the times | Monday December 6 2021 55
Sport
3, Eldorado Allen (9-2). 6 ran. 4Kl, 1Ol.
K C Bailey.
2.27 (1m 7f 171yd hdle) 1,
Restandbethankful (Adrian Heskin,
10-3); 2, Zacony Rebel (2-1 fav); 3, Sorbet
(7-1). 7 ran. 1Kl, 3Ol. O Murphy.
2.57 (1m 7f 171yd Flat) 1, Malina Jamila
(Jack Quinlan, 40-1); 2, Lady Jane P (13-2);
3, Hillfinch (28-1). 13 ran. 1N, 1Kl. N B King.
3.27 (2m 7f 129yd ch) 1, Lord Sparky
(James Bowen, 11-2); 2, Macfin (3-1);
3, Generator City (14-1). 8 ran. NR: Peur
De Rien, Queen Of The Court. Hd, hd.
Mrs Caroline Bailey.
Jackpot: Not won. Pool of £72,157.83
carried forward to Ludlow today.
Placepot: £2,986.90. Quadpot: £138.90Kelso
Going: soft
12.03 (2m 51yd hdle) 1, Kavanaghs
Cross (N F Houlihan, 13-8 fav); 2,
Rowdy Rustler (4-1); 3, Conceroe (9-4).
7 ran. NR: Urblereagh. 2Nl, 2Nl.
I Jardine.
12.33 (2m 7f 96yd ch) 1, Breaking The Ice
(Jonathon Bewley, 7-2 fav);
2, Overcourt (4-1); 3, Behindthelines
(8-1). 10 ran. NR: Uptown Harry. Nk, 8Kl.
G Bewley.
1.03 (4m 90yd ch) 1, Big River (D R Fox,
15-2); 2, Cash To Ash (22-1); 3, Innisfree
Lad (22-1). 13 ran. 2Ol, Kl. Miss Lucinda
V Russell.1.35 (2m 7f 96yd ch) 1, Bushypark
(Thomas Dowson, 9-4); 2, Doyen
Breed (85-40 fav). 4 ran. 4Nl. P A
Kirby.
2.10 (2m 4f 189yd hdle) 1, Flower Of
Scotland (Ryan Mania, 11-4); 2, Motown
Maggie (9-4 fav); 3, Fiadh (11-1). 8 ran.
6l, 4Ol. A M Thomson.
2.43 (2m 6f 151yd hdle) 1, Grand Voyage
(Peter Kavanagh, 15-8 fav);
2, Hungry Tiger (17-2); 3, Fever Roque
(12-1). 14 ran. 3Kl, 4Kl. W Coltherd.
3.13 (2m 51yd hdle) 1, Wor Verge
(D B Hurst, 9-4 jt-fav); 2, Duty Calls (8-1);
3, Lock Down Luke (11-4). 6 ran. 1l, Ol.
S Corbett.
Placepot: £166.30. Quadpot: £61.10.Adam Hathaway,
Kit Shepardplay but I managed to
get all three games.
“I have got to realise I
have been here ten
years now and I am not
one of the young guys.”
Rob Baxter, Exeter’s
director of rugby,
confirmed that Cowan-
Dickie would lead the
team against
Montpellier on
Saturday. “If he is fit, he
will be captain next
weekend,” Baxter said.Huntingdon
Going: good (good to soft in places)
12.17 (1m 7f 171yd hdle) 1, Balco Coastal
(Nico de Boinville, 8-11 fav); 2,
Extraordinary Man (150-1); 3, Peejaybee
(15-2). 11 ran. 6l, 2Nl. N J Henderson.
12.47 (2m 7f 129yd ch) 1, Brinkley
(T Scudamore, 9-4); 2, Honest Vic (9-2);
3, Oscar Elite (5-6 fav). 4 ran.
NR: Barbados Buck’s. 1Nl, 20l. D Pipe.
1.17 (2m 4f 145yd hdle) 1, Vee Dancer
(K Brogan, 1-2 fav); 2, Cheng Gong (22-1);
3, Wrong Way Harry (20-1). 11 ran.
NR: Bembridge. 3l, 1l. R McNally.
