Minella Times has emerged as the best-backed horse outside of the favourite for Saturday’s Grand National at Aintree.
Support for the famous Trevor Hemmings colours of previous winners Hedgehunter, Ballabriggs and Many Clouds have seen Cloth Cap at the head of the market all week and the 9-year-old looked set to start National day a hot 9/2 shot to deliver trainer Jonjo O’Neill his second winner in the race.
However, growing support for Minella Times was closing the gap at the top of the market on Friday afternoon as BoyleSports cut Rachael Blackmore’s mount into 8/1 having been out at 14/1 earlier in the week.
Former BoyleSports Irish Grand National winner Burrows Saint is another of the well-backed Irish raiders as the 9/1 third favourite, with Any Second Now a consistently supported 10/1 shot to hand Ted Walsh his second training triumph in the race following Papillon’s victory in 2000.
Lawrence Lyons, spokesperson for BoyleSports said: “Cloth Cap has been the best backed horse in the race all week, but the Irish horses are closing in now and we anticipate they’ll be all the rage in the hours before the off. Burrows Saint, Any Second Now and Minella Times will be big losers in our book especially the latter with the Rachael Blackmore factor making many minds up.”
Grand National
9/2 Cloth Cap
8/1 Minella Times
9/1 Burrows Saint
10/1 Any Second Now
12/1 Kimberlite Candy
14/1 Discorama
18/1 Magic Of Light
18/1 Potters Corner
18/1 Farclas
20/1 bar
Specials
5/4 Minella Times to beat Cloth Cap
10/11 Winning distance over 4 lengths
EVS Winning Distance under 3 lengths
2/1 Cloth Cap, Burrows Saint, Minella Times or Any Second Now to win
Belfast Banter and trainer Peter Fahey landed their second big race in just three weeks as they followed up victory at the Cheltenham Festival by winning the Betway Top Novices Hurdle.
🗣 “It’s hard to believe what has happened in the last month.”@kevinsexton94 had essentially quit the saddle two years ago, but has now recorded a first Grade One success, fresh off the back of Cheltenham Festival glory aboard Belfast Banter @AintreeRaces 👏 pic.twitter.com/xd8goykHdJ
The six year old won the McCoy Contractors County Hurdle at The Festival exactly three weeks ago and followed that up at Aintree to win Fahey and jockey Kevin Sexton their first ever Grade Ones.
Fahey chose to watch the race back in Ireland, as he did for Belfast Banter’s Cheltenham victory. Speaking from home in County Kildare, he said: “I decided to stay away and not come over as it was lucky for us at Cheltenham. It was a brilliant performance and Kevin (Sexton) gave him a great ride.
“These faster run races really suit him big time. He was wrong at the weights with a few of them but we thought we would take our chance and see how it worked out. When I saw they fancied Dan Skelton’s (Third Time Lucki) I thought he might have a chance, If you go back to his second last run against him he was only two and a half lengths ahead and that was also on level weights.
“As much as it was nice to have a Cheltenham winner, getting a Grade One is something else as it is something I’ve always wanted to do. I was half-waiting for him to stop last time at Cheltenham and today I was much more excited as you could see he was always going to get there.
“I said to Kevin before he went out to ride him with a lot of confidence and try and ride him to be placed. There was no pressure on him as if we finished in the first three we thought it would be a good result, but he travelled and jumped very well. If you look back through his form though he never runs a bad race but I suppose the good ground has helped him a good bit.
“He used to be keen but in these better races he switches off and travels better and these fast run races really suit him. We will see what the handicapper does but if he doesn’t go too mad we would like to go for the Galway Hurdle as that was our main aim. That might be gone, but if it is at the end of the day we have a Grade One winner. However, if he gets a realistic mark we would go for the Galway Hurdle. We will be having a few drinks at home to celebrate that’s for sure.”
Winning jockey Kevin Sexton said: “I didn’t think I could be more shocked than after the County Hurdle, but I am more shocked today! I fancied him and thought he’d run well, but it’s a dream actually to win my first Grade One here.
