Overdose (pictured) won’t be in action this Saturday, but the six furlong Sprint Cup at Haydock Park still has a terrific line-up. A win for the antepost favourite, High Standing, would see comeback jockey Kieren Fallon steal the headlines in the Sunday papers.

The Group One race isn’t open to juveniles, and was won by the French trained African Rose last year at 7/2. In the last thirty years only one six year old has won, Nuclear Debate, so it’s hardly surprising to see huge odds alongside the elder horses on your antepost list. Judd Street, Al Qasi, Asset and War Artist will attempt to defy lofty odds.

The most successful trainer in this race, John Dunlop, doesn’t hold any entries this year. The going is forecast to be good to firm.

Will it be a fairytale comeback for Fallon? Does the form of the Betfair Cup (Goodwood) hold the key to finding the winner here? Let’s cast our eye over the fancied runners.

4/1 High Standing

Won the Wokingham Stakes at Royal Ascot and hasn’t been beaten all year. William Haggas was forced to retire the previous favourite, King’s Apostle, but still has a great chance at landing the spoils with High Standing. If Kieren Fallon does indeed take the ride, you could see this one being sent off as short as 15/8. For that reason it looks a great back-to-lay prospect.

A Fallon Group One winner would be fantastic news for racing, so we can let this win at any price. His last ride in a Group One was when he won the 2007 Arc on Dylan Thomas.

9/2 Fleeting Spirit

Beat off the game Borderlescott in the Temple Stakes here last year, breaking the track record in the process. She missed the Nunthorpe due to a set back, but has been working well on the gallops lately. If she can reproduce the form of her July Cup win, she must have a big chance.

6/1 Finjaan

Weakened in the 2000 Guineas, so dropped in trip since. Well backed in the Betfair Cup over seven furlongs and has an outstanding chance again here. The three year old has run only seven times, and keeps on improving. Balthazaar’s Gift has won since then and Finjaan will also be receiving 2lbs from his rivals. 

Difficult to find any negatives, and with the Tregoning stable in good health, he looks a good bet to me at 6/1 with Bet365 and Blue Square.

8/1 Main Aim

One of the so-called ‘bankers’ at Glorious Goodwood, Main Aim finished last in the Betfair Cup at 6/5. He banged his head on the stalls that day, but the subsequent break should do him good. That said, he still has to reverse July Cup form with Fleeting Spirit, but at least the price is right.

12/1 Corrybrough

Only fifth on his seasonal debut at Lingfield this month, but has been backed from 20s for this race which is a good sign. He was fourth last year, only beaten by about a length. Illness and injury has kept him off the racecourse for a year, but the signs are that he has come on for his outing on the sand.

Trainer Henry Candy also saddled the winner of the Great St Wilfrid in the shape of Markab.

Can make the frame.

16/1 J J The Jet Plane

Moved to Richard Hannon‘s yard for ‘personal reasons’, meaning we won’t be seeing Kevin Shea in the saddle again. Poor in the Betfair Cup, but that was over seven furlongs. ‘J J’ has a touch of class about him, but he may be another star suffering from the dreaded ‘Dubai Bounce’.

20/1 Regal Parade

Stayed on strongly in the Hungerford to finish second, and won the Ayr Gold Cup last year for Dandy Nicholls. You have to keep on the right side of this trainer in the big sprint races, but Regal Parade isn’t classy enough to land this.

20/1 Triple Aspect

This £43,000 purchase was second in the Coral Charge, from a plum draw. Owner Harry Findlay probably has his big bucks down on High Standing.

25/1 Art Connoisseur

Provided Hayley Turner with her first ride in a Group One, and beat some decent horses in the Golden Jubilee at 20/1. That form isn’t brilliant considering it was the richest race at Royal Ascot this year, and the colt had everything in the race to his favour. Yes the price looks gigantic this time out, but it would surprise me if he made the frame.

25/1 Heart Shaped

Fourth in the 1000 Guineas, but this filly by Storm Cat hasn’t done much since to suggest she can be competitive here.

Betting Advice:

The bookies are only paying three places in the Sprint Cup, so why not dutch both FINJAAN (6/1) and CORRYBROUGH (12/1).

