Paul Nicholls’ Kabral Du Mathan looks to have a very bright future after he cruised to victory on his British debut in the Weatherbys Chatteris Fen Juvenile Hurdle.

A winner in France on his only previous start, he had to carry 8lb more than all his rivals but it mattered not a jot.

There were four other previous winners in the race and one of those, Dan Skelton’s Kartoon And Co, led them until halfway down the back straight when he suddenly came under pressure and dropped to last.

Alan King’s Whispering Royal was the next to crack but by the second last, Harry Cobden had loomed up on Kabral Du Mathan (100-30) and breezed by Latin Verse to win by a length and a half.

Charlie Davies, assistant trainer, said: “It was a very pleasing performance. He has done everything nicely in Ditcheat. When they come over from France, you don’t know what to expect and we were very nervous about having to give all of them 8lb.

“He has jumped brilliantly, done it all very professionally and I think he has done it quite cosily. Hopefully he might be one for the Fred Winter (Boodles) in March.

“I think he is more a Fred Winter horse as to be a Triumph Hurdle horse you have got to be a really good horse, and you would have to take on Burdett Road, while Sir Gino looked very smart the other day.

“I think we will go the Fred Winter route for the time being. He has got to have one more run and maybe we will run him in a decent race and see how good he is.

“You couldn’t be more pleased with how it went as he travelled and jumped brilliantly. It was a very taking debut, giving them all 8lb.”

Ben Pauling was delighted to get Tellherthename’s career back on track with a straightforward success in the Arkle Finance EBF “National Hunt” Novices’ Hurdle.

Pauling has made no secret of the regard in which he holds the £200,000 purchase but the wheels came off when upped to Grade One company at Aintree last time out.

Back down in class and following extensive tests, the five-year-old landed odds of 1-4 with the minimum of fuss under Kielan Woods.

“We are back on track. We turned a lot of stones to try to find out what happened at Aintree. We found a few little bits and bobs, but nothing that put us out for that long as you could see,” said Pauling.

“I was just keen to get his season back on track before we dwelt on it for too long. The ground there was soft enough and it is not the good to soft that they have advertised, but he has handled it very well. He is an unbelievably class horse.

“That now gives him his fourth run so he has got the option of the Betfair Hurdle, but the ground would have to be spot on for that otherwise we will go straight to the Supreme with him.

“I think he is a class horse with gears galore and I sometimes think they are best fresh. They go such a gallop in that race (Supreme) and if you are anything but absolutely ready for the day, then you might get caught flat-footed.”

Henrietta Knight enjoyed her first day back on a racecourse as a trainer, despite being out of luck with two runners at Wincanton.

Neither Zettabyte or Ballywalter troubled the judge, but Knight, who during her first spell with a licence reached the summit of her profession, was welcomed back into the racing fold with open arms.

Knight enjoyed tremendous success during her first spell with a licence, winning the Gold Cup at Cheltenham three times with Best Mate.

She was also responsible for Queen Mother Champion Chase and King George hero Edredon Bleu, the Stayers’ Hurdle with Karshi and Victor Chandler Chase (now Clarence House) with Somersby.

Having competed at the highest level of equestrianism before beginning her training career, Knight was always credited with being a great horsewoman and until recently several trainers have sent their horses to her for extensive schooling.

“It was a very good experience to be back on the racecourse,” she said.

“I got a good welcome and I was among people I like being with.

“I saw plenty of people that I hadn’t see for a fair few years, but like myself they have all got a bit older!

“It was a great atmosphere and I’ve enjoyed it.”

She went on: “The first horse (Zettabyte) showed enough to suggest that he will win races in time, but I don’t know when I might have more runners due to the weather – judging by what they are saying there might not be much racing after Wednesday.

“Hopefully we can keep it all running smoothly at home anyway.

“I had such a lovely welcome today, I really enjoyed it.”

Zettabyte, formerly with Gordon Elliott, finished ninth of 15 having travelled well for a long way, while Ballywalter was pulled up at the third-last.

England prop Mako Vunipola has announced his retirement from international rugby.

Vunipola amassed 79 caps in a career that began in 2012 and also made nine Test appearances for the British and Irish Lions.

The 32-year-old Saracens forward missed last year’s World Cup because of back surgery but was expected to be involved in the upcoming Six Nations.

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“It’s been an honour to have represented my country but all good things must come to an end,” he said on Instagram.

