Owner Andrew Megson hopes the true price of loyalty is a second Cheltenham Festival winner, as he seeks to reap the rewards of backing the in-form Ben Pauling.
The definition of loyalty is a strong feeling of support or allegiance and the Megsons have never wavered in their belief in Pauling – the man who delivered them an emotional first Festival success with Global Citizen two years ago.
Now, the enthusiastic Yorkshireman and his wife Jane are putting their trust in Pauling once again, as the on-fire Naunton Downs handler prepares the family’s three Festival runners for action in the Cotswolds.
“We’re very excited and also a little nervous, but at the moment all the horses are well, so we are all extremely excited, especially for the Supreme on Tuesday to start off with,” said Megson.
“We think Ben is a fantastic trainer and is a really nice guy, who we trust completely.
“We really admire how Ben and Sophie have backed themselves. Where they were before was a nice yard but you wouldn’t say it was state of the art and it was holding them back.
“They’ve gone out, bought a golf course and converted it to how Ben thinks a perfect yard should be, from the gallop to the American barns to the round gallop. It’s clearly cost a lot of money, but they have taken a big risk and backed themselves and we really admire that.”
He went on: “Ben is picking up some big races, winning a lot of races and is definitely hitting form at a good time.
“He’s a great guy with a great team and is always loyal to his people. The way that him and Sophie have invested in themselves and challenged themselves to get to the top is great. He’s a young guy with lots of ambition and he’s great to be around.”
Not only have the Megsons put complete faith in their trainer, but they have also backed his jockey Kielan Woods, who was aboard Global Citizen in 2022 and will partner all three of the family’s Pauling-trained Cheltenham runners this term.
Their support comes at a time when Woods has spent a significant amount of time on the sidelines, having received a 45-day ban for persistent whip offences.
However, despite Ben Jones shining aboard the Pauling string during Woods’ suspension and the financial services sector expert considering the loan of a calculator, there was never any doubt in Megson’s mind that the 31-year-old Woods would continue riding the family’s string.
He joked: “We’ve got a huge amount of time for Kielan and we think he’s a brilliant horseman and jockey – we would just be happier if he could count to six!
“He assures us now he’s learnt to count and we think he’s as talented as anyone. We hope we are loyal people and we want to stick by him. We’ve given him an abacus and told him when you get to six, stop.
“Kielan rode our only Festival winner and Ben trained our only Festival winner, it is days like that you never forget.
“Yes, Kielan seems to have fallen foul of the stewards but not for one minute have we thought about not letting him ride. If none of us made a mistake, life would be quite dull.”
With Pauling and Woods in place, it is full steam ahead in the quest for a second Cheltenham Festival winner, in an ownership experience that began at a charity dinner – and was assisted by a generous helping of alcohol.
Lured into syndicate life via a tour of Jonjo O’Neill’s Jackdaws Castle, Andrew and Jane were soon bitten by the racing bug and before long their light purple silks were a common sight throughout the winter.
And it was somewhat fitting that Global Citizen, who had given them a first graded success in the Dovecote as a six-year-old, would provide Festival glory in the twilight of his career four years later.
“I actually cried when Global Citizen won,” said Megson, reflecting on that Grand Annual triumph.
“It was quite an emotional day and we didn’t end up celebrating like we probably should. Firstly, we were shattered, and secondly, I had a meeting the following day which I couldn’t attend with a hangover, but I will never forget it.
“We had the nerves in the morning, then concerns about the ground and thinking we might not run, and then you are watching the race and you are in disbelief.
“I said to Jane, he’s going really well and when he came round the home bend he wasn’t off the bridle – and then you end up just shrieking and making an idiot of yourself.”
Now, the Megsons are eyeing another day to remember and head to Prestbury Park with some trump cards to play at a time their handler can do no wrong.
They will have a runner in the very first race of the meeting, where the highly-regarded Tellherthename could get the week off to a flying start, seeking to justify connections’ immense belief, as he takes on the might of Ireland in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.
Megson said: “Tellherthename would be the most exciting horse we’ve owned. We’ve always thought he was very special from the start.
“He did nothing at Aintree on Boxing Day but the ground was bottomless and he just couldn’t get through it, but we love him and he’s done everything we want – this will be his big test, the biggest test.
“The chances of getting a horse good enough to be competitive in the Supreme are low and we are very excited. God knows what the emotions will be like on Tuesday morning. When you have a runner in Cheltenham, it is all you think about.”
On day two at Prestbury Park, it would be fitting if lovable rogue Harper’s Brook could follow in the footsteps of Global Citizen and give trainer, jockey and owner a second Grand Annual in three years.
Meanwhile, in the Wetherbys Champion Bumper, taking Sandown victor Sixmilebridge will also represent the owners and is getting his connections excited ahead of his crack at Wednesday’s finale.
“We love Harper’s Brook and we’ve gone past getting frustrated with him because he has the unique ability of throwing away a race that looks impossible to lose,” added Megson.
“He’s pulled himself up two or three times and you just think ‘well why have you done that’.
