‘TikTok effect’ brings sellout crowds and younger fans to Grand National meeting

Ladies’ Day at Aintree draws sellout crowd for first time since 2012 as Jockey Club’s social media strategy pays offHorse-by-horse guide to this year’s Grand NationalThe Aintree morning was still young, and the temperatures frigid enough for a thick coat, when Hayley Bentley arrived at Ladies’ Day wearing only a bridal dress and veil. “I love racing and got my future husband into it,” she explained. “So what better excuse is there to get dressed up for Ladies’ Day and spend your hen party with 23 of your favourite people?”Everywhere you looked that sentiment was being echoed and magnified by 55,000 other racegoers, most dressed in their finest suits and silks, who were basking in the first Ladies’ Day sellout since 2012.Forget the limping economy and the violent headwinds from the war in the Middle East. Liverpool was determined to look its best and party like it was the roaring 20s

School drop, fly to Augusta, home for dinner: Rory McIlroy’s scouting trips pay off at Masters

Rory McIlroy has explained how scouting trips to Augusta National in the weeks leading up to the Masters have played a significant role in his domination of this staging of the major. McIlroy’s second round of 65 – which included six birdies in the closing seven holes – set a Masters record, with the defending champion the first man to lead the tournament by six at the halfway point.Entering the Masters, it was assumed McIlroy’s three-week break from PGA Tour business was to conserve energy. Instead, he made smart use of his private jet as he looks to become just the fourth golfer to win back-to-back Masters titles.“I honestly just don’t like the three tournaments leading up to this event,” said McIlroy with only half a smile

The Masters day two: Rory McIlroy bursts into six-shot lead – as it happened

Here’s Ewan Murray’s report live from Augusta. That’s it for the blog today. Thanks for reading and join us again for Saturday’s third round.A calm and relaxed Rory McIlroy reflects on his stunning start. Asked to explain it, the defending champions pauses for thought and then hits his stride

Rory McIlroy surges into six-shot Masters lead with stunning second-round flourish

After spending 16 years as the hunter, Rory McIlroy is relishing his position as the hunted. The defending Masters champion has reached the halfway point of the 2026 staging in a style that asserts his desperation to hang on to the Green Jacket. Elk, served as sliders in the 36-year-old’s champions dinner on Tuesday evening, were seen diving for cover in mountainous regions as McIlroy placed daylight between himself and pretenders to his throne.McIlroy won at Augusta National in 2025 and eventually discovered that was not his final career destination after all. He is now 36 holes from becoming only the fourth man in history to back up a Masters win with a Masters win

Justin Rose struggles to keep his cool in the heat but Masters dream lives on | Andy Bull

Hot days and hard greens at the Masters. It was up in the mid- 80s by lunchtime on Friday, and that was if you were underneath the trees with a Georgia peach ice-cream sandwich. Out there on the other side of the ropes it looked a whole lot hotter again. The world’s best golfers sweated away chasing after Rory McIlroy’s lead in conditions which, they all agreed, could yet get as tough as they come at Augusta National. By midway through the afternoon McIlroy loomed over the tournament like the Augusta sun, and you worried players who made the mistake of looking right at the big white leaderboards might burn their eyes on the numbers he was running up

Bath hit back to reach semi-final after stunning Northampton in 11-try epic

There are big games and then there are contests which define entire campaigns. And when the moment came it was Bath who just had enough turbo thrust to propel themselves into the Champions Cup semi-finals for the first time in 20 years. There is little to separate the two best teams in England and this was another endlessly compelling battle of wits and wills, ultimately settled by a 76th-minute try by Bath’s replacement forward Ted Hill.Plenty of work still has to be done to reach the final in Bilbao next month with Johann van Graan’s side now facing the winners of Sunday’s mouthwatering all-French tie between Bordeaux and Toulouse. This was a truly sensational hors d’oeuvre, though, with nine tries in the first half alone