“He settled very well. They went a very quick gallop and he jumped, he travelled like he always does. Turning in I wanted to switch out because I didn’t get a run down the inner, because I don’t like to stop him once he’s coming, and I knew they’d stop at some point but I thought they’d take me further.
“I was in front a country mile too soon, and I was literally begging him from the last to keep going, and to be fair to him, he did. He was the opposite to what he was at Cheltenham; I don’t know whether he’s making liars of us again, or whether he’s suddenly developed a will to win. I was whispering in his ear going to the start that if he never won another race after today it wouldn’t bother me, but by the way he’s going, I hope he’s going to.
“The last month has been unbelievable. I have my first ride in the National (aboard Shattered Love) tomorrow – a year ago I was at home watching myself ride in the Virtual Grand National, having never ridden in the real thing. So much has happened in the last few weeks that I can’t get my head around. It hasn’t sunk in.
“Shattered Love is a good ride; Jack Kennedy fancied her – to get a ride in it is amazing, let alone a decent ride.
“I owe so much to Peter Fahey. He gives me everything he can and as much time as he can. I have learnt so much from working for him, not just about riding horses, just dealing with horses – to be able to repay him with these wins is amazing, and to give him his first Grade One winner, as well as mine, means so much.
“I think we might aim for the Galway Hurdle. Peter wanted him to go up a few pounds in the handicap for that – I think he has done some job handicapping himself! He’s gone from being low on my list of favourite horses right to the top at the minute – what’s he done in the last few weeks is unbelievable for any horse.”
Michael Scudamore, trainer of second home Do Your Job, said: “We’re really thrilled with him and he’s just improved all year. His form at the start of the season looked solid enough and then we went to Kelso the other day and he ran a really good second there.
Belfast Banter – improving at a rate of knots
🏆 County Hurdle hero 🏆 G1 Top Novices' Hurdle winner
“Brendan (Powell) said that day that he just didn’t quite see out the 2m 2f and to be fair it was Brendan’s shout to come here. We were wondering whether to go to the handicap or this and Brendan begged me to run him in this with the handicap being a boys race (Pinsent Masons Handicap Hurdle (Conditional Jockeys’ and Amateur Riders’ Race) and he was justified.
“He’s a lovely big horse and we’ll put him away now and if he jumps his fences like he jumps his hurdles he’ll hopefully be very exciting for us.
“You only had to see him in the paddock, he’s twice the size of everything else. He’s enormous and he’s actually incredibly slick over his hurdles for a horse who is as big as he is, so if he can translate that round it’s exciting for a small yard like us.
To be here and competing is great and hopefully he can be even better next year – another summer won’t do him any harm – and we’re very excited.”
Jockey Brendan Powell added: “That was a really good run. To be honest I thought he’d out-run his price. He’s run an absolute blinder and I thought I was going to ride my first Grade One for a second! We were beaten by a better horse on the day and no excuses, but he’s a nice horse to go chasing with next year.”
Nicky Henderson, who saddled third home Dusart, said: “It’s only his second run over hurdles and he’s very lucky to be here at all as he got loose and put a stake right through the middle of his chest. I didn’t think he’d be running again this season, and maybe not running again at all, so that was good. He’ll go over fences next season.”
Jockey Nico de Boinville said: “He probably wants an extra half mile and he probably already wants a fence. To go down by only a couple of lengths in a race as good as that was a very good effort.”
Betway Top Novices’ Hurdle (Grade 1) 2m½f
1 Belfast Banter – Peter Fahey IRE 6-11-04 Kevin Sexton 9/1
2 Do Your Job – Michael Scudamore 7-11-04 Brendan Powell 12/1
3 Dusart – Nicky Henderson 6-11-04 Nico de Boiunville 5/2 Jt Fav
We have the eight starting teams for this weekend’s Heineken Cup quarter-finals, La Rochelle v Sale, and Exeter Cheifs v Leinster are the main matches.