“He’s getting quite a name now, but he has no idea what he’s doing and if he runs to his full potential, then he is a great horse.
“He is just as likely to win with his head in his chest as he is to pull himself up going down the hill. We just hope he remembers what winning was like at Sandown and he’s ready to do it again.”
On Sixmilebridge, he went on: “Ben and Kielan love this horse and we’ve all loved this horse from day one.
“He’s always had a bit of a bug and his trach wash has never been clean and when he ran at Sandown, Ben said his trach wash was still not perfect. But it was either run him and give him a try or we just put him away and hope things get better next season.
“He was backed off the boards and won pretty well, which we were thrilled about. It has blown the cobwebs out and his trach wash is now clean, so we’re pretty excited about him.”
Ollie Lawrence has revealed that England’s stunning victory over Ireland was forged in the disappointment of their Calcutta Cup mauling at Murrayfield.
A 23-22 triumph clinched through Marcus Smith’s last-gasp drop goal means England will contest the Guinness Six Nations title on ‘Super Saturday’ when they face France in Lyon.
Ireland remain in the driving seat but the standout win of Steve Borthwick’s 20 Tests in charge means their dream of completing back to back Grand Slams is over.
All facets of England’s game came together on a captivating afternoon at Twickenham where their skills and intent were matched by a steely resolve and Lawrence admits the display was fuelled by their error-strewn mauling by Scotland in round three.
“We’re happy with the win. Coming to Twickenham, back home, it was really important for us to bounce back after the Scotland game,” said the Bath centre, who scored the first of his side’s three tries.
“We were really frustrated and disappointed that we didn’t put in our best performance up there. There was a lot of frustration in camp.
“We left a lot out there so our mindset coming into this game was that we’re playing against the best team in the world here. This is our home ground, let’s take it to them and bring the physicality and let’s have a go.
“Last week in training we worked a lot on our kick return and our counter attack, which is an important element of our game, but we didn’t really show it against Scotland.
“It was a shift in mindset – let’s shift the ball and have a go at these teams because we’ve got such good players but we need to utilise them.
“We got the balance right against Ireland that’s the reason we got the result we did.”
England were expected to be the latest victims of Ireland’s procession to becoming the first side since France in 1997 and 1998 to win successive Grand Slams, an outlook reflected in their startling odds of 4-1 underdogs.
Instead, they tore into Andy Farrell’s men from the start and never allowed their heads to drop even when James Lowe ran in what appeared to be a decisive 72nd-minute try for the champions.
“There was a lot of external noise that we did touch on throughout the week. A lot of focus was on trying to shut that up, but also trying to ignore it as much as we can,” Lawrence said.
“Because when you play well for England everyone is behind you and when you don’t get the result you want everyone can be on your back.
“As a team we tried to stay as close as we could and ignore that. Playing at home, against Ireland, showed we’re heading in the right direction.
“The title discussion will be outside noise. All we can do is go to France and try to win that game. That will be our focus for the week.
“We will probably look back and rue that result against Scotland. Fine margins, we didn’t perform that day but we did today so it’s a step forward.”
There was no late surprise among the final list of eight runners in Tuesday’s Unibet Champion Hurdle, with Willie Mullins opting to keep hot favourite State Man and Lossiemouth apart.
In the disappointing absence of the reigning champion Constitution Hill, last year’s runner-up State Man will be prohibitive odds to provide the Festival’s most successful trainer with a fifth victory in the feature event on day one of the showpiece meeting.
There were calls for his stablemate Lossiemouth to take on the boys following her scintillating display on Festival Trials day at Cheltenham in late January, but as expected she will instead line up as a short-priced market leader in the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle.
State Man will still be joined by a fellow Mullins runner in the Champion Hurdle though, in the form of Zarak The Brave, while Gordon Elliott’s Irish Point and Lorna Fowler’s Colonel Mustard also represent Ireland.
Constitution Hill’s trainer Nicky Henderson will instead have to rely on the supplemented Betfair Hurdle winner Iberico Lord and talented mare Luccia, with Hughie Morrison’s admirable veteran Not So Sleepy and Nemean Lion from Kerry Lee’s yard completing the line-up.
Lossiemouth is one of four Mullins runners in the Mares’ Hurdle, with Ashroe Diamond, Echoes In Rain and Gala Marceau giving him an enviable hand.
Love Envoi (Harry Fry) and Marie’s Rock (Henderson) look the best of the British in an 11-strong field.
The curtain-raising Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle is fiercely competitive, with the Mullins-trained pair of Mystical Power and Tullyhill joined at the head of the market by Elliott’s Firefox.
Henry de Bromhead has opted to run Slade Steel in the Supreme rather than Wednesday’s Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle, while Jeriko Du Reponet puts his unbeaten record on the line for Henderson.
Gaelic Warrior, Il Etait Temps and Hunters Yarn all run for Mullins in the My Pension Expert Arkle Challenge Trophy, with Elliott’s Found A Fifty and De Bromhead’s Quilixios also in contention.
