Shakem Up’Arry provided jockey Ben Jones with a first Cheltenham winner as he struck in the Paddy Power New Year’s Day Handicap Chase.

Ben Pauling’s 10-year-old – who is owned by former football manager Harry Redknapp – started at 11-2 as Paul Nicholls’ Stage Star was the most fancied of the field as the 11-10 favourite.

The latter horse carried the welter burden of 12st, however, and in the end it was Shakem Up’Arry and Venetia Williams’ Frero Banbou who pulled clear up the hill.

Pauling’s gelding pulled even further away after the last and secured a seven-and-a-half-length win on the line.

Paul Nicholls is planning on sending Bravemansgame straight to Cheltenham for his next outing and is backing him to be “competitive” again in the Gold Cup.

The nine-year-old was a game runner-up behind Galopin Des Champs in last season’s blue riband but has yet to get on the scoresheet this term.

After finishing second in the Charlie Chall at Wetherby and Haydock’s Betfair Chase, he filled the same position when trying to defend his King George crown at Kempton on Boxing Day.

Nicholls said: “He’ll go straight to Cheltenham and we’ll see how we get on. He’s got a mountain to climb; we know where he is, we know his level of form, but he’ll be competitive.”

There is still a chance that Bravemansgame could seek a confidence-boosting success in the Denman Chase at Newbury on February 10, but the direct route to Cheltenham is more likely.

“I’ve got to discuss it with (owner) Bryan Drew and it has crossed my mind, as Kauto Star and Denman always went and ran in that race, so we might,” admitted Nicholls.

“I’ve said he will go straight to Cheltenham, but I will discuss it with the guys to see what they want to do.”

Nicholls feels the departure of Shishkin after the penultimate fence in the King George counted against his charge, who was hampered by that incident before being passed late on by Hewick.

“I think it would have been very interesting between him and Shishkin if he had kept going,” said the champion trainer.

“I think they’d have jumped the last together and then it would have been an interesting race. But ‘if’ is a big word in racing, so we were just pleased with the way he ran.”

Nicholls is not making any firm plans for hot prospect Captain Teague, who gave him and jockey Harry Cobden a fourth straight victory in the Grade One Challow Novices’ Hurdle at Newbury.

The Johnny de la Hey-owned gelding overcame continued signs of greenness to come through and beat Lookaway, following in the footsteps of past winners such as Denman, Bravemansgame, Stage Star and Hermes Allen.

“He’s come out of the race well and we’re obviously thrilled with him,” commented Nicholls.

“As Harry said, he idles a little bit in front and he’s still learning his job.

“I haven’t made any plans, Johnny has gone away and I’ll sit down and make a plan with him later on.”

Captain Teague figures prominently in the ante-post markets for the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle and the Albert Bartlett at Cheltenham, although he is seen very much as a chaser in the making.

“Stay Away Fay won the Albert Bartlett on his third run of the season and he’s not unlike him in a lot of ways,” added the Ditcheat handler.

“Johnny might want to come to Cheltenham, go to Aintree or something else, but ultimately he’s a chaser and that’s what we got him for.

“Funnily enough, a lot of my horses that won the Challow, apart from Denman and Stage Star, they came to Cheltenham and all got beat before ending up chasing.

“He is a very interesting horse and I think there’s plenty to come from him, but as Harry said, he’s a baby and learning is what it’s all about.

“He’s a very nice horse for the future and if he turns out like all the other ones I’ve won the Challow with, we’ll be very happy.”

Nicky Henderson has given a ringing endorsement to James Bowen as he continues to deputise for the injured Nico de Boinville on the cream of the Seven Barrows string.

De Boinville suffered a broken collarbone in a fall at Doncaster on Friday, and although his experience will prove a loss for Henderson and his Lambourn operation, he has a “top-class” deputy waiting in the wings.

Fresh from riding his first Grade One winner aboard Henderson’s Jango Baie at Aintree on Boxing Day, Bowen picked up key rides at Newbury on Saturday for his boss, steering the high-class prospect Jeriko Du Reponet to a comfortable success.

Bowen partnered the opening winner on Cheltenham’s New Year’s Day card and afterwards Henderson said: “There has never been any doubt about James.

