Matthew Tkachuk delivered in the clutch yet again, scoring his second goal of the game on a power-play with 4.9 seconds left in regulation to complete the sweep and send the Florida Panthers into the Stanley Cup Final with a 4-3 win over the Carolina Hurricanes.
Florida will play for hockey's ultimate prize for just the second time in franchise history, after they were swept by the Colorado Avalanche in 1996.
The eighth-seeded Panthers will face either Vegas or Dallas, with the Golden Knights holding a 3-0 lead in the Western Conference final.
Jesper Fast scored the tying goal with 3:22 to go in the third period and the teams appeared headed for overtime for the third time in this series, but Jordan Staal took a tripping penalty with 57 seconds remaining to set up Tkachuk's latest heroics.
Tkachuk's goal was his eighth of the postseason and fourth of this series – including two in overtime.
Sergei Bobrovsky made 36 saves in his fifth straight victory – all one-goal decisions. He stopped 168 of 174 shots in this series for a .966 save percentage.
Carolina played most of the game without defenseman Jaccob Slavin after he absorbed a hard hit from Sam Bennett, who was not penalised on the play.
Slavin wobbled as he got to his feet and needed assistance to leave the ice.
Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn has been suspended for two games for his cross-check on Vegas Golden Knights skipper Mark Stone.
Benn lunged in on Stone in Tuesday's 4-0 loss, a defeat that left the Stars in a 3-0 hole in the Western Conference finals.
The suspension was announced on Wednesday by the NHL Department of Player Safety.
Benn will now be forced to sit out Game 4, which takes place on Thursday, and should the Stars win to extend the series, Saturday's Game 5 in Las Vegas.
If the Golden Knights complete the sweep, Benn will have to sit out next season's opener.
In Game 3, Benn received a five-minute major penalty and game misconduct for his hit on Stone less than two minutes in, with the Stars already trailing 1-0.
After Benn and Stone collided, the latter fell to the ice, landing on his back. Benn then dove downward onto Stone and cross-checked his head and neck area.
In a video announcing the suspension, the league determined that Benn intentionally decided to cross-check Stone while he was vulnerable.
"This is simply an unnecessarily dangerous decision by Benn, and it is delivered with sufficient intent and force to merit supplemental discipline," the league said.
This is the first time Benn has been suspended in his 14-year NHL career.
Benn, who has been Dallas' captain since the start of the 2013-14 season, has three goals and eight assists in this year's playoffs, including one goal in this series.
Lizzie Deignan has stressed the importance of having events such as this weekend’s Ford RideLondon Classique staged in Britain.
RideLondon is now the only UCI Women’s WorldTour event taking place in Britain this year following the cancellation of the Women’s Tour due to funding issues.
It is the 10th edition of the event to be held and only its second time as a stage race, but Deignan believes it is vital to use such events to “inspire people to race”.
She told a press conference: “We all know the participation levels in cycling in the UK are at an all-time high, but it’s still really important to make sure grassroots people are still going into racing.
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“I think there’s still a bit of a disconnect and the best way to show people and inspire people to race is to race in front of them, to be part of that circuit race atmosphere in London.
“There will be countless little girls on the side of the road watching that who will be excited and enthralled by cycling because there is a certain kind of festival atmosphere when a bike race comes to a city.
“I think it’s really important that we still have such a big event like RideLondon.”
RideLondon begins on Friday and is a three-stage race that runs through to Sunday.
Starting in Saffron Walden in Essex, the first stage covers 150km before the race resumes in Maldon on Saturday for 140km.
The finale is set to be staged in central London, with the finish taking place down the Mall, and Deignan is excited by the challenges the course presents.
She added: “The thing I love about racing in the UK is you can look at something on paper and think that you know what the outcome’s going to be – like if you think back to London 2012 everybody expected a sprinter to win it.
“Everybody’s eyes were on (Mark Cavendish) in the men’s race and that race ended in a breakaway, my race ended in a breakaway.
“It’s very dynamic, the weather comes into play a lot, the roads are tough.
“Even a flat road can feel like a climb in the UK so I think the course has been designed really well, it makes the most of the region that it’s in.
“It’s also exciting to finish with a circuit race, we don’t get to do that many circuit races anymore, so to be doing it in such an iconic city as well is exciting.”
England hooker Dylan Hartley lost his place on the British and Irish Lions tour when he was sent off in the Premiership final on this day 10 years ago.
The Northampton captain was shown a red card for dissent shortly before half-time in his side’s 37-17 defeat to Leicester in the climax to the domestic season at Twickenham.
Hartley was alleged to have called referee Wayne Barnes a “f****** cheat” and was subsequently hit with an 11-week ban.
Hartley insisted his volley of abuse had not been aimed at the official but at Leicester hooker Tom Youngs. However, he had been warned about his language by Barnes just two minutes earlier.
He did not contest his punishment and sat out the Lions’ 10-game tour of Hong Kong and Australia, for which the squad flew out just two days later.
