THERE were ‘ominous signs’ for his rivals as Willie Mullins made a scene spending over £1million at a sales proven for Cheltenham Festival winners.

The Closutton boss signed for nine horses in all with top lot among his purchases being a Nathaniel gelding out of former Nicky Henderson mare Floressa.

Mullins has had two Nathaniels before and both have won at the Festival.

Burning Victory won the infamous 2020 Triumph Hurdle that saw Goshen unship Jamie Moore at the last when miles clear.

While the late Concertista won the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle the same year.

But they were out of Flat mares, whereas this new kid on the block is bred for the jumping game.

Mullins and his sales guru Harold Kirk went to a shade over £150,000 to land lot 138 who, through his dam’s sire Poliglote, can be linked to current Mullins superstar Fact To File as well as former champs Politologue and Don Poli.

The three-year-old gelding was immediately given a future target – the €100,000 Tattersalls Ireland MSL Mercedes-Benz Sales Bumper in December.

The second most expensive purchase made by the all-conquering trainer was £140,000 Messire Corton – a half-brother to Black Corton.

The Paul Nicholls-trained Black Corton put Bryony Frost on the map and was a 14-time winner including the Grade 1 Kauto Star Novices’ Chase at Kempton.

Of the nine purchases Mullins made only one cost less than £100,000.

Mullins had three Cheltenhan Festival winners from this sale last year alone in the shape of Kopek Des Bordes, Lecky Watson and Final Demand.

It’s clearly been a happy hunting ground for him and he told Tattersalls about why he loves this sale so much.

He said: “I’ve got a nice few horses – it’s been a lucky place for us.

“I like the type of horses that are sold here and they’ve been good to us – so why change?

“The Nathaniel gelding is out of a jumping pedigree – we’ve had two Cheltenham winners out of Nathaniel with a Flat pedigree.

“We’re very happy with the purchases. Goliath Du Berlais is a nice stallion coming through too and we always look at his stock.

“I get Harold to do all the work!

“Sales are not my first love so he’s quite busy for the two or three days before the sales, he whittles them down, we have a look and we make a decision then when they’re in the ring.

“I’m very happy with the value I’m getting here.

“I’ll put saddles on these horses as soon as I can. Why let them go out in a field?

“I believe in getting stuck into them straight away.”

Kirk added: “We’ve bought more horses here this year than we ever have.

“If you go back years we had Cousin Vinny, Wicklow Brave and Pique Sous from this sale.”

Mullins has had a busy few days having saddled a winner at Royal Ascot as well.

He was in the Royal Procession on Saturday – hours before Sober claimed the Queen Alexandra under Ryan Moore.

Mullins will take aim at a number of the money-spinning Flat races over the summer, possibly with King Charles’ horse Reaching High.

He looked to be travelling incredibly well in the Ascot Stakes but couldn’t find a run through when it mattered most.

He’s also been keeping tabs on the sales, with his most expensive purchase of the season so far being the £300,000 paid for the hugely promising Poetisa.

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JACK Draper will likely have to get past Novak Djokovic, Jannik Sinner AND Carlos Alcaraz to become the third British man to win Wimbledon.

The No4 seed – aiming to be the first English singles champ since Fred Perry in 1936 – opens against Argentinian Sebastian Baez on Tuesday.

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Jack Draper will have to become Wimbledon champion the hard way after learning his fate in the draw[/caption]

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Emma Raducanu is opening against a 17-year-old still doing her A-Levels[/caption]

He had avoided two-time defending champion Alcaraz until a potential final meeting on Sunday July 13.

But there is a strong prospect he will need to overcome Djokovic in the quarters and world No1 Sinner in the semis after landing in their half of the draw.

Meanwhile, Emma Raducanu will open her campaign against a British player who is studying this month for her A Levels.

The former US Open champion, 22, will be making her fourth tournament appearance at SW19, having made the Last 16 four years ago.

And her first-round clash will be against 17-year-old debutant Mimi Xu, who hails from Swansea.

Xu – who is now based in London – has been handed a Golden Ticket for the event and is one of three promising British teenagers in the 128-player draw.

Last year, she reached the semi-finals of the 2024 junior US Open girls singles.

Xu combines her tennis aspirations with education duties, taking her Maths A Level a year ago.

And she only found she had been awarded a wildcard when she walked out her A Level biology exam.

