‘The computer went bananas’: error at O’Brien yard removes horses from 2,000 Guineas

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The betting market for the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket on 2 May was thrown into confusion on Tuesday when two significant candidates from the Aidan O’Brien stable, Gstaad and Albert Einstein, were taken out of the race, apparently as the result of an administrative error.The chaos was then compounded later in the day by uncertainty over whether a plan to re-engage both colts if necessary at a cost of £30,000 each might be prohibited by the rules of entry, before the British Horseracing Authority confirmed that supplementary entries would in fact be accepted.Gstaad, the winner of the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Turf at Del Mar in November, was priced up on Tuesday morning at around 6‑1 for the first Classic of the season, and seen as potentially the Ballydoyle first string for a race the stable has won a record 10 times.He assumed the role of O’Brien’s No 1 contender after Albert Einstein, the winner of his first two starts as a juvenile in 2025 but unraced beyond May because of injury, finished only sixth of 10 runners on his three‑year‑old debut in a Listed race at the Curragh three days ago.Despite that reverse, however, and a subsequent suggestion that Albert Einstein might revert to sprinting with the Commonwealth Cup at Royal Ascot as an initial target, the colt was still priced up at 20-1 for the 2,000 Guineas and O’Brien intended to confirm both two-year-olds at the latest declaration stage on Tuesday.

O’Brien told the Press Association on Tuesday morning that both Gstaad and Albert Einstein had been scratched as the result of “a computer error”, adding: “we’re trying to get them back in”.The trainer expanded on his explanation in a comment to the Racing Post, saying: “There was a blip on the computer.Something happened, the computer went bananas and took out a couple of horses that weren’t meant to be taken out.“The people here in the office were trying to take the horses out of the Dante, but the Guineas flashed up instead and the button was pressed.They were pressing for the Dante, but as they were pressing, the Guineas flashed up.

”In the initial aftermath of the declaration stage on Tuesday, Bow Echo and Publish, first and second respectively in the Ascendant Stakes at Haydock Park in September, moved to the head of the market as 4-1 joint-favourites, from odds of around 6-1 overnight.Andrew Balding’s Gewan, who beat Gstaad by three-quarters of a length in the Dewhurst Stakes at Newmarket in October, also shortened in the betting, from 10-1 to around 6-1.Several bookmakers, including Paddy Power, Ladbrokes and Coral, subsequently re-introduced Gstaad and Albert Einstein to the Classic betting, following a statement from O’Brien that “we will supplement them come the time if that’s what the lads [the colts’ owners in the Coolmore Stud Syndicate] decide to do”.Wincanton 2.20 Grand Vendetta 2.

50 Matthias 3.20 Loup De Maulde 3.50 Walkinthepresent 4.20 Kingcormac 4.50 Walk In The West 5.

20 Posh ChickSouthwell 2.30 Queens Wish 3.00 Intenzo 3.30 Frost Moon 4.00 Road To Wembley 4.

30 Jubilant 5.02 Princesse MilaniaSedgefield 2.40 Diamond Jim 3.10 Mountain Mike 3.40 Dixie Cowboy 4.

10 Bright Legend 4.40 Knacker Trapper 5.10 Connells CrossKempton 5.30 Light Dreamer 6.00 Nordic Norm 6.

30 Balzac 7.00 Lion Of Mali (nap) 7.30 Moment Of Light (nb) 8.00 Jungle Knight 8.30 Em FourPaddy Power, however, again removed both colts from their list half an hour later “subject to further clarification from the racing authorities”, since the BHA’s rules on scratchings state that once a scratching notice has been issued,Soon afterwards, however, the BHA confirmed that it would accept supplementary entries for Gstaad and Albert Einstein both reintroduced later at around 6-1 and around 20-1 respectively.

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I can’t believe it’s got butter: this double-dairy ice-cream has gone viral – but how does it taste?

