The brilliant Irish mares Honeysuckle and Benie Des Dieux are on course to clash at Cheltenham next week, after both were among confirmations for the Close Brothers Hurdle.

Connections of Envoi Allen are not ruling out a tilt at the Unibet Champion Hurdle following his latest triumph at Naas.

Flutter has agreed to buy Canadian online gaming business Stars Group in an all-share deal

James McClean has warned Switzerland to write off the Republic of Ireland at their peril as the sides prepare to go head-to-head in the battle for Euro 2020 qualification.

It won’t come as a galloping shock should Cheltenham produce results this week that are impossible to explain.

Hard to recall a Tuesday card at Cheltenham as difficult as today’s but Benie Des Dieux can be the punters’ pal on the opening day to the 2019 Festival by proving a class apart from her rivals in the OLBG Mares’ Hurdle.

The Unibet Champion Hurdle, the headline act on the opening day of the 2019 Cheltenham Festival, pits a hat-trick-seeking champion against a superstar mare as well as a mare with superstar potential

Mick McCarthy has apologised for his offensive language while celebrating Ipswich's late goal in Saturday's draw at derby rivals Norwich.

Craig Bellamy has declared his interest in becoming the next Wales manager.

Irish football legend Niall Quinn says he feels for any Athlone Town players who are innocent of wrongdoing, as the FAI launches an investigation into irregular betting patterns around the club’s 3-1 defeat to Longford Town in the League of Ireland First Division last Saturday.

Plans for Hidden Cyclone are on hold after the 10-year-old sustained a nasty gash on his leg in the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham.

Festival Diary

Selectivity and discipline are the key ingredients for any punter who harbours hopes of making a profit at Cheltenham this week, writes Pat Keane.

Willie Mullins is in bullish mood as Douvan bids to get the Cheltenham Festival off to a perfect start for the Irish in today’s Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.

Willie Mullins has admitted to feeling a mixture of dread and excitement as he prepares to unleash a scarcely believable army of equine talent on the Cheltenham Festival.

Shay Barry is looking forward to a trip to the Cheltenham Festival with Bentelimar following his fine performance at Punchestown.

L’Ami Serge has done "seriously well" since winning the Tolworth Hurdle and appears among 84 entries for the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham on March 10.

Paul Nicholls will step up the work of his Betfred Cheltenham Gold Cup contenders Silviniaco Conti and Sam Winner in the coming days.

Bacary Sagna hopes to have brought the FA Cup-winning formula with him to Manchester City.

European pay-TV group Sky has agreed to sell a controlling stake in Sky Bet to CVC Capital Partners in a deal which values the online betting business at £800 million (€1.1bn), with Sky retaining a 20% stake.

A sports betting business formed in 2001 was today valued at £800m after broadcaster Sky sold a controlling stake in the operation.

Capital One Cup holders Manchester City got their defence off to a stylish start by thrashing Sheffield Wednesday 7-0 at the Etihad.

A Willie Mullins clean sweep in the Grade One Irish Stallion Farms EBF Mares Novice Hurdle, headed by Adriana Des Mottes, capped another big afternoon for Ireland's champion jumps trainer at Fairyhouse.

Seabass has been withdrawn from the Crabbie’s Grand National after suffering a serious injury at Down Royal on Monday.

Connections of Jezki are keen to let the dust settle after his Champion Hurdle triumph before deciding on plans for the remainder of the season.

Bookmakers had their noses in front in the betting stakes after a dramatic day one of the Cheltenham Festival.

Tosnu maith leath na h'oibre (a good start is half the battle) is an old Irish saying and that's precisely what the Irish got in the first, the Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle, with Vautour simply destroying the opposition.

The bookies are steeling themselves for potentially massive losses on the opening day of the Cheltenham festival, which kicks off today.

Dunguib is on course to have his second comeback run this weekend at either Gowran Park or Navan, meaning he could clash with Champion Hurdle dark horse Un De Sceaux.

Over 350 entries have been made for the Sky Bet Supreme Novices’ Hurdle, Neptune Investment Management Novices’ Hurdle, JCB Triumph Hurdle and Albert Bartlett Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival with the Willie Mullins stable responsible for 64 of those.

Paul Nicholls appears to have a strong hand with six of the 50 entries for the £75,000 (€90,000) Sky Bet Chase at Doncaster on January 25.

Southampton 4 Burnley 3

Tony McCoy has ruled out any notion of retirement when he reaches 4,000 career wins over jumps.

Leinster House workers have been disciplined over bids to log on to illegal or banned websites — but Oireachtas officials have refused to provided any details.

Orfevre sauntered to back-to-back victories in the Qatar Prix Foy with an impressive display in the Longchamp Group Two yesterday.

Former Sunderland and Aston Villa manager Martin O’Neill claims he has not been contacted over the vacant management role with the Republic of Ireland.

Leeds manager Brian McDermott has ruled himself out of the running for the vacant Republic of Ireland manager’s job.

A decision on Sizing Europe’s target at Cheltenham is set to be left until the last moment.