Switched immediately to handicap company the son of Aldebaran headed to Newmarket a few weeks later and duly obliged off a mark of 79 in a nine furlong handicap at the October meeting.
Returning this season to the same Rowley Mile venue, Main Sequence made his seasonal reappearance in a 10 furlong handicap where he ran off a mark of 89 and finished fast having been given plenty to do to score by half-a-length form Ahzeemah, a performance which prompted the handicapper to raise his mark by a further nine pounds.

Lanigan however was determined to see if his charge could mix it at a much higher level and although uncertain just how he would cope with the switch from turf to
Polytrack allowed his Derby hope to take his chance at Lingfield.
Sent off the 3/1 second-favourite, Ted Durcan’s mount looked to be in big trouble over two furlongs from home when stuck behind a wall of horses, but when the gap came he quickened impressively to join and then pass Shantaram to score by three-quarters-of-a-length, the pair coming five-lengths clear of another Epsom possible Cavaleiro, giving the form a solid look to it. Bookmakers reacted by slashing Main Sequence’s Epsom Derby 2012 Odds from 40/1 to 20/1, and he will go to Epsom with a sporting chance of hitting the frame with the suspicion being that we have still to see the very best of the fast improving performer.

Of the top five, only Mark Webber has yet to lift the F1 Championship trophy. If his luck holds out, we could be looking at a brand new drivers champion come November. On the other hand, Webber has yet to win in Spain, while the other four have at least one first place at Catalunya under their belts. This will add to the tension and promises to make Formula 1 Gran Premio de Espana 2012 an action-packed weekend from practice on Friday, to Saturday qualifying and, finally, the checkered flag on Sunday afternoon.

Catalunya is entering its third decade as the site of the Spanish GP. Shaped like a matador’s hat, the circuit has something for everybody. There is no shortage of hairpin turns to test both the maneuverability of the cars and the skills of the drivers. There also three straights, so plenty of opportunities for overtaking. I predict that the lead will change hands quite a few times in Barcelona on Sunday.

The constructors’ championship, on the other hand, looks like a two-horse race between Red Bull-Renault, with 101 points, and McLaren-Mercedes, who have amassed 92 points in the first four races of 2012. With Alonso’s teammate, Felipe Massa, loitering in 17th place with two points, it is going to take some kind of miracle for Ferrari to bring home two pieces of silver this year.

One drama the drivers and teams will not have to contend with in Barcelona is the controversy surrounding the previous GP race last month in Bahrain. Owing to civil unrest, last year’s fixture at Sakhir was first postponed twice and then ultimately cancelled. It was a bad case of deja vu this year. Apart from the organizers, nobody, least of all the drivers, was happy for the race to proceed. It went ahead and, to no one’s surprise, two Force India team members flew home early after being forced to flee through flames in their 4 x 4 following the explosion of several molotov cocktails.

Last seen running a mighty race to chase home Rock On Ruby in the Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival, back in March, the seven-year-old is reportedly in good heart, and is expected to put up a bold bid to land back-to-back renewals of the two-and-a-quarter mile showcase contest on the Roodeye.

He dominated the race, last term, when making every yard of the running, under a fine ride from Eddie Ahern, to beat Tastahil by a length-and-three-quarters. The result was in line with the most popular horse racing betting tips.

The Tim Leslie-owned gelding will race off a 7lbs higher mark than 12 months ago, but he is still expected to be very much in the thick of the action, having shown improved form over timber, this winter.

As well as his tremendous effort in the two-mile hurdles championship event, he also bagged notable victories in the Summer Champion Hurdle at Perth, during the winter. He won the Grade 2 Coral Hurdle at Ascot, in mid-November, before defeating former champion hurdler, Binocular, in the Grade 1 Fighting Fifth Hurdle, at Newcastle.

McCain’s charge is a rare force under both codes, and seems to lose none of his speed for tackling the winter game, as his record of having also triumphed in the Northumberland Plate a couple of seasons ago bears ample witness.

Overturn, one of 33 entries for the highlight of the three day Chester May meeting, is a 6/1 joint-favourite in the racing betting tips for the Chester Cup, along with recent impressive winner, Gulf of Naples, who hacked up in testing ground at Ripon, and appears very much on the upgrade.

However, there are several players in this year’s Players Championship that seem to have a more favorable chance to take the title this year. Let’s take a look at them to see why many golf experts believe they have what it takes to overcome the difficult layout at the TPC at Sawgrass.

Charl Schwartzel
Charl Schwartzel’s magnificent run at this year’s Masters demonstrates he still has the ability to play well on golf courses. Therefore, don’t be surprised to see him drive and putt the ball well during the tournament.

Luke Donald
Donald’s constantly good iron and wedge games should suit him well here again this year. However, he will need to improve his putting touch if he wants to win it all this year.

