TEMPLEGATE takes on Wednesday’s action looking to build the bank ahead of another massive weekend of racing.

Back a horse by clicking their odds.

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DANCINGWITHMYSELF (2.45 Nottingham, nap)

Is progressing nicely with two taking wins at Ripon and a promising fourth in a better race at Ayr last month. The way she stayed on last time suggests she will have no issue with this new trip. She handles soft ground and will be hard to beat.

MBAPPE (6.45 Kempton, nb)

He has already enjoyed a fine season with three wins, with two of those victories coming at this track, but there could be more to come as his win at Lingfield suggested he can cope with a 6lb higher mark. The excellent Billy Loughnane rides.

RICKETY BRIDGE (3.05 Ludlow, treble)

Related to the mighty Big Buck’s and should be hard to beat in this weak novice hurdle. He looks the type to make his mark in some decent handicaps.

Templegate’s tips

LUDLOW

2.05 Quaresome – first-cheekpieces could squeeze out further improvement.
2.35 One Glance – fair stayer on the Flat and trainer does well with juvenile hurdlers.
3.05 Rickety Bridge (treble) – related to the mighty Big Buck’s and looks a useful stayer in the making.
3.35 Isabella Bee – very consistent performer at this level.
4.05 La Renommee – won well at Chelts in April and will be sharper for recent return.
4.35 Sunday Soldier – should have too much class on seasonal return.
5.05 Lady Kluck – won Point and bred to be very useful.

NOTTINGHAM

1.45 Diamondsinthesand – loves soft ground and can go close.
2.15 Double Rush – not beaten far in a smart novice at Haydock.
2.45 Dancingwithmyself (nap) – won twice at Ripon and not disgraced at Ayr last time.
3.15 Holborn – yard won this last year and lots to like on paper.
3.45 Gentle Warrior – encouraging effort on handicap debut last time.
4.17 Native Souvenir – may have been let in lightly on handicap debut.
4.50 Tipsy Tiger – handles the mud well and won cosily at Sandown latest.

KEMPTON

4.12 Pablo Prince – won with a bit in hand here last month.
4.43 Travel Agent – bred to be well above average.
5.15 Detain – won hot novice over track & trip in a style of a Group horse.
5.45 Berning Hot – not knocked about in novice company and makes hcap debut off fair mark.
6.15 Scarlet Princess – represents powerful yard and big run expected on debut.
6.45 Mbappe (nb) – very consistent and still open to further improvement.
7.15 Chalk Mountain – landed hat-trick here last week and more to come.
7.45 Twilight Truth – unexposed and scope to progress on handicap debut.
8.15 Hierarchy – in decent form and 5lb lower than last win.

SEDGEFIELD

1.58 Sayva – showed plenty of ability when winning a Banger bumper.
2.28 Chemical Warfare – won well over track & trip last month.
2.58 Bellbird – encouraging effort when second at Bangor last time.
3.28 Good Lord – progressive last season and can go close if ready to roll.
3.58 Cawthorne Cracker – looked much improved when bolting up here last Friday.
4.28 Riviera Walk – bought for €78,000 and bred to be smart.

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Anthony Smith doesn’t think the UFC light heavyweight division is as thin on title contender options as some might think.

With champion Alex Pereira further solidifying himself as a dominant force with a fourth-round TKO of Khalil Rountree on Saturday at UFC 307, many are wondering who will be next to take on “Poatan,” who reiterated his desire to stick at 205 pounds following his win.

Magomed Ankalaev is being anointed as a prominent candidate, but the Russian must first get through Aleksandar Rakic at UFC 308 on Oct. 26 in Abu Dhabi. Ankalaev (19-1-1 MMA, 10-1-1 UFC) is currently riding a divisional-best 12-fight unbeaten streak, but lackluster performances in key moments have hurt his standing, including when he fought Jan Blachowicz to a split draw in a vacant title bout at UFC 282 in December 2022.

Smith, a former light heavyweight title challenger, ESPN analyst, and podcast co-host, thinks Ankalaev needs to be spectacular against Rakic (14-4 MMA, 6-3 UFC) at UFC 308. Anything short of that in a winning manner, however, could open the door for someone else.

