will definitely be sticking to five furlongs. We’re obviously going to have to try him at six at some point and the way he won at Goodwood on that heavy ground, you would say he would stay the six.”
Forward Plan will bid for a third big pot of the season at the Grand National meeting in April.
Anthony Honeyball admits to have been taken aback by just how effective the eight-year-old has been this term, winning a good prize at Doncaster and then being beaten a nose in the Great Yorkshire Chase before winning the £150,000 Coral Trophy at Kempton.
He now has his sights set on the £100,000 William Hill Handicap Chase on Grand National day at Aintree, April 13, a race the yard has fond memories of.
“Forward Plan goes to Aintree for the race Sam Brown won two years ago,” said Honeyball.
“When Sam won it it was the race before the National so we had an hour in the winning connections room, but the only thing was we probably didn’t get much exposure as they went straight into the build-up for the National!
“Forward Plan has been a cracking little horse, he’s picked up about £120,000. We’ve dared to dream chucking him in big handicaps and he has kept on delivering.
“Last season we thought he had won his Gold Cup in a £20,000 race at Southwell but he has just improved and improved this season.
“The Badger Ales was a good place to start but the ground was softer than he liked, then he won a nice race at Doncaster and in between Doncaster and his Kempton wins he was beaten a nose in the Great Yorkshire Chase.
“Arguably the best ride Ben (Godfrey) has given him was that one too as everyone was sure the winner, Annual Invictus, had gone off too fast so he ignored him for much of the race, he beat the rest easily but to be fair to the winner he just found that little bit extra.
“The race at Kempton was worth more than the Ultima and there wasn’t one Irish entry. They probably think it comes too close to Cheltenham.
“He looked beaten two out, he’d lost his position down the back straight but he flew home. If he can win a third big pot it would be great, we’ll try and go to Aintree and if not it will be Punchestown.”
Frazer Clarke is ready to have the last laugh when he takes on Fabio Wardley for the British and Commonwealth heavyweight titles on Sunday in what will be the biggest night of his professional career.
Olympic bronze medallist Clarke has been forced to bide his time for a shot at domestic rival Wardley after their prospective bout last year collapsed.
Clarke’s own team of 258 Management and promotion company Boxxer made the decision to withdraw the 32-year-old on the day of purse bids, which resulted in their fighter being at the centre of a social media storm.
After Clarke took criticism and ridicule from all directions “on the chin”, he regrouped to get the better of veteran Mariusz Wach on points last summer before he comprehensively dismantled Dave Allen in September to finally set up an eagerly-anticipated clash with Wardley at London’s O2 Arena on Easter Sunday.
“It wasn’t pleasant. Definitely wasn’t pleasant,” Clarke told the PA news agency about the purse bid episode.
“To go through that at that stage of my career, it felt unfair but I am a firm believer in dealing with things as they come to you.
“I just had to get on with it. I did that and didn’t really complain too much. I got a lot of stick from a lot of people but took it on the chin. Got on with things. I had a couple of bad weeks but after that I was fine and we moved on.”
Clarke (8-0, 6KOs) conceded facing 48-fight veteran Wach at York Hall months after he was in line to compete for the British title proved to be the “biggest anti-climax ever”, while even Allen failed to “get the juices flowing” for the Stoke-on-Trent boxer.
However, motivation will be no problem when the 32-year-old steps in with Wardley, 29, after several social media exchanges between the duo who have been on a collision course since the latter beat one of Clarke’s old Olympic programme team-mates.
“I was at the Nathan Gorman fight. I watched that with keen interest and the second he became British champion, I thought one day I will end up fighting him,” Clarke said.
“I would say a rivalry is the right word. I wouldn’t say it’s a grudge because I have got no issue with Fabio.
“We’ve had a bit of back and forth, but that’s just the nature of the beast. It is all part and parcel of the game.
“The rivalry is definitely there. I would say it is a competitive rivalry rather than anything else.”
A subplot to this domestic dust-up is the pair’s upbringing, with Clarke steeped in boxing tradition after he progressed through the British Olympic programme, while Wardley’s first venture into the sport was through white-collar fights.
