The Lanzarote Hurdle (2.40) at Kempton on Saturday hasn’t been a bad race for favourites in recent years, with four, including one joint-favourite, successful since distance was increased to 2 miles 5 furlongs ten years ago. This year, Jonjo O’Neill’s unbeaten five-year-old Doesyourdogbite (6/1, in a place, but generally shorter) heads the market and looks an exciting prospect. The Notnowcato gelding has improved with each starts over obstacles…

He may not be averse to the odd controversial soundbite and many people, including your correspondent, may wish that he simply let his snooker do the talking, but there’s no doubt that Ronnie O’Sullivan is in typical imperious form approaching the latter stages of the UK Championship. The “Rocket” has lost just three frames en route to the quarter finals and with Mark Williams or Liam Highfield his…

Mystifyingly, the PGA Tour season for 2017 is already underway and Justin Thomas is already $1,502,168 to the good after winning the CIMB Classic in Malaysia for the second year running and finishing tied eighth in the Safeway Open in California. This week, the 23-year-old tees in up in the Dunlop Phoenix Tournament in Miyazaki on the Japan Golf Tour and looks worthy of support at 11/2 with…

In the Bet365 West Yorkshire Hurdle (2.45) at Wetherby on Saturday, former winning point-to-pointer Ballyoptic made excellent progress over hurdles last season, culminating win a game win from subsequent Grade One winner Bellshill in the Doom Bar Sefton Novices’ Hurdle, over an extended 3 miles, at Aintree last April. The King’s Theatre gelding demonstrated his well being with another game win in the Totepool Silver Trophy Handicap Hurdle,…

The European Senior Tour returns to Italy for the first time since 2010 on Thursday with the Italian Senior Open at Golf Club Udine and there are reasons for believing that Peter Fowler (13/2) is a worthwhile favourite to carry off the lion’s share of the €350,000 prize money. The 57-year-old Australian is still in search of his first title of the season, but has been nothing if…