Joe Pride has put to rest doubts surrounding Attica’s subdued barrier trial efforts, firm in the belief that they reveal the three-year-old’s easy temperament over any preparation shortcomings.

In his two latest hit-outs, jockey Adam Hyeronimus has prodded the colt forward, a pattern Pride attributes squarely to Attica’s disposition.

“There has been a bit said about the trial, but he is the most laidback horse in my stable,” Pride said.

“You’re flat-out getting him to walk sometimes.

“He is just so casual and when he gets the blinkers on, he is a different horse so he will have them on first-up.”

That leisurely vibe shone through last spring as Attica eked out a maiden victory at Warwick Farm, suffered defeat at Kembla Grange, then dominated consecutively in the Dulcify Stakes and Spring Champion Stakes with blinkers applied.

Pride is keen for the Godolphin-owned Lonhro progeny of star mare Savatiano – a future stallion standout – to burst from the gates, declaring him set to strike in Saturday’s Hobartville Stakes (1400m) at Rosehill.

“He is absolutely primed. I’m so happy with him,” he said.

“There is no mucking around with colts. They’ve got to be ready to go right from the start of the ‘prep’ and he is ready to go.

“He’s got the Randwick Guineas second-up and that is one of his big aims.”

Acceptances for the Hobartville Stakes (1400m) total 10, incorporating Shangri La Boy from the Spring Champion Stakes, Autumn Boy of Caulfield Guineas fame, and up-and-comer Green Spaces.

The colt Attica faces the widest alley, with Autumn Boy also awkwardly placed in stall eight.

Ten juveniles headline the Silver Slipper, spearheaded by Hidrix as equal Golden Slipper elect and Incognito, Breeders’ Plate winner aiming to resurrect his preparation post a likely palate setback on resuming.

Visit premier betting sites to check Hobartville Stakes betting markets.

The NCAA Tournament selection committee offered an early “preview” of the top 16 seeds for the Big Dance on Saturday. Though the picture will immediately begin to change as new results roll in, the exercise provided some interesting fodder for college basketball fans to digest.

Among the biggest takeaways from the bracket preview was just how stacked the Midwest was. Again, this will all shift before Selection Sunday on March 15, but it was shocking to see a single region containing No. 1 overall seed Michigan, No. 6 overall seed Houston and No. 9 overall seed Florida.

Michigan earns No. 1 overall seed, Iowa State a big winner from NCAA Tournament bracket preview

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David Cobb

The sight underscored the challenges the selection committee faces while adhering to NCAA bracketing principles in the era of conference consolidation.

All three rate as top-6 teams at KenPom, and our expert panel unanimously projected that the Cougars would be a No. 1 seed in the bracket preview. Three members of our six-person panel also had Florida as a No. 2 seed.

Not only was Houston not a No. 1 seed, it also was not the first No. 2 seed in the bracket preview. That distinction belonged to UConn. Subsequently, official bracketing principles led the committee down a path that resulted in a stacked Midwest Regional.

Official NCAA Tournament early seeds 

Check out the full field of 68 at the CBS Sports Bracketology hub.

Let’s dive in on how the selection committee likely arrived there as they met to rehearse the process that will eventually lead to the creation of the real 68-team bracket. Here are two major need-to-knows that will set the table: 

—The committee seeks to separate the first four teams from the same conference into different regions, which is why No. 2 seeds Purdue and Illinois weren’t placed with Michigan in the Midwest.
—Since UConn slotted as the best-ranked No. 2 seed, the Huskies would not have been permitted to play in the same region as the best-ranked No. 1 seed.

As a result, the committee likely determined — with the help of its software that flags those issues — that sending Houston to the Midwest was unavoidable.

What about Florida?

Once the committee started bracketing the No. 3 seeds, it naturally placed the best-ranked No. 3 seed (Florida) in the same region as the No. 1 overall seed (Michigan) in order to follow the established “s-curve” format.

No official “flags” would have appeared for that decision since Florida (SEC), Houston (Big 12) and Michigan (Big Ten) each play in different conferences. Moving on, the second No. 3 seed, Kansas (Big 12), would have slotted in to the East region below Duke (ACC) and Illinois (Big Ten) with no conference separation issues.

