I’ve had enough of this bullying
Going: Good-good to firm in places Draw: Any advantage in the draw is dependent on the position of the stalls. ELYAASAAT AREEN FAISAL SALSABEEL SACRED ACT SALOUEN FIREFRIGHT SEEKING MAGIC
16-1 Close up, ridden 2f out, stayed on to go 3rd near finish, 3rd of 10, 2l behind Rivet at Doncaster 1m 2yo Grp 1 (1) gd in Oct.
11-4 Raced wide in touch, headway in centre over 1f out, effort inside final furlong, driven to lead towards finish, won at Lingfield 1m 3yo Listed stks (1) pol beating Mr Scaramanga by nk, 7 ran. 8-1 Held up towards rear, headway when not clear run and switched right over 1f out, ridden and switched right again inside final furlong, kept on into 4th, not reach leaders, 4th of 10, 4l behind South Seas at Sandown 7f 2yo Grp 3 (1) gs in Aug. 8-1 Led on rail, ridden and headed over 1f out, soon edged right, chased winner until just inside final furlong, kept on same pace in 4th, 4th of 10, 6l behind Best Solution at Newmarket 1m 2yo Grp 3 (1) gd in Oct.
14-1 In touch towards rear, ridden and headway over 1f out, effort to press winner when hampered inside final furlong, ran on, 2nd of 8, hd behind D’bai at Pontefract 1m 2yo lst stk (1) sft in Oct. 7-2fav Mid-division, headway over 2f out, ridden over 1f out, kept on inside final furlong, 3rd of 10, 2 3/4l behind Bin Battuta at Doncaster 1m 2f 3yo hcp 0-95 (3) gd. 7-2 Led early, tracked winner, ridden over 1f out, no impression and lost 2nd near finish, 3rd of 5, 2 1/2l behind Medieval at Epsom Downs 1m 2yo stks (3) gd in Sep. RONNIE O’Sullivan accused the snooker authorities of bullying and intimidating him in a breathtaking outburst at the Betfred World Championship.
The 41-year-old five-time Crucible champion pointed the finger at World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn and his board.
And he revealed the extent of his distress at receiving a letter from disciplinary chiefs after he criticised a referee and photographer during January’s Masters.
Hearn last week O’Sullivan, telling Association Sport his recent behaviour in media interviews was “embarrassing”, following a series of bizarre exchanges.
O’Sullivan has deliberately and repeatedly given oneword answers to questions he has faced after matches, while in an ITV interview at the World Grand Prix February he gave a series responses in a robotic voice.
This time O’Sullivan struck back, and said: “I phoned Barry up four weeks ago and I said, ‘Barry, I’m done with all you and your board of people.’
“And I’ve got a very good friend of mine who said, ‘Just let my lawyers deal with it.’ I won’t get involved with it because I’m not being bullied, I’m not having people doing that to me ever again.
“I’m just fortunate I’ve got a very good friend who’s got very good lawyers and they’ve got my back. I just want to play and have fun.
“I like Barry, but I’m not being intimidated or bullied any more.”
O’Sullivan was speaking after making a winning start to his 25th Crucible campaign as he saw off Wallsend’s Gary Wilson 10-7.
The Masters champion had two centuries and eight further breaks of above 50 against the debutant, but he is reluctant to open up about his matches, and revealed the reason why that is his stance.
“It’s important that I keep focused, keep professional, keep myself out of trouble and just try to come and do a job,” O’Sullivan said. “It’s all about business. “I have no problem with the press, but sometimes I say things I shouldn’t say and get myself in hot bother and I get a letter through saying I need to respond in 14 days, a day before a tournament and it’s kind of messed up my last three or four tournaments.” O’Sullivan has been out of sorts ever since his Masters triumph at Alexandra Palace, failing to win back-to-back matches at the five events he has played since that tournament and his trip to Sheffield.
He blames the snooker authorities - World Snooker and the World Professional Billiards and Snooker Association - saying they have put him in the wrong frame of mind to play.
“I couldn’t win a match really, and I thought that it’s not fair on the fans, it’s not fair on the people who have invested in me, and I don’t really think I’ve done a lot wrong,” he added.