Digest BOXING
RACING
British Horseracing Authority chief executive Julie Harrington is not anticipating any issues for Denise Foster-trained runners at next week’s Cheltenham Festival – although the regulator is still seeking to clarify conditions surrounding the transfer of Gordon Elliott’s string.
Elliott is currently banned for six months – with a further six suspended – following an image posted on social media which pictured him sat astride a dead horse.
With the Cheltenham Festival beginning on Tuesday, the BHA was pleased the Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board handed out a swift punishment but is aware winners for the yard, which has been hugely successful at the meeting in recent years, will inevitably bring with them unwanted headlines.
“We want the coverage to be about the great stories and the great achievements of the horses – it is the shop window for our sport,” Harrington said.
“We’re doing everything we can to support everyone to tell those stories. We hope the focus is on the horses.”
Lee McGregor admits he plans to show he is now a ‘different animal’ in his European bantamweight tussle with Karim Guerfi next Friday.
The British and Commonwealth champion is aiming to get his hands on the Frenchman’s belt when the pair meet in the ring in Bolton.
The fight is set to go ahead at the fourth attempt following previous coronavirus-related postponements.
McGregor said: “One good thing I can take from all these postponements is that I’m improving a lot.
“Since that fight (against Farooq) you’ve got the same guy with the same heart and same hunger but just a lot more better now and just a different animal, if I’m being honest.”
CYCLING
Tao Geoghegan Hart was taken to hospital for checks after being left feeling “a bit dizzy” following the crash which ended his participation in Paris-Nice yesterday.
The Giro d’Italia winner came off his bike on the descent of the penultimate climb, Mont Brouilly, around 19km from the end of the 187.6km fourth stage from Chalonsur-Saone to Chiroubles.
The 25-year-old Londoner remounted and attempted to finish the stage with the help of his Ineos Grenadiers team-mates but was in obvious pain, and the team revealed after the stage they were concerned he had taken a blow to the head in the incident.