SUNDAY-MARCH 07, 2021 Sport 05 Gordon Elliott: Irish trainer UK Open: Lisa Ashton sets women's scoring record as NBA handed year- Peter Wright and Gary Anderson crash out on day one fines long ban after Lisa Ashton produced a wom- beat Mark McGeeney 10-6 in en's world record average while round four as the last player stand- Jazz investigation Peter Wright and Gary Anderson ing from those that started in were among the high-profile ca- round one. into dead horse sualties on day one of the UK Ashton made a stunning start stars for photo Open, which also saw Michael to the competition, defeating van Gerwen and Gerwyn Price Aaron Beeney 6-2 in the second ripping In a statement issued late on progress as Raymond van Barn- round. Sunday evening, Elliott confirmed eveld suffered defeat in his tele- 'The Lancashire Rose' aver- the image was genuine and apolo- vised return. aged 100 in the triumph, in what gised "profoundly for any offence The major competition, often was her first televised win since officials that this photo has caused", while dubbed 'The FA Cup of Darts' due she won her PDC Tour Card last The NBA fined Utah seeking to explain what he said to an open draw taking place at year. Jazz stars Donovan Mitch- was the "context" of events that the end of each round, is taking She became the first woman led to the picture. ell and Rudy Gobert a total place behind closed doors at the to win at the UK Open since Deta of $45,000 on Friday for crit- The image was roundly con- Marshall Arena in Milton Key- Hedman in 2005, while her aver- icizing the officials after demned by racing authorities in nes. age of 100.30 was a world record Britain and Ireland, with the The big guns - specifically the for a female player. Wednesday’s 131-123 over- IHRB announcing an immediate top 32 in the PDC Order of Merit The win saw Ashton progress time loss to the 76ers in Phil- investigation and the British - entered the fray on Friday to the third round, but she fell to adelphia. Horseracing Authority issuing a Mitchell was fined temporary suspension on Elliott's evening, receiving byes into the Darius Labanauskas on a 6-2 runners until its conclusion. fourth round. scoreline. On Tuesday, leading owners In the final contest of the Barney, fresh from his first Cheveley Park Stud removed their night, former world champion PDC ranking title since 2013 last id Evans, with the Australian star ki announced himself in style ear- as Jitse van der Wal hit 'the nine' horses from Elliott, with the un- Snakebite was beaten 10-5 by a week, failed to mark his televised getting defeated 6-1. ly in the day. The 17-year-old, against him in the following game. beaten Envoi Allen one of those rampant Dave Chisnall, who fin- return with a win. The five-time Recent Q-School graduates who was not even born when the Bialecki and Van der Wal be- to join Henry de Bromhead. ished the game with a ton average world champ fell to a 6-3 defeat Danny Baggish and Kirk Shepherd inaugural UK Open took place in come just the sixth and seventh In addition to the suspension, to reach the last 32. at the hands of the in-form Alan were defeated in the second round, 2003, recorded the perfect leg dur- players to have hit nine-darters at Elliott was also ordered to pay Anderson had found himself Soutar, who went on to beat while Keane Barry and Jelle Klaas- ing a 6-2 first-round win over Scot- the UK Open, joining Phil Tay- costs of 15,000 euros. on the wrong end of a thriller as Stephen Bunting 10-5 later that en were among those to bow out land's Jim McEwan. lor, Mervyn King, Gary Ander- Delivering its verdict, a state- he lost 10-9 to Dirk van Duijven- evening. Damon Heta suffered a in the next stage. However, Bialecki was then son, Michael van Gerwen and ment from the IHRB referrals bode after the Dutchman survived shock defeat at the hands of Dav- 17-year-old Sebastian Bialec- given a taste of his own medicine, Jonny Clayton in an elite club. committee said in its view "there two match darts to seal the win in is also a sinister aspect to this a last-leg decider. case. The committee are satisfied Van Gerwen came from 8-7 that the publication of this pho- down to overcome Scott Mitchell tograph is part of a concerted at- Five things to look out for at Paris-Nice 2021 tack on Mr Elliott, the full cir- 