Anthony Joshua delivered one of his best displays in recent memory with an impressive stoppage of Otto Wallin in Saudi Arabia.

The 34-year-old made it three wins from three in 2023 after the fight was called off following a thunderous fifth round which left Wallin unable to continue.

Joshua, having already beaten Jermaine Franklin Jr by unanimous decision in April before sealing a seventh-round stoppage against Robert Helenius in August, cruised to a 27th professional career victory.

But the identity of his next opponent is unclear following Joseph Parker’s shock defeat of Deontay Wilder on the same card.

Joshua has recorded three career losses so far – beaten by Andy Ruiz in 2019 before Oleksandr Usyk defeated him twice – while the Swedish southpaw Wallin had only one career loss to date against Tyson Fury.

But Joshua came flying out of the blocks in Riyadh and inflicted damage on Wallin as early as the second round.

Joshua landed a left hook to Walin’s head, followed by a thunderous right cross and a second quick right which left Wallin frazzled and with blood leaking from his right nostril.

On to the third and Wallin’s patched-up nose was pouring again as Joshua landed another right. A strong left knocked Wallin off balance, and the former European champion was backed up on to the ropes and now with a cut to his right eye.

A steely-looking Joshua showed no sign of easing up in the fourth round as he landed a number of head and body shots on his opponent. A right hand skimmed the face of Wallin with Joshua looking comfortable and in control.

In the fifth, Joshua was throwing menacing, calculated punches with Wallin offering little to nothing in attack. Then with just over one minute of the round remaining, Joshua unleashed a superb left hook to leave Wallin stumbling towards the ropes.

Wallin managed to stay on his feet and see out the round, but the Swede’s corner said their fighter was unable to continue as Joshua celebrated a destructive win.

Earlier, Wilder, who has claimed 42 of his 43 victories by knockout, was the overwhelming favourite to beat Parker, but the New Zealander ripped up the script with a crushing victory.

Parker dominated Wilder, heavily regarded as one of the biggest punches the heavyweight division has ever seen, with a perfectly executed gameplan that left his American opponent bamboozled.

Parker was comfortably ahead on the scorecard heading into the eighth round where he delivered an overhand right and then a flurry of destructive punches as Wilder clung on.

Wilder was hurt and Parker went for the finish, but the Bronze Bomber, who last fought in October 2022 – a first-round knockout win over Robert Helenius – survived the round.

Parker landed another big left hand in the ninth, with Wilder looking increasingly vulnerable. Parker remained composed in the 10th and 11th before a desperate Wilder came out swinging in the final round looking for the knockout blow required.

But Parker never looked in danger of losing against the former WBC champion as he sealed a huge upset, with the judges scoring the most one-sided of bouts, 118-111, 118-110, 120-108 in the 31-year-old’s favour.

Ricky Evans pulled off a stunning straight-sets upset to knock out World Matchplay champion Nathan Aspinall in round two of the World Darts Championship at Alexandra Palace.

Evans, ranked 53rd in the PDC Order of Merit, lost just two legs in the final evening session match-up and will take on Northern Ireland’s Daryl Gurney in the last-32 after Christmas.

Evans told Sky Sports: “Nathan is one of the best darts players in the world, and I’ve literally done a job on him there.

“I’m the weirdest, most loveable idiot in the world, and I’ve just beaten Nathan Aspinall!

“There’s a funny walk-on, there’s a funny me, but there’s a good dart player there and eventually it’ll come out.”

Stephen Bunting cruised into the third round with a 3-0 win over Ryan Joyce, averaging an impressive 107.28.

Bunting hit five 180s en route to victory and will next face Germany’s Florian Hempel.

Ryan Searle set up a meeting with Joe Cullen after beating Tomoya Goto 3-1.

He handily won the first two sets, but his Japanese opponent would not go down without a fight, rallying with a 97 checkout to claim the five-leg third set before he was swept away by the Englishman in the fourth.

Tournament debutant Berry van Peer, 107th in the PDC Order of Merit, extended his run of upsets, advancing with a 3-1 victory over Josh Rock after dumping out Luke Woodhouse in round one.

In the afternoon session, world number nine Jonny Clayton came from behind to begin his World Darts Championship campaign with a 3-1 win against Steve Lennon.

Lennon edged the opening set 3-2 to take an early lead, but two 140s helped Clayton draw level in the second set.

Another tight set followed in the third, where the ‘Ferret’ managed to clinch the fifth leg with a double five to take the lead and Lennon was left to rue his missed doubles as Clayton saw the match out with a clean sweep in the final set.

