TOP 100 SPORT SITES
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| Who's next for Florida? Urban Meyer is walking away from one of the most desirable programs in college football and every coach in the country must be wondering - even if only for a minute - what it would be like to be the next one at Florida.... hosted.ap.org |
Barack Obama hits the golf course The US president, Barack Obama, plays golf at the Mid Pacific Country Club in Hawaii guardian.co.uk |
More than 50 groups submit redevelopment plans Veterans Memorial Coliseum inspires more than its share of public passion. feeds.bizjournals.com |
Nicholls fears for Shamari's chances • Champion trainer says his big-race runner 'may be placed'• But bookmakers on guard after stable's Saturday sequenceBritain's bookmakers have been as Âfrustrated as the rest of the racing Âcommunity by the lack of action over the past fortnight, but the expected Âresumption of jump racing tomorrow brings the return of another problem. On four consecutive Saturdays towards the end of last year, and again on Boxing Day, the layers took a hammering as punters piled on the Paul Nicholls-trained Ârunner in the big race and were paid out each time.So it will come as some relief to the high street firms that Nicholls is expressing no great confidence about the chances of Shamari, his sole contender for ÂKempton's Lanzarote Hurdle tomorrow afternoon. "He was a bit disappointing last time," the Âchampion trainer admitted, "but we hadn't had him in [after his summer break] that long. I'm hoping that the trip will get a bit of improvement out of him."I think he'll probably get a place – if not, he'll go chasing. He rocketed up the Âhandicap for winning a little race at ÂWincanton last year and I just think he's got 5lb or 10lb too much."Nicholls has not had a runner since New Year's Day and has done no fast work with his string over the past fortnight, but he remains confident that his entries this weekend will not be beaten for lack of fitness. "The ones that are due to run, they've all done plenty," he said. "I worked them all [on Thursday] and they should be fine."Twist Magic, currently favourite for next Saturday's Victor Chandler at Ascot, is also "ready to go" and Nicholls does not believe the cold snap will have had any impact on the preparations of his main contenders for the Cheltenham Festival, still eight weeks away. "It's just the Âjuveniles and the novices you worry about," he said. "And the ones that have got to get Âqualified for handicaps, but hopefully we'll be able to sort it out in time."Still, it comes to something when the champion trainer nominates as his best chance of the day a horse who has been the beaten favourite on all eight starts over obstacles. Fistral Beach has been second on each of his last five starts but Nicholls is keeping the faith. "Take out the winner from his last run and he'd have won by 25 lengths," he said. "This trip and soft ground should be ideal for him. But it's one of those days, we'll have to look and see."Elsewhere in Somerset, a more positive note was struck by Philip Hobbs, who said that both his Lanzarote Hurdle runners, Keki Buku and Triggerman, would be suited by the ground, which is described as "soft, heavy in places on the hurdles course". Hobbs's string has not missed a day's work, despite the yard waking up to three inches of snow on two separate occasions.The saturated state of Kempton's turf is not nearly so welcome for Nicky ÂHenderson, who will, nevertheless, send Mad Max to make his chasing debut at the Sunbury track tomorrow. The Lambourn trainer has mentioned the Gold Cup as a possible target in future seasons for his mammoth eight-year-old but the horse's breathing problems will not be helped by stamina-sapping ground. "Everything to do with him is to do with his respiration," said Henderson, who is hoping that an operation in the autumn will allow Mad Max to fulfil his potential. "It'll be hard work on that ground, but I have got to run him. If the forecast is right, we're going to have no racing next weekend and it'll go on and on, and I have got to get some Âexperience into him."From her base in Herefordshire, Venetia Williams talks with similar urgency. "The cold snap has hit us quite significantly because this is our time of year, when we usually have the majority of our winners," she said. "I tend not to run my horses in the autumn when the ground is still quite quick, because of the risk of tendon Âinjuries and so on, and then we make hay in the second half of December, January and February."We've missed out on a lot of those opportunities and when things get going again, races will be hard to win because everyone will be queuing up to run their horses. I can see the weather having a real impact on our totals at the end of the season."Her string of horses have been restricted to "steady cantering" for the past 10 days, Williams says. "Those that have had a run will be OK, but some of those who have not run yet might probably come on for the run."Horse racingPaul NichollsChris Cookguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Rafael Nadal blown away by 'unbelievable' Andy Murray Unbelievable. Rafael Nadal repeated the word for good measure. Unbelievable. Not because the Spaniard stopped a match in midstream, which is as unlikely as anything you will see on a tennis court, but his description of the levels attained by Andy Murray at Rod Laver Arena yesterday. feeds.timesonline.co.uk |