Sky Sports News Alex Hammond looks back on the recent action and ahead to
Betfair Super Saturday at Newbury.
Rolan Milligan Jersey . Ivanovich Gorbatovs
bubble was burst at Leopardstown on Saturday but would you be prepared to give
him another chance in the JCB Triumph Hurdle or has something else caught your
eye? The Triumph picture has been muddied recently hasnt it?! I wouldnt be
jumping ship just yet though as every horse is entitled to have an off day. With
little else really capturing my imagination, Id be happy enough to be clutching
an ante-post voucher for the Aidan OBrien/JP McManus juvenile, as a matter of
fact I wish Id moved fast and backed him soon after that defeat because hes now
back into a clear 5/1 favourite with Sky Bet. The ground was hard work at
Leopardstown and whist he has won on heavy, it was holding and thats not easy
for young hurdlers. Ivanovich Gorbatov is a classy Flat-bred horse, with plenty
of stamina and theres much to like about his chance at the Festival. Theres
still a little way to go though, so hopefully the picture will become a bit
clearer in the next couple of weeks.Carlingford Lough was a surprise winner of
the Irish Gold Cup but Valseur Lido appeared to give owners Gigginstown House
Stud another headache with a big run until his last fence fall. How would you
split the Gigginstown horses for the Timico Gold Cup and Ryanair Chase?What a
position to be in, they have such a strong hand as we inch closer to the
Festival and to have leading contenders for both races is a fortunate position
to be in. If I were Michael OLeary I would be keen to run Don Cossack and Don
Poli in the Gold Cup and that would leave Valseur Lido for the Ryanair, but I
just wonder if he needs heavy ground to excel over the Ryanair trip. He stays
well enough for the Gold Cup, but probably needs to improve again if hes to win
the blue riband and it almost seems a waste of a run to go for the Gold Cup with
two very strong contenders already in the reckoning. Road To Riches also comes
into the equation for both races, but Noel Meade was disappointed with his
second place in the Irish Gold Cup and he will see how he comes out of the race
before making plans. As I say, its a great position to be in to have more than
one live contender for both races, but having already backed Djakadam for the
Gold Cup I hope he bounces back from his fall at Cheltenham on Trials Day. Of
the Gigginstown entries, I do love Don Cossack, and hes the horse I keep going
back to. Knowing the Gigginstown way, we probably wont know until much much
nearer the time and why should they make a decision now when so much can go
wrong in five weeks with horses.Nigel Twiston-Davies had a big Saturday double
with Bristol De Mai and Blaklion, do you think either can make their mark at the
Cheltenham Festival?It was great to see the Twiston-Davies team send out two
high profile winners last weekend and both look well capable of making their
marks at the festival. Bristol De Mai looks the real deal and hes now 5/1 2nd
fav for the JLT Novices Chase after his win in Sandowns Scilly Isles Novices
Chase. Sandown fences take some jumping and the step up to 2 ½ miles seems to
have been the making of him. He has a smart Willie Mullins trained horse to beat
in Killultagh Vic, who you will remember had to be picked up off the floor by
Ruby Walsh after a last fence blunder at Leopardstown in January after grinding
to a halt and the pair impressively got back up to win. Hes certainly classy,
but at 2/1 fav, might not be everyones price.You cant ever be afraid of one
horse (or possibly two) and Blaklion looks set to run in the RSA Chase where hes
currently 10/1 third favourite with Sky Bet with No More Heroes and More Of That
ahead of him. He may lack a bit of size, but his heart is in the right place and
he showed a good attitude to win at Wetherby. Hes always looked like a smart
stayer in the making and its interesting connections are leaning towards the
RSA, rather than the NH Chase over 4 miles, which looks the running into the
frame. I think No More Heroes will take some beating in the RSA though, but this
is a championship race at the festival and nothing is a given. We could have a
chance to see More Of That this week too as hes entered up on Friday and
Saturday, although Id like to see Jonjo ONeill in better form before backing his
runners with any confidence. He has been back among the winners this month
though so maybe the tide is turning.Fingers crossed this weekends cards beat the
weather; the big betting race is the Betfair Hurdle at Newbury, who do you think
will collect the £155,000 winners cheque?The jump racing programme has been
disrupted this week, but I think Newbury will be ok this weekend as there is no
appreciable rain before Saturday after an awful start to February. The quality
entry befits its status as Europes richest handicap hurdle and owner JP McManus
has a strong hand going into the race that has been kind to him in the
past. Bookmakers were never going to take too much of a chance on his Modus and
the Paul Nicholls trained horse deserves his position at the head of the market.
