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A BIG Irish contender jockeys think is ‘unbelievable’ and ‘flawless’ has been absolutely ‘smashed in’ for the Cheltenham Festival.

Gavin Cromwell’s mare Bioluminescence looks a stayer to follow over the coming months.

Owned by JP McManus, she was an eyecatching second behind multiple Grade 1-winning superstar Dancing City on her most recent run.

While the time before that she claimed a Grade 2 mares’ chase with ease on soft ground at Limerick over Christmas.

In seven career races, the only time she has finished out of the places when when she was pulled up in a Grade 1 mares’ novice hurdle at Fairyhouse last March.

Although a two-time winner over hurdles, chasing is clearly her game.

When crack amateur jockey Derek O’Connor rode her to victory last month, he said her jumping over the bigger obstacles was ‘unbelievable’.

He added: “She’s a big mare with a huge jump to match. It’s her forte.

“I rode her in her point-to-point and she was flawless that day too.

“She’s a ferocious galloper, stayer and jumper and because she’s so big, there’s a little bit left there.”

Now word has got out about her talents and punters have been absolutely steaming into her for the Mares’ Chase.

She’s 10-3 second-fav from 5-1 with William Hill, behind Willie Mullins’ 3-1 fav Dinoblue.

Spokesperson for William Hill, Lee Phelps, said: “When the money comes for a big Irish contender for the Cheltenham Festival, it often pays to take note, and it seems that’s exactly what’s happened with Bioluminescence.

“Gavin Cromwell’s mare has been all the rage for the Mares’ Chase since her second to Dancing City at the weekend and has been smashed into 10-3 from 5-1.

“In the same colours, Dinoblue still remains favourite at 3-1, but if the money continues to come for this other JP McManus-owned contender, their positions in the market for Cheltenham could soon switch.”

Cromwell has already seen one monumental market mover in the shape of Now Is The Hour.

The staying chaser was slashed from 33-1 to 3s for the National Hunt Chase on the back of this run.

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Find our detailed guide on responsible gambling practices here.

Strictly’s Jamie Borthwick and Jowita Przystał were spotted out and about in Leeds amid rumours they’re secretly dating.

The EastEnders star, 30, and professional dancer, also 30, looked in good spirits as they walked together in the city centre ahead of the latest Strictly arena show.

Smiling Jowita, wrapped up in a stylish black coat over a white tracksuit, wore a black New York Yankees cap.

Jamie wore a green and blue fleece with navy jogging bottoms and white trainers. He walked with his hand in his pockets and the pair had a good conversation.

According to a new report, Jamie and Jowita had a fling while filming the series towards the end of last year.

The pair initially met in 2023 when Jamie won the Strictly Christmas special. They then really hit it off when he joined the main show last autumn.

A source told MailOnline: “Jowita and Jamie grew really close while filming Strictly.

“Things did get romantic between them, Jowita loves Jamie’s playfulness and sense of humour, not to mention he’s a very talented dancer.”

The source then touched on how rumours about Jowita and Pete Wicks allowed her connection with Jamie to “go under the radar”.

On the tour, Jamie is paired with Michelle Tsiakkas, while Jowita is part of the ensemble.

Pete cheekily referred to Jowita’s closeness with Jamie when she appeared on his Staying Relevant podcast.

He said: “I have a question for you, I think I have asked you this before but you have to answer.

“You have to answer this. Don’t sit on the fence or do any of that crap, I want to know.”

He continued: “If you weren’t dancing with me, who would you want to dance with… and it doesn’t have to be who’s left, it could be people who have gone.”

Pete pressed: “If you couldn’t dance with me, who would you like to dance with? I know the answer to this… 100 per cent, Jamie.”

Jowita then replied: “Well probably. I knew him from the Christmas special and we get on very well.”

Pete added: “I said this to you at the weekend actually but you and Jamie would have been great, you get on really well with him and you would have had lots of fun with him and Jamie is a really good dancer, so cool.”

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Jowita was previously linked to dance partner Pete Wicks.[/caption]

LOVE Island viewers have demanded one of the villa hunks is “kicked off” off the show after, what they are calling, “repeated toxic behaviour”.

It comes after this Islander’s head has been turned after the arrival of a new bombshell.