Fellow No. 3 seed Nebraska (Big Ten) would naturally have gone to the West. But since Purdue (Big Ten) was already there on the No. 2 seed line, it seems the Cornhuskers were deemed a better fit for the South alongside Iowa State (Big 12) and UConn (Big East).

This is likely why Gonzaga ended up in the West, despite the fact that the s-curve would have sent the Bulldogs to the South as the worst-ranked No. 3 seed.

Inside the committee room: What it’s like to pick, seed and build the NCAA Tournament bracket

Matt Norlander

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When it came to bracketing the No. 4 seeds, there was already a Big Ten team and a Big 12 team in every region, which meant there was no choice but to place Michigan State and Texas Tech in regions with conference foes.

With the Big Ten and Big 12 well-positioned to claim a hefty chunk of the best seeds in the 2026 NCAA Tournament, these are the real issues the selection committee will likely navigate. The leagues combined to produce 10 of the 16 squads in the bracket preview.

Pursuing balance

While the preview’s Midwest is obviously stacked, the potential competitive imbalance was technically slender enough that it passed NCAA protocols. Here’s what the committee’s official principles state:

“After the top four seed lines have been assigned, the committee will review the relative strengths of the regions by adding the “true seed” numbers in each region to determine if any severe numerical imbalance exists. Preferably, no more than six points should separate the lowest and highest total.”

If you tally the “true” seeds of the top four teams from the “toughest” region (Midwest), you get Michigan (1) + Houston (6) + Florida (9) + Virginia (16) = 32.

If you tally the “true” seeds of the top four teams from the “weakest” region (West), you get Arizona (3) + Purdue (8) + Gonzaga (12) + Michigan State (14) = 37.

That falls within a range of six points, which means it met the committee’s threshold for what is considered balance. 

Selection committee chair Keith Gill revealed during the bracket preview that the committee initially placed No. 14 overall seed Michigan State in the Midwest and Virginia in the West. That would have triggered a flag notifying the committee about competitive imbalance.  In that scenario, the difference between the cumulative true seed values of the top four teams in the Midwest and West was greater than six. Thus it led to a swap of Virginia and Michigan State.

Down the bracket

If you thought that was complicated, it was only the start. 

Amid conference consolidation and the proliferation of nonconference matchups between high-major schools, the committee will face additional challenges in avoiding regular season rematches as it brackets a full field in the weeks ahead.

While the committee will still be strident in avoiding first round rematches, some second round rematches may be unavoidable. That’s why the CBS Sports Bracketology model occasionally produces second round rematches between teams that have already played.

How more marquee matchups in college basketball will impact NCAA Tournament bracketing process, seeding

David Cobb

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When multiple teams on a seed line are from the same conference, there are times when the only alternative to avoiding a potential conference rematch is to create a potential nonconference rematch.

NCAA bracketing principles permit games between conference teams in the second round, so long as the teams in question played each other just once before the NCAA Tournament. For conference teams that met twice prior to the NCAA Tournament, principles state they should not meet prior to the Sweet 16. If the teams played three times, bracketing principles state they should not play before the Elite Eight.

With regard to rematches of nonconference games, principles state that they should be avoided “in the First Four and first round.” The committee will also “attempt to avoid” nonconference rematches in the second round. But the committee prioritizes keeping teams on their natural seed line over changing their seed line for the sake of avoiding a rematch. 

The United States has made Olympic history.

Americans took home their 11th gold medal Saturday, setting a new record for the country’s most golds in Winter Olympics history.

The record-setting medal was won by the mixed aerials team of Chris Lillis, Connor Curran and Kaila Kuhn.

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Team USA sings the national anthem with the gold medal at the winners ceremony after the women’s ice hockey gold medal game between the U.S. and Canada at Milano Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena during the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games Feb. 19, 2026, in Milan, Italy.  (EyesWideOpen/Getty Images)

The previous record had been 10 during the 2002 Games on home soil in Salt Lake City.

Individual gold winners include the aforementioned Stolz, Breezy Johnson (alpine skiing, women’s downhill), Elizabeth Lawley (freestyle skiing, women’s moguls), Elana Meyers Taylor (women’s monobob), Mikaela Shiffrin (alpine skiing, women’s slalom), Alex Ferreira (men’s freestyle halfpipe skiing), and Alysa Liu, who won the U.S.’s first gold in women’s singles figure skating since 2002.

