| WILNER ON FOOTBALL: Complete the catch, Calvin By BARRY WILNER 2010-09-16T17:13:38ZWith NFL rules, there's often a catch whether someone actually made a catch.... hosted.ap.org |
WADA widens net on performance-enhancing drugs By STEPHEN WILSON 2010-09-22T08:52:59ZLONDON (AP) -- The World Anti-Doping Agency has widened the net on performance-enhancing drugs by creating a new class of banned substances that includes drugs sold on the black market before approval by the pharmaceutical industry.... hosted.ap.org |
Our friends in the north help Hanagan Rider at Catterick and close to his home base in north Yorkshire, where he duly extends title lead over Richard Hughes to 11 winsRacing's support might be divided between Paul Hanagan and Richard Hughes as they enter the final throes of the jockeys' championship, but here at this north Yorkshire track yesterday both those enjoying and taking part were unashamedly partisan.Ian Brennan, involved in a battle of his own for the apprentices' title, summed up the feeling of the weighing rooms in the north. "I honestly think Paul's got it won now," he said. "I'll be delighted for him too, because he's a great rider and a good fella."Despite having been born under the red rose, Paul Hanagan has since gained honorary Yorkshireman status having moved across the border when still in his teens to work for Malcolm Jefferson before joining Richard Fahey, for whom he has ridden for more than 12 years.Graham Orange, the genial face of Go Racing in Yorkshire, the umbrella group promoting the sport in the county, has calculated that Hanagan has already set a new record for the number of winners in the county this year, a total of 81 victories – 11 more than the previous best set by Kieren Fallon nearly 20 years ago.And why would racing in Yorkshire not want to get behind one of its own?When Kevin Darley claimed the championship in 2000, he was the first man based north of Newmarket to take the title since Elijah Wheatley in 1905.Despite pulling 11 wins clear of Hughes, who drew a blank at Nottingham, with a last-ditch lunge on the Fahey-trained Talley Close, Hanagan is still fighting to maintain his short-termist look. "It's hard not to think about when wherever you turn people are reminding you what the gap [with Hughes] is, but as soon as you look too far ahead you're going to be in trouble," he said."I've said all season long that I just want to keep my head down and that's how it's staying. I'm grateful for all of the support that I have had from trainers in the north and I'm lucky to have had some big yards, especially Richard's, backing me all the way. If I do win the championship, it will be down to them."Hanagan was, however, allowing himself time to bathe in the glory of Sunday's Prix Jean-Luc Lagadere success of Wootton Bassett, his first Group One winner and also the first trained by Fahey. "He's good now, but next year he'll be even better," the rider said.Fahey was busy yesterday at the Tattersalls Sales in Newmarket, attempting to find the same sort of bargain he did when snapping up Wootton Bassett for £46,000 at Doncaster in August 2009.The title-race picture will become considerably clearer tomorrow morning, when Hughes appeals against the six-day suspension received for careless riding at Wolverhampton on Saturday evening. Failure to secure at least a reduction would give Hanagan a substantial advantage.Serena Brotherton, on course to claim a championship of her own and become the leading lady amateur rider for a fourth time, plans to take a leaf out of Hughes' book and appeal against a six-day suspension of her own, which she received when scoring aboard the well-backed Fashion Icon yesterday.Brotherton's father, David, a member of the stewards' panel at Beverley and York, is to be consulted. "I'm going to do 'a Richard Hughes'," said Brotherton, referring to her intention to appeal against the ban."They say I came across two others when I switched to the rail, but I think it's very harsh. I'll ask my father about it anyway. What's the point of having a dad who's a steward and not consulting him?"Horse racingPaul HanaganWill Haylerguardian.co.uk © Guardian News & Media Limited 2010 | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds guardian.co.uk |
Conrad's errors put Braves on brink against Giants By PAUL NEWBERRY 2010-10-11T09:34:38ZATLANTA (AP) -- How do the Atlanta Braves bounce back from this?... hosted.ap.org |
NCAA study reveals football graduation rates at all-time high The NCAA delivered some encouraging off-the-field news for major-college football Wednesday: Player graduation rates took a three-point jump ... rssfeeds.usatoday.com |