Kauto the Star Performer at Kempton

Kauto Star, winner of the King George VI Chase four times previous, created history on Boxing Day to record a fifth victory in the infamous race at Kempton.

The 11-year-old, ridden by Ruby Walsh, overturned last year’s defeat to young rival, Long Run, to triumph in the race for the fifth time in six years, winning by just over a length.

Kauto Star becomes now the only horse in history to win the King George VI Chase five times, moving ahead of Desert Orchid’s tally of four successes.

Kauto Star had starting odds of 3/1 and was amongst the front runners throughout the race, with Long Run, starting as the favourite at even money, consistently behind the veteran horse.

The Paul Nicholls trained horse has silenced many critics with this success, after the two-time Cheltenham Gold Cup champion had tasted defeat twice to the Nicky Henderson trained Long Run, at the start of the season.

Nicholls stated post-race, "He's just awesome and I knew we had him in serious order. I don't know why he wasn't quite right last year.

"If he gets to Cheltenham in that form he'll be the one to beat [in the Gold Cup]."

Jockey, Walsh, had ridden a near perfect race on Kauto Star, with fences and ditches providing no trouble for the experienced duo of man and horse.

And with Kauto Star leading, and quickening, the pace coming into the final straight, the fate of the race were in their shoes, as, despite Long Run finishing the stronger, the ever popular Kauto Star held his place at the front of the pack.

Walsh stated of Kauto Star after the race: "He's an amazing horse. He looked a million dollars and he felt great. He jumped super and travelled great. This is a fairytale. He's a wonderful horse and it's a credit to the people who work with him every day.

"He's beaten a six-year-old [Long Run] and he's 12 next week. To keep a horse going as long as that is amazing.

"You can say what you want about the best steeplechasers of all time, but he's outlasted them all. He's lasted longer than any other horse and that's what makes him so brilliant.

"This horse is as tough as nails and he's exceptional."

Kauto Star now possesses a record of having raced 40 times in his career, winning 23 times, and has only been unplaced in just six outings.

Football Unites A Nation

Libya, a country surrounded by hostility and violence, overcame the struggles of national conflict on the football pitch to defy the odds and qualify for the 2012 African Cup of Nations.

The side, represented under a new flag, a new national anthem, and a new strip had a squad unity, despite the country’s fighting ripping the motherland in two.

However much like the nation awaiting the crucial result back home, the qualification process became a turbulent ride for the footballers too. Their own suffering included the side overcoming the effects of Ramadan during their first match, whilst their second game was overshadowed by the passing of their team doctor.

However all was forgotten after a heroic defensive display in Zambia, reflective of those caught up in the terror back home, meant the North Africans forced a 0-0 draw to ensure qualification.

The game typified the attitude of the nation’s people. In a never say die manner, the Libyan side, despite being on the back foot for so long stood firm, making sure the Zambian onslaught would result in nothing but frustration.

Within the Libyan ranks was veteran goalkeeper Samir Aboud, who produced two crucial saves to keep his nation’s hopes alive.

And despite the constant bombardment of Zambia’s attacks, when Aboud was twice beaten, the ball cannoned off the woodwork to rescue the nation.

With the score line still goalless, the final whistle in Chingola left Libyan’s with tears in their eyes, almost halting a whole nation’s fighting with celebration, and swapping the weapons in people’s hands with flags and banners.

For a country that had only seen their player’s line-up in Libya just once during their qualification process due to the ongoing situation surrounding Colonel Muammer Gaddafi, the result sparked an African carnival worthy of being seen again at the Equatorial Guinea and Gabon tournament next year.

In the squad, the nation now had something to be proud of, and a leader they praised. If only Colonel Gaddafi had the heart of national coach Marcos Paqueta. The Brazilian hadn’t been paid in six months, and yet stuck to the task in hand to ensure a country, not even his own, got through to appear in only their third African Nations.

Libya qualify as one of the best-placed runners up after Zambia qualified top of Group C, and the Libyan’s will now be looking to do better than their Round One exit stage at their 2006 outing.

They go into next January’s event with an unbeaten record, so many are hopeful the team have a chance of performing well, and emulating the 1982 squad that came second in the tournament.

Though that can wait, as the nation can celebrate what an achievement the national side have produced in just reaching the finals.

However, Libya may have qualified as one of the best-placed runners up, but runners up that night in Zambia they were not, as a whole nation can embrace them now as winners.

My 2011/2012 Predictions

This week is the date in every football fan's diaries where they are allowed to put £10 aside out of their hard-working cash to put on what they will think will happen over the course of the next 10 months.