Rory Best was called up as Hartley’s replacement by coach Warren Gatland.
Speaking about the incident years later, Hartley admitted he felt he had let his colleagues and himself down.
“I couldn’t believe what was happening,” he said. “It was Northampton’s first ever final in the Premiership. I let down not only the team but the town, and then personally I’d been to the Lions camp the week before and had all that kit.”
Hartley did earn another chance at the Premiership final the following year and was on the winning side as Saints beat Saracens in extra time.
He did captain England to Six Nations glory twice, but there were no more Lions opportunities as he was overlooked for the 2017 New Zealand tour. He retired in 2019.
Dallas Stars captain Jamie Benn was suspended two games for his cross-check on Vegas Golden Knights captain Mark Stone in Tuesday’s 4-0 loss that left the Stars in a 3-0 hole in the Western Conference Final.
The suspension was announced Wednesday by the NHL Department of Player Safety.
Benn will now be forced to sit out Thursday’s Game 4 at home, and should the Stars win to extend the series, Saturday’s Game 5 in Las Vegas. If the Golden Knights complete the sweep, Benn will then have to sit out next season’s opener.
In Game 3, Benn received a five-minute major penalty and game misconduct for his hit on Stone less than two minutes into the game, with the Stars already trailing 1-0.
After Benn and Stone collided, Stone fell to the ice, landing on his back. Benn then dove downward onto Stone and cross-checked his head and neck area.
In a video announcing the suspension, the league determined that Benn intentionally decided to cross-check Stone while he was vulnerable.
“This is simply an unnecessarily dangerous decision by Benn, and it is delivered with sufficient intent and force to merit supplemental discipline,” the league said.
This is the first time Benn has been suspended in his 14-year NHL career.
Benn, who has been Dallas’ captain since the start of the 2013-14 season, has three goals and eight assists in this year’s playoffs, including one goal in this series.
Despite the disappointment of a penalty that robbed him a podium finish in Czech Republic at the weekend, Jamaica's young sensation Alex Powell left that second round of the FIA European Karting Championship feeling confident that he can truly take the fight to the leading lights in the hunt to create more history this year.
The American-born Powell, who just missed out on an historic top-three finish in last year's overall championship, has once again established himself as a main contender for those coveted top spot in the OK category, as he sits third in the current standing on 96 points with two more rounds to come.
Italian Gabriel Gomez holds pole position on 150 points ahead of Dutchman Rene Lammers (136 points). Latvia's Tomass Stolcermanis (86 points) and Nathaniel Tye (60 points) of Great Britain complete the latest top five.
This follows a riveting second round battle on the demanding 1223-metre Steel Ring track in Trinec, where the winding, hilly layout, offered challenges for the drivers and technicians, especially amid changeable conditions.
In the end it was Gomez who maintained his composure best and, finished tops ahead of Lammers and another Italian Sebastiano Pavan.
Powell initially placed second, but was later penalized and, as such, had to settle for fourth.
"It was a difficult weekend, but we were strong in the final once again which is always a positive because the aim always to challenge for the podium. Naturally, I was very disappointed about the five second penalty at first, but there are a number of positive takeaways and so we will just focus on those and make the necessary switch to take the next two rounds as they come," Powell said from his base in Italy.
With the next round of the European Championships set for June 15-18 in Rodby, Denmark, Powell is eyeing significant improvements to ensure he remains in contention to possibly pull off the historic feat of being the first Jamaican or Caribbean driver to be crowned overall European champion.
Before that, the 15-year-old will have the Champions of the Future event to navigate from May 31 to July 3, also in Denmark, which should assist in his preparation for the bigger event. He is currently second on the Champions of the Future standings.
"The European Championships is definitely not over yet for sure I will be looking to improve on those results over the next two rounds and try my hardest to keep up with those ahead of me," Powell, a cousin to former 100m World record holder, Asafa Powell, said.
"Being in third position at the moment really encourages me to put my best foot forward, like i said, we had good pace in the final and so I’m hoping we will be even faster in the races to come and I really want to take that next step up onto the podium," he added.
With this possibly being his final year in karting, Powell, a Mercedes-Benz AMG F1 protege, who was denied the overall honours by a mere two points last year, is determined to close this chapter of his career with a bang.
"There is a chance we can do something special this year and I obviously have more experience now too, which gives me the confidence to push harder.
“If things go well, I honestly believe we can compete with the top guys and cause them some trouble. It’s a really strong field and the leading four drivers in the championship will all be aiming to hold their positions, but my goal is to close the gap going int to the final round and from there, anything is possible," Powell noted.
Tennessee police administered a welfare check on Ja Morant on Wednesday following a cryptic message the embattled Memphis Grizzlies star posted on Instagram, according to a report from TMZ Sports.
A spokesperson for the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office acknowledged to TMZ that officers were called to Morant’s home to check on the All-Star’s well-being after he made references to his parents and young daughter before ending a social media post with the word “Bye.”
