The hoop’s great day in the saddle followed a Boxing Day double at Randwick courtesy of Serenissima and Referees, both for Darley Australia’s head trainer, Peter Snowden.

McEvoy landed the treble and a race-to-race double on the Adam Spitzer-trained Smart Punch after wins on Chiamaka for Paul Perry and Altavilla for Snowden.

And it was Snowden who was happiest to see McEvoy enjoying a winning run.

“He’s a very hard worker and it was always going to take a little while for him to adjust to Australian racing, but we’re starting to form a good combination,” he said.

“He’s had his critics but Kerrin is riding so well at the moment and nobody deserves the success more than he does.”

Multiple suspensions have interrupted McEvoy’s return to Australia from the UK in August to be the No. 1 rider for Darley Australia and he has not only come under fire from stewards but from punters and the media alike.

McEvoy, who won this year’s Caulfield Cup on All The Good for Godolphin, took the treble in his stride and said it was crucial for him to continue working hard.

“Everything’s going well but I’ll just be keeping my head down and putting in the hours,” he said.

“It was always going to take a bit of time to re-adjust but I’m feeling very good about my riding.”

Spitzer praised McEvoy for his patient ride on Smart Punch who was held up until the last 100m in the Golden Slipper On Sale Handicap (1300m) before bursting through to defeat Triple Down by a short head.

“Kerrin was brilliant, he never panicked at any stage and when the gap came he pounced, he’s a top rider,” Spitzer said.

Smart colt Chiamaka, who started at $4.40, benefited from a perfectly rated front-running ride by McEvoy to easily account for $2.60 favourite Tinjirarni in the Caravan And Camping Show April 18-25 Handicap (1100m).

McEvoy took advantage of barrier one, driving Chiamaka to the lead.

And on straightening, Tinjirarni was travelling fourth and was looming as a danger but Chiamaka kicked in the final 200m and quickly put paid to his rivals, going on to defeat the favourite by 1 1/4 lengths.

Stable representative Nathan Perry said he expected Chiamaka to run a bold race second-up this preparation following his fifth to Putheron at Gosford on December 11 over 1100m.

“His work at home has been very good leading into this and we were quietly confident and Kerrin gave him every chance with a perfect ride,” Perry said.

Herald Sun

Just when Australian tennis needed a shot of optimism, Lleyton Hewitt and Dellacqua will team to make their comebacks at next week’s Hopman Cup in Perth.

Hewitt returns to court for the first time since hip surgery in August, and Dellacqua hasn’t played since September because of a torn ligament in her shoulder.

While Dellacqua’s early exit from the Beijing Olympics was blamed on a case of service yips, the 23-year-old revealed her shoulder had become so tender she would wince brushing her hair.

As part of her rehabilitation, she spent seven weeks at the AIS in Canberra, with access to constant medical and physiotherapy services.

After video analysis, Dellacqua has been forced to change her service action, which was a threat to her longevity in the sport.

“It was getting my shoulder in an impingement position, where I was in a lot of pain,” she said.

“We had a look at my serve and I’ve changed it a fair bit.

“I’ve had a few weeks to practise, but I’ve still got a long way to go. It was something, though, for my future that needed to be done.”

Coming back ranked 53 in the world, Dellacqua has been granted a wildcard into Sydney’s Medibank International on January 11.

The field includes six of the world’s top 10 and 13 of the top 20, headlined by Serena Williams.

With a career peak at No. 39 this year, Dellacqua said it was a chance to measure herself.

“The field always has depth, you’re always going to play someone that’s top 50 in the world,” she said.

Dellacqua hopes to pick up some pointers from Hewitt at the Hopman Cup. They open their campaign against Germany on Monday, January 5.

“I’m 23, I’m getting to the years where I think I can improve and get higher (in the rankings), so, I can learn so much from a player like Lleyton,” Dellacqua said.

“The Hopman Cup is the perfect preparation, because I haven’t played for so long, I really do need as many matches under my belt as I can get. Lleyton’s had hip surgery and he’s been out for a few months as well, so, I think matches are just what we need.

“I’m expecting the first match to be a bit scratchy, but I want to keep improving, and by Aussie Open time, be hitting my straps.”

THE first serve is still seven days away, yet, already the Brisbane International is shaping as a useful form guide for the Australian Open.

World No. 3 Novak Djokovic and women’s No. 2 Ana Ivanovic can make significant strides towards grand slam victories if they perform strongly in Brisbane, which will be played on the same plexicushion surface as at Melbourne Park.

The tournament’s predecessor, the Australian Women’s Hardcourts, attracted some of the world’s best players to the Gold Coast, but not once in its 12-year history did the winner back up at the Australian Open.

That could all change next month with Djokovic joined in the men’s draw by big names Jo-Wilfried Tsonga, Robin Soderling, Tomas Berdych, Mardy Fish and Richard Gasquet.

Ivanovic’s threats include Victoria Azarenka, Marion Bartoli, Daniela Hantuchova, Na Li, Amelie Mauresmo and Queenslander Sam Stosur.

