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| Recession had America tuning in not heading out "Take me out to the ballgame," the old song goes. Americans, however, may have been too busy channel surfing to do that this year.... hosted.ap.org |
Big Buck's all the rage for World Hurdle after completing six-timer in Long Walk • Bookies have winner as short as 4-7 for Cheltenham Festival• Reve de Sivola battles to victory in the Challow HurdleWill HaylerBig Buck's became an early odds-on favourite for a repeat win in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle at next year's Cheltenham Festival with a battling success in gruelling conditions at Newbury yesterday.The 1-2 favourite and jockey Ruby Walsh extended their unbeaten sequence to six in the Long Walk Hurdle but the winner briefly touched 4-1 in Betfair's in-running betting on the home turn, when coming under pressure. Once finding his stride, Big Buck's pricked his ears and picked up the pace again, staying on down the straight to beat Karabak by 3½ lengths with Diamond Harry – who may now go chasing – a respectable but ultimately one-paced third.Having already beaten the best of the stayers last season, he accounted for some of last season's best novices and it was no surprise that William Hill cut his odds from even-money to 4-7 to take the staying hurdlers' championship prize for the second time. The sponsors offer 4-6.The winning trainer, Paul Nicholls, said: "He looks bomb-proof in that division. He's not always the most straightforward and I was worried it was going to turn into a tactical nightmare, but he just keeps so much in the locker and just does enough."Third-placed Diamond Harry's trainer, Nick Williams, had earlier taken the Challow Novices' Hurdle with Reve de Sivola, who came from an impossible-looking position to catch Restless Harry and final-flight leader Finian's Rainbow. Owner Paul Duffy said: "The new Neptune Investment Hurdle [formerly the Ballymore] at the Cheltenham Festival is the next one we are thinking about."Horse racingPaul NichollsWill Haylerguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2009 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Togo players vote to stay and play despite murderous ambush Togo's footballers have vowed to remain in Angola and play in the African Cup of Nations, to honour those killed in a terrorist attack on their team bus, according to reports in France. feeds.timesonline.co.uk |
Visionary idea of tennis World Cup can inspire a generation to take up game It is the game’s Twenty20 moment, a visionary and clear-sighted view of the future. A World Cup. A time for boldness where, too often in the past, the sport has been blighted by rigidity and conservatism. A time for change. feeds.timesonline.co.uk |
Brailsford hits out at Sky funding 'myth' • One-two in ProTour event delights team principal• Brailsford keen to set record straight about budgetTeam Sky bookended their first week of racing with a second win in today's final stage of the Tour Down Under, Chris Sutton sprinting in ahead of Greg ÂHenderson to give the British squad another one-two. The difference was that this victory came in a ProTour event, as opposed to the previous week's curtain-raising circuit race, which added considerable lustre, even as Dave Brailsford, the team principal, conceded that the HTC-Columbia squad of overall winner André Greipel remain the "benchmark", with his fledgling team "the underdogs".Still, it was a triumphant finale to the opening race of the Team Sky campaign, with the bonus of third place overall for Henderson, and Brailsford was satisfied. "If you'd told me we'd come away with two wins when we got on the plane to come down here, I'd have taken it with both hands," he admitted. But he was also irritated by some of the chatter that has accompanied his team's debut, regarding Team Sky's rumoured budget.While other team directors have routinely noted that the British squad is the most lavishly funded in the sport, with even yesterday's race commentator claiming that the figure is "$54m" (£30m), Brailsford said such stories were doing them no favours. "Everyone tries to big us up in terms of our budget," he said. As for the claim that it is £30m, his response was unequivocal – "I wish!" – and he said that he would seek to set the record straight."We may circulate the UCI [International Cycling Union] list [detailing teams' budgets]," said Brailsford. "I think we're sixth in the league table. It's a total myth [that Sky is the best-funded] and I think we'll try to put that right by providing some facts. It doesn't do us any favours to have people think that."Brailsford pointed out that, in a race that featured several "A-teams", Team Sky was without its biggest stars. For one member of his team, Russell Downing, it was his first ever ProTour race. "Russell spent last year racing in the UK," said Brailsford. "For him to step up to this level – and it is another level – is a big ask, especially after spending the winter training at home in Sheffield. But he and the other guys here have done tremendously well. We've got some work to do, but we've learned a lot and we'll go home and look at it."Team Sky's victory on the final stage owed everything to the lead-out. Again they left it late, but when the six-man black-and-blue "train" massed at the front, stringing the race out in a long line, they married power with precision to set up Henderson. Yet it was Sutton, who would normally be expected to swing off before the line, who snatched the win, with Henderson claiming second. "All the boys played their part and I just went as long as I could," said Sutton. "If Hendy comes round me, he comes round me – but to get a one-two is amazing."Initially Henderson didn't seem sure whether to be happy or annoyed that Sutton had neglected to swing off to let him come through, a move that could potentially have cost him third overall. "I just wasn't too sure what Sutton was doing there at the finish," said Henderson."He sort of waited and waited and I got swamped to about fifth wheel and I thought, Christ, he hasn't gone. I was just lucky that I had the speed to get back round three or four guys and accelerate back up to get second. It wasn't the plan, and if I miss out on the podium by a couple of seconds, I'll be pissed.But I'm happy he won – absolutely stoked."Team SkyCyclingRichard Mooreguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |