New summer jumps championship incentive unveiled
The small trainer prize will be open to yards with less than 30 winners from the 2024-25 trainers' championship.
The trainer and small trainer awards will be split between the stable staff of the winning yard, with each category offering a pot of £7,500.
Top-three finishes will accrue points, with more on offer for bigger fields of eight or more runners.
The competition starts at Cartmel on Saturday and will conclude at Newton Abbot on September 19.
The championship was devised by the Racecourse Association and racing director Kevin Walsh said: 'It has been a longstanding aspiration of the RCA to develop a championship to celebrate summer jumps racing.
'I am pleased that with the support of stakeholders across the sport we have been able to launch the championship this year, which should create additional excitement for followers of summer jumps racing and reward the most successful jockeys, owners and trainers who support it.
'This inaugural championship will hopefully be the first of many, and we look forward to growing this new asset to British racing's calendar with the support of the participating racecourses and members of the Thoroughbred Group.'
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Guardian
2 hours ago
- The Guardian
Tommy Freeman hands Lions major injury scare on eve of third Australia Test
Tommy Freeman has handed the British & Irish Lions a major injury doubt before their third Test against Australia. The 24-year-old winger, who has started the first two Tests, sat out the captain's run on Friday and it is understood he is struggling with a back injury. The Lions are targeting a first clean sweep since 1927 and a first unbeaten series since 1974. On Friday the Lions were adamant that Freeman would be fit to play in Sydney, claiming his absence was down to his workload being managed. It is understood, however, that contingency plans have been drawn up that could see Huw Jones moved to the wing and Owen Farrell coming into the starting XV. Mack Hansen would be an option if fully fit but he has missed the first two Tests with a foot injury and was deemed '85%' fit earlier in the week. Other options include Duhan van der Merwe and James Lowe with Blair Kinghorn switching from the left to the right wing. Jamie Osborne could also be a consideration. This season Freeman has featured in 33 matches, surpassing the 30-match limit mandated by the Rugby Football Union. 'He was just doing the light walk-throughs,' said the assistant coach John Dalziel. 'Wingers will do a lot of high-intensity running so he had the morning off. He's got to view a stadium which is hopefully going to come to life tomorrow. 'There's no easy way to be a winger when you are chasing kicks and balls up in the air in the way the first two Tests have gone, so it's quite easy for those guys to get their metres up.' Tadhg Furlong, meanwhile, has called on the Lions to make lasting memories as the tourists seek to wrap up a first clean sweep since 1927. The Ireland tighthead prop will make his ninth consecutive start for the Lions, moving to joint fifth on the all-time list and though the 32-year-old did not entirely rule out the 2029 trip to New Zealand, he conceded the clash in Sydney is likely to be his last for the touring side. 'You're still playing for the Lions, it's not hard to motivate yourself,' he said. 'My motivation is obvious. I'm not going to say I won't [but] I probably won't play for the Lions again. It's been very good to me. It's been very good to my career. You want to play well in it. 'Without being clinical about it, you want to give the best version of yourself to it. Sometimes the last memory is the lasting memory you have in a jersey. I want it to be a good one. I think you can use [that] towards your advantage, just the appreciation of it. Understanding what makes the Lions so special or why it's so special to you. You don't want to get too caught up and emotional about it because you have to do a job. 'Lions tours are some of the best days of your career and I'm delighted to be able to go again.' There were question marks over Furlong's fitness at the start of the tour after he arrived into camp in June with no game time since early May due to a calf problem. 'It wasn't a big enough injury to warrant [thinking I wouldn't make it],' he added. 'It was like, we need to get back and play here, lads, because it's on your calendar. You want it so badly. I think the cruel thing is when you go on one, you just want to go on more. You go on that first one and you take it all in. 'The second one, you want to perform and the third one you just want to appreciate it all because you don't want it to pass you by. There was a stage this season where we were having conversations with medical staff. It's like, what is going on here? We need to nip this stuff in the bud.' While Furlong forms part of an unchanged all Leinster and Ireland front row, Australia have changed two-thirds of theirs with Taniela Tupou coming in at tighthead and Billy Pollard promoted to the No 2 jersey after a late injury to Dave Porecki. Tupou nicknamed 'the Tongan Thor' has endured a difficult season in Super Rugby and will head to Racing 92 next season but Furlong is only too aware of the threat posed by the 23-stone prop. 'I first came across him in 2018, he was a young fella breaking through,' said Furlong. 'He was coming off the bench for Australia. He is what he says in the tin. He's incredibly powerful. He's dangerous in the scrum. Very aggressive. He poses his own threats around the park. He's a good carrier, explosive.'