Eldorado Allen (Joe Tizzard) heads a 23-strong line-up for the Ultima Handicap Chase, while Liari (Paul Nicholls) and Ndaawi (Elliott) top the weights for the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle, which has attracted a maximum field of 22 plus two reserves.
Only seven runners have been declared for the Maureen Mullins National Hunt Chase, with Corbetts Cross and Embassy Gardens – trained by Emmet and Willie Mullins respectively – disputing favouritism.
Nicky Henderson has dismissed speculation about the well-being of JCB Triumph Hurdle market leader Sir Gino, insisting he is “100 per cent”.
The four-year-old was ultra-impressive when accounting for Burdett Road at Cheltenham on Trials day, since when he has been hot favourite to claim Triumph glory on Friday.
However, Sir Gino’s price began to drift alarmingly on Betfair on Saturday night, prompting suggestions he was under the weather.
His odds soon came tumbling back down, though, and Henderson said his charge is in fine spirits ahead of the Festival.
“He was in great form yesterday morning – I don’t know where this has come from, I really don’t,” the Seven Barrows handler told Racing TV’s Luck On Sunday programme.
“It’s just one of those things they love to throw at you just to test your mental agility, I think – it’s crazy.
“He schooled on Thursday and you wouldn’t see anything slicker. He had a nice piece (of work) on the last little bit he’s going to do. He doesn’t run until Friday…and he is 100 per cent, I can promise you, 100 per cent.”
Henderson also issued a positive update on Gold Cup hope Shishkin.
He added: “He’s in very good nick, I like to think. Shishkin is in very, very good form – we’re very happy, he’s come on a lot from Newbury I’d say.”
Meanwhile, Constitution Hill has been taking things easy since being ruled out of Tuesday’s Champion Hurdle.
“He hasn’t done much for the last week because the only thing to do is leave him alone and let him get over this,” said Henderson.
“We will take his blood again tomorrow morning, which will be comparable to last Monday’s one, and we just hope these figures keep improving. They’ll give me an indication just to when we can start to wander on with him.
“He’s absolutely fine in himself. He was down in the doldrums that week, after the gallop at Kempton, and he quietly over that weekend afterwards started to perk up a little bit, but we’ve done very little this last week.”
Huw Jones batted away any notion that Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend was under pressure after Saturday’s Guinness Six Nations implosion in Italy.
The Scots blew their chance to set up a shootout for the title with Ireland in Dublin next weekend as they went down 31-29 in Rome despite holding a 22-10 lead after an encouraging opening half an hour.
It was the Azzurri’s first Six Nations victory at home for 11 years and their first in the championship since winning in Wales two years ago.
The surprise defeat cranks up the heat on Townsend just five months after the Scots – widely deemed to have one of the best squads in their history at present – suffered a second consecutive World Cup group-stage exit on the 50-year-old’s watch.
However, Jones claimed the players should carry the can for the debacle in the Eternal City and appeared irritated by the suggestion that it would place the long-serving head coach under renewed scrutiny.
“I don’t know about that,” said the experienced centre. “We’re all behind the coaches, we’re all behind Gregor.
“We love the way we play, the way we want to play. We have a good plan.
“When we execute it, it’s brilliant and we play some good rugby. I don’t think this defeat was on Gregor, I think it was on the players.
“We didn’t execute our plan well enough and Italy played well.”
Scotland looked in control after three tries in the opening half hour from Zander Fagerson, Kyle Steyn and Pierre Schoeman. But a disallowed George Horne touchdown – after a foul in the build-up by Schoeman was detected – two minutes into the second half when they led 22-16 proved pivotal.
Italy, who had scored in the first half through Martin Page-Relo, turned the screw with tries from debutant Louis Lynagh and substitute Stephen Varney, and some excellent kicking under pressure from Paolo Garbisi took the game away from the Scots before Sam Skinner’s late try gave them a glimmer of what ultimately proved false hope.
Saturday was one of Jones’ most soul-destroying days in a Scotland jersey, and he said: “We hate losing. It’s really tough to take, hugely disappointing.
“We spoke during the week before the game about having our best performance, having an 80-minute performance, but we were really poor in the second half. We let the game slip away from us.
“Credit to Italy, they were good, but we had that try chalked off and then conceded four or five penalties in a row. We couldn’t get back in the game and they managed that period better than us.
“Our discipline wasn’t good enough. We didn’t react to that try-swing well enough.
“We are gutted with our performance. Across the board we managed it badly. The leadership and the processes and the communication was good but we’ve all got to look at ourselves and the actions we took.”
While the manner of the defeat itself was bad enough, there was further reason for Scottish frustration later in the day when Ireland’s surprise defeat to England meant Townsend’s men had effectively squandered a golden chance to set up a last-day title shootout with Ireland.
Had they won in Rome, they would have been able to secure a first championship triumph since 1999 with victory in Dublin next weekend.
Instead – although still with an unrealistic mathematical chance of the title – they head to the Irish capital scrambling to avoid a demoralising two-win, bottom-half finish from a campaign that previously promised so much.