“We’re going to miss Nico but, funny enough, some horses will suit James and it works both ways.

“James is absolutely 100 per cent top class, we’ve always known that. Nico is there riding at his best and James is there backing him, but he’s a bit better than just a back-up.

“It’s great that when this happens you have a top man ready there to grab the reins.”

It is unknown how long De Boinville will be on the sidelines and he could miss steering the likes of Jonbon and Constitution Hill in their intended engagements over the next month.

However, Henderson has no doubt Bowen would be more than up to the task if his owners give the nod for the Welshman to deputise, pointing out his ice-cool temperament would help combat the pressure of linking up with some of racing’s best talent.

“You would have to talk to the owners and it would be their decision at the end of the day, but it wouldn’t be a worry from my point of view, put it like that,” continued Henderson.

“These are the things you have to learn about as well, and he’s stepping up into the big days. But he’s won Welsh Grand Nationals before and he’s as cool as they come.

“He was only 16 when he came to us and we’ve learnt a lot since then, he’s learnt to drive if nothing else.

“This is a fantastic family he comes from. The person I feel really sorry for at the moment is Sean (Bowen, brother) who has done so brilliantly and built up a lead (in the jockeys’ championship) and now it looks like he has thrown that lead away (with injury).

“They are a fantastic family and by god they can ride.”

Peaky Boy made a winning introduction to hurdles with an effortless success at Cheltenham.

The six-year-old was contesting the Favourite From The Sun Now Daily Maiden Hurdle on his first run for Nicky Henderson, his first hurdling start after winning a bumper and a point-to-point previously.

Under James Bowen he was the 13-8 favourite and made an impression with a straightforward five-length victory, earning a 33-1 quote for the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle back at Prestbury Park in March.

LeBron James said it had been a "rough" New Year's weekend after playing through illness as the Los Angeles Lakers suffered their second defeat in as many days on Sunday.

James played through flu-like symptoms as the Lakers suffered a contentious 108-106 defeat to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Saturday, being denied a potential game-tying three-pointer with 3.3 seconds remaining.

On New Year's Eve, the New Orleans Pelicans dropped Los Angeles to 17-17 with a comprehensive 129-109 success at Smoothie King Center, Zion Williamson and Brandon Ingram posting 26 points apiece.

James scored a game-high 34 and former Pelican Anthony Davis had 20 points and 10 rebounds as the Lakers suffered a seventh loss in nine games, leaving the league's all-time leading scorer to reflect on a difficult few days.

"We have to figure it out and get better, for sure," James said. "We're not a team that likes to play from behind. We've been in that position a lot this year.

"The flight last night did not help, obviously. We didn't get to the hotel last night until 3:45 a.m., so, it was a rough day trying to recalibrate and get ready for the game. 

"But I'm happy I was able to go out and just try to make some plays happen for my team."

A raucous New Orleans crowd was on its feet when Jose Alvarado made steals from both James and Davis during the second quarter, with his team up by 19 points at that stage.

The 25-year-old was delighted to give himself a highlight-reel moment against one of the all-time greats, saying: "LeBron, he's one of the greatest players to ever play this game and for me to be on the court, for me to get steals, for me to do anything… that's pretty amazing.

"When I get back to watch videos when I grow old, and they say that he is the best player to play this game, at least I got a video of him, with me getting a steal."

Patrick Neville is eyeing a return to Cheltenham for the Paddy Power Cotswold Chase with The Real Whacker following his creditable performance in the King George on Boxing Day.

The seven-year-old won each of his first three starts over fences last season, all at Cheltenham, including a narrow Festival success over Gerri Colombe in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase.

Having begun the new season as a genuine Cheltenham Gold Cup contender, The Real Whacker was pulled up on his reappearance in the Paddy Power Gold Cup at Prestbury Park in November, but was subsequently found to have suffered a minor injury.

Neville nevertheless decided to give his stable star a chance to prove himself at the highest level in the King George VI Chase – and while he never threatened to land a telling blow in the hands of Sam Twiston-Davies, he was doing his best work at the end and was not disgraced in finishing fourth.

In the immediate aftermath, the North Yorkshire-based trainer suggested The Real Whacker could head straight to the Gold Cup, but is now eyeing a final prep run back on his favourite track.

