Home By The Lee was a surprise 33/1 winner of the Grade 1 Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle at Cheltenham on Thursday.

Running at the Festival for the fifth time, the 11-year-old led home an Irish-trained trifecta with Ballyburn (11/2) and last year’s winner, Bob Olinger (13/2) taking second and third places.

Home By The Lee, trained by Joseph O’Brien for Cork owner Seán O’Driscoll, had finished best-placed third in the 2024 renewal of the stayers’ championship.

With the eventual fourth-placed finished, the Dan Skelton-handled Kabral Du Mathan (4/1/) cruising in behind the eventual winner coming to the last, the latter found absolutely nothing in the closing stages and faded to finish fourth.

Ballyburn, who had raced with a very low head carriage in last place for most of the race, tried to come up the stands’ side rail but didn’t find any room. His rider, Paul Townend, then had to manoeuvre out and possibly lost some momentum in the process.

The Ronny Bartlett-owned Beeches Stud-bred son of Flemensfirth took the runner-up position one-and-a-quarter lengths behind the winner.

🗣️ “He was a summer bumper horse originally so he bounced off it today.” 🤣

JJ Slevin on 11-Y-O Home By The Lee’s remarkable @paddypower Stayers’ Hurdle triumph 👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/utCG85bXrR

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— Racing TV (@RacingTV) March 12, 2026

The 2025 winner, the Henry de Bromhead-trained Bob Olinger, now an 11-year-old like the winner, Home By The Lee, was third in the hands of Darragh O’Keeffe, a further length-and-a-half in arrears of Ballyburn.

Seán O’Driscoll, the owner-breeder of Home By The Lee, said:

“We came here with confidence, but the odds were stacked against us in that he’s 11 years of age, it was his fifth attempt at the race, I don’t think any horse has won it after running in it five times – the moral of the story is that there’s always a first time!”

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Scottie Scheffler hit. And hit. No matter that his round had finished a couple hours ago. No matter that a steady rain was soaking his white hat, black vest, white shirt and blue pants. Under the eye of longtime swing coach Randy Smith and caddie Ted Scott, Scheffler hit on the muddy range at TPC Sawgrass. And hit.

Because of mishits. 

It was that kind of day at the Players Championship, at least when looking at the standard for the world No. 1. Scheffler had shot an even-par 72, and he trailed early wave leader Maverick McNealy by just five. But it was the means in which Scheffler arrived at his number that was alarming. He went right off the tee. Often. He hit seven fairways. And he went right seven times. He went right on No. 10, his opening hole. And 12. And 14. And 15. And 16. And 5. And 7. “Yeah, just kept going right,” Scheffler said. 

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But why? Scheffler said it had to do with a driver switch. Gone is TaylorMade’s new Qi4D driver, which he had used at last week’s Arnold Palmer Invitational. Back is the Qi10 that he’s played for the past two seasons. 

“I’ve seen some improvements in the new driver; like my spin is much more consistent,” Scheffler said after his round. “It’s actually a touch faster than my driver. But the way I play, I always hit so many different types of shots and the one last week felt like it was going a little left on me, and when I want to hit my peeler, a lot of times I would hit it out of the middle of the face and it would start drawing on me, so I think that’s a little bit today why the ball started going way right.

“You look at a hole like 14, 7, 16, you can’t really miss left. I don’t think I had enough trust in what the driver head was doing compared to where I was last week. I think it can be tough sometimes to kind of block that stuff out.

“But I have seen some improvements in the new driver. It’s just I haven’t been able to trust it in all the different shots that I hit, especially off the tee.”

There were positives on Thursday. Scheffler gained strokes to the field in approach and putting. He birdied the par-5 9th, his final hole of the day, in one of the tidiest ways you’ll see: tee ball down the left side of the fairway, layup to 70 yards, wedge to 2 feet. “It’s nice finishing that way versus the other way,” he said. 

There’s also confidence in the old driver. In 2024, Scheffler won nine tournaments, including the Masters and the Olympics event. Last year, he won six events, including two majors. 

