Nick Rockett holds off I Am Maximus to win thrilling 2025 Grand National – as it happened

The phrase used by many in racing that we are all living in “Willie’s world” now was never truer than today. The first three for the trainer in the Grand National and, indeed, five of the first seven home is an incredible statistic. The Irish handler is now 2-5 favourite to regain his UK (!) trainers’ title having been 12-1 on Thursday before the Aintree meeting started. There’s no stopping him and with the way his team is set up, sourcing the best horses and attracting the best-off owners, it’s clear his domination will continue for some time to come. That’s the big story from today … hope you had a winner at some point and see you again next on live blog duty for the Derby … at Epsom!1 Green Splendour (Mr P W Mullins) 10-3 Fav 2 Destination Dubai (Kielan Woods) 10-1 3 Koktail Brut (Mr Harry Swan) 11-2 15 ran Non Runners: 1,2,5,6,19A fairy tale day for Patrick Mullins gets even better!The Grand National-winning rider steers home Green Splendour in the finale and on a day of days for Willie Mullins and the Closutton team pic

Leinster deliver Champions Cup statement with 10-try Harlequins thrashing

The Leinster prop Andrew Porter popped the words “small margins” into his immediate reaction to a landslide win when Harlequins were buried under blue coloured earth. We know what he meant. Leinster’s unrequited love of European rugby, since winning the Champions Cup in 2018, has twisted and turned on a few of the moments the prop was talking about.But not this one. Not this extravaganza of continuous rugby that started with the away side owning the first 10 minutes – and then getting lost – and gradually unfolded into an all you can eat buffet with tries on the menu

Grand National glory for Nick Rockett as he leads home a Willie Mullins 1-2-3

There have been many remarkable races and afternoons in Willie Mullins’s training career during his rise to unprecedented dominance in National Hunt racing, but never anything to match the nine minutes of Saturday’s Grand National at Aintree, as Nick Rockett, a 33-1 chance ridden by his son, Patrick, led home a 1-2-3 for the family’s yard, with two more of their six-strong team finishing in the first seven.Mullins has had 1-2-3s in big races before. He even had a 1-2-3-4-5 in a race at Cheltenham’s festival meeting last year and the concentration of jumping talent in his yard, as a result of the huge demand for his services, means he often has a fair percentage of the field in some of the sport’s major events.But the Grand National is a handicap, a race in which every horse is weighted according to ability, and the one that every owner, trainer and jockey dreams of winning from their earliest days in the sport. Mullins had six runners in the 34-strong field, and only Appreciate It, who was brought down at the 21st, failed to break into the first seven

Toulon run 72 points past Saracens in chaotic 16-try Champions Cup tie

It is not often a team can ship 10 tries, concede more than 70 points and strike a defiant tone in the aftermath, but this was no ordinary contest. Saracens’ director of rugby, Mark McCall, was evidently irked by the criticism he received for resting five England players, the suggestion being that he had disrespected the competition. Though there was an inevitability to Toulon cantering to victory once they had gathered themselves, an understrength Saracens side gave their hosts a sizeable scare.It is impossible to tell if Maro Itoje, Jamie George, Ben Earl, Tom Willis and Elliot Daly would have made enough of a difference, but the suspicion is – not least because Saracens are not the first English club to be on the wrong side of a hiding against French opposition this season – they would still be bowing out in the last 16. Maybe the final margin would not have been 30 points, but when French sides get on a roll the evidence shows us that English teams find them nigh-on impossible to stop

‘Special one’: Max Verstappen pips Lando Norris to F1 Japanese GP pole

Max Verstappen delivered a salutary lesson to anyone who might consider his world championship defence a forlorn hope with one of the best qualifying performances of his career in claiming pole for the Japanese Grand Prix.In a car that is a handful to drive, at a circuit where precision and total commitment go hand in hand, Verstappen wrestled the beast through what was no less than a champion’s drive.His Red Bull team were elated as he pipped the McLarens of Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri, who have been quickest in the buildup, into second and third, beating the Briton by one-hundredth of a second. The scale of their joy was matched perhaps only by the surprise of team and driver.“If you look at how our season started, even during this weekend, it’s very unexpected

Max Verstappen on pole after blistering final lap in F1 Japanese GP qualifying – as it happened

A fourth straight pole position in Suzuka by Max Verstappen and a reminder sent to the rest of the field that, for all the pace of the McLarens this season, he’s still the four-time defending world champion.Fitted out with a livery paying tribute to Honda, it will be Red Bull that starts from pole tomorrow, with the papaya of Lando Norris’ McLaren alongside. Oscar Piastri will have to make do with starting next to Charles Leclerc on the second row and two rookies in Kimi Antonelli and Isack Hadjar will line up next to George Russell and Lewis Hamilton on the third and fourth rows respectively.Further back, in his home grand prix and first race for Red Bull, Yuki Tsunoda will be looking to storm up the grid from his starting position in 15th but before he can do any of that, he’s going to have to get past the man he replaced in 14th-placed Liam Lawson.Add to all the chance of a bit of rain – hopefully enough to prevent any more fires breaking out – and it looks like the stage has been set for a cracking GP