Silviniaco Conti has stamped himself a worthy successor to the incredible Kauto Star with a spring-heeled display to win the Betfair Chase at Haydock.

Champion trainer Paul Nicholls announced the retirement last month of legendary steeplechaser Kauto Star after a breathtaking career that included five King Georges, a brace of Cheltenham Gold Cups and four wins in the Grade One Betfair Chase.

While it is fanciful to believe Silviniaco Conti can reach those heights, the six-year-old leapt to second-favouritism for the Gold Cup with most firms under a typically well judged front-running ride from Ruby Walsh, to leave Nicholls beaming from ear to ear.

The runners were led down to the start by the 12-year-old Kauto Star and his faithful head lad Clifford Baker, receiving great applause from the Haydock crowd.

Walsh let his mount set what was a fairly sedate gallop for the first circuit.

Long Run, the 2011 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner who was left chasing Kauto Star’s shadow in the race 12 months ago, was right on the leader’s tail turning for home.

But Silviniaco Conti continued to pour it on in front and galloped all the way to the line after the final fence to beat the favourite by 2-1/2 lengths.

Nicholls said the horse may not run again between until next March.

“I said if he won today we’d go for the Gold Cup and that is the plan. You couldn’t leave him in his box on Gold Cup day after that performance,” he said.

“I’m not going to rush him and I might go straight to the Gold Cup with him.

“He wants to be fresh and I’m not going to run him through the winter in the mud.

“Kauto won this as a six-year-old and went on to win the Gold Cup in the same season, and this horse is very, very exciting. He jumps, he has speed and he stays very well.”

The 1st day of spring belonged to Gai Waterhouse at Rosehill on Saturday as the champion trainer signalled her carnival intentions with a winning treble, brought up by Glencadam Gold in the Premier’s Cup.

A properly-judged front-operating ride from Tommy Berry helped the imported Glencadam Gold who kicked strongly in excess of the concluding stages to defeat the Chris Waller-trained trio of Permit, Stout Hearted and The Verminater in the 1800m Listed occasion.

Glencadam Gold’s victory as the properly-backed $ 2.80 favourite came right after the brilliant very first-up win of unbeaten colt Pierro in the Group Three Run To The Rose (1200m) and the earlier win from up-and-coming 3-year-old Proisir.

“It really is a fantastic way to start off the spring. Which is specifically the correct way to describe it,” Waterhouse stated right after Glencadam Gold’s victory.

“This is such an exciting stayer in the creating. He could go on to some genuinely excellent things.”

Glencadam Gold, obtained from England final year, will try out to qualify for the Melbourne Cup and could have his next start in the Group 3 Newcastle Cup (2300m).

“Why not have a go (at the Melbourne Cup). If we do not get there, we don’t get there,” Waterhouse said.

Berry took Glencadam Gold to the front and received the stayer into a rhythm ahead of calling on the whip to preserve the gelding’s thoughts on the work over the last 200m.

He defeated Permit by 1-three/4-lengths with a half-neck to Stout Hearted in third.

“The only explanation I used the whip was that he needed to wait for every little thing,” Berry told Waterhouse.

“He still would have won but he would have only won by a head.

“He’s a pretty severe stayer.”

Waterhouse dominated the autumn carnival in Sydney with 7 Group A single wins such as three apiece to Pierro and Far more Joyous, and Saturday showed the trainer is set to be a force when once more this spring.

Waller, meanwhile, said he was leaning in the direction of working Stout Hearted again in the Wyong Cup on Friday.

“Certainly I would have liked to have won the race but I think all 3 showed they are heading in the proper course,” Waller mentioned.

Australia claimed its sixth gold medal at the London Olympics on Thursday when the men’s K4 1000m crew triumphed in the canoe sprint competitors at Eton Dorney.

The only non-European boat in the final, they became the 1st Australian crew boat to win at an Olympics when they led all the way to beat residence Hungary and the Czech Republic.