“I wouldn’t count on it because there’s a good chance Volkan Oezdemir and Carlos Ulberg could have a conversation, or at least some sort of a case to make for that fight,” Smith said on “The Bohnfire” podcast with MMA Junkie senior reporter Mike Bohn. “Especially if Ankalaev does what he kind of tends to do sometimes, and that’s kind of lay an egg and still win. He’s already been punished for that. He’s already done it once before in the Jan Blachowicz fight and Dana (White) was absolutely furious.”

Oezdemir (20-7 MMA, 8-6 UFC) and Ulberg (9-1 MMA, 6-1 UFC) meet at UFC Fight Night 248 on Nov. 23 in Macau. Oezdemir has won three of his past four and is coming off a first-round knockout of Johnny Walker at UFC on ABC 6 in June, while Ulberg is riding a six-fight winning streak with his most notable result being a 12-second knockout of Alonzo Menifield at UFC on ESPN 56 in May.

Smith has his own history with Ankalaev in the form of a second-round TKO loss at UFC 277 in July 2022. His analysis is not skewed by hard feelings, though, and Smith thinks it’s simply the reality that the UFC brass are not keen to put him back into a championship contest.

Ankalaev can control his own fortune by doing something dazzling later this month, but if he doesn’t, Smith sees more than one option in play.

“They’re not rushing Ankalaev into a title fight for a reason,” Smith said. “I think if that fight lays an egg and Volkan Oezdemir goes in there and finishes Carlos Ulberg, I think Volkan Oezdemir has a great case to make for a title shot. I wouldn’t just count on that fight (with Ankalaev).

“If Rakic wins, I think Rakic goes right into a title shot because Alex Pereira’s already shown a little bit of interest in Rakic. I think that style and his body type and kind of the way he fights interests him. I don’t think the UFC is really going to hold the Jiri Prochazka loss against (him) too badly.”

Matt Newsum, BBC Sport rugby league reporter

Hull KR have enjoyed their greatest season since 1985 with a Grand Final appearance and a second-placed finish in Super League, and Lewis has had his fingerprints all over their success.

The Hull-born playmaker has been a stellar performer in 2024 – marrying his aggression, toughness and tenacity in defence with a craftsman’s eye to score 19 and create 24 tries for the Robins.

He has matured so that, while he remains spiky and has that little bit of swagger, he largely does not get involved in the flashpoints that once threatened to put him off his game.

At 23, he can be a superstar for years to come but this has been his season to break into the genuine elite and deliver on the promise.

His biggest game will be Saturday’s Grand Final and this win is the perfect inspiration for him to again shine on the big stage.

Kayla Harrison isn’t surprised that Julianna Pena didn’t address her after reclaiming the UFC women’s bantamweight title.

Peña (13-5 MMA, 8-3 UFC) edged out Raquel Pennington in Saturday’s UFC 307 co-main event at Delta Center in Salt Lake City. On the same night, Harrison (18-1 MMA, 2-0 UFC) became No. 1 contender when she defeated Ketlen Vieira.

During Peña’s post-fight interview in the octagon, a split screen showed Harrison watching her talk. But instead of calling out Harrison, Peña turned her attention to a trilogy bout with Amanda Nunes.

“I think she’s just scared, got to make a lot of noise,” Harrison told TMZ. “I think she’ll do anything not to fight me, including call out – she’s probably going to call out Ronda Rousey next. I’m used to it. We’re blonde, and we did judo, so we must be just alike. From what I understand from my manager, I’m next.”

Harrison was asked who she’d rather fight next: Peña for the title or Nunes, and the two-time Olympic gold medalist judoka said she has a plan.

“I want both,” Harrison said. “Can I not have both? I want to win the title. Give Amanda time to get back in shape and train. She can be training for me that whole time. I’ll go f*ck up Julianna real quick, and then Amanda and I can fight.”

Many thought Pennington was robbed against Peña and Harrison agrees – even though she admits that she didn’t get to watch the entire fight.

“I didn’t get to see the full fight, I haven’t gone back and watched the first round yet, but I thought that ‘Rocky’ (Pennington) won,” Harrison said. “I mean, it’s kind of like an unspoken rule: You’ve got to take the title. You don’t get to steal the title. You’ve got to take the title.

