Sports Betting

Hurricane Fly impressive at Leopardstown

2012-01-29T15:49:00.000-08:00


Hurricane Fly won the Irish Champion Hurdle \| Photo: Skysports

Hurricane Fly impressively won the BHP Insurance Irish Champion Hurdle, thrashing four rivals on his much-delayed seasonal reappearance at Leopardstown on Sunday.

The Willie Mullins-trained 4-5 favorite recorded back to back victories in the Grade One and looked as good as ever in winning.

Thousand Stars did his best to fight off his stable companion in the straight, but Hurricane Fly went by him and pulled clear after the final flight to win by six-and-a-half lengths. Oscars Well rallied to finish second and deny Mullins a one-two, with Unaccompanied finishing fourth, a place behind Thousand Stars.

After an encouraging display, Hurricane Fly will now be preserved ahead of the defence of his Champion Hurdle crown at Cheltenham in March.

Mullins said: “He completely surprised me. It must be as good a performance as he’s ever produced. They went a right good gallop. Ruby said he wasn’t travelling in the ground early on, but when he gave him a squeeze three out he came alive. I was a bit anxious about the ground and I was a bit anxious because he was very quiet beforehand, but maybe he’s just maturing.”

“Normally it takes a couple of lads to lead him round the paddock because he can get a bit tight. We had been a bit worried before Cheltenham last year how he would handle everything, including the parade, but he went round like an old handicapper today.”

“I was a little concerned he would flop as my first two runners disappointed. I was surprised how fit he appeared. We’ll keep a lid on him between now and Cheltenham.”

Hurricane Fly is now best priced evens for the Champion Hurdle at Cheltenham Festival online betting odds in March.

Elsworth: Somersby ideal for Ryanair Chase

2012-01-25T15:17:00.000-08:00

Jockey Dominic Elsworth feels the Ryanair Chase will be Somersby’s ideal race at the Cheltenham Festival despite winning in the Victor Chandler Chase at Ascot last Saturday.

Henrietta Knight’s eight-year-old also has the two-mile Queen Mother Champion Chase as a possible objective at the Festival, but his regular jockey believes the two miles and five furlongs of the Ryanair will be suited best.

"I just feel over two miles he can miss a jump out here and there," said Elsworth, who was securing his first Grade One winner at the weekend.

"It (the Ryanair) would be definitely more up his street. He does stay, and he's got the pace to lay it up to them over two and a half miles."

"He can miss a fence now and again and obviously Ascot being a bigger, longer, galloping track definitely played to his strengths He's as good as anything else in the Ryanair," Elsworth told At The Races.

If you want to know the best odds for the Ryanair Chase, betting at the Cheltenham Festival with William Hill is the surest way to place a bet.

Blazing Tempo aims Ryanair Chase after Fairyhouse win

2012-01-23T15:38:00.000-08:00

Blazing Tempo, winner of the Galway Plate in July, proved too strong for Noble Prince, odds-on favorite in the Grade Two Normans Grove Chase at Fairyhouse on Sunday.

Ruby Walsh brought Blazing Tempo (9-4) into the race just before the turn for home and denies Noble Prince by three-quarters of a length.

Blazing Tempo and Ruby Walsh (far side) jump the last fence alongside Noble Prince
(© Healy Racing Photos)

Willie Mullins's mare has been running regularly since her win at Galway in the summer, but her improvement shows little sign of tailing off, and she is now quoted by bookmakers for both the Ryanair Chase and the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the Cheltenham Festival William Hill in March.

Mullins added: “She is holding her form and that was nice to win, given the ground. We had the choice of coming here or going to the Boylesports Hurdle but rather than take on a handicap with 20 runners, we decided to take our chance today even though the ground might not be as suitable.”

"She's an iron mare and has been on the go since Galway and been doing it in all sorts of ground. She'll get an entry for the Ryanair Chase but I'm not sure if she's good enough."

Sprinter Sacre could run in Game Spirit Chase at Newbury

2012-01-18T15:46:00.001-08:00

Nicky Henderson on Wednesday announced that 2012 Arkle Chase favourite Sprinter Sacre could run in the Game Spirit Chase at Newbury in February rather than the more obvious route of the Kingmaker Chase at Warwick as part of his preparation for the Cheltenham Festival.

A winner of the Wayward Lad at Kempton on December 27, Sprinter Sacre is as short as 9-4 for the festival race on the back of his 16-length defeat of Peddlers Cross and he is also one of the leading lights for the Cheltenham Festival horse racing betting.