Daryl Gurney fended off a late comeback from Steve Beaton to win 3-1.

Gurney won the opening set in three straight legs, averaging 104 before taking the second, but an incredible third set saw Beaton fight back and throw back-to-back 180s to help him claw a set back.

The ‘Bronzed Adonis’ looked set to level but Gurney wrapped up victory with a 136 checkout.

Ricardo Pietreczko reached the third round on his Alexandra Palace debut after beating Callan Rydz 3-2 in a tight battle.

A shaky start saw Rydz fall behind in the opening set, but fought back in the second to draw level.

Rydz fell just short of a nine-darter in the third, allowing Pietreczko to swoop in to snatch the set and the Englishman threw 128 to take the contest to a decider, but ‘Pikachu’ earned a clean sweep in the fifth to earn his spot in the next round.

Richard Veenstra won his clash against Kim Huybrechts in style completing a whitewash over the Belgian.

Veenstra ran away with the contest, winning all nine legs with an average of 99.46 to cruise into the next round, where he will meet world number 2 Michael van Gerwen.

The Jacksonville Jaguars will have their starting quarterback under center Sunday when they visit the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Trevor Lawrence was cleared from the NFL’s concussion protocol, multiple media outlets reported Saturday, and will travel with his teammates as the Jaguars (8-6) look to snap a three-game slide.

Lawrence has yet to miss a start since being drafted first overall in 2021.

Lawrence reported symptoms after Jacksonville’s 23-7 loss to the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.

The Jaguars believe Lawrence suffered a concussion on the team’s final drive of the game. He completed just one of his final eight pass attempts.

Lawrence has completed 65.9 percent of his passes this season for 3,525 yards with 18 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Jacksonville’s current slump has dropped them from contention for a first-round play-off bye into a three-way tie atop the AFC South with the Indianapolis Colts and the Houston Texans.

The Jaguars will be without left tackle Cam Robinson (knee) and wide receivers Christian Kirk (groin) and Zay Jones (knee/hamstring) when they face the Buccaneers (7-7).

Exeter maintained their superb home form as they defeated Leicester 29-10 in front of a record crowd at Sandy Park.

An attendance of exactly 15,000 witnessed the Chiefs end their 2023 home campaign in style with a bonus-point win as they stretched their unbeaten Sandy Park run in all competitions to 23 matches, spanning a period of 61 weeks.

It took the Tigers a long time to find their way into the game, despite many of their internationals returning to duty.

They trailed 24-0 early in the second half and, when they finally did fight back, they had left themselves too big a mountain to climb.

Chiefs centre Henry Slade had another an excellent game, once more staking his claim for an England recall for the upcoming Six Nations.

Exeter got off to a dream start with a close-range try after only seven minutes from South African flanker Jacques Vermeulen following a period of intense pressure on the Tigers line, with Slade converting.

Four minutes later they were awarded a penalty try when George Martin was adjudged to have tackled Rory O’Loughlin early to prevent him taking a try-scoring pass from Tom Wyatt and the lead was suddenly 14-0.

The advantage could have been increased even further if Lewis Pearson had not opted to go for glory himself, with two players outside him.

That passage of play saw Chiefs prop Scott Sio and Tigers scrum-half Ben Youngs limp off, soon to be joined by Leicester winger Josh Bassett.

Even referee Tom Foley needed some first-half treatment after getting smacked in the ribs when he inadvertently got in the way of a Leicester attacker.

Chiefs had a try by Jack Yeandle ruled out for a double movement in the 35th minute, but they rammed home their first-half superiority a minute before the break when Slade latched on to a very loose pass from World Cup winner Handre Pollard, who had a first half to forget, and raced 40 metres to score under the posts, leaving the simplest of conversions for a 21-0 interval lead.

Slade put the Chiefs four scores clear 11 minutes into the second half with a penalty as the Tigers collapsed a scrum.

Leicester finally got their first points on the board in the 56th minute when England winger Anthony Watson finished off in the right-hand corner after they had camped on the home line following an initial break by Jasper Wiese. Pollard badly pulled the conversion attempt.

More sustained try-line pressure created a walk-in score for full-back Freddie Steward after former Chiefs centre Solomone Kata’s long pass as Tigers continued their fightback.

However, the conversion was again crucially missed, this time by Jamie Shillcock, leaving them still 14 points adrift.

Exeter were not satisfied with just the win, though, and replacement lock Rusi Tuima forced his way over with the clock in the red to claim the bonus point and provide the perfect finish for the home supporters.

