Boomers cut Tall Blacks down to size
Basketball: The Boomers have clinched the inaugural Trans-Tasman Throwdown with an emphatic 92-67 win over New Zealand at a sold-out UniSC Arena.
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News.com.au
32 minutes ago
- News.com.au
Australian Turf Club partners with Hong Kong Jockey Club in landmark deal for their slot in The Everest
The Australian Turf Club's decision to lease their Everest slot to Hong Kong Jockey Club for at least two years is a coup for Sydney racing. The deal ensures that barring injury or some unforeseen circumstance, the world's number one-ranked racehorse, Hong Kong's superstar sprinter Ka Ying Rising, will contest the Group 1 $20 million The TAB Everest at Royal Randwick on October 18. Hall of Fame trainer David Hayes has also indicated Ka Ying Rising will stay in Sydney for the $3 million Russell Balding Stakes (1300m) at Rosehill Gardens two weeks later. ATC will benefit financially from the World Pool, the international commingling parimutuel betting operation which is managed by HKJC and will be available to punters on Everest Day. There is also speculation the World Pool will be added to more Sydney race meetings next season, most notably Golden Slipper Day which boasts five Group 1 races. HKJC executive director of racing, Andrew Harding, told Hong Kong media the club has secured the ATC's Everest slot for two years with an option to extend. 'For this year, the club will use the slot to enable Ka Ying Rising to take part in The Everest,'' Harding told South China Morning Post. 'In future years, we will use the slot to either facilitate a Hong Kong horse running or to target Australian or New Zealand sprinters to come onto the Hong Kong International races after The Everest.'' â– â– â– â– â– Ka Ying Rising joins Briasa (slot holders Max Whitby, Neil Werrett and Col Madden) and Private Harry (Yulong) as confirmed Everest starters. Sunshine In Paris, owned by Everest slot-holder John Camilleri of Fairway Thoroughbreds, is also being set for the big race. The world’s best sprinter is coming to Australia! Ka Ying Rising will race for new slot-holder the Hong Kong Jockey Club ðŸ¤� Here he is making it 12-straight wins, dominating the Chairman’s Sprint ðŸ'¥ â€' SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 4, 2025 This leaves eight slots remaining and competition for an Everest start will be fierce – but not everyone is happy. A leading Sydney trainer contacted At The Track incensed that ATC had not used their slot for an 'ATC trained horse'. 'Surely that's the idea of a slot,'' the trainer said. 'That's like Wayne Bennett picking a player from another club for the grand final. What a disgrace.'' The trainer's disappointment is understandable but the financial benefits to ATC for leasing their slot HKJC and having the World Pool alignment on Everest Day is considerable, and the club wants the best possible field for the world's richest turf race so securing Ka Ying Rising was the number one priority. â– â– â– â– â– Is Coolmore's three-year-old filly Minnie Hauk, winner of the English Oaks yesterday, the most valuable potential broodmare still racing? Minnie Hauk, a daughter of English superhorse Franke l and closely related on her dam's side to another champion, Kingman, was purchased for about $A4 million as a yearling at the Goffs Orby Sale and her Oaks win means she is now a priceless broodmare once her racing days are over. Minnie Hauk takes the Oaks (G1)! â€' IFHA's Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings (@worldsbesthorse) June 6, 2025 The regally-bred Minnie Hauk gave Irish training genius Aidan O'Brien his 11th Oaks win when she defeated her stablemate Whirl. â– â– â– â– â– The US triple crown isn't on the line but the final leg of the famous series, the Belmont Stakes, takes on special significance with the return clash of Godolphin's Sovereignty and Coolmore's Journalism in New York on Sunday morning. Sovereignty won an epic Kentucky Derby from Journalism last month but missed the second leg, the Preakness Stakes. In his absence, Journalism scored an incredible Preakness win and is early favourite with TAB Fixed Odds for the Belmont at $2.60 with Sovereignty pressing at $2.80.