La Rochelle
v
Sale Sharks
Date: Sat 10 April 2021
KO: 16:00
Venue: Stade Marcel Deflandre
LA ROCHELLE
15. Brice Dulin,
14. Dillyn Leyds,
13. Geoffrey Doumayrou,
12. Levani Botia,
11. Raymond Rhule,
10. Ihaia West,
9. Tawera Kerr Barlow,
1. Reda Wardi,
2. Pierre Bourgarit,
3. Uini Atonio,
4. Romain Sazy (c),
5. Will Skelton,
6. Grégory Alldritt,
7. Kevin Gourdon,
8. Victor Vito.
Replacements:
16. Facundo Bosch,
17. Dany Priso,
18. Arthur Joly,
19. Thomas Lavault,
20. Wiaan Liebenberg,
21. Thomas Berjon,
22. Jules Plisson,
23. Pierre Aguillon,
SALE SHARKS
15. Simon Hammersley,
14. Byron McGuigan,
13. Sam James,
12. Rohan Janse van Rensburg,
11. Marland Yarde,
10. AJ MacGinty,
9. Faf de Klerk,
1. Bevan Rodd,
2. Akker van der Merwe,
3. Willgriff John,
4. Jacobus Wiese,
5. Josh Beaumont (c),
6. Jean-Luc du Preez,
7. Tom Curry,
8. Dan du Preez.
Replacements:
16. Curtis Langdon,
17. Ross Harrison,
18. Coenie Oosthuizen,
19. James Phillips,
20. Cameron Neild,
21. Raphael Quirke,
22. Robert du Preez,
23. Luke James,
Referee: Andrew Brace (Ireland)
AR1: Pierre Brousset (France)
AR2: Thomas Charabas (France)
TMO: Brian MacNeice (Ireland)
Broadcasters: bein SPORTS / FR2 / BT Sport / C4 / Virgin Media
The Leixlip native started his side’s last two games, including a 7-0 win over Huddersfield Town.
Despite current struggles surrounding the Ireland national team leaving fans demoralised and pessimistic, there is hope for the future.
A number of young, talented footballers have been eased into the senior squad over the past year or so. Adam Idah, Troy Parrott, Jason Knight and more recently, Gavin Bazunu, are just some examples of those who’ve donned the green jersey lately, despite their young age.
Those players aren’t the only Irish footballers demonstrating high levels of potential, though. There are several bubbling just under the senior side whose aspirations of international recognition may be a case of sooner rather than later.
One of those is Norwich City centre-back Andrew Omobamidele.
Preston equalized in the last kick of the game but Norwich supporters are raving about the performance of 18 year-old centre back Andrew Omobamidele this afternoon after his first start for the Canaries 🇮🇪⚽️👏
Clearly dazzled by his performance, Norwich manager Daniel Farke kept Omobamidele in the starting XI for their game against Huddersfield Town on Tuesday. Norwich went onto dominate the game and win by a massive margin, 7-0 to be exact. Because of this, Omobamidele wasn’t tested to the extent he was in the previous game. That said though, he did everything that was asked of him to a very high standard and displayed his quality on the ball, looking like a seasoned pro throughout.
Shout out to @NorwichCityFC centreback 🇮🇪 Andrew Omobamidele (18)!
His performances have (naturally) got Norwich City and Ireland supporters very excited about his potential.
There’s every chance the Leixlip native could become a Premier League regular next season. Although it’s yet to be officially confirmed, it would take a complete disaster for Norwich to not achieve promotion this season. The Canaries are top of the Championship table, 8 points ahead of their nearest rivals in Watford and 17 points ahead of the play-off places with just a handful of games remaining.
Of course, it’s not a given that Omobamidele would retain his place in the Premier League – or even for the remainder of this season. But, it also wouldn’t be a surprise.
