Nurburgring swooped late to grab Grade Three honours in the Bar One Racing “Price Boosts Across All Channels” Juvenile Hurdle at Fairyhouse.

Joseph O’Brien’s charge was last seen coming home in front of Friday’s impressive Newbury Listed winner Wodhooh at Listowel in September, with Nurburgring later demoted to second by the stewards after bumping his rival in the closing stages.

He was again involved in a tight finish in this two-mile affair, with Kala Conti appearing to hold all the aces before Richard Deegan conjured a late burst from Nurburgring to prevail by half a length on the line.

The Zoffany gelding had to survive another stewards’ inquiry but was eventually declared the 17-2 winner, with 7-4 favourite Batman Girac unplaced.

Solness had been a Listed scorer at Fairyhouse in the colours of Bronsan Racing on Saturday and Neil Sands felt the victory had added poignancy following the death of renowned owner-breeder Theresa Marnane.

He said: “It has been an extraordinary week, as this has been our third winner in the space of seven days, which is very special.

“However, it is a win tinged with sadness, as the Marnanes from Bansha House are our partners who have sadly lost Theresa Marnane.

“I was particularly touched by the minute silence here yesterday for Theresa, which was observed with such sincerity.”

Brides Hill had to work hard to justify 2-1 favouritism in the Bar One Racing “Bet 10 Euros Get 50 Euros Sign Up Offer” Irish EBF Mares Handicap Chase.

Keith Donoghue’s mount turned in a fine round of jumping but after taking the lead between the final two fences, she was all out to fend off the late challenge of Queen Jane by a head, with the pair pulling 14 lengths clear of third-placed Must Be Obeyed.

Trainer Gavin Cromwell said: “She was top weight and the classiest mare in the race. She needed the line and probably just over-raced a bit on that ground.

“Apart from the first, she jumped really well. We have done an awful amount of schooling with her and I think the penny has finally dropped.

“She wouldn’t want the ground any softer than that and is probably one more for the spring. We might look at Leopardstown, as the ground is often better there.”

The extended three miles and five furlongs of the Listed Bar One Racing “Guaranteed Overnight Prices” Porterstown Handicap Chase proved a stern test on deep ground, but Street Value rose to the challenge at odds of 22-1.

The eight-year-old had not won since January 2022 but he kept finding for Danny Mullins, keeping on to beat History Of Fashion by three lengths in a gruelling renewal.

John Flavin said: “He deserved that, as he got a wicked bad fall here in the race after the Grand National and I thought he was dead when he hit the ground.

“The lads (Miracle Cure Syndicate) deserved a big day like that and they have been with me from the very start.

“To come back and do that is unbelievable. He ran well over hurdles in Clonmel but the ground dried up too much in Carlisle the last day.

“This was always the plan. They went a wicked gallop, which I knew would suit him as he stays, and Danny gave him a great ride. He kept him wide and he jumped great.

“He loves soft ground and is much better going this way. If he got in, he might go for the Irish National one day. The National Trial in Punchestown could be a race for him.”

Flooring Porter will return to racing left-handed at Leopardstown over the Christmas period, with Gavin Cromwell retaining faith that he can repeat his top-level hurdling exploits over fences.

The dual-Stayers’ Hurdle hero made a brilliant start to his chasing career when beating subsequent Listed scorer Broadway Boy at Cheltenham in October, but could only finish third when continuing his education in Punchestown’s Florida Pearl Novice Chase.

That was the first time Flooring Porter had raced right-handed in over two years and, after interference from loose horse Churchstonewarrior saw him veer left for the majority of that contest, Cromwell is keen to quickly revert to racing the other way round.

He is now poised to run in Dublin on December 29 in the Grade One Neville Hotels Novice Chase, as his handler continues to aim high with one of his stable stars.

Cromwell said: “The loose horse messed it all up for us, but he started off in a nice position and in a nice rhythm.

“He jumped the first four fences fine and then the loose horse upset him, which kind of put told to his chances.

