Connect with us

Sports

Tenacious Agrarian Girl Set for 2026 Golden Slipper Bid

Published

on

Agrarian Girl’s grit has been praised by Adrian Bott as her defining trait, earning her a potential entry into the Golden Slipper via a debut triumph in the Lonhro Plate at Randwick.

Jumping at $31 despite accounting for Hidrix, the Canonbury Stakes winner from last weekend in a trial, the filly set the tempo early before threatening to succumb to Spicy Miss ($3.70), who filled the minor placing.

Displaying resolve, she fought back emphatically to hit the line a half-length in front, leaving Savage Look ($61) 1-3/4 lengths adrift in third.

Bott revealed the stable held no doubts about her ability, viewing her trial efforts as part of an ongoing education process.

Advertisement

“Maybe she has looked a little bit under pressure in her trials, but she has still been learning and developing, and she responded in those and that’s exactly what she did today,” Bott said.

“She has been a very talented filly all the way through. We did feel we were throwing her a little bit in the deep end, we did have her nominated for Canberra yesterday as well.

In fairness, off her trials and the way she looked, she just looked too magnificent to pass up racing here for a bit of black type on her home track.”

The result qualifies Agrarian Girl for a pathway to the Golden Slipper (1200m), with Bott to decide on the next steps.

Advertisement

“I think we have to. Whether that’s through a Silver Slipper or we trial into a race like the Reisling (Stakes), she has certainly got to be in contention with that tenacity she showed today,” he said.

“I’m sure there is some really nice improvement to come.”

Jockey Winona Costin notched an early double on Agrarian Girl after landing the opener aboard Zenmaster for Craig Carmody, appreciating the stakes chance from Bott and Gai Waterhouse.

“I’ve always been able to get a fair few two-year-old winners for them so it’s good to get one in town for them,” Costin said.

Advertisement

Stablemate Lady Moscato, the $3.60 market leader, ran fourth after setting the pace wide.

Resuming from a debut second at the Gold Coast last month, Bott anticipates further progress.

“She was honest. She just got a little bit keen outside the lead,” he said.

“Maybe the time between races for her, she’s still got plenty of time to keep improving.”

Advertisement

Agrarian Girl’s Golden Slipper quote has contracted from $101 to $34. Bettors should review racing betting markets ahead of her anticipated campaign.

The post Tenacious Girl to be given Golden chance first appeared on Just Horse Racing.

Advertisement

Source link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Sports

Benjamin Karl strips clothes celebrating snowboard gold medal at Olympics

Published

on

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!

Adrenaline was running high for Austrian snowboarder Benjamin Karl after winning a second straight Olympic gold medal in the men’s parallel giant slalom on Sunday.

And that adrenaline had him not feeling the cold temperatures, as he ripped off his jacket and clothes in celebration.

Karl, 40, was flexing his arms and screaming, ripping off his jacket and four layers of clothes during his celebration. He was even seen face down on the snow, which was surely cold, but he didn’t care.

Advertisement

CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON FOXNEWS.COM

Benjamin Karl lays down on snow

Gold medalist Benjamin Karl of Team Austria reacts after winning the Men’s Parallel Giant Slalom Big Final on day two of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Livigno Snow Park on Feb. 8, 2026 in Livigno, Italy. (Hannah Peters/Getty Images)

Karl was an Olympic gold medalist once again, and that’s all that mattered at the moment.

Before his medal-winning run, Karl was trailing South Korea’s Kim Sang-kyum for most of the final race, when he took full advantage of Kim’s mistake.

US TAKES GOLD IN FIGURE SKATING TEAM EVENT AT WINTER OLYMPICS

Advertisement

Karl crossed the finish line 0.19 seconds ahead of his South Korean opponent to win gold at Livigno Snow Park. Rounding out the podium was Bulgaria’s Tervel Zamfirov with bronze.

Benjamin Karl wins gold medal

Gold medalist Benjamin Karl of Team Austria celebrates after crossing the finish line in first place to win the Men’s Parallel Giant Slalom Big Final on day two of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Livigno Snow Park on Feb. 8, 2026 in Livigno, Italy. (David Ramos/Getty Images)

The crowd at Livigno Snow Park loved every moment of Karl’s celebration, which certainly ranks atop the initial reactions to winning gold at Milano Cortina thus far.

After the celebration, Karl eventually redressed and joined Kim and Zamfirov on the podium.

As the Austrian national anthem played, Karl’s smile never faded.

Advertisement
Benjamin Karl with shirt off flexing

Gold medalist Benjamin Karl of Team Austria celebrates after winning the Men’s Parallel Giant Slalom Big Final on day two of the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic games at Livigno Snow Park on Feb. 8, 2026 in Livigno, Italy. (David Ramos/Getty Images)

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

He also made Olympics history, becoming the first snowboarder to win four medals. He also won a bronze medal in the 2014 Sochi Olympics, while capturing silver in 2010 in Vancouver at Whistler.

Follow Fox News Digital’s sports coverage on X and subscribe to the Fox News Sports Huddle newsletter.

Advertisement

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Sports

‘Feels like yesterday’: Time flies for Games veteran Sidney Crosby

Published

on

Olympics: Ice Hockey-Men's Gold Medal GameFeb 23, 2014; Sochi, RUSSIA; Canada forward Sidney Crosby (87) prepares for the face-off against Sweden in the men’s ice hockey gold medal game during the Sochi 2014 Olympic Winter Games at Bolshoy Ice Dome. Mandatory Credit: Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

MILAN, Italy — Sidney Crosby waited 12 years to be back at the Olympics but the Canada captain said on Sunday that he sometimes felt as though no time had passed, as he stepped onto the ice at the Milan Cortina Games for the first time.

