Mick Price, the trainer, harked back to his pre-training experience by personally parading The Speed Machine at Mornington.

Trained by Mick Price alongside Michael Kent Jnr, the two-year-old gelding turned tricky at saddling time, leading Price to take charge of strapping duties prior to Saturday’s Mornington Sires (1000m).

The approach succeeded brilliantly as The Speed Machine ($3), ridden by Thomas Stockdale, dashed to the lead and held on by a half-neck from favourite Luna Vega ($2.50), with Zynaro ($11) 2-½ lengths adrift in third.

Price noted that red earmuffs are fitted to The Speed Machine for the pre-race parade and removed at the barriers.

Observing the gelding as half-asleep, Price dispensed with the headgear post-saddling.

“His father (Hanseatic) used to have a bit of feist about him,” Price said.

“His father used to always have two strappers on him, and I did take the red earmuffs off him while we were saddling him up, because I thought he was half asleep.

“But I found out the wrong way. He was not asleep and I had to do my own work.”

The Speed Machine has won both his starts, including a 1000m victory in a four-runner field on debut at Morphettville Parks last month.

Price doesn’t see him as solely a 1000m specialist and plans to test him at 1200m eventually.

The colours belong to Kempinsky, victor of The Vase at Moonee Valley and second in the Group 1 Victoria Derby at Flemington back in 2003.

“We’ve had horses together for 30 years, but we haven’t had a lot of starters over that time,” Price said.

“He buys them, I move them on, but this one, he’s a keeper.

“He a fast horse, and he’s a strong horse, and he’s very sound, an easy horse to train.”

Discover the best betting sites offering markets for the Mornington Sires race.

PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp has addressed the reports and rumors involving LIV Golf’s future, or potential lack thereof, with a straightforward message about where the Tour’s priorities lie amid uncertain times.

Last week, it was widely reported that the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF) was preparing to cut off its funding of LIV Golf after announcing a five-year investment strategy focused on reprioritizing spending. With the Saudis being the sole funders of the breakaway golf circuit, a stoppage of funds would, in all likelihood, end the current iteration of LIV Golf.

LIV GOLF’S END MAY BE IMMINENT AFTER REPORT SIGNALS SAUDI ARABIA IS PREPARING TO CUT OFF FUNDING

LIV Golf Mexico went on as scheduled over the weekend amid the very loud rumors. Two-time major champion Jon Rahm won the event, and on Sunday, LIV formally announced it would be returning to Mexico in 2027 at a currently unspecified date.

Jon Rahm in action during the first round of play at LIV Golf Riyadh at the Riyadh Golf Club in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Feb. 4, 2026. (Hamad I Mohammed/Reuters)

Rolapp, the former Executive Vice President of NFL Media, joined Monday’s edition of ‘The Pat McAfee Show‘ on ESPN and was transparent while sharing his thoughts about the reports and rumors involving LIV Golf.

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Most notably, Rolapp admitted that the PGA Tour is thinking about potential pathways back for players who left the Tour to join the Saudi-backed league.

“I think we’re thinking about it,” Rolapp said when asked about players potentially returning. “Listen, we’re reading all the same headlines you’re reading, we don’t know what’s going on over there [at LIV Golf]. We know that those guys are under contract, we’ll respect that.

PGA Tour CEO Brian Rolapp addresses media members at a press conference prior to THE PLAYERS Championship at Stadium Course at TPC Sawgrass on March 11, 2026 in Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida. (Tracy Wilcox/PGA TOUR via Getty Images)

“Brooks [Koepka] came back onto the Tour because he made a phone call and said, ‘Look, I’m out of my contract, I’m ready to come back.’ So, we’re thinking about it, and we’ll react when we have an opportunity to react, but right now we’re focused on making the PGA Tour better. I’ve said it publicly, and I’ll say it again, I’m interested in making whatever makes the PGA Tour better. That’s what my job is, that’s what I’m interested in doing, and that has no limit.”

Koepka, a five-time major winner, returned to the PGA Tour at the start of 2026 after joining LIV Golf in June 2022. He did so via the Tour’s ‘Returning Member Program,’ made only accessible to previous Tour members who have won The Players or a major championship between 2022 and 2025.

Brooks Koepka of the United States reacts after chipping in for birdie on the 17th hole during the second round of the 125th U.S. Open at Oakmont Country Club on June 13, 2025, in Oakmont, Pennsylvania. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

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Koepka agreed to make a $5 million charitable contribution upon his return to the Tour. He also agreed to include a five-year forfeiture of potential equity in the PGA Tour’s Player Equity Program, which estimates his potential losses to be approximately $50-$85 million. Koepka will also not receive any FedEx Cup bonus payment in 2026.

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Patrick Reed also left LIV Golf in early 2026 to seek a return to the PGA Tour. The former Masters champion is serving a one-year suspension that will end in August and is well on his way to earning back his PGA Tour card for 2027 with a pair of wins earlier this year on the DP World Tour.

Bryson DeChambeau, Tyrrell Hatton, Joaquin Niemann, Cameron Smith, and Rahm remain the most high-profile players competing on LIV Golf, and their return to the PGA Tour would undoubtedly fit into Rolapp’s focus of making the PGA Tour better.

Rhea Ripley shared a heartfelt reaction to a personal moment with Bianca Belair at WWE WrestleMania 42. Ripley won a major title match at the biggest show of the year over the weekend.

Bianca Belair returned during Night 1 of WrestleMania 42 to make a huge announcement. The former champion made a surprise appearance at The Show of Shows to announce that she was pregnant.

Belair and the 29-year-old then had a heartfelt backstage interaction after her appearance, and the two stars shared a hug. Ripley reacted to her backstage moment with Belair today on her Instagram story with a heart emoji, and you can check it out in the image below.

Bianca Belair has not competed in a match since WWE WrestleMania 41. She has missed over a year of action due to a hand injury suffered in the Triple Threat match against IYO SKY and Ripley last year on The Grandest Stage of Them All.

Rhea Ripley won the Women’s Elimination Chamber match to earn a title match against Jade Cargill at WrestleMania 42. Ripley defeated The Storm at the PLE to become the new WWE Women’s Champion.

Rhea Ripley opens up about using social media as a WWE Superstar

WWE Women’s Champion Rhea Ripley recently discussed how difficult it was to use social media as a public figure.

Speaking on Pod Meets World, The Eradicator opened up about the negativity she experiences on social media. Ripley stated that she needed to delete Twitter because all she sees are negative comments about herself when she uses the social media app.

“It’s really hard going on to Twitter. I need to delete that. It’s really hard going on and trying to make it a work environment. But then because it is a work environment, I get all these things coming up on my ‘For You’ page. As soon as I click on the app, it’s just negativity towards me,” she said.

Rhea Ripley and IYO SKY had a brief reign as Women’s Tag Team Champions earlier this year. SKY was not booked for a match at WrestleMania but did get involved in Ripley’s match against Cargill at WWE WrestleMania.

B-Fab and Michin both attacked the challenger, but Sky made the save. Ripley connected with Riptide on Cargill to become champion, and it will be interesting to see what the promotion has planned for her title reign moving forward.