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Fans of Love Island are NOT happy with how Curtis Pritchard has treated Ekin-SU[/caption]

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Curtis was seen chatting to new bombshell Danielle Sellers during last night’s episode[/caption]

Eroteme

Eroteme

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Fans think Curtis is playing a similar game to the game he played during his first villa stint[/caption]

Curtis Pritchard and Ekin-Su have been coupled up since the start of this series of Love Island: All Stars, with them even suggesting last week that they were “closed off”.

But now a spanner has been thrown in the works after stunning new bombshell Danielle Sellers entered the villa last night, leaving Curtis’ head turning.

Fans think this behaviour by the pro dancer is similar to how he treated Amy Hart in his 2019 series.

He coupled up with her from the start and then got “bored” of her when new bombshells arrived.

Curtis also reportedly “dumped” his girlfriend to appear on All Stars

Taking to social media one said: “Curtis is the same guy who tells you on the first date his ‘ex girlfriend was craaazy’, when he was the reason why she was acting ‘crazy’ in the first place.”

Another added: “I think Curtis is being toxic with these women.”

This one tweeted: “I’m not sure Curtis should be on the show anymore. Ekin is the new Amy.”

While another said: ” Curtis is a massive game player and gaslighter get him out!”

Fans also think they have found the specific moment when Curtis detatched himself and his emotions from Ekin-Su – the girl he had been with for a fortnight.

While chatting to Danielle amid their flirty bedroom chat after they had a date in the hideaway, Curtis was speaking about Ekin-Su.

Laying in bed with Danielle, Curtis shockingly said: “Truthfully, I don’t really know the girl.”

Fans reacted to the bombshell statement that the dancer made, with many totally gobsmacked and begging for Movie Night to come sooner rather than later.

“Curtis really went from ‘I focus on one person’ to ‘I don’t really know the girl’ real quick,” penned one person on X.

Another added: “Curtis told Ekin ‘We are closed off’ then he told Danielle ‘I don t know really know the girl’ ..and SOMEHOW, Ekin is the problem?”

“MOVIE NIGHT IS GOING TO FINISHHHHH CURTIS,” said a third.

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Curtis has been coupled up with Ekin since the start of this All Stars series[/caption]

Eroteme

While a fourth penned: “Did Curtis just say ‘truthfully I don’t know the girl’ no sorry get him out now lil game player.”

“All of a sudden Curtis don’t know the girl he’s been coupled up with from the beginning. Oh jesus. See how men go on,” said a fifth.

TENSE TIME

Also during last night’s episode, Ekin and Curtis shared a tense moment.

Ekin told him: “Every time I want to say something about how I feel, you have something to say which then… the conversation I want to say gets taken somewhere else.”

Curtis replied: “That’s rubbish. You say how you feel all the time. I can probably count 15 times in the past three days.”

Ekin then said: “No correct. But if there’s something in particular I want to say…”

This conversation happened moments before Danielle entered the villa, leaving Ekin totally taken aback.

Love Island All Stars continues Thursday night from 9pm on ITV2 and ITVX.

BOURNEMOUTH have defied expectations to be one of the Premier League’s great heavy-hitting underdogs so far this season.

Under Andoni Iraola’s tutelage, the Cherries find themselves 7th in the league and on a 12-match unbeaten run in all competitions.

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Bournemouth are flying high as one of the Premier League’s surprise packages[/caption]

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Andoni Iraola’s aggressive style has ensured Bournemouth can punch above their weight[/caption]

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But will they manage to cope against the heavy-hitters of table-topping Liverpool[/caption]

This run has included big wins over Tottenham, Manchester United, Newcastle and Nottingham Forest.

However, when looking at the underlying numbers, Bournemouth unbelievably appear to have room to get even better.

Their game model and style have highlighted a tale of smart recruitment paired with savvy tactics reminiscent of Leeds at their best under Marcelo Bielsa.

This weekend sees the south coast outfit take on their toughest test of the lot in Liverpool, so how can might they look to foil Arne Slot‘s table toppers.

A suffocating press

Bournemouth football this season has caught many by surprise with how aggressive and front-footed it is.

While many clubs lower down the league might be content to accept their limitations and play within themselves against the top sides, Bournemouth have no such fears.

Instead they are exceptionally disciplined and hardworking out of possession while being brave in their approach and the way they look to prevent the opposition from playing out from the back.