Odds correct as of 31 August

bookies.com is your best bet for comparing antepost horse racing odds:

Betfred Sprint Cup Betting

Ladbrokes St Leger Betting

Arc De Triomphe Betting

Kasbah Bliss, winner of last year’s Group 3 Prix Gladiateur and unplaced favourite in the 2009 World Hurdle, is making his reappearance at Deauville tomorrow in a Group 2 contest over 1m4f.

François Doumen is better known over the Channel for his jumpers, but he has already sent out two winners at this month’s Deauville festival. On Verra and Green Rock completed a double ten days ago on the sand course, but tomorrow’s Lucien Barriere Grand Prix De Deauville will be run on Kasbah Bliss’ preferred going – good.

The seven year old is a 13/2 shot for next year’s World Hurdle, but his previous runs have suggested that the undulations of Cheltenham aren’t to his liking. He proved at Longchamp last year that he was also a top class horse on the flat.

He won’t be fully tuned up for tomorrow’s race, so 10/1 is probably a fair price. 

Andre Fabre saddles the 6/4 favourite, Ideal World, who is by Kingmambo. He took the spoils in a listed contest over course and distance earlier this month and should hold off the 5/2 chance Pouvoir Absolu on that form.

Christophe Soumillon has just picked up a ban, and is having a wretched week, so we probably shouldn’t back Wing Express.

Mark Johnston‘s raider, Jukebox Jury, looks of interest at the 3/1 mark. He receives a handy 5kg allowance from the others. The trainer’s last winner in France came in the shape of Laa Rayb, exactly one year ago.

The Great Voltigeur Stakes was a strangely-run affair, but Jukebox Jury ran out a decent winner at Haydock earlier this month. A repeat of that performance will surely see him involved in the finish.

bookies.com is your best bet for comparing international horse racing odds:

Deauville Betting

2009 World Hurdle Betting

Ladbrokes St Leger Betting

Arc De Triomphe Betting

After two straight victories at Warwick Hills and Firestone, Tiger Woods goes into the USPGA as 7/4 favourite. Tiger has produced a couple of stunning displays, winning two tournaments on the trot in response to missing the cut at the Open last Month. In fact, Bet365 are offering 12/1 on Woods falling short of the mark once again, although odds of 1/16 on Tiger reaching the weekend’s play may be a bit short for most punters. Tiger will be focused on bringing his very best game into the first round and Coral’s 10/1 on tiger being outright leader after the first round may be the best value on Woods.

Despite Tiger’s short price there is still plenty of each way betting. Defending Champion Padraig Harrington at 25/1 will be close on Woods’ tail whilst Lee Westwood will as usual be attempting to claim that ever elusive major title and at 30/1 the return on a place would still be substantial. However, what seems to be the most attractive each way punt is on Open Champion Stewart Cink, at 55/1 with William Hill he is good value. He should bring his form into the USPGA and he will be full of confidence heading into the first round.

There is also, of course, match betting available on the USPGA. Anthony Kim takes on Jim Furyk over the 72 holes. He is 10/11 to beat Furyk and he averages 25 yards more than Furyk when driving which will give him a real advantage from the tee at Hazletine. Meanwhile, Furyk has looked poor ever since he played a very sloppy final round of 76 at the Open last month. Following this he finished 25th in a weak field at the Buick Open and again went home in 51st place after a poor performance at Firestone on Sunday. Robet Allenby looks good value to beat Luke Donald in their match bet at 10/11, as his lack of length will be a real hindrance on the Hazeltine course whilst Allenby has the ability to hit it long and straight with good consistency. Allenby also offers good value in the top Australian markets. He has been playing extremely well tee to green which has secured him three top five finishes this season. Meanwhile 7/2 favourite Ogilvy looks shaken after coming just 22nd at Firestone, whilst Allenby came third.

Check all the USPGA betting here.

As soon as it was possible for Arsenal to draw Celtic in the Champions League qualification stage then it seemed almost inevitable that the two British clubs would meet. Fate obliged this morning and paired up the two clubs that will provide amusement and anticipation for most British football fans excepting those who actually support the two clubs who may be feeling somewhat exasperated.