Football being football means that 9/10 of the aforementioned will no doubt lose their money, however we do it because we love a prediction, a statement and a reason why we want to waste our money away.

Yesterday I threw down my cash in Coral, in the shape of a Lucky 15 across the top four divisions in England. Here's my picks, and why:-

Premier League - Manchester United - 6/4 fav

For me, Man Utd won the league by default last year. Their squad on paper wasn't amazing, and if you drew comparisons with that side to the side 5-10 years previous, it had nothing on it. For example the centre midfield partnership of Carrick and Fletcher is nowhere near as good as the duo of Scholes and Keane. To put it bluntly, they were the best of a bad bunch. And yet, with the signings they have made this year, more than just the Premier League could arrive at Old Trafford. They have bought quality. Ashley Young is arguably one of the best English wingers, and the purchase of Phil Jones is brilliant in the fact he already holds top class quality and yet he's two years younger than me! Hernandez had an amazing 1st season, and he will no doubt continue that kind of form, and if Rooney hits the ground running from the off this year, I think it will be hard to catch the Red Devils this season.

Championship - Leicester City - 4/1 joint fav

Leicester hold all the credentials to be worthy winners in England's second tier this year. In Sven-Goran Eriksson, they hold a manager who knows a lot about club football, and what it takes to win trophies. He's had his introductory season, and now is the season where he can push for silverwear. Admittedly, they relied heavily on loans last year, however, now they have injected the cash into permanant transfers, and the quality they have bought is incredible. Nugent will add so much firepower, whereas the likes of Neil Danns will help improve an already lethal midfield. But it's their defence they have sured up the most. They have bought a goalkeeper who's dad was part of a 1999 Treble winning side, and six top class defenders, most notably Paul Konchesky and John Pantsil who holds plenty of top flight experience, and Matt Mills, who was one of the best defenders in the division last year, and also scored in Reading's play-off final defeat to Swansea. All the elements are there, and I back them to all come together for the Foxes.

League 1 - Sheffield Wednesday - 6/1

I picked out Sheffield Wednesday mainly down to the form they showed at the back end of last season. Boss Gary Megson looks like he now has a grip of his squad and is a manager who I think can lead this team to success, sorry Blades fans. Their activity in the transfer market has been sensible. The experienced Jose Semedo will plug any holes in midfield, whilst Julian Bennett is a great acquisition for this level. Going forward they might need a striker, but they do hold quality in attackers Clinton Morrison and Gary Madine, with support coming from midfielders Chris Sedgwick and Giles Coke. Other people may fancy the likes of Huddersfield or Preston, but for me, Wednesday will be the ones top of the pile at the end of the year.

League 2 - Rotherham United - 16/1

Didn't quite go for an obvious choice in League 2, however I feel this division will be wide open. A lot of people have backed Crawley, and with the finances they hold why not? (not to mention the prolific Matt Tubbs) However I've picked the Millers on the basis of a few key factors. The first being they STILL hold a striker who WILL score for fun at this level and until he snapped up, will continue to push Rotherham up that league. Le Fondre has been linked with moves away this term but it's a reflection of what happened last summer, he didn't go anywhere. The second is the manager. Andy Scott proved punters wrong in 2008/2009 when he won the league with Brentford, from there he then established the London side in League One before being dismissed unfairly in my opinion. But the gaffer knows what it takes, and having been there and done it before, he will feel hungry to repeat the success. After finding some gems in the transfer market, Conrad Logan on load will help the goalkeeping problem, this team, who were unlucky to miss out on the play-offs last year, I feel will be up there yet again.

So there's my picks, and if all four come in, just over £600 comes my way, though i don't expect that to be the case. Because as I said, 9/10 will probably lose money gambling on title winners during pre-season, and I bet I'm not that 10% that wins something...

The Open wide open!

With the exclusion of Tiger Woods, the shake-up of the World Rankings in recent weeks and the demise of American Golf, that British Open played at Royal St George's this week looks to be a chance for a number of outsiders to stake a claim amongst the world elite.

The course itself is much different to any other that has been played recently in the major tournaments. The idea of Links Golf brings into play the conditions surrounding the 18 holes much more than the usually untroubled courses, and just as Scotland showed last weekend, the sea breezes and torrential rain can play a major role on someone's round.

On that occasion, Englishman and World Number One, Luke Donald, won the competition, which has only strengthened his preparations for The Open with a hope of bettering his 5th place he managed in 2009.

His short game may be ideal for this kind of golf course. Hitting under par is a feat in itself, so the fact Donald holds arguably the best short game may be a big factor.