Jones admitted it felt like Scotland had let a huge opportunity slip from their grasp.
“Yes, definitely,” he said. “It is really disappointing.
“We wanted to get a win and then go to Dublin next week full of confidence and try to do something but this obviously takes the wind out of the sails a bit.
“We’ve got to react, we’ve got to react quickly and prepare for another game.
“We’ll go through a range of emotions but we’ve got to review it objectively and then turn our attention to Ireland.”
Jamison Gibson-Park feels the prospect of igniting another St Patrick’s weekend party in Dublin is a “massive” incentive to help Ireland swiftly move on from an agonising 23-22 defeat to England.
Andy Farrell’s men were on the verge of retaining the Guinness Six Nations title with a game to spare before being punished by Marcus Smith’s last-gasp drop goal at Twickenham.
The “gutting” late drama halted Ireland’s pursuit of consecutive Grand Slams but they will still win the championship if they beat Scotland next Saturday at the Aviva Stadium.
Leinster scrum-half Gibson-Park is eager to lift more silverware on home soil following the jubilation of last year’s flawless tournament triumph, which was sealed with a win over England amid patron saint celebrations in the Irish capital.
“We’ve thrown a lot into this championship and we were pretty keen to go after the Grand Slam,” he said.
“That’s gone now but there’s still plenty to play for, thankfully.
“It’s massive, man. I mean we were able to get it done last year in front of our friends and family and home supporters, which means a huge amount.
“There will be that same drive next weekend for sure.
“Faz (Farrell) has already said to us that we’ve got to dust ourselves down, congratulate England and just get ready for Scotland.”
Jack Crowley’s four penalties ensured Ireland led 12-8 at the break in south-west London before James Lowe’s two tries put them on the cusp of glory.
But Steve Borthwick’s impressive hosts were the better side for large parts and deservedly snatched victory at the death as replacement fly-half Smith decisively added to scores from Ollie Lawrence, George Furbank and Ben Earl to spark wild scenes on the pitch and in the stands.
Gibson-Park was forced to play the final 30 minutes out of position on the right wing after the departures of Calvin Nash and Ciaran Frawley to failed head injury assessments exposed head coach Farrell’s decision to name a six-two split of forwards and backs on the bench.
The 32-year-old expects a thorough inquest into only Ireland’s second defeat in 22 games dating back to the summer of 2022.
“We are thankful over the last number of years, we have been on the right side of the ledge a lot of the time,” he said.
“But every now and again, it’s the way it goes.
“Plenty of things to review and obviously we have to dust ourselves down because there’s still a championship on the line.
“It will be tough but England showed up and sometimes that’s how the cookie crumbles and you don’t end up on the right side of the result.
“It’s gutting but plenty to learn and we’ll have to show up for next week.”
Captain Peter O’Mahony credited England for derailing Ireland’s Grand Slam dream.
The Munster flanker, who was sin binned for hands in ruck just before the hour mark, said: “It was a massive pressure match, pressure environment.
“They’re a quality side and I thought they showed that in spades with the way they defended, clinical in their attack, and disrupted a lot of the stuff that we wanted to do.
“It was a savage battle out there.”
Luke Evangelista snapped a third-period tie and Kevin Lankinen made 32 saves to lift the surging Nashville Predators to a 2-1 win over the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.
Kiefer Sherwood had the other goal for Nashville, which has won 10 of its last 11 games (10-0-1) to move into the top wild card playoff spot in the Western Conference.
The Predators have won six straight road games and are 17-4-2 in their last 23 away contests.
Columbus got a career high-tying 47 saves from Daniil Tarasov but was unable to win for the fourth time in five games.
The Predators registered the game’s first 14 shots, but it remained scoreless until Sherwood scored his eighth of the season with 7:41 left in the opening period.
Demko exits in Canucks’ win
Thatcher Demko and Casey DeSmith combined on a shutout and the Western Conference-leading Vancouver Canucks rolled to a 5-0 win over the Winnipeg Jets.
Demko stopped all 12 shots he faced before leaving midway through the second period and the Canucks said only that he would not return to the game.
DeSmith turned aside 10 shots to help the Canucks win their fourth straight game.
Elias Pettersson, Nils Hoglander and Pius Suter each had a goal and an assist for Vancouver.
Tarasenko leads Panthers over Flames
Vladimir Tarasenko scored his first two goals in a Panthers uniform and Anthony Stolarz turned aside 34 shots to lift the league-leading Panthers to a 5-1 win over the Calgary Flames.
Tarasenko, acquired from Ottawa on Wednesday, scored his first goal of the game 23 seconds into the second period to snap a scoreless tie, and tallied again with 5:05 left in the period to extend the lead to 4-1.
Sam Bennett and Kevin Stenlund also had goals for the Panthers, who bounced back from Thursday’s loss to Philadelphia to improve to 13-2-0 in its last 15 games.
Yegor Sharangovich scored for the Flames, who had won six of seven.