He can take inspiration from fellow centre-back and countryman Dara O’Shea. The 22-year-old only came into the West Bromwich Albion starting XI half-way through last season and helped his side achieve promotion to the Premier League. Since the start of the season, O’Shea has established himself as a key member of both the West Brom and Ireland senior squads.
Norwich’s next fixture comes against Wayne Rooney’s Derby County tomorrow where he could come face-to-face with Jason Knight and Louise Watson – the latter was included in the Ireland u21 side with Omobamidele over the international break.
📺 Saturday’s game at Derby is exclusively available to watch on iFollow with a £10 match pass!
Should other results go our way, a win will see us promoted to the Premier League! ⬇
🗣 "I'm absolutely thrilled to ride a big winner for Arthur."@rachaelblackmor used to ride out for Arthur Moore in her college days & reflects on a win for the legendary trainer aboard Me Too Please in the concluding G2 Mares' Bumper at @AintreeRaces this afternoon pic.twitter.com/yqgfB6wtMK
The concluding contest on day one of the Randox Grand National Festival, the Grade Two Goffs UK Nickel Coin Mares’ Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race, saw the second Irish-trained winner of the afternoon as Me Too Please scored for trainer Arthur Moore.
The five year old travelled well throughout and, after hitting the front two furlongs from home, stayed on well to finish a length and a half in front of Elle Est Belle.
Winning trainer Moore was not present, but Blackmore said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to ride a big winner like this for Arthur. He was very good to me in my early days – when I was in college I used to go and ride out there, so I’m delighted to ride a winner for him today.
“He said she was in very good form at home and he was happy with her coming over. It looked a very hot race on paper, but he was happy with her, and we got a lovely passage through the race.
“He did tell me, ‘try not to be down the rail’, and of course I was down the rail for some of it, but when it works out, it’s great. I probably got a split a bit early in the race, which left me in front a hell of a lot longer than ideally I wanted to be, and she just showed a little bit of greenness when the rail went away, but galloped all the way to the line. It was a very good performance.
“She’s a really high quality mare. She’s improved, I think, since her bumper win at Down Royal, and took another big step up there. A very nice mare for the future. I think her hanging was immaturity, more than anything. She was always going straight in front.”
Dan Skelton, trainer of runner-up Elle Est Belle, said: “She’s brilliant. She’s run in the two Championship races and she’s placed in both so I’m very proud of her. She was last off the bridle there today and has got loads of class, so I can’t wait to go hurdling with her.”
Jockey Harry Skelton added: “She’s a good mare. I was about two lengths down on Rachael (Blackmore) with a furlong and a half to go and I just couldn’t get by her, but she’s very exciting for next season and we’re looking forward to that.”
Pam Sly, trainer of fourth-placed Evens favourite Eileendover, said: “She just didn’t pick up like she had done before, but I’ve had a job getting her fit. I gave her a month off and it’s taken me a long time to get her back to where she was, so I’m not too disappointed.
“I’ve said all along that something would come along and beat her, and when I saw how the winner Me Too Please was bred – by Champs Elysees out of an Authorized mare – I thought she might be the one.
“She’ll probably run on the Flat now – if we can get her in the stalls. We haven’t tried her yet, as I said we’d wait until after she had run here.”
Goffs UK Nickel Coin Mares’ Standard Open National Hunt Flat Race (Grade 2) 2m 1f
1 Me Too Please – Arthur Moore IRE 5-11-00 Rachael Blackmore 14/1
2 Elle Est Belle – Dan Skelton 5-11-00 Harry Skelton 5/2
3 Miss Lamb – Jedd O’Keeffe 5-11-00 Jack Garritty 20/1
15 ran
NR: Code Name Lise (self certificate)
Distances: 1½l, 1¾l, 3l
Time: 4m 7.18s
Unplaced Fav: Eileendover Evens (4th)
🗣 “I’m absolutely thrilled to ride a big winner for Arthur.”@rachaelblackmor used to ride out for Arthur Moore in her college days & reflects on a win for the legendary trainer aboard Me Too Please in the concluding G2 Mares’ Bumper at @AintreeRaces this afternoon pic.twitter.com/yqgfB6wtMK
All-Ireland League, Belgian-Dutch League, Atlantic League: Will European Domestic Leagues Turn to Regional League Formats Sooner Rather Than Later?