Options at Warwick and Doncaster against fellow novices had been mooted, but Henderson believes he would learn plenty from taking on two horses in the Grade Two event.

Henderson told Racing UK: "It has actually crossed our minds that we could switch Sprinter Sacre from Warwick to the Game Spirit. Experience is what he needs. Going around on his own isn't going to teach him anything."

"The Doncaster race clashes with Cheltenham and the Warwick one we'll be at Newbury that day. It fits in quite well and I like the idea. It was actually Barry's (Geraghty) idea, probably to make sure he could ride him! But when I thought about it, it was a better idea than I'd originally thought."

Lynch drove Jack the Bus to victory at Navan

2012-01-15T22:17:00.001-08:00

12-year-old veteran chaser Jack the Bus showed that he still has an appetite for the game when winning the feature race at Navan, the Foxrock Handicap Chase despite giving Andrew Lynch a couple of hairy moments with blunders at the final two fences.

Trained by Dubliner Peter Casey, who enjoyed a significant success last week with promising novice chaser Flemenstar, the 2010 Troytown Chase winner lumped top weight to victory to stamp his class on proceedings.

Ridden by Andrew Lynch, the veteran survived a bad blunder at the second-last fence to come home three lengths clear of Four Chimneys. Jack the Bus (7-2) had finished seventh when trying to retain his Troytown title and will now head for the Thyestes Chase at Gowran on January 26th.

"I was raging over it," Casey said. "The ground was too fast and the lads at the track wanted to withdraw him but they couldn't contact me. He will go for the Thyestes at Gowran now."

Barry Geraghty escaped unscathed from a nasty incident when the 11-4 favourite Kakagh dived out through the wing at the fence in front of the stands on the first circuit.

Oscar Dan Dan (9-1), who is now with Tony Martin, opened his account over fences in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Beginners Chase after Willie Mullins' Bagber (8-11 favourite) made a bad mistake two from home that stopped him in his tracks.

Check out the latest horse racing betting odds and bet online at the Cheltenham Festival with William Hill Sports.

Raikkonen is back on track after crash setback

2012-01-10T19:40:00.001-08:00

Kimi Raikkonen's return to fitness can now resume in full in the wake of his snowmobile crash last month. The 2007 World Champion tweaked his left wrist during an event in

Austria

In the meantime, Kimi Raikkonen will prepare for his Formula One comeback with some laps in a two-year-old Renault race car in Spain this month before official testing starts in February, the Finn’s Lotus team said on Monday.

“We can now confirm that Kimi Raikkonen will be completing some mileage in the team’s R30 car at Valencia on 23rd/24th January,” Lotus, formerly Renault, said on their twitter feed.

Raikkonen, the 2007 World champion with Ferrari, has not driven an F1 car since he left the sport for the world rally championship after the 2009 season-ender in Abu Dhabi.

The first pre-season test of the year will start at the Jerez circuit, in Southern Spain, on February 7 when Lotus will have their new car on track.

Under cost-saving regulations that limit testing, Raikkonen will not be able to drive the latest equipment until Jerez and nor will he be able to use the Pirelli tyres that were introduced last year.

Read about the motor sports betting markets on offer at William Hill Sports.

Murray defeats Dolgopolov for Brisbane International title

2012-01-08T15:55:00.001-08:00

Andy Murray achieved his 22^nd ATP World Tour title on Sunday at Brisbane International final by beating third seed Alexandr Dolgopolov of

Ukraine

6-1, 6-3 in front of his new coach, former World No. 1 Ivan Lendi.

Andy Murray holds up the Roy Emerson Trophy

“It's been good. I played much better the last three matches. I could have easily lost the second round against [Gilles] Muller, but managed to fight my way through. The doubles [with Marcos Baghdatis] helped me as well. I felt I was moving well towards the end of the week,” he said. “I've just got to get myself rested and get myself 100 per cent for the Aussie.”

“I'm a year wiser, at least, with a year's more experience. I think I've improved a few things in my game, too. I still played pretty good last year in Australia and I can play great tennis again,” he said.

“I need to show up and give 100 per cent every match. If someone plays a great match to beat me, that happens. But if I play well, like I did this week, I give myself a good chance.”

Top seed Murray earned $74,370 in prize money and 250 South African Airways 2012 ATP Ranking points, while No. 15-ranked Dolgopolov was presented a cheque for $39,165 and 150 points.