The crew of bronzed lifesavers – Tate Smith, David Smith, Murray Stewart and Jake Clear – have been jubilant as they crossed the line.

Australia’s only two earlier gold medals in Olympic canoeing came in the K1 with Clint Robinson, in 1992 at Atlanta, and Ken Wallace four years ago in Beijing.

The Australians went into the race as one of major contenders after taking silver at last year’s globe titles, and also making the quickest time in heats and semi-finals on Tuesday.

A false commence by the Hungarians, saw the crews known as back when Australia had also acquired out of the blocks swiftly.

But the Australians were unfazed by the additional pressure and shot out once more speedily to grab an early lead which they constructed all through the race.

Sailing became Australia’s most profitable sport at the London Video games as Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen took gold in the 49er skiff at Weymouth.

The duo additional to Tom Slingsby’s gold in the Laser class on Monday to make sailing the only sport so far to create multiple gold medals for Australia at these Olympics, brining the nation’s tally to five.

Outteridge and Jensen were assured of victory on Monday immediately after amassing an unassailable lead at the head of the fleet.

They just had to compete in Wednesday’s medal race, which they finished fourth, to rubber stamp the win.

“It was wonderful, we’ve sailed brilliantly for four many years and this week has been 1 our very best weeks so far,” Outteridge informed the BBC.

“It was fantastic for it to come about at the Olympics and today was just about enjoying the race.

“… I believe it’s just fantastic for the sport of sailing in Australia and hopefully that puts us in shape for the next Games. Now the campaign begins again.”

Jensen additional: “It truly is a excellent feeling and it truly is commencing to sink in now.”

The medal race was essentially a lap of honour for the Australians and New Zealand pair Blair Tuke and Peter Burling, who had been assured of silver.

Only the bronze medal was nevertheless up for grabs, and Denmark’s Allan Norregaard and Peter Lang took it right after finishing the medal race 3rd.

Outteridge boarded the Kiwis’ boat right after crossing the finishing line and bundled Tuke into the water.

The pair are education partners and wonderful mates and Outteridge mentioned it was particular to be capable to share the minute.

Outteridge and Jensen posed with their coach Emmett Lazich with an Australian flag prior to deliberately capsizing their boat.

The sailors had about 40 close friends and family members at Weymouth’s Nothe peninsula.

Australia is hoping to win two a lot more golds at the Olympic regatta.

Planet champion 470 dinghy sailors Malcolm Page and Mat Belcher consider a four-stage lead into their medal race on Thursday.

Only British pair Luke Persistence and Stuart Bithell can snatch the gold from the Aussies.

The women’s match racing crew, skippered by Olivia Value, keep on their quarter-last clash with the Netherlands on Wednesday afternoon.

The match racing last is on Saturday.

Sally Pearson was certain she had won the Olympic 100m hurdles gold medal as quickly as she flashed across the finish line on Tuesday evening. So was her coach Sharon Hannan.

But that certainty wavered somewhat in the minute – which felt a lot more like an hour – just before the photo finish confirmed she had edged defending champion Dawn Harper by two hundredths of a second.

Pearson’s winning time of twelve.35 seconds was an Olympic record and the 2nd fastest of her career – behind only the 12.28 she ran to win the planet title final year in Daegu.

And she needed to be at her very best on Tuesday as small medallists Harper (12.37) and fellow American Kellie Wells (12.48) ran big private bests to push her all the way in tough wet conditions at the Olympic Stadium.

“I thought I’d won and looked to my left and went ‘oh, maybe I didn’t',” said the 25-year-old Pearson.

“It was quite near.

“When I saw my title on the screen at No.1, it was a dream come accurate.

“I’ve got each and every title now that I’ve wished to win, now it’s just have enjoyable and relax.

“I knew I was in the lead but I did not know in which everybody else was.

“I had a bit of a panic, but I knew in my heart I’d won it and it was just a matter of confirming it on the display.

“The feeling is just relief. I’m so content.”