Nevertheless, Clarke acknowledged he is the underdog against an opponent who has won all 17 of his professional fights, but is ready to lean on his amateur pedigree and silence the critics after a “brutal” fight camp.
View this post on InstagramHe added: “Physically, emotionally, it’s been hard, draining but I feel like I’m coming out the other end.
“As a professional, this is definitely by far the biggest night of my life and everything will go into this.
“I’m motivated, I’m up for it and I’m really enjoying this underdog mentality.
“Having people against me, having people expecting me to get flattened, it will be sweet to prove people wrong.”
Sir Chris Hoy was crowned world champion for a 10th time on this day in 2010 as he triumphed in the Keirin at the Track Cycling World Championships in Copenhagen.
A crash in the first heat threatened to wreck Hoy’s plans, but he managed to regroup to qualify for the final.
Azizulhasni Awang pushed Olympic champion Hoy all the way before the British rider edged home to claim his second medal of the Championships.
Hoy had already clinched bronze in the team sprint at the Ballerup Super Arena, but crashed out in qualifying for the Keirin.
Josiah Ng Onn Lam had blocked Hoy, who went on to fall and take out another rider, which caused the race to stop.
Ng was later disqualified and after Hoy progressed through to the final, the Scot had to bide his time before he gained the lead during the final lap-and-a-half to taste success in his first major global event since his triple Olympic success in 2008.
“I certainly didn’t enjoy being bumped on my backside at the start of my first race – that was a bit out of order,” Hoy said.
“It made me angry but I had to keep my emotions in check because I didn’t want the red mist to descend.
“It’s even more special to be back here again where I won my first world title in 2002.
“I would never have predicted then that I would be coming back here in eight years time, let alone to win a 10th title. I’m delighted.”
Tobias Harris and Tyrese Maxey each had 24 points as the Philadelphia 76ers got back on track with Sunday's 121-107 win over the Los Angeles Clippers in the teams' first meeting since November's James Harden trade.
Harden's tumultuous 21-month tenure with the 76ers came to an end when Philadelphia shipped the disgruntled star guard to Los Angeles shortly after the start of this season. The 10-time All-Star dished out 14 assists against his former team, but was held to 12 points on 5-of-13 shooting.
The Sixers started fast and never trailed en route to ending a two-game losing streak, though Los Angeles erased a 17-point first-half deficit to tie the contest midway through the third quarter.
Philadelphia regained control behind a 6-0 run to take a 79-73 lead with five minutes left in the third quarter, then later scored 13 consecutive points in the fourth to open up a commanding 103-85 advantage with eight minutes to go.
Maxey accounted for 10 points during that pivotal spurt and scored 19 of his points after half-time.
Harris tallied 11 first-quarter points and Kelly Oubre Jr. added 10 as the Sixers built a 41-29 lead after 12 minutes, and Philadelphia stretched the margin further in the second before the Clippers closed out the first half on a 10-0 run to pull within 63-56 at intermission.
Los Angeles continued to chip away early in the third quarter and tied the game at 65-65 on a Paul George 3-pointer 2:14 into the second half.
Kawhi Leonard and Norman Powell paced the Clippers, who were coming off consecutive wins over the lowly Portland Trail Blazers, with 20 points each.
Bucks knock Thunder out of West's top spot with rout
Giannis Antetokounmpo racked up 30 points and a season-high 19 rebounds, Khris Middleton amassed a triple-double and the Milwaukee Bucks rolled to a dominant 118-93 victory over Oklahoma City that knocked the Thunder out of first place in the Western Conference.
Playing with their core three of Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard and Middleton together for the first time since Feb. 3, the Bucks held Oklahoma City to its lowest point and field goal percentage (37.1) totals of the season to increase their lead on the second-place Cleveland Cavaliers to three games in the Central Division.
The Thunder had a four-game winning streak halted and dropped a half-game behind the defending NBA champion Denver Nuggets for the West's best record.
Middleton compiled 11 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists for his second career triple-double, while Antetokounmpo scored 11 of his points in the third quarter as Milwaukee began pulling away after holding a slim 48-47 edge at half-time.
Seven of Antetokounmpo's points came during a 16-0 run that turned a one-point advantage into a 68-51 lead just past the midway stage of the third quarter.
