Tom Clover is looking forward to seeing how Al Barez progresses after landing the victory he had been threatening in the Virgin Bet Best Odds Daily Handicap at Kempton.
The five-year-old has been knocking on the door in two starts since returning on the all-weather earlier this year and was sent off the 5-2 favourite in the hands of Jack Mitchell over six furlongs at the Sunbury track.
Positioned towards the rear, he made good headway as David Evans’ Radio Goo Goo began to tire on the front-end and stuck his head down gamely in the closing stages to seal a neck verdict over Holy Fire.
“Jack did well to get a nice pitch from a wide draw and he’s been threatening to win, he’s been perhaps a touch unlucky on his last few starts,” said Clover.
“He’s a lovely little horse with a nice pedigree and he deserves to get his head in front. He only won by a neck but he knuckled down well which was lovely to see and I hope for the owners he can be a really fun horse for the season. Hopefully he can go and progress.”
It has been an interrupted couple of years for Al Barez who racked up three victories in succession in 2022 but failed to build on that during a 2023 campaign compromising of just the two appearances.
Having rediscovered his best form in the early stages of 2024, Newmarket-based Clover is now eager to see how far the son of Dark Angel can climb during the turf season as he tries to make up for lost time.
“As a result of being off he’s got pretty low mileage and is pretty unexposed so I’m hoping he can find his way,” continued Clover.
“He likes a strong pace and something to aim at and hopefully we can look forward to the turf season and have a smooth run really.”
Eve Johnson Houghton’s Pont Neuf (11-4) may have unseated his rider in the parade ring and subsequently walked to post, but he had no problems making his way home fastest of all when claiming the opening Virgin Bet/EBF Restricted Novice Stakes, while Richard Hughes’ rich vein of form continued when Palace Green (7-4 favourite) made all in the Virgin Bet Fives/EBF Novice Stakes to register an impressive five-length success.
Liseo (11-4) shaded a close finish to the Virgin Bet Daily Price Boosts Handicap for Simon and Ed Crisford, with Dr Richard Newland and Jamie Insole’s Farasi Lane (12-1) surviving a stewards’ inquiry to win the Virgin Bet Daily Extra Places Handicap.
There was a shock in the concluding Virgin Bet Handicap with Keiran Burke’s Whitcombe Rockstar landing the spoils at odds of 25-1.
Intense Raffles continued his Fairyhouse love affair to hold off the fast-finishing Any Second Now in a thrilling renewal of the BoyleSports Irish Grand National.
Twelve years on from winning the race with Lion Na Bearnai, Thomas Gibney struck gold again courtesy of the Simon Munir and Isaac Souede-owned French import, who has excelled at Fairyhouse in two starts since his transfer from the continent.
Those victories came in the hands of the currently-injured Daryl Jacob, and Jacob’s misfortune was J J Slevin’s gain as he stepped in to also register his second victory in the Easter Monday showpiece aboard the gutsy grey, who showed his star quality with a brilliant round of jumping.
Always travelling powerfully in the hands of Slevin as he tracked the pace set by Frontal Assault, not even a mistake at four out could halt Intense Raffles’ momentum as the six-year-old eased effortlessly to the head of proceedings.
Keen to hold on as long as possible, Slevin waited until after two out to edge the 13-2 scorer’s nose in front and after jumping the last with a narrow advantage he plugged on gamely to the line as Ted Walsh’s veteran and Willie Mullins’ Minella Cocooner were bearing down with every stride.
Brewin’upastorm rolled back the years to give trainer Olly Murphy a Grade Two strike to remember in the Rathbarry & Glenview Studs Hurdle at Fairyhouse.
Now an 11-year-old, Brewin’upastorm has mixed it with some of the best during his lengthy career with the trainer, triumphing in bumper, hurdles and chase company.
Grade One-placed as a novice hurdler at Aintree back in 2019, he subsequently embarked on a spell over fences that yielded two wins but saw him unseat his rider in the 2020 Arkle and trail home last in the Tingle Creek the following season.
Murphy has kept him to hurdles subsequently, twice winning the National Spirit at Fontwell, and this was a first trip to Ireland.