“He’s in great form and came out of it well. We didn’t have much luck in the race – things didn’t work out for us and we didn’t get a great break, but he jumped around and stayed on at the end,” said Neville.

“They went quick, but we didn’t get the break we wanted. It was just one of those things, but I liked the way he finished the race and he was only beaten 10 lengths in the end.”

Neville believes there is more improvement to come from The Real Whacker, adding: “It was his first run in Grade One open company and he’ll probably come on for it.

“I’m going to run him in the Cotswold Chase at the end of January. I just looked at the race and thought we’d give him one more run before the Gold Cup, as the experience will help him.”

The trainer did enjoy a notable victory on the King George undercard, with Mahons Glory dominating his rivals in the concluding handicap hurdle.

An ambitious tilt at the Stayers’ Hurdle was subsequently mooted, although plans for his next race are likely to be dictated by the handicapper’s assessment of his performance.

Neville said: “We were thrilled with him, it was great for the owners and great for the yard to get a winner on a big day like that.

“We’ll have to see what the handicapper does, but we have different options and we’ll study it and see where we go with him.

“He seems to be a lot better going right-handed, so we could go back to Kempton or Ascot. We’ll see what’s coming up there.”

Andy Murray’s preparations for the Australian Open suffered a setback following a frustrating first-round loss to second seed Grigor Dimitrov at the Brisbane International.

The unseeded Scot was on course to advance after taking the opening set of a tense battle between two former tournament champions on Pat Rafter Arena.

But Dimitrov hit back to progress 4-6 7-5 6-2 and inflict another early exit on Murray following his second-round victory when the pair met at last year’s US Open.

The world number 14 will face either Australian qualifier Li Tu or Germany’s Daniel Altmaier in round two.

Murray was playing his first competitive singles match since a first-round loss to Alex de Minaur at the Paris Masters in late October after a shoulder injury ruled him out of representing Great Britain in the Davis Cup finals.

The 36-year-old initially impressed during a tight encounter which remained on serve until he capitalised on an error-strewn 10th game from his opponent to clinch the opening set.

But Dimitrov calmly responded to force a decider by edging a more chaotic second set which ended with both players struggling to hold serve.

The Bulgarian’s efforts to level were aided by saving a crucial break point with a stunning baseline smash while playing with a broken string.

Three-time grand slam champion Murray was visibly annoyed by the momentum shift and offered little resistance in a relatively one-sided final set as Dimitrov won in just under two-and-a-half hours.

Victor Wembanyama and Gregg Popovich accepted the San Antonio Spurs had been unable to live with an NBA championship contender after Sunday's 134-101 blowout loss to the Boston Celtics.

The league-leading Celtics improved to 26-6 with a dominant performance to round off 2023 at Frost Bank Center, extending their winning streak to six games.

Boston never trailed at any point as Jayson Tatum led six visiting players in double figures with his 25-point haul, while Jaylen Brown added 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting.

Rookie Wembanyama had 21 points and seven rebounds for the hosts, but it was not enough to stop them sliding to 5-27 with a seventh defeat in the space of eight games.

While Wembanyama said the Celtics were simply too good on the night, he believes the Spurs will have learned something from the defeat.

"I can feel that compared to the past years, they have something extra this year," Wembanyama said of Joe Mazzulla's Celtics team.

"Of course, it’s difficult to play against them and it is a good challenge. But I think we learned today."

San Antonio coach Popovich concurred, saying: "They are a championship-calibre team, that's what they are out there for, that's their goal, and they proved it once again.

"Joe does a great job with them. They've got good talent, obviously, all-star talent; and they've got the grit. 

"They've got the execution and are getting better all the time. That's a tough challenge at this particular time for our group."

Boston closed out the month of December with a 12-2 record and were able to rest their starters for much of the fourth quarter, having led by as many as 37 points at one stage. 

"We got stops," Mazzulla said. "I thought we were really good at doing both, protecting the paint and getting out to contest, which allowed us to get out in transition. 

"I think our secondary transition, we did a good job of recognising where the mismatch was and getting to it fast and playing together as a team through it."

Warren Foegele's career-high five-point night propelled the red-hot Edmonton Oilers to their fifth straight win, a 7-2 rout of the Anaheim Ducks on Sunday.

