The Sun Racing Stayers’ Hurdle is today’s feature race and Paisley Park can crown a flawless campaign by landing the spoils for trainer Emma Lavelle and jockey Aidan Coleman.

From Arkle v Mill House to Kauto Star v Denman to Native River v Might Bite, the Cheltenham Festival has produced some epic duels down the years. It’ll be no different this week and the three showdowns below certainly won’t be for the faint-hearted, says Darren Norris

ON FEBRUARY 15 last year, a woman walking along a beach in the Scilly Isles spotted a large whale close to shore. 

Noel Meade has taken Road To Riches for a racecourse gallop at Fairyhouse as he builds up his work ahead of the Irish Gold Cup at Leopardstown on February 6.

I think the port of Calais is 32 miles from Dover. The migrants at Calais are relentlessly testing the boundaries (literally) of the Channel Tunnel and the Port of Calais.

There’s been a lot of reaction to the killing of Cecil the lion and the lads from the illustrious police force on the Isles of Scilly have given the best take on it.

Shaneshill looks the stand-out bet on tomorrow’s card in Fairyhouse which features two Grade 1 races.

Gitane Du Berlais ran her rivals ragged as she made all the running to win unchallenged in the Prix Juigne at Auteuil yesterday.

ALONG and bustling history comes with Riverbank House and Quay, a River Bandon-set home that gives its owners the chance to sail the seven seas — if they start off leaving on a high tide.

Oscar Whisky strengthened his claims for what will probably be a tilt at the Jewson Novices’ Chase at the Festival with a clear-cut defeat of Taquin Du Seuil in the Cheltenham Pony Club Raceday Novices’ Chase yesterday.

Big Ben is to chime non-stop for three minutes to ring in the Olympic Games.

It is time for all the talking to stop and the action to begin and as this week is all about winners, there appears to be no reason to desert Hurricane Fly in the Stan James Champion Hurdle.

A DEEP-SEA tug towed the stricken super-yacht Rambler 100 to a sheltered cove on the south west coast last night ahead of a major salvage operation today.

More than 20 crew on board a racing yacht are recovering today following a dramatic rescue when it capsized off the Cork coast.

THE Noel Meade-trained Realt Dubh is the sole Irish challenger in this afternoon’s Arkle Novices’ Chase.

MY road to the festival was the M5.

Hogg has cornered, in just two films, an intriguing section of the English community, the beleaguered middle-class family.

IRELAND’S most famous yacht designer has told how he is still haunted by his memories of narrowly cheating death in the 1979 Fastnet disaster.

JUST as the nation was celebrating the European Championships silver medal won by Cork runner, Derval O’Rourke, another Irish athlete gave Ireland something to cheer about at the weekend as part of a record-breaking rowing team.

IT’S AN ill wind that doesn’t blow someone some good. Even the volcanic ash has benefited some people – the mâitre d’hotel at Rick Stein’s seafood restaurant in Padstow was beaming from ear to ear when I was there recently.

AT LAST, restaurants are reporting an increased appetite for eating out; perhaps those green shoots really are sprouting. I’ve had several requests from readers for an update on the London food scene. Lots of good things are happening over there – despite the cautious atmosphere, many young people are “chomping at the bit” to open cafes, restaurants and gastro pubs.

THE seaside setting of this Glengarriff, Co Cork, house could have been custom-tailored for its owner of several decades — he was a former US Navy officer in WWII, but carved a huge half-century career and reputation as a maritime lawyer.

THE seaside setting of this Glengarriff, Co Cork, house could have been custom-tailored for its owner of several decades — he was a former US Navy officer in WWII, but carved a huge half-century career and reputation as a maritime lawyer.

Jim Lewis was back in the winner’s enclosure on King George day at Kempton as Breedsbreeze maintained a 100% record over fences in the Nigel Clark Feltham Novices’ Chase.

AS A record-breaking junior mountain climber, Sean McSharry takes the “what I did in the holidays” assignment to new levels.

Gary Moore has no fancy plans for his recent Warwick winner Verasi.

Everyone loves a grey in racing, particularly a good one, so all eyes were on Detroit City as the young pretender to the established order of hurdling stars made his final public appearance ahead of his big date at Cheltenham next month.

Paul Nicholls ended a relative lean spell when saddling his first winners for 15 days as New Little Bric and Taranis provided him with a short-priced double at Sandown.

A WEST CORK trawler skipper and a member of his six-man crew narrowly escaped death at sea yesterday when their boat went down 160 miles off the Scilly Isles.

CHAMPION trainer Paul Nicholls could be three-handed with Bold Fire, Chamoss Royale and New Little Bric in the totesport.com Scilly Isles Novices’ Chase at Sandown on Saturday.

Napolitain and Tony McCoy just held on to take an incident-packed renewal of the Grade One totesport.com Scilly Isles Novices’ Chase at Sandown.

BARRY GERAGHTY has come in for the plum ride on Paul Nicholls’ exciting novice chaser Hoo La Baloo in Saturday’s Victor Chandler Handicap Chase.

Tommy Barker says this marine property is located in desirable Kinsale.

The English coastguard has rescued the crew of a sailing vessel that disappeared shortly after leaving Kenmare Harbour in Co Kerry nine days ago.

Inner London is the richest part of the European Union, a new survey revealed today.

THREE adults and three children were killed yesterday and several others seriously injured as gales swept across England and Wales.

An intensive search was continuing tonight for a crew member believed to have gone overboard from the QE2 in the Atlantic.

A chef missing from the QE2 was last seen at about 1.30am, at the end of his shift, according to coastguards.