Hannan was relieved too.

“I could not feel it was only two hundredths,” she explained.

“I believed she was two metres in front from the angle we had been sitting at.”

Hannan was stunned by the narrow margin of victory, even though acknowledging that Harper – who had in no way run more rapidly than twelve.47 before carrying out so in the semi and once more in the last on Tuesday night – was a “big-occasion performer”.

The final five Olympic pre-race favourites in the 100m hurdles had all failed to win the ultimate prize.

A various type of hurdling curse struck yet again earlier on Tuesday when Chinese superstar Liu Xiang crashed out with a severe leg injury for the second straight Video games with no clearing a single barrier.

But none of that impacted Pearson who hugged Hannan, husband Kieran Pearson and her mother Anne McLellan immediately after the race prior to setting off on an emotional lap of honour.

It was Australia’s 20th Olympic monitor and field gold medal and the very first won by a lady in the pre-eminent sport of the Video games given that Cathy Freeman’s unforgettable triumph on property soil in the 400m in 2000.

Pearson joins Freeman and pole vaulter Steve Hooker as the only Australian athletes to win gold at the Olympics and the globe championships.

Harper (gold) and Lolo Jones (fourth on Tuesday) were the only other survivors from the 2008 final in Beijing when the then Sally McLellan announced herself to the globe with a shock silver medal.

Final year she was the most dominant women’s monitor and field star on the planet, a standing acknowledged when she was voted the IAAF’s world female athlete of the yr.

Pearson has only been beaten twice in the final two years – at final year’s Diamond League last in Brussels when she crashed into a hurdle and at last month’s Diamond League meet in London, when she was pipped by Wells in atrocious situations.

The women’s sprint hurdles is Australia’s most successful Olympic monitor and area event, with Shirley Strickland (1952 and 1956) and Maureen Caird (1968) possessing previously claimed gold when it was contested over 80m instead than 100m.

Pearson said the gold medal was reward for a lot of sacrifice by those close to her, which includes her mom.

“For so a lot of years she sacrificed every little thing I guess. Her daily life,” she explained.

“I’m not the only one out there whose mothers and fathers have sacrificed factors.

“It really is a really specific minute for absolutely everyone who’s competing at the Olympic Video games who are realising their dreams here.”

Pearson also thanked her high college sweetheart and now husband Kieran.

“He’s been the greatest assistance, he cops a great deal from me when I am going through bad times and bad sessions or I’m frustrated by some thing.”

Queen Victoria is dethroned. Prolonged live Queen Anna.

Anna Meares, the captain of the Australian Olympic monitor cycling crew, scored the greatest win of her prolonged and brilliant career when she outrode fantastic rival Victoria Pendleton in the women’s sprint final at the London Video games velodrome.

Following 5 days of disappointment, close to misses and heartbreak at times, the Australian track crew ended their London campaign on a large as Meares triumphed in a clash fittingly tinged with a dash of controversy.

While Pendleton lost her crown in the last race of her occupation, her compatriot Chris Hoy retired from Olympic competition as the undisputed king when he took out the keirin final to collect his sixth profession Olympic gold.

It took him previous fellow knight and rowing legend Steve Redgrave as Wonderful Britain’s most prolific Olympic champion.

Meares’ triumph – by two- in the greatest-of-three race last – came two days after she botched the women’s keirin last, finishing fifth as Pendleton won.

“This is the sweetest and most amazing victory of my profession,” stated an emotional Meares, who extra the gold medal to the 500m time trial gold she won in Athens eight years ago and also avenged her reduction to Pendleton in the Beijing 2008 sprint last.

Pendleton just beat Meares in a photo finish in the first heat of the final, but minutes later on was relegated for straying somewhat out of the sprinter’s lane as Meares closed in in the course of their desperate battle to the line.

“I was really annoyed because I am confident that she touched me and it brought on me to move up,” Pendleton mentioned.