Megan Keller (5) celebrates with a flag alongside Cayla Barnes (3) of Team United States after scoring the game-winning goal in overtime during the women’s gold medal match against Canada at Milan Santagiulia Ice Hockey Arena during the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Milan, Italy, Feb. 19, 2026. (Sarah Stier/Getty Images)

TEAM USA TO BATTLE CANADA FOR OLYMPIC GOLD AFTER DOMINANT PERFORMANCE AGAINST SLOVAKIA

Overall victories include three in freestyle skiing, two in speedskating (both by Jordan Stolz), alpine skiing and figure skating and one each in bobsled and women’s ice hockey from an exhilarating comeback and overtime victory against archrival Canada.

The Americans have totaled 31 medals, including 12 silver and eight bronze, and there are a few more opportunities before the Games end Sunday.

The men’s hockey team will play for gold against Canada on the final day of the games, which is also the 46th anniversary of the “Miracle on Ice.”

Gold medalist Jordan Stolz of the U.S. celebrates after the men’s 500-meter speedskating race at the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, Feb. 14, 2026. (Ben Curtis/AP Photo)

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Before the hockey game, the U.S. can also medal in mixed four-man bobsled, women’s 50-kilometer cross-country skiing and women’s halfpipe freestyle skiing.

Norway leads with 40 medals and 18 golds.

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The No. 1 seeds in Saturday’s NCAA March Madness Bracket preview were Michigan, Duke, Arizona and Iowa State. While the first three were largely expected, Iowa State’s inclusion on the top line was anything but a foregone conclusion.

Ultimately, the Cyclones (23-3, 10-3 Big 12) got the nod over UConn and Houston from the NCAA Tournament selection committee ahead of their Saturday trip to play BYU. UConn landed as the top No. 2 seed, despite its unseemly home loss to Creighton on Wednesday. Houston claimed the second No. 2 seed while Illinois and Purdue rounded out the No. 2 seed line.

With just over three weeks to go until Selection Sunday, the picture will change and evolve over the days ahead. In fact, Saturday’s results will almost assuredly impact the picture. But the bracket preview, which covers the top 16 teams, offers an idea of how things are shaping up as the regular season nears its end.

A whopping 10 teams from the Big Ten and Big 12 — five from each league — made the top 16. The ACC and SEC each produced two representatives, while the Big East and WCC each had one team make the top 16.

Here is the full rundown of the top 16 from the bracket preview followed by the big takeaways.

Official NCAA Tournament early seeds 

Check out the full field of 68 at the CBS Sports Bracketology hub.

Iowa State as a No. 1 seed

A theme in the race for the fourth No. 1 seed in the bracket was high-end victories. Iowa State boasts wins over No. 17 St. John’s, No. 8 Kansas and No. 2 Houston. The Cyclones suffered unflattering road losses against Cincinnati and TCU, but those are classified as Quad 1 defeats and the committee didn’t seem bothered by them. 

While our expert panelists believed the nod for the final No. 1 seed should have gone to Houston, which rates slightly better than ISU in both the results-based and predictive metrics that appear on official NCAA team sheets, the Cougars don’t have the same sort of blockbuster wins as Iowa State. Their losses were all in close games against elite opposition (Tennessee, Texas Tech and Iowa State). But again, who you beat seems to be far more important than who beat you.

In fact, committee chair Keith Gill pointed directly to the quality of Iowa State’s best wins — including its head-to-head victory over Houston — in rationalizing the Cyclones as a No. 1 seed.

The “big-time win” methodology also explained why UConn edged Houston for the top spot on the No. 2 seed line. Despite their ugly fall against Creighton this week, the Huskies boast victories over No. 10 Illinois, No. 8 Kansas and No. 12 Florida, which is an impressive haul of high-end wins.

Texas Tech takes a hit

Texas Tech landed as a No. 4 seed in the bracket preview. However, Gill shared that the Red Raiders were in line for a No. 3 seed before it was revealed that star forward JT Toppin suffered a season-ending ACL tear. 

The reigning Big 12 Player of the Year suffered the injury in the Red Raiders’ loss at Arizona State on Tuesday. Saturday’s home game against Kansas State will be the first post-Toppin data point for the committee to digest. Depending on how the before/after comparison of life without Toppin goes, it stands to reason that the Red Raiders could get hit even harder on Selection Sunday.