Lleyton Hewitt and Casey Dellacqua to lead Australia | Herald Sun

Josiah got the better of Australian national team rider Jason Niblett and his Melbourne-based Malaysian team-mate, Azizul Hasni Awang, in the keirin final. Another member of the Australian sprint team, Scott Sunderland, was placed fourth.

The respective winners of the heats advanced to the final and Josiah was pleased to have come out tops in his pet event.

He also won the keirin competition in the Perth Grand Prix last November and chalked up a major upset to become the first non-Australian rider to win the Melbourne Cup on Wheels event last week.

Josiah was also the only Malaysian cyclist to reach the 200m sprint final and he finished fourth in the race won by Shane Perkins of Australia in 11.32.

The sprint and keirin are UCI-sanctioned events and offered ranking points to the riders.

”Niblett is currently one of the fastest Australians. He won medals in the last three World Cups and I am pleased to have finished ahead of him,” said Josiah from Tasmania yesterday.

“I’m quite suprised with my form as I’m still kind of sick with flu. But I guess I have been doing my homework well and I have also taken care of myself well.”

Josiah did not race in the team sprint. The Malaysian trio of Mohd Edrus Yunus, Azizul and Rizal Tisin finished third behind New Zealand and Australia.

Another rising talent in Malaysian track cycling, Fatehah Mustapa, earned cheers with victory in the 1,000m sprint final.

And Josiah’s winning streak also has a lot to do with the performances of his team-mates in the track team.

“I’m enjoying the competitition and racing with my team-mates. It’s good that there is one person from our side who is winning races,” he added.

The Tasmanian Christmas Carnivals circuit continues with another meet at the Launceston Silverdome tomorrow.

“It’s part of the annual year-end track meetings between Australia and New Zealand but they have invited the Malaysian and Hong Kong teams this time. There are about 10 or 11 races running in a single day and each of us try to do a few races,” said Josiah.

Cycling: Josiah wins his third successive race in Australia

Clarke has expensive tastes – buying fiancee Lara Bingle a $300,000 Aston Martin for Christmas – but he also has common sense in spades.

His rise from Pup to Top Dog is assured after he provided the batting glue (88 off 208 balls) that stuck Australia’s wonky top order together in the most important Test match of the year.

Clarke copped some flak on Boxing Day when he had compiled a painstaking 36 off 157 balls which had some MCG fans nodding off in their seats.

His cautious day-one knock included an incredible 132 dot balls, making sure he didn’t fall for South Africa’s bait of bowling wide of the wicket to induce rash shots.

With every run likely to be gold on a difficult MCG pitch and a slow outfield, Clarke made certain he was there at stumps, which is more than could be said for Michael Hussey and Andrew Symonds.

After a well-earned sleep, Clarke returned to the MCG a different man and smashed anything wide or full to the boundary with the full force of his flashing blade and scorched 52 off 51 balls Saturday morning.

Reversing his plans of the first day, Clarke decided attack was the best form of defence and quickly showed his intent by hoisting a short ball from Makhaya Ntini over the fine leg fence.

“It’s a very good example of just hanging in there,” former Test captain Mark Taylor said in television commentary.

“Yesterday (Friday) he couldn’t hit them off the square.

“It turns around as a batsman and Michael Clarke has given a great example of that in this innings.”

Clarke had gone from gritty to swashbuckling and it was only his disappearing batting partners at the other end that prevented him from scoring his first Boxing Day Test century.

Nevertheless, it was still his highest score at the MCG and an innings that could be invaluable in the context of the series.

The flashy 27-year-old was being hailed as Australia’s next Test captain before he had earned the tag – in fact, before he had even played a Test.

Now he has earned it with his toughness both on and off the field.

He has now played Test cricket under Ricky Ponting for more than four years and has all the tools of the trade to become Australia’s 43rd Test captain.

Clarke proves he has mettle to lead – Cricket – Fox Sports

The 30-metre maxi finished the 628-nautical mile race down the Australian eastern seaboard in one day 20 hours 34 minutes and 14 seconds.

Wild Oats XI holds the race record of one day 18 hours 40 minutes 10 seconds set in its 2005 win.

The record was under threat up until early Sunday when the prevailing winds subsided in the Derwent River.

Another maxi, 2003 winner Skandia, finished second, one hour and seven minutes behind Wild Oats XI, while Quest was leading the race on handicap.

Wild Oats XI last year equalled the record of the three successive Sydney-Hobart wins of Morna from 1946-48.

Sunday’s record-breaking triumph was not without incident.

The Mark Richards-skippered vessel was forced to stop temporarily late Saturday to free a two-metre (6.5 foot) shark from its rudder.

Richards said the collision with the shark proved a godsend.

He said his boat had underperformed after picking something up on its keel leaving Sydney Harbour on Friday.

Richards said having to stop and reverse to clear the shark also removed whatever was dragging on the yacht.

“The second we got him off, the boat was back to its old self,” Richards told reporters.

He said his crew knew upon leaving Sydney Harbour there was something impeding the yacht.

The skipper said he had contemplated sending a crew member over the side to inspect the keel.

“But we just never stopped. When you are doing 20-25 knots all the time it’s a hard thing to work out what to actually do,” he said.

