Racism row at Cheltenham as Irish rider Queally accuses De Boinville of abuse

The Cheltenham festival was mired in controversy over alleged racial abuse on Wednesday evening after Declan Queally, an Irish amateur jockey, claimed the leading British rider Nico de Boinville had subjected him to a series of verbal attacks before the start of the Turners Novices’ Hurdle.Queally and De Boinville could be seen exchanging words on ITV ­Racing’s coverage as 21 runners and riders jostled for position before the start of the opening race.De Boinville, who was riding the well-backed Act Of Innocence, appeared to tell Queally, who is the trainer and rider of I’ll Sort That, to “get back”, before turning his own mount to take a spot against the rail where I’ll Sort That had been standing.Queally later told the Racing Post he had been subjected to verbal abuse by De Boinville, some of which was racially based. “I was boxing for my position down the inside and there was a lot of general bunching going on,” he said

The Hundred 2026: Devine and Mooney top bidding in the inaugural women’s auction – as it happened

Birmingham PhoenixAlice Capsey, £130,000 Ellyse Perry, £100,000 Linsey Smith, £100,000 Lauren Filer, £95,000 Tammy Beaumont, £70,000 Davina Perrin, £50,000 Alana King, £37,500 Jemima Spence, £37,500 Lucy Hamilton £35,000 Eva Gray, £30,000 Cordelia Griffith, £27,500 Emma Lamb, £27,500 Phoebe Brett, £27,500 Esmae MacGregor, £16,000London SpiritNadine de Klerk, £170,000 Marizanne Kapp, £130,000 Charlie Dean, £85,000 Charis Pavely, £85,000 Mahika Gaur, £75,000 Grace Harris, £70,000 Amy Jones, £70,000 Deandra Dottin, £37,500 Sterre Kalis, £27,500 Marie Kelly, £20,000 Phoebe Turner, £20,000 Seren Smale, £15,000 Lucy Higham, £15,000 Josephine Groves, £15,000Manchester Super GiantsPaige Scholfield, £115,000 Sophie Ecclestone, £110,000 Meg Lanning, £95,000 Smriti Mandhana, £90,000 Ryana MacDonald-Gay, £75,000 Kathryn Bryce, £65,000 Richa Ghosh, £50,000 Mady Villiers, £45,000 Grace Ballinger, £42,500 Maitlan Brown, £40,000 Grace Scrivens, £40,000 Jo Gardner, £17,000 Natasha Wraith, £15,000 Rebecca Tyson, £15,000MI LondonHayley Matthews, £120,000 Danni Wyatt-Hodge, £110,000 Nic Carey, £95,000 Melie Kerr, £80,000 Kira Chathli, £80,000 Chinelle Henry, £70,000 Kirstie Gordon, £55,000 Hollie Armitage, £45,000 Alexa Stonehouse, £42,500 Tara Norris, £35,000 Alice Davidson-Richards, £30,000 Alice Monaghan, £27,500 Ellie Threlkeld, £15,000Southern BraveLauren Bell, £140,000 Issy Wong, £130,000 Tilly Corteen-Coleman, £105,000 Maia Bouchier, £85,000 Laura Wolvaardt, £75,000 Sarah Glenn, £75,000 Jemimah Rodrigues, £60,000 Sophie Molineux, £47,500 Jodi Grewcock, £30,000 Lizelle Lee, £27,500 Rebecca Odgers, £15,000 Phoebe Franklin, £15,000 Daisy Gibb, £15,000Sunrisers LeedsDanielle Gibson, £190,000 Annabel Sutherland, £130,000 Phoebe Litchfield, £120,000 Jess Jonassen, £110,000 Cassidy McCarthy, £65,000 Kate Cross £50,000 Deepti Sharma, £27,500 Bryony Smith, £27,500 Lauren Winfield-Hill, £27,500 Hannah Baker, £18,000Trent RocketsBeth Mooney, £210,000 Nat Sciver-Brunt, £140,000 Ash Gardner, £100,000 Sophia Dunkley, £78,000 Kim Garth, £42,000 Emma Jones, £35,000 Bess Heath, £32,500 Katie Levick, £32,500 Ailsa Lister, £30,000 Millicent Taylor, £27,500 Georgia Elwiss, £27,500Welsh FireSophie Devine, £210,000 Freya Kemp, £120,000 Em Arlott, £110,000 Georgia Wareham, £100,000 Georgia Voll, £80,000 Ella McCaughan, £30,000 Heather Graham, £27,500 Sarah Bryce, £25,000 Abi Norgrove, £21,000 Fi Morris, £20,000 Sophia Smale, £20,000 Grace Thompson, £20,000 Grace Potts, £15,000And with that, time to call it a day.If there is something tawdry, even dull, about a player auction, the tectonic plates shifted today. Six female players sold for more than £140,000 each – and the big earners weren’t necessarily the ones you would have guessed beforehand.The elephant in the room was how few women were in the room, so let’s work on that for next year. Neither of the Pakistan players, Sadia Iqbal and Fatima Sana were picked up and this will be a thread to pick up on Thursday