He was runner up in the Champion Bumper at the festival last year and has taken
well to hurdles, albeit he has been a bit keen. My worry would be the ground as
he probably doesnt relish a real slog. So at the prices, Id be happy to take him
on. Willie Mullins has a strong entry and its his Blazer that is shortest in the
market and cruicially is low down the weights, also for McManus. He only ran
last Saturday when winning a Handicap Hurdle at Leopardstown, for which he
receives a 5lb penalty. It was a very pleasing run after two runs over fences on
his first two starts since joining Mullins from France. He has that dangerously
unexposed look about him and is sure to be popular if he lines up on
Saturday.Philip Hobbs is having a great season and has a potentially strong hand
with War Sound, top weight Cheltenian and Sternrubin in the race. Sternrubin
dead heated in the Ladbroke last time out and has to contend with an 8lb rise in
the weights. Hes a bit of a runaway and made all that day at a swift pace. It
looked a strong enough pace, but he maintained his effort and whilst you wouldnt
ideally want to try and make all in a race like this, its the way he has to be
ridden. War Sound hasnt been seen since winning the Swinton at Haydock last May
and hes up 8lbs. It will be interesting to see which horse Richard Johnson
picks, but it appears he could be leaning towards Sternrubin and of the Hobbs
runners, hes my pick. Affaire DHonneur represents a trainer going places in
Harry Whittington. This horse is another French import and is also unexposed. He
was well supported on his British (and handicap) debut for his Oxfordshire
handler at Kempton and wasnt disgraced in second; an 8lb rise may not be too
harsh and he runs off a mark of 132 on Saturday.Evan Williams runs John
Constable who looks like another in with a chance. He was with Aidan OBrien on
the Flat and is a full brother to Leger and Gold Cup winner Leading Light. Three
runs over hurdles have yielded two wins and a second to Sternrubin in the Gerry
Feilden. He is still a full horse, which is unusual for a horse running under
National Hunt rules, although not unheard of. An old favourite of mine was
Kadastrof, who was trained with success in the 1990s by Robin Dickin and he was
an entire. There you go, a blast from the past! Dicosimo was eighth in the
Triumph for Willie Mullins and won over hurdles over Christmas. Kalkir is
another of the Mullins entries and made a very promising return to action last
month and has plenty of class. There has been a bit of support for Starchitect
and he could be well handicapped on his debut for David Pipe. He had some smart
juvenile form for Donald McCain last season and was one of many horses placed
with new trainers this season by his owners. Hes been off since falling at
Aintree in April and is beautifully bred. He doesnt have a great deal of
experience on this type of ground but looks to be a horse with a decent
future.Alan King is enjoying a purple patch and his Winner Massagot looks
attractively weighted too. He was well beaten in the Ladbroke though and needs
to put that behind him, hes been dropped 3lbs by the handicapper for that
effort. Zarib is trained by Dan Skelton who continues in good form and Bridget
Andrews rides. Fou Et Sage is his other entry higher up the weights. So, for me
its between Sternrubin who looks classy, if a bit free willed, Affaire DHonneur
for Harry Whittington and David Pipes new recruit Starchitect with the first two
at the top of my shortlist.Which other horse(s) are you hoping to see in action
this weekend?Well, despite being at the top of the trainers championship, Paul
Nicholls hasnt been sending out big Saturday winners with his usual regularity.
The tide could be changing for the Ditcheat handler and Im looking forward to
seeing Dodging Bullets back on track in the Game Spirit at Newbury. The horse is
in good shape after a delayed return to action due to throwing a splint. This is
a frustrating, but not serious injury, that takes time as the leg develops a
bony growth that needs to harden off and before it does is very sensitive. Hes a
short price, so most likely one to watch with an eye on his repeat bid in the
Champion Chase for which hes 9/1 with Sky Bet. Also at the Berkshire track is
the Denman Chase which is a race I always look forward to watching and once
again Nicholls has a fancied runner in Rocky Creek. Conditions look up his
street and he has good claims in the race named after his former stablemate. It
doesnt look the strongest renewal and could be a good opportunity to win his
first race for almost a year. LAmi Serge is another horse to watch out for. He
is also entered in the Game Spirit, but will be odds on if he stays in novice
company in the Kingmaker at Warwick which seems most likely. Also See: Live
results service Full racecards Bet £5 Get £20 Free Get Sky Sports
Jihad Ward Jersey . -- The Magic have their
first victory of the new year.
Evan Boehm Jersey . Tomas Berdych and Radek
Stepanek defeated Nenad Zimonjic and Ilija Bozoljac 6-2, 6-4, 7-6 (4) on the
indoor hard-court at Belgrade Arena. The victory improved the Czech pairs
impressive cup doubles record to 14-1.
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.Y. - Jerome Samson scored once in regulation and again in the shootout as the
St. TROON, Scotland -- A look at the third round Saturday in the British Open at
Royal Troon Golf Club (all times EDT):LEADER: Henrik Stenson had a 2-under 69
and was at 12-under 201.CHALLENGER: Phil Mickelson shot 70 and was one stroke
behind.CHASERS: Bill Haas (69) was six shots behind, followed by Andrew Johnston
(70), with J.B. Holmes (69) eight shots back.AT STAKE: Phil Mickelson is going
after his sixth major, which would tie him with Nick Faldo and Lee Trevino.
Henrik Stenson is going for his first major. Only seven other players have won
their first major after turning 40.SHOT OF THE DAY: Stenson hit 3-iron to 20
feet for a birdie on the 17th hole for a two-shot lead that gave him the
lead.SHOT SEQUENCE OF THE DAY: Mickelson clipped a portion of thick gorse to
wedge his ball from the base of a bush on No. 12 down the fairway, and he spun
back a wedge to 6 feet to save par.ROUND OF THE DAY: Stenson and Steve Stricker
each shot 68.BIG NUMBERS: Rickie Fowler made an 8 andd Dustin Johnson made a 7
on the 11th hole that stalled their momentum.
Jordan Wilkins Jersey. LOW GREENS: Because of
gusts anticipated at 30 mph, the R&A chose not to cut or roll the greens.
They were running the slowest they have all week, and several players left putts
short.KEY STATISTIC: Stenson has played the tougher back nine at Royal Troon in
6 under for the week.NOTEWORTHY: This is the first time Stenson has led outright
after any round in a major.QUOTEWORTHY: It might happen, it might not happen.
The sun will come up on Monday. Maybe not in Scotland, but in other parts of the
world. -- Stenson on his bid for his first major.TEE TIMES: Henrik Stenson and
Phil Mickelson at 7:35 a.m.; Bill Haas and Andrew Johnston at 7:25 a.m.; Steve
Stricker and J.B. Holmes at 7:15 a.m.TELEVISION: Sunday, 4 a.m. to 7 a.m., Golf
Channel; 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., NBC Sports.
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