“I can’t believe, twice in one competitors, I’ve been disqualified and relegated, it truly is unheard of. It really is a bit of a shock, it did knock my confidence a bit I should say.”

Pendleton and Jess Varnish had been relegated from the women’s team sprint, in which Meares and Kaarle McCulloch won bronze.

But Pendleton also paid rich tribute to extended-time foe Meares for her gold medal.

“I am glad that it got to that stage,” Pendleton explained. “I believe she’s the greatest rider in the field and it really is the way that it should have been.

“Every thing turned out correct with Anna and myself in the final.”

“She’s a great competitor. We’ve met numerous a time, and I wish her all the greatest but I’m quite glad to be saying that’s the last time I have to go by means of that.”

Meares sobbed after proving as well quick for Pendleton. She hugged coach Gary West repeatedly trackside, then went above to husband Mark Chadwick on the fence to celebrate.

Earlier in the day’s plan twenty-yr-old Annette Edmondson won bronze in the multi-discipline omnium.

Shane Perkins reached the keirin final, but simply lacked the needed speed and completed fifth.

Fantastic Britain’s Laura Trott won the omnium, that means the host nation won seven of the ten track gold medals.

Australia completed second on the track cycling tally with a gold, a silver and three bronze – surely under their lofty expectations.

Tom Slingsby boldly predicted Australia will knock off Britain and top the Olympic sailing regatta medal table immediately after a glorious day that helped restore national pride at the London Games.

Laser superstar Slingsby won one particular gold for Australia and 49er skiff pair Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen assured themselves of one more on Weymouth Bay on Monday.

The British have topped the sailing medal tally for the previous three Games, but Slingsby believed that was about to adjust in their property waters.

“The Pommies are pretty difficult,” mentioned 5-time planet champion Slingsby. “They normally get a few more medals than us.

“But I reckon we will beat them in the medal tally.

“I assume we have a handful of far more medals in us and a couple far more golds.”

Slingsby set the balling rolling by clinching the Laser gold, quickly doubling the Australian Olympic team’s paltry gold medal tally.

It was redemption for the 27-year-old following he completed 22nd when hot favourite in Beijing 2008 and he exposed he almost quit sailing then.

“Coming out of that with a four-year wait for a opportunity at redemption was fairly daunting but I am glad I caught with it and had yet another crack,” he said.

Lucky he did.

Slingsby sealed the gold medal by staying ahead of his nearest rival, Cypriot Pavlos Kontides, throughout Monday’s Laser class medal race.

Get over by emotion, the 27-yr-old New South Welshman thumped his dinghy in triumph and threw himself into the sea.

The sailor’s antics delighted 1000′s of spectators viewing from the Nothe peninsula, like Slingsby’s mum Mavis, father Dave, his sister, brother and girlfriend – Italian windsurfer Flavia Tartaglini and hee was mobbed by teammates as he arrived back at the boat park.

Slingsby explained he hoped his medal would spark a goldrush for Australia.

And he didn’t have to wait extended.

His mates Nathan Outteridge and Iain Jensen have been just starting up their races in the 49er skiff.

The world champion pair completed the day mathematically assured of a gold medal following amassing a 28-stage lead over New Zealand duo Blair Tuke and Peter Burling, who clinched silver.

The Aussies and the Kiwis just want to complete Wednesday’s medal race, in any position, to rubber stamp the medals.

“That was awesome right now, to go out to see Tom win his gold medal and then for him to say to us `right boys, it is your turn’, was enormous for us,” Outteridge mentioned.

The 26-year-old’s victory also has an element of redemption.

In 2005, Outteridge broke his back immediately after falling asleep while driving and was unsure if he’d ever walk once more.

Then in Beijing, with former crewmate Ben Austin, he capsized just a couple of hundred metres from the finish line – with the gold medal within their grasp.

Slingsby and Outteridge the two have their own redemption stories.

A lot more importantly they’ve aided redeem Australia’s Games.