“The time has come to step away now. There have been lots of highs and lows. Would love to thank everyone who have helped me along the way.

“To my wife @alex_vunipola thank you for taking care of our family and all your support. Words don’t do it justice.

“To my parents I’m eternally grateful for all you have sacrificed for me to be here. Malo aupito and Ofa atu. God is good.”

Mauricio Pochettino confirmed Ben Chilwell’s return to the Chelsea squad for Saturday’s meeting with Fulham at Stamford Bridge after missing nearly four months with a hamstring injury.

The England defender last featured during the 1-0 home defeat to Aston Villa in late September but is set to be named in the matchday party alongside Benoit Badiashile, who has recovered from a muscle issue.

However, Christopher Nkunku remains on the absentee list with the manager revealing that the forward’s recovery from a hip problem has become “complicated”.

Carney Chukwuemeka, who has not played since the second weekend of the Premier League season, will be assessed ahead of the clash against Fulham, while Trevoh Chalobah is training with the first team having missing the entire campaign to date.

“It’s good news about Chilwell and Badiashile,” said Pochettino. “For sure they’ll be in the squad (on Saturday). We need to assess Carney Chukwuemeka.

“Trevoh Chalobah is working with the group, we’ll assess day by day. He’s doing well. They’re so close to being involved again.

“I am worried about the situation of Nkunku. (It has been) now 10 days that he can’t train. We’re assessing him.

“He suffered a small issue and it became complicated. After six months that we were waiting for him, he was so close to feeling comfortable, he started against Crystal Palace (on December 27). We’re disappointed. We want him (back) as soon as possible.”

The France international was made to wait until December for his first start for the club following his summer move from RB Leipzig, after a knee injury sustained in pre-season ruled him out.

His absence places further pressure on Pochettino’s limited attacking options, with Nicolas Jackson away representing Senegal at the Africa Cup of Nations and Armando Broja searching for form after returning from an ACL injury in September.

The PA news agency understands that striker David Fofana will join Burnley on loan for the rest of the season after his stay at Bundesliga side Union Berlin was cut short.

Meanwhile the club confirmed on Friday that Netherlands Under-21 international Ian Maatsen, who has made only three starts this season, has moved to Borussia Dortmund on loan for the remainder of the campaign.

“It’s good for the club, it’s good for him,” said Pochettino. “We hope he’ll have the possibility to play more than here. For both sides it’s a good decision.”

The manager called on his players to re-find the momentum saw them win four out five games in all competitions prior to Tuesday’s defeat to Middlesbrough in the first leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final.

Victory against Marco Silva’s side in Saturday’s lunchtime kick-off would see them at least temporarily move above eighth-placed Manchester United, while a win of sufficient margin could see them climb as high as seventh, their highest league position since November 2022.

“We didn’t perform badly against Middlesbrough,” said Pochettino. “We came from a few victories. We need to keep the momentum.

“It’s true that after the first 90 minutes we are 1-0 down. We need to keep the belief, the team is preparing well, confident for (Fulham). I’m so sure we’ll do a good job.

“But when you lose a game to a Championship team, you need to accept the criticism. We have the chance (on Saturday) to put all these bad feelings out by performing in the right way.”

Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi hopes his team can have “another ideal half” to their season as they prepare to face Monza on Saturday.

His side are two points clear at the top of Serie A going into Saturday’s game and got 2024 off to a winning start with a 2-1 win against Verona last weekend.

An impressive first half to the season sees Inter having lost only one league game, a 2-1 reverse against Sassuolo in September, and they have won five of their last six Serie A games.

Monza are currently 11th in the league having earned their first win in four games last Saturday with a 3-2 victory against Frosinone and Inzaghi warned that Monza are “an opponent of quality”.

He told Inter TV: “We know that we have had an ideal start (to the season); the squad is ambitious and we know it won’t be simple, but we want to double down with another ideal half to the season.

“It will be a difficult game against a good side that has a great coach and some players that were important with Inter: it will be nice to see (Danilo) D’Ambrosio, (Roberto) Gagliardini, and Valentin Carboni again.

“We need to put in a good performance – Monza is an opponent of quality.”

Federico Dimarco could be involved in the Monza clash after featuring from the bench against Verona, while January signing Tajon Buchanan could also make his Inter debut.

