SPORTS DIGEST:SNOOKER: Ali Carter yesterday won the Shanghai Masters with a 10-7 victory against Jamie Burnett. The first session had been a tight affair with neither player able to take control and the match finely poised at 5-4. However, the Essex man found some rhythm and managed to produce the second major win of his career.
The lead swapped several times in the morning session. Carter took the first frame 76-25 but Burnett hit back to take the next two. Carter won the next two frames but Burnett levelled things up again at 3-3 thanks to a 57 break. Burnett edged ahead again but Carter came back with a break of 71 to take the eighth frame. Carter then won the ninth frame to lead 5-4 and also claimed the 10th to open up a lead and while Burnett clawed back the 11th, a 72 earned him the 12th. Again Burnett fought back, eventually getting to 8-7 behind, but a 64 in the 16th put Carter within a frame of victory and from there he closed it
Ogier seals win in final stage
MOTOR SPORT: Frenchman Sebastien Ogier secured his second victory at World Rally Championship level as he sealed the win in the final stage in Japan. Ogier had gone into the final day trailing fellow Citroen driver Petter Solberg but came out on top following the superspecial stage in the Sapporo Dome.
The 26-year-old won by 15.7 seconds from Solberg after the Norwegian’s Citroen suffered a steering problem.
Rheinisch finishes in 25th place
CANOEING: Ireland's Eoin Rheinisch finished 25th in the K1 (racing kayak) discipline at the Canoe Slalom World Championships in Tacen, Slovenia, yesterday, writes Liam Gorman. With 10 competitors to go through to the final, Rheinisch set a time of 96.77 seconds in his semi-final run, but he was judged to have hit two gates, 10 and 12, incurring a four-second penalty. His time was thus pushed out to 100.77.
The unfancied Atanas Nikolovski of the former Yugoslav republic of Macedonia had set a remarkable time of 92.25 seconds. The final WAS won by Daniele Molmenti of Italy in a time of 91.00 seconds.
On Saturday, Rheinisch had qualified from the heats by finishing 27th, while Ireland’s Patrick Hynes finished 73rd and Ciarán Heurteau 55th. In yesterday’s team event, Ireland incurred 64 seconds in time penalties, finishing 19th of the 21 starters.
O’Brien keeps options open for St Nicholas Abbey
RACING:Aidan O'Brien hasn't ruled out a dramatic late-season comeback by his two-year-old champion St Nicholas Abbey who made a first public appearance since his 2,000 Guineas flop in a post-racing piece of work at the Curragh yesterday, writes Brian O'Connor.
Europe’s top juvenile of 2009 worked under Johnny Murtagh in behind two stable companions, Silver (Colm O’Donoghue) and Rain Forest (Seamus Heffernan.)
St Nicholas Abbey was pulled out of the Epsom Derby on the eve of the classic in early June due to a muscle problem and was let off for the whole of that month before resuming work. Before that he had started a hot favourite for the 2,000 Guineas at Newmarket only to finish out of the money behind Makfi.
“That’s his first time away since the Guineas and we’re very happy with it,” O’Brien said. “We will go away and think about things for a week and then decide about a race in maybe three weeks or a month. He is a horse that comes to himself very quickly.”
The champion trainer didn’t nominate any race as a possible return date for St Nicholas Abbey. However the colt remains in some ante-post betting lists for the Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe with Boylesports gong 12 to 1 about St Nicholas Abbey for the Longchamp spectacular.
O’Brien last evening confirmed though that Ballydoyle’s star four year old Fame And Glory remains on track for another crack at the Arc.
McCrohan and Lambe miss out
ROWING:Ireland's Siobhan McCrohan (23) and Claire Lambe (20) were pushed out of a medal place by Germany in an eventful A final of the lightweight women's double scull at the European Championships in Montemor-o-Velho in Portugal yesterday, writes Liam Gorman.
Reigning World and European champions Greece won by a margin of almost eight seconds. The real battle went on behind, with McCrohan and Lambe challenging Poland for second in the closing stages. But Germany, who had been in fourth, charged. Daniela Reimer and Anja Noske replaced Ireland in third, and even a missed stroke did not prevent them taking the bronze. Ireland finished fourth.
In Saturday’s repechage, Poland’s Magdalena Kemnitz and Agnieszka Renc won, while Lambe and McCrohan slotted into second which saw them progress to the final.
The men’s lightweight double scull of Niall Kenny and Mark O’Donovan finished fourth in the B final yesterday, placing this under-23 crew 10th overall.
Magee in line to challenge Sartison
BOXING:Belfast's Brian Magee is in line to challenge WBA World champion Dimitri Sartison following the successful defence of his European super-middleweight title against Armenian Roman Aramian at the National Stadium in Dublin on Saturday night. The Ulster southpaw was in control from the opening bell up and was well ahead on the judges cards when Aramian was retired on his stool at the end of the eight round.
According to his manager Pat Magee (no relation), the European champion will today be named as the mandatory challenger to Sartison’s crown – and that fight could take place in Ireland.
Magee said: “Once they confirm us as the mandatory contender it is up to us to arrange the fight wherever it is going to take place.”
