Trainer Rex Lipp, based in Toowoomba, was far from satisfied with the performance of his stable star Cifrado in the recent Eye Liner Stakes at Ipswich. This dissatisfaction has prompted a change of rider for Cifrado’s upcoming start in the Listed Glasshouse Handicap at Sunshine Coast this Saturday.

Lipp voiced his displeasure concerning Boris Thornton’s ride at Ipswich, highlighting that Cifrado was impeded on multiple occasions and finished the race with plenty in hand, having been badly checked approximately 100 metres from the finish line.

The five-year-old gelding will now be guided by Ben Thompson on Saturday. Lipp conveyed that the Group 2 BRC Sires victor is currently in the best form of his career.

“He’s got over his problems he had last preparation,” Lipp confirmed. “I don’t think the horse has looked better for twelve months – I think he’s going as good as I’ve ever had him.”

Commenting on the previous ride, Lipp added, “He (Thornton) knows, he’s ridden the horse before and you don’t go looking for runs on him unless you can drive a bus through because he winds up, he’s not a stop-start horse as you can see from his two previous runs. But anyway, we’ll put that down as ‘don’t let it happen again’.”

Cifrado’s initial outing was over 900m at Gold Coast during his juvenile season. He went on to secure victories in both the Sprit Of Boom Classic and the BRC Sires at Group 2 level, with additional stakes wins recorded at ages three, four, and five. While Lipp harbours aspirations for a third Group 1 triumph, he is currently content with placing Cifrado in races that suit his capabilities.

“If I can find the right race later on I’ll take him South (to Sydney),” Lipp indicated. “He ran fifth in The Hunter at Newcastle beaten a length and a half and had a chequered run but anyway, that’s the story of Cifrado, he should’ve won. Anyway, he worked nice and strong on the bit on the course proper Tuesday morning at Toowoomba and I’m very happy with him ahead of Saturday.”

Cifrado was among 36 nominations for the 1400m Glasshouse Handicap on Saturday. He was installed as the second favourite in the all-in betting at $6, behind Bjorn Baker’s Midnight Dynamite, who is also entered for the Winter Stakes at Rosehill Gardens. Consider exploring online bookmakers for the best betting markets for the race.

Manchester City have five players entering the final year of their contracts, with some major decisions to be made.

The Blues are entering a new era with Enzo Maresca in charge after a decade of Pep Guardiola and it remains to be seen how the new manager will want to set up his squad. The Blues will complete the £116million signing of Nottingham Forest and England midfielder Elliot Anderson in the coming days and could yet add another midfielder, while a right back and winger are also on the shopping list.

But there is uncertainty around plenty of players at the Etihad with Spurs keen on Savinho, Ruben Dias and Rodri being linked with Real Madrid and uncertainty around the likes of Nico Gonzalez, Omar Marmoush and Tijjani Reijnders.

City have the foundation of a squad capable of challenging on all fronts, as evidenced by winning a domestic cup double last season while taking the Premier League title race to the final week of the season. But there are questions that need answering with the out of contract five’s future among them. Here’s a snapshot of where things are at with the quintet.

Nathan Ake

The defender is expected to depart in search of more regular game time. He’s just been knocked out of the World Cup with the Netherlands and so decisions on his future will likely be made in the next few weeks but the 31-year-old has admirers.

What comes next for Ake could also be influenced by Ruben Dias with the Portugal international linked with a move to Real Madrid. City want to keep Dias and he could well be named club captain next season. But if he does depart Ake could fill the void of a fourth senior centre back with Marc Guehi, Abdukodir Khusanov and Josko Gvardiol firmly part of the picture.

Phil Foden

He is perhaps the one on this list with the most concrete outlook for next term. Foden struggled for form in the second half of last season and hasn’t hit the heights that carried him to the Premier League Player of the Year honour in 2024, but he has shown patches of why he can a often viewed as a generational talent and club and player have broadly agreed terms over a new contract. The 26-year-old is a boyhood Blue and is set to continue his time with the club.