“I think he actually ran an OK race considering everything which happened in the race and he came home safe and sound, so we’re happy with that.

“He’s entered in the Grade One (at Christmas) and we’ll more than likely go there.

“He’ll be back going left-handed, which is a big thing, really. He’s clearly better that way and I wouldn’t be ruling it (right-handed) out again, but for the moment we’ll definitely be sticking to left-handed.”

Lookaway could step into deep waters for his next start, with Aintree’s Formby Novices’ Hurdle on Boxing Day a possible option for the Greatwood Hurdle runner-up.

Neil King’s six-year-old enjoyed one of his finest hours on Merseyside when claiming the Grade Two bumper during the Grand National meeting in 2022 and following a forgettable 2022-23 campaign, has sprung back to life with a fine run of form.

Having won cosily in two low-key Uttoxeter events in the spring, he brought up a three-timer in a Cheltenham Grade Two in October before narrowly missing out on more Prestbury Park success when chasing home Iberico Lord most recently.

He received a 4lb rise from the handicapper for that performance which brings Ascot’s Betfair Exchange Trophy on December 23 into calculations, but King is leaning towards waiting three days for a first taste of Grade One action in Liverpool.

“He’s taken the Greatwood well and come out of it nicely,” said King.

“He only went up 4lb for that which I thought was very acceptable and it will be all systems go now for either the big hurdle at Ascot on the Saturday before Christmas, or probably more likely the race that was the Tolworth that’s at Aintree.

“He’s ran well at Aintree before and we’ll enter for both and keep an eye on the weather etc. But I thought it would be more likely we’ll go for the Tolworth.

“I’m thrilled with his progress, he’s stepping in the right direction and the direction we thought he would. He has plenty of options being a second-season novice.”

Dual Champion Hurdle winner Honeysuckle is reported to be embracing potential motherhood after a positive update about her new broodmare career.

The daughter of Sulamani dominated on the track over the course of her racing campaign, bringing the house down when bowing out with an emotional fourth Cheltenham Festival victory in the Mares’ Hurdle this March.

However, as soon as the dust settled on that triumphant farewell, she left Henry de Bromhead’s Knockeen training grounds to embark on the next stage of her career and in May was discovered to be in foal to Walk In The Park, having been sent to the star National Hunt sire for her maiden cover.

Although the foal’s due date remains the best part of five months away, the journey so far has gone well and, following a scan in early October, anticipation builds ahead of the arrival of Honeysuckle’s first progeny.

“She’s good and still in foal,” said Peter Molony, racing manager to owner Kenny Alexander and at whose Rathmore Stud in County Limerick Honeysuckle currently resides.

“She was in foal on October 1 and she is due in April next spring, so fingers crossed, everything crossed, everything will be good.

“It’s so far, so good and all seems fine with her so far.”

Fairyhouse and Carlisle have been given the green light to race this afternoon, but the meetings at Leicester and Southwell have been lost to the cold weather.

Day two of the Fairyhouse Winter Festival, which features a trio of Grade One contests, has survived the threat of frost and a dense fog.

Clerk of the course Brendan Sheridan said: “The fog has lifted, even a little earlier than Met Eireann said it would, which is great.

“You can see the full length of the straight here now and you can also see right around Ballyhack.

“As you know, fog is a bit tricky and it can come and go, but at this point in time, we don’t envisage any more problems.

“We’re in a good place now and we’re all good to go.”

Sheridan had earlier reported on the IHRB Twitter site: “Thankfully, the frost didn’t set in overnight.

“The ground on both tracks is soft. We’ve a completely fresh hurdles and bumper track and we’ve seven or eight yards of fresh ground on the chase track.”

Parts of Cumbria were hit by heavy snowfall overnight but Carlisle passed an early-morning inspection, although racegoers have been warned to be careful on the surrounding roads.

The Arizona Coyotes continued an impressive stretch with their fourth straight win on Saturday, as Alex Kerfoot had a goal and two assists in a 4-1 victory over the St. Louis Blues.