Exeter maintained their superb home form as they defeated Leicester 29-10 in front of a record crowd at Sandy Park.

An attendance of exactly 15,000 witnessed the Chiefs end their 2023 home campaign in style with a bonus-point win as they stretched their unbeaten Sandy Park run in all competitions to 23 matches, spanning a period of 61 weeks.

It took the Tigers a long time to find their way into the game, despite many of their internationals returning to duty.

They trailed 24-0 early in the second half and, when they finally did fight back, they had left themselves too big a mountain to climb.

Chiefs centre Henry Slade had another an excellent game, once more staking his claim for an England recall for the upcoming Six Nations.

Exeter got off to a dream start with a close-range try after only seven minutes from South African flanker Jacques Vermeulen following a period of intense pressure on the Tigers line, with Slade converting.

Four minutes later they were awarded a penalty try when George Martin was adjudged to have tackled Rory O’Loughlin early to prevent him taking a try-scoring pass from Tom Wyatt and the lead was suddenly 14-0.

The advantage could have been increased even further if Lewis Pearson had not opted to go for glory himself, with two players outside him.

That passage of play saw Chiefs prop Scott Sio and Tigers scrum-half Ben Youngs limp off, soon to be joined by Leicester winger Josh Bassett.

Even referee Tom Foley needed some first-half treatment after getting smacked in the ribs when he inadvertently got in the way of a Leicester attacker.

Chiefs had a try by Jack Yeandle ruled out for a double movement in the 35th minute, but they rammed home their first-half superiority a minute before the break when Slade latched on to a very loose pass from World Cup winner Handre Pollard, who had a first half to forget, and raced 40 metres to score under the posts, leaving the simplest of conversions for a 21-0 interval lead.

Slade put the Chiefs four scores clear 11 minutes into the second half with a penalty as the Tigers collapsed a scrum.

Leicester finally got their first points on the board in the 56th minute when England winger Anthony Watson finished off in the right-hand corner after they had camped on the home line following an initial break by Jasper Wiese. Pollard badly pulled the conversion attempt.

More sustained try-line pressure created a walk-in score for full-back Freddie Steward after former Chiefs centre Solomone Kata’s long pass as Tigers continued their fightback.

However, the conversion was again crucially missed, this time by Jamie Shillcock, leaving them still 14 points adrift.

Exeter were not satisfied with just the win, though, and replacement lock Rusi Tuima forced his way over with the clock in the red to claim the bonus point and provide the perfect finish for the home supporters.

Patrick Mullins is optimistic that Allaho retains enough of his undoubted ability to strike gold in the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day.

Two brilliant performances in the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham and a 14-length demolition job in the Punchestown Gold Cup are testament to the Cheveley Park Stud-owned nine-year-old’s talent, but he then spent over a year on the sidelines after suffering a rare spleen problem.

He did, however, make a successful return in the Clonmel Oil Chase in early November – and while Mullins admits he may struggle to recover his previous brilliance, he feels he should still put up a bold show, as he looks to provide his father Willie with a third win in the festive highlight following the previous triumphs of Florida Pearl in 2001 and Tornado Flyer two years ago.

“Since he won the Punchestown Gold Cup and showed he can stay three miles, the King George has definitely been on the radar, and with his owners it’s a nice fit,” Mullins said at Ascot on Saturday.

“He obviously missed last season. Three miles on a flat track suits him. He’s probably a little bit better going left-handed, as he does jump a bit to his left, but he won around Punchestown.

“He’s nine, going 10, coming back from a year off the track, so it’s hard to think he’s still at his very best, but hopefully he might still be good enough to win.”

Allaho’s comeback victory at Clonmel appeared more solid than spectacular to the naked eye, but Mullins said: “I think that was maybe an underrated performance. Janidil is a fair horse and he beat him well.

“We’re very happy with him. His Ryanair wins were Vautour-esque and of course Vautour just got nabbed in the King George (by Cue Card in 2015).

“Vautour jumped a little left and that probably cost him on the day, so hopefully it doesn’t cost Allaho.”

The four-time Grade One winner heads a six-strong field, with last year’s victor Bravemansgame returning to defend his title for Paul Nicholls.

However, the current campaign has not gone to plan so far this term with the eight-year-old suffering odds-on defeats in both the Charlie Hall at Wetherby and the Betfair Chase at Haydock.

Frodon, winner of the race in 2020, gives Nicholls a second string to his bow, with regular partner Bryony Frost taking the ride.

