Almanzor won a thrilling race for the Qipco Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown.

Dartmouth is the headline act among seven declarations for tomorrow’s King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot.

Aidan O'Brien is set to rely upon Highland Reel in the King George VI And Queen Elizabeth Stakes at Ascot next Saturday.

It’s not often a card at Dundalk can be labelled stellar but, with the benefit of hindsight, the card at Dundalk on April 18th really was rather special.

English Guineas and Oaks winner Minding fulfilled expectations with a stylish display against older fillies in the Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes on the final day of the Derby meeting at the Curragh.

A four-timer for Aidan O’Brien in Dundalk last night, following a treble in Navan on Sunday, proved the well-being of both the Ballydoyle and Owning teams.

Did we mention it was random?

The Kevin Prendergast-trained Tamadhor will be strongly-fancied to strike a blow for the classic generation in the Book Tickets On-Line fairyhouse.ie Race at the Meath venue tonight.

The Ado McGuinness-trained filly Roco Roja, impressive on her debut in Killarney two weeks ago, proved the star of last night’s Gowran Park action, landing the five-runner Ladies Day June 20 Fillies race in emphatic style.

Sir Isaac Newton, once considered an Investec Derby prospect, should justify odds-on favouritism in tonight’s Gowran Park opener, the seven-furlong Irish Stallion Farms Maiden.

Hans Holbein leapt into the picture for the Investec Derby when giving trainer Aidan O’Brien a welcome turn of fortunes with an all-the-way success in the MBNA Chester Vase on the Roodee yesterday.

Ed Dunlop’s “strange entry” for Trip To Paris in the Betway Chester Cup yielded a princely sum as the emerging stayer delivered a show-stopping performance on the Roodee.

Aidan O’Brien has outlined running plans for some of his Classic contenders in the coming days.

John F Kennedy lost his place as favourite for the Investec Derby after finishing a well-beaten last of three on his seasonal debut at Leopardstown.

Free Eagle is set to make his seasonal bow in the Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh on May 24.

Time and Time Again

The Bible, Charles Darwin’s The Origin Of Species and Stephen Hawking’s A Brief History Of Time have been named as the books which have had the greatest impact on the modern world.

Several possible Classic contenders were in winning action at Leopardstown yesterday with leading trainers Jim Bolger and Dermot Weld making positive noises in regard to next season.

It is a classic law of physics, that for every reaction there is a reaction. And after Ireland’s poor performance against Australia last weekend there is a steely determination within the camp that there will be a positive response when the All Blacks come calling to the Aviva Stadium tomorrow.

Technology designed to eliminate sporting mistakes can result in fake footage, writes Tim Moynihan

The recent Higgs boson revelation ranks as one of our greatest discoveries. Mark Evans looks at some of the others that can rival it

Quiet

This book may function as a primer for those who know little about Stephen Hawking, but it offers no new information on its subject, says Val Nolan

He may be one of the world’s most eminent scientists but one thing remains a mystery to Professor Stephen Hawking – women.

The world-famous scientist refuses to let his debilitating condition hold him back, writes Maria Cheng

Reamde

CHRISTY Carr (March 2) says science can’t explain everything.

I WISH to respond to UCC’s Professor William Reville, who complains that Life FM in their broadcasts reject scientific evidence in biological and cosmic evolution.

THE universe was not created by God, scientist Stephen Hawking has said in his new book.

The universe was not created by God, scientist Stephen Hawking has said in his new book.

The hurley snaps. (It reminds me of tent poles I’ve seen halved by falling fat guys, late at night, after the music has long ended at a festival). But the special spine holds it together safely.

AS Oscar Wilde once pondered: “The public is wonderfully tolerant.

One of the world’s most famous scientists will shed one of the world’s most famous academic titles tomorrow, university officials said.

WE ALL know Albert Einstein, don’t we?

I FOUND it gently amusing to read Fr Con McGillicuddy’s argument for a grand design based supposedly on a ‘commonsense’ view of the annual motion of planet earth and its supposed benefits for us lucky humans (Letters, September 17).

WHILE in Paris on business, Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon receives an urgent late-night phone call: the elderly curator of the Louvre has been murdered inside the museum.

IF life is often a matter of split seconds - the train door that closes in your face, the chance encounter with the love of your life - then the universe is about to bestow upon us a generous gift: the leap second.

IRISH author John Banville confounded all predictions last night by winning the prestigious Man Booker prize for his novel, The Sea.

IT GRIPPED millions who read it, causing uproar and profiteering, and now its creator has all but dismissed its factual core.

WAR-TIME British prime minister Winston Churchill has been named the greatest Briton of all time in a nationwide poll that attracted well over one million votes.