Fact To File claims impressive Cheltenham triumph
Caldwell Potter wins for Ferguson and Nicholls
Caldwell Potter was a convincing and poignant winner in the Jack Richards Novices' Chase.The horse, ridden by Harry Cobden, runs in the yellow and red colours of John Hales, who died aged 85 in January.It was a 50th Cheltenham Festival winner for trainer Paul Nicholls.And the first prize recoups nearly £50,000 for the syndicate, which includes former Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson, who bought Caldwell Potter for 740,000 euros (£630,000) last year.That made him the most expensive National Hunt horse ever sold at public auction.There was sad news after the race that faller Springwell Bay, trained by Jonjo and AJ O'Neill, sustained a fatal injury.Trainer Nicky Henderson enjoyed a 1-2 in the Pertemps Final as 25-1 shot Doddiethegreat, with Brian Hughes on board, won from Jeriko Du Reponet.The winner is named after Scotland and Lions lock Doddie Weir - who died after a battle with motor neurone disease - and owner Kenny Alexander will donate his £47,000 prize money to a foundation in the rugby great's memory.Rachael Blackmore earlier claimed her first win of this year's meeting with a brilliant ride on 16-1 chance Air Of Entitlement for Henry de Bromhead.She pounced late to finish half a length in front of favourite Sixandahalf in the mares' novices' hurdle.Blackmore, who was sidelined for three months with a neck injury after a fall in September, was the first woman to be leading jockey at the Festival in 2021 and this was her 17th career victory at the meeting.
More to follow.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
13 minutes ago
- The Independent
Ruben Amorim more confident in Man Utd ahead of new season
Ruben Amorim says he feels 'more confident' about Manchester United's qualities heading into Sunday's Premier League opener against Arsenal. A sense of optimism has returned to Old Trafford, just three months on from their worst top-flight campaign in 51 years being compounded by a damaging defeat in the Europa League final. Amorim has refreshed the squad, both in terms of personnel and mindset, since the end of a campaign in which the United head coach admitted he went into games knowing that they would struggle. But being backed in the transfer window over incomings and outgoings has helped changed that heading into Sunday's hotly-anticipated Old Trafford opener against Arsenal. 'It is hard to know (what we will deliver) because we cannot change everything in four weeks, but we are better,' Amorim said. 'I know that we are training harder, we are training better, so I know that we are more prepared to cope with the demands of the game. 'We have new players that we need to understand in the real game what they are capable to do in the moment. 'But I am really more confident. That is clear. I am more confident in this moment. 'But, again, we cannot change everything in four weeks but step by step we are going to be a better team, but of course I am more confident.' Benjamin Sesko is pushing to make his debut just a week on from joining the club from RB Leipzig, as are fellow summer acquisitions Matheus Cunha, Bryan Mbeumo and Diego Leon. But there remains work to be done, with a number of players to shift out and a decision to be made on midfield after Brighton made clear they do not want to sell Carlos Baleba this summer. United are a work in progress but Amorim believes they are far better heading into the new campaign than the side that stumbled home 15th last term. 'We want to return to Europe, but it is hard as a Manchester United coach to say one thing like that,' he said. 'But we need to be realistic with our fans. We are going to have to fight a lot because there's a lot of good teams with more time than us together, but we are going to fight for it. 'We are going to improve. We want to focus game by game. If we are thinking now about how we are going to finish the season it is a problem. 'Let's focus on game by game. We want to win against Arsenal, that is the main focus.' The match against Mikel Arteta's Gunners pits Amorim against a striker he helped take to new heights. Viktor Gyokeres joined Sporting Lisbon from Coventry in 2023 and became one of Europe's most talked about frontmen in Europe under the Portuguese. There had been talk of a reunion with Amorim at Old Trafford but the Sweden international instead joined Arsenal and could make his debut against his former boss on Sunday. 'It's a different league,' Amorim said of Gyokeres. 'The physicality is different. 'In Sporting they have a very good group of scouting because they live from that, from the players they can buy and then sell to survive. 'I think he is a very good player. He is going to give different characteristics. 'It is going be different if we face in the beginning of the game Viktor or (Kai) Havertz, for example, so we need to be prepared for that but it's not a surprise to watch Viktor in a big club in England.'