Mateo Kovacic

The midfielder barely featured last season due to injuries but was preferred to Nico Gonzalez during the run in. He has the experience and discipline to offer a holding midfield option but the arrival of Elliot Anderson adds more competition in the middle of the park. It seems unlikely Kovacic will get a new deal and so player and club must establish whether the parting of the ways comes this summer or next.

Rodri

The great unknown. The midfielder’s future has been speculated about plenty in recent months, not helped by the player himself speaking candidly about potentially playing in Madrid while on international duty. City would love to keep the 30-year-old and in an ideal world extend his contract while the need for surgery after the World Cup will surely put off any potential suitors.

Anderson’s arrival could take some of the burden off his shoulders and there were signs in the closing weeks of last term that the Spain international was starting to return towards his best after the cruciate injury. You suspect Real Madrid’s interest will remain and while he’s seemingly more likely to stay this summer than go you wouldn’t stake too much on it, and that doesn’t answer the question of what happens in 2027.

Marcus Bettinelli

The veteran stopper is filling the very modern day Premier League spot of a homegrown qualified player who is happy with a watching brief, while providing an experienced hand if required and a knowledge base and leadership to help set and maintain standards in training. Seems certain to stay at the club before a decision is taken next summer over whether the then 35-year-old departs or potentially agrees a new 12-month contract.

The U.S. Supreme Court delivered a historic win to the “Save Women’s Sports” movement on Tuesday, ruling 6-3 to uphold state laws that ban biological males from competing with girls and women.

The decision was met with celebration by women’s sports activists, including several high-profile Olympians.

Leah O’Brien-Amico, three-time gold medalist in softball for the U.S.

Softball player Leah O’Brien-Amico poses for a portrait during the USOC Media Summit at the Marriott Marquis in New York, N.Y., on May 15, 2004. (Matthew Stockman/Getty Images)

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“Today’s Supreme Court ruling is a victory for every girl who has ever dreamed of competing at the highest level,” O’Brien-Amico told Fox News Digital.

“As a three-time Olympic Gold Medalist, I am deeply grateful that I had the opportunity to compete on a level playing field with other biological females. The integrity and safety of women’s sports must be protected in every way. We can continue to find ways to honor the dignity of every person while protecting the spaces that generations of women worked so hard to build.”

MyKayla Skinner, U.S. silver medalist gymnast at Tokyo 2020

Mykayla Skinner and Simone Biles of Team United States pose for a photo during Women’s Podium Training ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Gymnastics Centre on July 22, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

“People from the far left… hopefully they wake up and just realize just how many girls are affected by this. It’s a real thing, and I think sometimes it just goes over their head and they don’t see what’s going on with the girls,” Skinner told Fox News Digital.

USA’s Kaillie Humphries holds an USA flag after competing to win bronze in the bobsleigh women’s monobob heat 4 at Cortina Sliding Centre during the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Olympic Games in Cortina d’Ampezzo on Feb. 16, 2026. (Marco BERTORELLO / AFP)

“Women’s sports has changed my life, providing opportunities and a career I couldn’t have got elsewhere. I get to do what I love because people fought to create and protect a space for biological women. The female category was established so biological women can compete on a level playing field,” Humphries told Fox News Digital.

“Today is a win for the generations of girls that will step on to a field, court, track, or rink. We can now all Dream Big knowing we are safe and have a fair environment to compete in any sport at all levels. It’s a big win for women’s sports in this country.”

Nancy Hogshead, three-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer for the U.S.

Jenna Johnson, Nancy Hogshead, Carrie Steinseifer and Dara Torres of United States celebrate winning the women’s 4x100m freestyle relay during the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games at Olympic Swim Stadium. (Porter Binks-USA TODAY NETWORK)

“Today’s decision is a step in the right direction for female fairness & safety in sport! Still, it doesn’t go as far as the UK Supreme Court — it doesn’t define the meaning of ‘sex’ in law. Allowing 27 states to establish boundaries around female sport categories should give sports governance a sigh of relief; they don’t need to worry about very expensive litigation sucking their resources,” Hogshead told Fox News Digital.

