Digital UK Dec 2010 SAMPLE

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POKER BETTING LIFESTYLE www.gx-world.com

DECEMBER 2010UK £1.00

MEDIa PaRTNER

BARRy HEARNExclusive Interview

With The PDC Chairman

CAugHT IN THE CRossHAIRs

The Premier League sack Race

WsoP FINAL TABLEA New King of

The Desert Is Crowned

Lucky Number13

THE BRITIsH HITs oF 2010

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FIRST UP08 EDITORIAL

12 NEWS

SPORTS BETTING18 HORSE RACING: WHAT’S THAT COMINGOVER THE HEDGE?Racing Ready For December Destiny

22 DARTS’ DECADE OFDOMINANCEBarry Hearn Exclusive Interview

28 UFC: AS REAL AS IT GETSThe Mixed Martial Arts Phenomenon

30 FOOTBALL: FINNIGAN’SFOOTBALL PICKSDon’t Get Drawn In

32 FOOTBALL: CAUGHT IN THE CROSSHAIRS The Premier League Sack Race

38 SHARKEY’S SPREADSOche Oche Oche, Oi Oi Oi

40 BBC SPORTS PERSONALITYOF THE YEAR Those In It To Win It

44 888 SPORTING ‘EDLINE

POKER46 A NEW KING OF THE DESERT IS CROWNEDThe World Series Of Poker Final Table

GX DECEMBER 2010

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Barry Hearn Interview

The Premier League Sack Race

The MMA Phenomenon

52 CHRISTMAS TIME, MISTLETOE AND ONLINEThe Christmas Balancing Act

54 THE LUCKY NUMBER 13The British Hits Of 2010

58 A NEW STAR IS BORD James Bord Exclusive Interview

62 FROM A TO ZIMBLER AND BACK AGAIN…The 12 Days Of Christmas

64 ARCHIE SHARKThe Ramblings Of A Hapless Gambler

66 HAPPY SAMMY WINS WPT AMNEVILLE

68 WPT MAPWorld Poker Tour Results And Schedule

72 THE UKPPL INSIDE SCOOP The UK’s Best Online Poker League

LIFESTYLE74 POKER GADGETS

76 FOOTBALL’S COMING HOME Football Game Reviews

80 WHAT’S ON THIS MONTHDecember’s Top UK Events

82 THE FOX’S DENHostage Swap

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CONTENTS

76

46

58WSOP Final Table

A New Star Is Bord

Football Game Reviews

COVERFEATURE

Having A Riot Of A Time

Having previously been to university, one thing that meeting so many professional poker players does is remind me of my student days. Not the unsuccessful attempts at

womanising on nights out or the daily ritual that was Bargain Hunt and Cash In The Attic, but the delight of not having to wake up to the sound of an alarm clock, and often not having anything on that day at all. By which I mean lectures rather than clothes.

Yet the student riots and general rampaging around the Tory HQ which we witnessed last month was one activity I failed to get involved in during my days as a student. Partly because if I wanted to hang around in a large crowd I’d stand outside a football stadium at full time, and partly because I was watching Bargain Hunt.

Following the student riots at the Millbank Centre, which saw 14 people suffer minor injuries and many more windows smashed, Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Stephenson admitted the Met had been unprepared for the 50,000 or so students and the rioting that unfolded. Steps had been taken to prevent this several years earlier with the replacement of former Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Condon in 2000 – no self respecting student could possibly take a man whose surname is Condon seriously – yet it wasn’t enough. It seems a funny name is not the only thing students get excited about these days.

Yet the reason for the demonstration was clear. University fees are set to treble to £9,000 while the outcome will ultimately stay the same. That’s like telling a poker player his buy-in to a tournament will be three times as much without the prize pool increasing. It’s madness.

Over in France meanwhile, President Sarkozy’s plan to raise the age of retirement from 60 to 62 has become law; something which can only be described as a double edged sword for the French. The downside for our European neighbours is that they’ll have to work an extra two years before being able to retire, which has led to demonstrations and riots (as usual). On the plus side however, it means the nation notorious for their striking will now have an extra two years in which to strike. After all, you can’t go on strike if you don’t have a job.