Future Hall of Famer Crosby is in the minority as a returning Olympian in Milan Cortina, where the NHL is allowing its players to compete in the Games for the first time since 2014, casting a massive spotlight on the men’s tournament.

“There’s some days that it feels like 12 (years) and other days it feels like yesterday,” said Crosby, the architect of Canada’s “golden goal” in 2010, who also helped the team to the top of the podium in 2014.

“There’s been a lot of anticipation ever since we found out we were going back to the Olympics. … So it’s just great to be with the guys, get out there and get to work.”

Advertisement

Crosby and his teammates hopped off the plane and just hours later onto the ice for their first practice at Santagiulia Arena on Sunday, swamped by reporters with little time to waste ahead of Wednesday’s tournament kickoff.

Led by the Pittsburgh Penguins center Crosby, the Canadian team are favored after beating rivals United States in the 4 Nations Face-Off tournament last year.

Edmonton Oilers center Connor McDavid, another marquee name on the Canadians’ wildly accomplished roster, praised Crosby’s leadership as he prepared for a “surreal” Olympic debut.

“He’s been here and done that and played in the biggest moments and succeeded,” McDavid told reporters. “Just a calming presence … a guy that doesn’t get too high or too low.”

Advertisement

Canada begins its Olympic campaign with a Group A game against Czech Republic on Thursday.

–Reuters, special to Field Level Media

Source link

Advertisement
Continue Reading

Sports

Super Bowl 2026: Seattle Seahawks beat New England Patriots to win second NFL championship

Published

on

The Seattle Seahawks produced a devastating defensive display to beat the New England Patriots and claim their second Super Bowl victory.

Two of the NFL’s strongest defences battled it out in Sunday’s showpiece and the Seahawks emphatically came out on top to win 29-13 at Levi’s Stadium.

It was a defensive performance for the ages and Briton Aden Durde played a pivotal role, becoming the first overseas coach to win America’s biggest game.

Seattle’s 46-year-old defensive coordinator has helped create the most-feared defence in the NFL, which has become known as ‘the Dark Side’, and they showed why on American football’s biggest stage in Santa Clara, California.

Advertisement

New England’s second-year quarterback Drake Maye narrowly missed out on this season’s Most Valuable Player award but was stifled by the Seahawks, who claimed six sacks, forced three turnovers and claimed a defensive touchdown.

After Seattle led 9-0 at half-time, Maye’s first turnover resulted in the game’s opening touchdown for tight end AJ Barner early in the fourth quarter.

Linebacker Uchenna Nwosu then returned an interception for a 45-yard touchdown, while Jason Meyers kicked a record five field goals.

More to follow.

Advertisement

Source link

Continue Reading

Sports

Shocking scenes at Davis Cup as Morocco fans throw bottles at Colombia team after player’s ‘shut up’ celebration causes controversy

Published

on

A Davis Cup tie between Columbia and Morocco recently witnessed some shocking scenes, as Colombian player Nicolas Mejia pulled out a controversial ‘shut-up’ celebration. The Moroccan audience was unimpressed by Mejia’s gestures and threw bottles on the court in retaliation.

On Sunday, February 8, Mejia took to court at the Union Sportive Marocaine Tennis Club in Casablanca against home player Reda Bennani. The match got off to an impressive start for the Colombian as he clinched an easy win in the opening set. While Bennani rallied in the second set, in the end it was Mejia who took the win 6-1, 4-6, 6-2. After his victory, the 25-year-old celebrated by shushing the crowd but the audience was quick to return fire, throwing bottles at the Columbian team.

Advertisement

Watch a video of the moment below:

Advertisement

The Davis Cup tie between Columbia and Morocco began on a strong note for the latter, with Rena Bennani beating Adria Soriano Barrera. However, things went downhill for Morocco from there, with Columbia clinching the next three matches to win the tie.

Nicolas Mejia defends himself after causing Davis Cup controversy between Colombia and Morocco

Mejia at the 2023 Davis Cup (Image Source: Getty)Mejia at the 2023 Davis Cup (Image Source: Getty)
Mejia at the 2023 Davis Cup (Image Source: Getty)

Nicolas Mejia’s celebration at the Davis Cup caused a fair amount of controversy, but the Columbian tennis star has defended himself against allegations of disrespect. In a post on X (formerly Twitter), the World No.177 stated that the Moroccan crowd had threatened him and his family while maintaining ‘zero fair play’, writing,

“You don’t know what happened. All the time people threaten me and my family. Moroccan team on my face and trying to make people scream at me more every point. Zero fair play. Better get your facts before talking what you don’t know.”

In a separate post, Mejia agreed that his celebration hadn’t been the best, but maintained that his gestures were solely in response to insults he had been receiving, explaining,

“My celebration probably wasn’t the best, but I’d been putting up with insults against me and my family the whole match from the crowd, and insults from the opposing team and captain. I let it out, and that’s it. But I didn’t insult anyone.”

Nicolas Mejia is one of Colombia’s leading tennis players at the moment. Outside of the Davis Cup, the 25-year-old, who turned pro in 2019, makes regular appearances in ATP Challenger events and has achieved a career-high ranking of World No.168 earlier this year.