He will spend the next week in Melbourne preparing for the Australian Open, which starts January 16.

Bet on 2012 Australian Open at William Hill Sports which offers tennis betting online preview and odds.

Image courtesy of The Guardian.

Top golfers missing on PGA Tour opener

2012-01-03T16:12:00.000-08:00

The Hyundai Tournament of Champions held at Kapalua’s Plantation Course in Maui is the first tournament of the 2012 season. With the lush setting, it would seem likely that many of golf’s top players would make their way to the island for the tournament. But, that is not the case.

The tournament is open to all golfers who won a tournament on tour in the previous season. Despite the loose qualifications, several big names are choosing to skip the event to be better prepared for the rest of the season.

Of the 11 players who aren't at Kapalua, most have a valid reason. Major champions from last year Rory McIlroy, Darren Clarke and Charl Schwartzel are all absent from the field. Big names Phil Mickelson and Tiger Woods will not be playing, either. Mickelson hasn't made his way to the tournament since 2001, while Woods has been a no-show since 2005.

Additionally, top eligible golfers Luke Donald, Adam Scott, Martin Kaymer, Dustin Johnson, Justin Rose, Brandt Snedeker and Fredrik Jacobson will not be in Hawaii this weekend. In all, only about two-thirds of qualified golfers will be on hand for the tournament.

Some of the top golfers who do plan on participating include Steve Stricker, the No. 6 player in the world, and Webb Simpson, ranked No. 10. Other potential favorites will be 2011 FedExCup winner Bill Haas, 2011 PGA Championship winner Keegan Bradley, No. 12-ranked Nick Watney and the tournament's 2011 winner, Jonathan Byrd.

For now, there are 28 players who chose to begin their season on Maui which will kick off January 5 to 9. It's not a bad place to start. The winner of the tournament receives $1.12 million and 500 FedEx Cup points.

Bet on the 2012 PGA Tour by visiting one of the top-rated golf betting online destination, William Hill Sports.

Dave Chisnall shocks darts king Phil Taylor at PDC World Championship

2011-12-28T01:01:00.000-08:00

The 15-time world champion, Phil Taylor has been sent crashing out of the PDC World Championship in the second round, losing 4-1 to Dave Chisnall at Alexandra Palace on Tuesday.

Chisnall becomes only the seventh man to knock Taylor out of the World Championship and ensured the ‘Power’ failed to reach the last 16 of the competition for the first time in his stellar career.

Chisnall was the faster player out of the blocks at Alexandra Palace but Taylor looked to be in the ascendancy when he evened the score at 1-1 - but Chisnall stunned everyone as he upped his game and ultimately ran away with a memorable victory.

“I don’t know how I did that,” Dave Chisnall said afterwards, as he moved into the last-16. “I threw well in the game but started getting a little bit nervous towards the end. On double 12 I just pulled it, but he gave me another shot and I took it.”

Both men were off-target with important throws but Chisnall held his nerve to take the fifth set with a double six after Taylor, to the despair of his fans, had missed two attempts at double 20.

Taylor paid tribute to his conqueror in the wake of his earliest exit from the competition before vowing to hit back hard.

"My eye-sight is not half as good as it was before. The heat got to me tonight as well. That's never happened before. It's something I've got to work on. I am a worker, I'll go back home and try and put things right," he said.

"It's up to me now to work harder. I'm going to do another two or three years then I'll slide away quietly. I'm not retiring yet. I'm going to try harder in the next two or three years than I have ever done in my career."

Be sure to visit William Hill Sports to win darts betting odds in the latest round of PDC World Championship fixtures.

Zaheer Khan wants to be the decisive factor

2011-12-22T03:09:00.000-08:00

Indian pace spearhead Zaheer Khan's fitness remains a concern ahead of the first Test against Australia next week even though he did not show any discomfort while bowling during a practice match in Canberra.

Zaheer Khan

Fifteen overs in the three-day match against Cricket Australia Chairman's XI might have been good for keeping his critics at bay but there isn't enough evidence that the left-arm pacer would be able to handle a workload of 40 overs in a Test.

Only 72 hours separate the first and second Tests of the series and the demands on the creaking joints of the 33-year-old are only going to multiply manifold.

Zaheer simply hasn’t exerted enough during the nets or in the middle to show that he could chase, dive around or throw from the deep with sufficient energy. His bowling, from afar, appeared to lack a strong finish and his famous rhythm, quite simply, was missing.

