As far as I’m concerned Fontwell [scene of the whipping misdemeanour] is over. I’m not going to change the way I ride as I’m out there to win but I’ll have to do that within the rules.”The horse ran sweeter today but I kicked on him a fair way out as I did at Fontwell, the only difference being he kept running for me today.”Some will argue that this success proves that McCoy can achieve results with recalcitrant horses without resorting to the full force of his armoury. Punters, who perhaps had taken note of McCoy’s opinion prior to yesterday’s race at Taunton that success on Bamapour would be hindered by the more restrained whip action he must now employ, allowed the eight-year-old to start as the 10-1 outsider of the six-runner field.
However, he battled on strongly after leading three flights out to get the better of Papua by a couple of lengths, with McCoy resorting to his stick only a handful of times.”He felt a bit sweeter and fresher today as the trainer’s a superb genius,” McCoy said, “but I rode him exactly the same way as I ride any other horse and that’s to win as that’s my job.”And if Mr Pipe keeps on improving him in this way, he’ll end up being favourite for the Champion Hurdle,” he added, tongue lodged in cheek.”I don’t want to look back. CONTRARY TO his own expectations, Tony McCoy was yesterday able gently to extract the best out of the reluctant hurdler Bamapour, the Martin Pipe-trained horse responsible for the champion jockey’s 14-day suspension for misuse of the whip. WELSH NATIONAL: 4-1 Dom Samourai, 5-1 Tamarindo (from 7-1), 7-1 Earth Summit, 8-1 Eudipe, 10-1 Macgeorge, Seven Towers, 11-1 Fiddling The Facts, 12-1 Ottowa, The Grey Monk, Coome Hill, 14-1 others.

TAMARINDO, THE favourite for today’s feature race at Cheltenham, was the subject of backing yesterday for the Welsh National with the sponsors, Coral, cutting him to 5-1 from 7-1. “Since we opened our book, all the money has been for the Martin Pipe trio, which is not surprising given his record,” Simon Clare, of Coral, said. He took 4 for 18 in a devastating first spell and gave Pakistan the advantage they held at the close.”Its a good beginning for me because we won the crucial toss and hopefully our batsmen will give us a good total to force the win,” Moin said.First day; Pakistan won tossZIMBABWE – First InningsG J Rennie c Ijaz b Waqar 3G W Flower lbw b Waqar 7M Goodwin c Moin b Waqar 10*A D R Campbell c Yousaf b Waqar 5A Flower not out 60N Johnson c and b Shoaib 14C Wishart c Salim b Saqlain 28H H Streak c Wasim b Saqlain 19H K Olanga c Shoaib b Saqlain 3A Huckle c Saeed b Saqlain 13M Mbangwa c Ijaz b Saqlain 2Extras (b4, lb3, nb12) 19Total 183Fall: 1-3, 2-16, 3-22, 4-28, 5-55, 6-104, 7-136, 8-140, 9-170.Bowling: Wasim Akram 20-6-42-0; Waqar Younis 18-3-54-4; Shoaib Akhtar 15-1-48-1; Saqlain Mushtaq 13.5-3-32-5.. Murray Goodwin was next to go with his score on 10, edging an outswinger from Waqar to Moin.Zimbabwe’s captain Alistair Campbell started with a boundary but could not keep a short-pitched ball from Waqar down and was caught by Yousuf Yohanna for five.Waqar then trapped the opener Grant Flower lbw for seven to put Zimbabwe in grave trouble at 29 for 4. The left-hander Andrew Flower remained not out, adding 60.
Pakistan’s bid to level the series had suffered an early blow when their captain, Aamir Sohail, pulled out before the start citing a severe headache and fever, although sources later suggested he walked out following a row with selectors.The wicketkeeper Moin Khan replaced Sohail as captain, won the toss and sent Zimbabwe in on a grassy pitch.Waqar struck with the first ball of his second over, dismissing Gavin Rennie for three.

Waqar took four early wickets in a burst of 25 balls to put Zimbabwe in deep trouble at 29 for 4, while Saqlain achieved a career-best 5 for 32 to wipe out the middle and tail. Bad light prevented Pakistan starting their reply as play ended 16 minutes early. THE OFF-SPINNER Saqlain Mushtaq took five wickets and pace bowler Waqar Younis added four as Pakistan dismissed Zimbabwe for 183 runs on the opening day of the second Test in Lahore yesterday. With Ambrose off the field after tea with a strained groin muscle, he and Boucher checked the West Indies and, after Boucher went, he and Donald accumulated even more valuable runs.First day; West Indies won tossSOUTH AFRICA – First InningsG Kirsten c Jacobs b Walsh 29H H Gibbs b Walsh 2J H Kallis c Hooper b Walsh 30D J Cullinan b Dillon 4W J Cronje run out 21J N Rhodes c Hooper b Ambrose 17S M Pollock c Williams b Ambrose 28M V Boucher c Hooper b McLean 17P L Symcox not out 30A A Donald not out 27Extras (lb5, w1, nb12) 18Total (for 8 wickets) 223Fall: 1-6, 2-52, 3-67, 4-67, 5-89, 6-140, 7-142, 8-175.Did not bat: D J Terbrugge.Bowling: Ambrose 17-6-28-2; Walsh 20-0-74-3; McLean 16-3-62-1; Dillon 10.4-1-54-1.Umpires: R Koertzen and D Shepherd..