Foegele scored twice and assisted on goals from Ryan McLeod, Leon Draisaitl and Brett Kulak to help Edmonton close out a highly successful six-game road trip. After opening the trek with a loss to the New York Islanders, the Oilers outscored the opposition by a 24-10 margin during their current winning run. 

Draisaitl added two assists and Calvin Pickard made 28 saves for Edmonton, which also got goals from Evander Kane and Zach Hyman.

Kane's wraparound goal with 2:38 left in the first period staked the Oilers to a 2-1 lead, and Edmonton scored three unanswered in the second to pull away. Drasaitl had the first of those goals 1:48 into the period before Foegele struck twice within a span of about 7 1/2 minutes.

Anaheim got one back in the third on Frank Vatrano's team-leading 17th goal of the season, but Hyman answered four minutes later before Kulak capped Edmonton's seven-goal night with 4:11 remaining.

McLeod opened the scoring 4:15 in before the Ducks tied it later in the first period when Max Jones slipped a rebound past Pickard.

John Gibson finished with 32 saves in Anaheim's fourth loss in five games.

Marchment has hat trick, assist in Stars' 8-1 drubbing of Blackhawks

Mason Marchment registered his second career hat trick and added an assist as the Dallas Stars rolled to an 8-1 win over the Chicago Blackhawks to sweep the teams' two-game weekend series.

Dallas needed overtime to pull out a 5-4 victory over the Blackhawks on Friday, but had far less trouble in the rematch. Goals by Craig Smith, Ryan Suter and Tyler Seguin gave the Stars a 3-0 lead after one period and the Stars struck twice more in the second.

After Sam Steel ripped a backhand past Chicago goaltender Petr Mrazek 3:43 into the period, Marchment got his first of the night on a power play with 7:10 left in the second to increase the lead to 5-0.

Philipp Kurashev scored on a power play 39 seconds into the third period for Chicago's lone goal. Roope Hintz answered for Dallas just over four minutes later with his fourth goal in two games, however, and Marchment completed the hat trick with two goals in the final six minutes.

Seguin, Matt Duchene, Miro Heiskanen and Jason Robertson all had two assists in Dallas' fifth win in six games, while Scott Wedgewood finished with 23 saves.

Mrazek was pulled early in the third period after allowing six goals on 31 shots, with Arvid Soderblom stopping eight of 10 chances in relief.

Nedeljkovic, Eller spark surging Penguins' win over Islanders

The Pittsburgh Penguins stayed hot as well with their fifth win in six games, a 3-1 decision over the New York Islanders behind Alex Nedeljkovic's 37 saves and two goals from Lars Eller.

Nedeljkovic stopped 14 shots in the first period as Pittsburgh took a 1-0 lead into the intermission when Eller converted a feed from Jansen Harkins just 2:18 in.

Noel Acciari's goal 2:20 into the second extended the Penguins' advantage, though the Islanders got back in it when Samuel Bolduc scored unassisted with 6:09 left to play.

Nedeljkovic kept New York at bay the rest of the way, however, before Eller completed his first two-goal game since April 2022 with an empty-netter in the final minute.

The Islanders lost to Pittsburgh for the second time in five days despite a strong outing from goaltender Ilya Sorokin, who turned back 35 of 37 shots.

Former electrician Rob Cross turned off ‘The Power’ for what looked to be the final time as he denied the retiring Phil Taylor a 17th world title with a stunning 7-2 victory at Alexandra Palace on this day in 2018.

The then 57-year-old Taylor had aspirations of ending his illustrious career in fairytale fashion but would not have envisaged the kind of performance Cross was to produce in his maiden World Championship final.

Cross, without a Tour card 12 months previously, averaged a remarkable 107.67, hit 11 maximums and had a checkout percentage of 60 to end his first year as a professional on the PDC circuit in emphatic style.

He said: “I’ve won my first world title, but tonight is all about Phil Taylor. Everything he’s done for the game, I hope he enjoys his retirement.”

Cross went on to win the World Matchplay a year later and claimed the European titles in 2019 and 2021.

Taylor, the 16-time world champion, initially walked away from the sport in 2018 after losing this final but returned to competitive darts in 2022.