A stacked Midwest

Though it will almost certainly unfold differently on Selection Sunday, the sight of a stacked Midwest region in the bracket preview was jarring. It also underscored the challenge the selection committee faces in adhering to stringent bracketing principles at a time when the majority of at-large bids are going to teams from a small handful of conferences.

If this were the real bracket, fans of Michigan, Houston and Florida would understandably be disgruntled to see such tough competition standing in their path to a Final Four. But the composition of the preview’s top 16 technically met the the committee’s threshold for competitive balance. More on that here.

Bracketology: 2026 NCAA Tournament committee faces challenges with Michigan, Houston, Florida in same region

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David Cobb

The reports of Ireland’s demise have clearly been greatly exaggerated. This was a performance reminiscent of their pomp that seemed to defy the circumstance, a record win over England at Twickenham that challenged so many of the assumptions made about both. No country for old men? There is life, and lots of it, left in this Irish band of brothers.

The verdant past of back-to-back Six Nations crowns may yet be beyond Ireland but here was a throwback showing of golden autumnal hue. Andy Farrell had backed his tried and trusted to hit the levels they had failed to of late and got what he had demanded. Ponderous? Plodding? Leggy after the Lions? Not so here: Jamison Gibson-Park fizzed with a vitality Ireland lacked in Paris on the opening night. Tadhg Beirne made mischief and menace and Stuart McCloskey stood tall to reduce English oak to acorns. For others, this was an international coming-of-age, wings Robert Baloucoune and Tommy O’Brien among them. An assured showing from Jack Crowley should make the No 10 shirt his for the foreseeable future. “It’s a special day, 100 per cent, to come here and perform like that,” Farrell said of his side. “We’re obviously delighted with that.”

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The only trouble for Farrell’s beaming team in green is that their title hopes may well rest on England beating France in Paris. It is a scenario that feels fanciful after this. For as good as Ireland were, the hosts simply wilted in the face of their pressure to raise deeper questions about their direction.

If their performance against Scotland could be dismissed as something of an aberration on a day luck did not go their way, there was no rub of the green, really, for Ireland here. Excepting the scrum – how was the play, Mrs Lincoln? – the visitors were better in every facet.

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“It was bitterly disappointing,” Steve Borthwick conceded after a chastening day. “Huge credit to Ireland, they took their chances, their kicking game was excellent. Unfortunately, for two weeks now, we have given ourselves a mountain to climb, given the opposition too many points and we have not got scoreboard presence. We will be looking closely at that and how I set the team up to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

It had been Maro Itoje to lead England out, just the ninth man to reach a century of caps for his country, a great statesman and great player emerging with the understated calm and confidence that has defined him over a decade. A look to the heavens, perhaps in memory of his mother, and England’s captain was down to business.

Borthwick and his squad had expressed frustration about their lacking physicality in the opening Edinburgh skirmishes, and there was a real punch to their first few carries, Freddie Steward hurling himself into the Irish line and Joe Heyes soon after. But a poor kick from George Ford squandered possession, before the eagerness to atone manifested itself in three sloppy, hurried set-pieces. An offside penalty in the English 22 granted the recalled Crowley the chance to open the scoring and settle any nerves.

The hosts, meanwhile, carried a certain skittishness, a coltish feel they had seemed to shed during their long winning run. Ford, unbelievably, twice missed touch with punted penalties, while Steward and Ellis Genge fumbled within five metres of the line after sustained series deep in Irish territory.

When Ireland at last got a chance to attack, they seized their chance. It looked all too easy for Baloucoune and O’Brien – on early for an injured James Lowe – to make metres in open acreage down the right, and England didn’t appropriately reform when the visitors went away to the left. Tom Curry cynically came in at the side to stem the flow; Gibson-Park tapped the resultant penalty quickly and zipped into the corner.

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For a second week running, bad for England soon became worse. O’Brien took a steepling kick on the left and Stuart McCloskey strode away from Ollie Lawrence up the centre. A superb cover tackle from Steward was immediately cancelled out by his diving over the top of the ruck; off he went to the sin bin after Baloucoune finished it off. Like Irish thoroughbreds rounding the bend at Cheltenham, the wing pair were soon at it again, with O’Brien this time the scorer in the left corner.