Partnered by Jack Kennedy, Brewin’upastorm was one of just four runners and with Maxxum crashing out and Thedevilscoachman failing to sparkle, it was a duel with Willie Mullins’ 5-6 favourite Zarak The Brave from the penultimate flight.
Brewin’upastorm jumped the last in front but Zarak The Brave was rallying on the run to the line, with Murphy’s raider digging deep to edge a three-quarter-length success.
Murphy was assistant to Gordon Elliott before striking out on his own in Britain and he was thrilled to secure a winner in Ireland.
He said: “I enjoyed that! He’s a very good horse on his day and he’s only good once a year, if that makes sense.
“He really turned up today and I thought he just outstayed Willie’s horse from the back of the last.
“Ireland has been a brilliant place for me, I spent five fantastic years here. I learned an awful lot off Gordon (Elliott) and watched Jack grow up to be the man he is today, I watched him ride his first winner.
“Coming over and taking on the best of the Irish, the way National Hunt racing is at the moment on both side of the Irish Sea, it was something I always wanted to do – train a winner over here.
“I really enjoyed that, Ireland has been a very good place for me and to come back and have a big winner here is magic.
“I probably came over due to the lack of opportunities on our side of the sea. It’s hard to win anywhere, it’s hard to win in England let alone here.
“I enjoyed that as much as any winner I’ve trained.”
Bottler’secret graduated to Grade Two company in style with victory in the O’Driscoll’s Irish Whiskey Juvenile Hurdle.
The four-year-old was a dual winner on the Flat for Ciaran Murphy before changing hands and moving to Gavin Cromwell, for whom he made an impressive hurdles bow at Naas in February.
Bottler’secret strolled to an 11-length success in a Grade Three contest on that occasion – a result which saw him sent off the 4-1 second-favourite for this two-mile event.
British raider Givemefive raced prominently but began to feel the pressure turning for home, with Bottler’secret travelling sweetly for Keith Donoghue having also been to the fore.
He was well in control jumping the penultimate flight and stretched clear after the last, coming home three and three-quarter lengths clear of market leader Miss Manzor.
Cromwell said: “He’s a lovely straightforward horse. He races lazily which you’d love in a horse coming off the Flat. He jumped really well there today.
“The cheekpieces just helped him travel a little bit better. He was behind the bridle a lot the last day. He went to the line really well and hopefully there is more to come.
“I wouldn’t say he has to have it this soft, I’d say on the Flat is was important because he probably just lacked a gear.”
The Punchestown Festival later is now likely to be on the agenda.
Cromwell added: “Yeah, I’d say definitely. Sure why wouldn’t you at this stage. The timing is nice as well with the early Easter.”
Implicit (9-2) could head to the Punchestown Festival after a narrow victory in a dramatic Farmhouse Foods Novice Handicap Hurdle.
Boher Road was clear in front coming to the third-last flight, but he ducked out at the obstacle, smashing through the wing and the inside rail.
That left Implicit and Ossie’s Lodge to battle it out to the line, with the Paul Townend-ridden winner prevailing by just a nose.
David Casey, assistant to winning trainer Willie Mullins, said: “The pilot was very good again, as he usually is. It looked like they went very hard, Paul dropped her in got her relaxed and came with one run.
“Obviously he just got there and I thought it was a brilliant ride. I don’t know what way it would have gone if the horse didn’t run out, but she’s improving.
“I’d imagine she’ll go to Punchestown and you’ll probably see her through the summer as well, she should go on better ground.”
Whatcouldhavebeen (14-1) gave Boher Road’s trainer Jarlath Fahey some compensation as she proved too strong for her rivals in the Fairyhouse Steel Handicap Hurdle.
She finished second as a 66-1 shot in the Grade One Honeysuckle Mares Novice Hurdle at this fixture last year but had struggled to make her mark in six subsequent runs both over hurdles and on the Flat.
However, she roared back to form with a nine-and-a-half-length victory in the hands of Aidan Kelly.
Fahey said: “It’s great as we haven’t had a great run over the winter, a lot of our horses were under a cloud and just weren’t performing.
“We thought she worked nicely the other morning, herself and Boher Road together. He was giving us a nice run until he decided to exit! That gave us a little bit of confidence that she was back somewhere near her best again.