1.52 (2m 3f 189yd ch) 1, First Flow (David
Bass, 12-1); 2, Funambule Sivola (11-2);Yesterday’s racing results
Wolverhampton
Rob Wright
4.00 Tio Mio 6.00 Alablaq
4.30 Peripeteia 6.30 Baileys Warrior
5.00 Darwell Lion 7.00 Trusty Rusty
5.30 Bibulous
Going: standard Sky Sports Racing
Draw: 5f-7f, low numbers best
4.00 Handicap
(£3,240: 1m 1f 104yd) (10)
1 (8)-0000SEMSER 35 (P,D) G L Moore 4-9-12 R Clutterbuck (5)
2 (10) 65605 MY TARGET 39 (CD) M Wigham 10-9-12 T Hamilton
3 (1)^60244 WEST SIDE GLORY 116 (H) A Murphy 3-9-10
S Cherchi (3)
3 5520-OFF THE BEAT 234 A M Thomson 7-11-10 R Mania
4 -5333RAECIUS FELIX 25 R Menzies 7-11-9 B Hughes
5 5P-50ANYWAYYOULOOKATIT 15 (D) Jonjo O'Neill 8-10-12
Jonjo O'Neill Jr
6 00000 OLD JEWRY 23 (V) D Bourke 7-10-10 A Cawley
2-1 Raecius Felix, 11-4 Upandatit, 7-2 Magna Sam, 6-1 Off The Beat, 10-1
Anywayyoulookatit, 14-1 Old Jewry.
3.15 Handicap Hurdle (£3,594: 2m 4f) (10)
1 24353 FINISK RIVER 24 D McCain 8-12-0 T Gillard (3)
2 -431PTHAT'S A GIVEN 142 N Alexander 7-11-12 B Lynn (3)
3 31RP-THE DELRAY MUNKY 303 (P) I Jardine 9-11-11N Moscrop
4 151-RBRAYHILL 36 J Ewart 6-11-11 A Doyle (5)
5 0-31PENFIN PHIL 32 (P,D) M Hammond 7-11-5 Jack Hogan (7)
6 42601 UNIVERSAL FOLLY 36 N Richards 6-11-3Mr C Rabbitt (10)
7 4-605MONSIEUR CO 148 (T) K Dalgleish 8-11-0 J Williamson
8 324-1DIAMOND STATE 33 (C) L Russell 5-11-0
Conner McCann (10)
9 335-FCASTLETOWN 207 (B,D) Miss P Robson 9-10-9T Willmott
1014252 SARVI 14 (C) J Goldie 6-10-8 T Midgley (3)
11-4 Diamond State, 4-1 Universal Folly, 5-1 Brayhill, Finisk River, 6-1 Sarvi, 14-1
Enfin Phil, 16-1 The Delray Munky, Castletown, That's A Given, 25-1 Monsieur Co.
2 (5)32-34ARCTICIAN 58 S Dow 3-9-2 L Morris
3 (6) EL JAD (P) A Brittain 3-9-2 C Hardie
4 (7)^0 HERE AT NIGHT 13 A Carroll 3-9-2 G Downing
5 (2) 53660 PAYMASTER 58 A Carroll 3-9-2 R Tate
6 (4) 3 MADAME GLITTERS 113 D O'Meara 3-8-11 J Watson
7 (1)^03660 RUBY LILY 30 (P,T) S Lycett 3-8-11 J Fanning
Evens Arctician, 6-4 Bibulous, 7-1 Madame Glitters, 16-1 El Jad, 33-1 Ruby
Lily, 50-1 Paymaster, 66-1 Here At Night.6.00 Handicap
(£4,590: 7f) (10)
1 (2) 03414 IF YOU DARE 30 (D) M Johnston 3-9-8 J Fanning
2 (4) 15311 SIR OLIVER 71 (P,C,D) C Dwyer 4-9-7 S Cherchi (3)
3 (5)-4506KING CARNEY 42 A Carroll 4-9-7 J Watson
4 (6) 40000 PARALLEL WORLD 14 (CD) K Burke 5-9-2P-L Jamin (3)
5 (3) 52100 APEX KING 11 (D) D Loughnane 7-9-2Laura Pearson (3)
6 (10)D1465ALGHEED 51 (D) M Loughnane 3-9-0 L Morris