Morant told the officers he wrote the post to indicate he will be taking a break from social media, the spokesperson told TMZ.
“He is fine,” the spokesperson added.
Morant began the message by writing “Love ya Ma” followed by a blue heart emoji, which was also attached to a statement that read “Love ya pops.” He then wrote, “You da greatest baby girl [blue heart emoji] love ya” before abruptly signing off.
The 23-year-old was suspended indefinitely by the Grizzlies last week after a video of him holding a handgun circulated on social media earlier this month.
Morant was previously suspended eight games by the Grizzlies and the NBA in March for a different video that showed him carrying a gun as he conducted an Instagram Live session from a Denver-area strip club.
The standout point guard entered a counseling program in Florida following the first incident and issued a statement expressing responsibility for the most recent video.
“I know I’ve disappointed a lot of people who have supported me,” Morant said afterward. “This is a journey and I recognize there is more work to do. My words may not mean much right now, but I take full accountability for my actions. I’m committed to continuing to work on myself.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said he was surprised when informed of the second video and said the league is taking a further look at the matter.
“Honestly, I was shocked when I saw [it] this weekend,” Silver told ESPN at the NBA Draft Lottery on May 16. “We’re in the process of investigating it. We’ll figure out exactly what happened to the best we can … But I’m assuming the worst.”
Morant earned his second career All-Star nod this past season after averaging 26.2 points and 8.1 assists per game while helping Memphis to the No. 2 seed in the Western Conference. The Grizzlies were ousted by the Los Angles Lakers in the first round, however, with Morant going 3 for 16 from the field in the Lakers’ Game 6 win that clinched the series.
Katie Boulter produced a gutsy display against Ashlyn Krueger but failed to serve out for the match as she was beaten in the second qualifying round for the French Open.
On a difficult day for Britons attempting to progress into the Roland Garros main draw, Boulter joined Harriet Dart, Fran Jones, Liam Broady, Ryan Peniston and Jan Choinski in losing in Paris on Wednesday.
It means only Cameron Norrie, Dan Evans, Kyle Edmund and Jack Draper will fly the flag for Britain in the second major of 2023, following Andy Murray’s withdrawal and Emma Raducanu’s recent fitness woes.
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Boutler had been seeded 24th for qualifying but lost out 2-6 6-2 6-7 (6) to Krueger after a lengthy battle.
American Krueger claimed the opener before Boulter hit back to level, but then quickly found herself 5-2 down in the third set.
The British number three fought back to reel off four consecutive games to give herself the chance to serve out and progress into the final qualifying round but Krueger forced the tie-breaker.
It was then the teenager from Missouri, who had beaten Lily Miyazaki on Tuesday, who held her nerve to set up a third qualifying round meeting with Storm Sanders.
Boulter’s fellow British hopeful Jones saw her aspirations of making a first French Open appearance end after she had to retire during her match with Ylena In-Albon.
Jones, who suffers from a congenital condition which means she has three fingers and a thumb on each hand, three toes on one foot and four toes on the other, was left in tears as she had to retire due to an apparent shoulder injury when 4-1 down during the first set.
Dart also exited in the second qualifying stage after she was beaten by France’s Elsa Jacquemot 1-6 6-1 6-2.
It meant the trio joined Heather Watson, Katie Swan, Sonay Kartal and Miyazaki in failing to qualify for the French Open meaning there will be no British female involved in the singles’ event at Roland Garros.
Broady, the British male number five, also suffered defeat on the clay on Wednesday but only following a back and forth clash with Emilio Nava.
Broady lost an even opener before he hit back in style to inflict a bagel on Nava in the second. American Nava regrouped though and clinched the third to progress 6-4 0-6 6-3.
World number 191 Peniston was another to be edged out in third following a 2-6 6-2 6-4 loss to Romanian eighth seed Radu Albot.
Meanwhile, Choinski was beaten 3-6 6-4 6-0 by Sebastian Ofner.
Eddie Jones has “no emotional attachment” to England as he prepares for his first appearance at Twickenham since being sacked by the Rugby Football Union.
Jones takes charge of the Barbarians against the World XV in a star-studded fixture on Sunday that is a brief interruption to his duties as Australia head coach.
England’s decline last year, winning just five of 12 Tests, compelled the RFU to sever ties in December but the 63-year-old still departed with the highest win record of any Red Rose boss with 73 per cent.
Now he has turned his attention to reviving the Wallabies ahead of a possible quarter-final appearance against the side he oversaw for seven years at this autumn’s World Cup.
In doing so, all connection with England has been severed.
“I don’t watch England. I want that team to do OK, but there’s no emotional attachment to that team any more,” Jones said.
“I’ve been lucky enough to coach internationally and when I go to a team I love the team I’m coaching, but then when I move I don’t have any regrets, any bad feelings.
“England are just one of the six teams in the Six Nations. I watch them, I think about them like all the teams – how I would coach them if I had that team?