Most sports struggle between change and tradition. Football no stranger to this conflict. It’s a sport that wants to continue to be accessible to the working people that birthed it despite it’s ever-increasing revenue and status, which is where some of the change-tradition issues stem.
One area of the sport which is indicative of this is the embrace and resistance to statistical and tactical analytics. Football has been behind the curve of this more “academic” turn within the wider sporting landscape, with the likes of the NBA and MLB very much frontrunners. However, in the last few years, a select number of clubs have incorporated analytics into the fabric of their decision making process, namely the likes of Matthew Benham’s Brentford F.C. and FC Midtjylland beginning the movement with FSG’s Liverpool F.C. becoming the most successful example.
Publicly, social media enabled amateur bloggers, programmers, and data analysts to experiment with football event data, developing metrics and visualisations to improve understanding. It’s early uses were for fun, namely, but, also, were applied to fantasy football teams and online sports betting and sport books for in-play, pre-game, outright bets. The other motivation was to showcase skills for potential employers too, which has resulted in a number of public bloggers getting jobs at professional clubs – Statsbomb, a company founded by Ted Knutson who was inside at Brentford and Midtjylland, are an one example who hired many public bloggers.
Despite it’s on-field success and some fans taking an interest to it, other fans have resisted it. It is changing the language of the sport. It’s altering the fundamental cornerstones for how the game is understood and played. It is forcing fans to accept that they might not know as much as it first appeared, which is discomforting. The sport is still football, but how it’s spoken about it is different.
Regional Leagues
Another worry for fans is the change of competition formats. Talk has always surrounded how leagues might change and adapt to growing needs and demands of the footballing calendar and footballing audience. The European Cup, now known as the Champions League, has undergone numerous changes across its lifetime, varying from pure single-elimination matches to the format we know today which consists of qualification matches, a group stage, and the two-legged knockouts before the final. It is now subject to new changes which are currently being discussed at the highest level.
The Premier League was founded in 1992, which was a considerable move to break away from the football league, which enabled the teams in the Premier League to consolidate money from TV deals within the league, as opposed to distributing it among lower division teams. This has seen considerable deals made with TV broadcasters across the world, which has seen prices rise from the £304M Sky paid in 1992 to the £9.2B national and international broadcasters paid for the 2019-2022 seasons.
Nowadays, at a domestic level, rumours of football associations of different nations holding talks about mergers have begun to spread and be confirmed. The Belgium FA and Netherlands FA have been very vocal about their possible merger, citing a study which could see the joint league generate €400M a year, which dwarfs the collective TV deals both leagues have arranged now. The pursuit of the league, then, is about the financial security of professional clubs.
All-Ireland League
The same thing is being considered for the Irish Premiership and the Danske Bank Premiership. It would be an all-Ireland football league, where teams for the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland would compete in one domestic league. Twenty of the twenty-two leagues have back the proposal. Finer details need to be sorted, but they all agree that they’d like UEFA to consider the arrangement.
The All-Ireland League would have a complex schedule. The early parts of the campaign would see teams compete against teams from their own country – Irish teams play Irish teams and Northern Irish teams play Northern Irish teams – before coming together to play against each other in the second half of the campaign. The early season results would create seedings for the late season matches. All the points from all the matches – in the individual league and the joint – would be totalled up before heading into a knockout tournament to determine the overall winner, the best team across the competition.
Mergers could be an important solution to long-term questions of how sustainable football clubs are.
