Croke Park continued his progression with what was ultimately a clear-cut victory in the John Lynch Carpets & Flooring Monksfield Novice Hurdle at Navan.

In a race dominated by Gordon Elliott runners, the Clonmel maiden winner did have to be asked a question or two in setting about catching stablemate and long-time leader Mel Monroe between the last two flights.

He still had to work to get to Mel Monroe after the final obstacle, but did look like he would do so and in the end the 4-6 favourite was going away at the line to take Grade Three honours.

The gallant Mel Monroe was three and a quarter lengths back in second, with fellow Cullentra inmates Search For Glory and Pinyon Jay third and fourth respectively.

“He’s a lovely horse, Jack (Kennedy) said he probably wants three miles in time. He said he didn’t do a whole lot when he got there, but he did it well and jumped well,” said Elliott.

“We probably don’t have to go three miles yet. He’s a big horse and he’s had two runs now so I might even keep him for (the Grade One in) Naas. I don’t know if I’d be wanting to be going to the well too much. I think he is a nice horse.

“Mel Monroe is a nice mare and has improved an awful lot from Cheltenham. She was just about fit enough to go there and ran well. It looks like she came on again and it was a great run, a nice bit of black type for the boys.

“Search For Glory might come back here for the good handicap hurdle, the €100,000 race. Mel Monroe might come back for that as well, she could step up or drop back in trip.”

Cannock Park held on gamely to the land the mallardjewellers.com Maiden Hurdle at Cheltenham for Craig Nichol and Paul Robson.

The five-year-old has been faring well since winning his sole point-to-point start, taking a bumper at Bangor last time out by four lengths.

He was a 15-2 chance in a field of seven at Prestbury Park and made the running from the start, gaining a lead that grew wider as the race developed.

The gelding looked to tire when climbing the hill, but did not fold and toughed it out to prevail by a neck from Innatendue, with odds-on favourite The Kemble Brewery in third.

“He tied up a bit, but he had a bit of an accident at home about four weeks ago and we had to back off him a bit. He’ll certainly come on for it and there’s a nice race at Wetherby at the end of the year we can look at,” Borders-based Robson said.

“I think he wants soft ground and I’m not sure we’ll get that in March, but we’ll see. We can dream.

Gordon Elliott’s Kala Conti was an effortless winner at Navan on her Irish debut.

The filly is French-bred and won her sole start in her home nation by 10 lengths in May before changing hands.

Her Irish career began in the Bar One Racing “Price Boosts Across All Channels” 3-Y-O Hurdle, a race she was the 2-13 favourite in against just two rivals.

Under Jack Kennedy she made all the running and never saw another horse, easily navigating her way around the two-mile trip to cross the line at a canter 14 lengths ahead of stablemate Roboreti.

“She’s a nice filly. Jack said he could have gone around again, she would have done more at home,” said Elliott.

“I’d imagine we’ll probably look at the Graded race in Fairyhouse in two weeks’ time and she’ll have an entry at Newbury on the same weekend.

“The other horse was taking her on and you’re always waiting for something to go wrong in those races but it was pretty straightforward and she did it well.”

Brian Acheson’s Robcour colours did not have to wait long for another success with a smart prospect, as Look To The West took the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Mares Maiden Hurdle for Rachael Blackmore and Henry de Bromhead.

Another making her debut under rules in Ireland, the five-year-old was the 9-4 joint-favourite and made the running before prevailing by a length.

“Delighted with that. She came well recommended for her point-to-point, but last year she was just a bit immature still and had a couple of little issues,” said De Bromhead.

“She’d been working really well and we thought she was nice.

“It’s not easy to make it around there and it looked a nice race. She hasn’t run for a long time so hopefully she’ll keep improving as well.

“She jumped a bit right but otherwise she was really good.

“We’ve got her started and now we can look at the next level. I’d say she’ll get further, but she looked good over that trip. She gallops and jumps.

“Maybe something like the Solerina, but we’ll see what everyone wants to do and enjoy today.”