The Bucks didn't let up in the fourth, as they shot 63.6 per cent for the period while increasing their lead to as many as 26 points.
Josh Giddey led Oklahoma City with 19 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder's All-Star guard, was held to 12 points on 5-of-12 shooting and had a streak of 29 consecutive games of 20 points or more snapped.
Heat bounce back with dominant win over Cavaliers
The Cleveland Cavaliers lost ground to the Bucks in the Central race with a lopsided loss to the Miami Heat, who had seven players score in double figures to cruise to a 121-84 blowout win.
Miami rebounded strongly from Friday's 23-point home loss to the New Orleans Pelicans, as the defending Eastern Conference champions built a lead as large as 45 points while getting contributions all throughout the roster.
The Heat received 59 points from their reserves, led by Haywood Highsmith's 18 on 7-of-10 shooting, as well as a 15-point, 16-rebound effort from starting center Bam Adebayo to end a three-game losing streak at home.
Cleveland got 15 points from Evan Mobley in the forward's return from a nine-game absence caused by a sprained ankle. No other Cavaliers' players reached double figures, however, as the injury-plagued club was dealt a third straight loss.
The Heat shot nearly 58 per cent from the field in the first quarter to build a 32-22 lead, then increased the margin during a second quarter that guard Terry Rozier closed with a buzzer-beating layup that sent Miami into the break owning a comfortable 60-39 advantage.
Cleveland never got closer than 19 points down in the second half, and the Heat's lead swelled to 118-73 with 4:23 left to play.
Miami's 45-point lead was its largest margin in any game since a 46-point cushion over the Chicago Bulls in a 2013 play-off contest.
Jonathan Drouin's goal 54 seconds into overtime capped an improbable rally for the red-hot Colorado Avalanche, who increased their winning streak to nine games with Sunday's 5-4 victory over the Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Avalanche trailed 4-0 late in the second period before erupting for five unanswered goals, the last coming when Drouin skated by Pittsburgh defenseman Kris Letang up the right side before slipping a shot past goaltender Alex Nedeljkovic less than a minute into extra time.
Drouin finished with two goals and an assist, while Nathan MacKinnon had a goal and two assists to extend his streak of consecutive home games with at least one point to 34, the second-longest run in NHL history.
While the Avalanche remained tied with the Dallas Stars atop the Central Division, the Penguins were dealt another blow to their fading play-off hopes with a third consecutive defeat. Pittsburgh currently stands in 13th place in the Eastern Conference and is now nine points behind in the race for the final wild-card spot.
Sean Walker and Yakov Trenin began Colorado's comeback with goals in the final four minutes of the second period, and Drouin cut Pittsburgh's lead to 4-3 when he one-timed a cross-ice pass from MacKinnon into the Penguins' net 3:32 into the third.
MacKinnon's 44th goal of the season later tied the contest with 4:38 remaining in regulation.
The Penguins dominated the first period, outshooting Colorado by a 15-4 margin and building a 2-0 lead on goals by Jesse Puljujarvi and Bryan Rust. They extended the margin to 4-0 when Sidney Crosby and Pierre-Olivier Joseph scored less than two minutes apart in the second.
Crosby finished with three assists in addition to his 34th goal of the season.
Nedeljkovic stopped 21 of 25 shots and briefly left the game in the third period after colliding with Colorado's Casey Mittelstadt. Tristan Jarry came on in relief and turned back 4 of 5 chances while surrendering MacKinnon's tying goal.
Alexandar Georgiev finished with 30 saves for Colorado.
Oveckhin, Capitals continue surge with shutout of Jets
Alex Ovechkin extended his hot stretch with two more goals to back Charlie Lindgren's 27 saves as the Washington Capitals continued their climb in the Eastern Conference standings with a 3-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets.
John Carlson added a goal and T.J. Oshie contributed two assists to Washington's fifth victory in six games, a result that pushed the Capitals one point ahead of Detroit for the East's final wild-card spot. Washington hosts the Red Wings on Tuesday in an important late-season clash.
Both Lindgren and Winnipeg's Connor Hellebuyck were perfect through two periods, but the Capitals finally broke the scoreless stalemate when Carlson one-timed a feed from Oshie past the Jets' star netminder on a power play 1:21 into the third.