“She was second in a Grade One at this meeting last year. Since she got her summer break she hasn’t been firing and she’s just coming back to herself now.
“We’ll probably stick to handicap company for Punchestown. It’s great to get her back in front again and back running the way she can run.
“She is game and genuine and stayed at it well. It was a brilliant ride by Aidan, very similar to what he did in the Grade One last year. We didn’t have Ashroe Diamond catching us down the straight today.”
Dubai Honour booked a return to Hong Kong in pleasing William Haggas with a successful reappearance in the Virgin Bet Every Saturday Money Back Magnolia Stakes at Kempton.
Last seen running at Ascot on British Champions Day, the globetrotting six-year-old has remained at Somerville Lodge this winter rather than venturing to Australia and was by far the best horse in the race on both career achievements and official ratings ahead of his return in the 10-furlong Listed event.
The 4-6 favourite duly obliged in good style, defying early-season freshness under Ryan Moore to hand his trainer a fourth success in race, scoring by an impressive three lengths.
He will now return to overseas action with Dubai Honour set to be tasked with going two places better than his 2023 QEII Cup third at Sha Tin later this month.
Haggas said: “I was very pleased with him and he looked a bit fresh having not run for a bit. But I thought he was always looking comfortable in a race that had the potential to be messy – and probably was – despite the nice gallop.
“I haven’t spoken to Ryan yet, but I’m not sure he was where he wanted to be early on. Still, the horse picked up well and he did it nicely, as he should do at the weights. But I was very happy with him and it was exactly what I hoped for.
“He’s going to Hong Kong all being well – he’s been invited and we’ve accepted. Providing he’s fit and well he will go over there on April 28 for the QEII Cup, the mile-and-a-quarter race he was third in last year.
“He’s won over £3million in prize-money now and he’s a thoroughly nice horse who has been great fun, we think the world of him. He’s a kind horse, too.”
Reigning NBA MVP Joel Embiid is expected to return to the Philadelphia 76ers’ lineup this week for the first time since sustaining a left knee injury that required surgery in early February, ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski reported on Monday.
Embiid last played on Jan. 30 and underwent surgery on Feb. 6. He averaged 35.3 points, 11.3 rebounds, 5.7 assists and 1.76 blocks in 34 games before getting injured.
Embiid’s return will be a welcome sight for the 76ers, who currently sit in eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
Philadelphia is 26-8 this season with Embiid in the lineup and 14-27 when playing without the seven-time All-Star.
The 76ers are in action four times this week. They host the Western Conference-leading Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday before a three-game road trip that features matchups with the Miami Heat on Thursday, the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday and the San Antonio Spurs on Sunday.
LeBron James suggested he is still not respected by some opponents after matching a Michael Jordan achievement with a 40-point showing for the Los Angeles Lakers.
The 20-time NBA All-Star registered a career-high nine 3-pointers in the Lakers' 116-104 win over the Brooklyn Nets at Barclays Center on Sunday.
That helped James to equal Jordan in becoming the only two NBA players ever to record multiple games of 40-or-more points after turning 39.
James, who went 13-for-17 from the floor and 9-for-10 from deep, felt he proved a point with his performance against the Nets.
"I don't ever have to lean on [3-pointers] because I can do so much," said James, whose 3-point percentage of 41.6 per cent for the season is the best of his career.
"I can score on any level on the floor basically once I cross half court. But being able to have a growth mindset and be able to work on things that the league is changing to, the league is a heavy 3-point shooting league.
"I'm not one of those guys that wants to go out there and shoot 12, 14 or 15 3s per game. But I want to be respected, and teams have to play me from the outside.
"That's still kind of one thing teams think. 'If we have to give up something, we'd much rather him shoot the ball from the outside'."
James has been nursing an ankle issue for much of this season, but he showed no signs of being below full fitness against the Nets.
"My foot has felt a lot better," James said. "I didn't have much time to really rep a lot last year because I had to make sure I could be on the floor running around or [not] putting much pounding of my foot on the floor.
"I've had a lot of opportunity to get on the floor. You probably see me before every game out on the floor, working on my game, working on my craft. That's helped out a lot, too.