Kelly Gallagher and guide Charlotte Evans won Great Britain’s first-ever gold medal at the Winter Paralympics on this day in 2014 with victory in the women’s visually impaired Super-G in Sochi.
The duo had experienced disappointment days earlier in the downhill event where they were five seconds off the pace and finished last.
Yet visually impaired Gallagher and guide Evans turned around their fortunes, with a time of one minute and 28.72 seconds enough to secure the Super-G title ahead of Russian world champion Aleksandra Frantceva.
Evans had been emotional after a sixth-placed finish in the downhill, but vowed they would “come back fighting” and proved true to her word.
The first of the six pairs to take on the course, Gallagher and Evans navigated the track impressively to set what would prove a winning time.
Russia’s Frantceva and guide Pavel Zabotin clocked one minute and 28.94 seconds, but it was not enough to deny Gallagher and Evans gold and they were joined on the podium by compatriots Jade Etherington and guide Caroline Powell, who claimed third (1:29.76) to follow their silver in the downhill.
“It was really hard work coming from downhill into Super-G because they are similar speed events. We were told by our sports psychologist to put it away, it’s one result. It’s so easy to say, so hard to do,” Gallagher explained.
“I lost all of my faith in myself, in Charlotte, in our processes, in what we were doing and I was like, ‘I only have a couple of hours to put this together, because we’re going to be back on snow and we’ve got to race’.
“We wouldn’t have got here if it wasn’t for Charlotte. When I haven’t believed in myself, she has believed in us and believed in herself.”
Luka Dončić made NBA history by becoming the first player to register six straight 30-point triple-doubles as the Dallas Mavericks pulled away for a 142-124 win over the Detroit Pistons on Saturday.
Doncic had 39 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists to surpass Russell Westbrook’s run of five consecutive 30-point triple-doubles. Doncic also extended his own record with a fifth straight 35-point triple-double.
During his six-game run, Doncic is averaging 36.3 points, 11.5 assists and 10.5 rebounds while shooting 51.6 percent from the field.
Kyrie Irving added 21 points and Daniel Gafford and Tim Hardaway Jr. each scored 17 points as Dallas won its second straight after a three-game losing streak.
Cade Cunningham had 33 points, 10 assists and nine rebounds and Simone Fontecchio chipped in a career-high 27 for Detroit, which has lost 10 of 12.
Celtics overcome Durant’s big game
Jayson Tatum had 29 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists and Jaylen Brown scored 27 points as the Boston Celtics survived Kevin Durant’s 45-point outburst in a 117-107 win over the Phoenix Suns.
With Kristaps Porzingis sidelined with right hamstring tightness, the Celtics got 14 points from reserve Luke Kornet and 10 from Payton Pritchard to avoid a third straight loss.
Bradley Beal had 25 points and Jusuf Nurkic added 11 with 11 rebounds for the Suns, who played without injured All-Star Devin Booker and failed to win a third consecutive game.
Murray, Jokic too much for Jazz
Jamal Murray scored 37 points and Nikola Jokić played through a bruised arm to score 26 as the Denver Nuggets eased to a 142-121 rout of the Utah Jazz.
Michael Porter Jr. added 19 points for the Nuggets, who won for the eighth time in nine games to pull within one-half game of Oklahoma City for the Western Conference lead.
Keyonte George led the Jazz with 29 points and Jordan Clarkson added 22 as Utah dropped to 2-10 in its last 12 games.
The Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs and five-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Chris Jones reached agreement Saturday on a five-year deal that contains $95 million guaranteed, his agents told ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
Jones will have the highest-ever average annual salary for a defensive tackle once the deal is complete.
Jones, 29, would have been the top prize amongst defenders in free agency, but the Chiefs made him their top priority after he held out of all training camp last year and missed the first game of the regular season.
He eventually came to an agreement on a reworked deal with more incentives and went on to record 10.5 sacks and earn first-team All-Pro honors for the second straight season as the Chiefs won a third Super Bowl in four years.
Jones has recorded 75.5 sacks in 123 career games since Kansas City selected him with the 37th overall pick in the 2016 draft.
The Chiefs will try to become the first team in NFL history to win three Super Bowls in a row next season.Luke Littler put in another Saturday night prime-time performance to advance to the third round of the Belgian Open.
While a pre-recorded appearance on the Jonathan Ross Show was being aired at home, the 17-year-old featuring alongside Liam Gallagher and Millie Bobby Brown on the popular chat show, he let his darts do the talking to beat Krzysztof Ratajski 6-3 in Wieze.
Littler was frustrated by the Pole’s slow play, but he held his nerve, crucially breaking in the eighth leg with an 11-dart finish.
Victory sets up a rematch with Australian Damon Heta, who ended Littler’s hopes of winning the UK Open last week in Minehead in one of the highest quality matches in the tournament’s history.
The teenager, playing in his maiden European Tour event, says revenge is not on his mind.
“That’s what people say, revenge is a thing,” he said during his on-stage interview. “I just get on with the next game and beat what’s in front of me.”
Peter Wright has a chance to give himself a perfect birthday present after beating Michael van Gerwen.
