Other sports news in brief
Rochelle eyes Turkish delight
RACING: Rock Of Rochelle will fly the Irish flag in Europe's richest mile event in Istanbul this evening when the Andrew Kinsella-trained horse runs in the €715,000 Topkapi Trophy at the Veliefendi track, writes Brian O'Connor.
The Group Two event was won by the Michael Jarvis-trained Pressing last year and that dual-Group One winner is returning to Turkey for another crack at the lucrative prize.
Also travelling to Turkey is the Godolphin hope Hatta Fort and Andrew Balding’s Dream Eater. Kinsella has booked French jockey Gerald Mosse for Rock Of Rochelle who is attempting the trip for the first time.
Horse Racing Ireland have announced that Dundalk will host an additional flat fixture on Tuesday evening to replace one lost when next week’s Roscommon’s meetings were called off due the amount of rain that has fallen lately.
Stirling looking to build on win
CRICKET: Paul Stirling is hoping he and his under-19 team-mates can send out a warning to the Test nations with more performances like their opening Word Cup Qualifier victory over The Netherlands in Toronto on Tuesday, writes Emmet Riordan.
Senior international Stirling struck a century in the 75-run win over their fellow European qualifiers as Ireland made 254 for five before restricting the Dutch to 179 for nine at King City.
“One of our ambitions is to come here and win the tournament and send a message to the Test teams that when we qualify we are going to be up for the event,” said Stirling, who celebrates his 19th birthday today.
Stirling cracked 102 off 117 balls, sharing in a 96-run fourth-wicket partnership with James Shannon, who made a swift 50 off 41 balls.
There was some late resistance from Philip van den Brandeler, who made a brave 85 from 101 balls before he became George Dockrell’s second victim.
Donovan complete treble
BOXING: John Joe Nevin and Darren O’Neill cruised into the last 32 of the AIBA World Senior Championships following high class wins at the Mediolanum Forum in Milan yesterday.
Nevin, who reached the last 16 at the Beijing Olympics, outlcassed Ramir Najafou of Azerbaijan, the Cavan bantamweight earning a 19-4 decision following a very impressive display.
And O’Neill, of the Paulstown club in Kilkenny, advance after the referee stopped his bout with Nepalse middleweight Rajan Shilpakar 34 seconds into the second round. O’Neill was 21-0 up when the third man in the ring halted the contest.
St Michael’s Athy lightweight Eric Donovan completed a hat-trick for Ireland with a controlled 13-4 win over Dakhodir Karimov of Tajikustan last night.
Donovan took the first round 5-1 before stretching his lead to 9-3 by the end of the second.
Bolt aiming to become a living legend
ATHLETICS: Usain Bolt is already a triple Olympic and world champion but he will not rest until he believes he has achieved the status of an athletics legend, the Jamaican said yesterday.
“Im getting to be a legend. I don’t consider myself a legend yet,” the 23-year-old sprinter said as he prepared to race in the 200 metres at the Golden League meeting in Brussels tonight.
“I think after the next Olympics and other world championships, if I do extremely well in those I’ll consider myself a legend. I want to be a legend, I want to make sure I get my M3 (BMW car) and all those other fast cars.”
Last month Bolt smashed his own 100 world record when he clocked a remarkable 9.58 seconds at the world championships in Berlin.
The 6ft 5in Bolt briefly tested the new surface in Brussels and said he was hoping to set a new track record. “My body got a bit tired and I didn’t get much time to rest but I am feeling much better than in Zurich (last week),” he said.
Connacht sign Samoan winger
RUGBY: Connacht have signed promising Samoan winger Thomas Timani, reports John OSullivan. The player will arrive next month after completing the move from Auckland in New Zealand.
The 22-year old was named as the Development Player of the Year in Auckland last season and Connacht coach Michael Bradley also confirmed talks are taking place with a back row player in a bid to further strengthen his squad.
