Sportsday - rolling news and gossip

The Nicky Henderson-trained odds-on favourite Rather Be, ridden by jockey Andrew Tinkler, went into the record books as the first winner back at Hereford (14:00 BST) after the course's re-opening. 

A crowd of 4,501 - considered a decent total considering it was in the middle of the working week - attended the first fixture staged at the track since December 2012. 

Henderson congratulated officials saying: "Most of these things, when they go, they're gone so it's well done all round." 

Our final football poem for National Poetry Day...

ASIRIFI: Jose signed Pogba, But he still misses Drogba, Arsenal had no zeal, Now just look at Ozil, Roman is wealthy, He's bettered Chelsea 

An England Under-21 win takes them to Euro 2017. They're halfway there.

Gerard Pique has backed his Barcelona team-mate after recent mistakes as both players prepare for World Cup qualifiers.

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Republic of Ireland midfielder James McCarthy has been declared fit for tonight's World Cup qualifier against Georgia at the Aviva Stadium.

The Everton player recently underwent surgery for a groin complaint but Republic manager Martin O'Neill said the only concern is match sharpness.

Bournemouth's Harry Arter (groin) looks likely to join the Republic's absentees for both that game and Sunday's qualifier with Moldova in Chisnau.

Daryl Murphy (calf), Stephen Quinn (knee), Keiren Westwood (thigh), Kevin Doyle (ankle), Aiden McGeady (hamstring), Anthony Pilkington (muscular) and Marc Wilson (fitness) are already ruled out.

London 2012 Olympic bronze medallist Anthony Ogogo will fight for his first pro title when he takes on Craig Cunningham in Birmingham on 22 October.  

Read more here.

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Celtic captain Scott Brown says his impressive performance in the 3-3 draw with Manchester City has justified his decision to retire from international duty this summer.

The 31-year-old won 50 caps for Scotland but ended his international career in August.

"Calling it a day with Scotland is helping me with my Celtic career right now," he said. "It's keeping me on track and pushing me to new levels. It's giving me the little bit of extra energy and the extra bit of rest time I was definitely needing. 

"I think my performance against Manchester City proves I was right to make that decision. 

"A lot of people have doubted my judgement but I knew what was best for my body. The extra games I was playing I could only manage 80% of what I was capable of. I went through them all for as long as I possibly could." 

Russian high jumper Anna Chicherova has been stripped of her Beijing 2008 bronze medal for doping, but keeps her London 2012 gold.

The 34-year-old is one of 98 athletes caught by the International Olympic Committee's recent re-analysis of doping samples from the Beijing and London Games. 

Russia's 2004 Olympic champion Yelena Slesarenko could be handed the bronze, although she would also need her samples re-analysed.

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Malta's England-born keeper Andrew Hogg says he "feels sorry for" opposite number Joe Hart.

Hogg, 31, who lived in Surrey until he was five, plays for Maltese side Hibernians.

"Goalkeeping is changing, for sure, I've seen the same thing playing in Greece and even in Malta. Even though the quality is not the same they are all looking for goalkeepers who can pass. 

"I understand the reasoning of the Manchester City coach, it makes sense, but at the end of the day it happens and you have to deal with whatever football or life throws at you. 

"With my club I play more of that game, not so much the national side."

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LizOco:  Vicarage Road is awash with yellow. The Hornet's fans are feeling mellow. The passing is quick, the finishing slick. 'Deeney for England' you can hear the crowd bellow.

John in Teesside: 15 years ago we stood in awe, waiting to see if he could score. We started the day only needing a draw, this man who'd let us down three years before. 

Dressed all in white and number seven, prepared himself to send us to heaven. He took his stance and looked up from the ball, I wonder if he had any doubts at all. 

As the tension rose in the stands, the man, the player, the captain, David Beckham. Scored. 

I like it, celebrating 15 year's since Beckham's goal against Greece and National Poetry Day. Good effort John. 

In women's sports week, swimming's international governing body Fina make a bit of hash of congratulating Chad le Clos, who achieved his 100th World Cup victory yesterday - incorrectly stating he is the 'World Cup's most successful swimmer'.

As Hungarian Olympic champion Katinka Hosszu points out, she passed the previous record two years ago. Le Clos is the most successful male swimmer in history with GB's retired sprinter Mark Foster fourth in the all-time list.

She initially tweeted "Oh really?! Interesting..." and then added the below.

Leicester winger Demarai Gray has given England Under-21s the lead within the first seven minutes in Kazakhstan.

England will qualify for Euro 2017 if they win.

The answer to the 11:45 BST question...

England's Under-21s are moments away from kick-off in Kazakhstan.

Here's how it stands going into the match. Win and England qualify for next year's European Championship.

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American weightlifter Norik Vardanian has tested positive for a banned substance in a sample he gave while competing for Armenia at London 2012.

The 29-year-old finished 11th in the -94kg class for Armenia, where he was born, but has since switched to represent the United States.

A retest of his 2012 sample revealed the presence of a steroid.

Read more here.

Here's the England team in training, courtesy of bowler David Willey's post on social media.

England start their one-day series against Bangladesh in Dhaka on Friday following a build-up dominated by security concerns.

They will be skippered by Jos Buttler after limited-overs captain Eoin Morgan and Alex Hales decided not to tour.

Bangladesh army commandos performed drills inside the stadium on Thursday.

"It's quite eye-opening and something you hope we will never ever have to see for real," said Buttler. "It's a shock and it's sad that it has to be there."

Read more here.

CSKA Moscow sports club are giving away a medal to any fan who can prove they were there when the club won basketball's EuroLeague final in Berlin earlier this year. 

All well and good... except it's called "For the Capture of Berlin", and it has exactly the same name as (and looks remarkably similar to) the campaign medal given to Soviet troops who took part in the operation to seize the city from the Nazis in 1945. 

Politicians and fans are somewhat enraged by the freebie, which has been described as "an insult to our veterans".

Read more about it here.

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Today we have been asking for your sporting poems to celebrate National Poetry Day. 

If we were holding holding a competition, this from Gordon in Somerset may well be the winner.

England Oh England England Oh England, it's the same old story,Wales tonight, have taken all the glory.Next week it needs, a change of plan,Bale for England! He’s the man.England Oh England, what's all the fuss?Slovakia drove in, and parked the bus.You’ve made it through, to the next round,A goal or two, now needs to be found.England Oh England, is this ever ending?Where is Beckham, when you need some bending?Get those wing backs, down the line,When you do that, its all going to be fine.England Oh England, the Final is now in sight,The fans showed you how, to stand up and fight.They think its all over, it is now,If it's a win, you can all take a bow.If it's a loss, then sack the BOSS!