“And then if we come up against them I’ve already got something in my head.”
England are now overseen by Steve Borthwick, who was Jones’ number two with Japan before being appointed to his coaching staff for his first World Cup cycle in charge at Twickenham.
Jones was a regular at Leicester’s training ground when Borthwick joined the Tigers as director of rugby, but their communication has since dwindled.
“It’s dried up a bit,” Jones said.
England performed no better under Borthwick during the recent Six Nations, managing only two wins to finish fourth in the table.
Borthwick stated after a dispiriting loss to Scotland in the opener that he inherited a team that “weren’t good at anything” and while Jones agrees, he stresses he was laying the foundations for the World Cup.
Jones was reshaping England’s attack configured around a creative axis of Marcus Smith and Owen Farrell and he remains convinced it was the right path, warning Borthwick that conservative tactics in France this autumn will not be enough to seize South Africa’s global crown.
“It is true (“England weren’t good at anything”). We were trying to build a team to win the World Cup,” Jones said.
“I don’t believe you are going to be able to win the World Cup by just kicking. I don’t believe you can. I can be proven wrong.
“But I think with the grounds as they are, you are going to need to play more positive rugby. Steve was right.”
Jones’ last appearance at Twickenham saw England booed from the pitch following defeat to South Africa in the climax to the autumn. Being greeted in the same way on Sunday has not crossed his mind.
“I never worry about things I can’t control. I don’t control that, so it’s no use even thinking about it,” he said.
Liam Smith has had to pull out of his rematch against Chris Eubank Jr for a second time because of injury.
Smith stopped his British rival in the fourth round of their grudge middleweight contest in January and a return bout was initially slated to take place on June 17 at the Manchester Arena.
The fight was put back to July 1 to allow Smith to recover from an undisclosed injury, which promoters Boxxer described on Wednesday as “minor but nagging” and has “dogged his training camp”.
“I’m gutted and sorry to all the fans about the postponement,” Smith said. “I’ve always said a fully fit Liam Smith beats Chris Eubank Jr every time.
“I tried training through because I was desperate not to let anyone down but I’ve had to withdraw from the bout in July following the latest medical assessment this week.
“I’ll heal up now and then be fully fit for later in the summer.”
The existing card will still go ahead, with Savannah Marshall now topping the bill as she moves up a division to challenge undisputed world super-middleweight champion Franchon Crews-Dezurn.
Natasha Jonas is also scheduled to defend her WBC, IBF and WBO light-middleweight titles on the undercard.
Ben Shalom, Boxxer founder and CEO, said: “Nobody is more disappointed than Liam Smith, he’s the ultimate professional but he had no choice but to postpone the bout.
“We’re working on a new date for the fight and hope to announce that in a week or so. In the meantime we’ve got a huge night taking place in Manchester on July 1.”
Connections are considering adding Passenger into the Betfred Derby following his fine effort in the Dante last week – but will leave a final decision as late as possible.
Trained by Sir Michael Stoute, the son of Ulysses burst on to the scene with a taking victory in the Wood Ditton on debut and having seen his hopes of running in the Dee Stakes at Chester washed away by the deluge that plagued the Roodee fixture, the progressive colt was added into the Dante line-up at a cost of £14,000.
Sent off the 9-2 favourite for the York Group Two, Passenger ran a race full of promise and was somewhat unfortunate not to finish any better than third, with jockey Richard Kingscote blaming himself after suffering plenty of traffic issues up the Knavesmire straight.
It will now cost a further £85,000 to supplement Passenger for Epsom, with the Niarchos family-owned three-year-old a best price of 13-2 to give Stoute back-to-back Derby victories.
“I would say it is being considered seriously, we don’t have to make a decision until the weekend because the supplementary stage is on Monday,” said Alan Cooper, racing manager for the owners, when asked about Passenger being supplemented.
“It’s less than a week since he ran so Sir Michael quite naturally would like to wait until he has to make his recommendations.
“He only ran last Thursday and today is Wednesday. We don’t have to make a decision until Monday, so we will make one in due course. But the horse is very well.
“He’s been a very progressive horse all spring which is very encouraging. He’s going to have plenty of big-race entries and Sir Michael will decide what we are going to do.”
Alberto Dainese bounced back from stomach problems to win stage 17 of the Giro d’Italia in a photo finish as Geraint Thomas finished safely to retain the leader’s pink jersey.
Dainese, who has spent several days suffering with illness, edged out the fast approaching Jonathan Milan by a tyre’s width in Caorle with Michael Matthews a couple of inches further back.
Mark Cavendish, still seeking a first win of the season a couple of days after announcing it would be his last as a professional, had been near the front of the bunch on the approach to town.
But the Manxman lost position on one of two tight left-handers inside the last two kilometres and could not contest the sprint, showing his frustration as he rolled over the line. There should be one more opportunity for a sprint on Sunday’s final stage in Rome.