Michael Carcone scored for the fourth time in three games and Connor Ingram stopped 31 shots to give Arizona four consecutive wins, all against the last four Stanley Cup champions – Colorado (2022), Tampa Bay (2020-21), Vegas (2023) and St. Louis (2019).

Carcone, Nick Schmaltz and Matias Maccelli scored and the Coyotes limited the Blues to three shots in a dominant first period.

Brandon Saad spoiled Ingram’s shutout bid midway through the third before Kerfoot sealed the win with an empty net goal with 1:15 left.

Stars pound struggling Lightning

Jason Robertson scored twice and the Dallas Stars matched a season high in goals in an 8-1 rout of the Tampa Bay Lightning.

Joe Pavelski had a goal and two assists and Jamie Benn and Mason Marchment each added a goal and an assist as Dallas improved to 7-2-2 in its last 11 games.

The Stars also scored eight goals in an 8-3 win at Minnesota on Nov. 12.

Tampa Bay has lost a season-high four straight and had to replace Andrei Vasilevskiy after two periods. He allowed six goals on 25 shots in his fourth start since returning last week following offseason back surgery.

Marchand lifts Bruins over Maple Leafs in OT

Brad Marchand scored with eight seconds left in overtime to lift the Boston Bruins to a 4-3 victory over the Toronto Maple Leafs.

David Pastrnak had a goal and two assists and Linus Ullmark made 37 saves to help Boston win its second straight following three consecutive regulation losses.

Marchand snapped an eight-game goal drought with his eighth goal of the season.

Auston Matthews had a pair of goals for Toronto, his second coming with six seconds left in regulation.

Ronnie O’Sullivan and Ding Junhui will roll back the years when they square off in the UK Snooker Championship final in York on Sunday.

Their clash comes 30 years after O’Sullivan reached his first UK final as a 17-year-old in 1993, while Ding’s first taste of UK glory came in 2005 when he saw off four-time winner Steve Davis at the age of 18.

The pair came through their respective semi-finals in contrasting circumstances on Saturday, with O’Sullivan easing past Hossein Vafaei 6-2, while Ding held his nerve to deny Judd Trump with a 6-4 win in the evening session.

O’Sullivan and Ding – still the two youngest winners of the prestigious trophy – boast 10 UK titles between them and the world number one quipped that he was motivated by the desire to deny his rivals the chance of more silverware.

“I’m just hanging around so people don’t get as good as a career as me,” joked O’Sullivan, who ruthlessly exploited a series of costly errors from his Iranian opponent to seal by far his most comfortable victory of a gruelling week.

“If I could stop (Mark) Selby winning a few and Judd winning a few, and Ding and (Neil) Robertson winning a few – just ruin their careers a little bit – that would be great. Sometimes that’s just a nice motivation to play.”

O’Sullivan, who had previously laboured through final-frame deciders against Robert Milkins and Zhou Yuelong, was still far from his best but managed to ruthlessly exploit a string of errors by Vafaei, who spurned a good chance in five of the six frames won by his opponent.

“I feel as fresh as a daisy,” added a revitalised O’Sullivan afterwards.

“These tournaments are not a problem. I can do it quite comfortably. I’m still happy to have got this far, it’s great and I have enjoyed my week.”

Sunday’s clash will also see a repeat of last year’s quarter-final when Ding dealt out a rare 6-0 whitewash to O’Sullivan before going on to the final, where he surrendered a 6-1 lead to fall 10-7 to Mark Allen.

The Chinese 36-year-old, who also won the tournament in 2009 and 2019, had arrived in York considering withdrawal due to a serious bout of ‘flu, but like O’Sullivan, had managed to chisel out final-frame wins over Allen, then Mark Williams in Friday’s last eight.

Trump, also clearly still feeling the effects of illness, had reached the last four despite playing far from his best and will have been motivated by the possibility of facing O’Sullivan in the final with the title and the world number one ranking also at stake.

Trump started well with two centuries in the first eight frames but he could not shake off the dogged Ding, with the pair locked together at 4-4 before Ding nudged through a tense ninth to put himself one frame from victory.