Zaheer has often said he relies on bowling a great number of overs to improve his fitness and maintain his rhythm but post-recovery from an ankle surgery, the left-arm paceman just hasn’t been able to bowl to his liking.

Zaheer, who picked up 10 wickets in three Tests at an average of 40 during previous trips, said he is desperate to make up for the past.

"This tour is very important for me," Zaheer, who bowled five overs on the final day of a practice match, said.

"I want to be the factor which makes the difference as there are so many expectations on me. The way I see it, it all worked out perfectly fine, because I had a four-month break so I could prepare well for this series," he added.

Zaheer, and the rest of the team, could have at the most three sessions before the Boxing Day Test is unveiled on 26th December.

For the Indian team to live up to its billing, Zaheer would have to turn up in top shape for the Test series.

There is some top class cricket betting action to enjoy over Christmas, with the First Test of Australia v India cricket match to look forward to on Boxing Day.

William Hill Sports Woman of the Year Award 2011

2011-12-15T01:38:00.000-08:00

The shortlist for the inaugural William Hill Sports Woman of the Year Award has been announced and it is time to vote for your favorite. Sport William Hill are accepting votes online or you can pick up a coupon in any of the 2350 William Hill shops.

The Shortlist for the William Hill Sports Woman of the Year as voted for by William Hill customers:

· Rebecca Adlington: Won a gold and silver medal at the 2011 World Aquatics Championship in Shanghai.

· Charlotte Edwards: Captain of the all conquering England Women’s cricket team.

· Jessica Ennis: UK No.1 Heptathlete, won silver at Athletics World Championships.

· Tamsin Greenway: captain of the Surrey Storm, bronze medal winner at the Netball World Championships.

· Helen Jenkins: British No.1 Triathlete who qualified for 2012 Olympics after winning the Hyde Park Event.

· Sarah Stevenson: Won gold at the 2011 Tae Kwon Do World Championships.

· Kelly Smith: England Striker who competed in the Women’s Football World Cup earlier this year.

· Hayley Turner: Rode 83 winners in 2011 season, including two Group One wins.

· Beth Tweddle: Grabbed gold at the European Gymnastics Championship in Berlin after winning the Uneven Bars discipline.

· Chrissie Wellington: Added a fourth Ironman World Championship title in 2011. Remains undefeated over the Ironman distance.

"Over thirty different sports women were voted for and we believe this is a very comprehensive list for female sporting achievement in 2011.

The winner of the award receives a trophy, a VIP trip to the William Hill King George on Boxing Day, plus a £1,000 charity bet on the big race, as well as a personal free bet of £1000.

"It is now up to the public to decide who will win the first ever William Hill Sports Woman of the Year," said William Hill’s spokesman Rupert Adams.

You have to vote online until midday 20th December and vote in shop until 9.30pm on the 18th December. The winner will be announced on 21st December 2011.

Ward vs Froch in Super Six World Boxing Classic Final

2011-12-12T02:55:00.000-08:00

The Showtime network’s Super Six World Boxing Classic will reach its conclusion on Saturday Night as Andre Ward and Carl Froch, who outlasted the group stage and elimination phases will fight for the championship of the super-middleweight tournament at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City. The tournament has had its critics, with a number of fighters withdrawing through injury, but there can be no argument that it has seen most of the top fighters in the division left with little alternative than to face each other.

Andre Ward vs. Carl Froch

While both men have hugely increased their exposure in reaching this stage, the winner should be in a strong position in negotiating future fights against the likes of Bute, Kessler and possibly Hopkins. According to the markets, this man is very likely to Ward, who is top priced at 3/10 (William Hill). Carl Froch is a standout 13/5 (Bwin). Although one has to wonder whether Showtime wouldn’t far rather see the underdog take this fight.

Saturday’s final was delayed from its original date in October after Ward (24-0, 13 KOs) sustained a cut to his eye during training. Ward, a member of the 2004

U.S.

Olympic team and the last American boxer to win an Olympic gold medal, said the division and his career have benefitted from the Super Six event.

A native of England, Froch (28-1, 20 KOs) also has valued his experience in the tournament. “I’ve really gotten some great matchups since the tournament started,” Froch said. “I don’t think those fights would have happened if it wasn’t for the tournament. It’s been great for Andre, and it’s been great for myself.”

Boxing betting enthusiasts are likely to predict that Andre Ward will win by unanimous decision over Carl Froch in a hard fought battle. Froch will demand a rematch while Ward looks to Canada and Lucian Bute.