Still, he needed to hit. 

And hit. 

“I mean, it’s easier hitting it from the fairway than it is from the rough,” Scheffler said. “I played from the rough a lot today. Like I said, I hit some good iron shots, which was really nice. Had that nice wedge in on 9, really sharp iron shot into 6, and I did a pretty good job of managing my way around the course.

Anticipating Sydney’s customary moist autumn climate, trainers Mick Price and Michael Kent Jnr based in Victoria have decided to head north with two of their charges, eyeing rain-influenced surfaces for the carnival.

On Saturday at Rosehill Gardens, Globe and La Fracas will start their autumn assignments, the former in the Ajax Stakes (1500m) and the latter in the Maurice McCarten Stakes (1100m).

For Globe, it’s his initial run back after being pulled from the Cox Plate due to veterinary recommendation, coming off a win in the Group 1 Caulfield Stakes (2000m), with Mick Price & Michael Kent Jnr confirming the horse has taken well to their Sydney quarters after arriving several weeks prior.

“We’ve planned Sydney to take advantage of soft tracks. I know he won a Group One last time on good ground, but we feel he is an excellent wet tracker,” Kent Jnr said.

“He’s going super. His trials have been excellent. Outside gate, he’s only got one style and that’s to flow along out in front. There does look to be a bit of pressure inside him from Sandpaper and Willaidow, but he gave Tom Berry a great feel last week in the trial.

“If the track firms up, his chances decrease, and if it stays in that soft range then his chances are better.”

Kent Jnr described the soft tissue swelling responsible for Globe’s Cox Plate scratch as relatively insignificant, merely “required no intervention, just a spell and rest”.

With entries in the Doncaster Mile (1600m) and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (2000m), Globe’s carnival schedule is tentative, yet Kent Jnr expects positive results.

La Fracas seeks to uphold his flawless first-up form in the Maurice McCarten Stakes, albeit the 1100m proving a touch brief for the speedster’s optimal distance.

In case of no success Saturday, Kent Jnr recommends watching for wet conditions.

“Mick (Price), in his time, thinks he’s one of the best wet trackers he has ever seen,” he said.

“His goal in life is to be up, fit, healthy and fresh when the rain arrives.

“We wouldn’t dismiss the idea of running him in a big sprint up there if the rain really teemed down.”

Craig Williams will steer La Fracas as Tom Berry rides Globe. For the Ajax Stakes, punters should visit betting sites to compare racing betting markets.

The Champions League’s Cinderella club Bod/Glimt wrote another chapter in its fairytale run through the competition.

The homely Norwegian club won 3-0 against Sporting Lisbon in the first leg of a round-of-16 clash at its tiny Aspmyra Stadium packed with 7,971 fans.

Sporting, the champion of Portugal that once nurtured future superstars Cristiano Ronaldo and Luis Figo, became the latest favored opponent to travel far north and struggle inside the Arctic Circle this year.

Manchester City and Inter Milan were each beaten 3-1 on Bod/Glimt’s artificial turf field since coach Kjetil Knutsen’s team began the year looking sure to fall short of reaching the knockout rounds.

It is now a remarkable five straight wins for the lowest-seeded team left in the Champions League – all during the offseason in Norway. The country’s domestic league does not start until this weekend.

Bod/Glimt led in the 32nd minute when Sondre Brunstad Fet scored with a penalty kick, deceiving Sporting goalkeeper Rui Silva who dived right as the ball went low to his left.

Ole Blomberg added a second in first-half stoppage time, sliding in a low shot after the ball bounced through to him.

Center forward Kasper Hgh added a third in the 71st being strong in the goalmouth to connect with Jens Petter Hauge’s hard-driven low cross. It was Hgh’s fifth goal in the five-win streak. 

World Cup callups? 
None of the goalscorers has even played for their national team. Fet at age 29 and the 25-year-old Blomberg are yet to be selected for Norway which is soon going to its first World Cup in a generation.