Trump had the first chance to stretch the tie into another decider but jawed a relatively-simple red to middle and Ding stepped in with a nerveless 84 clearance to black, including a stunning long red after straying out of position, to seal his swift return in the final.

Ding, who routinely saves his best form for York, admitted such a scenario had seemed impossible when he was ailing midway through his first-round match against Allen.

“A lot of fans were watching and I just wanted to finish it – it didn’t matter how well I played, maybe I lost and would go home, I’d just try my best,” he admitted.

Of his win over Trump, Ding added: “It was a very tough match and the last few reds were a bit scrappy, but to pot that long red and go on to win the frame is saying something to myself.

“I hadn’t seen myself playing like that for a long time.”

Kevin Sinfield was greeted by Welsh rugby union great Sir Gareth Edwards as he completed the latest of seven back-to-back ultra marathons in aid of research and support for those living with Motor Neurone Disease in Cardiff.

Sinfield was greeted by Edwards on the pitch at Cardiff Arms Park during half-time in the United Rugby Championship match against Scarlets, which the visitors won 29-23.

Afterwards Sinfield, whose latest fund-raising feat ticked over the quarter of a million pound mark in the course of its second day, hailed his welcome in the Welsh capital as one of the best he has experienced.

Speaking to members of the Cardiff squad, Sinfield said: “Over the last few years we’ve been to some pretty special places and we’ve run in some pretty amazing cities, but the welcome the team has had today in Cardiff has been as good as anywhere.

“Don’t under-estimate the friends you have in here, the bonds that you get playing rugby of either code is something that not many sports give you.

“Win or lose, there will come a point where you can’t play any more for whatever reason. You look after each other when you cross the line, and for the rest of your lives you need to look after each other as well.”

Sinfield’s fourth fundraising challenge takes him on to Birmingham on Sunday, beginning at Alexander Stadium and calling at St Andrews, Villa Park and Edgbaston before concluding in Centenary Square on Sunday afternoon.

He will then move on to undertake routes around Edinburgh, Dublin and Brighton, before concluding with a route that takes him up The Mall in London next week.

Since starting his ultra-marathon quest in 2020, the 43-year-old has raised over £8million to help fund research and help those with the disease, and he has vowed he will continue to undertake his marathon quest until a cure can be found.

:: To donate to Kevin Sinfield’s 7 in 7 in 7 quest, see https://donate.giveasyoulive.com/fundraising/kevin-sinfield

Jayson Tatum was perplexed by the decision to eject him from the Boston Celtics' win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday, claiming the officials were "ready" to throw him out of the game.

Tatum was ejected with just two seconds to play in the third quarter after he caught Robert Covington in the face with a flailing arm near the sideline.

The foul was upgraded to a flagrant one upon review, with the four-time All-Star subsequently remonstrating with referee Nick Buchert and interrupting the officials' huddle, which saw him awarded his second technical foul of the game.

A series of Covington free throws saw the Sixers take the lead after Tatum's dismissal, but the Celtics rallied for their third win in a row as Al Horford and Jaylen Brown finished with 20 points apiece.

Tatum was still stunned by the call to dismiss him when conducting his post-game media duties, saying of the officials: "They were ready to throw me out. Did I cuss? No, I didn't. I was shocked. 

"They always say, 'get your money's worth. You're going to get fined.' I definitely did not get my money's worth!

"I was extremely surprised. You all saw what happened. You might not know what I said, but I mean, I guess whatever I said doesn't matter at this point. I don't agree with that. 

"One of the assistant coaches was there with me, he doesn't agree. But it doesn't really matter, right? When they throw you out, they throw you out.

"Even if I was right, you know, they could go back and talk about it after the game. It's not like we get that game back, I don't get that time back. 

"It's unfortunate, but like I said, I can't change what happened, just how players compete and affect the game. 

"The refs have an effect on the game. They threw me out, and right or wrong, it's their word against ours. I can't get that time back."