Wright celebrates his 54th birthday on Sunday and four more wins will see him lift the title.
View this post on Instagram
A first ranking victory over the Dutchman since 2021 will give him confidence, even if it was not a convincing 6-4 victory.
Van Gerwen, who has been struggling with a shoulder injury, had two darts to send it to a last-leg decider but could not find his target and Wright took advantage.
Wright said: “Michael has still got a shoulder injury and I was feeling sorry for him.
“He didn’t do much practice in the back room so I thought I had a chance.
“I nearly threw it away, but I got through. Normally you have to average over a ton to beat Michael, hopefully he gets better and he starts playing the darts we know he can.”
Mike De Decker knocked out 2023 world champion Michael Smith.
Smith’s form has plummeted since winning at Alexandra Palace 15 months ago and he was outplayed by the home favourite in a 6-2 defeat.
World number one Luke Humphries also eased into Sunday’s action with a 6-1 win over James Wade.
The Denver Broncos agreed to trade wide receiver Jerry Jeudy to the Cleveland Browns in exchange for two 2024 draft picks, multiple media outlets reported Saturday.
Denver will receive a fifth- and a sixth-round pick in next month’s draft for Jeudy, a former first-round selection.
Trades cannot be made official until the start of the 2024 league year next week.
Jeudy, the No. 15 overall pick in the 2020 draft, will play in 2024 on the fifth-year option of his rookie contract and is scheduled to be a free agent after the upcoming season.
In four seasons with the Broncos, Jeudy was a solid contributor but failed to live up to his lofty draft status or the dominance he displayed at Alabama.
Jeudy showed signs of frustration with Denver’s offence last season, during which he caught just two touchdowns.
Ultimately, Denver was either unwilling or unable to sign Jeudy to a long-term contract extension and cleared his $13million cap hit from their books.
The Broncos continue to shed salary after announcing plans to release quarterback Russell Wilson and safety Justin Simmons.
The Browns got a complementary receiver to play alongside Amari Cooper as they hope to continue building a championship offence around Deshaun Watson.
In 57 games across four seasons with the Broncos, Jeudy made 211 catches for 3,053 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Cameron Norrie is eyeing another deep run at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells after advancing to the third round.
The British number one was the 2021 champion and came through against Lorenzo Sonego 6-3 6-4.
It was a clinical performance by Norrie, who won the important moments as he hit fewer winners than his Italian opponent and the same amount of unforced errors.
He took early control, breaking in the fourth game and, then after saving break points, he served out the first set.
Sonego took a 2-0 lead early in the second, but Norrie wrestled back control, with five successive games putting him on the brink of victory.
The Italian rallied, though, claiming one break back when Norrie was serving for the match, but the Briton got the job done at the second attempt.
“Fortunate to be through, I don’t think he played as well as he could but I’ll take it,” Norrie said on his on-court interview.
“I got sick in Rio so I have not been able to practise so much, so that’s why it was nice just to be out there playing. You take it for granted sometimes.
“It’s good memories coming here and the courts I really like, the tournament always starts again, I know I like to play well here.”
He will play either eighth seed Hubert Hurkacz or Gael Monfils in the next round.
Ben Earl hit back at England’s critics after they produced their best display since the 2019 World Cup by dispatching Ireland 23-22 at Twickenham.
Marcus Smith’s match-winning drop goal in the last act of a spellbinding match denied Ireland the chance to complete back-to-back Grand Slams and ensured the Guinness Six Nations title will be decided on the final weekend.
England will be contesting the crown when they face France and they will head to Lyon lifted by an inspired afternoon against the current champions, a fortnight after they blundered their way to defeat by Scotland.
Steve Borthwick’s men were given little chance of beating Ireland – bookmakers rated them 4-1 underdogs – yet they delivered their most complete performance since the 2019 World Cup victory over New Zealand.
“Unbelievable really. I’m a bit emotional,” player of the match Earl said.
“Some of the crap that has been thrown at the team over this last week, apparently we are the worst England team ever. We have done pretty well for that accolade.
“We knew from the beginning of the game if we played our best stuff we would have a chance. Amazing stadium, amazing fans, amazing team-mates. Credit to the fans. What a great day.
“We train like that every day. We all know sometimes that doesn’t translate onto the pitch but people don’t see half the stuff we do. I’m just so pleased.”
England were headed for defeat when James Lowe crossed in the 72nd minute to nudge Ireland in front until a late do-or-die surge ended with Smith landing his decisive drop-goal.
Jamie George, the team’s captain who watched the nerve-jangling final moments from the sidelines, joked that the result was “never in doubt”.
“I don’t like watching but I was in awe of the boys on the field – the composure they showed but also going out there to attack the game and win the game,” George said.
“We didn’t panic at any stage and I have to admit it was a bit emotional at the end because of everything that’s gone on.
“I was just so proud of the players on the field. They applied themselves. It was never in doubt!”
Borthwick revealed that there are injury concerns over Chandler Cunningham-South and Henry Slade ahead of the final match against France and played down an exchange of words with Ireland boss Andy Farrell shortly before half-time.
