Even so tomorrow’s final at Canterbury HC is likely to be a fiercely contested occasion with several players hoping
Even so, tomorrow’s final at Canterbury HC is likely to be a fiercely contested occasion with several players hoping that they might catch the eye of the England manager, David Whittle, who must surely be reconsidering his options for August’s European Cup, following the recent disastrous tour to Australia.
Teddington, appearing in their fourth consecutive final, have an array of internationals including Jason Laslett, Simon Nicklin and Phil McGuire, plus the developing James Wallis, to interest Whittle.Guildford’s Ian Jennings will also be under scrutiny as a possible answer to England’s penalty corner drought together with striker Danny Hall who many see as the long-term replacement England have craved for since the retirement of Sean Kerly.. The middle-distance challenge meetings of Walter George and William Cummings attracted prodigious betting in the mid-1880’s. But Gold and other traditionalists fear that athletics is particularly prone to betting scandals The bookies disagree. “I don’t think athletics is any more or less prone to rigging than any other sport,” Sharpe said.. The prize for the winners of the HA Cup Final is entry into next season’s European Cup-Winners’ Cup competition, writes Bill Colwill. “If you can bet on athletics in High Street shops, why shouldn’t you be able to do so at the event itself?”BAF’s Rule 15 is short and to the point: “All betting is strictly prohibited.” What that means, exactly, is a matter of interpretation, and the BAF are busy interpreting it right now as they prepare for their Council meeting.Betting has long played a part in the sport.
It should be more than a question of looking for a quick buck. It is so easy to gain cheap applause for bringing in money in the short term.”William Hill, which sponsors the BAF-accredited national 100km championships and the annual Man versus Horse challenge in Wales, has been eager to set up the kind of on-course betting currently available at football, rugby, snooker, tennis and golf events in this country.The initiative for these latest talks has come from the BAF’s commercial director, Barry Snellgrove, appointed two years ago, whose previous work involved promoting greyhound meetings.”Athletics is probably unique among major sports in this country in that it has absolutely no on-course betting anywhere,” said Graham Sharpe, William Hill’s spokesman. “I hardly need to spell out the grave abuses which could result from it I believe we have a duty to athletics a century hence. But when the BAF board and council consider the proposal in Birmingham next weekend, the case against will be voiced by, among others, Sir Arthur Gold, one of the sport’s most distinguished and longest serving administrators.
“This is against the very spirit of the sport,” said Gold, president of the Amateur Athletic Association of England and life president of the European Athletic Association. The British Athletic Federation is holding talks with the bookmakers, William Hill, for an arrangement that would allow betting at major meetings such as Crystal Palace, Birmingham, Gateshead and Sheffield. She is now concentrating on young horses and Designer Tramp could be the best of them..
Plans to introduce betting at English meetings this summer for the first time in more than a century will be strongly opposed next month. He was bold and confident over the cross-country in all of them.Since winning at Bramham in 1992 and Blenheim in 1993, Funnell’s fortunes in three-day events have taken a nose-dive. Lucy Thompson, now riding fo Ireland, is lying third on the eight-year-old thoroughbred, Nobleman III, who won an intermediate one-day event at Belton Park this year.Thompson became available to ride for the Irish team after a syndicate (including her Irish father-in-law) bought the mare, Welton Romance, who was formally partnered by Ginny Elliott.Funnell, who is 4 points ahead of Thompson, expects to take the fast routes when she tackles the 25 cross-country fences on Designer Tramp today.Despite his youth, the six-year-old has won two intermediate one-day events this year and been placed in the other three. “I gave him a crash course,” Funnell said of the well-bred thoroughbred, who is a grandson of Bustino and was winner of the five-year-old class in the Pet Plan Burghley Event Horse final last year.
Funnell edged ahead – by just 0.6 points – of the overnight leader, Philip Surl on Coxley Kontiki. It was a fine achievement since her six-year- old partner, Designer Tramp, only began learning one of the movements on Monday
The young horse needed to learn half-pass in a hurry. Pippa Funnell held a narrow lead in the international section of the Brittany Ferries Three-Day Event here yesterday, after the second day of dressage was completed. They no longer consider themselves bound by the international transfer agreement that would have entitled Wigan to pounds 70,000..
“It clearly gives no one any pleasure when a member club brings action against other member clubs,” he said. “It is sad that Widnes will be left with a massive legal bill.”Widnes were the one club to vote against the revised plan for the Super League, which involves the top 10 sides in this year’s First Division being joined by the London Broncos and Paris in the new competition.Keighley, denied promotion despite finishing as Second Division champions and absent from the vote, are still to decide on whether to pursue their own legal case against the League.There could be further action in the courts over the Sydney City Roosters’ refusal to pay Wigan a transfer fee for their Great Britain loose forward, Phil Clarke.The Roosters are one of the clubs remaining loyal to the Australian Rugby League in its battle against Murdoch. If you can’t believe what he tells you, who can you believe?”The chief executive, Maurice Lindsay, said that he hoped that the decision would end the legal wrangles over the introduction of the Super League. We acted on what the chief executive of the Rugby League said when he told us we would be in the Super League. “We are naturally very disappointed, but there is further action we could take, which we will be considering over the next few days,” Jim Mills, the club’s chairman, said.”We just feel we’ve been let down. The club had its application for an injunction against the Rugby League refused at the High Court in Manchester yesterday and was ordered to pay both its own costs and those of the League.
Widnes took the action when they were excluded from the Rupert Murdoch- inspired Super League, due to start next March, after being told that they were in it.