Thomas was guided into the finish by Ineos Grenadiers team-mate Ben Swift, staying safe to retain his 18-second advantage over Joao Almeida in the general classification, with Primoz Roglic sat third, 29 seconds down.
That means the Welshman will spend his 37th birthday in pink when the race returns to the mountains on Thursday going into the decisive weekend.
“It was an alright day, a little bit of rain but nothing compared to what we’ve had so far,” Thomas said.
“It was a bit of a crazy bunch finish, we’re happy to get that done. We knew the sprint teams would race a decent pace and we were able to save as much as possible for the next three days.
“It will be nice (tomorrow), hopefully it will be a good day. There’s lots of work to do before (Sunday), we’ll take tomorrow first.”
Before the mountains to come, this was a rare opportunity for the sprinters, and their determination to take it was clear as a four-man breakaway that included Charlie Quarterman was offered little margin and little hope, never building much more than a 90-second advantage.
The last of those escapees, Senne Leysen, was caught with five kilometres left of the 197km from Pergine Valsugana, almost all of which was either flat or downhill.
When the sprint began, Matthews struck out first but Dainese, racing close to home in the north east of Italy, used his slipstream to come around to the right.
More of a surprise was the storming finish of Milan, who appeared out of position on the final bend but this Giro’s in-form sprinter had the pace to get within a few millimetres of victory.
“This is insane,” said the 25-year-old Dainese. “The first sprints didn’t go as we planned, we did a good job but we never had a good result to show it…
“In the last metres I was really digging deep. I saw Jonny coming, I couldn’t really throw my bike because I was on the limit but it was nice to get my wheel a few centimetres in front to get the win.
“Especially after the last five days, I was quite sick with stomach issues and also my breathing was not good and today was the first day I was feeling good. I’m super happy, I can’t thank my team enough for keeping me in the race and keeping me motivated.”
Roger Varian has decided to give Charyn another shot at Classic glory in the Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas on Saturday.
A Group Two-winning two-year-old last season, the grey son of Dark Angel made a promising return when second to subsequent French 2000 Guineas runner-up Isaac Shelby in the Greenham Stakes at Newbury.
Charyn was unable to make an impact when eighth in the 2000 Guineas at Newmarket and Varian did have the option of dropping him back in trip for this weekend’s Sandy Lane Stakes at Haydock.
However, he feels it is worth rolling dice once more over a mile at the Curragh.
“We were bit torn between the Sandy Lane and the Irish Guineas, but we’ve decided to go to Ireland,” said the Newmarket handler.
“We just think with the Newmarket race being on soft ground, the high numbers not really getting into it and things being a bit rough early, we didn’t really learn about the mile, not conclusively anyway.
“There’s only Classic options for so long in a horse’s life so we’re going to have another go.
“He’s a very talented horse and his run in the Greenham reads very well with the winner almost winning the French Guineas. I think if we can just draw a line through his run at Newmarket we’d be confident of a bold showing in Ireland.
“He might be a horse to come back in trip later in the year, but we feel he deserves another crack at a mile. When he ran at Newbury in that heavy ground he was strong at the line there over seven furlongs and Newmarket was just too inconclusive.”
Varian was speaking after seeing Al Husn provide him with a third victory in the last six runnings of the Tennent’s Lager British Stallion Studs EBF Rothesay Stakes at Ayr on Wednesday.
The Dubawi filly won each of her three starts in 2022 and found only the exciting Via Sistina too strong on her reappearance in the Dahlia Stakes at Newmarket.
On the strength of that form she was a 5-6 favourite for her Listed assignment in Scotland and travelled powerfully throughout under Jim Crowley on her way to a cosy half-length triumph over Johnny Murtagh’s Irish raider Angels Wrath.
Varian said: “She’s a lovely filly, very likeable. She’d been very progressive last year and I was delighted she stayed in training.
“She ran well at Newmarket in the soft ground on Guineas Sunday and I thought she won a bit cosily today. She’s got a lovely attitude and I thought she was just doing enough, Jim gave her a nice sympathetic ride and she should come on from that again.
“We’ll get her home and chat with the team and see. I should think something like the Hopping Stakes at Newcastle might suit.”
Ian Williams’ Enemy returns to Sandown for another crack at the Racehorse Lotto Henry II Stakes on Thursday.
The six-year-old spent his winter in the Middle East and returned significantly richer having won the Dubai Racing Club Classic at Meydan before a second-placed finish in the highly valuable Red Sea Turf Handicap in Saudi Arabia.
He then came home eighth in the Dubai Gold Cup back at Meydan in late March, after which he began his domestic campaign in the Group Three Ormonde Stakes at Chester’s May meeting.
Enemy was fifth behind by William Haggas’ Hamish in the Roodee feature, though Williams feels he fared well considering the testing conditions and will be more at home on better ground in Esher, where Frankie Dettori takes the ride.
