Kempton Park’s Lanzarote Hurdle card will go ahead but Warwick frozen off
Kempton Park’s Lanzarote Hurdle card will go ahead as planned on Saturday afternoon, but Warwick’s Classic Chase meeting has failed to beat the weather.Despite being passed fit for racing on Friday after managing to navigate a freezing week, the threat of sub-zero temperatures overnight had led to precautionary 8.00am raceday checks being called at both tracks.Warwick said on X: “Whilst the majority of the track is raceable, the back straight remains frozen in areas.The contingency plan we put in place yesterday, using the outer hurdle line, has frozen under the sheets and is unraceable.
Lingfield 11.40 Dandy Khan 12.10 Call Glory 12.40 Secret Road 1.10 Siam Ruby 1.
47 Dream Pirate 2,20 Gogo Yubari 3,00 The Thames Boatman 3,38 Charlie’s ChoiceKempton 12,20 Baron Noir 12.
55 Leader In The Park 1.30 Precious Man 2.05 The Doyen Chief 2.40 Kalif Du Berlais 3.17 Fasol (nap) 3.
53 QuavisteWarwick 12.45 Shotgun Rider 1.15 A Great Excuse 1.52 Moon Rocket 2.25 Soldier’s Leap 2.
55 Mr Vango (nb) 3.32 Lud D’Or 4.02 Diamond StreetNewcastle 3.10 Alpine Sierra 3.47 Tasever 4.
20 Relevant Range 4.50 Pink Socks 5.20 Inspired 5.50 Goldmoyne 6.20 Sound And Vision 6.
50 Spartan Fighter 7.20 Superior Council.“With temperatures only forecast to rise above freezing by 10am, and highs of only 2C, there will not be sufficient improvement ahead of racing.”A field of 17 runners is due to go to post for Kempton’s Lanzarote Handicap Hurdle at 3.17pm, when Dan Skelton, the successful trainer for the past two seasons, will be hoping to complete a hat-trick with A Pai De Nom, a winner three times this season.
The six-year-old faces by far his stiffest assignment to date, however, and several opponents at bigger prices go into the race with a similar chance on the book.Lanesborough and French Ship are two of the more obvious candidates, but the eye-catcher at the early prices is Paul Nicholls’ Fasol (3.17) at around 12-1.The seven-year-old has won his last two starts with Olive Nicholls, the trainer’s daughter, in the saddle for both victories, and had more than enough in hand at Musselburgh last time to suggest a hat-trick is a distinct possibility.Kempton 1.
30 Dan Skelton’s Precious Man made a fine start for his new stable in a traditionally strong juvenile hurdle at Cheltenham in November.Fontwell 1.00 The Cistercian 1.30 Roe And Co 2.00 Limerick Lass 2.
30 Onefournine 3.00 Woodythewoodpecker 3.30 Summer In Milan 4.00 BradmanChelmsford 1.42 Sir Rodneyredblood 2.
12 Em Four (nap) 2.42 Seraphic 3.12 Knight Of Magic (nb) 3.42 Commander Of Life 4.12 Global Warning 4.
42 RainwaterFairyhouse 1.40 Henry de Bromhead’s nine-year-old Inthepocket has just five races to his name over fences and looked sure to improve for the run on his belated handicap debut at Navan in December.Kempton 2.05 With significant doubts over Soul Icon’s stamina and Welcome To Cartries’ consistency, The Doyen Chief looks like the safest option at around 100-30 as he drops back to three miles having been stretched by an extra two furlongs last time.Kempton 2.
40 Kalif Du Berlais, a Grade One-winning novice chaser, was the beaten favourite in the Haldon Gold Cup but the first two home there were both winners next time and the six-year-old should improve for the outing,
Ashes 2025-26: our writers’ end-of-series England v Australia awards
Brainless moments, moral victories and tough lessons were abundant during a series that still provided plenty of dramaPlayer of the series Travis Head was the boxing kangaroo at the top of the Australia order. But this one goes to the other animal on the baggy green crest, Mitchell Starc bounding in like an emu, slicing through England during the live bit, and playing all five to finish with 31 wickets at 19 apiece. Elite.Best moment The old guard on both sides have done their thing plenty of times before, so this one goes to Jacob Bethell’s maiden Test century at the SCG. The style, the poise and the family looking on in bits made it poetry and cinema in one
Free agent outfielder Max Kepler hit with 80-game ban for positive drug test
Free agent outfielder Max Kepler has been suspended for 80 games after testing positive for a banned performance-enhancing substance, Major League Baseball announced on Friday, a ruling that sidelines the veteran as he looks for his next club.The suspension stems from a positive test for epitrenbolone, a metabolite of the prohibited steroid trenbolone prohibited under MLB’s Joint Drug Prevention and Treatment Program. The ban takes effect immediately and would apply if Kepler signs with a team during the 2026 season.Kepler, who turns 33 next month, is an 11-year major league veteran who spent the first decade of his career with the Minnesota Twins before joining the Philadelphia Phillies last season. As a free agent, he was not under contract at the time of the announcement but remains subject to the league’s drug program
France taps out as G7 summit moved to avoid clash with White House UFC event
France has delayed this year’s Group of 7 summit by one day to avoid a scheduling conflict with an Ultimate Fighting Championship fight card planned at the White House on 14 June, according to two officials with direct knowledge of the G7’s preparations.The summit, hosted by France in the Alpine resort town of Evian-les-Bains, was originally scheduled for 14 to 16 June, a date that coincides with US Flag Day and US president Donald Trump’s 80th birthday. It will now run from 15 to 17 June, a change that has been reflected on the G7’s official website.The shift follows Trump’s announcement last October that the White House would host a “big UFC fight” on 14 June. Dana White, the president and chief executive of the UFC, mixed martial arts’ biggest promotion, said this week that planning for the event is complete and that it is expected to draw up to 5,000 spectators on the White House South Lawn
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Your Guardian sport weekend: FA Cup third round, NFL playoffs begin and the WSL returns
There’s no better way to ease into the football weekend than our essential rolling blog. Sarah Rendell and David Tindall buckle up to bring you breaking news and insights from around the grounds as the Premier League elite join the fray for the FA Cup’s third round. Saturday’s potential giantkillings see Macclesfield meet Crystal Palace, Manchester City host Exeter, Wolves face Shrewsbury, Charlton confront London rivals Chelsea and Burnley face off against Millwall, not forgetting the all-Premier League clash of Tottenham v Aston Villa. Why not join the conversation by emailing matchday.live@theguardian
All-heart Travis Head leaves indelible mark on Ashes series by playing his own game | Angus Fontaine
Fast bowler Mitchell Starc won player of this Ashes series but make no mistake, talismanic bat-out-of-hell Travis Head was the man who ripped out England’s heart and served it to them on a silver platter with a cold beer chaser.With three outlandish centuries across the five Tests, Head’s statistical contribution was immense. He scored 629 runs at an average of 62.9 and a strike-rate of 87.36
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