“It’s between Andy and (me). I know people want to read things into that but Andy and I have a good relationship,” Borthwick said.
Andy Farrell is confident Ireland will quickly dust themselves down for another shot at Guinness Six Nations glory after their dream of successive Grand Slams was extinguished in heartbreaking fashion by England.
Farrell’s men were on the brink of retaining the championship title with a round to spare when Marcus Smith kicked a last-gasp drop goal to settle a captivating Twickenham encounter 23-22 in the hosts’ favour.
While back-to-back clean sweeps are now off the table, Ireland will still win the tournament if they defeat Scotland next weekend in Dublin.
“We said from the beginning that we’d like to be in with a chance of winning the competition on the last day and here we are,” said head coach Farrell.
“Look, the lads are realists, they’ll learn the lessons quickly.
“There’s not a problem at all about getting the lads back on track for next week.
“Six Nations (titles) are unbelievably difficult to come by. To win them you tend to have a lot of ups and downs.
“We were on the wrong side of that result but there will be absolutely no problem whatsoever getting back to work next week for what is a super important week for Irish rugby.
“You dust yourselves down. We’ve been very good at winning and moving on to the next one. We’ve got to be really good at losing as well.
“We’ve got to dust ourselves down tomorrow and make sure that we turn up with a smile on our face because we’ve got a championship to win next weekend.”
England were overwhelming underdogs ahead of Saturday evening’s showdown but emphatically answered their critics by producing the finest display of the Steve Borthwick era.
Yet James Lowe’s second try of the afternoon, which arrived in the 72nd minute and added to four Jack Crowley penalties, looked to have snatched victory for the visitors until Smith’s decisive intervention.
Farrell had no complaints about the result and was full of praise for the opposition, who crossed three times through Ollie Lawrence, George Furbank and Ben Earl to bounce back from a disappointing Calcutta Cup loss to Scotland in round three.
“Look at the quality of the players that they’ve got,” said Farrell.
“Certainly when you’re coming off the back of a defeat it tends to concentrate the mind a little bit – hopefully it does for us next week.
“We always prepare for every game for everyone to be at their best.
“I thought they were super tonight, I thought they were physical, they were challenging on the gain line and played a nice brand of rugby as well.
“To cut a long story short, I actually thought that England deserved to win.”
Toto Wolff has revealed for the first time that he would love to have Max Verstappen at Mercedes – as Red Bull boss Christian Horner admitted no individual is bigger than the team.
Verstappen’s Red Bull future is in the spotlight amid the in-fighting at Formula One’s dominant franchise.
The Dutchman, who won Saturday’s Saudi Arabian Grand Prix to land his second win of the season – and his ninth in a row – opened the door to sensationally quitting Red Bull if motorsport adviser Helmut Marko is forced out.
It emerged this weekend that Marko could be suspended as a result of Red Bull’s inquiry into Horner, although the 80-year-old Austrian said prior to Saturday’s race that he expects to carry on.
However, the unrest at Red Bull has put Mercedes – seeking a replacement for Ferrari-bound Lewis Hamilton in 2025 – on red alert.
And when asked following Saturday’s race in Jeddah if it would be good for Formula One for Verstappen to switch teams, Wolff replied: “I would love to have him.
“But first we need to sort out our car. We owe it to our current drivers to improve the car and give them equipment that is good before dreaming about the future next year.”
Wolff was then asked if Verstappen, whose deal runs until 2028, was now top of his wishlist.
“Let’s word it like this,” he replied. “It is a decision that Max needs to take and there is no team up and down the grid who wouldn’t do handstands to have him in their car.”
Verstappen has won 19 of the last 20 F1 races and is overwhelming favourite to land a fourth consecutive world championship.
Mercedes have tasted just one victory since the end of 2021, and George Russell and Hamilton finished only sixth and ninth respectively on Saturday.
Responding to Wolff’s comments, Horner said: “I am sure every team in the paddock would love to have Max but, as Toto also said, the best drivers want to be in the best cars.
“We are a team. Max has achieved his 56th win and his 100th podium today – all of which have been in Red Bull Racing cars.
“But you cannot force someone to be somewhere because of a piece of paper. If somebody doesn’t want to be at the team I am not going to force anyone against their will to be here.
“Max has been here since he was 18 and I have no doubt of his commitment and his passion, but no individual is bigger than the team.”
Earlier, Red Bull’s group CEO Oliver Mintzlaff said Verstappen will not be leaving.
Asked by the PA news agency prior to Saturday’s race if the Dutch driver will remain with the team, Mintzlaff said: “Of course. He has a contract.
“Max is a great driver and hopefully we will win tonight. I am here just for racing. That’s it.”
Emma Raducanu advanced into the third round of the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells after her opponent Dayana Yastremska retired injured after just four games.
Raducanu had made a flying start and led 4-0 in the opening set when the Ukrainian 30th seed appeared to suffer an abdominal injury.