Lando Norris is expected to be fit for next weekend’s season-concluding race in Abu Dhabi after he was discharged from hospital following his crash in the Las Vegas Grand Prix.

The 24-year-old British driver was transported to University Medical Centre – four miles east of the Las Vegas Strip – after his 180mph shunt on the third lap.

Norris lost control of his McLaren through Turn 11 before thudding backwards into the concrete wall.

Norris was then a passenger as his machine bounced off the tyre wall before skidding sideways along the track – narrowly avoiding his team-mate Oscar Piastri – and then slamming head-on into the Armco at Turn 12.

Norris’ car was wrecked in the high-speed smash, and he appeared to be winded as he breathlessly reported he was “all good” over the radio.

Norris emerged from his cockpit before making his way to the medical car. He was subsequently transferred to hospital for “precautionary investigations”.

Norris was able to return to the paddock in the early hours of Sunday morning, with McLaren confident he will be given the green light by the FIA’s medical team for the race in Abu Dhabi.

“An unfortunate end to our Las Vegas GP weekend,” said Norris in McLaren’s post-race press release. “I just bottomed out on the restart, lost the rear and hit the wall.

“Not the way we wanted the weekend to end. Big thanks go to the medical staff for checking me over, and to the team for the work they’ll now put in on the car. One week to reset and go again for the season finale in Abu Dhabi.”

McLaren team principal Andrea Stella added: “The most important thing today is that Lando is in good condition after what looked like a scary accident in a very fast section of this circuit.”

Jason Knight has admitted the Republic of Ireland’s new generation must develop a ruthless streak if they are to fulfil their potential.

A difficult Euro 2024 Group B campaign drew to its seemingly inevitable conclusion on Saturday evening when a 1-0 defeat by the Netherlands in Amsterdam sent the Dutch through to next summer’s finals in Germany and Ireland home to lick their wounds.

Stephen Kenny’s men knew in advance of the game at the Johan Cruyff Arena that even the safety net of a play-off place via the Nations League had evaporated, and they were left to reflect upon home and away defeats by France, the Netherlands and Greece and a return of just six points at Gibraltar’s expense to show for their efforts.

Asked what lessons they had learned, Bristol City midfielder Knight said: “It’s fresh, but playing against Holland and France is about having a clinical edge.

“That’s been a large part of all the games we’ve been equal in: they’ve taken their chances and we haven’t. We defended well in large parts of all the games. Looking back briefly off the top of my head, we lacked a bit of creative spark and those goals when we needed to capitalise.

“The confidence is good. We’re playing some good attractive football at times. We’ve fallen on the wrong side of results against good teams. France and the Netherlands aren’t minnows of world football.

“There’s confidence within the group and definitely confidence we’ll turn it around.”

Knight, 22, is one of the flag-bearers for Kenny’s drastically overhauled squad which has seen the manager promote from the Under-21 ranks and promote a front-foot approach.

His efforts have met with limited success – Ireland have won just six of the 29 competitive games they have played under his charge, and that bottom line is perhaps the most potent weapon in the armoury of those calling for change.

Kenny is out of contract after Tuesday night’s friendly against New Zealand at the Aviva Stadium and his future will be decided at a meeting of the Football Association of Ireland’s board on November 28 when members consider a review of the campaign.

Whatever the outside noise, the 52-year-old’s players remain steadfastly behind him and Knight reiterated that message when asked about the future.

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He said: “Well, my view is that the manager is still here and we’re treating it as so. The manager has been great to me and the players. We want to be winning more games for him, but we’ll see what happens.”

Defeat in Amsterdam came courtesy of Wout Weghorst’s 12th-minute strike, although the game was not as close as the scoreline suggested and but for some less than effective finishing and the efforts of Republic keeper Gavin Bazunu, Ronald Koeman’s men could have had qualification tied up long before the final whistle.

Knight said: “We wanted a good performance and result, which ultimately we didn’t do. There were good parts to it. We just lacked a bit of creativity and cutting edge up top.

“There’s no doubt they’re a good team, but we can certainly be better in all aspects of our game, especially creating and scoring goals.”