Nine of the 11 starters Wednesday are Norwegian and three – Hauge, captain Patrick Berg and Fredrik Andre Bjrkan – are playing for their hometown team that never won a Norwegian league title until 2020.

Hgh, also 25, has not been picked for Denmark, which is in a World Cup qualifying playoffs bracket this month.

Quarterfinal outliers 
The team from the Norwegian Sea fishing town would be the most unlikely Champions League quarterfinalist of recent years. APOEL from Cyprus reached the last eight in 2012 and was beaten by Real Madrid.

The winner after the return game in Lisbon next Tuesday will advance to play either Arsenal or Bayer Leverkusen who drew 1-1 Wednesday in the first leg in Germany.

The entire population of Bod, just 55,000 people, could all fit inside Arsenal’s stadium.

Henry Dwyer plans to keep Different Gravy on track for his targets, undeterred by the horse’s outside draw, sending him to Caulfield.

In the upcoming VOBIS Platinum Guineas (1600m) on Saturday, Different Gravy has barrier 16, which becomes 15 if Merimbula the emergency doesn’t get in.

“He needs to start somewhere and that’s been his long-term starting point, so I don’t want to change a preparation just because of a bad barrier,” Dwyer said.

Different Gravy’s trajectory points to the Group 1 Queensland Derby (2400m) during late May at Eagle Farm.

For the Queensland Derby finale, Dwyer schedules four races for Different Gravy, akin to his Sonntag victory in 2014, then a warm Queensland winter holiday before eyeing Melbourne’s spring races.

Following the Saturday launch, Different Gravy aims for Sydney’s Frank Packer Plate (2000m) at Randwick next, then Brisbane’s Rough Habit Plate (2000m) at Doomben.

“We didn’t accept in the Australian Derby, we took him out on Tuesday, just because it was all coming around a bit soon,” Dwyer said.

“The mile now, then 2000 (metres) in a month’s time and a lead-up run into the Derby sounds about right.”

A product of Ghaiyyath, father to Victoria Derby and Australian Guineas winner Observer, Different Gravy impressed Dwyer more than anticipated last preparation.

Different Gravy advanced rapidly: a 1600m maiden at Swan Hill led to Listed 1800m spoils in Melbourne Cup week, ending with the first Melbourne Classic (2000m) success at Caulfield.

“We thought he would improve over ground, but we didn’t know how much he would improve,” Dwyer said.

“It was a fair bit, and I think he’s going to improve again this time.

“We got him out to 2000 metres last prep, and I think he will eat up the 2400 metres as well this time around.

“Hopefully a winter up there and then we can think about the spring down here and see how he measures up.”

Discover the finest betting sites offering markets for the Queensland Derby.

Vikings Territory Breakdown Podcast

What a difference a year makes in the NFL. The new league year and free agency began this past week, and the Vikings spent most of that time jettisoning the expensive free agents they signed at this time last year. Their two big signings of 2025 on the defensive line, tackles Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen, were released on Wednesday (with Hargrave moving on to the Green Bay Packers), and now the Vikings must fill those holes and others on their roster.

The biggest potential free agent for the Purple, however, is quarterback Kyler Murray, who was released by the Arizona Cardinals on Wednesday. Most observers have the Vikings as the odds-on-favorite to land him. (But, at press time, Murray was scheduled for a visit and a physical at TCO Performance Center, and no signing had yet been announced.)

The Vikings did sign former Pittsburgh cornerback James Pierre, whom defensive coordinator Brian Flores knew from his time with the Steelers. Plus, they restructured several big contracts to get under the cap, resigned Eric Wilson, Aaron Jones and long snapper Andrew DePoala (who no longer has a punter/holder to snap to as Ryan Wright bolted for New Orleans), and placed free agent tenders on Ivan Pace and Jalen Redmond.

As the free agent frenzy continues around the league, the fellas at the Vikings Territory Breakdown podcast—Joe Oberle, senior writer at vikingsterritory.com and purplePTSD.com, and Mark Craig, NFL and Vikings writer for the Star Tribune and startribune.com—will have it all for you. Tune in and check out the latest. Skol! 