"And just trying to stay consistent with my shot, do the same shot every time. And just work. Just work, work, work, work."
James scored 17 of his points in the fourth quarter as he helped the Lakers get over the line after their lead was reduced from 26 points to just eight at one point.
"It's incredible," coach Darvin Ham said. "I told him in the huddle before his last little stretch and we ultimately subbed him out that I was just extremely thankful that he packed the cape on the road trip. We needed all nine of those 3s."
Los Angeles have now won six of their last seven and are 42-33 for the season, placing them ninth in the Western Conference with seven regular-season games to go.
Roger Teal’s Dancing Gemini could start his campaign in either the French or the English 2000 Guineas.
The Camelot colt was twice a winner as a juvenile, taking a Newbury maiden and then the Listed Flying Scotsman at Doncaster.
He then stepped up to Group One level to contest the Kameko Futurity Trophy back at Doncaster, a mile event run on heavy ground in October.
There he finished fifth as Charlie’s Appleby’s Ancient Wisdom took first place, a run Teal has taken the positives from as Dancing Gemini gained experience ahead of his three-year-old campaign.
“Conditions were soft when we won the Listed race but it wasn’t as bad as when we ran him in the Group One,” he said.
“We perhaps committed him too soon and then there was the horse that got upset in the stalls, so there was a delay as they’d all been loaded.
“He probably used up a bit of nervous energy, but he didn’t run bad at all in those conditions.”
Teal is pleased with how the colt has developed over the winter and is taking aim at either the French or English Guineas as his opening run of the season.
“He’s taken his work very well, he looks like he’s come forward so we’re really happy,” he said.
“He’s in both Guineas, French and English, so that’s what we’re aiming at. We’ll see a bit closer to the time which one we’re going to go for.
“He’s by a Derby winner and out of an Australia mare, so he’s bred to get the trip. Fingers crossed he goes well in the Guineas so we can start to dream big.
“He was a bit of a frame last year but he was always growing, he was a bit bum high but he seems to have levelled off now.
“He’s done very well, we’re very happy with him. He’s not a massive horse but he is a nice stamp, a nice athletic animal.
“He’s a Camelot and he tends to stamp them as good-looking horses.”
Constitution Hill is back at Nicky Henderson’s yard after a colic scare, with any thoughts of a trip to the Punchestown Festival now firmly ruled out.
The Seven Barrows handler announced on Sunday that his superstar hurdler had been taken to a veterinary hospital due a suspected colic on Wednesday night, describing it as a “few traumatic days” with the unbeaten gelding.
Henderson issued an upbeat bulletin on Monday with Constitution Hill returning to the Lambourn yard to continue his recovery, although the 2023 Champion Hurdle hero is in need of an extended period of rest.
That means a potential clash with last month’s Cheltenham victor State Man is now off the agenda until next term.
In a statement posted on X, Henderson said: “Constitution Hill returned to Seven Barrows this morning and it is wonderful to have him home after what he has endured.
“He resumed normal feed yesterday with no further ill effects and had a nice pick of grass in the welcome sunshine.
“Hopefully this is all behind him now but I am afraid it is easy to see he had a difficult week and the reality is he is going to take some time to recover and put some weight back on again.
“Therefore our much anticipated match with State Man will have to wait until next season.”
Constitution Hill has run just once this season after cold weather scuppered his initial planned return in the Fighting Fifth at Newcastle, with deep ground seeing him bypass the rescheduled event at Sandown.
He won the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton on Boxing Day in a canter, but an unsatisfactory scope saw him miss an intended Trials day run at Cheltenham before a respiratory infection ended his hopes of a Champion Hurdle defence last month.
The Fighting Fifth is pencilled in as a starting point for next season, though Henderson’s main priority remains Constitution Hill’s health.
He added: “As long as he is OK that is all that matters, but it has been a horrible few months since his great performance in the Christmas Hurdle. It is time for him to have a summer holiday now look forward to his return, hopefully in the Fighting Fifth.”
One-time Classic contender Passenger could make his return to action in France next month after being entered for the Prix Ganay at ParisLongchamp.
