Latest news with #EllisPark
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Irish Maxima To Try Turf In Ky Downs Preview Ladies Turf Sprint
Irish Maxima To Try Turf In Ky Downs Preview Ladies Turf Sprint originally appeared on Paulick Report. Irish Three Racing's Grade 3 winner Irish Maxima is set to make her turf debut against a competitive cast of nine fillies and mares that entered in Saturday's seventh running of the $250,000 Ky Downs Preview Ladies Turf Sprint at Ellis Park. Run at 5½ furlongs, the Ky Downs Preview Ladies Turf Sprint will go as Race 9 of 10 with a post time of 3:42 p.m. (CT). Trained by John Servis, Irish Maxima is an eight-time winner from 12 starts, with notable victories in the Distaff Stakes (G3) at Aqueduct and Barbara Fritchie Stakes (L) at Laurel. The daughter of Maximus Mischief will be ridden by Axel Concepcion from the rail. Chief among her rivals in the race include Gentry Farms' multiple stakes winner Accomplished Girl; Godolphin's Pea Patch Stakes runner-up Pondering, and G. Watts Humphrey Jr.'s four-time winner Bling, who finished third in this race last year. The complete field for the Ky Downs Preview Ladies Turf Sprint from the rail out with (jockey, trainer): Irish Maxima (Axel Concepcion, John Servis) Pondering (Tyler Gaffalione, Brendan Walsh) Foxxy Cleopatra (Jareth Loveberry, Larry Rivelli) Accomplished Girl (Erik Asmussen, Steve Asmussen) Cloudwalker (Declan Cannon, Brendan Walsh) Serene Seraph (IRE) (Florent Geroux, Bill Mott) Out Too Late (GB) (Brian Hernandez Jr., Mike Maker) Bling (Luan Machado, Vicki Oliver) Won Happy Mama (Elvin Gonzalez, Travis Murphy) The winner of Saturday's race will receive an automatic berth to the Mint Ladies Sprint (G2), held Saturday, Aug. 30 at Kentucky Downs. This story was originally reported by Paulick Report on Jul 27, 2025, where it first appeared.
The Herald
6 days ago
- Sport
- The Herald
Boks must fix sloppy breakdown play, says de Villiers
Fixing sloppy play at the breakdowns is an aspect of their game the Springboks must sort out if they want to make an impact in the Rugby Championship, former Bok star Jean de Villiers says. Though the Boks breezed past the Barbarians, Italy and Georgia, De Villiers says hard work is needed in training ahead of a showdown against the Wallabies at Ellis Park on August 16. 'If you look at the past three Test matches, there are elements of their game that the Boks need to work on,' he said. 'There were things they tried out to see if they could evolve their game even more. 'I think the one element that will concern them a little bit is the breakdown because it was sloppy at times. 'But that comes with the fact that they were trying to play a more expansive game and you don't have as many numbers playing to the ball. 'There were also handling errors in the Test against Georgia. 'I think that it is a combination of the atmosphere, the opposition and the pressure you are being put under and also the way you want to play. 'At the end of the day, if each guy in the team makes one silly error, then suddenly that is 23 errors in the game. 'It is also 23 times that you give the ball away to the opposition. 'But if you win the game by 45 points and you still have those errors, then it is not a bad performance. 'We know the quality of this team and the high standards they have, and that won't be good enough for them.' De Villiers said competition for places in the starting line-up was driving the Boks forward in their efforts to become an even better team. 'You want healthy competition within your squad and we certainly have that when it comes to the wing position,' he said. 'We have several world-class wings and probably a couple more who are also knocking on the door as well. 'It is a very fortunate position for SA to be in. 'For someone like Edwill van der Merwe, however, it is an unfortunate position to be in. 'Probably, if we select our best team tomorrow, he does not make the starting 15. 'But you must keep on pushing and every time you get that opportunity, you must perform and do that week in and week out. 'It is lovely to see how he is putting in the effort and work rate, and hoping for the best. 'I enjoy players like that and it is an example for youngsters on how they should go about approaching a challenge 'If you are not getting selected, you work hard and make sure you use any opportunity you get.' Coach Rassie Erasmus said he was satisfied with how the Boks had fared in their opening four matches. 'Overall, to play a team like Georgia that's very physical and disruptive is difficult,' he said. 'But that's not an excuse for us to make so many errors. 'We also have to understand that if we chop and change teams like that, we'll be building squad depth, but we'll be losing rhythm. 'I'm glad the guys over the last 25 minutes could get some rhythm into the game. We're fairly happy. 'We could always do better, but it was definitely a team that came out to disrupt the flow of the game.' The Herald
The Herald
21-07-2025
- Sport
- The Herald
Boks ready to step it up against Aussies — Kolisi
After crushing Georgia 55-10, the Springboks are ready to move up another gear as they look ahead to their opening match in the Rugby Championship against Australia on August 16, skipper Siya Kolisi says. After experimenting in their games against the Barbarians, Italy and Georgia, the Boks are set to name a more experienced squad to face the Wallabies at Ellis Park. The 36-man squad will be named on Tuesday and is expected to include players suited to the way SA want to play in the Rugby Championship. Kolisi said the Boks were not completely satisfied with their performance at the weekend despite running out comfortable winners in Mbombela after leading 22-10 at halftime. 'It was a tough game. Credit to the Georgians, they came hard in the first half,' he said. 'Physically, they matched us most of the time, and we struggled at the breakdown; they were quite dominant there. 'So we were happy with the way we cleaned up in the second half. 'The problem was we weren't able to produce enough positives one after the other. 