JAMIE ELSON joined the ever increasing number of English golfing talent to capture his maiden professional title at the Volvo Finnish Open on the European Challenge Tour.

TOOLS of torture that Saddam Hussein’s son, Uday, used to punish underperforming Iraqi athletes were displayed yesterday at a Baghdad sports stadium in advance of the Olympic Games next month.

PUNCHESTOWN, Saturday, November 2, and an eight-race programme.

LIZ DOYLE, who has just returned after being sidelined for six weeks due to injury, took the Open Lightweight Race (confined to lady riders) at the West Carbery Hunt Point-to-Point at Skibbereen on Saturday on her own Sober Performance (evens to 4-6).

THE Irish Stallion Farms’ EBF Race at Tipperary tonight has attracted six previous winners, but it is the maiden Hitchcock who may provide the solution.

KYMANDJEN, a more than useful handicapper, landed the valuable Wilf Dooly Chase at Tramore yesterday to continue the good run of Paul Nolan and John Cullen.

Simon Lewis looks at the events that captured the sporting imagination during 2002.

ACCORDING to 87% of people surveyed in a British newspaper poll, the butler definitely did not do it.

Paul O'Hare

GOWRAN PARK, which has been hugely re-developed, threw open its gates to the press yesterday and three handlers, Michael Bowe, Willie Mullins and Frances Crowley availed of the opportunity to gallop some of their stars.

IT is called the Hermitage - but it’s a classic misnomer. Andrew Carlos Clarke is not, never was and has no intention of ever being a hermit.

WAR OF ATTRITION, even if his trainer Mouse Morris refuses to commit him to the race, remained firmly on the Gold Cup trail with a solid half a length defeat of Rathgar Beau in the Clonmel Oil Chase at Clonmel yesterday.

HORSES frequently fail to live up to hype, but one doubts if Dermot Weld’s Grey Swallow will ever be accused of that.

SERGIO GARCIA and Annika Sorenstam came up with a European double in America last night.

JOHN THOMAS McNAMARA, who received widespread acclaim for his Cheltenham success on Spot Thedifference, was again seen at his strongest when winning the Garryrichard Stud Tertratema Cup yesterday on 8/1 shot Good Step.