An impressive winner of the Wood Ditton on his racecourse debut at Newmarket last spring, the Sir Michael Stoute-trained colt subsequently finished a luckless third when favourite for the Dante at York, earning himself a place in the Derby.
Passenger was disappointing in Epsom’s premier Classic, but rounded off his three-year-old campaign with a narrow verdict in the Group Three Winter Hill Stakes at Windsor – beating subsequent Caulfield Cup runner-up West Wind Blows – and the son of Ulysses appears to be closing in on a comeback.
“Passenger’s in good form, we’re just coming out of the winter and Sir Michael has made an entry for him in the Ganay,” said Alan Cooper, racing manager for owners the Niarchos Family.
“There’s also the Gordon Richards Stakes (at Sandown), but we’ve got plenty of time to decide on the programme. We’re only at the end of March and like everyone we’d like a bit of warmth and a bit of dryness – it’s been so wet.
“His form is good, so let’s hope he progresses from his Group Three win and everyone can have some fun with him this year.”
Passenger is one of 19 initial entries for the Prix Ganay on April 28, with Charlie Appleby’s pair of Measured Time and Military Order, John and Thady Gosden’s Lord North and the William Haggas-trained Dubai Honour other potential British raiders.
Aidan O’Brien’s Luxembourg heads an Irish contingent that also includes Al Riffa and Maxux, both trained by his son Joseph, and Adrian Murray’s duo of Crypto Force and Elegant Man.
Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf champion Unquestionable will attempt to become a Classic hero at ParisLongchamp after being set a French 2000 Guineas objective.
Trained by Aidan O’Brien, the son of Wootton Bassett was getting on the scoresheet for the first time at the highest level as he carried the Al Shaqab colours to a maiden Breeders’ Cup victory at Santa Anita in November.
A consistent performer throughout his juvenile season, prior to his success in America he chased home Richard Hannon’s Rosallion in the Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere and it is therefore no surprise connections have their eye on a return to the French capital.
His Ballydoyle handler is still toying with the idea of an early-season tune-up run, but the one race all connections have circled on their calendar is the Poule d’Essai des Poulains on May 12, when O’Brien will seek his sixth victory in the colts’ Classic.
“Unquestionable is fine and Aidan is going to decide if he goes for a trial, but the plan is for him to go to the French Guineas,” said Alison Begley, UK racing consultant for Al Shaqab, who co-own the three-year-old in partnership with Coolmore and Westerberg.
“He ran really well there at Longchamp in the Lagardere and that will be the plan for him. At the moment Aidan is just deciding over a trial, but the first aim this season is the French Guineas.”
Monday’s fixture at Redcar has been called off due to a waterlogged track.
The venue was due to stage a seven-race card but significant rain overnight left clerk of the course Jonjo Sanderson with no option but to abandon.
He said: “The forecast changed yesterday afternoon and while we were expecting rain, it changed from a couple of millimetres to a significant amount overnight.
“We’ve had seven millimetres since 1am and it is still raining now with probably another 7mm forecast.
“It’s just been so wet all winter that it’s taken relatively little rain to push us over.”
Wednesday’s card at Nottingham, which was due to feature the Listed Further Flight Stakes, has also been called off.
Officials inspected the track at 8am on Monday but parts of the course remain unraceable following further overnight rain, with little prospect of sufficient improvement ahead of racing.
Luka Dončić delivered another sensational performance by tallying 47 points and 12 rebounds, and the Dallas Mavericks cruised to a 125-107 victory over the Houston Rockets on Sunday in a clash of the NBA's hottest teams.
Doncic added seven assists and Kyrie Irving contributed 24 points to the Mavericks' seventh consecutive win, tying a season high. Dallas also set a season best by making 24 3-pointers - with Doncic hitting nine in 16 attempts - while shooting 51.1 per cent from beyond the arc.
Houston entered the in-state matchup riding an 11-game winning streak, the franchise's longest in a single season since 2017-18. The Rockets received 28 points from Jabari Smith Jr. but two of their other core players, Jalen Green and Fred VanVleet, were held to 12 and 10 points, respectively.
Doncic accumulated 32 of his points in the first half on 12-of-18 shooting as the Mavericks built a 36-24 lead after one quarter and never trailed thereafter. The superstar guard closed out the second quarter with a three-point play that capped a 9-2 run which extended Dallas' advantage to 66-45 at half-time.