Elsewhere Lyon take on Anderlecht, FC Timisoara take on VFB Stuttgart, Sporting meet Fiorentina and Panathinaikos will play Atletico Madrid. Stuttgart will be very pleased with their draw; there were some dangerous teams in the unseeded category and they have picked up by far the weakest team in the form of the Romanian Timisoara.

Other match ups are a bit tighter, although Atletico Madrid will fancy their chances against Greek counterparts Panathinaikos, whilst Anderlecht who are 1000/1 on Betfair to win the Champions league may struggle against Lyon.

The draw hasn’t had a huge effect on the Champions League outright betting although Celtic have been pushed out to 250/1 with the bookies after their draw against Arsenal. Barcelona remain joint 5/1 favourites with Real Madrid followed by a trio of English sides in the form of Chelsea 7/1, Man U 7/1 and Liverpool at 10/1. Arsenal meanwhile remain at 16/1 to win the Champions league despite the tough draw against Celtic.

You can see all the Champions League odds here.

The Championship begins this weekend and with it will come a flood of football match bets as regular football returns to our televisions. However, it seems that the stand out match of the weekend is to be played between Newcastle and West Brom. Both teams suffered relegation from the premiership last season and therefore they will be looking to bounce back up into the top flight.

However, where this may be a realistic prospect for the Baggies, for the Magpies it is quite a different matter. The problems that sent Newcastle down last season, rather than being dispelled over the summer have instead escalated. Owner Mike Ashley has been desperately trying to sell the club whilst both players as well as manager, Chris Hughton, are uncertain of their future at the club.

The club have been inefficient at selling their players which has meant that the club’s parachute payments will be spent on wages rather than restructuring to meet the demands of the Championship. The team have embarrassed themselves on the pitch in pre season matches, losing to Leyton Orient 6-1 whilst when playing Huddersfield the entire team were involved in a twenty man brawl.

There will be no incentive for the Newcastle players to perform on Saturday. Caretaker manager, Chris Hughton, has been assured that his position is only temporary and he will therefore have great difficulty controlling the unsettled players in the dressing room.

Meanwhile, West Brom are in a far more secure position, they have a permanent manager in the form of Roberto Di Matteo who has taken over from Tony Mowbray. They have also brought in a new striker in the form of Simon Cox, who scored 32 goals for Swindon Town last season. The team will be well prepared for the start of this season and should be heavy favourites to beat a shambolic Newcastle side.

However, West Brom, despite hosting the fixture at the Hawthorns this weekend are 13/10 to win the game. This seems a very generous price as they should really be odds on playing at home against Newcastle on the first day of the season. Newcastle meanwhile are 5/2 and the draw is marked up at 12/5. Check out all the different markets on the game here or take a look at the odds of all of this weekends Championship games here.

The Bridgestone Invitational begins at midday tomorrow and unsurprisingly Tiger Woods has been installed as heavy favourite at 7/4. However, for once there may be some justification behind the short price of Woods. Tiger has an impeccable record at Firestone, having twice won the tournament three years on the trot, between 1999 and 2001 as well as between 2005 and 2007. He holds the course records of -9 over 18 holes and a remarkable -21 over the full 72, both of which he recorded back in 2000. He’ll want to build on his win at Warwick Hills to further dispel his Turnberry demons and if that is not incentive enough, there’s a $1.4 million paycheque for the winner. However, he is still very short at 7/4 and whether or not he is value at that price there will still be good value in the each way markets.

Mickelson at 18/1 and Furyk at 33/1 follow Woods in the betting, however neither seem to pose true value. Mickleson, who has a poor record at Firestoen, looks short at 18/1 as does Furyk, who played very poorly at the Buick Open last week. Lee Westwood, however, is also priced at 33/1 and looks good value for a place this week. Despite not winning in two years, he still manages to place regularly, coming third at Turnberry and running up this time last year at Firestone. He therefore has good memories of the course and will be looking to challenge Woods this week.