“And I looked on MMA Decisions and every single – like that never happened. I’ve never seen it where every single journalist agrees, and they all said that Raquel won it. I didn’t see the first round, so I can’t absolutely say.”

For more on the card, visit MMA Junkie’s event hub for UFC 307.

NOT many can say they are the personal artist to Real Madrid’s elite.

And only one can say that they all love his incredible statues that pay homage to Disney favourite, Mickey Mouse.

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Colombian artist Juan Pablo Restrepo Mejía is making a killing from his sculptures that start at around £8,000.

Luka Modric, Antonio Rudiger and Federico Valverde are just some of the Los Blancos stars who have commissioned Juan Pablo to create art work for them.

While boxing legend Canelo Alvarez wanted a gold-plated piece for his Mexican home.

It was a journey that stemmed from his artistic background, athough he could have taken a different journey.

How we got here

Juan Pablo played football in his homeland, alongside James Rodriguez and Juan Fernando Quintero at Envigado’s youth teams.

But he was at university when he realised his calling in a discussion with his professor, who asked him what he wanted to do.

He revealed he didn’t want to follow a career in his chosen degree of civil engineering.

Instead, he wanted to be an artist. It was something Juan Pablo had grown up around all his life – coming from a family of painters who taught him the way.

He told Marca: “I learned to wash brushes, the best classical and abstract techniques, sculpture, from framing a frame, painting it, sanding, filling a background.”

First footballer who bought from him

Spain international and Real Madrid left-back Fran Garcia was the first LaLiga star to show an interest in Juan Pablo’s work.

Then Marcos Llorente asked the sculptor to create a piece to sit in the entrance of his home.

It was through Llorente, who has since established his name at Real’s cross town rivals Atletico, that Juan Pablo became Real Madrid’s artist in residence.

“He’s a great brother, he was the link that brought us closer to the rest of the boys on his team,” he said.

Soon, after seeing the art at the club’s Valdebebas training ground, everyone wanted a piece – with prices starting at around the £8,000 mark.

“He showed them the work he had done and we ended up getting to Luka Modric, who is one of my idols,” Juan Pablo continued.

” Luka, (Andriy) Lunin, (Federico) Valverde, Lucas Vázquez, (Antonio) Rüdiger, they all have a piece of work.

“I made sure their work was very personal, I chose the colours for each one that they most identified with.”

Amusingly, when France midfielder Eduardo Camavinga saw Fran Garcia’s art work at the training ground, he wanted one too… but, he had one hilarious request.

Camavinga was passing by and said, ‘Wow! What is that? Fran García’s. I want one too, but I want it to be super colourful. Mine has to be the most colorful of all,” Juan Pablo laughed.

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Players have to be patient for the pieces

Juan Pablo is inspired by Mickey Mouse and has created versions of Pinocchio too.

He began painting, but soon became intrigued with the idea of sculpting.

However, footballers expecting a quick turnaround on their orders will be disappointed.

“The manufacturing time depends a lot on the material. I work with bronze, carbon fibre and resin,” he said.

“In bronze it takes me three months.”

The more colourful pieces can take up to years to create. Juan Pablo explained: “The creation of the work, the idea as such, takes me about two and a half years.

“Camavinga will have to wait six months or so. But I already told him and he told me ‘I wait, but colourful, colourful.’”

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In terms of Walt Disney’s royalties for his work, Juan Pablo revealed: “Each country can have a permit with the brand. They didn’t know it was going to be scaled that way, but I did the right things and I have the brand’s permit.”

And that’s not all…

Alongside his work for football’s elite, Juan Pablo can also count Mexican boxer Canelo Alvarez as one of his clients.

The middleweight icon, naturally, wanted gold-plated pieces made.

His work with Alvarez also led him to work with the WBA, who Juan Pablo is now the official artist for.

“Every time there is a world champion they use one of my pieces to give them a detail and I am also in charge of making the legendary belts of the boxing organisation,” Juan Pablo revealed.

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Canelo has even invited his new favourite artist round to his ranch in Mexico to decorate parts of his home.

You can bet it will all be tastefully done.