TUESDAY, MARCH 15, 2016 SPORTS Cheltenham awaits new champions, Pendleton swops saddles CHELTENHAM: This week’s Cheltenham ners in 2015, also saddles Nichols Un De Sceaux, who stamped his claim pipped him in the shadow of the post in on a horse this time last year, aims to Festival will crown two new champions, Canyon, who had second favourite when trouncing former champion Sire the King George over a shorter distance. add a remarkable chapter to her career hails the return of a superstar, and sees Identity Thief two lengths back when De Grugy at Ascot in January. Mullins, who has never won a Gold by lining up in the amateur Gold Cup - cycling queen Victoria Pendleton com- winning at Leopardstown in December. Thursday’s World Hurdle looks at the Cup, also has Don Poli, like Vautour chas- the Foxhunters Chase. peting at National Hunt’s Olympics British hopes are carried chiefly by mercy of Thistlecrack but whatever his ing a Festival hat-trick and Djakadam, She told London’s Evening Standard months after learning to ride. The New One. Trainer Nigel Twiston- fate trainer Colin Tizzard’s heart will be runner-up to Coneygree last year. that her motivation for accepting the With injury depriving the brilliant Davis is hoping it’s a case of third time pumping quicker than the milk Assessing the quality of his Festival challenge was not money, but a fresh Faugheen from defending his Champion lucky. Wednesday sees equine greatness machines back at his West Country dairy raiding party Mullins said: “I’m as gobs- challenge. Hurdle crown Tuesday’s opening day grace Prestbury Park in the shape of farm 24 hours later. macked and our team at home is as gob- “Post 2012, I tried winding down for showcase is there for the taking. returning hero Sprinter Sacre. Nicky The popular farmer-cum-trainer smacked as you guys (by the strength almost two years - we’ve got a lovely veg But such is the strength in depth of Henderson’s imposing charge routed his sends out Cue Card - one of the aces in a and depth of his Cheltenham team). patch at home - but, when you have Faugheen’s trainer Willie Mullins the Irish rivals to land the 2013 Champion Chase. Gold Cup field robbed of injured defend- “We don’t take it for granted, we look been part of something so big and suc- training phenomenon still saddles two ing champion Coneygree. at it and we think it’s unbelievable. We cessful, and then suddenly you’re not, it’s of the top three in the betting. MULLINS’ GOBSMACKED Cue Card cemented his standing as don’t think it’s a God-given right or any- a lot to deal with. Heading the market is his gutsy mare An irregular heart beat put his career one of the top chasers in the business in thing, we appreciate the fact that we “The past fades into history fairly Annie Power, generally on offer at 2-1. in jeopardy for a season. He made a the King George VI Chase at Kempton. have some beautiful horses.” quickly in the sporting world. I didn’t She was supplemented after advertising comeback last year, only to disappoint He is in line for a £1 million ($1.44m) The Gordon Elliott-trained Don want to sit looking back for the rest of her well being in a Punchestown prep. when pulling up behind Dodging bonus should he scale the chasing tree Cossack, travelling ominously well when my life at what I used to be because that A winner of 13 of her 15 races Annie Bullets. after wins at Kempton and Haydock. a penultimate-fence faller in the King makes you feel really sad.” In stark con- Power was primed to win at last year’s This term though, on the evidence of Among those out to stop him is George, is another with a huge chance. trast to conditions Pendleton experi- Festival only to come a cropper at the two emphatic victories, the old swagger Mullins’ Vautour, a brilliant Festival win- Half an hour after the Gold Cup, dou- enced at the 2012 Lee Valley VeloPark, final flight in the mares hurdle. Mullins, is back. He is a best-priced third ner 12 months ago but for whom stami- ble London 2012 Olympic cycling gold the going at Cheltenham is forecast as who sent out a record eight Festival win- favourite behind Mullins’ odds-on shot na is a question mark after Cue Card medallist Pendleton, who had never sat soft in places. —AFP Pound: Russia ‘dithering and procrastinating’ on doping LONDON: The man who headed the doping investigation that led to Russia’s suspension from global track and field sees little evidence that the country is doing enough to win rein- statement in time for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Former World Anti-Doping Agency president Dick Pound told The Associated