The Australian and British men’s road cycling teams were at loggerheads after a controversial Olympic road race.

Even though Stuart O’Grady capped his excellent Olympic career with an ironman efficiency in his sixth Video games, British star Mark Cavendish accused the rest of the Australian crew of adverse strategies and being pleased just to guarantee he didn’t win.

Australian group director Matt White rapidly rebuffed the globe champion’s complaint, saying there was no way his riders had been going to support the British since O’Grady was in the breakaway group.

The prevailing sentiments between the Australians were pride in O’Grady’s functionality and rueing a lost chance as they have been unable to put a 2nd rider into the breakaway group.

Including to controversy, Kazakh Alexandre Vinokourov won the gold medal right after he and Colombian Rigoberto Uran escaped from the front group with 7km left in the 250km event.

Vinokourov served a two-year doping suspension in 2007-09.

Cavendish was the hot pre-race favourite and the British crew managed the race superbly at the front of the peloton till about 30km left.

Their objective was to set up a bunch sprint, exactly where Cavendish would have been the man to beat.

But numerous sturdy riders joined O’Grady’s authentic break, swelling the group to about 30, and the peloton had been unable to bring the gap down to significantly less than a moment.

By 20km to go, it was clear the break would remain clear.

O’Grady completed sixth following helping initiate the break and currently being portion of the lead group for much more than 200km.

He just missed the bronze medal, while Cavendish was forty seconds off the pace in 29th.

Cavendish lamented the lack of aid that the British group received and singled out the Australians.

“No one particular needs to support us, the Australians just sit there,” Cavendish told the BBC.

“They usually just ride negatively as nicely.

“They had 1 guy, Stu, he was not going to win from that front group.

“They were just satisfied to see us get rid of.”

White wasted minor time in replying to the accusation, saying he had been very confident that O’Grady could win a medal.

“It is not rocket science to counter what Mark has mentioned – we had a person in the breakaway,” he mentioned.

“We had no need to have to contribute to the chase right now, we had Stuey in really, really great shape.

“We clearly needed several riders in the breakaway to put a maximum sum of stress on the sprinters.

“Mark is naturally a tiny bit upset that he didn’t win right now, but we had no need to contribute right now because we had Stuey in a really excellent place.”

White also denied the Australians had ridden negatively, noting Michael Rogers had tried to bridge to the front group but obtained no support.

White pointed out bronze medallist Alexander Kristoff of Norway was in the very same group as O’Grady.

“It is not a adverse tactic when the outcome is a medal, is it?,” White explained.

Vinokourov brushed off inevitable questions about his chequered past, saying that portion of his profession was more than.

“2007 is a closed chapter. The query was currently asked in 2010, there is no point asking the query again,” he said.

After enjoying a stunning opening ceremony to the Olympic Video games several of Australia’s athletes will flip their focus to official competition on day one in London.

Cyclists Cadel Evans, Simon Gerrans, Matt Goss, Stuart O’Grady and Michael Rogers will line up in the Men’s Road Race, a 250km route commencing and finishing outdoors Buckingham Palace in The Mall.

The Wonderful Britain team consists of some of the favourites for gold in sprinter Mark Cavendish and 2012 Tour de France winner Bradley Wiggins.

The 1st swimming heats consider area at the Acquatics Centre, with two Australians in each and every event.

Thomas Fraser-Holmes and Daniel Tranter contest the men’s 400m individual medley, Alicia Coutts and Jessicah Schipper are in the women’s 100m butterfly whilst David McKeon and Ryan Napoleon will swim their men’s 400m freestyle heats.

Fraser-Holmes and Tranter will be racing the clock and US big guns Michael Phelps and Ryan Lochte to qualify for the 400m IM last.

Stephanie Rice, a triple-Olympic gold medallist in Beijing, will start her 400m personal medley title defence along with compatriot Blair Evans, although Brenton Rickard and Christian Sprenger represent Australia in the men’s 100m breaststroke heats.

