Why time is not on big-spending Joorabchian’s side in make-or-break season

There was an unexpected, jarring moment in the winner’s enclosure at Newmarket last week as Kevin Philippart de Foy, the principal trainer for the football super-agent Kia Joorabchian’s Amo Racing operation, prepared to discuss his win with Sovereign Spell in the opening race on Craven Stakes day.The familiar “huddle” of reporters was ready to hear what might come next for the three-year-old, but first, the trainer had a question of his own: was anyone there to report for the Racing Post? Amo Racing and the British turf’s trade paper, it seems, are not currently on speaking terms, for reasons best known to themselves.Welcome back to the latest run of the compelling and highly unpredictable docudrama in which Joorabchian attempts to buy his way to racing’s top table. What better moment to catch up on some of the twists and turns in the story arc so far?Back in 2024, long-time viewers will recall, Joorabchian launched a full-frontal assault on the Book 1 sale at Tattersalls in October, going toe-to-toe with the biggest beasts in the game to recruit 22.9m gns (£24m) of yearlings to race in Amo’s purple colours

Brian McDermott to be named new England rugby league head coach this week

The former Leeds Rhinos coach Brian McDermott will be named as Shaun Wane’s successor as head coach of the England men’s national team later this week.McDermott, the most successful coach in Super League history having guided Leeds Rhinos to eight major honours during his time with the club, has seen off interest from the likes of Sam Burgess and the current Rhinos coach, Brad Arthur, to land the honour of taking England to this autumn’s Rugby League World Cup in Australia.The 56-year-old is currently working in the NRL as an assistant coach at Newcastle Knights. However, he has been identified by the Rugby Football League (RFL) as the ideal man to succeed Wane, who parted company with the national team at the start of this year after a series whitewash at the hands of the Kangaroos in last year’s Ashes.McDermott was on a five-man shortlist who were interviewed for the role last week by the governing body

London to host historic first team time trial for Tour de France Femmes in 2027

London will provide the backdrop for a landmark moment in cycling history as it hosts the first team time trial in the women’s Tour de France next year.The best riders in the women’s peloton will race against the clock as teams, on a central London circuit of approximately 18km, pass the Houses of Parliament, London Eye and Tower Bridge, culminating in a finish on the Mall.“The team time trial has always been one of the most exciting and spectacular formats in cycling, and we are very proud that the first one will take place in London,” the race ­director Marion Rousse said. “It’s a huge moment in the history of the race.”Although the men’s race visited London in 2007 and 2014, 2027 is the inaugural visit of the Tour de France Femmes to the capital, with the team time trial providing a showcase finale to three days of UK-based racing

Floods, baskets and Billie Jean King: how the rough and tumble WBL set the stage for the WNBA

It was the night before the 1980 Women’s Professional Basketball League draft in New York City and the Dallas Diamonds had the No 1 pick. But the team’s top brass was split. Coach Greg Williams wanted to take the 6ft 5in Danish star Inge Nissen, and the team’s GM Nancy Nichols prized Nancy Lieberman, the American point guard people called “Lady Magic”.“We argued for days about Nissen versus Lieberman,” Nichols tells the Guardian.Nichols remembers the hours after dinner that night; everyone had retired to their rooms

Jack Draper faces French Open fitness race as knee injury worries deepen

Jack Draper has been ruled out for at least another month as injuries continue to disrupt his hopes of establishing himself as one of the top players in the world.Draper has withdrawn from the Madrid Open this week and the subsequent Italian Open due to the aggravated knee tendon injury that forced him to retire from his opening match at the Barcelona Open last week. Although he will miss most of the clay-court season, Draper is still aiming to compete at Roland Garros, which begins in five weeks on 24 May. He is considering entering one of the tournaments scheduled a week before the French Open.“An aggravated tendon in my knee means I am not able to play in Madrid and Rome,” Draper said in a statement

LeBron James is 41. And he’s somehow still carrying his team in the playoffs

The Lakers star would have been expecting to play a supporting role as he burrows into his 40s. But injuries means he has assumed a familiar roleLeBron James must be so sick of this. If he wanted to experience being the best player on an otherwise thin team, he could simply remember the Cleveland Cavaliers’ run to the NBA finals in 2007. Or the 2015 NBA finals when his best teammates, Kyrie Irving and Kevin Love, suffered injuries. Or the 2018 season, which convinced SNL to make a spoof of James’ support staff