Powys County Times
3 hours ago
- Powys County Times
Lando Norris completes practice double at the Hungarian Grand Prix
Lando Norris completed an impressive practice double over championship rival Oscar Piastri at the Hungarian Grand Prix. Norris trails McLaren team-mate Piastri by 16 points heading into Sunday's round at the Hungaroring – the final race before the summer break. But the British driver laid down an early marker in the first running of the weekend when he beat Piastri to top spot by just 0.019 seconds. He then extended his advantage to 0.291 seconds in the day's concluding session. Norris' world championship bid suffered a setback at last weekend's rain-hit Belgian Grand Prix when Piastri overtook him on the first racing lap and went on to claim a comfortable win. However, it was Norris – never previously out-qualified by a team-mate in six visits to the Hungaroring – who stole an early advantage with an impressive performance on Friday at a circuit he has declared among his favourites on the calendar. There was one moment of concern for Norris when he ran wide at the final turn. But he managed to retake control of his McLaren, and survived without ending up in the wall. Lando Norris flirts with the barriers as he rounds the final corner 😮 No damage done and he goes on his way #F1 #HungarianGP — Formula 1 (@F1) August 1, 2025 Charles Leclerc finished third for Ferrari, four tenths off the pace, but three places clear of team-mate Lewis Hamilton. The seven-time world champion, who has a record eight wins and nine pole positions in Hungary, was three tenths adrift of Leclerc. In the first session, Hamilton complained his car didn't 'feel good', and ran off the road at the first corner following a major lock-up. He was then beaten by both Aston Martin drivers in the second running. Lance Stroll and Fernando Alonso were fourth and fifth respectively – the latter returning to his cockpit after he missed the opening session with a back injury – while George Russell ended the running in seventh. On Thursday, Max Verstappen ended speculation he could leave Red Bull at the end of the year by committing his future there for at least another season. However, he finished a distant 14th in practice, over 1.1 seconds slower than Norris. 'I don't know what is going on,' said Verstappen. 'It is just undriveable.' Verstappen is also facing a stewards' investigation after he threw a towel – seemingly left in the Dutchman's cockpit by accident – out of his car. Verstappen has been called to see the stewards at 6.20pm local time (5.20pm BST).
Daily Mirror
3 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Lewis Hamilton accused of 'almost' ending F1 rival's career in two moments
Lewis Hamilton went wheel-to-wheel with one of his old Formula 1 rivals again recently, one whose career the seven-time champion had a significant impact several years ago Approaching 20 years in Formula 1, Lewis Hamilton has seen a lot of drivers come and go – and beaten most of them. But he had a notable impact on the career of one racer in particular, who lost his place on the grid seemingly as a result of two run-ins they had with the seven-time champion. The most high-profile of those incidents happened back in 2020, the shortened season that was cobbled together at short notice after the Covid-19 outbreak scuppered F1's original season plans. A 17-race schedules was hurriedly arranged, including multiple races at some venues. It was a difficult situation for everyone, not least those drivers who were still finding their feet on the grid. One of those was Alex Albon, in his first full season driving for Red Bull having been promoted from the junior team Toro Rosso after just a few months in the sport. He had replaced Pierre Gasly who had also been promoted very early in his career but buckled under the weight of expectation. Albon dealt with that aspect a little better and was retained for the 2020 season after settling in as team-mate to Max Verstappen in the latter half of the previous campaign. It was late in that 2019 season that the British-Thai racer had his first run-in with Hamilton. Driving for Mercedes at the time, he had already secured his sixth F1 crown by that year's Brazilian Grand Prix but was apologetic after spinning Albon around when he was in podium contention, dropping him to 14th place. "I massively apologise to Albon, I went for a move, the gap was there but obviously it closed at the end," said Hamilton after that collision. But it happened again in Austria the following year, when Albon was again on for his first F1 podium and could have won the race, before contact with Hamilton who said afterwards: "I can't believe we came together again." Albon lost his place with Red Bull at the end of that year and ended up falling off the F1 grid entirely. After a year out, he was given a lifeline by Williams and not only has he settled back onto the grid well, but this season he is leading the charge of a team which is enjoying its best season in years. He added eight more points to his season tally last time out at the Belgian Grand Prix with an impressive sixth-placed finish. It was during that race that he duelled again on track with Hamilton, this time in his red Ferrari, and thankfully they managed to keep it clean this time. But for Martin Brundle in commentary, it was reminiscent of those infamous collisions from years ago which played a part in setting Albon's F1 career back by years. "[A] bit of history between these two isn't there?" he said on the live Sky Sports broadcast. "When Alex was a Red Bull driver, Lewis basically took him out didn't he? In Austria and Brazil. It kind of almost cost, I think it almost cost Albon that drive in the end, for not getting the results." Albon signed a multi-year contract extension last May, committing his immediate future to Williams amid interest from some of the top teams. In particular Red Bull were considering a move to bring their former racer back into the fold before making the disastrous decision to hand Sergio Perez a new deal before axing him at the end of the season anyway.