Bam Adebayo just scored 83 points in a game. Was it down to brilliance or stat padding?

The Miami Heat star scored the second-most points in a game in NBA history on Tuesday night. Some may question exactly how he got thereSecond in points, last in ethics?That will be the accusation against the Miami Heat and Bam Adebayo, after the big man moved into second on the NBA’s single-game scoring list with 83 points against the woeful Washington Wizards on Tuesday. Adebayo surpassed the 81 points that Kobe Bryant scored in a 2006 game and left only Wilt Chamberlain, with 100 in a game in 1962, ahead of him on the all-time list.The Heat won, 150-129, and basketball watchers quickly turned their attention to the most skeptical, cynical line of questioning possible: Was Adebayo’s achievement sullied by the Heat’s decision to build their gameplan around letting him pack the stat sheet as much as possible in a long-decided contest? On the record sheet, the answer will be no. But as most people in the NBA well know, the stat line takes a distant second place to fans’ perceptions of players and their accomplishments

Steve Borthwick’s England selection has the whiff of damage limitation | Robert Kitson

Unadventurous team will need to improve significantly on multiple fronts if they are to poop France’s potential title party in ParisSo let’s rewind for a moment. Just four weeks ago England had beaten Wales 48-7 in round one and were looking towards Scotland with a collective glint in their eyes. “The message to the players is: go out, move the ball, play fast, play brave,” Steve Borthwick said after announcing a pretty settled side for Murrayfield. “It suits the team we have.”And now? Not unlike the Ashes cricket series in Australia this winter, the team sheet for the final game of an already torpedoed campaign is a case of too little too late

‘Stupid money’ well spent: Lossiemouth saunters to Champion Hurdle win

There was a definite tremor in the voice of Rich Ricci, belying the image of the hard-nosed former banker, after his grey mare, Lossiemouth, had galloped to an authoritative success in the Champion Hurdle on Tuesday. “It’s a privilege to have a horse like this,” Ricci said. “This game continues to excite me, to entice me and to make me spend stupid money.”The accountant in Ricci had probably been telling him to stick to a tried-and-trusted path at the festival as he and Willie Mullins, Lossiemouth’s trainer, were deciding last week whether to attempt a third straight win in the Mares’ Hurdle on Thursday, or roll the dice in the main event two days earlier.The gambler prevailed, however, putting a hugely popular seal on the festival’s opening day as Lossiemouth, the 7-5 favourite came home six and a half lengths clear of Brighterdaysahead (7-2), with The New Lion, at 3-1, another half-length away in third

Three years and 89 games unbeaten: how NYU became basketball’s unlikeliest dynasty

On a basement court in Greenwich Village, the New York University women’s basketball team have quietly become the sport’s most improbable juggernautWhen you think of New York City basketball, certain names and places immediately come to mind. Walt Frazier, Bernard King and Patrick Ewing patrolling the Madison Square Garden cedar. Latter-day torchbearers like Stephon Marbury, Jalen Brunson, Chamique Holdsclaw and Breanna Stewart. The rich lore beyond the storied college haunts of Rose Hill Gym and Carnesecca Arena that stretches from Harlem’s Rucker Park to the Cage on West 4th Street to Dyckman Oval in Washington Heights, the blacktop domains of playground legends like Earl “The Goat” Manigault, Pee Wee Kirkland and Rafer “Skip To My Lou” Alston.What you don’t normally think about is New York University, the downtown school better known for its academic clout, interwoven Greenwich Village campus, celebrity alumni and $5