Threat of the European Super League
UEFA are keen to improve competition within domestic leagues and ensure the economic stability of clubs. They are open to these mergers taking place in Belgium and Holland, the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, and in other areas like Scandinavia. Whether this is largely, in part, due to the constant threat that UEFA are under by major European clubs who are always supposedly considering breaking away from these governances to create their own super league remains to be seen. However, UEFA having other competitive and healthy products enables them to worry less about this threat.
Patrick Mullins hopes he can turn a lifelong dream into reality by becoming the first amateur rider in 31 years to win the Randox Grand National at Aintree aboard second favourite Burrows Saint, who he believes “ticks all the right boxes”.
Taking each other on with Burrows Saint! @kevinblake2011 and @CoddJJ have contrasting views on the 2019 Irish Grand National winner…
The Grade One-winning jockey picked up the plum spare ride aboard the eight year old, who is trained by his father Willie Mullins, when regular rider Paul Townend failed to recover from a foot injury sustained in a fall at Fairyhouse on Sunday.
It will be the fourth time the 31 year old has ridden in the world’s greatest steeplechase since making his debut in it in 2011, and he believes the Susannah Ricci-owned gelding represents his best chance of winning.
Burrows Saint, who landed the Irish National in 2019, warmed up for his first start over the famous fences when chasing home stablemate Acapella Bourgeois in the Grade Three Bobbyjo Chase at Fairyhouse in February.
He said: “It is fantastic to pick up the spin on him and obviously Paul hasn’t recovered from his fall in Fairyhouse. The weight (10st 13lb) is quite light for me but it is just enough. He is in great form at home. The lad that rides him out is very happy with him.
“I got a sit on him over at Haydock this morning and he ticks a lot of the boxes. He is the right age at eight years old. He has the right kind of weight and is progressing as he has only had nine runs over fences. I’m really excited to be sitting on him.
“It was in the back of my head (that I might get the ride). I saw the weight was doable. I was watching it from then. I was never expecting to ride a horse with a live chance in the Grand National. It doesn’t get any better than this. I did 11st 1lbs on a filly 10 days ago as I’m quite in the championship (amateur jockeys) with Jamie (Codd) so I was watching my weight anyway.
“I usually have one with lots of weight that is an outsider. Ever since I was seven or eight and I read a book on the history of the Grand National, I wanted to win it. Some people like the Gold Cup, but for me this is the race I’ve always wanted to have a crack at so it doesn’t get any better.
“To be able to do it riding one of Willie’s would be great and for Rich Ricci. We’ve been very lucky to get here. Since Marcus won it, Jamie Codd has come very close and Sam Waley-Cohen has come very close so hopefully one of us (amateur riders) will be able to crack the nut soon enough.
“I was second on a horse called Boxer Georg in the Foxhunters a few years ago. Willy Twiston-Davies beat me on Baby Run. That’s the closest I’ve come (to winning over the fences). My dad won the Foxhunters on Atha Cliath and to win one over the National fences would be a dream before I hang up my boots.”
Although the coronavirus pandemic forced last year’s race to be cancelled, Mullins believes that may have been no bad thing for Burrows Saint.
He added: “On the stats, missing the race as a seven year old last year is probably a good thing as no seven year old has won the race since 1940 so that might have been a blessing in disguise. He is a year older and he is still relatively unexposed. I think he ticks a lot of boxes.
“I think everything has gone pretty much to plan. He had a nice couple of runs over hurdles and a nice run in the Bobbyjo. I know he didn’t win but he wears a tongue strap and heavy ground wouldn’t have suited him well. When he won the Irish National it was this sort of ground so that will bring out improvement.”
Closutton handler Mullins will also be represented in the National by Burrow Saint’s last time out conqueror Acapella Bourgeois, Cabaret Queen and Class Conti.
The Cheltenham Festival-winning rider added: “I rode Acapella Bourgeois out this morning as well and he seems in great form. Danny gets on very well with him.