Press on Wednesday that Russia is running out of time to clean up its drug-testing program in order for its athletes to able to compete at the games in August. “There has been a lot of bluster and blanket denial and saying, ‘You are picking on Russia,’ that sort of thing,” Pound said. “I can’t tell for sure whether they are taking this really seriously or LAUSANNE: David Howman, from New Zealand, Director General of the WADA, they assume the problem will go away.” British Craig Reedie, President of the World Anti-Doping Agency, WADA, and Swiss The Russian track federation was suspended Olivier Niggli, designated Director General of the World Anti-Doping Agency, WADA, in November after a report by Pound’s inde- from left, speak during a press conference during the WADA Symposium for Anti- pendent WADA commission detailed systematic Doping Organizations (ADOs), in Lausanne, Switzerland, yesterday. — AP corruption and doping cover-ups in Russia. The International Association of Athletics Federations has laid down a series of criteria for the Russians to meet before they can be eligible IOC retests Beijing drug for readmission. “We thought at the time when we released samples ahead of Rio the report that if they dropped everything and MONACO: International Association of Athletic Federations President Sebastian Coe arrives to went meet the media after attending a two-day council meeting in Monaco, Friday. Russia’s track LONDON: Armed with enhanced techniques, Beijing have been retested. A few months full speed ahead on genuine reform they and field federation has not yet done enough to reform its anti-doping program in order to the IOC is retesting hundreds of doping sam- after those games, the IOC reanalyzed nearly could probably get enough done to get back have its athletes reinstated to global competition, the IAAF said. —AP ples from the 2008 Beijing Olympics to weed 1,000 of the total of 4,000 samples with a new into Rio, but they have been dithering and pro- out drug cheats before they can compete in test for the blood-boosting drug CERA. Five crastinating and I think that time is really shrink- “There seems to be some evidence of changing between 2013 and 2015, has applied to com- this year’s Summer Games in Rio de Janeiro. athletes were caught, including 1,500-meter ing,” Pound said in an interview on the sidelines the deck chairs on the Titanic.” pete in Rio “in a capacity other than as a Russian In an interview with The Associated Press, gold medalist Rashid Ramzi of Bahrain. of the Tackling Doping in Sport conference at “It’s not just showing intent to change that’s athlete.” Reedie said he raised her case directly IOC medical director Dr. Richard Budgett said Budgett said some samples from the 2012 Twickenham Stadium. going to get them readmitted,” Pound added. with IOC President Thomas Bach in December. athletes who competed in Beijing and are London Olympics are also being retested now The IAAF’s governing council holds a two-day “There’s going to have to be verified action. It’s a “I understand she does have a qualifying likely to be selected for Rio are having their on a targeted basis ahead of the Rio Games, meeting beginning Thursday in Monaco, where considerable hurdle. If they haven’t put enough time,” Reedie said. “It’s now up to the IAAF and stored samples reanalyzed to catch any viola- although most are being saved for later officials will examine Russia’s efforts to reform. In into it, and the IAAF and WADA are not satisfied, the IOC.” Pound also reiterated his backing for my guess is they may not make it back for Rio.” Sebastian Coe, who became IAAF president in tors who evaded detection eight years ago. reanalysis. “We want to reserve samples for addition, WADA still needs to declare Russia’s national anti-doping agency and anti-doping Pound said the IAAF and WADA “are not going to August. “We want to protect the clean athletes the expected advances that will happen over lab compliant with its rules before the country risk their reputations any further by rolling over Coe has been under scrutiny because he who are going to be competing in Rio,” the next six years,” he said. can return to the international fold. and playing dead.” served as a vice president under former presi- Budgett said. “We are making sure that ath- Nearly 500 doping samples from the 2006 “They’re aware of the amount of work that is Reedie, meanwhile, said he was personally dent Lamine Diack, who is under criminal inves- letes who cheated back in 2008 don’t get to Winter Olympics in Turin have already been necessary,” WADA president Craig Reedie said.