The Nicky Henderson-trained Shishkin is also on something of a redemption mission as he makes his seasonal bow. He refused to start at Ascot last month, while a planned outing at Newcastle was lost to snow and a Fighting Fifth Hurdle prep was scuppered by testing ground at Sandown.

The Real Whacker, winner of the Brown Advisory at Cheltenham last term, and Shark Hanlon’s Hewick complete the line up, with Gerri Colombe and Royale Pagaille absentees, as expected.

Constitution Hill is the headline act in the Ladbrokes Christmas Hurdle, which also has six contenders.

Henderson’s two-mile champion is long odds-on to extend his unbeaten run over obstacles, with the Nicholls-trained Rubaud the next best on ratings, albeit some 26lb behind.

The favourite will be joined by stablemate First Street, with Kerry Lee potentially double-handed with Black Poppy and Nemean Lion. Alan King’s Sceau Royal is the other runner.

Il Est Francais represents France in the Ladbrokes Kauto Star Novices’ Chase.

Trained by Noel George and Amanda Zetterholm, Il Est Francais has been a dominant force at home and has five rivals at Kempton, led by Nicholls’ Hermes Allen.

Giovinco, Kilbeg King, Marble Sands and Tightenourbelts also line up, with no Irish representation after Mullins and Gordon Elliott did not declare Grangeclare West, Klassical Dream or Imagine respectively.

Luccia made her excellent late hurdling count when collecting a valuable victory in the Betfair Exchange Trophy at Ascot.

Nicky Henderson’s mare was pressed all the way up the home straight by stablemate Impose Toi at the end of the £150,000 contest.

But while the latter clouted the last couple of obstacles, Luccia negotiated them in a swift and clean manner under Paul O’Brien to gain the upper hand.

Impose Toi tried his best to claw back the deficit on the run-in, but 9-2 chance Luccia was still a neck in front at the finishing line, securing a first prize of over £85,000.

“If a race like that is going to put up prize-money like that, then we are going to throw everything at it – we ran three,” said Henderson, who also saddled 11-4 favourite Iberico Lord in seventh. “It’s a huge pot and you’ve got to have a go.

“Luccia had every right to be there (at the finish), Iberico Lord beat her the time before at Cheltenham but she had an 8lb swing and she was right there at the last in Cheltenham.

“That is probably as good a way to ride her as you can find. There was no pace and Paul was only trying to dictate it. He was controlling the race actually.

“To get her back is an amazing thing, because we nearly lost her. A tendon in her hind leg locked and she did the splits and couldn’t get up.

“She’s homebred and it’s great. She was top-class last year and she is deserving of a race like this, to be fair. She was heading to the top and things didn’t quite work out, but she was good today.

“I suppose we will have to go (to the Betfair Hurdle), you have to don’t you. But I have always wanted to try her over two and a half to see if she is up for the Mares’ Hurdle.

“To be fair, if you are making the running in a race like that at that pace and getting home, then I would like to try her up in trip and see if she’s game for the Mares’. She deserves a shot at something like that.”

Victtorino continued the excellent run of Venetia Williams and Charlie Deutsch by landing the Howden Silver Cup Handicap Chase over three miles.

Flash Collonges and Git Maker locked horns up front for a long time but paid the price for going too hard and cried enough before the home turn.

There was then four in a line jumping the second-last, but Deutsch had been biding his time in behind on Victtorino and was clearly travelling the best, despite carrying 12st at the age of five in such a competitive contest.

Two beautiful jumps put the 4-1 shot in control and he was always doing enough to fend off the late surge of Yeah Man by three-quarters of a length.

“He’s remarkably grown up for a five-year-old and is really exciting,” said Williams.

“It looked like it wasn’t going to go for us today, there was a strong pace and he wanted to go on the outside, but Blackjack Magic was holding that position and he couldn’t really get by into the position he wanted.

“From Swinley Bottom up, it was pedal to the metal and he met a few of those on an awkward stride, which made things difficult for him, but he dealt with it.

“To see him then go on to the line, and obviously he was being caught, but Charlie felt when the other horse got to his quarters, he felt him pick up a little bit.”

World number nine Jonny Clayton came from behind to begin his World Darts Championship campaign with a 3-1 win against Steve Lennon.

Lennon edged the opening set 3-2 to take an early lead, but two 140s helped Clayton draw level in the second set.

Another tight set followed in the third, where the ‘Ferret’ managed to clinch the fifth leg with a double five to take the lead and Lennon was left to rue his missed doubles as Clayton saw the match out with a clean sweep in the final set.

