Everything was right he'd been really enjoying himself and he was in better condition than before the King George

"Everything was right, he'd been really enjoying himself and he was in better condition than before the King George. Then we found him as lame as a cat."Royal Anthem, who beat his galloping partner by 30 lengths on Saturday, will now be fitted with stick-on shoes to protect his tender feet. Cecil, who has been charming the American media in recent days, responded phlegmatically to the damage done to his best chance of breaking a Breeders' Cup duck "He might run yet," he said. "He might still win."Everything they hold dear the Americans seem to keep in Kentucky. Some way north of here lies the gold bullion depository of Fort Knox and, in Louisville itself, exists the less tangible treasure of the United States' racing spirit.The twin towers of Churchill Downs, like a similar arrangement in north London, stand guard over a national home.

but you cannot fool the American fistic fraternity for a moment."Even the broadsheets gave Hamed a broadside. The Daily Telegraph called him "the clown prince in danger of losing the plot".. BRITAIN'S HOPES of registering a victory in the Breeders' Cup series were, like Royal Anthem himself, severely diminished yesterday when Henry Cecil's colt was found to be profoundly lame at the Churchill Downs racetrack. "Brendan Ingle has created a monster during the last 17 years and the boy appears to be running out of control."The Mirror was equally damning, labelling Hamed's performance "a devastating flop", while the Daily Mail said: "You can fool a lot of disco generation people in England...

Shayne McCosh gave Bracknell an eighth-minute lead via the powerplay, but Cardiff then responded with goals from Doug McEwen, Martin Lindman and Vezio Sacratini by the end of the second period to wrap up the points.. THE BRITISH Boxing Board of Control is to hold an inquiry after Peterborough's first professional show in a decade erupted into a riot on Saturday night. Drunken fans threw chairs and bottles with several of the 900 people present being injured as fighting broke out. Frank Maloney, who co- promoted the non-title show with Kevin Sanders, is believed to have scrapped plans to stage three more shows in the city during the next year.Naseem Hamed woke up yesterday to scathing criticism of his performances in and out of the ring in Atlantic City, following his points victory over Wayne McCullough on Saturday night."Prince Naseem Hamed's second visit to the United States left his unbeaten record intact but his public image in tatters," said the Sun. Dennis Burke led the way with a brace, with Colin Ward, Chris Brant and Matt Cote - his first of the season - also on the mark. Rob Trumbley broke Mark Bernard's shut-out in the closing minutes.Sheffield Steelers ended Cardiff Devils' 100 per cent league record as they triumphed 2-0 at the House of Steel. The Yorkshiremen put aside injuries, illnesses and their league position to stun the visitors thanks to strikes from Scott Allison and Ken Priestlay.The first loss in five for the Devils made their reign at the top of the Superleague short-lived following a 3-1 victory on Saturday at home to Bracknell.

The Knights, who were missing Kelly Glowa, Ian Cooper, Debb Carpenter and Jonas Anderson, were clearly feeling the effects of their schedule as they went down 5- 1 to Manchester Storm, who joined the Panthers on 10 points at the top of the league.Andrew Dale cancelled out Jeff Tomlinson's opener to leave the scores level at the first break but goals from Jonathan Weaver, Dave Morrison, Stefan Ketola and Pierre Allard ensured Knights returned to the capital pointless.Bracknell Bees ended their five-match losing streak with a 5-1 victory over Newcastle Riverkings. Dino Bauba and David St Pierre notched the goals in the opening 20 minutes before Panthers broke their shut-out through Mark Kolesar.Paul Adey tied the game then Hadden put Panthers ahead before Sam Groleau equalised for the defending champions, only for Panthers to have the final say.It was another black night for London Knights on Sunday at the Manchester Arena as they fell to their third defeat in four days. Maidenhead's player-coach, Mike Williamson, was Wales' player-coach in the Commonwealth Games in the Malaysian heat and humidity a few weeks ago. Saturday must have been oceans apart for Williamson as he battled through the wind and rain to cling on to the points.However, Fareham 3-1 winners against Herne Bay with goals from Steve Lemon, Owen Dicker and Steve Osborne, who played for Warrington last season, are setting a cracking pace.. NOTTINGHAM PANTHERS' reward for a gruelling four-day spell was a share of the Sekonda Superleague leadership after returning from Ayr on Sunday with a 4-3 victory. Despite playing their third game in four days, Panthers showed they still had enough fighting spirit to secure their third win on the bounce. On Thursday night the Panthers spoiled the London Knights' party at the opening of their new London Arena home with a 4-3 victory, on Saturday they beat the Knights 6-2, this time at home, and then a day later they made the long journey to Ayr to collect the points.Greg Hadden netted Nottingham's game-winning goal after 55min 56sec to complete a fine recovery from Mike Blaisdell's side, who fell 2-0 behind in the first period.

CAMBRIDGE ARE already sending out warning signals for next March's Varsity match as they maintained their 100 per cent record in the East Premier with a 2-1 win over Cambridge City at the weekend. Their second- half goals came from Julian Costelloe and Thierry Gruslin from Belgium. With Peterborough only managing a 3-3 draw at Crostyx, the students are now just a point behind with a game advantage. In the men's regional leagues Fareham, Bath Bucaneers and Edgbaston all lead their respective tables on maximum points with Colwall and Bedford Town doing likewise for the women.Maidenhead increased their chances of achieving national status when they moved up into third place in the South following their 4-3 win against former National League Gore Court. Green-side bunker defined as being within 10 yards of green.)1 T Johnstone (Zim) 81.62 P Walton 77.53 J Haeggman (Swe) 77.34 P-U Johannson (Swe) 75.65 O Karlsson (Swe) 74.26 J Bickerton 72.97 S Bennett 72.08 B Langer (Ger) 71.48= I Garrido (Sp) 71.410 S Allan (Aus) 70.511 E Els (SA) 69.212 A Cabrera (Arg) 69.0(GB or Irl unless stated). Expressed as a percentage of the number of sand saves achieved divided by the number of greenside bunkers visited. The GIR Index is the number of Greens in Regulation achieved divided by the number of holes played.)Name GIR1 A Cejka (Ger) 78.52 C Montgomerie 76.23 P Baker 75.73= D Clarke 75.75 M A Jimenez(Sp) 75.36 P O'Malley (Aus) 74.96= E Els (SA) 74.98 I Garbutt 74.89 B May (US) 74.510 A Coltart 74.3PUTTS PER ROUNDName Putts1 S Ballesteros (Sp) 27.92 J Townsend (US) 28.43 R Claydon 28.54 P Harrington 28.64= A Beal 28.66= P Lawrie 28.86= P Broadhurst 28.86= D Chopra (Swe) 28.89= R Karlsson (Swe) 28.99= G Turner (NZ) 28.99= G Brand Jnr 28.912 G Chalmers (Aus) 29.0STROKE AVERAGE(Average number of strokes per round.)1 D Clarke 69.452 C Montgomerie 69.663 L Westwood 69.854 E Els (SA) 69.895 J M Olazabal (Sp) 70.256 B Langer (Ger) 70.507 M A Jimenez (Sp) 70.578 P Sjoland (Swe) 70.599 T Bjorn (Den) 70.6410 G Turner (NZ) 70.6711 S Torrance 70.8012 A Coltart 70.81SAND SAVES(Achieved by getting up-and-down in two from a green-side bunker.