7 (9)^55300 FLATLEY 49 A Wintle 4-9-0 T Heard (5)
8 (8)400-4LOUGH CUTRA 10 M Wigham 4-8-12 T Hamilton9 (1)24-24ALABLAQ 16 P Evans 3-8-11 C Lee
10 (7) 60600 WRATH OF HECTOR 16 (V,CD) M Appleby 4-8-5 T Ladd (3)
11-4 If You Dare, 3-1 Sir Oliver, 9-2 Alablaq, 6-1 Lough Cutra, 10-1 Algheed,
14-1 King Carney, Flatley, 16-1 Parallel World.6.30 Handicap
(£2,700: 1m 4f) (12)
1 (1) 50164 BEAT THE BREEZE 5 (P,C,D) Alice Haynes 4-9-13 K O'Neill
2 (11)^01114 ELHAFEI 163 (D) J Mackie 6-9-12 C Beasley
3 (10) 56143 VICTORY STAR 11 M Johnston 4-9-11O Stammers (5)
4 (7) 20443 PERCY WILLIS 23 J O'Keeffe 3-9-10 C Fallon
5 (8)-2430GOLD STANDARD 23 (C,D) A Carroll 5-9-9 J Watson
6 (9) 13323 MYBOYMAX J17 (D) M Hammond 3-9-7 A Brookes (7)
7 (4) 12250 EAGLE ONE 56 R Harris 3-9-7 Rossa Ryan
8 (2)^30202 BAILEYS WARRIOR 28 (H) D Faulkner 3-9-3T Heard (5)
9 (6)3-000HAVEN LADY 27 J J Quinn 3-9-0 J Hart
10 (12)0-053RESET BUTTON 24 I Williams 3-8-3 L Morris
11 (5)^05500 LOBO DEL MAR 23 (T) J Stimpson 3-8-3 Jimmy Quinn
12 (3) 00030 RAKISH PADDY 70 Mrs N Evans 3-8-3 G Rooke (3)9-2 Elhafei, 5-1 Percy Willis, 11-2 Beat The Breeze, 6-1 Victory Star, 7-1
Baileys Warrior, Gold Standard, 8-1 Reset Button, 10-1 Myboymax.7.00 Handicap
(£3,240: 5f) (11)
1 (1)1-332LIAMBA 300 (D) M Appleby 6-9-7 T Ladd (3)
2 (8) 11101 CHERISH 54 (D) A Carroll 4-9-7 Mollie Phillips (5)
3 (6) 03066 MUTABAAHY 35 (CD) A Brittain 6-9-7 C Hardie
4 (9) 14110 LA ROCA DEL FUEGO 48 (H,BF,D) G Deacon 5-9-7
T Heard (5)
5 (11)-0350GHAALIYA 48 C Banham 3-9-6 J Haynes
6 (5) 12032 GOOD EARTH 16 (D) M Herrington 4-9-5 T Eaves
7 (2) 60000 HIGHEST AMBITION 9 C Wallis 3-9-2 L Morris
8 (7) 35411 GLAMOROUS FORCE 23 (CD) R Harris 4-9-0 M Crehan (3)
9 (3)^33454 WE'RE REUNITED 34 (P,CD) R Harris 4-8-12 R Hornby
10 (10) 16400 YOU'RE COOL 11 (T,V,CD) D Shaw 9-8-11 J Peate (7)
11 (4) 11223 TRUSTY RUSTY 48 (CD) A Carroll 4-8-9 J Watson
4-1 Glamorous Force, 9-2 Cherish, 11-2 Liamba, 6-1 Good Earth, 7-1 Trusty
Rusty, 8-1 La Roca Del Fuego, 10-1 We're Reunited, 12-1 Mutabaahy.4 (3)^40600 WIN WIN POWER 9 Frank Bishop 4-9-9 W Carson
5 (2) 53460 NUSHAFREEN 23 (B) M Botti 3-9-9 C Howarth (7)
6 (9) 32106 CAREY STREET 56 (CD) Mrs L Stubbs 5-9-8
Joanna Mason (3)
7 (7) 55061 TIO MIO 23 (H,CD) D Loughnane 3-9-5 C Fallon
8 (4) 05305 ELEGANT LOVE 23 A Carroll 5-9-3 J Watson
9 (5) 10425 EMJAYTWENTYTHREE 2 (P) Alice Haynes 3-9-2 K O'Neill
10 (6)^60010 GHOSTLY 33 (B,CD) Mrs Stella Barclay 3-8-13F McManoman (3)
2-1 Tio Mio, 11-2 Emjaytwentythree, 6-1 Elegant Love, 7-1 Semser, 8-1 My