Daryl Gurney fended off a late comeback from Steve Beaton to win 3-1.

Gurney won the opening set in three straight legs, averaging 104 before taking the second, but an incredible third set saw Beaton fight back and throw back-to-back 180s to help him claw a set back.

The ‘Bronzed Adonis’ looked set to level but Gurney wrapped up victory with a 136 checkout.

Ricardo Pietreczko reached the third round on his Alexandra Palace debut after beating Callan Rydz 3-2 in a tight battle.

A shaky start saw Rydz fall behind in the opening set, but fought back in the second to draw level.

Rydz fell just short of a nine-darter in the third, allowing Pietreczko to swoop in to snatch the set and the Englishman threw 128 to take the contest to a decider, but ‘Pikachu’ earned a clean sweep in the fifth to earn his spot in the next round.

Richard Veenstra won his clash against Kim Huybrechts in style completing a whitewash over the Belgian.

Veenstra ran away with the contest, winning all nine legs with an average of 99.46 to cruise into the next round, where he will meet world number 2 Michael van Gerwen.

Jordan Poole hailed the Golden State Warriors for the "special" reception he received on his return to Chase Center with the Washington Wizards on Friday.

Poole, a member of the Warriors' 2022 Championship-winning team, was back in San Francisco for the first time since being traded in July, scoring 25 points in his team's 129-118 loss.

The 24-year-old was greeted with a pre-game video tribute and received a standing ovation from the fans in attendance, then stayed behind to sign autographs for supporters after the game.

While Poole was unable to guide his new team to victory as Stephen Curry's 30-point haul helped the Warriors improve to 14-14, the fifth-year guard will look back on his return fondly. 

"That was pretty special," he told reporters after sharing an embrace with Warriors coach Steve Kerr.

"It shows my impact that I've had here, which is really cool, especially starting off my career early at the highest level, winning a championship, I played with a lot of Hall of Famers. 

"But I really embraced myself with Dub Nation, submerged myself with them throughout my tenure here. It was pretty special to see that I got the love back."

Asked about the pre-game tribute to Poole, Kerr said: "It was wonderful. The video and ovation Jordan got, to me, was the highlight of the game.

"So well deserved for what he did for our organisation and for our fans and players and coaches, just the work that he put in and obviously becoming a key member of the championship team.

"Jordan deserved that ovation. It was wonderful to see."

The Wizards are 5-23 following their ninth loss in the space of 11 games. They sit 14th in the Eastern Conference, above only the Detroit Pistons, who have lost 25 games in a row.

Emma Lavelle was almost reduced to tears so proud was she of Paisley Park after he went down fighting in his bid for a record-equalling fourth victory in the Howden Long Walk Hurdle.

It is five years since the popular veteran first claimed the Ascot’s traditional pre-Christmas highlight and he has since added to his tally in 2020 and 2022.

The soon-to-be 12-year-old may not be the force he once was, but having shown the fire still burns bright when a fast-finishing second in last month’s Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury, he was prominent in the market at 6-1 to match French great Baracouda’s four Long Walk wins.

While Paisley Park has become renowned for hitting a flat spot before charging home late, on this occasion he travelled with real zest throughout, ensuring he was right on the coat tails of the leaders rounding the home turn.

As per usual he gave generously to Tom Bellamy when asked for maximum effort and even poked his head in front on the run-in, but was in the end denied by the five years younger Crambo after a titanic tussle.

“He’s just the most extraordinary horse and it is heartbreaking because he did everything right,” said Lavelle.

“He travelled so well today and he jumped brilliantly. He loves it, he absolutely loves his job.

“I just thought, ‘oh this is it’, and whereas at Newbury I was going, ‘oh my God, please don’t come any sooner the line, give us another length to beat Dashel Drasher’, today I was thinking, ‘where is the bloody line!’. I think he thought he’d done enough, but he’s galloped his heart out and we’re so proud of him.

“It’s tough as these races are so hard to win and it’s hard to have horses good enough to run in them even. For him to just keep turning up every year is so, so special.

“When he was travelling so well I thought, ‘my God, there is life in the old dog yet’, because at home he almost feels like he doesn’t quite have the speed he had as a young horse. But you see him at the races and he makes a fool of you every which way this horse because it looks like he is travelling better now than he ever has done.”

On future plans, Lavelle added: “I’ve always said this season is race by race and he’s been like, ‘well I’m not blinking retiring!’. I suppose we will go for the Cleeve (at Cheltenham in January) and see what happens after that.