Ovechkin put Washington up 2-0 just over two minutes afterward, then beat Hellebuyck on a backhand attempt with eight minutes to go as the legendary forward increased his goal streak to five games. Oveckhin has eight goals during the run.
Lindgren had seven third-period saves to polish off his fifth shutout of the season and hand the scuffling Jets a third consecutive loss.
Hellebuyck ended with 16 saves.
Andersen sharp again as Hurricanes top Maple Leafs
Frederik Andersen made 32 saves to remain unbeaten since returning from injury as the Carolina Hurricanes held on for an important 2-1 win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Andersen made first-period goals from Brady Skjei and Sebastian Aho stand up to win his sixth consecutive start since coming back from a blood-clotting issue that had sidelined him for four months.
The victory was the ninth in 11 games (9-1-1) for Carolina, which trails the New York Rangers by just one point for first place in the Eastern Conference.
Toronto had a two-game winning streak snapped despite 41 saves from Joseph Woll, who also turned back Jake Guentzel on a penalty shot in the first period.
Woll was beaten early, however, as Skjei scored on the Hurricanes' first shot of the game with just 1:06 elapsed into the contest.
Aho converted a power-play chance later in the first period to extend the margin, and Andersen made 20 saves through the first two periods before Toronto's Nicholas Robertson ended the shutout bid 8:51 into the third.
The Maple Leafs had an opportunity to tie it later on after Carolina defenseman Brent Burns was called for a tripping penalty with 3:15 remaining, but the Hurricanes were able to kill off the resulting power play.
Andy Murray raged at umpire Carlos Bernardes as he bowed out of the Miami Open following a dramatic three-set defeat to Tomas Machac.
Murray appeared to be furious with Bernardes for failing to control the movement of spectators around the Butch Buchholz court as he lost his serve at the end of the second set.
Machac then raced into a 3-0 lead in the decider and eventually closed out a 5-7 7-5 7-6 (7/5) victory in three hours and 27 minutes, but only after Murray had survived an injury scare and saved a match point to force the tie-break.
Murray had taken the first set after finally capitalising on his ninth break point and, following a 40-minute rain delay, the second set looked destined for a tie-break until Murray lost his serve in the 12th game.
The 36-year-old’s frustrations with fans moving between points boiled over and he could be heard shouting to Bernardes: “Useless, useless.”
In response to an unheard reply from Bernardes, Murray responded: “What are you talking about? It’s quite obvious when people are standing up between every single point.”
It was no surprise that a distracted Murray then lost his serve at the start of the decider but Machac was unable to close out the match at 5-3, serving two double faults as he let Murray back into the contest.
Murray looked to have all the momentum but then seemed to twist his ankle as he ran towards the net after levelling at 5-5, the former world number one thankfully able to continue after being assessed by a tournament physio.
In typical fashion Murray refused to throw in the towel and saved a match point on his own serve to take the contest to a decisive tie-break which he led 5-3, only for Machac to reel off four points in a row to complete a remarkable win.
Elsewhere, Australian Open champion Jannik Sinner recovered from a set down to beat Tallon Griekspoor 5-7 7-5 6-1, but Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan caused a major upset as he knocked out world number seven Holger Rune 6-1 6-1.
“It is a great feeling to play at the highest level,” Marozsan said.
“I try to play my best tennis and today against a top 10 player and I am enjoying my time here. I try to play my best tennis.”
Fallon Sherrock wrapped up a successful two days at the PDC Women’s Series in Wigan with victory in the Event Four final on Sunday.
Sherrock, already victorious in Event One on Saturday, overpowered Beau Greaves 5-1 to claim her second triumph of the weekend.
Mikuru Suzuki also tasted success at the Robin Park Tennis Centre as she beat Deta Hedman 5-4 in the Event Three final earlier in the day.
Sherrock’s win came after a repeat of the Event One final, but was won far more convincingly than Saturday’s last-leg decider.
She had also powered through the earlier rounds as she disposed of Kirsi Viinikainen and Desiree Geel 5-0 and 5-1 respectively.
Suzuki edged out Sherrock 5-4 in the semi-finals of Event Three before going to beat Hedman in a deciding leg.
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