Phil Mickelson
Mickelson’s impressive performance while paired with Tiger Woods at this year’s the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am suggests he has the game to win at Sawgrass this year. Moreover, his amazing short game makes us wonder if it’s his time to win the Players Championship again.

Rory McIlroy
The defending U.S. Open Champion’s amazing back-9 performance at this year’s Honda Classic should be enough to suggest that he has more than it takes to win at Sawgrass this year. Therefore, we can only wonder if he has the patience to handle Sawgrass’s quirks.

Sang Moon Bae
Sang Moon Bae’s impressive consistency from tee to green makes him a great dark horse pick to win the Players Championship in his first attempt.

Hunter Mahan
The current FedEx Cup points leader has shown a tremendous putting touch during his two wins this season. Moreover, his win against Rory McIlroy should give him the confidence he needs to play his best under pressure during the weekend.

Paul Laurie
The 1999 Open champion has seen a resurgence in his iron play and short game to record one win already in 2012 at the Qatar Masters. If he can continue this resurgence, it would not be surprising to see him win the Players Championship this year.

As you can see, there are many golfers who have a legitimate chance to win this year’s Players Championship. As a result, it’s easy to see why most golf fans can’t wait for the 2012 Players Championship to begin.

The diving events will be held at the Pieter van den Hoogenband Swim Stadium, a familiar site for the world of aquatic sports, as for the last four years the stadium has hosted European swimming, diving, and water polo championship competitions. Able to seat 1,000 people, the athletes will be able to showcase their talents in front of the many fans gathered to cheer them on. Fans will have great views of all the action from inside the state-of-the-art designed facility. The event is being sponsored by EuroVision, Lotto, Omega, and Arena, all proud supporters of the sport of diving and the city of Eindhoven.

In the 2012 Eindhoven European Diving Championships, fans can expect to see intense competition and get a foretaste of what to expect when the 2012 Olympics in London take place two months later. Besides the crowd in the stadium, the rest of the world will be watching, in anticipation of the Olympics, to see how well the divers perform. The event is sure to be a lively and exciting experience. Tickets can be purchased either online at the official event website or at the stadium box office two hours prior to the competition. A special pass allowing fans to enjoy all of the diving events is available. Prices range from 10EUR to 50EUR.

So who is Roy Hodgson?, he was born in Croydon, Surrey on 9 August 1947 is an English former footballer and the current manager of West Bromwich Albion.

Hodgson, has managed sixteen 16 different teams in 8 countries, he has guided the Switzerland national team to the last 16 of the 1994 World Cup and qualification for Euro 1996 prior to that Switzerland had not qualified for a major tournament since the 1960s.

He then went onto manage the Finnish national team From 2006 to 2007, he guided them to their highest ever FIFA ranking of 33rd place, and coming close to qualifying for a major tournament for the first time in the nation’s history.

As a club manager, he has been a beaten finalist in the UEFA Cup and the Europa League. Roy has coached some notable club sides, including Halmstads BK. He joined Italian Serie A giants Internazionale in 1995 and stayed until 1997, at a time when Inter were a team in transition, he’s also had spells at Blackburn Rovers, Grasshoppers, FC Copenhagen, Udinese and Viking. Hodgson had a very successful time at Fulham and on the back of that he was recruited to lead the revival at Liverpool, however that didn’t work out and Roy was sacked and replaced by Kenny Daglish.

Roy’s other talents are he speaks five languages he has worked extensively as a television pundit and he is a highly respected coach who has served several times as a member of UEFA’s technical study group at the European Championships, he was also a member of the FIFA technical study group at the 2006 World Cup.

So Roy takes up the reins in time for the European championship, now can an English manager do better with an England team than a foreigner, it’s been that long since we had an English manager it will be interesting to find out. Despite us all wanting Harry Redknapp lets now get behind Roy and cheer on the boys in Euro 2012.

This event is part of a selection of tournaments set to try out the new venues to ensure that they all run smoothly before the 2012 London Olympics take place in the summer. As well as the Hockey there are other tournaments in the series include Water Polo, Wheelchair Tennis, Disability Athletics and the Olympic Stadium Evening Event that will bring together celebrities, sports stars and 40,000 visitors to see the new Olympic Stadium on the 5th May.

Whilst Hockey isn’t as well represented as other sports in the UK it is still a much loved sport, largely due to the fact that we have been quite good at it on an international level. It’s a very skillful sport and the International Invitational Hockey Tournament will include the best teams from around the world. It will also give sports fans a chance to see the new Hockey Centre for the first time.

It will be the first time the premier league clubs will be battling it out for the cup title.

Although, the teams have been in 43 semi-finals clashes against various opponents.

