#epsom-derby

#epsom-derby

The tulips gained fame in 1912, when it was widely reported that a tulip with four distinct blooms on one stem had been spotted at the palace, and the following year, it was reported that the palace had its best display in many years.

The Gold Cup was one of the last races at the meeting to elude Willie Mullins until his first win in 2019. Now, he has five, joining Tom Dreaper, Arkle's trainer, as the co-holder of the all-time record, after Gaelic Warrior's relentless charge up the hill to an eight length success.

Everything has an end and this is my end here at Chelsea. I still remember Emma [Hayes] called me six-and-a-half years ago, convinced me to join the club and I was terrified. Scared that I wasn't good enough, scared to move away from my family. Little did I know I was going to get a new family here because it has been all about the people and the ones that have been with me on this journey.

It's the same sort of logic and training routine. Animals are creatures of habit, you can't just click your fingers and it takes time. You've got to get them fit and build that fitness up, and prep them through their feeding and so on before the race.

A string quartet was playing in the hotel's lobby on our arrival, and the music drifted gently through to the Green Parlour as we took our tea. The tea room itself is unmilitary in style, with lots of soft greens and botanical art on the walls. For those who like their afternoon tea with bubbles, there's a choice of English sparkling wines at the Green Parlour.

Rassie Erasmus has described Ireland's rugby system as "precision farming" and the last year has shown how delicate the ecosystem is. All the analysis that followed the alarming defeats to France, New Zealand and South Africa remains valid and the issues that cropped up remain worthy of attention. Yet it all feels a little less alarming after a weekend where the senior side issued a stunning riposte to those who believed they are a beaten docket and the U-20s showed there's life in the pathways yet.

We've had a look at a fresh line of the hurdle track right out beside the chase track, Graffin said on Friday. In my opinion, this line is currently fit to race despite 22mm of rain last night. However, we do have the potential for a further 10-20mm of rain. We would like to get a bit of luck with that, but it is currently fit to race.

Hastings is the grandfather of international chess tournaments, first staged in 1895 and then every year since 1920, with breaks for war and pandemics. Its vintage years were the 1930s, 50s and 70s, when world champions and challengers lined up to compete, while the badminton legend Sir George Thomas and the Bletchley Park codebreaker Hugh Alexander both shared first after defeating renowned opponents.

With pre-Cheltenham purdah fast approaching, the Ladbrokes Trophy Handicap Chase at Kempton on Saturday could well be the most competitive betting heat for the next two-and-a-half weeks and Emmet Mullins's decision to field two runners in the 13-strong field adds a further layer of complexity to the puzzle. Mullins has a well-earned reputation for sliding contenders into handicaps at Cheltenham and Aintree on very competitive marks, but his Kempton record three wins from five runners is not too shabby either.

To request tickets, go to the bottom of this page and email your request before the end of February. You can request up to four tickets. IMPORTANT - to make life easier for everyone, when applying for tickets, provide the full name of each applicant, as that's needed for the tickets. An alternative option - and one that comes with rather better seating - is to join the Friends of St George's Chapel, as that includes an opportunity to get tickets to Garter Day.

In one of sport's weirder coincidences, England are about to play must-win games against Scotland in both rugby and cricket on the same day. The forecast 3C temperatures for the Calcutta Cup encounter may be cooler than in Kolkata appropriately the venue for the T20 World Cup group fixture but a white-hot contest inside a chilly Murrayfield can be absolutely guaranteed.