SOCCER
This year's President's Cup has been confirmed for Tallaght Stadium on Friday the 12th of March.
SSE Airtricity League Champions Shamrock Rovers will face FAI Cup holders Dundalk in the first match of the domestic calendar.
The Premier Division kicks off on the 19th of March with the First Division due to start the following week.
The fixtures for the Premier Division season will be released at 5 o'clock this evening.
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Richard Brush has joined Sligo Rovers for a fourth time after two-and-a-half years with Premiership club Cliftonville.
The 36-year-old goalkeeper first joined the Bit O’Red 15 years ago and last played for them in 2015.
Brush will compete with Ireland Under-21 international Ed McGinty for the number one shirt this season.
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Newcastle boss Steve Bruce says he hopes to bring in one or two players before the transfer window closes tonight.
They've been linked with a potential move for Leicester midfielder Hamza Choudhury.
Meanwhile, the club have rejected an offer from Bournemouth for Matt Ritchie.
Bruce wants the Scotland international to fight for a place in his team
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Republic of Ireland international Shane Long could be set for a deadline day loan move to Championship club Bournemouth.
The Athletic are reporting that Southampton are willing to loan the 34-year-old to Bournemouth as part of a deal to sign Cherries striker Josh King.
Long has only started two games for Southampton this season.
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Liverpool are closing in on the signing of Ben Davies.
They've agreed a 2 million pound deal with Preston for the central defender, while the Premier League champions are also being linked with Schalke defender Ozan Kabak.
Talks are ongoing about a loan plus option to buy deal but Schalke want a replacement lined up if Kabak leaves.
The window closes at 11pm in England and midnight in Scotland.
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RACING
There's an eight race card at Dundalk this afternoon where the first goes to post at twenty-to-three.
The Gigginstown House Stud-owned Coko Beach landed a huge pot on his first run in a handicap chase when taking the Goffs Thyestes Chase for Gordon Elliott and Jack Kennedy at Gowran Park on Thursday. The youngest contender at six years of age, he raced of a four-length win in the €100,000 event over Run Wild Fred to give Elliott a 1-2 in the race. It was a second Thyestes success for both Elliott and Kennedy and the winning trainer said of the 8/1 chance, “The blinkers definitely sharpened him up and Jack gave him a great ride. You would imagine the National Hunt Chase at the Cheltenham Festival might suit.”
Also heading to the Cheltenham Festival next month is Mouse Morris’ Sams Profile which came from well off the pace to win the Grade 2 John Mulhern Galmoy Hurdle. Held up at the rear of the field by Phillip Enright, the seven-year-old closed on the leaders at the second last and got his head in front before the final flight. He battled well to get the better of the Noel Meade-trained Diol Ker by half a length to score at odds of 8/1. Morris said, “He had a couple of good runs but isn’t the luckiest horse in the world. The Stayers Hurdle will be pencilled in now. I thought maybe Phillip was a bit far back at the top of the hill but you have to take your hat off to him, he is a cool dude.” Paddy Kennedy also got in on the winning act as he partnered the Tom Foley-trained Rebel Gold to land the beginners’ chase. The eight-year-old scored a comfortable success at odds of 4/1, beating the Willie Mullins-trained 5/4 favourite Antey by two and a half lengths.
Gearoid Brouder and Eoin McCarthy struck for a second time with Blanketontheground which landed the two-mile handicap hurdle at Thurles on Wednesday. Owned by John Leahy, the 11/2 chance added to a win at Limerick before Christmas when scoring a four-length success over 7/4 favourite Whatsnotoknow. The eight-year-old might well reappear this weekend at Leopardstown’s Dublin Racing Festival. Jack Kennedy and Gordon Elliott won the WT O’Grady Memorial Irish EBF Novice Hurdle with the Gigginstown House Stud-owned Torygraph. A winner at Fairyhouse previously, the six-year-old followed up in fine style with a three and a quarter-length success over the Sam Curling-trained Angels Dawn.
Kevin Brouder shared a winner with County Cork trainer John Murphy at Navan on Friday afternoon where 11/2 chance Brazos landed the opening division of the two and a half-mile maiden hurdle. The seven-year-old edged to the right, carrying narrow runner-up Folcano with him, on the run-in and prevailed by a nose and his success was only confirmed after a lengthy stewards’ enquiry.
Phillip Enright and Mouse Morris were back in the winners’ enclosure with another Michael O’Flynn and John O’Flynn-owned winner as Limestone Rock took the opening division of the two-mile three-furlong maiden hurdle at Naas on Sunday. Enright had an easy time of it as the 3/1 shot made all the running to see off Il Courra by an easy five lengths.
