Gary Lemke looks back at a jam-packed sporting weekend as Vinicius Jr inspired Real Madrid to their 15th Champions League crown, as jockey Richard Fourie continues his quest for the all-time win record.
FOURIE’S RELENTLESS QUEST CONTINUES
We suggested one should follow jockey Richard Fourie after his two-day “rest” and there were four Grade 1 races staged in the “Festival Of Speed” at Hollywoodbets Scottsville on Sunday. Fourie won two of those – on Proceed and Lucky Lad – and he finished second in the other two, on Rodeo Drive and Mrs Browning.
Then, for the third time this season, he rode five winners on a card, at Hollywoodbets Kenilworth, on Sunday. The jockey is now rapidly closing in on Anthony Delpech’s all-time season winners of 334, and heading into Monday’s “day off”, he is on 326 wins, which is just nine shy of the record, and the R1-million incentive as laid down by Hollywoodbets.
VINICIUS HELPS REAL TO 15TH TITLE
Real Madrid are club champions of Europe – which by extension means the club champions of the world – following their 2-0 win over underdogs Dortmund at Wembley. Common consensus is that the result was harsh on the German club, whose obvious downfall was their failure to convert their chances in the final third.
Goals by Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Junior helped give the Spanish giants a 15th Champions League/European Cup title. The result probably all but sealed Vinicius’ prospects of winning the Ballon d’Or this season.
ANOTHER CUP FINAL, ANOTHER UPSET
Orlando Pirates “did a Manchester United” by beating Sundowns in the Nedbank Cup final. Sundowns had won the DStv Premiership by 23 points, with Pirates second, but just like United had done to EPL champions Man City in the FA Cup final, they came out on top 2-1.
Sundowns had led, but it was Patrick MaswanganyI’s second-half penalty which levelled matters before Relebohile Mofokeng sparked wild celebrations with his 94th-minute cup winner.
TIME FOR WILDER TO HANG UP GLOVES
Deontay Wilder’s career came to an end, we hope, when he was stopped by 41-year-old Chinese opponent Zhilei Zhang in Saudi Arabia. The American, whom many considered the most destructive boxer in heavyweight history, has now lost four of his last five bouts, three by knockout. It’s easy after the fact, but while he was explosive to watch, Wilder’s actual boxing skills are nearly non-existent. And when he can’t catch his opponent with his right hand, there’s no Plan B. He needs to retire now, to avoid permanent damage.
Zhilei Zhang FINISHED Deontay Wilder in SPECTACULAR FASHION!! 💥 🇨🇳 😤 pic.twitter.com/UoHSnNUXiO
— Boxing on TNT Sports (@boxingontnt) June 2, 2024
BULLS, STORMERS FLYING THE SA FLAG
The Bulls claimed bragging rights among the South African rugby franchises when they secured a 26-14 away win at the Hollywoodbets Sharks to finish top of the four Saffa teams in the United Rugby Championship.
The Stormers extinguished the Lions’ hopes of making the URC quarter-finals with their own 29-24 win in Cape Town. The final URC table saw the Bulls finish 2nd, the Stormers 5th, the Lions 9th and the Sharks 14th. All of which means that the Bulls host Benetton and the Stormers are away to Glasgow’s Warriors in the quarters this weekend.
UFC BIGGER THAN ROLLING STONES
Any lingering doubts about the UFC’s pulling power can finally be dispelled after Islam Makhachev choked out Dustin Poirier in the fifth and final round of their thrilling lightweight contest, extending the winner’s unbeaten streak to 14. In the co-main event, Sean Strickland rebounded from his defeat to Dricus du Plessis by beating Paulo Costa on points.
Both fights went the way we had envisaged, in terms of the manner of the bouts themselves. Watching from the front row was former President Donald Trump, who was wildly cheered. There were 17,834 fans inside the Prudential Centre in New Jersey, with $7.25m in gate revenue. That overtook the Rolling Stones as the biggest event the venue has staged.
The best in the world 😮💨@MAKHACHEVMMA remains the lightweight champion with a submission victory! #UFC302 pic.twitter.com/LpSwj8PH0T
— UFC (@ufc) June 2, 2024
FRENCH OPEN BURSTS INTO LIFE
Rafa Nadal, the undisputed “King Of Clay” was always likely to be a first-week casualty in his quest for a 15th men’s title. But, now we’re into the business week of the Grand Slam. In the men’s draw, the seeds still standing are Nos 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10, 11, 12 and 13.
In the women’s draw, still alive are Nos 1, 2, 3, 5, 4, 9, 12. In other words, the real business starts now. Two quarter-finals that already stand out are Stefanos Tsitsipas against Carlos Alcarez and Coco Gauff playing Ons Jabeur.
PROTEAS GET WORLD CUP CAMPAIGN GOING
Hands up how many are truly invested in the men’s T20 World Cup. Or, how many watched the USA beat Canada and Namibia get past Oman in the super over. The new, expanded World Cup has four pools of five, where the top two teams in each group progress to the Super 8. That’s when many will also regard it as when the event starts to take shape.
The Proteas start their campaign against Sri Lanka today and need to finish top two in a group that also includes Bangladesh, Netherlands and Nepal. Sunday’s highest score was 197 and the lowest 101. It’s still too early to project what par will be, but it won’t be the near-200 that the IPL produced.
SA’S SEVENS STRUGGLE IN SPAIN
Rugby’s Sevens circuit came to an end for the season in Madrid, where France and Australia won the men’s and women’s titles, respectively. The SA men (Blitzboks) finished sixth after defeats to Ireland, NZ, Fiji and Australia, while the women placed 11th awith wins over Argentina and Belgium, and defeats to Brazil and Spain. The men can still qualify for the Olympics, the likelihood that it’s them or Great Britain who will secure the remaining berth.
Experience the action from the #Blitzboks’ concluding leg of the current #HSBCS Series in Madrid 🇿🇦#PoweredByUnity pic.twitter.com/Hm17DrWkMF
— Springbok Sevens (@Blitzboks) June 2, 2024