“The ground probably got a little bit too soft for him at Chester last time, but he acquitted himself well and remains in good form,” the trainer said.
“Conditions should be more to suit on Thursday.”
Enemy was fifth in the Group Three race last season as Quickthorn prevailed for Hughie Morrison, but the run was luckless and Williams feels the gelding was not shown to best effect.
He said: “I don’t know that it’s not a deeper race but the way that race was won last year, he got a long way out and had a lot of ground to make up, so I think you can put a line through that.”
Elsewhere is Andrew Balding’s Nate The Great, second last season and fifth behind Silver Sonic and Enemy in the Red Sea at Riyadh.
Haggas’ Roberto Escobarr joins the line-up, as do Harry and Roger Charlton’s Sleeping Lion and Hiroo Shimizu’s French-trained Princess Anne.
Desert Crown is all set for his highly-anticipated comeback in the Racehorse Lotto Brigadier Gerard Stakes at Sandown on Thursday evening.
The Sir Michael Stoute-trained Derby hero has been seen just three times in his career, but has made a huge impression regardless.
He won a maiden on debut and then took last year’s Dante at York en route to a memorable victory in the premier Classic itself.
Injury curtailed his season after his two-and-a-half-length victory in the blue riband, however, and Sandown’s Group Three event is his first run since that memorable day last June.
Despite an absence of 355 days, Bruce Raymond, racing manager to owner Saeed Suhail, is expecting the Nathaniel colt’s unbeaten status to be maintained.
He said: “I’m more than hopeful. It would be a huge upset were he to be beaten.
“Of course, they can all be beaten, but I don’t expect him to be.
“Michael is definitely 100 per cent happy with him, he’s fine, he’s working good and while there’s enough improvement to come, he’s fit enough to do himself justice.
“He was so impressive in the Derby. The race was over two out.”
Stoute, too, expressed his satisfaction at how his star has done in the build-up to his return.
He said: “Desert Crown has progressed well over the last few weeks, and it will be good to get him back to work.”
The same owner and trainer will also be represented by Solid Stone, a Group winner in his own right who will set the pace for his stablemate.
“We’ve got a pacemaker in Solid Stone to make sure it’s not a crawl,” said Raymond.
“He leads him in all his work and he didn’t run at Chester recently just so he could run in this.”
Also on the comeback trail is Owen Burrows’ Hukum, an impressive winner of the Coronation Cup at Epsom last season before injury struck.
His career looked to be in jeopardy but he has been rehabilitated and returned to training, with the Sandown contest coming nearly a year since his last run.
But Burrows is mindful of the conditions in Esher and if the ground is too quick, Hukum will not be risked ahead of his Royal Ascot target, the Hardwicke Stakes.
“We’ve been really pleased with him, obviously it’s a very tough race!” said Burrows.
“Timing-wise it really works out, it slots in well with the Hardwicke at Royal Ascot as a prep run.
“Fingers crossed he can show his old enthusiasm, run a nice race and get his season on track.
“Myself and Richard Hills (of owners Shadwell) are going to walk the track beforehand, I’ve been liaising with Andrew Cooper, the clerk, and he normally does a great job.
“I just don’t want to run him for the first time in the year on fast ground and it’s an evening meeting, so there’s plenty of time throughout the day for it to dry out.
“We’ll just be taking a look to make sure we’re happy.”
Adding further spice is David Simcock’s Cash, who was just a short head behind Westover in the Classic Trial over course and distance last year, while Jane Chapple-Hyam’s Claymore is a Royal Ascot winner and Keith Dalgleish’s Chichester was last seen finishing second at the All-Weather Championships at Newcastle on Good Friday.
Cheltenham Gold Cup hero Galopin Des Champs has been crowned the leading jumps horse of the 2022-23 National Hunt season in the Anglo-Irish Jumps Classifications.
The Willie Mullins-trained seven-year-old won the John Durkan at Punchestown, the Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown and the headline event in the Cotswolds to crown a tremendous campaign, with his rating of 179 leaving him 4lb clear of his nearest rivals at the top of the standings.
His stablemate Energumene and Nicky Henderson’s Constitution Hill share the runner-up spot on a mark of 175, with the latter becoming the highest-rated British-trained hurdler since the Classifications were first published in 1999-2000.
The latter is unsurprisingly out on his own in the hurdling division, with State Man, who chased him home in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham, best of the rest on 165.
The unbeaten Constitution Hill successfully stepped up to two and a half miles to add the Aintree Hurdle to his collection and is rated just 1lb behind three-time Champion Hurdle winner Istabraq (176). Whether he remains over hurdles or pursues a career over fences later this year remains to be seen.
Energumene earned his mark of 176 after a dominant 10-length success when defending his Queen Mother Champion Chase crown at Cheltenham in March, while the leading British horse over fences was Henderson’s Shishkin (173) thanks to a 16-length win in February’s Ascot Chase.