ABC News
2 hours ago
- ABC News
Watching women's sport not just for women: Experts talk on levelling the playing field
In 2023, a nation held its breath as the Matildas took on England in the FIFA Women's World Cup semifinal. What followed wasn't just a gripping match, it became the most-watched television broadcast in Australian history. A post-tournament social impact report from Football Australia revealed that 44 per cent of the audience comprised men and boys. For the first time, a women's football game outperformed every other program ever aired in the country, breaking the myth that women's sport only appeals to women. Former Matilda and lawyer Moya Dodd says we have come a long way in the past decade. "Ten years ago, no one would have believed it," she told ABC International Development's Women in News and Sport, at the recent RCB Innovation Lab Sports Summit in India. Women's sport has been marketed primarily to women, and that marketing often focuses on empowerment rather than excellence. But Dodd said the skill, determination, and passion on display deserves universal respect, regardless of the gender of those on the field. She said boys were already growing up idolising athletes like Sam Kerr, the same way they do male stars. "When young boys see professionalised women's sport, they accept it as normal," Dodd said. "They'll happily wear a jersey with Sam Kerr's name on it. "There is no social stigma." In India, the Women's Premier League (WPL) is emerging as a game-changer. The second season in 2024 reached more than 103 million TV viewers, with digital platforms like JioCinema drawing millions more. Brands are investing big: Viacom18 signed a $117 million deal for WPL rights, one of the most lucrative ever for a women's league. But framing isn't the only challenge. Dodd said structural barriers persisted across leadership, infrastructure, and media. "Sport was built by men, for men, and run by men," Dodd said. "You can't just retrofit women into those systems. You need to redesign them." Sarah Walsh, head of women's football at Football Australia, and a former Matildas player, said the Matildas' rise was made possible by constitutional changes in 2018 that brought more women into decision-making roles. "We wouldn't have had the success we did, equal pay deals, post-World Cup legacy funding, without women in the room deciding where the money goes," she told WINS. Dodd said although there had been ground made, there were other areas that needed to evolve. "Storytelling is still skewed toward men's sport," Dodd said. "We need commentary and coverage that welcomes new audiences, not one that constantly compares women's sport to men's." She stressed that female voices in broadcast and journalism played a vital role in shaping public perception. Both Dodd and Walsh indicated that with the right leadership, inclusive policies, and a reframing of how women's sport was presented, there was significant opportunity for growth and equity. They both believe growth on the field translates to growing the game off it. Walsh said infrastructure remained a silent but critical barrier to participation, with a number of community football facilities still not female friendly. "You're not going to retain girls if they simply can't get dressed," Walsh said. Meanwhile, teenage dropout rates among girls are high due to issues ranging from lack of safety to body image concerns. Major events like the Women's World Cup helped boost participation by 20 per cent, but retention is still a hurdle. Recent trends in viewership and sponsorship suggest that interest in women's sport is not limited by gender. It delivers economic, cultural, and social returns. With the Matildas' semi-final appearance in 2023 and the growing viewership of WPL, sponsorships have increased, new demographics are being reached, and male audiences are growing across markets. "Women's sport brings audiences that have come to celebrate inclusion and a sense of social purpose. And this audience includes people of all genders and ages," Dodd said. Dodd and Walsh believe these developments raise a broader question — no longer whether women's sport has a place, but whether existing structures are prepared to meet the growing potential. Veechika Durga Pingali is a freelance journalist based in Bengaluru, India, with experience in both journalism and public relations. She has a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication and enjoys writing about gender, media and sports. Veechika is part of ABC International Development's Women in News and Sport Initiative, funded by the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade through the Team Up program.
News.com.au
4 hours ago
- News.com.au
Gutsy Gauff fights back to beat Sabalenka to French Open crown
Coco Gauff battled back from a set down to beat world number one Aryna Sabalenka in a Grand Slam final for the second time with a dramatic victory in the French Open showpiece on Saturday. The second-ranked American dug deep to claim a 6-7 (5/7), 6-2, 6-4 victory and her second major title after also defeating Sabalenka at the 2023 US Open. The 21-year-old more than made amends for her emotional 2022 final loss to Iga Swiatek at Roland Garros, outlasting Sabalenka over two hours and 38 minutes on Court Philippe Chatrier. "I was going through a lot of things when I lost in this final three years ago. I'm just happy to be here," said Gauff. "I didn't think honestly that I could do it... I think I was lying to myself that I definitely could do it." It was a second straight Grand Slam final loss for Sabalenka after her defeat by Madison Keys at the Australian Open in January. Gauff was rock solid after falling a set down, while Sabalenka made 70 unforced errors in windy conditions in a match which followed a very similar pattern to Gauff's victory at Flushing Meadows two years ago. "Obviously it hurts so much, especially after such a tough two weeks when I played such great tennis in these terrible conditions," said Sabalenka, whose unforced error tally in the final was the highest by any player in a women's match this tournament. "To show such terrible tennis in the final, it does really hurt." Belarusian Sabalenka was aiming to become the only current women's player to win three of the four Grand Slam events after her US Open triumph last year and back-to-back Australian Open titles in 2023 and 2024. But Gauff instead moved 6-5 ahead in their head-to-head record, proving the more consistent player in the first women's Slam final between the world's top two since Caroline Wozniacki beat Simona Halep in Melbourne in 2018. Only Gauff, Swiatek, Naomi Osaka and Maria Sharapova have won multiple Slam titles before turning 22 in the last 20 years. - Marathon first set - The 27-year-old Sabalenka quickly asserted herself, racing ahead by taking four of the first five games. The top seed led 4-1 with a double-break in her semi-final win over Swiatek before being forced into a tie-break. She gifted Gauff a glimmer of hope too, throwing away the sixth game from 40-0 up with two double-faults and a tame backhand into the bottom of the net. Gauff made it 12 points in a row and levelled the set on her fifth break point of the eighth game when Sabalenka fired another groundstroke long. She could not build on that momentum and immediately gave the break straight back. But Sabalenka failed to serve out the set in a tense game, missing two set points -- the first with another double-fault -- as Gauff eventually extended the opener by taking her fifth break point. Both players continued to struggle on serve in the breeze, Sabalenka breaking for fourth time in the set but again unable to close it out. The first tie-break in the opening set of a women's French Open final since 1998 saw Sabalenka finally clinch the set after 77 minutes with a run of four straight points. It was the longest set in a women's Grand Slam final since the Williams sisters faced off at Wimbledon in 2002 and longer than last year's final between Swiatek and Jasmine Paolini. Gauff started the second set on the front foot, though, moving into a 4-1 lead with a double-break. Unlike Sabalenka in the first set, Gauff saw it out with few problems, sending the match into a decider on her first set point with a confident smash at the net. The US star also struck first blood in the third, breaking in game three as Sabalenka sent down her fifth double-fault. Sabalenka managed to drag it back to 3-3, but immediately was broken to love as Gauff edged towards the title. Gauff was denied on her first match point by a booming Sabalenka return onto the baseline and then had to save a break point. But she got over the line at the second time of asking, falling to the clay in celebration.