Neco Williams believes Armenia can do Wales a favour against Croatia and help them qualify for Euro 2024.

Wales’ automatic qualification hopes were taken out of their own hands on Saturday by a wounding 1-1 away draw to Armenia and Croatia’s 2-0 victory in Latvia.

Croatia will secure the second spot behind already-qualified Turkey by beating Armenia in their final qualifier on Tuesday.

But were Armenia to draw or win in Zagreb, that would leave the door open for Wales who would then take second place by beating Turkey at the Cardiff City Stadium on the same evening.

“Armenia are a top team,” wing-back Williams said of opponents who have damaged Wales’ qualification more than any other by taking four points from them.

“They have got some very good players and, hopefully, they can do a job on Croatia like they did against us.

“We still have a chance because you never know what’s going to happen.

“It’s not in our hands and we have got to wait for the other results. There’s a lot of luck in football, and hopefully it will be on our side.”

Wales lost 4-2 to Armenia at home in June and they were shaken again within five minutes of the Yerevan return.

Lucas Zelarayan, who had scored twice in Cardiff, punished some sloppy Welsh defending and Armenia appeared in control until the final seconds of the first half.

But Wales were gifted a lifeline when Nair Tiknizyan headed Connor Roberts’ long throw in to his own net.

Williams said: “It was a tough game, end to end, and a lot of running.

“Both teams were going for the win and probably at times it looked scrappy.

“As soon as the lads came in after the game you could feel that, frustration. No-one talked and it felt like a loss.

“But we take a point from it and all we can do now is focus on our last game against Turkey.

“If we get the three points there you never know what’s going to happen.”

The odds are that Wales will end up in the play-offs in March, the same route they negotiated to reach the 2022 World Cup by overcoming Austria and Ukraine.

Finland, Iceland, Poland and Ukraine are all potential opponents this time, although the fixtures will not be determined until after the final qualifiers across Europe.

“It could be something for us,” said Williams. “We did it for the World Cup and, if it does happen, we’ve still got a chance.

“If we don’t qualify through the group, do it that way.”

Daniel James admitted the early Zelarayan goal before a hostile Republican Stadium crowd had thrown Wales out of their stride.

James said: “They scored early and you know it’s going to be difficult because it’s a tough place to come.

“We dug deep and got back in the game, but we couldn’t get that second goal.

“We’ve just got to pick our heads up and get ready for the next game against a very good Turkey team.”

Central defender Chris Mepham will miss the Turkey game through suspension after picking up his third yellow card of the campaign in Yerevan.

Kieran Trippier has left the England camp due to a personal matter ahead of the Euro 2024 qualifier in North Macedonia.

Gareth Southgate’s side secured progress to next summer’s finals with two games to spare and Friday’s forgettable 2-0 win against Malta all but assured their spot among the top seeds in the December 2 draw.

England end their Euro 2024 qualification campaign and 2023 fixture calendar in Skopje on Monday night, when they will be unable to call upon Newcastle full-back Trippier.

The England account on X, formerly known as Twitter, said: “@trippier2 has departed the #ThreeLions camp, owing to a personal matter and will not travel to North Macedonia.”

Southgate has already been dealing with a string of an absentees and Trippier’s departure meant just 22 players trained during England’s final session on Sunday before flying out to Macedonia.

Southgate will be joined by Declan Rice at the press conference previewing the qualifier in Skopje.

Max Verstappen overcame a five-second penalty, a collision with George Russell and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc to claim a historic Las Vegas Grand Prix win.

On a wild night in Sin City, where the lead of the race changed hands on multiple occasions, it was Verstappen who prevailed to take his 18th win from the 21 rounds so far with popstar Justin Bieber waving the chequered flag.

Charles Leclerc passed Sergio Perez on the final lap to finish runner-up, while British driver Lando Norris was taken to hospital for precautionary checks after he crashed out on the third lap at 180mph.

The build-up to Formula One’s debut race on the Strip has been mired in controversy following Thursday’s practice washout and Verstappen comparing the Las Vegas race to football’s National League.

But the 3.8-mile venue served up a brilliant race which culminated in Verstappen passing Leclerc for the lead on lap 37 of 50.

