
Colin Keane weaves magic on first Sandown ride
Trained by Grand National and Gold Cup-winning Henry de Bromhead, the Earthlight filly had rattled the crossbar in two efforts so far this term and at one stage looked she could be an unlucky loser once again as her rider searched for an opening aboard his powerfully-travelling mount.
However, Keane got the 5-2 second favourite out and motoring just in time to hit the line just in front of Clive Cox's Hold A Dream, with a photo required to determine the short head verdict in the Listed event.
By a NOSTRIL! 👃
Town And Country gets up to pinch the BetMGM Scurry Stakes on the line 🥇 #ITVRacing | @ctkjockey | @HenrydeBromhead pic.twitter.com/sQHFn6xvye
— ITV Racing (@itvracing) June 14, 2025
The win extends the six-time Irish champion's stellar week since being appointed Juddmonte's retained rider and as he is set to be a more regular sight on British soil, it was a fine way to get accustomed to Esher.
Keane told Racing TV: 'She was keen and Billy Lee told me she could be but I didn't think she would be that bad and she ended up bringing me into a couple of pockets.
'To be fair to her she only got out in the last half furlong and she has done well to win. I think over here when she gets used to proper sprinting it will suit her and the quicker they go the better as she will relax and we'll see the best of her.
'I would have thought she could go on to run well in Group company.'
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NBC News
2 hours ago
- NBC News
Winning FIFA's Club World Cup earns more than bragging rights. $1 billion is on the line
The debate that roiled soccer fans for generations was also its most unanswerable: Which clubs, on which continents, played the best soccer? Unlike national teams that played one another in the quadrennial World Cup, there was rarely overlap between the top teams in Europe and South America, or North America, except for summertime 'friendly' competitions. The FIFA Club World Cup, which begins this weekend across the U.S. and runs through the final on July 13, expanded its previously smaller format in an attempt to provide an answer. It now features 32 teams, from six continents, playing for a total prize money pool of $1 billion. 'This is for bragging rights,' said Jill Ellis, the chief football officer of FIFA, soccer's global governing body, and a former World Cup-winning coach of the U.S. women's national team. 'Prize money is a part of it. But most importantly, this is a chance to be the first-ever club world champion.' As the tournament opens, however, the money is more than just a small part of it. Falling ticket prices, and accusations from Major League Soccer players that the league had agreed to participate in a 'cash grab' that unfairly compensates them, have raised the question of just how much buy-in the new tournament has from U.S. audiences and players. When tickets for Saturday's opening game in Florida between Inter Miami, featuring Lionel Messi, and Egyptian side Al Ahly went on sale in December through Ticketmaster, an upper-deck ticket cost $379 at the time. This week, similar ticket were on sale for as low as $116. According to NPR, FIFA has worked with a local Florida college to offer four complimentary tickets for students who pay for a single $20 ticket. Attendance for the opening game was announceed at 60,927, slightly shy of the stadium's capacity of 65,000. Bayern Munich, the perennial German champion, listed lower-bowl tickets for its opener Sunday in Cincinnati for as low as $107 when its tickets went on sale in December; on Saturday, tickets were being resold on Stubhub for half that. For as little as $8, fans can watch a June 25 game between the Japanese Urawa Red Diamonds and Mexican side C.F. Monterrey. "We anticipace great attendances and electric atmospheres at its inaugural edition, with excitement growing with every round of matches and the tournament ultimately standing as the undisputed pinnacle of club world football," FIFA said, in part of a statement sent to NBC News. "The appetite speaks for itself: fans from over 130 countries have already purchased tickets. The top 10 markets are led by the United States, followed by Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Canada, France, Japan, Switzerland, Germany and Portugal — a clear sign of global anticipation and reach." As a new tournament, the Club World Cup cannot offer much in the way of prestige or history. Instead, it has offered a historic amount of prize money, with $525 million of the total $1 billion distributed to teams on a sliding scale, guaranteed, just for making the 32-team field. At the top, brand-name European teams such as Real Madrid, Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Paris Saint-Germain will earn between $12.8 and $38 million; at the bottom, New Zealand's Auckland City FC will earn $3.5 million. The remaining $475 million of the billion-dollar pool will then be determined by teams' performances; making the round of 16 earns each club $7.5 million, with quarterfinalists $13.1 million, and increasing up to the final. The winner can ultimately rake in up to $125 million, all of which adds up to much more than bragging rights — which has left Major League Soccer players asking why their cut from the windfall isn't greater. Before a June 1 match players from the Seattle Sounders donned white T-shirts during warmups that read 'Club World Ca$h Grab,' with an image of the Mr. Monopoly character wearing an 'MLS' top hat and holding a pouch reading 'FIFA.' The protest led the team's owner to berate players afterward, according to the Seattle Times. The three teams in the Club World Cup field from Major League Soccer — Seattle, Inter Miami and Los Angeles Football Club — are each guaranteed $9.55 million for participating, before any bonuses are earned for performance. Players' earnings from participation or performance in a 'compulsory tournament or noncompulsory tournament' is capped at $1 million, per the terms of the league's collective bargaining agreement. The players' union has continued to push publicly to increase' players stake from what is currently about a 90/10 split, and has noted that before a major tournament in 2024, the players and MLS renegotiated the prize money distribution before ultimately landing at a 50-50 split. In a statement to NBC News on Thursday, MLS said that it has 'agreed to voluntarily provide additional performance-based compensation to players from the three participating clubs.' That proposal, the league said, would allocate 20% of all prize money earned from the group stage onward to players. 'If an MLS club wins the Club World Cup, its players would collectively receive more than $24 million in performance bonuses,' the statement read. 'MLS club owners believe performance-based incentives are appropriate given the expanded format and increased prize pool for the Club World Cup. The League values the continued dedication and commitment of its players and looks forward to supporting them as they represent their clubs — and Major League Soccer — on the global stage this summer.' On June 8, the players association posted on X that it was 'deeply disappointed' by the league's proposal. 'The timing, substance and retaliatory nature of the proposal sends a clear message: MLS does not respect or value players' efforts with regard to this tournament,' the post read. 'Although not surprised, the players and the MLSPA are deeply disappointed by this message." 'I don't think sitting out is an option,' Seattle midfielder Albert Rusnak told reporters Friday. 'Just because again, that inside what we have as athletes and winners and want to go out there and win and prove the people wrong whether we're talking about the bonuses or the people not believing we can do anything.' Ellis, who works for FIFA, believes the prospect of playing on that global stage will lead to strong competition from players. 'I think the U.S. players, if you were to say to anyone, 'Do you want to play in this tournament?' Sure, do they want to be paid as much as probably — I mean, that's within their own league and within the MLS to determine that, because obviously, unlike a lot of leagues around the world, MLS has a salary cap,' Ellis said. 'So there's certain different structures and CBA, and so that's internal to that. 'But I think in terms of what I and my experience in working with some of the best players in the world, elite players want to play against elite players. They want to test themselves, prove themselves, and they want to compete. ... Listen, at the end of the day it's a choice, but I think players will want to play in this event. '... In American sports when we win, when the Major League Baseball team wins, they're world champions. When the NFL team (wins) — the title is world champions. Well, yes, but they're playing against American teams. This is truly a world championship. This is the best clubs in the world.'


