Strong Suit Set To Step Up

Champion trainer Richard Hannon is seriously considering stepping up his impressive Jersey Stakes winner Strong Suit to a mile for the first time in his career and bidding for the prestigious Group 1 Prix Jean Prat at Chantilly on July 3, writes Elliot Slater.

Hannon famously won the race 12 months ago with the smart Dick Turpin, and having seen Strong Suit return to his best to win at Royal Ascot for the second year running (he landed the 2010 Coventry Stakes as a juvenile), the veteran handler is fairly confident that the son of Rahy is ready to try an extra furlong having come through a breathing operation with flying colours prior to his defeat of Codemaster in the Jersey Stakes. Those placing horse bets will have been pleased to see him back in action.

Hannon had been convinced that his three-year-old was on the way back after seeing him work in tremendous fashion following his operation, but experience told him that the acid test would be when the horse was actually placed under pressure in a full blown race, rather than at home on the gallops. Now that he knows all is well with the winner of three of his six career starts, Hannon feels that the time is right to press on and tackle the best of the French and European milers in the Chantilly showcase event and the horse racing betting suggests it should be an intriguing contest.

Strong Suit ran four fine races as a juvenile, following his debut defeat of Neebras with a brave nose defeat of Elzaam at Royal Ascot last year. A close third to Zoffany in the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes at the Curragh was followed by finishing a distant second to the brilliant Dream Ahead in the Group1 Middle Park Stakes at Newmarket last October. On his seasonal reappearance however Strong Suit was clearly struggling when last of sixth behind Frankel in the Greenham Stakes, after which his breathing problem was detected, operated on, and from which he now appears fully recovered.

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NBA – Boston Celtics stays strong at the end of the season

Doc Rivers, the head coach of the Boston Celtics, is well aware of the fact that he has one of the most experienced squads in the NBA. He is also quite familiar with the downside of such an extensive experience in the professional circuit: his players are old. And yet, he has managed to find a good balance overall and the Celtics at 46-15 for the season, and 19-10 at home still stands strong this late of the season. But not without a couple inconveniences that the squad has managed to overcome brilliantly.

For starters, on Sunday at their visit to the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, the Boston Celtics came out to the field with only nine players on uniform. Still, relying heavily on the experienced (and aged) Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen, the Celtics beat the Milwaukee Bucks 89-83.

Paul Pierce scored 23 points, recorded 5 boards, 4 assists and 1 steal and 1 block while Kevin Garnett added 14 points and 11 rebounds and Ray Allen was the man in charge of hitting the go-ahead jumper for the Celtics. But it really was all about the defense. The Celtics were capable of holding back the Bucks and keeping them from scoring a single field goal in the last three and a half minutes of game time. Boston has managed to win its fifth consecutive game and is still atop of the Eastern Conference, three games over the Chicago Bulls and 4 over the Miami Heat that has recently been stuck in a series of unhappy endings, dropping way too many games. Just for the record: Miami just recently lost its 5th straight game and sixth in eight games since the All-Star break.

Boston got 17 points from Nenad Krstic and 11 points from Jeff Green, two of the Celtics’ five new players acquired in the last 10 days. Because let’s face it, Doc Rivers is certainly going to need more than 9 players available if he wants to survive the Playoffs and once again take a shot at the NBA National Championship.

Brandon Jennings scored 23 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists and 3 steals while leading the Milwaukee Bucks to yet another disappointment at home. The Milwaukee Bucks have lost 12 of the last 16 games they played and holding a 23-38 season they are far from turning this season into something even close to a success.

Boston has many injury problems that they need to deal with soon. The injury list includes the likes of Jermaine O’Neal (left knee), Shaquille O’Neal (right heel), Delonte West (right ankle), Glen Davis (left knee) and Von Wafer (right calf). In an attempt to bring in some additional backup, the Celtics signed guard Carlos Arroyo on Sunday, but he will not be joining the team unitl Monday. Nenad Krstic, who scored 11 points against the Milwaukee Bucks, was acquired on Feb. 24 at the trading deadline along with Jeff Green for Kendrick Perkins and Nate Robinson.

The Celtics will play the LA Clippers in a matter of hours before hitting the road on Friday for their game against the Philadelphia 76ers. As of press time, the Celtics are a 9.5 point favorite on the NBA betting spread against the Clippers for tonight.

Scotland look to build on strong start

Scotland will this weekend host an out of form Wales at Murrayfield, looking to build on the battling performance they produced in Paris last week. Despite losing the game 34-21 the Scots can be proud of their display and Andy Robinson will be pleased to have seen his side score three tries in the intimidating Stade de France.

After going behind after just three minutes the Scots were always chasing the game but came out of the opening game with their heads held high. The backs looked inventive and direct and the three touchdowns were thoroughly deserved by Scotland. Alistair Kellock lead the side by example and the new skipper covered every blade of grass as well as scoring a try. The latest Six Nations betting odds now suggest Scotland will be able to give the other sides a real run for their money.

The only major concern for Robinson and his coaching staff will be the way the forwards were dominated by the French in the scrum, conceding a penalty try to the French set-piece, despite the visitors boasting the heavier pack. Tight-head prop Euan Murray came in for some bashing by the press following the loss but his captain Kellock has come out to make it clear the whole pack were to blame rather than just the prop.

“We were disappointed with our scrum – we’ve got to fix that, Euan can only play as well as the rest of the pack. They’re going to put pressure through the tighthead – every team will try to,” he said.

The signs of improvement throughout the side were evident though and with Wales winless in eight tests the Scots will probably go into the match as favourites as long as the forwards can tweak a few things.

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Strong Suit may go for Mill Reef but Zebedee misses race

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Mill Reef Stakes List Headed by Strong Suit

Posted by Leigh on September 13, 2010 · Leave a Comment 

With a chance to redeem himself and return to the winners’ enclosure, the Richard Hannon trained Strong Suit leads the list of contenders for the Dubai Duty Free Mill Reef Stakes at Newbury on Saturday.