Houston never got its deficit under 15 points in the second half, and Dallas put the game completely out of reach with an 18-7 spurt that pushed its lead to 111-83 with eight minutes to go.
Thunder hit late shot to edge Knicks, clinch play-off spot
Shai GIlgeous-Alexander's go-ahead basket with 2.6 seconds remaining sent the Oklahoma City Thunder into the play-offs for the first time since 2020 with a thrilling 113-112 win over the New York Knicks.
After Jalen Brunson's layup with 4.1 seconds left gave the Knicks a 112-111 lead, Gilgeous-Alexander answered by knocking down a contested turnaround jumper on the ensuing possession before Brunson misfired at the buzzer to allow Oklahoma City to secure a spot in this year's post-season.
The victory, the Thunder's seventh in their last nine games, also gave them sole possession of first place in the Western Conference. Oklahoma City entered the game tied with the Minnesota Timberwolves, who were dealt a 109-101 loss by the Chicago Bulls on Sunday, for the top spot.
Gilgeous-Alexander finished with 19 points but wasn't the Thunder's lone star performer. Jalen Williams put up a game-high 33 points with eight rebounds while Josh Giddey compiled a triple-double with 16 points, 13 rebounds and 12 assists.
Brunson paced New York with 30 points and Miles McBride added 19 in the second straight frustrating defeat for the Knicks, who lost in overtime at San Antonio on Friday.
New York appeared on the way to victory after holding an 85-75 lead after three quarters, but the Thunder opened the fourth on a 13-3 run to tie the game at 88-88 on back-to-back 3-pointers from Giddey and Kenrich Williams.
Giddey scored seven straight points later on to give Oklahoma City a 102-95 advantage with five minutes left, but the Knicks responded with a 9-2 spurt capped by Brunson's 3-pointer that knotted the score at 104-104 heading into the final three minutes.
Nuggets blow out Cavaliers to keep pace in West
The Thunder's lead atop the West is at a half-game over the Denver Nuggets, who came through with a 130-101 rout of the Cleveland Cavaliers behind a dominant 26-point, 18-rebound, 16-assist effort from Nikola Jokić.
Jokic notched his 22nd triple-double of the season to help the defending NBA champions lock up a play-off spot, and the Nuggets also got a season-high 22 points from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to help halt a two-game losing streak.
Down by four points midway through the second quarter, Denver outscored Cleveland by a 24-11 margin over the remainder of the first half to take a 65-56 lead into the break.
The Nuggets then shot 62.5 per cent from the field in the third quarter to extend the margin, with Jokic amassing 10 points, five rebounds and five assists while hitting 5 of 7 field goal attempts for the period.
Denver opened the second half on a 15-2 run to build a commanding 80–58 advantage four minutes into the third quarter, and maintained a lead of at least 17 points the rest of the way.
Evan Mobley finished with 23 points on 9-of-10 shooting to lead the slumping Cavaliers, who have now lost eight of 12. Jarrett Allen added 19 points for Cleveland, but All-Star Donovan Mitchell had just 13 while missing nine of 12 field-goal attempts in his second game back from a broken nose that sidelined him six consecutive contests.
Dakota Joshua scored two goals, including the game-winner with 2:13 left to play, as the Vancouver Canucks bounced back with Sunday's 3-2 victory over the downtrodden Anaheim Ducks.
Arturs Silovs made 20 saves to win his first NHL start in over a year and help Vancouver halt a two-game losing streak as well as extend its lead atop the Pacific Division. The Canucks now own a four-point advantage over the second-place Edmonton Oilers.
The Ducks rallied from a 2-0 deficit on third-period goals from Olen Zellweger and Mason McTavish before ultimately being dealt a fifth consecutive loss and 12th in 13 games.
Silovs, whose last NHL appearance came on March 6, 2023, stopped all 17 shots he faced through the first two periods as the Canucks built a 2-0 lead on a pair of power-play goals. Brock Boeser had the first 11:26 into the first period and Joshua backhanded a close-range shot past Anaheim goaltender Lukas Dostal midway through the second.
