Charity filly looks ready to give Graham Lee a boost at Redcar Races
HOPES will be high of a boost for injured jockey Graham Lee when Redcar stages a six-race card on Friday as a warm-up for Ladies' Day at the weekend.
Three-year-old filly We've Got This is aiming to break her maiden in the green colours of the Graham Lee Racing Club in the Free Racing TV At racingtv.com/freetrial Handicap.
Advertisement
The Grand National winning jockey, who suffered life-changing injuries at Newcastle Racecourse in November 2023, was a guest at Redcar's May 19 meeting to see We've Got This finishing strongly to be a close third.
Graham Lee in the Redcar paddock last month (Image: Peter Barron) The Graham Lee Racing Club is run by The Good Racing Company, which has raised more than £250,000 for good causes, including £40,000 for Graham.
We've Got This was named by Graham's wife, Becky, echoing a defiant social media post she put out after the accident.
The filly, trained by Ivan Furtado, was chosen by former champion jockey, Paul Hanagan, a director of The Good Racing Company, who said after that last run at Redcar: 'She's still green but we're getting there.'
Advertisement
We've Got This, who was second on her debut at Redcar last year, will be partnered by Jason Hart, and she would undoubtedly be a popular winner.
Paul Mulrennan, fresh from his Group 1 success on American Affair at Royal Ascot, has some eye-catching rides. The pick could be Clermont Friend for Wiltshire trainer Harry Charlton in the Visit racingtv.com To Subscribe Today Novice Stakes. The filly could be hard to beat if reproducing her debut form when she was second at Yarmouth.
Jo Mason is a popular rider wherever she goes, and she will fancy her chances in the opening Racing TV Free Trial Handicap on Monsieur Fantasie for Roger Fell.
The gelding got out of all sorts of trouble under Rosie Howarth to win an amateur riders' race at Redcar at the end of May, and put in another solid performance to be second at Doncaster last time. He's clearly in good heart and will get plenty of assistance from the saddle.
Advertisement
Marhaba Ghaiyyath, trained at Middleham by Charlie Johnston, did well to be beaten only a head by Andrew Balding's Topteam at Chester last time, despite being hampered on the home bend. He looks ready to resume winning ways in the Marske Fabrications & Engineering Handicap.
That said, the opposition includes Tim Easterby's Redcar specialist Cruyff Turn, who was scoring on the track for a fourth time when winning in April.
Callum Rodriguez is having a fine season and he teams up with Fantasmic for Newmarket trainer Jack Jones in the Start Your Racing TV Free Trial Handicap. The Time Test filly followed two promising third places by winning well at Lingfield last time and can build on that success.
Michael Dods has been back amongst the winners this week after a lean spell, and he could maintain the momentum with Keep The Gold in the concluding Come Racing On Ladies' Day Tomorrow Maiden Handicap.
The gelding put up an improved display to be third at Southwell last time and Jason Hart has been booked for the ride.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Soccer has changed, but the drama and dynamics of penalties remain
England's victory over Sweden at the women's Euros came after one of the worst penalty shootouts in history (or at least, worst in terms of how many penalties were missed; in terms of drama, it was arguably one of the greatest ever). Of the 14 penalties taken, only five were scored. That led, predictably, to the usual tedious criticism of the women's game and suggestions that the penalty spot should be moved closer to the goal. Which is, of course, nonsense. Four of the five penalties that were scored were excellent, hit firmly into the corners, and the other, the kick that turned out to be the winner, was smashed sensibly and without fuss, straight down the middle by Lucy Bronze as the goalkeeper Jennifer Falk dived out of the way. Two nights later, as Germany beat France in a shootout, 12 of the 14 penalties were scored. In the Women's Super League last season, 90.32% of penalties were converted. Nobody has used those examples to suggest moving the penalty spot further away to give goalkeepers more of a chance. Related: Ann-Katrin Berger follows up biblical miracle with penalty heroics for Germany | Jonathan Liew It is one of the great fascinations of soccer that, since penalties were introduced