May all your profits be large ones.Fred Palley

GX International Editions

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EDITORIal

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EditorFred Palley

[email protected]

Art DirectorIsabel Ferrer Magnusson

ContributorsMichael Gales

Alex HammondNathan Chilcott

Steve WardPeter SharkeyPaul ZimblerEd NicholsonMatt FinniganAli Masterman

Garry DavisRussell Bywaters

Joshua SmithDaniel Jolly

Sports PicturesAction Images

Web EditorMichael Gales

[email protected]

Commercial DirectorNatalie Kenneally

[email protected]

Web DeveloperJohn DavisonCarlos Pérez

Business DevelopmentAlejandro Soro

Marketing ManagerAndrew Capel

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Marketing OnlineAlbert Vellvé

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Runners & Writers

NEWS

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Daniel Negreanu narrowly missed out on the coveted Triple Crown of poker after an unknown German economics student

won the EPT Vienna. Michael ‘MAE9690’ Eiler took down the richest tournament ever held in Austria and the €700,000 first prize that went with it after defeating Team PokerStars Pro Martin Hruby heads-up.The 20-year-old from Munich became the first German winner of an EPT since Sandra Naujoks triumphed at EPT Dortmund in season 5, with the win dwarfing the $260,000 he picked up for winning the Sunday Million last March. The tournament was Eiler’s first EPT event, and the student was clearly delighted with his win: “It was my first EPT but I’m definitely going to play more now. This is really a happy moment for me. The money is great obviously but the title is worth so much to me; an EPT title is a dream for a poker player.”Daniel Negreanu, who went into the final table with over a quarter of the chips, failed to add to his WPT and World Series triumphs after being crippled in a three-way pot and eventually finished in fourth.Martin Hruby was the man responsible for decimating ‘Kid Poker’s’ stack after his turned nut straight beat Negreanu’s two pair and Luca Cainelli’s pocket Aces. And it was curtains for the Canadian a few hands later when Hruby’s Ace high proved victorious against a lowly Queen.Hruby continued his march to go heads-up with Eiler, knocking out Konstantinos Nanos on route, but with the German doubling up almost immediately before aggressively shoving from the button with the chip lead, his position became immovable. Hruby eventually succumbed when his pocket deuces couldn’t hold up against Eiler’s A - T diamonds.

Boris Johnson may be many things. But the bumbling Mayor of London is never usually short of things to say, whether it’s on such

television shows as Have I Got News For You, embarrassing appearances at ceremonies – namely the Beijing Olympics closing one – or when being questioned about his love for cycling and his little blue army of Boris Bikes.Yet the man running for a second term as London Mayor was well and truly lost for words when he was paid a visit by the San Francisco 49ers cheerleading squad shortly

Boris Lost For WorDsMichaeL eiLer Wins ePt Vienna

before the annual NFL game at Wembley stadium. Surrounded by a throng of smoking hot pompon wielding Americans, Boris was temporarily suspended in a moment of time where not even his mystical brain could take in what was going on around him. The Mayor quickly recovered to pose for photos with the girls, and clearly picked the right team with the 49ers going on to beat the Denver Broncos 24-16. Send in your captions of what was going through Boris’s brain to [email protected] for a chance to win a GX goody bag.

Drink driving, second degree sexual assault, kidnapping, arson, robbery, vehicular homicide while intoxicated.

All very nasty pastimes and all somehow related to online poker in Washington State. Guessed what it is yet? No, neither did we until we discovered they are all considered Class C felonies and can all hold a fine of up to $100,000 or up to 40 years in prison. With that said it was no surprise that Full Tilt announced they would no longer be accepting players from Washington State (a move which PokerStars have also taken) following changes to the law. In light of the decision, the site announced: “Due to recent legal

developments, Full Tilt Poker has announced it will no longer provide real money games to players located within Washington State.”The decision will affect those players residing in Washington State as well as outside residents who want to play whilst in the state. Players can only get round the decision by playing on the site in a different state, which is hardly the kind of thing locals like Matt Affleck want to hear. Meanwhile, Full Tilt also took a step to clamp down on another of the aforementioned felonies, robbery, after completing an investigation into ‘Bot’ users on the site. Several accounts were discovered and shut down after Full Tilt discovered they were being used solely with bot technology.