“Obviously he beat Burrows Saint in the Bobbyjo so where one is the other shouldn’t be far away. I suppose Burrows Saint will improve more for the better ground as Acapella Bourgeois seems to like that heavy ground so that might swap the placings there. He is a horse that is a little bit older as he is 11. He is probably a little bit more exposed but he is in great form and he has a nice racing weight as well.
“Class Conti has to have a little squeak of getting placed. I suppose the worry with him is will he be able to lie up with the early pace. He is a safe jumper. He will like the ground. My mother Jackie rides him out at home so she will take a lot of the credit if he wins. Brian Hayes gets the spin on him. I could see him running into a place quite easily.
“Sean O’Keeffe rode a winner for us at Cheltenham and he gets a spin on Cabaret Queen. She has won the Kerry National at Listowel and she has won a couple of good handicap chases. Her form has tapered off a little bit but I think this drier ground will suit her well. I think there are worse long shots than her.”
Shelbourne FC is delighted to announce our 2021 Home Kit, Hamptons Homes is the new name on the jersey, they will join a quality list of sponsors to grace the famous Red jersey.
As with the two Reds teams that represent Shelbourne FC in the SSE Airtricity League and FAI Women’s National League, the 2021 Home Kit features two reds in a unique bespoke design in collaboration with Umbro Ireland. May have a go playing casino-utan-svensk-licens.com while watching the match
Hamptons Homes said they are “delighted to partner up once again with such an iconic football club and after our hugely successful sponsorship last year with Hamptons Floor Store & Brooklyn Flooring, we’re thrilled to step up as front of jersey sponsors. We look forward to a long partnership doing many great things together as a team in the future.”
“We believe together this partnership will bring a stronger interest and wider awareness around the country to both the football club as well as Hamptons Homes and our previously established brands Hamptons Floor Store & Brooklyn Flooring.”
“We have huge belief in the team and the staff and have forged what we believe to be an invaluable relationship with the board members that can continue for many years.”
Hamptons Floor Store is proud to introduce Hamptons Homes; the home renovation arm to our brand! Hamptons Homes is a Dublin based company providing comprehensive design and building solutions for both domestic and commercial clients.
We provide all aspects of home improvement and general building services: bathroom design and installation, kitchen design and fitting, internal or external painting and decorating, plumbing, carpentry, electrical, tiling, partitioning, ceilings, refurbishments, loft conversions, extensions. All our work is fully insured and guaranteed and is carried out by dedicated and highly skilled tradesmen. Maybe while watching them have a go at playing betting-utan-svensk-licens.net to keep entertained
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Shelbourne CEO David O’Connor said: “I am absolutely delighted to have Hamptons Homes come on board as our Official Club Sponsor for the 2021 season. Hamptons Homes is a company who we are proud to be associated with and a company whom we have seen go from strength to strength as they continue to expand.
“I wanted to say a special thanks to Joe Prendergast and Kane Kearns, the Directors of Hamptons Homes, who have been nothing other than a pleasure to work with.
“Hamptons joined the club as a sponsor last year and their support was crucial for the club during what was a turbulent year financially.
“Kane and Joe are two incredibly passionate, driven and successful entrepreneurs and businessmen, as is evident with the success of Hamptons Homes.
“And having worked closely with them last season, I can also safely say that their passion and drive have also become incredibly evident to me as they have become proud partners and genuinely passionate supporters of Shels through their affiliation with Hamptons Homes.
“We are very excited to work side by side with Hamptons for the 2021 season and beyond.”
A winner last time out at Kelso when winning the Premier Chase over 2m7½, Cloth Cap is the firm favourite to land the Grand National to give his trainer a second win in the race with Don’t Push It winning it back in 2012 under AP McCoy. Tom Scudamore will take the ride on the favourite with Burrows Saint his closest rival in the betting.
The Willie Mullins trained 2019 BoyleSports Irish Grand National winner has the Aintree spectacle as his main target now for the past two years. Burrows Saint is the shortest priced runner at 9/1 for the Closutton trainer who has four horses in the race with Acapella Bourgeois 33/1, Class Conti 40/1 and Cabaret Queen 66/1.