“So we were waiting for the opportunity but in the end we didn’t have one — we had to do it anyway.”

Wild Oats XI crew member Peter Shipway said competitors Skandia had them worried throughout the blue water classic.

“She was very competitive against us and we just couldn’t nail her for a long, long while,” Shipway said.

“It was only yesterday (Saturday) when it (winds) got a bit light and flukey that we got in front of her.”

Skandia led Wild Oats XI for much of the race but its slight advantage was wiped out late Saturday.

“Once they sailed up to us when the wind shut down last night we knew that was going to be the end of the fun,” Skandia skipper Grant Wharington said.

This year Wild Oats XI did not have a major international maxi to compete against, with the ongoing Volvo Ocean Race depriving the Australian event of some powerful overseas entrants.

Ichi Ban was third across the line ahead of ASM Shockwave 5 and Limit with the remainder of the 2008 fleet expected to finish the race in the coming days.

AFP:

Those batsmen, of course, were their bowlers, whose tail-end exploits empowered them when their turn came with the ball, particularly Peter Siddle. It is nothing new for Australia’s tail to score quality runs, but the manner in which they did it in the morning session set the tone: first extremely aggressively (46 runs in the first six overs of the day) and then calmly, as the startlingly mature Michael Clarke repeatedly fed Siddle singles with the first ball of the over. It is a much-debated tactic, and has been since Steve Waugh patented it, but here it served to inform the South Africans that the game was being played on Australia’s terms – and, probably, that Australia were extremely happy with a score of just under 400 given the sluggish outfield.

Siddle, who faced 49 of 71 balls in that last-wicket stand with Clarke, was boosted further by a splendid piece of captaincy from Ricky Ponting. It takes huge courage to not give the new ball to a man who took 11 of your 14 wickets in the last Test, but Ponting preferred Siddle, on his home ground, to Mitchell Johnson. Siddle bounded in like he wanted to run to the ends of the earth for his captain. He found an extra yard of speed, peaking at around 93mph, and claimed Neil McKenzie in his first over with a sharply cutting delivery that might make McKenzie, a disciple of leaving the ball outside off stump, consider renouncing his faith for the rest of the tour at least.

The big wicket, inevitably, was that of McKenzie’s opening partner Smith, who once again was hugely impressive. He has the same hulking presence of old, but he is a lighter man these days, both in mind and body: at the crease he is limber and no longer grips his bottom hand like an insecure boyfriend. Being made South Africa’s youngest captain meant that, not unlike a child prodigy, he did his growing up in public, and so there were inevitable Drew Barrymore moments. But now he is a magnificent specimen of masculinity, sport’s take on Tyler Durden. And he’s still only 27.

Because Smith has such obvious bat-for-your-life qualities, there is sometimes an inclination to think of him as a grinder; he is anything but. He is an enforcer, who is loath to miss any scoring opportunities: among openers of the last 20 years, only Virender Sehwag and Sanath Jayasuriya have a higher strike-rate than Smith’s 61.05. He was down to 54.86 today, mainly because of an elbow injury that would have forced 99.94% of men out of the game, and partly because he was increasingly deprived of his off-side oxygen. When Siddle offered him some with a deliberately wider delivery, Smith gulped too hard and was caught behind.

Once the South African head went, the body twitched and began to collapse. Logically, it is hard to see how South Africa can avoid defeat now, with a deficit just shy of 200 runs and only three wickets, but logic has been at a premium during this magnificent last fortnight of Test cricket. Given the events of Perth, Australia will not be comfortable until their lead reaches 500. But if, as seems likely, we go to a decider at Sydney, this already sensational series will enter a whole new dimension.

Rob Smyth: 3-D bowlers put Australia back in the picture against South Africa | Sport | guardian.co.uk

Tasmania police said Webber was airlifted to hospital where he is being treated for a broken leg and other injuries. His condition is believed to be serious but not life-threatening.

The accident happened on a remote road south east of the capital city Hobart at about 12.40pm local time, police said.

Webber was taking part in the Mark Webber Pure Tasmania Challenge, a 250-kilometre endurance event consisting of mountain bike riding, kayaking and trekking.

Sergeant Jon Ford, of Tasmania Police, said: “At 12.40pm we received reports of a collision between a bicycle and a motor vehicle on the Fortescue Bay Road on the Tasman Peninsula.

“The collision was initially attended by paramedics attached to the event.

“He was airlifted from the scene by helicopter and taken to the Royal Hobart Hospital where he is now being treated for serious but not life-threatening injuries.

“He suffered a broken leg and other injuries and is reported to be in a stable condition.”

A Red Bull Racing statement said: “Mark will remain in Tasmania for a few days before continuing his recovery in the UK.

“While it looks like he’s out of the winter testing programme, we fully expect Mark to make the starting grid in Melbourne next March.

“Mark has said he’s relieved to know the driver of the motor vehicle was uninjured and expressed his thanks to the many well wishes from family, friends and supporters.

“Everyone at Red Bull Racing would like to add their best wishes to Mark and hope for his speedy recovery.”

Webber finished 11th in the Formula One drivers’ world championship standings this year.

Telegraph