CASEY RETURNS
4-1 (10-11) 2nd of 4, 3½l off Dynamite Dollars (11-5) at Donc 2m nov chs G2 (1) gd 14-1 (11-7) 5th of 11, 13l behind Yorkist (11-5) at Aintree 2m hcp chs (3) gd in Nov 11-2 (10-12) 8th of 9, well behind Unison (11-7) at Taunton 2m 3f hcp hdle (2) gs 5-1 (10-10) P/u, won by Sensulano (11-3) at Chelt 2m 4f mrs hcp hdl (2) gs, 9 ran
S10-1 (11-8) 3rd of 11, 5l off Movie Legend (10-13) at Wetherby 1m 7f hcp chs (3) gd
GG10-1 (10-10) 5th of 8, 8l off Drumlee Sunset (11-4) at Warwick 2m 4f hcp chs (2) gd
G10-3 (11-10) 3rd of 7, 15l behind Deise Vu (11-1) at Southwell 2m hcp chs 0-115 (4) gd
G13-8fav (11-3) Won at M’burgh 2m 4f mdn hdl (4) gd bt Animore (10-10) by 12l, 6 ran
G22-1 (10-3) P/u, won by L’Inganno Felice (11-2) at M Ras 2m 1f lstd hcp hdle (1) gd, 13 ran
G6-4fav (10-12) Won at M Ras 2m 1f hcp hdl (4) gs bt Et Moi Alors (11-5) by 8l, 8 ran
Y16-1 (10-6) 12th of 15, well behind Try Again (10-11) at Leopardstown 2m nov hcp hdl JOSHUA BUATSI discovered boxing by sparring on his housing estate – and it kept him off the street.
The light-heavyweight star, who fights for the British title on Saturday against Liam Conroy, was born in Ghana, but grew up in Croydon from the age of nine.
And he knows all too well about the temptations that come with having too much time on your hands as a teenager in that part of south London.
“I’m not going to say I was a thug or a gangster, but I was around people that had been through things,” said the Olympic bronze medallist.
Knife crime is a huge problem in this country at the moment with Croydon not escaping it, but Buatsi believes those being lured into that life have to be given more chances like he was.
“I needed something which was captivating enough to say, ‘I’d rather do this than hang about in the estate or on the streets’,” added Buatsi, 26.
“It is always sad to hear that a life has been taken away due to knife crime or any crime. I don’t know what makes them pick up a knife.
“It’s also not nice to hear someone has been sentenced to 20 years as that’s time you can not make back.
“Whatever it is that made me change, I wish there was a formula that I could tell them as well PAUL CASEY today starts his defence of the Valspar Championship – paired with world No.1 Dustin Johnson – after beating Tiger Woods in the final round last year.
The Ryder Cup star shot a final round 65 at the Innisbrook Resort to hold off Woods and Patrick Reed by a single shot. It was the and they could apply it.” He was born in Accra, a city that has produced six world boxing champs already, but his own journey started aged 15 in London.
“My best friend came to the estate we lived in and had a lot of boxing gloves in his boot, so we took them out and everyone just started sparring each other,” said Buatsi.
“He stood out, but I noticed there was a skill to what he was doing. That’s what I said, ‘I wanted to learn this skill’.”
Now he is unbeaten in nine pro bouts, with seven knockouts.
And the next step up the ladder is the Conroy fight as he bids to follow in Anthony Joshua’s footsteps and become a star who packs out stadiums. US-based Brit’s first win anywhere since the 2014 KLM Open.
“It has been great being back on the course to relive those very cool memories,” said world No.15 Casey.
“It was emotional for numerous reasons as it had been a while since I had won, coupled with playing good golf and not winning.”