“The reception he’s got today almost makes me cry and I’m walking in and I’m like, ‘oh my God’, and it’s not because I’m beaten. I stood out the front, not surrounded by friends or anything, but just the noise of people shouting for Paisley is just incredible.”

Nicky Henderson warmed up for a huge Boxing Day with a four-timer across both Ascot and Haydock on the final day of action before Christmas.

The two biggest names in Henderson’s Seven Barrows yard, Constitution Hill and Shishkin, will make their seasonal debuts at Kempton on Tuesday, in the Ladbrokes-sponsored Christmas Hurdle and King George VI Chase respectively. The first half of the season has not gone to plan for either of them, giving Henderson sleepless nights in the process.

Constitution Hill was due to run in the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle, with the meeting lost to the weather only to be rearranged for a week later. Henderson did enter him for the rescheduled event at Sandown, but heavy ground prevented him from running.

He was meant to be joined in the rearranged Fighting Fifth by Shishkin – but he also sidestepped it for the same reason, having also missed out at Newcastle in the Rehearsal Chase. The latter had been an original Plan B after he blotted his copybook by refusing to race at Ascot.

Henderson was at Ascot to witness French import Excello win the Howden Graduation Chase and Luccia lead home stablemate Impose Toi in the Betfair Exchange Trophy, while Issuing Authority and Pawapuri got their heads in front at Haydock.

“It’s always nice when the horses are running well. You’ve got to make the most of it because you can get bad patches, but they are being very well behaved at the moment,” said the 73-year-old.

“It doesn’t make me any less nervous for Tuesday as they are all doing different things.

“Those first two up at Haydock were good and I was very impressed with the mare (Pawapuri) and I was impressed with him (Excello) too.”

While Henderson allows himself to enjoy the festivities, he admits his mind will be wandering elsewhere.

“I enjoy seeing the people over Christmas and then the family on Christmas Day, but you are chomping a bit. Your head is still buzzing about what is to come,” he said.

“The most important part is the team behind it and they’ve got to work solidly over this weekend. A lot would prefer to be elsewhere but we can’t do that, we’ve got to mix in, rally together and keep our heads down.”

As for his big two, he will just be pleased to finally get a run into the pair of them.

“They were all right this morning, but you only need them to tread on a peanut and they could be lame tomorrow, it’s not that easy,” he said.

“Shishkin has been away but nothing very dramatic that we wouldn’t normally do, pretty routine.

“I’ve had some very entertaining suggestions about how we can persuade him to start. I can’t personally say I’m not worried about it, of course I am, but I really don’t think it’s a big problem, I really don’t.

“Someone will go down to the start with him and I just need to check with the starter what we can and cannot do. What I think you can’t do is carry anything, certainly not a Long Tom (whip). If we could do that it would be simple. He’ll be all right.

“He’s in good form, I would have loved to have had a race, but we haven’t – there’s nothing I can do about it now. I’m pleased with the way the last week has gone.

“As for the other lad (Constitution Hill), we’ve got three more sleeps, something like that.

“When you have a horse with his mentality, all the messing about hasn’t bothered him. He makes it easier than most horses would.

“His temperament is due to his father, Blue Bresil, he’s passed the genes on and they are so relaxed.

“You still have to remember you are starting a new season and they don’t always come back the same, this is no given.

“If he comes through this and it goes like last year I’d be confident about the next bit. But the first day out of the year is crucial, it’s like a first day at school. He’s been good at home, but there are new kids on the block and he’s starting a new term.”

Crambo came out on top in a breathtaking battle of the ages with Paisley Park to claim Howden Long Walk Hurdle glory at Ascot.

Paisley Park was bidding to match the brilliant Baracouda’s record of four wins in the Grade One contest over an extended three miles.

But the popular 10-year-old just had to give way to Crambo – four years his junior, who was providing trainer Fergal O’Brien with just his second elite-level success.

Dashel Drasher set off in his customary prominent position, but there was little more than a few lengths covering all 10 runners at the halfway stage.

With four flights left to jump, it was noticeable that Paisley Park was lying handier than has often been the case and Tom Bellamy threw down a challenge between the last couple of hurdles.

However, Jonathan Burke made his move at the exact same time and the pair jumped the final obstacle together before settling down for a ding-dong battle on the run-in.

It was impossible to predict the outcome until close home, when 5-1 chance Crambo edged in front by a short head to give O’Brien a first Grade One triumph since Poetic Rhythm in 2017.