In November 2023 he confirmed the World Senior Darts Tour in 2024 would be his last year on the circuit.

He said: “I’ll always love performing to the best of my ability, but time waits for no man and I know now is the right time to step away from the Tour.

“It’s been an unbelievable journey over the past 35 years and I’ve loved every minute of it.

“I’m going to be working just as hard as I always have to make sure I give the fans what they want and go out on top.”

The Green Bay Packers took control of their own playoff destiny as they beat the Minnesota Vikings 33-10.

Jordan Love threw for three touchdowns and ran for another while Aaron Jones rushed for 120 yards as the Packers moved to 8-8 and ahead of the Seattle Seahawks in the race for the final NFC wildcard spot.

Victory over the Chicago Bears in their final game of the regular season will seal a playoff berth.

The Seahawks lost 30-23 to the Pittsburgh Steelers, who kept their playoff hopes alive courtesy of two touchdowns and 122 yards rushing from Najee Harris,

The Baltimore Ravens underlined their Super Bowl credentials with a crushing 56-19 victory over closest AFC conference rivals the Miami Dolphins.

The Ravens, Super Bowl winners in 2000 and 2012, secured top seeding from the AFC and will have a bye when the opening playoff matches take place.

Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was in imperious form as his team scored eight touchdowns, including two for tight end Isaiah Likely.

Top seeding in the NFC was confirmed for the San Francisco 49ers – for the first time since 2019 – following a 27-10 success against the Washington Commanders, but there were also a number of close encounters during the regular season’s penultimate round.

Six field goals from Harrison Butker kicked the Kansas City Chiefs to a 25-17 win over the Cincinnati Bengals as they clinched an eighth consecutive AFC West title.

But the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will have to wait for a third straight NFC South crown as they went down 23-13 to the New Orleans Saints.

The two teams are tied at the top of the division heading into the final week of the regular season on 8-8. The Buccaneers will take the title with a win over the Carolina Panthers..

James Conner’s touchdown with just 32 seconds remaining saw the Arizona Cardinals shock the stuttering Philadelphia Eagles 35-31 after it looked as though Jake Elliott’s 43-yard field goal would be enough for the hosts, who had led 21-6 at the start of the second half.

The Indianapolis Colts, meanwhile, pipped the Las Vegas Raiders 23-20, and Josh Allen claimed two touchdowns as the Buffalo Bills edged out the New England Patriots 27-21.

It was even closer between the New York Giants and the Los Angeles Rams, with the Rams claiming a 26-25 verdict thanks to Kyren Williams’ trio of touchdowns.

Elsewhere, the Houston Texans defeated the Tennessee Titans 26-3, the Jacksonville Jaguars were 26-0 victors over the Carolina Panthers and the Chicago Bears brushed aside the Atlanta Falcons 37-17 while the Denver Broncos edged out the Los Angeles Chargers 16-9

Jacksonville, Indianapolis and Houston now all have 9-7 records in the AFC South, while Carolina’s loss means Chicago will own the first overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft for the second successive year.

Jayson Tatum scored 25 points to lead six Boston players in double figures as the Celtics stretched their winning streak to six games with Sunday's 134-101 blowout of the struggling San Antonio Spurs.

Jaylen Brown added 24 points on 9-of-13 shooting in a game the NBA-leading Celtics never trailed, while former Spur Derrick White went 7 of 11 from the field while recording 17 points and five assists against his ex-team.

Tatum had 15 first-half points and White 13 as Boston built a 65-53 lead at the break. Brown then tallied 16 of the Celtics' 40 third-quarter points as Boston increased the margin to 105-76 entering the fourth.

The Celtics led by as many as 37 points in the final period.

San Antonio got 22 points from Devin Vassell and 21 out of heralded rookie Victor Wembanyama, but lost for the seventh time in eight games to fall to 5-27 on the season.

Williamson, Ingram help Pelicans cruise past Lakers

ZIon Williamson and Brandon Ingram each had 26 points to lead a dominant performance by the New Orleans Pelicans, who dealt the Los Angeles Lakers a second straight loss with Sunday's 129-109 rout.

CJ McCollum added 22 points and nine assists for New Orleans, which lead nearly start-to-finish en route to a second straight victory.