A celebrity-jammed grid dispersed moments before the lights went out in Sin City, and it was Verstappen who raced away from his marks to gazump the pole-sitter into the opening bend.

However, Verstappen’s move courted the attention of the stewards with Leclerc forced off the track.

Behind, Fernando Alonso’s spin triggered a pile-up as Perez tagged Valtteri Bottas. Carlos Sainz also thudded into Lewis Hamilton, but the latter escaped without damage.

The virtual safety car was deployed following the first-corner chaos and when the race resumed three laps later, Norris was in the wall.

Norris lost control of his McLaren through Turn 11 and was soon a passenger as he thudded backwards into the concrete wall amid a flurry of orange sparks, before the car righted itself and Norris went head-on into the run-off barriers at Turn 12.

Norris’s machine was wrecked in the high-speed smash, but the 23-year-old was on the radio to report he was okay, before he made his way into the medical car.

Out came the safety car and Verstappen was dealt a five-second penalty for forcing Leclerc off the road at the first bend.

“Yeah, that is fine,” he said over the radio. “Send them my regards.”

Verstappen might have felt he would have the sufficient speed in his Red Bull to open up a gap to Leclerc, but the Ferrari man was soon in his mirrors. And on lap 16 the Monegasque swept by to take the lead. In came Verstappen for new tyres.

Further back, and Hamilton, who had been on the charge, sustained a puncture following a collision with Oscar Piastri.

The seven-time world champion limped back to the pits for repairs, but he emerged 19th and last, and a credible result on American soil was in tatters.

In the other Mercedes, Russell, now ahead of Verstappen following the Dutchman’s penalty, had the Red Bull swarming in his mirrors.

Verstappen threw his Red Bull underneath a surprised Russell at Turn 12 and the British driver turned into his rival as they duelled for a net third.

Russell made contact with Verstappen’s Red Bull with debris falling off both of their machines.

The safety car was out for a second time and Leclerc took the lead with Perez moving up to second by virtue of a free pit stop.

When the safety car came back in, Perez passed Leclerc to take the lead on lap 32 while Verstappen was also on the move as he swatted Piastri aside for third.

Three laps later, and Leclerc was back on top after fighting his way back past Perez. A lap later, Verstappen moved ahead of Perez on the Las Vegas Boulevard for a second, and then on lap 37, he slung his Red Bull underneath Leclerc’s scarlet machine for the lead.

Perez looked to have completed a one-two for Red Bull when he made his way ahead of Leclerc with seven laps to go only for the Monegasque to fight his way back past on the last tour.

Russell crossed the line in fourth, but was demoted to eighth after he was hit with a a five-second penalty for his collision with Verstappen. Esteban Ocon took fourth, one place ahead of Lance Stroll with Carlos Sainz sixth and Hamilton seventh.

Tottenham sacked manager Mauricio Pochettino on this day in 2019.

The sudden and unexpected decision came less than six months after the Argentinian had guided Spurs to the Champions League final.

Pochettino had been in charge for five-and-a-half years but paid the price for a poor start to the 2019-20 season.

He left Spurs 14th in the Premier League table after winning just three, and collecting only 14 points, from their opening 12 games of the campaign.

“Regrettably domestic results at the end of last season and beginning of this season have been extremely disappointing,” said chairman Daniel Levy.

“We were extremely reluctant to make this change. It is not a decision the board has taken lightly, nor in haste.”

Pochettino left Southampton to take over at Spurs in May 2014 and led them to the League Cup final in his first full season but lost to Chelsea.

They pushed Leicester for the title in 2016 but ultimately finished third. They were runners-up the following year and third again in 2018.

Their run to the Champions League final in 2019 included memorable wins over Manchester City and Ajax in the knockout stages but they were beaten by Liverpool in the showpiece in Madrid.

They also won only three of their final 12 Premier League matches of that season and it was the continuation of that form that eventually cost Pochettino.

His period in charge had also spanned Spurs’ move from their old White Hart Lane stadium to their new arena on the same site, with home games played at Wembley for 18 months.