Target, 10-1 Carey Street, West Side Glory, 12-1 Ghostly.4.30 Maiden Stakes
(£3,510: 1m 1f 104yd) (11)
1 (3)000-4JUST ALBERT 103 G Deacon 4-9-7 G Bass (5)
2 (5) 0 THE WORTHY BRAT 23 A Carroll 4-9-7 J Watson
3 (2)^34000 HUGOSTHERE 67 (P) R Teal 3-9-5 G Rooke (3)
4 (1)6433-RESTRICTED AREA 342 (BF) Mrs N Evans 3-9-5
Jordan Williams (7)
5 (6) 000 SIXTY WEST 56 J Spearing 3-9-5 R Tate
6 (7)^4 TRUE WARRIOR 85 R Brisland 3-9-5 D Keenan
7 (9) 0 QUIET PRIDE 51 (H) M Herrington 5-9-2 T Eaves
8 (4) 0 AMANI 16 D & C Kubler 3-9-0 N Currie
9 (8) 550 JUSCOMINPASTY 102 (V) R Brisland 3-9-0
R Clutterbuck (5)
10 (10) 233 PERIPETEIA 16 G Boughey 3-9-0 K Shoemark
11 (11) TYPEWRITTEN A Balding 3-9-0 R Hornby
1-2 Peripeteia, 4-1 Typewritten, 5-1 Restricted Area, 20-1 Amani, 33-1 True
Warrior, Hugosthere, The Worthy Brat, 66-1 others.5.00 Handicap (3-Y-O: £4,590: 1m 1f) (5)
1 (1)1-00DARWELL LION 59 D O'Meara 9-7 J Watson
2 (2) 46210 TRICOLORE 28 (P,BF,CD) M Botti 9-7 D E Hogan
3 (5)^04305 HAZEL 16 (E) D Loughnane 8-13 Rossa Ryan
4 (4) 2131 ENFRANCHISE 10 M Johnston 8-13 A Breslin (5)
5 (3)^00204 SWINTON NOON 4 (V) M Appleby 8-10 T Ladd (3)
15-8 Enfranchise, 2-1 Tricolore, 4-1 Darwell Lion, 8-1 Hazel, Swinton Noon.5.30 Novice Stakes (£3,510: 7f) (7)
1 (3) 41 BIBULOUS 24 H Candy 3-9-9 R HornbyR Sutherland
Worcester1
J Afoa
Bristol3E Stooke
Wasps5
M Itoje
Saracens4L Cowan-Dickie
Exeter2R Ackermann
Gloucester6B Youngs
Leicester9C Harris
GloucesterB Janse vanRensburg 13London
Irish12F Smith
Worcester10L Ludlam
Northampton7
J Augustus
Northampton8O Hassell-Collins
London Irish11
D van der Merwe
Worcester14
T Green
Harlequins15Luke Cowan-Dickie
added another string to
his bow when he
captained Exeter Chiefs
to a 18-15 win over
Saracens on Saturday
and was handed the job
for their European
campaign.
The hooker, 28,
returned after seven
weeks out with an ankle
injury to lead his side to
their second home win
of the league season atSandy Park. This was
Cowan-Dickie’s first
match as the captain of
his club but his
experience with the
British & Irish Lions in
South Africa last
summer, where he
played all three Tests,
added to his leadership
credentials.
“The Lions was a
massive experience,” he
said. “Going on the tour,
I didn’t think I wouldStat of the week
to consciously change the habit of a
lifetime by generating positive instead
of negative thoughts.
The idea that the brain was just
another muscle clicked with him.