What’s yellow, a new superfood (according to the internet) and essential for hot cross bun consumption? Butter. The once-vilified member of the food pyramid is now the snack of choice for many and liberally slathered on to everything. Not even the humble soft serve has been able to escape its greasy grasp.The butter-dipped soft serve, popularised on Instagram, is characteristic of food made for social media: the questionable flavour pairing enhances its desirability. Soft serves with pale yellow shells are already being sold by Cherry’s Goods and Air Lab in Sydney and Timboon Fine Ice Cream in regional Victoria

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Rukmini Iyer’s quick and easy recipe for artichoke, olive and feta pithivier | Quick and easy

Pithiviers look absolutely beautiful at the table. For the classic shape, you can buy circular all-butter puff pastry (Picard does an excellent one, with two sheets in one packet) or cut regular puff pastry into circles. That said, it’s just as delicious and there’s more bang for your buck with a big rectangle. Either way, it’s filled with moreish artichokes, olives and feta, with fresh lemon and parsley to lift the flavours. It’s 100% the type of meat-free main that everyone else wants to try, too

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Carrot crumble and sprouting broccoli with almond butter: Chantelle Nicholson’s vegetable recipes for Easter

The intense sweetness that comes from roasting carrots should not be underestimated. And, when that’s topped with a savoury, nutty crumble, it’s a great combination. Add the wonderfully seasonal purple sprouting broccoli on the side, and it’s a luscious Easter celebration. A few low-waste tips, too: always use the parsley stalks, and try pickling the shallots in leftover gherkin brine. Trust me! And it wouldn’t be a spring recipe without our beloved wild garlic, so make the most of that while it’s about

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How we can improve food security in Britain | Letters

Although I agree with George Monbiot’s analysis of the serious risks that we face from a breakdown in the UK food supply chain, there are two important points we need to recognise (We’re letting big corporations gamble with our lives. Act now, or the food could run out, 25 March). First, we must seek to increase food production on UK farms because this has been falling for several decades.Food self-sufficiency in the UK fell from 78% in 1984 to 62% in 2024. The decline is largely due to the loss of farmland to non-farming use: buildings, roads and railways, conservation and wildlife schemes, solar farms and recreation

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How to make Easter chocolate nests – recipe. | Felicity Cloake's Masterclass

Much as I love Easter eggs – and I really do, despite being that irritating person still nibbling away at them at Christmas time – these charming, crunchy little nests full of colourful treasure are up there with hot cross buns as my favourite seasonal produce. Top tip: they’re even easier to make if you enlist a small sous chef or two to help stir the pan!Prep 20 min Cook 5 minChill 2 hr Makes About 1280g Shredded Wheat (about 3½ full-sized ones), or other cereal (see step 1)75g dark chocolate (see step 3)100g milk chocolate 35g butter, or vegan alternative50g golden syrup 1 pinch salt ¼ tsp mixed spice (optional)Finely grated zest of ¼ orange (optional)36 miniature chocolate eggs (about 115g)Shredded Wheat (or another brand of similar cereal) is not the only choice here: you could substitute corn or bran flakes, puffed rice, Weetabix and so on, but it does look the most authentically twig-like. Try to get the big ones, if possible, because it’s all too easy to crush the bite-size variety to dust.Break the Shredded Wheat into pieces (leave flaked cereals, puffed rice and so on whole, and crumble Weetabix) in a large bowl – use your hands, the end of a flat rolling pin or glass, or the bottom of a smaller bowl to do this, and aim for a variety of lengths, rather than crushing the cereal to smithereens.Almost any chocolate will work here (this is, in fact, a great use of last year’s Easter eggs or Christmas chocolate, if you still have some left), though be careful with white chocolate, which doesn’t always melt well

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The Wellington, Margate, Kent: ‘Worth risking a werewolf attack to get to’ – restaurant review | Grace Dent on restaurants

The ever-changing menu is a paean to things that make me happyThe Wellington has been drawing crowds to Margate of late, due to a recent takeover by chef Billy Stock and front-of-house queen Ellie Topham. Stock is formerly of nearby Sète, which I loved very much, and also cooked at London’s The Marksman and St John, which is a pedigree that says: “I like feeding people proper food, not fancy, itsy-bitsy suggestions of food.” So with that, I set off to the south-east Riviera on a day when the weather ranged from hailstones to simply freezing gales.Much is said about Margate being freshly desirable, hip and charming, but on a freezing day at the tail end of winter, this seaside town certainly tests the prescription of one’s rose-tinted spectacles. None of the down-from-London brigade cries, “Let’s move to Margate!” as icy hail plink-plonks off their nose while they cower in the door of the Turner Contemporary