Daily Mirror
13 minutes ago
- Daily Mirror
Arsenal told they should've signed Man Utd star years ago as Bukayo Saka point made
Theo Walcott made his thoughts clear on Bryan Mbeumo and admitted Arsenal missed a trick in not signing him before Manchester United forked out £71million for his services Theo Walcott told Arsenal that they would have been massively helping Bukayo Saka by signing Bryan Mbeumo. The 26-year-old left Brentford last month after he was signed by Manchester United in a blockbuster £71million transfer. The Cameroon international was said to be of interest to the Gunners as well as Tottenham Hotspur and Chelsea but Mbeumo made clear to his former side that a move to Old Trafford was his dream destination. While Mbeumo and Saka both play on the right side of attack, Walcott admitted he would have been a shrewd signing for Mikel Arteta in order to lessen the workload on the England star. Saka, 23, has played a whopping 263 games for Arsenal since breaking into the team in 2019 and has lacked competition in his position for the majority of his career in north London. The absence of a player capable of filling in for him has meant he's played a considerable number of games. His lack of rest may have contributed to the torn hamstring he suffered last season against Crystal Palace, which ruled him out for over three months. Speaking on the It's Called Soccer podcast with Rebecca Lowe, the 36-year-old was adamant as he said: "Arsenal should have got Mbeumo many years ago. That was one player I thought, 'take the load off Saka'. I'm a big fan of him." Arsenal fans have already received an injury scare over their prized player after Saka limped off the pitch in their 1-0 pre-season loss to Tottenham last month. Their fears were soon downplayed after he started in their 3-2 loss to Villarreal a week later. Despite missing out on Mbeumo, the north London side did add attacking firepower in Noni Madueke whose favoured position is on the right wing. The ex-Chelsea man cost £52m and is certainly highly thought of by Arteta who explained what the Englishman will bring to his side. "We're all so happy to welcome Noni Madueke to the team," the Spaniard said. "Noni is an exciting and powerful young player, with his performances and numbers in recent seasons being of consistently high quality. He is one of the most talented wide forward players in the Premier League. "At just 23, Noni already brings experience of club and international football, and he knows the Premier League very well. Having seen the quality of Noni's performances up close in recent seasons, we're really excited he is joining us. "Noni joins our group with familiar England teammates and other players he knows. He will be made to feel at home straight away. His arrival will really improve our squad - we're all thrilled to have him here. From all of us, welcome Noni and welcome to your family." Arsenal will kick off their Premier League season away to Manchester United on Sunday.
Wales Online
42 minutes ago
- Wales Online
Coach takes issue with Henry Pollock's conduct on Lions tour
Coach takes issue with Henry Pollock's conduct on Lions tour Pollock was a popular Lions tourist with his team-mates despite ruffling a few feathers Henry Pollock (r) celebrates with Lions team-mate Tommy Freeman (Image: 2025 Getty Images) Legendary South African coach Jake White has questioned the conduct of Henry Pollock on the recent Lions tour after being unimpressed by certain things he saw. Pollock's confident youthful exuberance on and off the pitch was seen by many as a positive, but White says some of his choices went against the traditions and values of the tourists. Pollock made five appearances for the Lions in total, but was not included in the matchday squad for any of the three Tests. He was a popular member of the touring party with team-mates, with his personality on show for all to see. Former Springboks and Bulls coach White, though, seems to have strangely taken issue with him wearing his baseball cap the wrong way round. He did, however, praise coach Andy Farrell for his handling of the player. 'One of the curveballs could have been the effervescent Henry Pollock but I think Andy Farrell handled him really well. I looked at him in the first Test and he was wearing a baseball cap the wrong way round,' he wrote in his RugbyPass column. 'I look at the history, traditions and values of the Lions and it doesn't warrant you doing that. 'That's me talking but to be fair, he got game time, got a feel of what it's like to be a Lion and while at times, he showed how young he was with the behaviours he exhibited there's no doubting he has talent. I think he will emerge stronger for the experience and will be around the Test game for a long time." Article continues below Pollock ruffled feathers during the tour after insisting their intention was to whitewash Australia 3-0 and become the best team to have represented the elite of British and Irish rugby. He has since been rewarded with an enhanced England contract for the first time as reward for his breakout year in Test rugby. The 20-year-old back-row has made only one appearance for his country, scoring two tries as a replacement in the 68-14 Six Nations win over Wales in March. His late-season form for Northampton led to selection for the British and Irish Lions' successful tour of Australia. Sam Warburton has praised Northampton Saints back-rower Henry Pollock. (Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency Ltd) Pollock earned praise from Lions legend Sam Warburton after the tour, with the former Wales captain insisting he must now start for England and not be seen as an impact player from the bench. Article continues below "I just hope he doesn't fall victim too much to what Justin Tipuric suffered with Wales," Warburton said. "Where for the first part of his career he was considered a good bench player because of his impact skills. "Versatility can be a burden as well as a boon. But Pollock has come back with a huge amount of credibility."