Buchanan joined the club from Club Brugge last Friday and Inzaghi praised his “great quality”, adding that the wing-back has been involved in training this week.

“Yes, we haven’t trained yet today but Federico is much better. He has recovered and we saw him at the end of the Verona match,” Inzaghi added.

“TJ has come in in the best way; he is a young player of great quality, with some experience already.

“It will take some time for him to integrate but he underwent three big training sessions this week”.

Banbridge takes aim at the Coral Silviniaco Conti Chase when he makes his eagerly-awaited return in a high-class contest at Kempton on Saturday.

Joseph O’Brien’s eight-year-old is no stranger to making raiding trips to the UK and, having won at the Cheltenham Festival in 2022, registered a first Grade One in Aintree’s Manifesto Novices’ Chase at the back-end of last season.

That Liverpool victory was the last time the Ronnie Bartlett-owned chaser has been sighted, with the wet weather leading to him being kept under lock and key until now.

However, his handler is keen to get Banbridge’s campaign started ahead of key targets at the major festivals later in the season.

“He’s in good form and has prepared well for this race,” said O’Brien.

“He’s been ready to run for a little while now but just hasn’t had suitable conditions.

“We’re looking forward to getting him started and hopefully he runs a nice race in preparation for the spring festivals.”

Pic D’Orhy coasted to a 16-length success in this contest 12 months ago but faces a much sterner challenge this time around.

Paul Nicholls’ Melling Chase hero took advantage of Shishkin planting at the start on his reappearance at Ascot and the defending champion returns to the Grade Two event attempting to maintain a 100 per cent record at the Sunbury track.

“He won this by 16 lengths a year ago and has a solid chance of completing the double,” Nicholls told Betfair.

“I don’t think he was at his best when he was successful in his only race this season at Ascot, where he found the ground quicker than ideal. But he still won decisively and we fancied our chances against Shishkin before he refused to start.

“Pic D’Orhy is in good shape, working nicely and I’ve had this race in mind for him for a while.”

Alan King saddled Balder Success to victory in the 2015 running of this contest and now sends out Edwardstone looking to repeat the feat.

The Arkle winner took a step forward from his Shloer Chase return when a brave second in the Tingle Creek prior to Christmas, but with the Barbury Castle handler accepting defeat in the red-hot two-mile division, Edwardstone now has the Ryanair Chase firmly on the radar for March.

He will be partnered by his usual jockey Tom Cannon, who feels the better underfoot conditions at Kempton could inspire a return to form, as he races further than an extended two miles for the first time over fences.

He said: “I think the better the ground, the better it is for him, although he does handle any ground, with the exception of extremes.

“He hasn’t had decent ground in his two runs this season and hopefully he will appreciate that going up in trip.

“He has won well around Kempton before over fences in the Wayward Lad (Novices’ Chase) and it is a flat track, which should help him see out the trip.

“However, we won’t know if he does get the trip until he has run, and the horse will do all the talking.”

Laura Morgan is another handler with half an eye on the Ryanair Chase at the Festival, with her Notlongtillmay freshened up after finishing a gallant second to Stage Star in the Paddy Power Gold Cup, while Willie Mullins’ Janidil completes the field of five heading to post.

Kielan Woods has vowed to address “a mental block” around the whip rules after incurring another hefty suspension following a British Horseracing Authority hearing on Friday.

The Cheltenham Festival-winning rider was referred to the independent disciplinary panel after he was found to have breached the whip rules for a fourth time in a six-month period.

Woods was given a 42-day suspension – nine of which were deferred – back in June and is now facing a further lengthy spell on the sidelines after being banned for 45 days.

Nine days have again been deferred for six months, meaning Woods will serve 36 days from January 20 to February 24, with the rider planning to work on his whip issues during that time.

In a statement issued through the Professional Jockeys Association, he said: “By the time I reach the end of this suspension I’ll have missed around a third of the last year through suspension and I’ve got no one to blame but myself.

“I’m going spend this time off getting to the bottom of why I seem to have a mental block when it comes to this issue and making sure whatever the issue is, I get it fixed.”

Woods is stable jockey to Ben Pauling and rode the trainer’s Cheltenham hope Tellherthename to a cosy 14-length success at Huntingdon on Friday.

Boss Unai Emery admits Aston Villa are unlikely to make big moves in the transfer market this month.

Villa are second in the Premier League ahead of the weekend with Emery happy with the squad.