Spurs wasted little time in replacing him, with his successor Jose Mourinho appointed the following day.

Pochettino returned to the game as Paris St Germain manager in January 2021, and after leaving the French club 18 months later he took charge at Chelsea this summer.

Artemi Panarin and Jimmy Vesey each scored twice and the New York Rangers defeated the New Jersey Devils 5-3 on Saturday to extend their point streak to 11 games.

Panarin scored a first-period power-play goal and his second goal midway through the third forged a 3-3 tie.

He set a franchise record by running his season-opening point streak to a career-high 15 games, breaking the mark he shared with Rod Gilbert.

The 15-game point streak is the longest by a Ranger since Wayne Gretzky in 1996-97.

Igor Shesterkin returned after missing four games with an undisclosed injury and stopped 30 shots as the Rangers improved to 10-0-1 in their last 11 contests.

Jack Hughes had a goal and an assist in his return after missing five games with an upper-body injury, but New Jersey lost for the fourth time in five games.

Avalanche score 6 straight to beat Stars

Valeri Nichushkin ignited a four-goal third period and the Colorado Avalanche scored six unanswered goals in a 6-3 victory over the Dallas Stars.

Colorado’s Cale Makar became the fastest defenseman in NHL history to reach 200 career assists with three in his 254th game.

Tyler Seguin’s second goal of the game early in the second period gave Dallas a 3-0 lead, but Colorado responded with goals by Miles Wood and Ryan Johansen to make it a one-goal game.

Nichushkin’s unassisted goal tied it at 4:19 of the third, Mikko Rantanan put the Avs on top with 5:28 remaining and Andrew Cogliano’s goal just 21 seconds later extended the advantage.

The Stars had a four-game winning streak snapped, while Colorado won its third in a row.

Ovechkin scores 827th as Capitals stay hot

Alex Ovechkin scored the 827th goal of his career to lead the surging Washington Capitals to a 4-3 win over the reeling Columbus Blue Jackets.

Hendrix Lapierre had a goal and two assists and Sonny Milano added a goal and an assist for the Capitals, who have won four straight and eight of 10.

Johnny Gaudreau, Justin Danforth and Ivan Provorov scored as Columbus dropped its eighth in a row (0-6-2).

Organisers of the Las Vegas Grand Prix are facing a class action lawsuit following the farcical start to this weekend’s race on the strip.

Formula One sold the sport’s Sin City comeback after four decades away as the greatest show on Earth.

But fans witnessed just eight minutes of practice on Thursday after a drain cover broke free and tore a hole into the underbelly of Carlos Sainz’s Ferrari.

The second running was delayed by two-and-a-half hours, and took place in front of vacant grandstands as furious fans were ejected to comply with local employment laws. Practice finished at 4am on Friday morning.

Spectators who held a 200 US dollar (£160) general admission ticket for Thursday’s two practice sessions have since been offered a voucher for the same amount to be redeemed on merchandise.

But those in attendance on a three-day pass – the cheapest of which is 500 US dollars (£400) – will not receive any compensation.

On Friday, Nevada-based Dimopoulos Law Firm and co-counsel JK Legal & Consulting filed a lawsuit with the Nevada District Court seeking damages for the 35,000 paying spectators.

“We will vindicate the rights of the fans that travelled great distances and paid small fortunes to attend, but were deprived of the experience,” said Dimopoulos Law Firm owner Steve Dimopoulos in a statement.

A spokesperson for Las Vegas Grand Prix said: “We cannot comment on the litigation.

“Our focus is on ensuring that our fans have an entertaining experience in a safe and secure environment which is always our top priority.”

Earlier, F1 chief executive Stefano Domenicali stopped short of issuing an apology in a 650-word joint statement with CEO of the Las Vegas race, Renee Wilm.

“We have all been to events, like concerts, games and even other Formula One races, that have been cancelled because of factors like weather or technical issues,” they said.

“It happens, and we hope people will understand.”

The maiden race on the Las Vegas strip gets underway at 10pm local time on Saturday (6am GMT on Sunday).