El Fabiolo (Mullins) tops the novice chase ranks on a perch of 170, while his owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede are also responsible for the highest-rated novice hurdler in Impaire Et Passe (160).
Martin Greenwood, the British Horseracing Authority’s steeplechase handicap team leader, said: “Ireland is responsible for two of the top three chase horses in the 2022-23 Anglo-Irish Classifications. Galopin des Champs and Energumene head the staying and short distance divisions respectively after dominant displays at the Cheltenham Festival.
“The GB team bagged the middle-distance division with Shishkin who was upped in trip and secured big-race success at Ascot and Aintree. The home contingent can also look to the likes of Bravemansgame (172), L’Homme Presse (170) and Ahoy Senor (169) as part of a decent season in the staying ranks, while Edwardstone (169) and Greaneteen (168) feature high up in the two-mile arena.”
Andrew Mealor, BHA hurdle handicap team leader, said: “Constitution Hill topped the hurdle rankings for the second season running as he added another four Grade One races to his burgeoning CV.
“His top performance of 175 came when beating State Man by nine lengths in the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham, a rating which puts him behind only triple Champion Hurdle winner Istabraq and Faugheen, both 176, among the top two-milers since Classifications were first published.”
Andrew Shaw, senior National Hunt handicapper for the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board, said: “Galopin Des Champs followed up his two Grade One victories at Punchestown and Leopardstown with the best performance by a staying chaser this season in the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup. Although beaten for the first time over fences by Fastorslow at Punchestown the following month, at only seven years of age he has the potential to go on and win at least one more Gold Cup.
“Energumene consolidated his position as the leading two-mile chaser with an emphatic 10-length victory in the Queen Mother Champion Chase at Cheltenham.
“However, his chances of becoming the first horse since Badsworth Boy to win the race on three consecutive occasions will be seriously tested by stable companion El Fabiolo, the highest rated novice chaser in training and who joins Altior as the only two-mile novice to have achieved a figure of 170 since the Classifications began.”
Not many €20,000 purchases head to the Betfred Derby with leading claims – but that is certainly the case for Charlie Johnston’s Dubai Mile.
A Group One winner as a juvenile over 10 furlongs in France, he dropped back down in trip to finish a very respectable fifth in the 2000 Guineas behind Chaldean.
It is often said the best trial for the Derby is the Guineas, and in a year when the ante-post favourite, Auguste Rodin, finished 12th of 14 at Newmarket, Johnston has every right to be feeling bullish about the claims of his Roaring Lion colt on Saturday week.
Dubai Mile has struck up a good relationship with jockey Danny Muscutt – who celebrated his first Group One win when landing the Criterium de Saint-Cloud with him – and his availability on June 3 was the final piece of the preparation jigsaw once Canberra Legend’s Derby dreams ended at York.
“We did flirt with the idea of taking him to Epsom on Monday (for the gallops morning), but one of the determining factors for that was if Danny wasn’t going to be able to ride him, as going into the Dante there was a bit of a discussion,” said Johnston.
“If he wasn’t available it would have been a good opportunity to let a new jockey have a sit on the horse and get a feel for him, but given I was never going to push Danny into a decision he didn’t need to make until after the event, that has fallen by the wayside.
“Danny gets a tune out of him. It’s a twist of fate or whatever that this horse broke his maiden on a Sunday at Windsor. At the time I was just looking at jockeys available who had good stats at Windsor and that is how he ended up on the horse. We’re always keen to keep winning combinations together if we can.
“One of the most important factors we always feel is confidence and without a doubt he will have more confidence in this horse than anyone else we could get to ride him. Danny is doing a good job of putting himself on the map, but this horse is accelerating the process by giving him his first Group One winner and being a horse that has taken him into Classics.”
Being able to stay 10 furlongs as a juvenile is usually a prerequisite to staying a mile and a half, if not further, at three, and it was for that reason Johnston needed to be persuaded by his record-breaking father Mark to run back over a mile in the Guineas.
“You shouldn’t get too ahead of yourself in thinking you will stay the trip when he’s untested, but we’ve always been very confident it would improve him if anything,” said Johnston, who this year holds the training licence solely in his name.
“After the event I can say I was never really that keen on going for the Guineas and had some strong debates with dad about it. I’d thought all winter he’d go Dante-Derby, the traditional trial and what we’d done with Gear Up who won the same Saint-Cloud race.
“But his gallop at Newmarket tilted us into thinking he wouldn’t be disgraced in the Guineas and if he could run into third it would be a game changer for him as a stallion.”
There have been well-publicised reports that animal rights protesters will be trying to disrupt Derby day, but Johnston, while worried for the potential bad publicity for the sport, feels he has a colt that will not be perturbed by a delay should it come to it, as it did with the Grand National.
Johnston said: “He’s a very relaxed colt, but it will be interesting to see what the day brings. It’s a concern for Epsom and for horse racing, but it’s not a specific concern for this horse as he’s been to lots of tracks and different countries and takes everything in his stride. Any delay for all horses isn’t ideal, but it wouldn’t be the end of the world for him.