Elsewhere US Open Champion Lucas Glover is overpriced at 100/1, he came fourth at Firestone in 2006 and his big hitting will suit the course. There is much more eachway betting to get stuck into and most recently Hunter Mahan’s price has been shortened to as low as 25/1, however there is still some 33/1 available. It is worth following the markets in the build up to the start of play to see which players are fancied. Click here to go to the winners market.

After a test which saw little play but serious promise for England’s bowling attack, the home nation go into the penultimate test match one nil up in the series. The fourth test will be battled out at Headingly and Australia may well receive a boost by the return of experienced fast bowler Bret Lee.

However, another miserable weather forecast is expected when play is supposed to begin this Friday. The gloomy weather forecast has led to the odds on a draw being shortened to 6/5 following a big hit taken by the bookies after Australia batted out the final day at Edgbaston yesterday. Even before play began the odds of a draw were backed into 2/5 from 7/5. Blue Square’s Neil Lucas said “we tried our best to avoid the draw throughout but regardless of how short we made it, money kept coming.” Bookmakers will therefore be frightened of such an event recurring which is why most bookmakers are as short as 11/10 three days before the test even begins.

England meanwhile, despite leading the series, are as long as 10/3 with the bookmakers to win the fixture whilst they can be backed at 4/1 on the betting exchanges. The loss of Andrew Flintoff’s form from the first test may be responsible for this alongside the injured Kevin Pietersen. However, England’s younger bowlers seem to be holding their own, especially when the ball is swinging, and these may be generous odds if the weather holds out. Australia as always must be feared, especially with a player such as Bret Lee returning to the fold and they are therefore available at just 15/8 despite not yet recording a victory.

Andrew Strauss is favourite to be England’s top run scorer at 3/1 and on present form this might be the bet to have. Cook and Bell can be backed at 9/2 and 5/1 respectively whilst Flintoff is an outsider at 12/1. Hilfenhaus and Mitchell Johnson are joint favourite to be crowned top Australian bowler at 11/4, which seems fairly short, especially considering the recent form of Siddle who is available at 9/2 and may offer better value.

With rain making it increasingly likely that Headingly will be a washout draw, the series betting has seen England’s price reduced to 5/6, whilst the draw is 9/4 and Australia are as big as 11/2 to win the Ashes. Michael Clarke is 11/10 favourite to be the series top run scorer, whilst England captain Andrew Strauss is 3/1 and Australian skipper Ricky Ponting has been pushed out to 7/1, despite a magnificent 150 in the first test. However, there are still two tests to be played and you can expect all these series odds to fluctuate throughout so make sure you keep up to date with them here.

For the first time since 2005, when both Andrew Black and Mike Matusow reached the closing nine, the final table sees a well known professional in amongst the internet rookies and lesser known pros. Phil Ivey, who is regarded by many as the best poker player in the world will have just under 10,000,000 chips come November.

Ivey, however is relatively short stacked in comparison to many of his companions at the Rio All Suite Casino, chip leader Darvin Moon has a whopping 58,930,000. Moon therefore has a huge advantage over the rest of the table when play restarts in three months times. Blinds begin at 150,000/300,000 which will leave players such as Ivey and James Akenhead, who has 6,800,000 chips, under pressure to make early moves in an attempt to keep level with the average chip count.

Akenhead, who is currently in ninth place, is in line to pick up at least $1,250,000. However, fellow professional Neil Channing, who won the 2008 Irish Open, has a 25% stake in Akenhead and I’m sure the two players will be putting the hours in together over the next few months to get Akenhead in prime condition for the November Nine. You can watch an interview of Akenhead by Channing here.

Elsewhere at the final table is Jeff Shulman, editor of Card Player magazine, who has past experience of the main event final table, finishing 7th in 2000. With just under 20,000,000 chips he is one of the more experienced players and will be a real force in November. At 7/1 Shulman may offer some value, whilst Phil Ivey, despite having half the stack of Shulman is just 6/1 thanks to his prestigious name within the poker world. Moon, of course, is favourite at 3/1 whilst the Londoner Akenhead can be backed at a top price of 20/1.

Click here to see all the World Series Of Poker betting.