FeeL the FuLL Force

NEWS

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WPT Barcelona winner Ali Tekintamgac was booted off the final table of the Partouche Poker Tour last

month amidst suspicions of cheating. The German was accused of collaborating with fake bloggers who would look at the hole cards of his opponents before reporting back to Tekintamgac with cryptic hand signals.Patrick Partouche, chief executive officer of Partouche Group and head of the Partouche Poker Tour, kicked Tekintamgac off the final table after reviewing video footage which he believes shows the German cheating. According to the French news site MadeInPoker, the footage has since been passed on to French police with Tekintamgac set to face jail time if found guilty. Tekintamgac was thrown out of EPT Tallinn earlier this year after Tournament Director Thomas Kremser believed the German was cheating in a similar manner in August, although a lack of evidence is thought to be the reason why the situation had not come to light sooner.The event was subsequently won by Vanessa Selbst with Tekintamgac’s chips being removed from play, yet the incident has caused outrage in the poker community with calls for Tekintamgac to be banned for life as well as a tightening up of media reporting.Posters on Two Plus Two have been quick to have their say on the topic, with ClockWyze posting: “I played with this guy every day in the EPT Austria cash games. He made the biggest and most insane (but correct) call on John Duthie I may have ever seen. Something like bet, call a raise on both the flop and turn with an underpair to the board. Then he check called the river with 6’s on a highly coordinated all overcard board. Duthie had 2,3 off. Thinking back there is no doubt he somehow knew what Duthie’s cards were.”While the story is sure to unfold further in the coming weeks, the incident will surely now cast doubt on the validity of Tekintamgac’s WPT Barcelona win of over €1,300,00 back in May.

tekintaMgac throWn oFF Partouche For cheating

Former World Series of Poker champion yet now estranged poker player Peter Eastgate threw up another surprise last month

after putting his 2008 WSOP winners bracelet on ebay. The man who won over $10 million playing the game he once loved put the 168 gram 18-karat white gold diamond encrusted bracelet onto ebay after claiming he was not a man to wear jewellery and that he thought it would be better served helping others.The 24-year-old Dane announced he would be donating 100% of the bracelet’s proceeds

to UNICEF and set a minimum reserve of $16,000 for the bracelet. Eastgate is not the first to auction off a WSOP bracelet after TJ Cloutier flogged his on the site earlier this year for $4,000. Yet the varying circumstances, with Cloutier being broke and Eastgate being officially loaded, makes Eastgate’s decision to part company with the bracelet all the more bizarre. A man who won £5.5 million in one poker tournament could donate the same amount to UNICEF after all, keeping the bracelet that will serve as a piece of WSOP history in years to come.

eastgate FLogs WsoP BraceLet on eBay

andy ‘JJCooler’ Sherwood stormed to victory at PKR Live V at the Fox Poker Club last month when he saw off a strong

field of 150 of the community’s top players. The $500 buy-in tournament generated a $75,000 prize pool, $20,000 of which made its way to Sherwood’s coffers after a fantastic performance fully deserving of victory.The 44-year-old north Yorkshireman went into the final table with the second lowest chip count yet fought off the amusingly named PKR stalwarts OMGMrGreen, Rob1nHood, Patatosalatas and jompompadom on his way to the heads-up stage. And it was heads-up where Sherwood really deserved his money after a two hour clash with Spaniard Jaume

‘Japete’ Pous Flor ended in victory for the Englishman. The killer moment came when, with all the chips in the middle, Japete’s pocket Jacks looked good against JJCooler’s big slick, especially after an 8c,Qs,3s flop. But when the 9s fell on the turn, JJCooler’s Ace of spades meant another spade would hand him the title. And sure enough it came on the river in the shape of a King.Aside from the main event, PKR V was also host to a Terminator Tournament, where $100 of each buy-in would go to the prize pool and $50 would go on each player’s head. University of Brighton student Thoma ‘bolezy’ Boles was the man who terminated the rest of the field, taking 12 bounties down on his way to a $4,000 payday.

cooLer For sherWooD at Pkr LiVe V

NEWS

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there have been many instances over the years where a football team has retired the number of one of their former players. West

Ham retired the number 6 following the death of World Cup winning England captain Bobby Moore, while Manchester City and Espanyol retired the numbers 23 and 21 respectively after the sudden deaths of Marc-Vivien Foe and Daniel Jarque.There are also cases where a club has chosen to retire a number in honour of the man who performed so admirably in it, with a fear that no other player would ever be able to live up to the former player’s feats: Napoli no longer have a number 10 courtesy of Diego Maradona, Ajax play without a number 14 in honour of Johan Cruyff and Paulo Maldini’s number 3 shirt has been consigned to the history books after his years of service to AC Milan.Yet with the news coming last month that ex-Iraqi minister Tariq Aziz has been sentenced to death, it has thrown up the question as to whether or not Iraqi poker players will retire the 8 of spades. For that was the card the one-time deputy prime minister was given on the United States’ deck of playing cards featuring the most wanted Iraqis at the time of the 2003 invasion.The answer in this case however, is almost certainly not. And not simply because he was