The Colin Tizzard trained Mister Malarky has been backed into 33/1 from 40/1 with Jonjo O’Neill junior taking the ride over the 4m2½ trip. The talented Bristol De Mai heads the field with top weight and is a 22/1 chance to win for trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies.
Rachael Blackmore had a fantastic Cheltenham Festival and so did the Irish with Henry de Bromhead’s Minella Times backed into 10/1 from 12/1 to give the talented jockey/trainer duo a first win in the race.
Sarah Kinsella, Spokesperson for BoyleSports commented: “The field has been confirmed for the Grand National at Aintree this Saturday and it’s Cloth Cap who heads the market at 7/2. Burrows Saint is the best chance of an Irish winner according to the odds at 9/1 while Rachael Blackmore could make history on Minella Times at 10/1 from 12/1. It’s a tremendous line-up and we anticipate plenty more support to arrive for Rachael as punters are getting behind her more and more.”
END
Aintree 17:15 ~ Outright Betting, (place terms: 1/5 the first 7)
Star Irish rugby player Beibhinn Parsons is Beibhinn Parsons in Ireland Team to play Wales in Six Nations opener on Saturday.
Ballinasloe native Parsons will start at 11 and looks like the main source for scoring trys against the Welsh in a must-win game. The format this year leaves Ireland looking for a top-two finish to play at least the 3rd/4th playoff.
Head Coach Adam Griggs has named his Ireland Match Day 23 to face Wales in Saturday’s Women’s Six Nations game in Cardiff, with Sevens international Eve Higgins set for her XVs debut in the centre and uncapped backs Emily Lane and Stacey Flood included on the replacements bench.
Ireland will be captained by Ciara Griffin in the opening game of their 2021 Championship campaign at Cardiff Arms Park (Kick-off 5pm, live on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player), with Griggs’ starting XV showing three changes to the side that beat Italy at Energia Park last October.
Higgins, who has starred for Ireland on the HSBC World Rugby Sevens Series in recent seasons, has impressed during Ireland’s preparations for the Six Nations and earns her debut cap in midfield alongside the experienced Sene Naoupu, while Sevens internationals Lane and Flood are included on the bench for their first taste of Championship action.
Eimear Considine returns to the full-back jersey as one of the three changes in personnel from the victory over Italy last time out, with Lauren Delany switching to the right wing and Beibhinn Parsons lining out on the left.
21-year-old Higgins, capped 20 times for Ireland Sevens, partners Naoupu in midfield, while the half-back pairing of Hannah Tyrrell and Kathryn Dane are retained having impressed against the Azzurri.
There is an unchanged front row named by Griggs as Lindsay Peat, Cliodhna Moloney and Linda Djougang once again pack down together, with the fit-again Aoife McDermott returning to the second row alongside Nichola Fryday.
Griffin leads the side from number eight, with Dorothy Wall set for her fifth cap at blindside flanker and Claire Molloy named at openside.
Uncapped duo Lane and Flood provide the half-back cover on the replacements bench, where they are joined by forwards Neve Jones, Katie O’Dwyer, Laura Feely, Brittany Hogan and Hannah O’Connor, with Enya Breen providing the additional backline cover.
Commenting on his selection, Head Coach Griggs says the competition for places within the squad has intensified in recent weeks as the squad stepped up their preparations at the IRFU High Performance Centre.
“We are extremely confident in the squad we have selected,” he said. “We have had a great deal of time to prepare together and this group of players have earned the responsibility to bring the high standards we have set ourselves throughout training into this first game.
“Wales at home will bring a strong challenge and we need to make sure we start the game well and build a platform that allows us to play our game and start this competition off with a win.”
Ireland’s opening game of the 2021 Women’s Six Nations is live on RTÉ and the RTÉ Player in the Republic of Ireland, while there is coverage on the BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport Website for supporters in the UK.
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