in 1891, the spot has remained 12 yards from goal as the size and shape of the penalty area has changed. It turns out that being one-and-a-half times further from the goal than the distance between the posts creates a scenario that feels fair and has a remarkable balance. That may in part be the result of familiarity, but at almost every level of the game in the 135 years since, roughly three-quarters of penalties have been scored. That is to say, the contest between striker and goalkeeper remained constant – a relative lack of power in the striker at junior level, for instance, matched by a lack of size in the goalkeeper. Before the Germany v France shootout on Saturday, only 12 of 29 penalties had been scored at the Euros – 41.38%. After the shootout, that percentage had risen to 57.14%. With small datasets there's always a danger of interpreting random variations as patterns, but it did seem that panic had set in. Even before the high tension of England against Sweden, Norway's former Ballon d'Or winner Ada Hegerberg had missed two penalties in the tournament, including, critically, in her country's quarter-final defeat to Italy. That, perhaps, was enough to plant a seed of doubt, which blossomed in England and Sweden's shootout, when both sides suffered a collective loss of nerve. Anxiety is contagious and far from unknown in penalty shootouts: it happened, for instance, to Barcelona as they missed four out of four in a shootout against Steaua Bucharest in the 1986 European Cup final, and to Manchester United as they missed four out of five against Sunderland in the 2014 League Cup semi-final. The England-Sweden contagion then seemed to escape the confines of its own shootout, as Spain missed two penalties in beating Switzerland on Friday and Germany missed a penalty against France in the 90 minutes. Related: England's Hannah Hampton hits the headlines in latest act of unlikely career The shootout is perhaps the area of soccer in which psychology matters most. In the 2006 World Cup, Germany's goalkeeper Jens Lehmann made great play of consulting notes he had scribbled on hotel notepaper and hidden in his sock before each Argentina penalty in the quarter-final. It turned out that, of the seven players he had jotted down, only two actually took penalties, but the belief he had specific knowledge was enough to unnerve Argentina, who lost the shootout 4–2. Goalkeepers increasingly have data to help inform their decisions. Germany's keeper on Sunday, Ann-Katrin Berger, had notes taped to her water bottle. On TV, the names of only two French players were clearly visible: Amel Majri and Alice Sombath. In both cases, Berger was advised to dive left. She did and on each occasion saved the kick. Given Berger's notes were shown clearly several minutes before the end of normal time, could somebody have informed the French staff who could then have passed on the message for at least some of their takers to change plan? Or would asking a player to vary from their preferred method of conversion itself make them more likely to miss? That's part of the glorious game theory of penalties. At the moment, it feels like an arms race. VAR set goalkeepers back for a time, denying them the skip forward they habitually took as the penalty was taken. But goalkeepers have now worked out how to advance with one foot, the other remaining in contact with the goalline. As strikers have learned how to stagger their run to wait for the keeper to move first, so keepers have more data and can predict such subterfuge. In the Premier League last season, 83.13% of penalties were converted, which is on the high side historically, but actually a drop of just over 6% from the previous season. The season before that, only 74.75% were scored. In fact, what is striking when looking at penalty conversion rates over the past three decades is how little pattern there is – from a low of 65.75% in 2001–02 to the high of the season before last, and all points in between. Penalties are missed, penalties are scored, the taker's cause is developed, and then the keeper's, and sometimes panic sets in, yet somehow the proportion of penalties scored largely remains at 75-80%. Balance remains. This is an extract from Soccer with Jonathan Wilson, a weekly look from the Guardian US at the game in Europe and beyond. Subscribe for free here. Have a question for Jonathan? Email soccerwithjw@ and he'll answer the best in a future edition.