They go to Everton on Sunday and despite still being in the title hunt, the Europa Conference League and the FA Cup, Emery has ruled out major changes in January.

“We are not being very focused in the transfer window because we are second in the table and we are recovering some players that have been out since the start of the season (Alex Moreno and Jacob Ramsey),” said Emery, who won December’s Manager of the Month.

“I am very happy with the players. The commitment with the players is really good and the wish and desire to work hard is really good.

“We are going to face three competitions until the end of the season, Premier League, FA Cup and Europa Conference League, and it will be very difficult. We need players to be available and be ready with good performances to play in our idea and our style.

“We have the players here to do that.”

Emi Buendia and Tyrone Mings are long-term absentees with knee injuries while Lucas Digne (hamstring) is also out.

Pau Torres (ankle) and Youri Tielemans (calf) have returned to training although the game could come too soon and Bertrand Traore is with Burkina Faso for the Africa Cup of Nations.

Emery added: “They (Everton) are progressively getting better and playing being very competitive. With their issue with the points (deduction), they are playing well and being very competitive in each match.

“It’s very difficult to beat them in their stadium with their fans. We respect them a lot.

“They’re going to be very competitive at home and we’re going to prepare the match respecting them a lot.”

Pep Guardiola has spoken of his admiration for Sven-Goran Eriksson after the former England manager revealed he could have less than a year to live.

Eriksson, 75, went public on Thursday with the news that he had been diagnosed with terminal cancer.

The Swede said that in the “best case” he may only have around a year left.

Eriksson managed England from 2001-06 and led them to the quarter-finals of three major tournaments before later spending a season in charge at Manchester City.

Guardiola, the current City boss, said: “It is sad news. He’s a true gentleman.

“He has been here, and with the England national team and in other countries.

“I admire the courage to explain the situation. Of course will be with his loved ones and hopefully the hope is the last thing we lose.

“I’m sure he’s going to battle with the doctors and everyone to maybe can find a solution, to extend this period and the battle and go well.

“On behalf of Man City and all of us here, huge hugs and huge support. Anything we can do, of course we will do it.”

Eriksson had a long and distinguished career in football management, forged largely in Italy where, among his successes, he won Serie A and the European Cup Winners’ Cup with Lazio.

He also had jobs in other countries including his native Sweden, Portugal, Mexico, the Ivory Coast and China.

He stood down from his most recent job, as sporting director at Swedish club Karlstad, last year due to health problems.

Eriksson has revealed news of his diagnosis came as a huge shock.

He told TalkTV: “I got dizzy and I fell to the ground and my children took me to the hospital.

“And they did a lot of examinations and four hours later, I was diagnosed with cancer. So that’s how it happened. I felt totally well. It came like a very, very big surprise.

“You can’t operate it and you can take medicine to try to stop it (spreading) too fast and that’s what I’m doing. But sooner or later, it will happen. Let’s hope later rather than sooner.”

He added: “When you get a message like that it’s like a shock because I was fully fit, I think. Rather fit as well and training. So it came like from nowhere.

“So, of course, you feel very bad and you are shocked when you get it, and I think that’s normal. But you have to fight against it, and that’s what I’m trying to do, at least.”

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The New England Patriots wasted no time in naming a successor to Bill Belichick.

Multiple outlets reported Friday that the Patriots have promoted inside linebackers coach Jerod Mayo to be their next head coach, one day after the team and Belichick announced they would part ways after a historic 24-year run.

Mayo, a former New England linebacker, spent the last five seasons on Belichick's staff. The 37-year-old becomes the youngest current head coach in the NFL and the first Black head coach in Patriots history.

Jamie Snowden’s Colonel Harry will look to make a success of the next step in his chasing career in the William Hill Towton Novices’ Chase at Wetherby on Saturday.

The chestnut made a good start over fences with a taking victory at Chepstow, after which he stepped up in level to finish second behind Le Patron in the Henry VIII Novices’ Chase at Sandown.

Those runs follow a good spell over hurdles, though Snowden has always expected chasing to be his forte and hopes he will continue to be proved right as he steps up to just short of two and a half miles in Yorkshire.

“He was a decent novice hurdler but always threatened to be a better chaser and so it has proved so far,” he said.

“He won very nicely on his chasing debut at Chepstow and then put in a huge performance when second in a Grade One at Sandown the last day.