It was all too much for some. Referee Andrea Piardi departed with an injury and neither Luke Cowan-Dickie nor Steward made it to half time, hooked as Borthwick sought emergency solutions – or perhaps locked the stable door. Even when England did finally register, through Fraser Dingwall on the stroke of the interval, it felt like heavy treading, a phase or five too many required to break Ireland apart.

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The visitors, by contrast, found plenty of pasture. Caelan Doris was next to have a gallop as the travelling support sang of the fields of Athenry. His break forced an infringement under the posts, for which Henry Pollock was shown yellow, and Dan Sheehan soon provided the finishing touches. England grew petulant: Itoje warned about his tone, Jack van Poortvliet conceding 10 metres with backchat.

Again, it appeared the game was long gone before the final quarter that England had come to command during their 12 consecutive wins. A neatly worked Ollie Lawrence try, and accompanying yellow card for Jamie Osborne, instilled some fading faith, but it did not last long, two strikes of Crowley’s right boot adding to the advantage and all but killing home hopes.

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When a returned Osborne punched over 10 minutes from time, there were sprouts of green all around, and Englishmen and women stumbled for the exit. Itoje – another off early even on his milestone day – wore a face of stone, like plenty of others. Even at the last, Ireland were scrambling back hard, McCloskey hauling down Marcus Smith to showcase his impressive speed, Baloucoune bundling Tommy Freeman towards touch. “It looked like we were hunting people down throughout the game,” Farrell said.

Sam Underhill’s late try varnished a home performance for the scrapheap, yet still a record margin of defeat to Ireland here remained. Itoje’s 100th Test would have been among the most painful. Where do England go next?

Wales: Rees-Zammit; Hamer-Webb, James, Hawkins, Adams; Costelow, T Williams; Carre, Lake (capt), Francis, Jenkins, Carter, Plumtree, Mann, Wainwright.

Replacements: Elias, Smith, Griffin, F Thomas, Botham, Hardy, J Evans, Murray.

Scotland: Kinghorn; Steyn, H Jones, Tuipulotu (capt), van der Merwe; Russell, White; McBeth, Cherry, Z Fagerson, Williamson, Cummings, G Brown, Darge, M Fagerson.

Replacements: Turner, Schoeman, Mills, Gilchrist, Bayliss, G Horne, Jordan, Graham.

Referee: Matt Carley (RFU)

Assistant referees: Karl Dickson (RFU), Adam Leal (RFU)

TMO: Ian Tempest (RFU)

FPRO: Eric Gauzins (FFR).

By placing behind leading filly Tempted in his seasonal reappearance against stronger three-year-olds, Napoleonic highlighted his potential, with the next step being to confirm his ability over added ground.

The colt will have that shot at Rosehill this Saturday, attempting 1400 metres for the debut time in the Group 2 Hobartville Stakes.

Kept at 1200m in the spring campaign where he claimed three wins from four including stakes glory at Moonee Valley, co-trainer Tom Charlton now views him as suited to further and eyes a 1600m tilt in the Randwick Guineas next month.

“We feel confident about the 1400 and, in regards to a mile, it’s definitely a possibility,” Charlton said.

“This weekend will give us a more definitive answer to whether we press on (to the Randwick Guineas).

“We will get through the weekend but there are some nice options on the table.”

Rider Zac Lloyd shares Charlton’s enthusiasm, having guided Napoleonic first-up and set to continue in the Hobartville.

Lloyd considers the track firmness more detrimental than the step-up in trip, and anticipates a strong showing against Group 1 stars Autumn Boy and Attica.

“I think he’s a very good colt,” Lloyd said.

“I ride him a fair bit at home, so I’m very excited to see what he can do on Saturday.

“And even after Saturday, probably in Group One company, I think he’ll perform very well.

“He does appreciate a bit of give in the track, which he might not get at Rosehill, so that could be a little knock against him. But I think 1400, and in due time a mile, will suit him a lot.”

Journeyman, fresh off a brilliant midweek debut at Warwick Farm earlier this month, was removed from the field after being lame in his off-hind leg on Wednesday.

Co-trainer Will Freedman revealed the gelding is going for scans, the problem not seeming grave, but a cautious spell is probable.

Find the latest betting markets for the race ahead of the Hobartville Stakes.