Excellent perimeter shooting keyed this win, as the Pelicans shot 50 per cent (17 of 34) from 3-point range. McCollum hit 6 of 11 shots from beyond the arc and Ingram was 4 of 7.

The scuffling Lakers lost for the seventh time in nine games despite 34 points and eight assists from LeBron James and Anthony Davis' 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Los Angeles owned a slight lead just past the midway point of the first quarter, but McCollum made four 3-pointers during a 14-1 run that gave New Orleans a 35-23 lead with three minutes left in the opening period.

The Pelicans didn't let up from there. They built a lead as large as 19 points in the second quarter before going into the half holding a comfortable 74-57 advantage, then maintained a double-digit lead throughout the second half.

Durant, Beal lift surging Suns over Magic

Kevin Durant scored 31 points, Bradley Beal added 25 and the Phoenix Suns fought off a late charge from the Orlando Magic to earn a 112-107 victory for their third straight win.

Beal, playing for just the second time since missing two weeks with a sprained ankle, made 10 of 13 field goal attempts while registering a season-high point total. Durant went 12 of 21 from the field for Phoenix, which also received 21 points from Devin Booker and 19 points and 13 rebounds from Jusuf Nurkic.

Phoenix built a 37-24 lead after one quarter and was up by 11 late in the third, but the Magic fought back with a 13-2 run to tie the game at 87-87 before Beal's jumper to close out the period put the Suns back ahead.

Orlando stayed close and got within 103-102 when Paolo Banchero converted a three-point play with 6:05 remaining, but Durant had five points during a 9-0 run that got the Suns back up by double digits with under two minutes to go.

Banchero compiled 28 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Magic, who had won three of four coming in. Franz Wagner finished with 27 points, seven rebounds and six assists in the loss.

Teenager Luke Littler wants to “beat even more records” as he continues his dream World Darts Championship campaign with a quarter-final against Brendan Dolan on Monday.

The 16-year-old has burst onto the scene at Alexandra Palace and became the youngest player to reach the last eight when he hammered five-time world champion and his hero Raymond van Barneveld in the last 16 on Saturday.

That set up a winnable tie with Northern Irishman Dolan, who has seen off former world champions Gerwyn Price and Gary Anderson in the last two rounds, on New Year’s Day and he is now dreaming of lifting the Sid Waddell Trophy on Wednesday.

If Littler was to win the title it would be one of the greatest sporting stories and he would out-do several famous young achievers.

Pele was 17 when he won the World Cup with Brazil, Boris Becker claimed his first Wimbledon title at 18 while Mike Tyson was 20 when he became heavyweight world champion.

Littler, nicknamed ‘The Nuke’, has not heard of all of those names, including that of 2021 US Open singles champion Emma Raducanu, who his story shares many parallels with, but he believes there is more to come.

“Unbelievable, the names you have just said,” he said. “I know Mike, I only know Pele off FIFA and I don’t know the other ones.

“I have certainly broken the rules and records already but I know if my game is there I can beat even more records.

“My game is there, it is every darting kid’s, man’s, whoever’s dream to win it. I have certainly got the game, it is whatever happens on the day, whatever Luke Littler turns up.”

Littler’s impressive run has seen him hit the headlines around the world and enjoy celebrity status.

Littler and his family received complimentary tickets to watch Arsenal in the Premier League on Thursday night, with Gunners pair Declan Rice and Aaron Ramsdale asking him for a photo, while players from his beloved Manchester United sent him good luck messages before the match with Van Barneveld.

“It was unbelievable,” he added. “I was walking to my room and one of the security guards from Arsenal said to me Declan and Aaron wanted a picture with me and I just went ‘a picture with me’, and they came out for one.

“They said they have a dartboard up in the changing room. It is crazy for them to want a picture with me, it should be the other way around.

“It was incredible to get the messages, obviously United didn’t get the win (at Forest), but Jonny (Evans) and Gary (Neville) are United legends and Jonny is still playing for us, it was just incredible.”

Rob Cross plays Chris Dobey in the opening match of 2024 while Michael van Gerwen should have too much for controversial Scott Williams and Luke Humphries takes on Dave Chisnall in the other quarter-final.