'We did something good and then we would make a mistake, so that slowed down our momentum. 'The game was also a bit slow and was very stop-start. 'But hopefully we can fix our problems and make sure that we build on our positives going forward.' The Boks fielded a new-look side against Georgia with props Boan Venter, Neethling Fouche and hooker Marnus van der Merwe all making their debuts. 'I am happy for the debutants and congratulations to them and their families,' Kolisi said. 'The coach is building squad depth while we are winning, and you can see the amount of competition in the group. 'The guys who played last week in Gqeberha set the standard. 'I think in the first half here we didn't live up to that standard and had to pick it up in the second half.' Bok coach Rassie Erasmus said he was satisfied with the win but attributed a stop-start performance to having rotated the squad throughout the four-match series (including the clash against the Barbarians). 'We're fairly happy if you look over the four games,' he said. 'We scored close to 50 points in each match and apart from the first Italy Test, defended pretty well. 'Georgia were physical and disruptive but that's not an excuse for us making so many errors. 'But I guess we must understand that if we chop and change teams like we have as we're building squad depth, you'll lose rhythm. 'We found that again in the last 20 minutes and we can be fairly happy with the scoreline, though one can always do better.' 'We'll name 36 guys on Tuesday for the Australia series and within that squad there'll be one or two guys that we experiment with, but the bulk of that squad will be experienced players who are suited to the way we want to play,' he said. 'The nice thing is that we've got a group of 48 players or so that we've used this year and there are quite a couple that we'd also like to give opportunities to, like Jaden Hendrikse, Jordan Hendrikse, Quan Horn and Renzo du Plessis. 'But this was a series where we wanted to experiment a little bit, so getting the scorelines we did is pretty satisfying. But the Rugby Championship is a step up.' Scorers: SA 55: Tries: Boan Venter, Marnus van der Merwe (2), Canan Moodie, Edwill van der Merwe (2), Damian Willemse, Kurt-Lee Arendse, Handré Pollard. Conversions: Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, Handré Pollard (4). Georgia 10: Try: Vano Karkadze. Conversion: Luka Matkava. Penalty: Matkava. The Herald
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Scrappy Springboks overwhelm Georgia with nine tries
South Africa limbered up for their defence of the Rugby Championship with a comprehensive 55-10 victory over Georgia in Nelspruit on Saturday. The Springboks face Australia in their Rugby Championship opener in four weeks at Ellis Park. Debutant hooker Marnus van der Merwe scored two tries but the scoreline masked an error-strewn performance. Prop Boan Venter, centre Canan Moodie, wings Edwill van der Merwe (two) and Kurt-Lee Arendse, fullback Damian Willemse and flyhalf Handre Pollard also crossed as they ran in nine tries. But the Springboks served up double-digit handling errors, were poor at the lineout in the second half and could not get the upper hand at the breakdown. It was minutes in the tank at the start of the international season for several players, including captain Siya Kolisi on his return from injury. "Credit to the Georgians, physically they matched us most of the time. We struggled at the breakdown, where they were quite dominant," Kolisi said. This man clearly loves scoring tries 💥#Springboks #ForeverGreenForeverGold #RSAvGEO — Springboks (@Springboks) July 19, 2025 "We did not do enough positives one after the other. We would do something good and then make a mistake, which slowed us down. Hopefully, we can fix that." The hosts had three debutants in Venter, Marnus van der Merwe and Neethling Fouche as coach Rassie Erasmus stretched the number of players he has used in three games this year to 46. Georgia made a fast start and scored the opening try from a driving maul following a lineout, hooker Vano Karkadze powering his way over. "This was a great match for us to grow," Georgia flanker Luka Ivanishvili said. "It was my first time playing in this kind of atmosphere and these types of game are helping us to grow to the next World Cup (in 2027)."
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Springboks crush Georgia with nine tries in final test before Rugby Championship
MBOMBELA, South Africa (AP) — South Africa outmuscled and overwhelmed Georgia 55-10 on Saturday in its last match before its Rugby Championship title defense. South Africa gave its three starting front-rowers their test debuts and two of them, loosehead Boan Venter and hooker Marnus van der Merwe, scored the first two of the team's nine tries. Captain Siya Kolisi overcame various niggles to finally play his first test of the year and had to have a head injury check in the second minute. But he returned and played the whole match. Kolisi is certain to lead the Springboks in the Rugby Championship opener against Australia in four weeks at Ellis Park. The Georgians are not lightweights and showed off their heft and expertise with a rolling maul try for hooker Vano Karkadze in the third minute. But they had only a couple more try chances and were overturned by South Africa. The Springboks had the win in hand by halftime at 22-10. Marnus van der Merwe scored two tries from lineout drives, and Venter from multiple pick-and-goes. The fourth try of the half saw scrumhalf Grant Williams, riding his pack's dominance, split the defense and four passes later center Canan Moodie crashed over beside the right corner flag. As the Georgians flagged from the pummelling up front, the Springboks went wider in the second half and wing Edwill van der Merwe, no relation to Marnus, also scored two tries. Replacement back Damian Willemse punched through from scrum ball and, in the last couple of minutes, a couple of RG Snyman half breaks and offloads led to tries by backs Kurt-Lee Arendse and Handre Pollard. ___ AP rugby:
