Japanese challenger ready to give Oisin Murphy a first big-race success since returning from his long ban The second significant stopping-off point on Frankie Dettori’s global farewell tour is the Dubai World Cup card at Meydan on Saturday evening, when he will attempt to follow up last year’s success in the feature event aboard Bob Baffert’s Country Grammer. Dettori and Country Grammer finished second behind Panthalassa in the $20m (£16.4m) Saudi Cup last month and he has already landed £8.25m in just three rides aboard the six-year-old, which means Country Grammer will overtake Enable as the ..read more

Sport gives us an opportunity to see people at the greatest moments of their lives, but also at their sometimes-tragic worst One of sport’s many affirming beauties is its intimacy: we get to see people experience the most ecstatic and most mortifying moments of their lives, live. Yes, they’re seeking fulfilment and validation in the wrong places and yes, this is your super soaraway Joy of Six about to volunteer an unsolicited self-help tip but, immeasurably wise though The Awakened Family is – if you’re a parent or a person, read it – how many titles, belts or majors has Dr Shefali Tsabary won ..read more

Constitution Hill and Galopin Des Champs reigned supreme to supply stunning spectacle. Why were so few there to see it? Two brilliant performances by new champions of jump racing bookended this year’s Cheltenham Festival, and both Constitution Hill, the Champion Hurdle winner, and Galopin Des Champs, who survived all manner of problems to run out an easy winner of the Gold Cup, promise to be fixtures at the meeting for several years to come. The precise days on which they should be pulling in the crowds – and there’s more on that to come – remain to be seen. Galopin Des Champs, clearly, is a h ..read more

Teo Nugent conscious and talking after fall at Moonee Valley Florescent Star crashed head-first into turf during Abell Stakes A horse has been euthanised and a jockey taken to hospital after falling during a race at Moonee Valley racecourse in Melbourne on Saturday. Jockey Teo Nugent fell from Florescent Star after the mare appeared to clip the heels of another horse and crash into the turf and through the inside barrier ..read more

The jockey had been criticised earlier this week but produced a breathtaking ride to win the race on Galopin Des Champs For long parts of a dramatic Gold Cup it looked, at least to the untrained eye, like Paul Townend couldn’t do right for doing wrong. Time and again the winning Gold Cup jockey seemed to ride himself and his mount into trouble only for Galopin Des Champs to bail them out. Detached from the rest of the field in the opening stages, an armchair sage could reasonably have argued that it was only the sluggish pace set by the leaders that allowed them to catch up. Such a view would ..read more

Our photographer Tom Jenkins captures the winners, the losers, the punters and all the thrills and spills at this year’s Cheltenham Festival ..read more

Winner fell at final fence last year when clear in Festival race Willie Mullins celebrates his third success in Gold Cup Galopin Des Champs ran out a convincing seven-length winner of the Cheltenham Gold Cup after the favourite had clattered a number of fences on the way round in a dramatic race in which long-time leaders Ahoy Senor and then Hewick fell. It was the third Gold Cup success for trainer Willie Mullins with the 7-5 market leader. The King George winner Bravesmansgame was second at 6-1 and Conflated, whose jockey Davy Russell pulled out at the last minute feeling sore, was third a ..read more

The Sam Thomas-trained runner travels and jumps like a horse who can continue to defy the handicapper Next month’s Grand National was a natural target for Iwilldoit after his impressive success in the Classic Chase at Warwick in January, but Sam Thomas could not get a sixth run over fences into his talented but injury-prone chaser to qualify him for Aintree and will hope to make do with Saturday’s Midlands Grand National at Uttoxeter instead. Iwilldoit would have been one of Britain’s leading contenders for Aintree, having taken the Welsh equivalent on just his fourth start over fences in Dece ..read more

All the latest news, action and betting on the festival’s final day Any comments? You can or tweet John Here’s a leading reason to fancy Rachael Blackmore aboard A Plus Tard in the Gold Cup. The ground will be very different, mind, so a stayer has to be fancied if the leading contenders don’t take the fancy. Here Greg Wood’s tips for the final day. Thursday saw the favourites get gubbed across the field. Greg has picked a former winner for the big one ..read more

One of racing’s best trainers had endured a scarcely credible barren spell until Harry Cobden’s fine frontrunning ride How the mighty had fallen. A 13-times British champion trainer who had saddled the first home in 46 Festival races including four Gold Cups, six Champion Chases and one Champion Hurdle before Thursday’s card got under way, Paul Nicholls might have been forgiven for wondering if he would ever again welcome one of his charges back into the winners’ enclosure during the annual March festivities at Cheltenham. Given all his previous successes, masterminded in partnership with the ..read more