“A mistake at the first just put him on the back foot and he was always playing catch-up from then. He almost made up the ground and was closing all the way to the line, but just didn’t quite get up.

“I think the step up in trip here should suit him now. There are nice horses in this race and he needs to go and do it, but it looks the right race for him and he will like the ground and he’s in great form.”

Also involved is Kim Bailey’s Trelawne, a winner on seasonal debut at Carlisle and then third in a Cheltenham novice chase in mid-December.

Bailey was intending to run the eight-year-old elsewhere but with an eye on the weather forecast, he has opted to aim for Wetherby at the weekend.

“It is kind of a late decision and our original plan was to go to Chepstow on Tuesday, but they think that won’t be on,” he said.

“He needs racecourse experience so we have decided to reroute here, but Jamie Snowden’s horse looks took tough to beat at the weights.

“If the ratings are correct then it could be quite an interesting race, but we shall see and Trelawne needs experience.

“If he hadn’t made the mistake at the last then he might have gone a bit closer at Cheltenham (last time), but he is a nice horse I hope.”

Olly Murphy’s Chasing Fire was luckless when unseating his rider last time out at Aintree, prior to which he was well beaten in an Ayr novice on his second start of the season following a winning debut over fences at Uttoxeter.

The step up in trip is expected to suit, however, with the gelding having three victories over hurdles to his name, alongside a bumper and a point-to-point success.

Murphy said: “Two miles round Ayr was far too sharp for him and he had a good start to his chasing career at Uttoxeter, while he was unfortunate to unseat Harry (Skelton) at the first at Aintree the last day.

“He’s up in trip and it’s a bit more of a test of stamina than he’s been used to. He’s still unexposed and a big, slow track will suit him.”

Dan Skelton’s The King Of Ryhope also holds an entry, with Hurricane Highway and Meetingofthewaters non runners.

Ange Postecoglou believes an alignment between all the key figures at Tottenham has allowed them to move quickly in the January transfer window.

Postecoglou repeatedly made clear his desire to bring in a centre-back early and Spurs completed the signing of Radu Dragusin from Genoa on Thursday, with Djed Spence heading on loan in the other direction.

It capped a busy week for Tottenham after they secured the loan addition of Timo Werner from RB Leipzig on Tuesday and allowed Eric Dier to depart after 10 seasons to join Bayern Munich.

Spurs’ quick work is a big shift in strategy after previously waiting until the end of the month to secure signings and Postecoglou paid tribute to chairman Daniel Levy, technical director Johan Lange and chief football officer Scott Munn.

“It’s easier said than done because while we might have a desire to do things early, you’ve got to have all parties agreeing to that and it’s not easy to do, especially in January,” Postecoglou said ahead of Sunday’s trip to Manchester United.

“The key thing for us was from the chairman to Johan and his team and Scott, we were all very aligned in what we wanted and we got our targets early.

“It was pretty clear what we wanted to do and if it didn’t happen, then we’ve moved on. But I think the fact that we were all pretty aligned on what our objectives were allowed us to be sitting here now with two players in – not so much for Sunday, but we know we’ve got a two-week break which means we get at least a couple of weeks to get the lads up to speed.

“We had some pretty clear objectives. If there’s an opportunity for us to get better, we’ll take it, but what we were trying to achieve going into it, I’m really pleased we’ve got two players in who I think will play a really important part for us.”

Postecoglou has continued to reshape the squad this month with former captain Hugo Lloris joining Los Angeles FC and Dier ending his nine-and-a-half-years at Tottenham to join Bayern.

“The club made a conscious decision to change the way we went about things and for that to happen you need change in personnel,” the Australian reflected.

“Hugo left and Eric moves on to another chapter in his career, he’s another one who has had a fantastic career here at Tottenham.

“Eric’s left his mark, he was part of a very very good side who made many great memories for our supporters here and he certainly leaves his mark here at Tottenham.

“He moves to another big club and hopefully has success in the rest of his career.

“For us, it’s a constant evolution of traying to inch forward to becoming the team we want to be.”

Postecoglou expects Dragusin to be involved at Old Trafford despite still waiting for his work permit and Micky van de Ven is fit enough to start.

Cristian Romero has also returned to training and could feature against United, but Giovani Lo Celso and Ben Davies are both out.

Lo Celso’s absence could earn Werner his full debut.