after having his best year to date and winning over $1.1 million in 2010, Theo Jorgensen has joined an ever growing list of

elite players plying their trade at the world’s biggest poker site after signing a sponsorship deal with PokerStars.The 38-year-old won his first major title earlier this year when he took down the WPT Grand Prix de Paris in May for €638,377, taking his career tournament winnings to over the $2.8million mark.The Dane couldn’t hide his excitement at joining the poker giant and said: “I’m delighted to be joining the world’s largest poker site. PokerStars has always hosted the best poker events in the world and sponsors only the most talented players, so I am very excited to be a part of this.”Jorgensen, who also holds a WSOPE bracelet after winning the PLO £5,000 event in 2008, is arguably the third most famous Dane on the poker planet behind compatriots Gus Hansen and Peter Eastgate. Jorgensen and Hansen

memorably clashed in a charity boxing match in February 2009, with Jorgensen triumphing over his adversary and friend. And with Peter Eastgate having retired from high stakes poker earlier this summer, the new Team PokerStars pro will have his sights set on Danish and indeed World domination.

8 oF sPaDes set For retireMent?

theo Jorgensen Joins teaM Pokerstars

one major disadvantage of being an online poker player is that no matter who you are, there will

be opponents out there tracking your every move to gain an insight into your play. And once these players deem you to be game for the taking, they’ll jump on your table with their eyes firmly on your stack.This is, of course, the same for everyone though, with so much tracking software easily available and downloadable today. Yet to the casual player, taking the time to track and analyse the games of others is an unlikely activity when they merely want to play a few hands of cards.With that said a game on Ladbrokes’ new Anonymous Tables should make for interesting playing as all players joining the anonymous tables will have their avatars and identities hidden.Neither notes nor hand histories will be available meaning players will not be able to target or even identify those they’re up against. Poker tracking software will not work on the anonymous tables either, meaning even if a player has tracked an opponent previously or battles with him on the anonymous tables, the software will be of no use. The innovative software is currently only available on Ladbrokes poker, although is subject to patent protection at present.

Hide Your identitY WitH Ladbrokes

part of the now deceased Saddam Hussein’s government, but because with only a handful of the 55 members of the Deck of Doom still at large (the pack included three jokers), had every card been retired following each imprisonment or death then it wouldn’t be long before poker in Iraq had to be retired for good. So while you were undoubtedly an evil dictator Mr Hussein, you couldn’t outwit the poker gods on this one.

NEWS

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FroM russia With LoVe

there’s certainly no shortage of online poker action in this day and age, with players just an

internet connection away from round the clock real money games. It’s little surprise then that those in it for the money are unlikely to devote much of their time to iPhone poker applications, where they’re up against computers for no financial gain.

Pitch them against a saucy Russian spy however, and they may just plump for the app after all. Anna Chapman, the 28-year-old redhead who was one of twelve Russian agents the FBI deported from the US in July, has launched an iPhone poker app with her branded as a Russian Bond girl.

Players can take on Chapman in a virtual hand of Texas Hold’em or Five Card Draw, with winners able to access exclusive aspects of her private life including subscription to her diary, Facebook friendship and, perhaps most enticingly, access to a raunchy photo album of the eastern European beauty. The app will soon be available for download on the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch, giving some much needed spice to the poker app war.

SPORTS BETTING

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As the nights draw in and the weather worsens, comfort can be taken from the one thing keeping us going this winter: the National Hunt jumps season. With three major meetings this month, Russell Bywaters assesses all and predicts the cementing of Kauto Star as one of racing’s all-time greats.

Following November’s Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham and Newbury’s Hennessy, jumping may well have

witnessed a new star in Long Run and observed an all-time great in Denman if the favourites came good. Yet with more action ahead this month, the great news for jumps fans is that December has even more potential for equine history.

Friday 10th and Saturday 11th of December see Cheltenham’s International meeting with the feature race, The Stan James International Hurdle, sure to attract the hurdling cream whilst being a major pointer towards the Champion Hurdle at the festival. The end of the month sees the first of the Grand Nationals with the Welsh edition taking place at Chepstow on December 27th. The highlight of December however, as ever, is set to be Boxing Day’s King George VI chase. This will see Kauto Star going for an

absolutely unprecedented fifth consecutive victory in the race. Only Desert Orchid, who has a permanent statue at Kempton, has won King George as many times, so if Kauto supersedes him he’ll have stamped his hooves into the annals of racing history.