A lot of people from the UK could only admire the way young Northern Irishman, Rory McIlroy, held his nerve on the last day to bring home the US Open a month ago, banishing the memories of a torrid final round at the US Masters having led for the first three days.

So he becomes the bookmakers favourite, with most bookmakers pricing him between 7's or 8/1. He hasn't lost any kind of magical touch and the recently announced World Number Four has the backing of most of the British Isles to triumph again.

Another man who is bound to do well is Lee Westwood. The World Number Two still looks for his maiden Open title, however his placings in the The Open in the past two years (2nd in 2010 & 3rd 2009), and his impressive recovery in the US Open to tie 3rd there can only lead to another solid tournament here.

A Major is bound to come his way soon, and doing it this weekend on home soil will not only delite himself, but the massive following he'll get at Sandwich too.

Graeme McDowell is another player that has been backed heavily. McDowell holds a very good Links golf game, which he proved at Pebble Beach last year winning the US Open. He's looked in good nick in the build up to the competition, but the odd slip-up was visable in his game whilst competing in Scotland last week.

The Northern Irishman has the ability to triumph again, and winning that first major last year will only settle him for the big occasion again. But can he hold his nerve, we'll see...

From the rest of Europe, there a few challengers that stand out.

Martin Kaymer has to be mentioned. He stands at World Number Three currently, and possesses a game that may suit the Links style. However he hasn't performed in the Majors this year, but maybe that is about to change.

The Spaniard, Sergio Garcia, is another one to look out for. This time last year Garcia was still in dreadful form, however a respectable 14th showed he was still capable. Now he returns with some form, after a creditable US Open and narrowly missing out on the BMW International Open title.

I think the strongest challenge from America will come in the shape of Steve Stricker. His year has been pretty impressive, not missing the cut once in the tournaments he has played in, and most recently winning the John Deere Classic within the past seven days.

He has a tremedous putting stroke, which is going to be key in the blustery conditions, as holding difficult par putts may be the difference in first and second!

From everywhere else in the world people may fancy Louis Oosthuizen again. The reigning champion has now completed his first year as an Open Champion, and has shown glimpses of the ability that can prove he can do it again.

Jason Day may have another say. The young Aussie has surprised many with his performances this year, but his two 2nd places at The Masters and the US Open, proves he may be a decent shout.

Others may fancy The Masters champion. Charl Schwartzel may be an attractive each way price at 40/1 and holds a good enough short game to trouble the leader boards again.

So there we are, just a flavour of what to expect, and who may be creeping up towards the top of the leader board come Sunday afternoon. As I say, this year, the championship is so open, as many golfers hold the ability to win, but who can avoid trouble, have the right attitude and have lady luck on their side to hold aloft The Claret Jug in five days time?

For me, I have gone with Stricker, Garcia and Day, but who knows what may happen during the course of the competition. I think whoever holds the best short game will have the greatest chance, as well as those who put well in what will be very tricky conditions.

Let's just say I'm happy enough to watch the action, and leave the playing to the professionals!

The Questions of England's Youth...

After the England U21's 0-0 draw with Ukraine, a few followers of the national side, as well as the media, may begin to ask several questions about what we call the next generation of England footballers. Here's my insight to what the answers to these may be...

Isn't it a bit like South Africa?

At times the performances of this U21 championship have been a little flat, lacked a bit of ambition and could easily be compared to the performances the full national team put out a year ago. Again, just like the full national team 12 months ago, we have had some backing from the fans and media that we may do ok in this competition. And after a great fightback in the first game to draw with an impressive Spanish side, things looked promising, especially because it seemed we didn't even hit top gear. But after the 0-0 with Ukraine, who now sit bottom of the group, only glimpses within the second half of the match did we look capable of scoring.

Are we good enough to progress in the competition?

Don't get me wrong, we are still probably one of the best sides in the tournament, but our team has to change. In terms of attitude, personel, and maybe even shape. Our back four has looked very strong so far, and new United recruit, Phil Jones has forged a great partnership Chris Smalling. It's a shame we didn't see Kyle Walker on the ball a lot during the second game, but defensively we haven't been troubled too much. However in midfield is where I think the majority of the changes need to occur in order for us to progress. Danny Rose for me isn't offering that much, and I think Scott Sinclair or Marc Albrighton would perform a lot better out on that wing. Jordan Henderson is a great prospect, however he's slowing the pace of the game down far too much. Against Ukraine we looked best going forward when we had tempo to our play and he was the one slowing it all down. Henri Lansbury has been rather promising both times he has come on and I think he needs to be given a chance, whether that be in midfield or off the striker, and I think Welbeck is overrated. He had a great chance when put through by Danny Sturridge, which he shinned wide, you need Sturridge in that striking role if we want to score. Change the system, and yes we'll progress.