The Ducks then came to life early in the third, as Zellweger and McTavish scored 1:11 apart to even the game less than five minutes into the period. Zellweger's goal was the first of his NHL career.
The score remained 2-2 until Joshua knocked in a behind-the-net pass from Conor Garland with under 2 1/2 minutes left.
Dostal finished with 27 saves for Anaheim.
Jannik Sinner won his third title of the season as he finally became the Miami Open champion.
The Italian, who claimed the Australian Open in January and followed it up with victory in Rotterdam, put in a scintillating display to beat Grigor Dimitrov 6-3 6-1 in Florida.
His success sees the 22-year-old become the new world number two and avenges defeats in the final here in 2021 and 2023.
It also means his semi-final loss to Carlos Alcaraz in Indian Wells a fortnight ago remains the only time he has been beaten so far this year.
"It has been a very special week for me, I have faced different kinds of situations on the court and different opponents," he told Sky Sports.
"But I guess I managed the situation well.
"I am very happy to be number two in the world, it is just a number, for me most important is trying to execute my gameplan and I managed to do this."
Dimitrov, who is enjoying a resurgence and ousted Alcaraz in the semi-final here, had the first opportunity to gain the upper hand against Sinner and things might have been different had the Bulgarian not gone wide on an early break point.
That allowed Sinner to take control and he broke in the next game to open up a lead before missing more break points to go 5-2 up.
His domination continued, though, as he only let Dimitrov win one more game in the match.
The Italian took the first set with a stunning backhand down the line and then was in total control of the second set as his opponent barely got on the board.
Sinner closed it out to claim a second Masters 1000 title.
Giannis Antetokounmpo's greatness may be taken for granted by the Milwaukee Bucks, according to coach Doc Rivers, whose side overcame the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday.
The Bucks snapped Atlanta's four-game winning streak with a 122-113 triumph as Antetokounmpo managed 36 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists.
Antetokounmpo also made 12 of 16 free throws, with Rivers suggesting Milwaukee may overlook how much they rely on their star man.
"As I said, we take him for granted," Rivers said. "I thought he played as clean a game as he can play."
"I was really happy with the way we played overall because they did what they do, come out and make 3s."
Patrick Beverley scored 18 points as the fill-in starting point guard, despite concerns over his availability due to a wrist injury.
"He wanted to protect me, as a coach should," Beverley said of Rivers after playing 36 minutes and having five assists with no turnovers.
Hawks coach Quin Snyder acknowledged his team struggled to stop Antetokounmpo.
That plight was not aided by the fact Atlanta were missing Onyeka Okongwu and Jalen Johnson.
"It really does require multiple players to limit his ability to get to the rim," Snyder said.
Jonathan Quick set the wins record for U.S.-born goalies and Alexis Lafreniere had three goals and two assists to lead the surging Rangers to an 8-5 win over the Arizona Coyotes on Saturday.
Quick stopped 27 shots for his 392nd victory to move past Ryan Miller for the record.
Artemi Panarin had a goal and three assists and Ryan Lindgren added a goal and two assists for the Rangers, who won their fifth straight and increased the NHL’s best point total to 104.
New York finished March 10-3-1 and is 20-4-1 since February.
Nick Bjugstad and Logan Cooley had a goal and an assist for the Coyotes, who have lost six straight to the Rangers since a 3-2 win on Oct. 22, 2019.
Matthews scores 60th as Maple Leafs win
Auston Matthews reached the 60-goal mark for the second time and Ilya Samsonov made 34 saves in the Toronto Maple Leafs’ 3-0 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.
Matthews became the league’s first two-time 60-goal scorer in 30 years. He matched the franchise record he set when he led the NHL two seasons ago.
He is the first player with multiple 60-goal seasons since Pavel Bure had back-to-back 60-goal campaigns with Vancouver in 1992-93 and 1993-94.
John Tavares and Nicholas Robertson also scored for Toronto, which remained four points ahead of Florida in the race for third place in the Atlantic Division.
Oettinger powers streaking Stars
Jake Oettinger notched his second shutout of the season and the Dallas Stars defeated the Seattle Kraken, 3-0, for their seventh straight win.