The last morning occasion in the pool on day 1 is the women’s 4x100m freestyle heats wherever three-time Olympian Libby Trickett will team up with Emily Seebohm, Yolane Kukla and Brittany Elmslie for Australia.

The very first of Australia’s shooters take aim, with Beijing Olympian Robyn Van Nus returning for Australia alongside teenage star Alethea Sedgman in the women’s 10m air rifle qualifiers. Daniel Repacholi makes his third look for Australia at the Olympics in the men’s 10m air pistol qualification round.

The rowing program starts with heats in 9 disciplines at Eton Dorney.

Kate Hornsey and Sarah Tait start their campaign in the women’s pairs. The women’s quad sculls see Kerry Hore, Amy Clay, Pauline Frasca and Dana Faletic in action.

In the men’s eights, Australia faces the might of the reigning planet champions from Germany. The men’s double sculls introduce defending Olympic champions David Crawshay and Scott Brennan. They will encounter fierce opposition from New Zealand’s pair who has won the last two world championships.

Also early on day one, Australia’s Arnie Dickins will take on Georgia’s Betkili Shukvani in the men’s Judo 60kg eliminations, even though Miao Miao, Jian Fang Lay, Justin Han and William Henzell are all in action at the table tennis.

US Open champ Samantha Stosur meets Spain’s Carla Suarez Navarro in the women’s tennis 1st round, whilst Australian doubles pairing Jarmila Gajdosova and Anastasia Rodionova consider on Ekaterina Makarova and Elena Vesnina of Russia.

The Gold Coast Suns gave a refreshed Geelong a significant scare ahead of suffering a 14-point loss in the AFL clash at Metricon Stadium on Sunday.

The Suns led 68-61 deep into the 3rd quarter before the Cats snapped out of vacation mode to at some point triumph 15.twenty (110) to 13.18 (96) in front of 15,824 supporters.

It was Gold Coast’s 21st consecutive defeat and offers them a total record of 3 wins and 36 losses below coach Guy McKenna.

Geelong strike weapons Paul Chapman (4 targets), in his return from a groin injury, Tom Hawkins (four goals) and skipper Joel Selwood (32 disposals) had been outstanding.

For the hosts, Harley Bennell (22 disposals, two ambitions) and Josh Caddy (three targets) impressed. Gary Ablett (27 disposals, two targets) again led the way for Gold Coast, despite the fact that his radar scrambled a couple of instances in front of purpose at crucial stages.

The lethargic Cats, who had been missing stars Harry Taylor, Steve Johnson and James Podsiadly, were wasteful in the opening quarter and their defenders appeared content to push up the field.

Gold Coast’s forwards took benefit of the extra space as they booted four objectives, including a brace to Trent McKenzie, to hold a twelve-stage lead at the 1st break.

Maybe it was the tactical nous of the Suns new director of coaching, dual premiership-winning mentor Malcolm Blight, or the Cats calming too a lot during their six-day break on the tourist strip, but the Suns had been total of power on their home turf.

Surely the return of Michael Rischitelli (hamstring), Campbell Brown (knee) and Jarrod Harbrow (illness) aided their result in, with superstar Ablett capable to lighten his load against his former club.

The Suns continued to dominate uncontested marks in the second quarter prior to Chapman place a quit to the rot, booting three consecutive ambitions that place his team in front.

A Caddy key ensured the Suns – coming off a 126-stage hiding to West Coast – went to the halftime break with a shock 45-42 lead.

The Cats ultimately showed why they are the defending premiers in the 3rd quarter in a sparkling seven-objective show but they still only led by 19 factors heading into the final quarter.

An Ablett objective bridged the gap to just 12 points ahead of a Hawkins banana-kick key from shut assortment gave the Cats some breathing room.

The Suns ran out of legs in the last 20 minutes as Geelong (9-five win-reduction record) surged ahead to seal the outcome.

Suns defender Joel Wilkinson limped off late in the first quarter with a left ankle injury.