So will these players be good enough for the national team in five or so years?

Hard to predict. A lot are very talented for their age and if they continue to get better then there is no reason why not. Whether they will reach the same kind of ability as the current crop is open to debate, however I'm not sure if anyone has the potential to be as good as Wayne Rooney in the current crop (though he's only 25!). We also need to remember that this side are missing Jack Wilshere, who already is a full England international at 19, as well as £35 million striker Andy Carroll, so there is talent already in place, so if the rest of them can get better the future may be safe!

One final point

I think it's wrong of me if I were to compare it to other national teams, but I'm impressed at how many of this U21 squad come from such illustrious clubs. All the starting line-up tonight were in the Premier League last season, with captain Michael Mancienne securing a move abroad this summer to German club Hamburg! I mean some of them, yes haven't played an awful lot of top flight football, the likes of Ryan Bertrand and Danny Rose spring to mind, but then you look at Chris Smalling who played a key role in filling the defensive void at Man Utd last year, and Daniel Sturridge who became Chelsea's best striker whilst on loan at Bolton at the back of the season. These players have what it takes to be top flight players for a lot of their careers, so as I have said previous, if they keep on improving (and moves to bigger clubs for the likes of Jordan Henderson and Phil Jones can only enhance improvement even more!) then we might see these players in England shirts for quite some time!

End Of Season, Start of Transfers...

So with now no club football on our television screens for the next two and a half months, why does it seem that this is one of the busiest times in football?

Amid the corruption claims that surround FIFA at the moment, and International football still ongoing, clubs across the continent are as busy as ever already building what might be a Championship winning side next season.

Stories such as the future of Arsenal captain Cesc Fabregas almost bore sports readers now, because what people want is new material, and whether he stays or goes, the formalities are all the same. The same could be said about Karim Benzema's future, who in the past seasons has been linked with moves to England, as well as Kaka, Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Dani Alves.

However the saga behind Dimitar Berbatov is pretty fresh, and rather intriguing. Who would have thought the joint top scorer of the Premier League would be on his way a month ago? However the exclusion of the striker within the Champions League final squad has seen him linked with Bayern Munich, Borussia Dortmund and even Newcastle United.

The future's of West Ham players may be a big talking point, with Scott Parker and Demba Ba the most sought after players following their relegation to the Championship. However with Sam Allardyce now installed at the helm, maybe his wise words can persuade them to stay and win promotion. Parker's been heavily linked with North London clubs, Arsenal and Tottenham, and Ba seems to be the striker everyone wants with rumours linking him with Newcastle, Sunderland and Everton being talked about.

In terms of players being brought in from around the continent, Tottenham seem to be the club heavily linked with foreign players. After finishing outside the Champions League places, Harry Redknapp will need to strengthen. A lot of his squad have been linked with moves away, however, Spurs continue to be linked with centre midfielder Lassana Diarra, Espanyol's Pablo Osvaldo and recently, Gonzalo Higuain, though the legitimacy of these stories and debateable.

However what it does look like, is that the top flight again may be hard to predict. Manchester United will strengthen, despite winning another title. They have recently lost Paul Scholes to retirement so finding a suitable replacement will be a priority, as well as replacing the outgoing Berbatov. Chelsea will want to find a goalscorer, and it looks likely one of their current crop will have to be sacrificed. However their main issue at the moment is securing Guus Hiddink as full time gaffer. Manchester City will want to build on their FA Cup success with even more additions. With the almost infinite money they possess, they have been linked with almost everyone, from Wesley Sneijder to Gary Cahill. Arsene Wenger has be urged to change his transfer policy and so links to Benzema and Alex Oxlaide- Chamberlain keep appearing in gossip columns, and Liverpool's constant link with Aston Villa's Ashley Young keeps everyone guessing as we might be able to see a potent from line from The Reds next season.

Early betting prices are already predictable, but come a month or so, when signings have been made, it might be worth putting a cheeker £10 on someone who isn't the favourite because you never know with the Premier League, or at least go each way with an outsider because some of the prices you could get are pretty good.

Early Prices - Premier League winner 2011/2012 (02/06/2011)

Man Utd - 19/10 (Betfair)
Chelsea - 147/50 (Betfair)
Man City - 4/1 (Boylesports)
Arsenal - 15/2 (Victor Chandler)
Liverpool - 12/1 (Betfred)
Tottenham - 50/1 (Skybet)