Tatum had 21 points, seven rebounds and four assists in 27 minutes on the court. Despite his ejection, the Sixers struggled without reigning MVP Joel Embiid and guard Tyrese Maxey as Boston improved to a league-best 15-4. 

Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla did not mind Tatum showing some fight, declaring: "I actually like it, I think some of that is important. 

"Obviously, you don't want it to get in the way of winning. But I think that type of passion and caring… I'd rather see that than nothing at all."

The Celtics will look to stretch their winning streak to four games when they go on the road to face the Indiana Pacers on Monday, before hosting the Cleveland Cavaliers for back-to-back games the following week.

Gavin Sheehan was overcome with emotion as a stroke of good fortune allowed him to steer Datsalrightgino to a thrilling Coral Gold Cup triumph at Newbury.

The 31-year-old is no stranger to the big-race winners but was thrilled to partner Jamie Snowden’s improving seven-year-old to a brilliant local victory.

However, things could have been a lot different if Newcastle’s Fighting Fifth card had survived the piercing cold snap that has reared its head over the past seven days, with Sheehan booked to head to the north east to ride another of Snowden’s stars, You Wear It Well.

In the end, Newcastle’s misfortune was Sheehan’s gain as he deposed Tom Cannon aboard Datsalrighgino to add one of the season’s biggest races to his burgeoning CV.

“The plan was for Newcastle was to be off,” quipped Sheehan.

“It’s massive (for me). You go through these things in your head beforehand and how the race is going to work out or whatever and I thought, ‘I will nearly start crying if I win this race’.

“It means a lot, it means everything. It is a very, very hard race to win and with it being the local track and everything it’s great to have done it and I’m not crying now, but I would have been crying if Newcastle had been on and I had seen this lad go past the line!”

A product of Charlie Mann’s finishing school and champion conditional in his formative years, Sheehan shot to prominence when landing the Stayers’ Hurdle aboard Warren Greatrex’s Cole Harden in 2015.

In recent years he has made the switch across Lambourn to join Snowden, but has never left the training hub he has called home throughout his career and has now added a race all who reside there hold dear to his roll of honour.

“It’s very special and one of the big races of the year and one of the races you dream of (winning) and now I’ve done it,” added Sheehan.

“It was only the other day I was watching videos of horses who have won it in the past in the car with Jamie, the likes of Denman and looking at Ruby (Walsh) and how wide he went when he won and you are kind of working out how the race is going to be run.

“I had done my homework, but I had free rein of what to do and then when it pays off, well it’s freezing, but I’m sweating with adrenaline and everything has just come true.”

Datsalrightgino’s victory was also a vindication of Sheehan’s assertions that he was now ready for a step up in trip having rapidly enhanced his reputation with some fine performances during his novice chasing campaign.

“I did think this lad had a chance and all of a sudden the ground came up right for us thankfully,” the Irishman added.

“Everything worked out a treat and I kept on telling Jamie we would be better off up in trip.”

He went on: “He dosses through a race and at the end he comes good and I was praying that was going to happen today as he wasn’t going. I was jumping brilliant but was just behind the bridle. His jumping was just unreal.

“When I turned in I knew I had a great chance, but you don’t know because you are stepping up in trip and everything. The further he was going the more confident I was getting.

“I was getting there a bit early and I thought this is where he starts to excel and be at his best and I nursed him down to the second-last and kept his mind on the last. That was the only one where he put in a short one but he was quick away and I always knew I was going to win.”

Further luck has come to Sheehan’s door as he has linked up with Snowden at a time that big-race glory is no longer a rarity and having tasted Cheltenham Festival success together last year, the rider now dreams of more special days provided by his Lambourn ally.

“It is very special, Jamie is a great boss and a great friend,” said Sheehan.

“He has a great team and the people who ride them out day in and day out in this cold every day, it takes a lot.

“Jamie is very regimented and everyone knows their job and I imagine they will all head out tonight for a couple of drinks and celebrate it.

“It means a lot to Jamie and the team and for a yard that is growing and developing and seems to be getting better. Hopefully that will be great for me.”