Yahoo
3 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Take a Look at Nike's Incredible Pro-Family Tribute for British Open Champ Scottie Scheffler
Nike has just posted a new ad featuring golf superstar Scottie Scheffler, a beautifully crafted piece that resonates deeply with themes of family and success. The sneaker conglomerate posted the image following Scheffler's dominating performance at the British Open. The ad features a heart-warming image of Scheffler crouching on the green to meet his crawling child who is reaching for his putter. It is captioned, 'You've already won.' A second image shows Scheffler in mid-swing with the text, 'But another major never hurt.' Fans were pleased to see a message from Nike staying out of the political realm, or the glitzy and glamorous aspect of being thee best golfer in the world, instead focusing on family for a change – a rarity in sports. 'Refreshing to see uplifting content in sports ads from Nike,' one fan responded. Another wrote, 'This is the kind of athlete you should promote.' Take a look at the powerful image … His Son Stole the Show Scottie Scheffler secured a commanding four-stroke victory at the 2025 Open Championship at Royal Portrush, finishing at 17-under (267) to claim his fourth major title and the third leg of the career Grand Slam. As the world's top-ranked golfer for over 130 weeks, Scheffler has won four majors—the 2022 and 2024 Masters, the 2025 PGA Championship, and the 2025 Open Championship—solidifying his dominance in professional golf. Despite all that, his son Bennett stole the show during the post-match celebration. Following his major win, Scheffler celebrated with his wife, Meredith, and their 14-month-old son, Bennett, who charmed fans with an adorable attempt to join his father on the 18th green. Bennett stumbled while trying to climb the slope but was quickly scooped up by Scheffler, creating a heartwarming moment that went viral. RELATED: Scottie Scheffler Delivers All-Time Quote on the Importance of Family Scottie Scheffler, the world's No. 1 golfer, delivered a profound reflection at a press conference before the 2025 Open Championship, where he emphasized that his family, not golf, is his true priority. 'Is it great to be able to win tournaments and to accomplish the things I have in the game of golf? Yeah, it brings tears to my eyes just to think about because I've literally worked my entire life to be good at this sport,' Scheffler said. 'To have that kind of sense of accomplishment, I think, is a pretty cool feeling.' He expressed that the fleeting euphoria of winning tournaments doesn't fulfill him deeply, however, as life quickly moves on to mundane moments, such as deciding what to eat for dinner. 'This (golf) is not a fulfilling life. It's fulfilling from the sense of accomplishment, but it's not fulfilling from a sense of the deepest places of your heart,' Scheffler added. Scheffler stated he would retire from professional golf if it ever negatively impacted his relationship with his wife or son, underscoring that being a great father outweighs being a great golfer. 'I'm blessed to be able to come out here and play golf, but if my golf ever started affecting my home life or it ever affected the relationship I have with my wife or my son, that's going to be the last day that I play out here for a living,' he concluded. 'Because I'd much rather be a great father than I would be a great golfer. At the end of the day, that's what's more important to me.' Scheffler's candid and emotional comments on the importance of being a great husband and father compared to being a great golfer garnered nearly six million views. Also Read:: Open Championship 2025: 10 Winners and Losers, Including Scottie Scheffler Hoisting the Claret Jug Related Headlines Tennessee Titans QB Out For Season: 5 Early Replacement Options 5 NASCAR Drivers Having Breakout Seasons in 2025 Why Baltimore Orioles' Adley Rutschman May Face an Uncertain Future with Team Report: 2 'Strong Candidates' Revealed to Become Atlanta Braves Manager in 2026
New York Times
3 minutes ago
- New York Times
England vs India 4th Test team news: Liam Dawson returns as Chris Woakes keeps place
England have made just one enforced change to the team that earned them a tense and narrow third Test victory over India at Lord's by bringing in Liam Dawson to replace the injured Shoaib Bashir. The veteran Hampshire left-arm spinner makes his first Test appearance in eight years as England seek a win in the fourth Test at Old Trafford that would give them an unassailable 3-1 lead and earn them the most important series victory in the three years under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum. Advertisement Dawson, 35, with 18 first-class centuries to his name, brings much more of an all-round package than the inexperienced Bashir and is expected to bat at No. 8 at Old Trafford ahead of Chris Woakes, who is retained despite a largely disappointing series. Woakes, 36, who has taken seven wickets in the three Tests so far at 56.40 apiece, keeps his place largely because of his excellent record at Old Trafford where he has taken 35 wickets in seven Tests at 17. England were reluctant to throw Gus Atkinson back into the side for his first game since he injured his hamstring against Zimbabwe in May off the back of just one appearance for Spencer in the Surrey Club Championship. England are clearly determined to give Woakes every chance to prove he is not quite yet at the end of the international road. The decision to retain the experienced seamer for the fourth Test against India, which begins on Wednesday, owes much to his outstanding record at Old Trafford and the nine-day break England's bowlers have enjoyed since their nail-biting 22-run victory at Lord's. But it also demonstrates England's faith in Woakes at a time when his under-par performances in the series so far have led to question marks over his future beyond this summer. There are also concerns over whether the most likely replacement for Woakes, Atkinson, is fully fit and England will step up his recovery after injury by asking Surrey to include him in their second team ahead of the last Test at the Oval. The one change England have made may have been enforced because of Bashir's broken finger but the return of Dawson for his fourth Test appearance eight years after his third should strengthen them, at least in the short term. The vastly experienced Dawson is a more attacking bowler than when last he played Test cricket and is also a good enough batter to be considered a genuine all-rounder. He will bat at eight with Woakes at nine and Brydon Carse at 10 in a deep batting line-up.