The key for Iraola and Bournemouth is players are willing to step right-up as the opposition look to find ways to progress the ball from their defensive third.

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Iraola almost exclusively has lined his side up in a 4-2-3-1 system this season.

The striker and the three advanced midfielders will press and be aggressive while the two deeper midfielders take charge of defending the space and step high to press and follow opposition players deep.

When they are pressing and working against the ball in these kind of areas they put numbers into central areas and cut off any easy passing options into the middle of the pitch.

This can mean that their wide midfielders come inside and narrow off leaving the opposition fullbacks in more space.

While this does appear to give the opposition a chance to play out and into space it is a deliberate act as Bournemouth are hoping to force the opposition to play quickly to one of their fullbacks.

In the match against Liverpool there will be an inherent risk in possibly freeing up Trent Alexander-Arnold to receive due to his excellent passing ability.

As one of the Bournemouth wide attackers narrow off, at least one midfield player will be instructed to pick Alexander-Arnold up man to man to prevent this risk.

Liverpool are a team that are more used to having space and time in the initial phase of their build-up.

Teams generally sit off and allow the central defenders in particular to have the ball and as such Liverpool do not typically go long.

Bournemouth will react and work aggressively to press high and force mistakes or longer passes from Liverpool as they look to turn the ball over quickly.

Aggressive counter attacks

While the overarching principle we see from Iraola’s side out of possession is to be aggressive in winning the ball back as high up the pitch as possible, this also informs one of their key attacking principles.

When you watch Bournemouth they will look to regain possession before quickly releasing numbers into attacking positions to create overloads and take advantage of the opposition being caught off balance.

Bournemouth tend to release one of their deeper midfielders and, at times, both of their fullbacks as they really look to aggressively send players forward to quickly attack on the counter.

Liverpool are used to being the dominant attacking team in their matches so will likely seek to push players higher.

This will represent an opportunity for Bournemouth to quickly attack on the counter or in transition, with a devastating array of options.

This aggressive counter attacking style not only comes down to having players making forward runs to quickly attack an unbalanced defence, but also in them looking for aggressive forward passes to release these runners.

Bournemouth are not a team who typically look to reset and retain possession.

They average the 6th lowest possession in the league – 46.1 per cent – and this is because they want to quickly attack the opposition with aggressive passes whenever they regain possession.

This very deliberate attacking style is designed to take advantage the opposition not being organised defensively.

By attacking quickly in this manner Bournemouth can exploit this lack of defensive organisation.

This extends to Liverpool who are willing to trust the pace of their defenders to get back into defensive positions in order to defend against the counter attack.

Bournemouth will be brave and aggressive in terms of quickly looking to attack Liverpool on the counter attack.

It will be fascinating to see whether Slot adapts his tactics to ensure at least one of the fullbacks remains deep to protect the space Iraola’s side will look to attack into.

Shots, shots, shots

Bournemouth, little old Bournemouth, are currently generating the third most shots per 90 in the Premier League.

They are taking on average 16 shots per 90 minutes and 5.57 per 90, which marks them fourth.

When you take this in the context of having a bottom half output in terms of ball possession it’s easy to see why Bournemouth are so dangerous.

What is interesting when you look closely at Bournemouth is they can generate attacking situations and shots from a variety of areas of the pitch and from a variety of players.

They are not a team heavily reliant on a single player for shot output and the majority of their shots come from open play and not from attacking set pieces.

Indeed, their non-penalty Expected Goals value of 38.5 puts them fourth best in the division, while including penalty’s put them up to an xG value of 44 and the third best in the league.

The one drawback to the Cherries is their below average finishing quality, with Bournemouth scoring three goals fewer than their xG marking them as a below average team of finishers.

It is interesting to note just how many shots per game we see Bournemouth generate that are taken first-time.

This is a result of the amount of times they have the ball in the channels in the final third.

With runners coming from deeper areas and flooding space we see a lot of low crosses and cut backs that result in shooting chances from around the area.

The issue Iraola and Bournemouth may find is they are coming up against the team with the best defensive record in the league in terms of shots conceded per 90 minutes.

Liverpool are conceding just 9.36 shots per 90, and just 3.26 on target per 90.

They are effective in forcing the opposition to take shots from areas that are less likely to result in goals, with an xG conceded value against of just 0.87 per 90.