The International, CheltenhamDay 1 Friday 10th December

The first day of the International meeting last year proved good hunting ground for those

Time For Rupert (L) was the closest to Big Buck´s at the Festival

Racing Ready For December Destiny

WhaT’s ThaT ComIng over The heDge...

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searching for festival clues. Race number one for instance, a novices’ chase over 2 miles 5 furlongs, saw Pigeon Island finish second and subsequently take one of the less highbrow races at the Festival, the Grand Annual, at odds of 16/1. His conqueror last year, Weird Al, is establishing himself as a rising force in jumps and his odds for the Hennessy made him joint second favourite ante post. Paying attention on the Friday during the International can pay dividends later on, not just for the Festival but for the season as a whole.

Another Festival winner, Spirit River, also appeared in last year’s corresponding fixture. He took the second race, a 2 mile 1 furlong handicap hurdle, by six lengths and went on to win the Coral Cup during the Festival. Good upcoming hurdlers of the youngest variety can also be found on the final race of the card; a qualifier for the Novices Hurdle at the festival. General Miller won last year and actually fell over in the Supreme Novices

Hurdle at Cheltenham, won by Menorah. However, he gained revenge over Menorah at Aintree a month later, showing that any horse that ever wins a race at Cheltenham, Festival or not, should be discounted later at the punter’s peril.

More useful pointers came from the 3 mile handicap hurdle, where Time for Rupert first announced himself on the scene and was the only horse anywhere near Big Buck’s in his annual Ladbrokes World Hurdle victory at The Festival. If Time for Rupert returns this year he won’t be 16/1 again, but having shown such consistency at Cheltenham he will make a worthy favourite. It is also worth noting that there aren’t too many 3 mile hurdles during the season and the same horses will often reappear, making such races a useful and clear cut niche to study the form of.

The same can be said of the Glenfarclas Cross Country Chase, a race that occurs three

times a season at Cheltenham in November, December and at the Festival. Keep an eye on who performed in the November edition; two-time 2009 winner Garde Champetre was the one to watch alongside Festival winner A New Story. Depending on how well Sizing Australia ran – he had placed finishes in November and December last year – he may also have emerged as a genuine contender. He already won in Ireland in October this season so will be match fit for his assault on the esoteric Cross Country series at Cheltenham.

Day 2 saturday 11th December

The Saturday sees three good quality races marking the end of the meeting as the Albert Bristol Novices Hurdle, Boylesports Gold Cup Handicap Chase and the International Hurdle itself all take place. The biggest Festival pointers will be coming from the feature race with Khyber Kim confirming himself as a hurdling force in the race last year.

SPORTS BETTING

...Is IT a WInner ThIs WInTer?

SPORTS BETTING

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The Albert Bristol Novices Hurdle was won last year by Tell Massini, who is aiming to make his mark over fences this season. It is another 3 mile affair and Tell Massini showed typical Cheltenham form by doubling up his victory after taking a similar grade 2 hurdle on the Sunday of last year’s November Open meeting. The 2010 November meeting shall inform us whether there are any worthy jollies this year.

The Boylesports Gold Cup is another example of the November form mirroring what happens in December. The Paddy Power Gold Cup is the highlight of the November Open meeting and three horses in the Boylesports Gold Cup history have won both. The most

recent horse to do so was Exotic Dancer, now sadly deceased, in 2006. The year Exotic Dancer won, he emerged from nowhere to become a major jumps force; the lesson being that if you like the look of the Paddy Power winner this year and he reappears in the Boylesports, do not be afraid to follow him in for the double as it is by no means unprecedented.

The International is the race that most people will be looking forward to as it has the most direct links to the Festival as a form guide. Before the days of sponsorship in racing it was simply known as the Cheltenham Trial Hurdle. The link between this race and the Champion Hurdle is nowadays manifested

by a £200k bonus for any horse that does the double. This was last achieved by the popular Rooster Booster in the 2002-2003 season.