“But Sport cannot have a state-by-state web of laws. Even age group and Little League athletes travel across state lines. Further, will sport governing bodies award national competitions to states like California, who do not protect females? In short, Democrats aren’t done with this issue impacting elections, power and everything else on their agenda.”

MARTINA NAVRATILOVA SAYS SHE TRIED TO WARN KAMALA HARRIS’ CAMPAIGN ABOUT TRANS ATHLETES: ‘NOBODY WOULD LISTEN’

Donna de Varona, three-time Olympic gold medalist swimmer for the U.S.

President Ronald Reagan with Donna De Varona (blue dress) as they address the Women’s Sports Foundation. (Getty Images)

“Today the Supreme Court decision upholds the significant role biology plays in the lives of all women.  Safeguarding girls and women’s spaces is just, fair and humane,” de Varona told Fox News Digital.

Martina Navratilova, women’s tennis legend and U.S. Olympian at Athens 2004

Martina Navratilova, a Czech-American former professional tennis player, during a join press conference with Chris Evert of the USA, on Day 5 of the GNP Seguros WTA Finals Cancun 2023 part of the Hologic WTA Tour, on November 2, 2023, in Cancun, Quintana Roo, Mexico. (Artur Widak/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

“The Supreme Court made the proper decision today, allowing 27 states to continue formally protecting girls’ and women’s sports. Democratic politicians and blue states need to wake up to the biological reality of a female’s sex,” Navratilova said in a statement provided to Fox News Digital by Hogshead.

Katie Uhlaender, U.S. skeleton athlete, five-time Olympian

Katie Uhlaender of Team United States poses for a portrait during the Team USA Beijing 2022 Olympic shoot on September 12, 2021 in Irvine, California. (Tom Pennington/Getty Images for Team USA)

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“Today’s Supreme Court ruling is inspiring because it recognizes that protecting women as a biological class is not discrimination. It affirms that fairness matters, that reality matters, and that women shouldn’t have to apologize for asking for fair and safe competition. Without Fairness, there is no sport,” Uhlaender told Fox News Digital.

“Recently, a respected academic and clinician, told me that acknowledging biological sex is discriminatory. They directed me to respected institutions like the American Psychological Association, and I was shocked to find misleading information on it. The APA suggested that the role of testosterone isn’t proven to enhance athletic performance. The causal effects of testosterone on human physiology have been understood for decades. Suggesting otherwise gives the public an inaccurate picture of the science. Things like that have made it incredibly difficult for women to advocate for fairness.”

The WBO has now officially ordered Devin Haney’s first mandatory defence of his welterweight world title.

Haney won the belt in November last year, defeating the hard-hitting Brian Norman Jr to become a three-weight world champion.

Despite a public back-and-forth with Shakur Stevenson for a catchweight bout, Haney must now face Keyshawn Davis should he want to keep his title.

After confirming that Davis was next in line recently, WBO President Gustavo Olivieri today issued the following statement:

“The WBO Championship Committee has officially ordered the commencement of negotiations for the WBO Welterweight Mandatory Championship Title Defence between World Champion Devin Haney and the WBO’s #1 world-rated contender & mandatory challenger Keyshawn Davis.

“Pursuant to the Committee’s ruling and the WBO Regulations of World Championship Contests, the parties are granted twenty (20) days to reach an agreement. Failing such agreement, purse bid proceedings may be requested, with the purse split to be distributed 75% to the Champion and 25% to the Challenger, in accordance with the WBO Rules.”

Davis is yet to fight at 147lbs, but is well-ranked due to holding the WBO belt at lightweight in the past. He only just made the super-lightweight limit for his latest fight – a unanimous decision win over Nahir Albright – and signalled shortly after that he would be moving up.

The match-up is an intriguing proposition for fans, with Davis’ speed and calculated aggression potentially a true test of Haney’s elite defence.

All eyes now turn to Haney, who may be content to drop the belt and continue in his pursuit of bigger fights against the likes of Stevenson or even a returning Gervonta Davis.