Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Sports World

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Possol flop leaves Daly puzzled Posted: 09 Mar 2010 05:05 AM PST Henry Daly went to Doncaster at the weekend with a live John Smith's Grand National contender in the talented Possol and his charge was duly backed down to favouritism for the Grimthorpe Chase. What followed left the Shropshire-based handler perplexed and doubtless wondering whether or not to allow Possol to take his chance at Aintree, writes Elliot Slater. Last year's Racing Post Chase runner-up had been deliberately campaigned over hurdles this term in order to protect his chasing handicap mark, and the results were tremendously encouraging with Possol scoring impressively at both Doncaster and Ascot. Having been allotted a good racing weight of 11st 3lbs for the Aintree marathon, Daly then switched Possol back to the larger obstacles in the Grimthorpe Chase and must have fully expected the seven-year-old to continue where he had left off last year, where he concluded his season winning the Kilmany Cup at Perth. From the outset however, the horse quoted as low as just 16/1 for the Grand National jumped poorly, blundering at both of the first two fences under regular pilot Richard Johnson, and was a long way behind when Johnson decided to pull his charge up before the 11th fence in the three-mile contest eventually won by Nicky Henderson's rejuvenated Wogan. Bookmakers reacted swiftly to the below-par effort of the Daly-trained French bred gelding who was taken out of the betting by a number of firms, whilst others pushed him out from 16/1 or 20/1 to a general offer of 33/1, (although some aintree grand national 2010 runners and prices now even offer 40/s). Judging by this latest effort it must be far less likely now that Possol will take his chance at Aintree with little more than a month before such a stern test of jumping to iron out what appeared considerable problems in the fencing department for Daly's charge.

Berbatov 'can be fantastic lone striker' Posted: 09 Mar 2010 03:20 AM PST Rio Ferdinand believes Manchester United are capable of winning the title even without Wayne Rooney as they boast Dimitar Berbatov in their ranks. The new England captain played the full 90 minutes at the weekend as United beat relegation candidates Hull City 1-0 thanks to Paul Scholes' 100th Premier League goal. United were forced to play the game without star striker Wayne Rooney, who aggravated a knee injury in England's game against Egypt. As a result, Bulgarian Berbatov was forced to play as a lone striker at Molineux. He impressed in the victory that propelled United to the top of the Premier League, where they now sit two points clear of both Chelsea and Arsenal, although the Blues have a game in hand. Ferdinand told MUTV after the game that Berbatov was "fantastic" and can bring skill and flair to the United attack, as well as holding the ball up well to bring others into the game. "He occupied their whole back four, which is all you can ask of a centre forward, especially one playing on his own," said the centre back. "I think he proved he can be the lone striker if we need him to be." United's run-in for the Premier League title could be buoyed by the return of England midfielder Owen Hargreaves from long-term injury. He has not played since September 2008 but is set to play for United's reserves this week as he tries to regain fitness and return to the first-team picture. Meanwhile, United are preparing to face Milan in the second leg of their Champions League clash. The Red Devils lead 3-2 after the first game and the Champions League odds suggest they should progress. Wayne Rooney faces a battle to be fit for the game, although his current injury shouldn't keep him out of this year's Football World Cup.

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