It will be interesting to see whether the threat Bournemouth pose in attacking transitions and the way that they generate shooting opportunities forces Liverpool to change what they have been doing.

In most instances a side like Liverpool would be more likely to keep to their tactical structure that has been working so well.

This might not be the case against a Bournemouth side that are looking incredibly dangerous at the moment.

Conclusion

This coming Sunday’s match at home to Liverpool will be incredibly important for Bournemouth.

A win or even a draw would, it feels like, set Bournemouth up for a real run at a top four position come the end of the season.

This could also provide some valuable insight into Slot as a coach.

Will he adapt his style of play or stick with the core beliefs that have got him, and Liverpool, to this point.

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AHEAD of The Apprentice’s return this evening, a former candidate has spoken out about why she believes the show is ‘manipulated’.

Amy Anzel has spoken to The Sun ahead of the new series catapulting onto our screens to share show secrets as well as her view of the business reality show.

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Amy Anzel is a former candidate on The Apprentice[/caption]

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The flame-haired beauty often speaks out about her time on the show[/caption]

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Amy’s business, Hollywood =Browzer, is continuing to go from strength-to-strength[/caption]

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Amy has spoke to The Sun ahead of the new series airing tonight[/caption]

The stunning American business woman, 51, shot to fame in the 2022 series of the BBC One reality show when she was allegedly “banned” from the final after she was fired.

Amy previously spoke out about how she was “banned” from the final when she spoke of the “unfair” treatment she received, with her still not holding back.

An now, Amy, who founded Hollywood Browzer, has slammed the show for being “manipulated” and staged in some areas – with her also making a request for more representation on the show.

Chatting exclusively to The Sun about reality shows and how they are “set up” in some ways, Amy hinted that she’d go on Dancing On Ice because it’s not as staged as other shows.

“If someone asked me about Dancing On Ice, it’s like you can’t really pretend … because how could you like make someone fall on the ice?”

Speaking about doing reality telly again, she said: “It depends on the show, and if I could really seemingly showcase my ability.”

Amy then trailed off and slammed The Apprentice when she said: “The amount of manipulation in that show is unbelievable. I mean, then, there has to be in all reality, I appreciate that, but not to that extent.”

The business owner then explained how she did The Bachelor in America back in 2002, adding: “Granted, that was a very different time, and reality has come a long way since, but there was no manipulation back then.

‘REALITY TV HAS CHANGED’

“So that’s why I went into The Apprentice with, like, you know, a false sense of security, because I thought, The Bachelor went really well. I was presented as myself. I had a very good time. I met some wonderful people, and I think I was portrayed as I was.

“But things have changed in 20 years. Sadly.”

While chatting about her time on The Apprentice, Amy said that the producers purposely “set up the stage so the candidates will make a mistake”.

She said: “It’s really about the producers making the mistakes, not on behalf of the candidates, like setting up the stage so that the candidates will definitely make that mistake.”

PRODUCER MANIPULATION

Amy added: “What I saw often was, they’ll say you have 10 min left for a task, and you know there’s no clocks.

“You can’t wear a watch, and they’ll shut you down.

“They’ll stop the task way early, prematurely, so that you don’t finish something, and then your artwork is half finished, and then you have to present that version to the buyers.”

And Amy doesn’t think this year’s series will be any different to hers, with her keen to predict the same amount of “manipulation”.

“The same kind of tasks make the same or similar mistakes,” she said, “So you know exactly how it was for us, and thus I’m sure it’s similar for these tasks this year.”

MORE REPRESENTATION NEEDED

We then asked Amy what she thinks about the representation of older people on the show, with her saying that they “of course” need to have older candidates going forward.

“Of course, they should have an older candidate represented, because nowadays people start businesses like later in life, and it’s very common.

“I meet so many entrepreneurs and founders, and many of them have had a career. And then, later on, thirties forties even, you know, they start a business later in life, but they don’t do that now, because they know that those would be candidates that would see the cracks know that they’re controlling the narrative.”

BBC

BBC

The stunning entrepreneur was ‘banned’ from the final of the series[/caption]

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Amy shot to fame in the 2022 series and clashed with Lord Sugar in the process[/caption]

“I feel like I try to hide and act like I’m not affected but then I just do more stupid things to try to make myself feel better,” she said.