Reassuringly, this race also follows a familiar pattern when looking for a winner. Last year’s winner Khyber Kim dotted up on the Sunday of the Open meeting in the Greatwood Handicap Hurdle and his confirmed course form and fitness let him overturn Celestial Halo at odds of 4/7 in The International. Khyber Kim ended up in second place in the Champion Hurdle at the Festival, losing to a revived Binocular who won The International in 2008. Therefore, it is very likely the main pointers from this race and the Champion Hurdle itself will come from the Greatwood.

It is important to bear in mind that of the principal Greatwood contenders, both Sanctuaire and Menorah won at the Festival last year and General Miller won at this fixture last year on the Friday. So if any of them ran below par in November, particularly if due to fitness issues, they already have the confirmed course form and class to strike back if they choose to reappear. Cheltenham is a course where some horses will never win and those that have won in the past can always have their day in the sun again. However, if the Greatwood winner puts in a solid performance then, again, don’t be afraid to see a repeat; Khyber Kim did it last year and it is a common feat.

William hill Winter Festival, KemptonKing george spotlight, Boxing Day

Boxing Day at Kempton always revolves around the King George VI Chase and this year will do more so than any other year in history. Kauto Star is aiming to record his fifth consecutive win in the race and achieve something that will probably never be equalled, let alone bettered. It is a contentious issue among Kauto fans whether Kempton is his best course. His trainer Paul Nicholls insists that Kauto is best at Cheltenham, a cursory glance at the stats suggests otherwise: a 100% record in this race, compared to two defeats in the Gold Cup, implies that Kempton is the equivalent of a home fixture for Kauto.

Kempton is a flat right-handed track and Cheltenham is an undulating left-handed track with a gruelling uphill finish. Kempton suits horses with tactical speed and immaculate jumping, while Cheltenham suits horses who

Tell Massini wins the Albert Bristol Novices Hurdle

Kyhber Kim fends off Celestial Halo in the International

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can handle undulations well and who still have enough heart to steam up the unforgiving hill in the final stages. Kauto undoubtedly has heart, but it is his confidence and his ability to run his own race with an ever increasing tempo that has allowed him to dominate at Kempton to such an extent. Connections say it is his last “proper” season and withdrew him from the Hennessy in November to focus on the King George this month.

Kauto’s Gold Cup conquerors Denman and Imperial Commander have both lost at Kempton before. Imperial Commander, last year’s Gold

Cup winner, is an all action kind of horse and nearly beat Kauto at Haydock before losing heavily to him at Kempton. At Kempton the horses are almost always turning right as the track is so tight, meaning a lot of Cheltenham warriors who can tank home in a straight line are unsuited by this different style of racing. When the day arrives it is probably Long Run, a French import just like Kauto, who has a running style that is similar enough to threaten the great one. Yet surely the young pretender is going to do just that; meekly threaten Kauto Star before the latter books his place in the history books as a Grandmaster.

Welsh national, Chepstow

December 27th

Chepstow is the venue for the first of the Grand National races and its timing, in comparison to Aintree’s spring Grand National, often makes it a testing affair on heavy ground. Much like Cheltenham, the best place to go for clues in a Chepstow race is Chepstow itself a few weeks earlier. The major trial for this race is the Rehearsal Steeple Chase held on the first Saturday in December. Horses that perform well in the trial often go on to win the real thing.

The distance of the race is 3 miles 5 ½ furlongs, making it slightly shorter than the 4 mile Aintree Grand National. This is probably just as well considering the likely taxing conditions December will offer. Chepstow is an undulating track with a long uphill finish with both factors often conspiring against any horse that likes to come late. It is often considered a track advantageous for front runners as long as one is confident of their stamina.

Whoever wins will be hard pushed to beat the story of last year’s winner, Dream Alliance. Owned by a syndicate of miners from the Welsh Valleys and trained on a slagheap, the horse recovered from a career threatening injury to take the country’s feature race. The story surely can’t be so romantic again this year, but will have already begun with all ten winners from the last ten years having already run at least once this season and having finished in the top four of their race last time out.

Dream Alliance (number 11) had a fairytale run in last year´s Welsh National

Kauto Star will be looking to make history at Kempton

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Darts’ DecaDeOf DOminance

in the first part of an in depth interview with PDc chairman Barry Hearn, fred Palley caught up with the man responsible for the sport’s meteoric rise from a poorly paid pursuit in pool halls and working men’s clubs to a money making machine at the alexandra Palace and the bright lights of Las Vegas, as wel as Hearn’s plans for its future dominance.

Barry Hearn’s sPOrting reVOLutiOn