Should Raducanu progress then it is likely she will have to face 2023 champion Marketa Vondrousova in the second round – and potentially wold No.1 Aryna Sabalenka in the Last 32.

There are 10 British women in the draw and Katie Boulter will face good pal Paula Badosa from Spain.

Hannah Klugman, 16, is another promising young talent who has a wildcard and she is up against Canadian Leylah Fernandez, who lost to Raducanu in the 2021 US Open final.

Another sixteen-year-old, Mika Stojsavljevic, who lifted the US Open junior title last September, plays American Ashlyn Krueger.

The draw for the 138th Championships was made by referee Denise Parnell and assistant ref Phil Evans.

The Department of Public Service and Administration (DPSA) will soon release DPSA Circular 22 of 2025, detailing the latest government job vacancies across national and provincial departments in South Africa. The circular includes a wide range of posts in various...

The post DPSA Circular 22 of 2025 – Government Job Vacancies appeared first on StudentRoom.co.za.

Here’s a quick roundup of today’s top stories: House prosecutors see false claims in Sara Duterte’s answer ad cautelam The House Prosecution panel on Friday countered Vice President Sara Duterte’s statements in her answer ad cautelam (for caution), saying that she made “several misleading and false material statements” in her pleading. The prosecution made its

Pattaya is cracking down hard on illegal ramps obstructing public footpaths, with officials warning that unauthorised structures will be removed and could result in legal action. The renewed effort aims to tackle recurring drainage issues caused by the concrete ramps, which have long been a source of frustration for residents. This week, municipal teams from …

The story Pattaya cracks down on illegal ramps to tackle drainage issues as seen on Thaiger News.

Tonton Dzikir Episod 29 Online Drama Melayu Basahjeruk Video, Malaysia Tv Series Melayu Drama Dzikir Episod 29 Free, Melayu Drama Dzikir Ep 29 Live Terkini Today Video.

The post Dzikir Episode 29 Tonton Video Drama appeared first on Basahjeruk.

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LOVE Island viewers have booted two huge characters out the villa after the public vote – and they’ve already left.

While The Sun is not naming the duo to preserve the surprise, fans will be rocked by the departures.

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The islanders are set to be given the devastating news in upcoming scenes[/caption]

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We can reveal the girl is an OG who has been at the centre of plenty of drama this series and will be much missed by all.

Meanwhile, in a further clue, the lad could be considered a ‘cheat’ for his antics in the villa.

The departure came after the public were asked to choose their favourite boy and favourite girl.

A source said: “Couples have been in constant flux this series and there’s a good few that have been accused of ‘cheating’ with secret snogs leading to explosive rows.

“Conor and Megan have just caused chaos with their Hideaway stay over and terrace smooches, whilst Harry and Helena first got that ball rolling in the first week.

“Remell was trouble in the Sleepover too and even Shakira has got up to some illicit snogging.

“It could be anyone so bosses are hoping viewers have fun speculating what’s gone down before the big reveal.”

It comes as four bombshells were dumped from the show on Wednesday night.

Hours later an explosive row kicked off between Remell and Alima after he chose to stick with her instead of bringing new girl Poppy back from the Sleepover.

He spent the last two days snogging Poppy at every opportunity, and told her he’d pick her in a recoupling.

He also broke unspoken rule by sharing a bed with the blonde for two nights.

However, he changed his mind at the last moment and a shocked Poppy was dumped from the show, along with fellow newbies Will and Caprice.

Helena was the only person to couple up with her bombshell, choosing to bring hunky Gio back to the villa with her.

As a result, Shea was sent packing, causing lots of tears to be shed.

The fallen bombshells are set to share their side of the story with host Maya Jama on Aftersun.

Elsewhere, viewers were in a spin last night after one of the most hard-to-watch arguments in Love Island history between Ben and Yasmin.

He became defensive after she accused him of saying negative things about her to the boys behind her back.

He then insulted her further with his responses.

He said: “To be fair, I think you’re lucky you’re even in here now.

“No one rated you when you were in here. You’ve only come out your shell because you’re in a couple with me.”

LOVE ISLAND CONTINUES TONIGHT AT 9PM ON ITV2 AND ITVX

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Remell couldn’t keep his hands off Poppy during the sleepover[/caption]

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Despite this, he chose to stay coupled up with Alima[/caption]

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Alima stormed off from Remell in last nigt’s episode[/caption]

STEPHEN Kenny is as mystified as supporters with how the Saints’ league campaign has gone. But their manager is sure that they can halt the slide.

