WHAT’S HOT WHAT’S NOT

HOT HOLLIE DOYLE

SHE HAD already re-defined the word sensational this year before her win at the Hong Kong International Jockeys’ Championship capped it all. The horses at the competition are not well known. It’s all about the riders showcasing their talent on a world stage. Her win on Harmony N Blessed was the first ever by a female rider in the tournament.

BREAKDANCING

THERE were sceptics when breakdancing was included in the 2024 Paris Olympics, though for creativity, imagination and athleticism it beats dressage, pistol shooting and wrestling. China’s Zeng Yingying, aka Yingzi, is already targeting gold. Remember the name.

JAMES VINCE

THE 29-year-old crashed 67 off 41 balls for the Sydney Sixers against the Hobart Hurricanes in his opening innings of Australia’s Big Bash, before a dismissal which prompted a dramatic collapse and defeat for the reigning champions. Are you watching, Eoin Morgan?

NOT FLAMENGO

THE club who produced Zico are disgracing Brazilian football. It’s nearly a year since 10 of their young players, aged 14 to 16, were killed when fire swept through their grossly inadequate academy, which had already breached fire regulations 31 times. This week, it emerged they’ve managed to overturn a court ruling ordering them to pay a regular allowance of £1,500 to the boys’ bereaved families. Shame on you.

PAUL POGBA

WE’RE still waiting for an apology from the player who allowed his agent to declare, ahead of Manchester United’s match at Leipzig, that he’d rather be playing for someone better. Show him the door, United.

FRENCH RUGBY

IT IS two years since Nicolas Chauvin was killed, aged 19, by a brutally high doubletackle, five minutes into an academy game for the Stade Francais Espoirs. His second vertebra was fractured — an injury more consistent with the impact of a car crash. Ever since, his father Philippe has pleaded with the FFR to bring tougher penalties for the kind of play which killed his son. He’s still waiting.