Maybe he could rebuild it, just as he
had built his muscular profile over
years in the gym. Maybe he could
rewire it?
The daily disciplines he had
acquired as a professional sportsman
could be transferred across to this
new regime. It was slow, incremental
work, but he was prepared to accept
that. There was no overnight miracle.
Throughout his teens and twenties he
had suffered horrendous panic
attacks. When he wasn’t dealing with
these immediate crises, there was a
more generalised fear and anxiety
and paranoia hovering in his
consciousness.
Competing week in, week out at the
cutting edge of high-end sport
exacerbated the condition. He could
be seized by a paralysing attack just
minutes before going out to play an
international. He would seek refugein a toilet cubicle in the dressing
room, hiding away from his team-
mates, then re-emerge with his game
face on just in time for the national
anthems. These behavioural patterns
were too deep-rooted to be erased
with medication and talk therapy
alone. So he dug in for the long haul.
As if that were not enough, he
spent three to four seasons, between
2017 and 2020, with a mystery
medical condition that no amount of
expertise could seemingly solve. It left
him with his lung capacity at about
50 per cent while trying to survive the
gruelling aerobic demands of his
sport. He could barely survive a
training session at times.
This was added to the mental
turmoil he was striving might and
main to placate. It brought him to the
brink of retirement and in September
2020 he walked into the office of
Johann van Graan and told the
Munster head coach that he was
quitting with immediate effect. A last
throw of the dice in November, a visitto a specialist in London, finally
identified the problem. Four months
later he was skating through a gap
and scoring a try against England in
the Six Nations at Aviva Stadium.
By then he had also emerged out of
the long black tunnel in his mind too.
The war is not over but he has been
winning battle after battle. He is more
at peace with himself now than he
has ever been. It is the achievement of
which he is most proud.
At training a few weeks ago he gave
out to a team-mate for throwing him
a dodgy pass. Quick as a flash the
team-mate retorted: “Is that Hank
speaking to me or Keith?” Earls loved
it. He burst out laughing. It was Keith
speaking; it was definitely Earls who
was having the last
laugh.
6 Fight or Flight: My
Life, My Choices by
Keith Earls with
Tommy Conlon is
published by Reach
Sport, priced
£20qualified to give advice. “I do know
my story is important and that it’s
helping a lot of people,” he says. “But
I don’t have the answers, I’m still on
my own journey.” Visiting classrooms
is something that he envisages. “Yeah,
yeah it is, because I wish I had it
when I was 12, 13, that I knew what
these emotions were and how I could
understand [them better].”
He keeps a dictionary handy in his
office when he needs to check up on a
word. Becoming a reader helped him
navigate his way out of the darkness
that had shrouded him for so many
years. To help himself get better, he
started researching the bipolar
condition, hoovering up information.
One book led to another. He
researched the various medications
that were prescribed, discovering the
gut-brain connection and cutting out
gluten as part of a nutritional revamp.
“Eating clean,” he says, “has made a
huge difference.”
He also began keeping a journal,
recording his thoughts and feelings,
and a gratitude diary. He also began
“
He could be seized by a
paralysing panic attack
minutes before going
out to play, seeking
refuge in the toilet
Earls goes over
for one of the
34 tries that he
has amassed
for IrelandDuhan van der Merwe
(Worcester)
A threat from anywhere
on the pitch, Van der
Merwe broke through
from just outside his 22
to set up Worcester
Warriors’ opening score
against Wasps, before
running in from his
own half for a try. The
Scotland wing made a
colossal 190 metres with
ball in hand, displaying
typical pace and power.Player of
the weekTry of the week
Adam Radwan
(Newcastle v London
Irish)
Radwan, right, received
the ball in his own half.
With a broken field in
front of him, the
Falcons wing scythed
through a disorganised
Irish defence. Even the
covering Ollie Hassell-
Collins, no slouch
himself, could not stop
the rapid Radwan from
going under the posts.f F t I c C hPAUL GILHAM/GETTY IMAGESTMO (the monday overview)
Cowan-Dickie to keep captaincy after winning start
London Irish’s
points tally
was their
highest in a league game
since February 201543
Team of the week