Roope Hintz and Wyatt Johnston each had a goal and an assist and Joe Pavelski also scored as the Stars maintained a three-point lead over Colorado in the race for the top seed in the Western Conference and stayed one point behind the Rangers for the league’s best record.
Seattle failed to win a third straight after two wins over Anaheim and dropped to 2-7-2 in its last 11 games.
Giannis Antetokounmpo dunked six times on his way to 36 points and the Milwaukee Bucks overcame Bogdan Bogdanović’s 38 points in a 122-113 victory to end the Atlanta Hawks’ four-game winning streak on Saturday.
Antetokounmpo had 16 rebounds and eight assists, while Khris Middleton scored 21 points as Milwaukee avoided a third straight loss.
Dejounte Murray had 20 points, 12 assists and eight rebounds for the Hawks, who beat league-leading Boston twice during its longest win streak of the season.
De’Andre Hunter and Bogdanovic hit consecutive 3-pointers midway through the fourth quarter to get Atlanta within 94-89, but Middleton and Brook Lopez answered with 3s for Milwaukee to get the lead to 100-89.
Celtics get back on track
Jayson Tatum scored 23 points and Kristaps Porzingis added 19 with 10 rebounds to help the Boston Celtics bounce back from consecutive losses with a 104-92 victory over the New Orleans Pelicans.
Jaylen Brown had 17 points and Derrick White contributed 15 for the league-leading Celtics, who averted their first three-game losing streak of the season.
Boston took control in the third quarter, limiting the Pelicans to 11 points and entered the fourth with an 83-68 lead.
Zion Williamson scored 25 points and CJ McCollum had 24 for New Orleans, which failed in a bid to move 18 games over .500 for the first time since April 12, 2009, when it was 49-32.
Magic roll to end skid
Wendell Carter Jr. had 15 points and 13 rebounds and the Orlando Magic cruised to a 118-88 rout of the Memphis Grizzlies to snap a three-game losing streak.
Jalen Suggs and Cole Anthony each added 15 points and Paolo Banchero had 13 points, nine rebounds and seven assists for the Magic, who moved a game and a half behind New York in the race for fourth place in the Eastern Conference.
Orlando’s 43 wins are the most for the franchise since it was 52-30 in 2010-11.
Danielle Collins produced a fairytale ending to her first WTA 1000 final in her last year on tour by beating Elena Rybakina to win the Miami Open.
The 30-year-old, who grew up in St Petersburg near Tampa, delighted the partisan home crowd as she produced a determined display to see off world number four Rybakina 7-5 6-3, before breaking down in tears.
Unseeded Collins, runner-up to Ashleigh Barty at the 2022 Australian Open, had won 12 straight sets after losing her first of the tournament, and continued to dig deep as she saw off Rybakina, who had reached a second straight Miami Open final.
The opening set stayed on serve, with Collins saving three break points in the seventh game. The American then dug deep to fend off another break opportunity for Rybakina to hold again and lead 6-5.
Collins continued her momentum to force two set points in the next game, but could not convert.
A forehand into the net from Rybakina presented Collins another opportunity – which this time she took when the world number four sent a return long of the baseline, to the delight of the home crowd.
Rybakina was under pressure on her serve again early in the second set, with Collins dispatching a break point chance with a forehand crosscourt winner to move 2-0 ahead.
The 2022 Wimbledon champion, though, regrouped to immediately break back in the next game before a hold to love levelled the set up again at 2-2.
Collins eventually took what was an error-strewn seventh game from both players to lead 4-3 – which again got the crowd fired up.
The home fans were soon back on their feet as Collins forced home another break chance when Rybakina sent a return long which left her serving for the title.
Collins, though, struggled to finish off Rybakina, who forced a break chance before the American failed to take three championship points – but she eventually found a backhand winner to deliver the biggest title of her career.
“I have worked so hard and it has taken a lot longer than a lot of the players on the tour,” Collins said in her courtside interview with Sky Sports.
“Today was just surreal, coming out here and playing in front of so many people that were behind me. Having a whole stadium on my side was something so special – it is hard not to get emotional.
“It meant so much to me to get over this hurdle. It is just a really special moment.”
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