Scottish Sun
4 hours ago
- Scottish Sun
Kamaru Usman breaks down in tears after picking up first win in nearly four years vs Buckley at UFC Atlanta
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Wales Online
5 hours ago
- Wales Online
Sam Quek taken to hospital after finding blood in terrifying ordeal
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After presenting the Grand National on ITV earlier this year, Quek faced a backlash from racing fans - despite being an ardent racing enthusiast who has owned contenders at prestigious events like the Cheltenham Festival and the 1,000 Guineas. Responding to critics Confronting displeasure from certain quarters of the racing fanbase who felt her joining ITV Racing had "ruined" the Grand National and who debated her racing insight, Quek spoke to the Racing Post. In the face of criticism, she described the response as akin to "a bit like hysteria". Article continues below She noted positively: "In every sport I've worked in over the last 10 years, the reception I've been given has always felt quite welcoming. "So I was surprised by the reaction I got when it was announced I was joining the ITV Racing team for Aintree. I was actually disappointed. My experience of racing to that point had always been so positive, welcoming and inclusive. After the reaction to the ITV announcement, it feels like that has been flipped on its head." She added: "I started getting tagged on social media and things began to build up. People were asking, 'Why is a hockey player doing racing? What does she know about horses?' "Later in the day I saw someone joking that if I had gone and negotiated a peace deal between Ukraine and Russia, some people would still have said, 'But why was she there?' I've even had people saying I'm not from Liverpool just because I now live on the Wirral. "I'm not there to replace AP McCoy, Ruby Walsh or Alice Plunkett. I'm there to do the crossover work and, to be honest, I think I'm perfect for that. I want to get across my passion for racing to people who might be watching the biggest race in the world for the first time." 'Jealous' partner Quek is married to husband Tom. Tom, the offspring of a wealthy entrepreneur, set out on his own successful business venture, Antona Student Properties, following a generous £1million boost from his father after finishing his studies. He's not only a savvy businessman but also graced television screens in Channel 4's Secret Millionaire. He and his partner are doting parents to two youngsters, four-year-old Molly and three-year-old Isaac. But their journey to parenthood was marred by profound sorrow before they were blessed with Molly. After enduring the anguish of a miscarriage at 10 weeks in January 2020, the Olympian chose to wait until she was six months pregnant before sharing the news of her pregnancy with Molly. Speaking candidly with OK! magazine during an intimate interview and photoshoot, Quek revealed their mixed emotions. "It's a strange one," she reflected. 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I just felt like something was going to go wrong for this one, I don't know why. "Naturally, when you're pregnant and see blood, it's never a good sign," she continued. "The consultant said 'just to be safe, we're going to whisk you down for an emergency C-section. We don't want to take the chance that it could be anything sinister, so we would advise getting him out'". Having gone through surgery with husband Tom alongside her, Quek described the rush of feelings upon meeting her new arrival. "When his little face popped up over the curtain, it was the realisation that he'd finally got here, was safe and was going to join our family of three to make it four," she said with joy. Tom, whom Quek considers her "best mate and number one supporter", was acknowledged to have mixed emotions regarding her stint on Strictly Come Dancing, as she revealed he might feel "jealous" of her participation in the show. Nonetheless, Quek dismissed any concerns over the notorious Strictly curse, making it clear her husband's a great supporter of the dance show. "My husband is genuinely really excited for me because he knows how much I'm going to enjoy it," Quek expressed at the time. "And I think that's what's really special about our relationship. We are solid, and I can't wait to share this with him. "He might even be a bit jealous, if I know Tom. He would love to be out there doing it – we're always the couple at a wedding who are the last off the dance floor." Regarding the performance of sensual dance numbers, Quek confessed: "I'm not sexy. I can't do the sexy eyes, the body language. So I think that will be a challenge to tap into that side of me. Article continues below "If if I try to do it, I'll have to try not to laugh. I was on BBC Breakfast and was trying to show Naga Munchetty my sexy face and he [Tom] texted me, saying, 'Almost.'".