St Pat’s face Cork City tonight sixth in the table having won four of their last 13 games — two of those coming against tonight’s basement boys.

Kenny’s team were among the favourites for the title after last year’s finish of a nine-game winning run saw them secure third place and European football.

But similar to the 2024 and 2023 campaigns under different managers, pre-season expectation made way for disappointment due to erratic results.

Kenny said: “It’s possibly the third season in a row because there’s high expectations.

“It’s three years in a row where it’s been an underwhelming first period of the season but we had an outstanding second half.

“There’s a lot of expectation on us this year. We haven’t matched that expectation and we fell below the level of expectation.

“A lot of people tipped us for the title but we probably hadn’t earned that. We have fallen below the level and some players, for reasons I even can’t fully explain why, lost confidence.

“That’s difficult to understand why that can be, especially when they are training every day and applying themselves. Even for someone as experienced as myself, it’s not always clear.”

While Monday night’s 1-0 loss at home to Derry City saw them slip to a third defeat in a row, Kenny saw signs of recovery.

He added: “It wasn’t that we were unlucky. We were absolutely excellent. We were at a high level against Derry.

“It wasn’t that we had more chances than the opposition in a mediocre game. The level of our play was better than it has been in the last six or seven weeks.

“Our passing, moving, dynamism and worth ethic was the highest that it has been in a while.

“The five games in 14 days, they are periods that can either make or break your season. I usually look forward to that. But this is one we haven’t done well in and it has gone against us.

“We could have done a lot better over those four games and to be honest, we only have ourselves to answer for.”

Kenny also bemoaned a lack of luck — with the former Ireland chief believing his side were undone by an offside goal from Candystripes ace Liam Boyce.

He explained: “They had one chance and Liam Boyce was offside heading it. We don’t get the decision.

“But we had enough chances to win the game ourselves and we didn’t take them. We’re paying the price for that.

“We deserved to win without question but we have to score goals and they dried up.

“We were always capable of scoring goals and maybe we conceded more than we should have but we have stopped finishing and in the last ten days it has hurt us.

“We have to regroup and get a few wins to put us in those European places going into Europe.

“On the back of three defeats, we need to address that and get a win in Cork. I see how hard everyone works and that has to be reflected.”

DAVID BECKHAM has undergone surgery due to breaking his wrist over TWO DECADES ago in an England match.

The football legend snapped his wrist in the Three Lions’ 2-1 win over South Africa in a friendly match back in May 2003.

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David Beckham broke his wrist playing for England in 2003[/caption]

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It happened as he fell awkwardly after a challenge from Thabang Molefe[/caption]

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He had initially tried to play on with the injury[/caption]

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Beckham was discovered to have broken his scapoid bone in his right hand[/caption]

Beckham, 50, had already picked up an assist in the match as he whipped in a free kick for Gareth Southgate to head home in the first minute.

He was forced off just four minutes into the second half after he awkwardly fell after an earlier challenge from Thabang Molefe.

The midfielder landed on his right hand and could be seen in plenty of pain, but had initially tried to play on.

As a result, he was subbed off by manager Sven-Goran Eriksson and replaced by Jermaine Jenas.

He underwent tests at the time, which showed that he had broken the scapoid bone in his right hand.

The bone connects the thumb to the wrist and is a famously tricky injury to heal.

It was a blow to Goldenballs, who had broken his metatarsal bone in his foot a year earlier.

The Sun has now exclusively revealed that Beckham has had secret surgery to repair the broken wrist.

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The operation was required after an x-ray showed that a screw had embbeded itself in his forearm and not dissolved properly.

Beckham’s new operation appears to have been a success with wife Victoria posting on social media.

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Beckham underwent secret surgery to finally fix the issue[/caption]

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He showed off this sweet bracelet that was made for him[/caption]

The Spice Girl posted a picture of the former Manchester United and Real Madrid star in his hospital bed with his arm in a sling.

A message read: “Get well soon daddy.”

Beckham was also given a sweet bracelet with the words “Get well soon” spelt out on it.

A source told The Sun that Beckham had been “in pain for years” and that it had become “unbearable” in recent months.

Meanwhile, he was recently awarded with a knighthood by King Charles II.

He had already been handed an OBE back in 2003 – the same year as the wrist injury.