She immediately called for the physio but could not carry on, handing the Briton the win.
Raducanu may well have been victorious anyway had the match lasted the course as she looked impressive in the play that was possible.
She broke Yastremska’s serve in the opening game with a sublime drop shot and then showed grit to save a break point in her first service game.
A second break came courtesy of a strong backhand before a routine service hold put her in control.
It was in that game that Raducanu won to love that Yastremska suffered the injury and it forced a second retirement against the former US Open champion in two meetings.
Raducanu now looks set to meet second seed and Australian Open champion Aryna Sabalenka in the third round, which will test exactly where the 21-year-old is in her comeback from an injury-ravaged 2023.
Damon Hill said a star was born after rookie teenager Ollie Bearman beat Lewis Hamilton on his shock Ferrari debut at the Saudi Arabian Grand Prix.
Bearman drove into the record books by becoming the youngest British driver to race in Formula One and he delivered by finishing seventh, ahead of both Lando Norris, eighth and Hamilton, ninth.
Seven-time world champion Hamilton waited by Bearman’s Ferrari before embracing the 18-year-old as he climbed out of his scarlet machine at the end of the race.
“A star is born now,” Hill, the 1996 world champion, said on X. “To jump in at such short notice, on a track as intimidating as Jeddah, in a Ferrari of all things, and hold up under immense pressure from Lando and Lewis and keep it together. Wow.”
Max Verstappen raced to his second win in as many weeks, but Bearman, an eleventh hour stand-in for Carlos Sainz, ruled out with appendicitis, stole the show.
With just one hour of practice and Friday’s qualifying session under his belt, Bearman lined up in 11th and made up four positions in a fine drive which saw him voted as driver of the day by the sport’s fans.
Sergio Perez completed a one-two finish for F1’s crisis-hit Red Bull team, with Charles Leclerc third for Ferrari.
“He has done an incredible job,” said Leclerc of Bearman, 18 years, 10 months and one day.
“He was straight on the pace. Seventh in your first race in a new Formula One car is hugely impressive.
“I am sure he is extremely proud and everyone has noticed how talented he is. It is only a matter of time before he is in Formula One.”
Frustrated Gregor Townsend refused to entertain questions about his future after Scotland suffered a calamitous second-half collapse on their way to a costly 31-29 Guinness Six Nations defeat in Italy.
The Scots arrived in Rome aiming to enhance their bid for a first top-two finish in the championship this century, while they still held out some hope of winning the title. However, their loss in the Eternal City, allied to England’s win over Ireland, leaves them staring at the prospect of a bottom-half finish.
Things looked to be going well for Townsend’s team when they led 14-3 and 22-10 during the first half following tries by props Zander Fagerson and Pierre Schoeman and wing Kyle Steyn. A disallowed George Horne try early in the second half following a foul by Schoeman proved pivotal though.
Italy, who had scored in the first half through Martin Page-Relo, turned the match in their favour with tries from debutant Louis Lynagh and substitute Stephen Varney. And some excellent kicking under pressure from Paolo Garbisi took the game away from the Scots before Sam Skinner’s late try gave them a glimmer of hope.
Scotland incredibly still have an outside chance of finishing in the top two as they prepare to head to Ireland for their final match next weekend, but losing to Italy for the first time since 2015 represents a major setback for Townsend just five months after an underwhelming display at the World Cup brought pool-stage elimination.
When the head coach, who is contracted until 2026, was asked if he felt his job was under threat after his side became the first to lose a Six Nations match in Rome since 2013, he said: “I’m not going to answer that question.
“We’re disappointed with the result today, but we know this team have come on since the World Cup.
“We can look at this result and be really disappointed, but I’ve been really proud of how this team’s played during the championship so far.
“I believe in this group. You can look at results and say: ‘We’ve lost to Italy, this team aren’t going to take that next step’. Or you can look at where we’ve grown since the World Cup.
“I still believe the performances the players are putting in can show we can beat anybody.
“But if we take our eye off the ball for a period of time, we can be beaten. That’s what happened today.”
Townsend admitted Scotland were architects of their own downfall – although he did acknowledge a superb performance from Italy, who won their first championship match since their victory in Wales two years ago.
“The credit has to go to Italy as well,” said Townsend. “There are two teams that play the game, not just one. I thought that Italy were very good even in the first half where we dominated most of the possession.
“But our actions after the try that was disallowed weren’t good enough. We gave Italy a way into the game through penalties and field position. If you give that to any team in the Six Nations, they’re going to take the points, which they did.
“It’s very frustrating that we didn’t get that try, which is down to our execution, and after that it was even more frustrating.”
Townsend admitted the result “hurts a lot” but he remains steadfast in his belief that Scotland are continuing to make progress overall under his stewardship.
“We won in Wales for the first time since 2002 this year,” he pointed out. “We retained the Calcutta Cup. We had a decision (over what would have been a match-winning try) go against us in the game with France.
“This result is very disappointing. We’ve lost against a good Italy side, one of the best Italian teams I’ve seen. But today is not what defines this team.”
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
