Cheltenham Festival preview: Plenty of Irish interest to keep an eye on
As usual with Cheltenham, there is plenty of Irish interest this year as the biggest event on the race card kicks off on Tuesday.
HORSE RACING Sport News
Cheltenham Festival race renamed in honour of late jockey Michael O'Sullivan
The opening race of the 2025 Cheltenham Festival has been renamed in honour of jockey Michael O'Sullivan, who died at the age of 24 after sustaining injuries in a fall earlier this month, the Jockey Club said.
Inspired Andreeva, 17, bags Dubai title, makes WTA history
DUBAI: Inspired by LeBron James and Roger Federer, Russian 17-year-old Mirra Andreeva wrapped up a fairytale week in Dubai by becoming the youngest ever WTA 1000 champion with victory over Clara Tauson on Saturday.
Bivol takes Beterbiev’s light-heavyweight crown in Riyadh classic
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia: Dmitry Bivol dethroned Artur Beterbiev as undisputed light-heavyweight champion in a thrilling contest in Riyadh in the early hours of Sunday. Four months after their first classic encounter, 34-year-old Bivol won a majority points decision against his Russian compatriot, six years his senior. It was Beterbiev’s first defeat in 22 pro fights but Bivol was a worthy winner after two judges gave him the decision by 116-112 and 115-113 with the third seeing it as a 114-114 draw. “I didn’t have as much pressure like last time. I just wanted to work from the first round until the end of the 12th.
Olmo helps Barcelona grind out win at Las Palmas and keep La Liga league
BARCELONA, Spain: Dani Olmo scored after coming off the bench to help Barcelona win 2-0 at Las Palmas on Saturday and stay top of the Spanish league. Lamine Yamal linked up with Olmo to find a seam in the hosts’ defense in the 62nd minute. Olmo took Yamal’s threaded pass, shifted the ball to his left foot to open an angle around a defender, and fired the ball in off the underside of the bar. While Olmo went on at halftime, Ferran Torres only played the final minutes and drilled in a second goal from angle in stoppage time. Barcelona avenged a shock home loss to the Canary Islands club in November as it ensured it will spend another week atop the standings. The team coached by Hansi Flick is one point ahead of Atletico Madrid, which won 3-0 at Valencia earlier on Saturday.
Ittihad stroll past Hilal in top of the table showdown
JEDDAH: Al-Ittihad took a big step toward the Saudi Pro League (SPL) title on Saturday with a 4-1 win over Al-Hilal in the long-awaited top of the table clash. The victory in Jeddah puts the Tigers seven points clear of their Riyadh rivals with 13 games of the season remaining. The defeat means that Al-Hilal, who strolled to a record 19th championship in 2024, have won just once in their last five games and are struggling to keep pace with Ittihad who have tasted victory in 15 of their last 17 league games. Despite the convincing defeat that came in the end, Al-Hilal took the lead midway through the first half. João Cancelo whipped over a wicked ball from the right and there was Marcos Leonardo to poke it home at the near post for a real poacher’s goal.
Japan’s Forever Young wins $20m Saudi Cup
RIYADH: Japan’s Forever Young hunted down Hong Kong racing royalty Romantic Warrior to land the world’s richest race, the $20 million Saudi Cup in Riyadh on Saturday.