“To be going to Epsom with a chance in the Derby is why you get hooked on racing at a young age. We just want to win – at every level. But winning at the highest level has the biggest repercussions for Johnston Racing going forward. We want this to be the norm, competing with the big boys week in and week out.
“There’s always a bit made of the north versus south thing, but we’re as big as anyone – dad’s record is there for all to see. I’m aware the north hasn’t won the Derby since Dante, and that wasn’t even at Epsom, so it would be great for the north and Middleham but that is not my concern – I’m here to win it for Johnston Racing and Ahmad Al Shaikh.”
The Lawn Tennis Association’s fine for banning Russian and Belarusian players from last year’s grass-court season contributed to operating losses of £9.5million in 2022.
The governing body did not allow Russians or Belarusians to play at Wimbledon or any of the warm-up tournaments in Nottingham, Birmingham, Eastbourne or at Queen’s following Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine.
It was subsequently hit with a £1.4m fine by the ATP and WTA and a warning that it could be stripped of hosting future events.
The staging of the Billie Jean King Cup finals and the Davis Cup finals group stage was also a big factor in the losses, alongside societal issues such as inflation.
Despite those losses, the LTA has continued to invest in grassroots tennis, which led to a 43 per cent rise in participants, with over 5.2million adults playing.
That is the highest number since the LTA began the survey, with 2022 seeing participation growing in all areas of the country and in all demographics.
LTA chief executive Scott Lloyd said: “2022 was a year of real achievement for British tennis at both the grassroots and top professional level. We made strong progress against our plans for delivering on our five-year strategy to open tennis up and achieved a number of our objectives a year early.
“There were challenges throughout the year, but we have tried to ensure the sport is thriving at all levels, continued to raise the visibility of the sport and have given our British players the best possible support.
“Although the financial picture was challenging this year, taken as a whole, the past four years have resulted in a loss of £6.4m despite the pandemic, volatility in world markets and unforeseen factors such as the fines from the ATP and WTA – whilst during this time we delivered significant growth for the sport.
“We are continuing to invest across the length and breadth of the sport this year and, as well as many other initiatives, will be renovating thousands of public park courts across the country in partnership with the LTA Tennis Foundation and UK Government.”
Bernie Ecclestone has said he would be surprised if Ferrari pulled off the biggest transfer in recent Formula One memory by signing Lewis Hamilton – and believes it is Mercedes or bust for the British driver.
Hamilton’s future in the sport remains under scrutiny with six months to run on his current £40million-a-year deal at Mercedes.
Both Hamilton, 38, and Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff have said they expect a new deal will be agreed.
The Daily Mail this week reported that Ferrari are preparing a blockbuster bid for Hamilton – which could involve a swap deal with Charles Leclerc – while La Gazzetta dello Sport claimed Hamilton has already received an offer from the Italian team.
Speaking to the PA news agency, F1’s former supremo Ecclestone, who remains well connected in the sport, said: “I would be surprised that Ferrari would want to get rid of Leclerc to sign Lewis because they are very much in love with Leclerc.
“Lewis has said that when he does decide to stop he would still want to be connected with Mercedes so it would surprise me if he wanted to leave.
“And if I was Lewis and I saw that Leclerc is happy to leave Ferrari, I would think there has to be a problem there.
“I also don’t know why Lewis would think he would be better off at Ferrari than where he is at the moment. He knows everything well and truly at Mercedes. They know him, and they have a lot of respect for him so he couldn’t be better looked after anywhere.
“Ferrari is not a retirement home either. They want to win the world championship more than anyone. So personally, I think he will stay as Mercedes, or he will retire.”
Hamilton is gearing up for this weekend’s Monaco Grand Prix and is set to address his future in the Principality on Thursday.
The seven-time world champion qualified 13th at the last race in Miami before driving well to finish sixth, but he is already 63 points behind Red Bull’s Max Verstappen in the championship standings.
“I don’t know what has happened to Mercedes and how they have suddenly got in the state that they find themselves in the moment,” added Ecclestone, 92.
“I can understand Lewis being frustrated because he has been there for all that time and done well for Mercedes and for himself. But his contract is a lot of money to walk away from and that is a big problem.
“The only place Lewis can go to to win that eighth world championship is Red Bull, but for sure there is no room there. It is impossible. There is no chance.”
Hamilton’s Mercedes team will bring a major upgrade to the sixth round of the season in Monaco, but Wolff has already warned his superstar driver that his new machinery will not haul him into championship contention.
“It won’t be a silver bullet because from my experience, they do not exist in our sport,” Wolff said.
“We hope that it gives the drivers a more stable and predictable platform. Then we can build on that in the weeks and months ahead.
“F1 is tough competition and a meritocracy. We are not where we want to be but there’s no sense of entitlement. It’s just about hard work to get us to the front.”
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