It has been nearly two decades since the FA Cup final has come under floodlights at Wembley. It will start at 5.15pm on Saturday, May 5, and can be viewed live on ITV and ESPN.

This season Liverpool have already brought home the League Cup from the capital’s famous stadium, beating Cardiff on penalties.

Anfield legend Bill Shankly led Liverpool to their first FA Cup win, the latest manager to gain the accolode was Rafa Benitez, again winning a penalty shoot out in 2006 against West Ham United. The Merseyside army have seven FA Cups to their name.

The semi-final of this year’s competition saw Liverpool come up against the blue side of the city, Everton, with a 2-1 victory.

During his first stint as Liverpool boss, Kenny Dalglish has been in three previous FA Cup finals, with two victories and one loss under his belt.

In the eighties, King Kenny’s team triumphed over ‘The Toffees’ twice in the final, once in 1986 and four years later in 1989. The year before, 1988, they lost in the final against Wimbledon 1-0.

Fans will be looking to their star and captain Stevie G to help bring the cup back up to the north west. He midfielder has two FA Cup medals and bagged a goal in the 2006 final.

Chelsea played Manchester United in 2007, becoming the first team to win the FA Cup at Wembley, following its newly completed build. Didier Drogba, who planted the extra-time goal in the back of the net, will be hoping to do the same on Saturday.

Chelsea reached this final in style, with a comfortable 5-1 win against fellow London club Spurs.

The blue’s leader – John Terry – has seen triple success in FA Cup finals during his time wearing the armband, which went some way to help him become the club’s most honoured captain.

Both club’s are out of the race for this season’s premier league top spot, but Liverpool and Chelsea will both be hoping to add to their trophy cabinet. The Merseyside team already have one cup at Anfield and on May 19, Chelsea are in the final of the Champions League against Bayern Munich.

With so much to play for, the 131st final of the competition should prove to be a great cup clash as Ladbrokes have Chelsea to win at 6/5 and Liverpool at 2/1.

The annual event takes place on one of nine links courses in Scotland or England and is a 72 hole stroke play tournament, it is the only one of the four Major Championships to be held outside the United States. Last years Open was held at Sandwich in Kent where Darren Clarke of Northern Ireland claimed his maiden Major title, the 2012 Championship will be the first time ever consecutive Open’s have been held in England. There are places for 156 golfers to take part and the tournament attracts the world’s greatest golfers. The Open was last staged at Lytham in 2001 when it was won by David Duval [USA] and the course has also been graced by the likes of Seve Ballesteros [ who won the Championship here in 1979 and 1988], Tony Jacklin and Gary Player.

Considered to be an extremely testing, true links course, Royal Lytham is set back from the current day shoreline but in common with other links courses, the sea wind can affect play dramatically. The Women’s British Open has been played on the course four times, at the last Championship there in 2009, it was won by Catriona Matthew’s [Scotland]. The course features 206 bunkers, enough to make the average golfer take a very deep breath, it is also the only course used in the Championship to have a par 3 first hole. The 2012 Open will see some of the world’s finest golfer’s teeing off at Royal Lytham, Justin Rose and Lee Westwood [England], Bubba Watson [USA], who recently won the Master’s at Augusta and his countrymen John Daly and Phil Mickleson, they are just a few of the golf stars who will be hoping to display their skills on this truly testing course.

The race has drawn in celebrities, royals, regular people and people who have worn strange outfits. For example, a man in 2002 actually ran the marathon while wearing a deep diver suit that was 110 pounds!
He set the slowest marathon on record by doing it in five days and eight hours. In comparison, the fastest London Marathon was run in only two hours and two minutes in 2011 by Kenyan runner Emmanuel Mutai.

How to Enter the London Marathon

If you are interested in running the London Marathon then you have to enter into a special raffle to get a place, as more than 100,000 people try out for it every year. You can also run in the marathon through one of the charities that participate every year. These charities raise money every year and since 1981 they have made more than 450 million pounds.

If you want to run through a charity, then just check with the Virgin London marathon officials for a list. Some of the UK athletics clubs also have spots in the marathon, as well as several special spots such as for age, or other situations such as a deferred entry for those who couldn’t run due to an illness during a previous marathon.

Preparing for the London Marathon

If you do get a spot in the Virgin London Marathon, then be sure to plan for it and train appropriately. If not, you will not be in the proper shape to run the marathon, and this could be dangerous to your health. There have been cases of deaths during the marathon, and at least 10 runners have died since its start.

You can get some tips on how to prepare for a marathon on the marathon’s website at http://www.virginmarthon.com.

All in all, it is usually a very exciting race with plenty of interesting things to see and do. Be sure to dress appropriately for watching it and plan your route ahead of time for getting there via public transportation for best results.

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