10-8 in a less-than-stellar perfor- cumstances of which are un- mance, while his successor in the Primož Roglic (Jumbo-Visma) by Tom Dumoulin as he takes a ing, and Paris-Nice will begin to domestiques including his Giro known". world No 1 slot Price coasted to a returns to racing for the first time break from cycling. offer an answer. That Giro victo- right-hand-man Rohan Dennis, new "This has been canvassed not 10-5 win over Peter Hudson. since winning the Vuelta a España As the first step towards his ry was not only the first time Hart signing Laurens De Plus, and Rich- for the purposes of defence or One of the matches of the last November, to begin what ultimate goal of victory at this had finished in the top 10 of a ie Porte on his return to Ineos all absolution but in order to explain evening session came courtesy of could be a career-defining season year’s Tour, Roglic and Jumbo- Grand Tour, but the first time he’d working for him. $25,000 for public criticism the publication of a photograph Michael Smith and Joe Cullen, the for the Slovenian. He’ll start as Visma will be expecting a strong done so in any WorldTour stage Whether or not Hart can han- of the officiating and for his that has existed since 2019." former - having found himself 5-1 favourite, as he does for pretty start. Was Tao Geoghegan Hart’s race. Significantly, in the vast ma- dle the extra expectations of lead- conduct while exiting the In considering sanctions, it down - edging it 10-9 with an 11- much every stage race he starts. stunning overall victory at the jority of his previous appearanc- ing a team may shape how Ineos court. said "the committee recognises dart deciding leg after his oppo- Since April 2018, he’s been on an Giro d’Italia last year a one-off, es, he rode in the role of domes- Grenadiers choose to deploy him that the sanction must be arrived After the two-time All- nent had missed double 10 for a extraordinary run of success in or should the Briton now be con- tique with no ambitions of a high this season, making Paris-Nice po- Star guard drew two tech- at taking into account all of the 128 checkout to clinch the victo- non-Grand Tour stage races, win- sidered one of the world’s top finish himself. This year’s Paris- tentially a dress rehearsal for the circumstances, and the aggravat- nical fouls and was ejected ry. ning the overall classification in stage racers? That’s one of the big Nice will therefore be a new expe- Tour de France. Could he follow in with 30.8 seconds left, he ing and mitigating factors includ- Former UK Open champion seven of the last nine he has com- questions British fans are mulling rience for Hart, as he is set to lead the footsteps of Egan Bernal, who ing Mr Elliott's personal circum- “recklessly” knocked over Nathan Aspinall was beaten 10-5 peted in. This will be his first ever over as the 2021 season gets go- the team, with a squad of quality won Paris-Nice in 2019, and went stances, in order to achieve a pro- a water cooler while leaving portionate result". by Krzysztof Ratajski despite a Paris-Nice, and the crosswinds for on to win the Tour de France later 101.7 average, and Premier League which the race is notorious could that season? the court, the league said in The IHRB said Elliott had a news release issued by "expressed what we believe to be champion Glen Durrant saw his pose a different kind of challenge Last year’s Paris-Nice was a tournament end prematurely at than he’s used to, but the Slove- strange, eerie affair. It took place executive vice president of a genuine remorse and accepts that basketball operations Kiki he is unlikely to forget this epi- the hands of a 10-6 loss to Danny nian has generally risen to every just as the Covid crisis was coming sode in his life", with the commit- Noppert. other challenge he’s encountered to a head, and continued despite VanDeWeghe. tee adding it believed he "genuine- On the back of winning his these past few years, and the calls for it to cease as the serious- “It’s tough to go out ly accepts that he was extraordi- first senior PDC ranking title in punchy climbs and time trial stage ness of the pandemic became clear, there and see how hard we narily foolish to participate in the Bolton last week, Callan Rydz will surely suit him. until finally stopping a day early.