Joe Oberle is a veteran sportswriter/editor/reporter and has covered the Vikings since 2008. The author of three books, he … More about Joe Oberle

Ishan Kishan and Sanju Samson (ANI Photo)

As Team India embarks on a new cycle that will culminate in the ODI World Cup next year, will Sanju and Ishan’s T20 WC heroics be good enough for them to be candidates in the set up?The bubbly of euphoria of the T20 World Cup triumph was still spilling over when Gautam Gambhir was asked whether the current Indian white-ball generation is the best in business. The coach was at his pragmatic best when he said: “I am not so sure when you’ve lost two bilateral ODI series recently.”Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!The indications were quite clear. The T20 World Cup win is all fine but it’s time to look forward because India will be judged in the next one-and-a-half years on its ODI performances. Reason: The ODI World Cup in South Africa in October-November 2027.While the Indian T20 team has been a force of nature in the last couple of years, the ODI team has stuttered a bit. While the Mr Matchwinner for India, Jasprit Bumrah hasn’t played a single ODI since the 2023 World Cup final, the results haven’t always been that convincing.

In 2024, India lost an ODI series in Sri Lanka, one in Australia in 2025 and one at home to New Zealand earlier this year. In between, there was a Champions Trophy triumph in Dubai, but those matches were played in designer spinfriendly conditions which won’t be replicated in South Africa.That brings us to a pertinent question — is India lacking something in the ODI format?Given the way new-age whiteball cricket is being played, one may be tempted to say it is the explosivity in the batting department that can be an area of discussion. Of course, ODIs are not T20s — which is mostly sixth gear cricket — and you need a little bit of balance in the 50-over format. Still, it won’t be a bad time to ask whether some of the T20 superstars who have the wherewithal to play the longer format should be looked at in ODIs in the lead-up to the World Cup.

The two obvious names that can come up for immediate discussion are that of Sanju Samson and Ishan Kishan. Sanju made the difference at the most crucial stages of the T20 World Cup while Ishan is a proven player in 50 overs — boasting of a highest score of 210 in ODIs. Sanju, on the other hand, has an impressive ODI average of 56.66 and a strike-rate of 99.60.Former India batter WV Raman feels Sanju has all the elements in his game that can make him a success in ODIs. “He is a terrific player and whatever problems he was having with his temperament, he has addressed that. I am convinced that Sanju has the game to succeed in ODIs,” Raman told TOI.But then, the question begs: Where is the vacancy? Sanju is essentially an opener and India’s two current ODI openers are Rohit Sharma and Shubman Gill. Rohit has been a little up and down in the only format that he plays, while Shubman is team captain. Former national selector Devang Gandhi added the name of Yashasvi Jaiswal to the list. “Next in line is Jaiswal and if a slot opens up, how can you give somebody a go ahead of him? I have nothing against Samson, but let him go back to domestic one-day cricket get runs, and then try for an ODI comeback. That’s how the selectors should think,” Gandhi said.Raman, though, is a believer of backing a player when he is in form. “It’s for the team management to find a place for Sanju. For me, Sanju is good enough for ODIs,” Raman said.Ishan, meanwhile, may have a little more flexibility in finding a place. The Jharkhand left-hander can play in top-three as well as lower down the order. Additionally, like Sanju, he is a keeper as well and can be a deputy to KL Rahul. “But then, there’s Rishabh Pant. What has Pant done wrong to be dropped from the ODI set-up? These are very talented young players we are talking about and they should be handled with care,” Gandhi said.Indian cricket will dive deep into IPL in a couple of weeks’ time and as per the recent trend, performances in the two-month tournament will become a serious benchmark for selection across formats.Ishan, playing at No. 3 for Sunrisers Hyderabad, and Sanju, opening the batting for his new side Chennai Super Kings, will have the opportunity to break every selection door down.Gandhi, though, argues that shouldn’t be the case.“Don’t forget, there are hardly any close-in fielders in T20s. The aim of every bowler is containment. It’s not always the case in ODIs,” the former India opener said.