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| Sir Alex Ferguson: Mark Hughes's sacking was unacceptable Sir Alex Ferguson has critcised Manchester City for acting in an "unacceptable" manner during the dismissal of Mark Hughes. feeds.timesonline.co.uk |
Denman on career high as Tony McCoy is made favourite for Gold Cup ride • What A Friend's Leopardstown victory gives stablemate boost• Champion jockey hot favourite for plum Cheltenham mountComparisons to the mid-1960s golden era of jumps racing when stablemates Arkle and Flyingbolt towered above their rivals have never seemed more relevant after confirmation that Denman had matched Kauto Star by being pushed up to a career-high mark by Timeform.Meanwhile, the mouth-watering prospect of the two horses clashing in the Cheltenham Gold Cup in March with the two outstanding jockeys of the current generation on board was also underlined as one bookmaker made Tony McCoy 1-3 favourite to ride Denman against Kauto Star and Ruby Walsh.Unlike Kauto Star, who sprinted clear to take the King George VI Chase by 36 lengths at Kempton on Boxing Day, Denman's higher rating has been achieved without him having to leave his box at Paul Nicholls's yard.Instead it was the victory in Tuesday's Lexus Chase at Leopardstown by What A Friend, the horse who was unable to live with Denman in the final stages of Newbury's Hennessy Cognac Gold Cup last month despite being in receipt of 22lb, that has seen Denman raised 2lb by Timeform to a new rating of 183, 8lb behind Kauto Star's 191.His official British Horseracing Authority rating is likely to be adjusted by a similar amount or more."What A Friend has gone up from 154 to 156 as a result of his Lexus Chase win, so we have taken a fairly conservative view about the strength of that form, but there is no doubt that Denman deserves to have his rating for his Hennessy victory raised and both he and Kauto Star have never been rated as highly as they are now," said Timeform spokesman Kieran Packman."The only other comparable period in the last 50 years of jumps racing was when Moscow Flyer (184) beat Azertyuiop (182) and Well Chief (182) in the Tingle Creek Chase in 2004."Paddy Power started betting on who will ride Denman in this year's Gold Cup, making reigning champion Tony McCoy the 1-3 favourite to get the mount. Sam Thomas, who rode Denman to finish second to Kauto Star in last season's race, is a 5-1 chance.However, rather than attempt to dominate the Gold Cup in numbers for the second year running, Nicholls – who sent out first, second, fourth and fifth in the race last year – has confirmed that he will resist the temptation to run What A Friend in a bid to repeat his 1-2-3 in 2008."He's had two runs now and he'll probably melt a little bit, so my inclination is to leave him fresh and go to Aintree and Punchestown," said Nicholls."He'll have a Gold Cup entry, just in case anything happens, but if Denman and Kauto ran I suspect I'll have a chat with Ged [Mason] and Sir Alex [Ferguson] and we'll aim for Aintree."He doesn't enjoy it when the ground is that soft. He'll be much better in the spring on some better ground."DenmanHorse racingTony McCoyWill Haylerguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Blazers set coliseum plan The Portland Trail Blazers want to transform Veterans Memorial Coliseum from an aging glass box into a modern, flexible athletic center with the help of a massive green makeover. bizjournals.com |
AP Interview: Rogge to meet with USOC leaders LONDON (AP) -- IOC president Jacques Rogge will meet with the top two leaders of the U.S. Olympic Committee in Vancouver next month to begin healing the troubled relations that led to Chicago's humiliating defeat for the 2016 Games.... hosted.ap.org |
Denman set for Gold Cup dry-run • Barbers Shop and Money Trix among possible rivals• Nicholls has two other options as he mulls chaser's targetDenman has been entered for the Argento Chase at Cheltenham on Saturday as his trainer, Paul Nicholls, considers where the chaser should have a final prep-run for his much-anticipated clash with Kauto Star in the Gold Cup. He would face a maximum of 10 rivals in the race formerly known as the Cotswold Chase, with Barbers Shop and Money Trix the most notable names among them.Nicholls has named two other races as possible targets for Denman, who has turned 10 years old since he was last seen on the track in November. He could be sent to Ireland for the Hennessy Gold Cup at Leopardstown on 7 February or he could tackle the Aon Chase at Newbury six days later.Denman has warmed up for the Cheltenham Festival by running at Newbury in two of the last three years. The only exception was last year, when the Newbury meeting was lost to the weather and he ran instead in the restaged Aon Chase at Kempton.Saturday's race would have the advantage of allowing the horse longer to recover before he attempts to win the Gold Cup for a second time on 19 March. However, Nicholls has said that he would not want Denman to run "on a bog" and the going at Cheltenham is currently soft, heavy in places. The forecast suggests there will be a limited amount of rain before the weekend, though there may also be sleet, snow and frost.Barbers Shop was last seen finishing third in the King George VI Chase on Boxing Day, when he trailed Kauto Star by 37 lengths. He had finished much closer to Denman when fourth in Newbury's Hennessy, but was carrying 18lb less than the winner on that occasion.Money Trix was a strong-finishing second in Leopardstown's Lexus Chase at Christmas, when he was beaten half a length by What A Friend, also trained by Nicholls. The champion trainer also has Inchidaly Rock and Taranis among the entries for Saturday's race.If Denman runs on Saturday, he will presumably be partnered by Ruby Walsh. However, Walsh is expected to ride Kauto Star in the Gold Cup and one bookmaker is taking bets on who will get the leg-up on Denman in the Festival race. Paddy Power offer 4-7 Tony McCoy, 3-1 Barry Geraghty, 6-1 Walsh and 7-1 Sam Thomas, who was on board when Denman won the 2008 Gold Cup.DenmanCheltenham festivalHorse racingChris Cookguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |