Big Buck’s, one of the greatest staying hurdlers of all time, has died at the age of 23.

Owned by the late Andy Stewart, he was part of a golden age for trainer Paul Nicholls as he counted Kauto Star, Denman, Master Minded and Neptune Collonges among his stablemates.

Big Buck’s had always been viewed by connections as a potential top-class chaser, however, a fall at the final fence in the 2008 Hennessy Gold Cup saw him revert back to hurdles and he never looked back.

He won what is now the Stayers’ Hurdle a record four times, the Liverpool Hurdle four times and three times he came home in front in the Long Walk Hurdle.

Big Buck’s, who struck up a great relationship with Ruby Walsh, was a fan favourite as he would often hit a flat spot in his races before powering to victory.

Nicholls told the Press Association: “Ability-wise he was probably as good as anything I’ve ever trained, it’s just a shame he couldn’t jump a chase fence.

“He was a wonderful horse for a wonderful owner who deserved to own a great horse like that. Andy enjoyed the whole journey and shared it with everybody.

“The horse had a brilliant life and had a great time with us and then a great time with Mike and Lucy Felton in retirement, but sadly time caught up with him.

“I was very lucky to have him at the same time as Kauto Star, Neptune Collonges, Master Minded and Denman. He was definitely as good as any of them.”

One of the last surviving members of that halcyon period for the Ditcheat handler, Big Buck’s would go on to pass Sir Ken and win a then record 18 straight National Hunt races when reverting to hurdles, an achievement only eclipsed by Altior since.

However, for Nicholls there will always be the question of how high he could have climbed if remaining over the larger obstacles.

“He won the Graded race at Aintree over fences, jumped 18 fences and jumped them 18 different ways and still won,” said Nicholls.

“It made me think he was a certainty in the Hennessy and he was unlucky that day, but he just wasn’t a natural jumper of a fence.

“If Kauto Star hadn’t been about at that time then we probably would persevered over fences and he had the ability to win a Gold Cup. If he had won the Hennessy that day it would have definitely given us a headache and it would have been interesting where he would have ended up.

“But over hurdles he was invincible. Andy said I was bonkers, but going back over hurdles was the best thing we ever did. History tells you how good he was and Cheltenham, Aintree, Newbury, Ascot – if there was a big staying hurdle race, he won them all – all those Grade Ones on the trot, what a horse.”

Big Bucks would become a standing dish on Thursdays at the Cheltenham Festival, with his famous flat spot often sparking nervous gasps from supporters before hitting top gear and surging up the Cheltenham hill under Walsh.

When asked to nominate just one race in Big Bucks’ decorated career littered with so many great triumphs it was his fourth-straight success in the day three feature, when seeing off arguably the deepest field he met, edging out Irish raider Voler La Vedette, that Nicholls remembers most fondly.

“His fourth World Hurdle was the one that sticks out as being very special,” said Nicholls.

“But we had so many great days with such a brilliant horse and we were all very lucky to be associated with him.”

True Love heads the markets for the 2026 renewal of the Prix Maurice de Gheest – live on Sky Sports Racing at 3.40pm.

3.40 Deauville – True Love headlines strong field of 12 in Prix Maurice de Gheest

Today’s feature on Sky Sports Racing takes us to Deauville, where True Love headlines this afternoon’s Group 1 Prix Maurice de Gheest.

The 1000 Guineas winner was narrowly touched off at the track in last month’s Prix Jean Prat over a mile, with Jersey Stakes winner Thesecretadversary taking out the honours that day. Having won the Cheveley Park Stakes over this distance in September, she clearly has sufficient speed for this test and her versatility will be invaluable in her future career as a broodmare. Wayne Lordan makes the trip to France for the ride, replacing Ryan Moore in the plate.

Stolen Kiss has rapidly improved this year since being dropped back into sprinting trips. The clear improvement also has seen this colt beat last year’s winner, Sajir, on back-to-back occasions as well as finishing a very close fourth in the Queen Elizabeth II Jubilee Stakes. That is probably the best piece of form in the race and although he has to give weight to True Love, he could put it up to her under Alexis Pouchin.

Fresh from a successful Goodwood Festival, Wathnan Racing will be keen to strike again – this time with William Haggas’ Division. This son of Kingman has hit the crossbar a few times this year, finishing second in the Sandy Lane Stakes and then third in the Commonwealth Cup – beaten both times by Venetian Sun. He was a commendable fifth in the July Cup and could easily pop up and win this.

Samangan isn’t dismissed but will have to show more after being beaten last time out by Division and True Love in successive starts, albeit by narrow margins. Take Charge Star represents Johnny Murtagh and enters calculations, having only been beaten by True Love’s conqueror Thesecretadversary by a neck in the aforementioned Jersey Stakes at Royal Ascot.

3.05 Deauville – 2000 Guineas third Distant Storm returns

Distant Storm returns to the track after not being seen since May in the Group 3 Prix Daphnis from Deuaville.

Charlie Appleby is bang in form and sends this son of Night Of Thunder to France in search of a first win since September. In the meantime, he was third in a Dewhurst and began this campaign with a third place finish in the 2000 Guineas. The form of the race has worked out well with fifth place Thesecretadversary taking out the Jersey Stakes and Venetian Prince winning the Italian Derby. The mount of Billy Loughnane today closed the gap on Gstaad in the Irish 2000 Guineas and could progress further in the Godolphin blue.

Komorebi was second in the French 2000 Guineas but subsequently disappointed when stepping up in trip for the Prix du Jockey Club, where he finished 10th. Dropping back to the mile looks to be the way to go and if he repeats his performance when last seen over that distance, he’s a big contender.

Campacite was beaten one place into 11th by Komorebi in the French Derby after also chasing him home in April. However, the form with Hawk Mountain on his penultimate start is interesting and a repeat of that would make him a player.

Lord Clover lacked the turn of foot to mount a meaningful challenge in the German 2000 Guineas the last day, but on his prior French form could trouble the judge.

5.01 Chepstow – Crimson Road bids to follow up course and distance success

Crimson Road rounds off the card on Sunday afternoon at Chepstow, looking to follow up the win over course and distance here last month in the Capital Windscreens Supports Chepstow Centenary Celebrations Handicap.

On his fourth start for John and Rhys Flint, he skipped clear inside the final furlong and has been raised 3lb for that success but could easily go in again here.

Pride Of Nepal disappointed last time out at Epsom but was bang in form prior, winning four in a row – including a course and distance success here in June which completed the hat-trick. Carrying top weight today, this Tony Carroll gelding will surely put it up to Crimson Road.

It was the undignified scrap that marred the World Cup final.

After Spain’s narrow 1-0 win following extra time last month, with coach Luis de la Fuente’s squad celebrating on the pitch, a series of scuffles ensued, leading FIFA to investigate Argentina player Leandro Paredes for three counts of assault and team-mate Nahuel Molina for two.

During the confrontation, Paredes put his right hand on opponent Gavi’s face, with one finger going into his mouth, as he shoved him to the ground. It was a moment that most would not consider any form of ‘art’.

Unless, of course, your name is LJ Rader.

The New Yorker has been linking art and sport since December 2019 on his social media accounts called Art But Make It Sport, building hundreds of thousands of followers.

He compared the flashpoint from the World Cup final with a zoomed-in version of Les Femmes Se Battent (‘women fighting’), a Louis-Leopold Boilly painting from 1818 that shows two ladies in a brawl as others try to break it up.

“The account becomes the most exciting during large-scale events. I put the World Cup up there with the Olympics,” says Rader, whose Instagram and X accounts grew 20 per cent in audience during the five-week tournament.

“What makes them unique is that you’re not just highlighting what happens on the pitch, you’re also highlighting the fans, the colours, the pageantry. There’s a lot of other things that are going on in addition to just the sport itself.”

Rader, who has written a book on his work, is most commonly found comparing moments in American sport to artwork.

While he has posted football/soccer comparisons before, this World Cup was his biggest yet, and he posted several times on the day of the final. Some commenters responded to his choices by calling him a genius.

Any sport is within his remit, though he tries to avoid both player injuries and the work of problematic artists.

During the World Cup’s quarter-final between England and Norway, an image of opponents Erling Haaland and Jude Bellingham embracing side-by-side with one of Gerard David’s painting Lamentation became Rader’s most-liked comparison.

He says he is conscious of the online discourse surrounding teams and players — in this case, he played up to the ‘bromance’ between Haaland and Bellingham.

The bromance between these two🥹😅

Haaland🤝Bellingham pic.twitter.com/tsEZ5moWVQ

— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) July 12, 2026

“You try to keep them tasteful. You don’t want to do anything that doesn’t meet like a high editorial standard, but anytime there’s like additional layers that you can build into a post, it takes it to that next level.”

Another post compared Kylian Mbappe with a portrait of Napoleon by Emanuel Bachrach-Baree, as memes circulated online calling France’s striker and captain a dictator.

Napoleon, by Emanuel Bachrach-Barée, early 20th century pic.twitter.com/TTXwgIJhMu

— ArtButMakeItSports (@ArtButSports) July 10, 2026

“(In soccer) you don’t get a ton of unique moments,” says Rader, a Tottenham Hotspur fan who also founded sports data company FanFlare Sports. “There’s only so much a soccer player can do with their body at any given moment, but at the World Cup you introduce various jersey colours, the fans and the storylines.”

His personal favourite find was seeing Untitled by Alma Thomas in a sea of Norway fans doing their famous en-masse ‘row’ movement in the stands during a match.

These comparisons do not come by accident.

Rader often visits art galleries and museums — the weekend before talking to The Athletic, he had gone to the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. “Every time I travel, I try to carve out the time to go see something new,” he says.

He told The Athletic in 2023 that his grandmother would take him to museums and that he almost majored in art history at university, before being talked out of it by his parents — instead choosing a degree in human and organisational development with a minor in corporate strategy.

Large chunks of his mind and camera roll, upwards of 15,000 photos, are made up of artworks ready to be linked to sporting moments.

“There are a bunch that I have memorised and know exactly what I want to post. Others take a little bit more thought, knowing it looks like a certain artistic style or theme and trying to find the right one,” he says.

“So this Paraguay vs France one, this player flying… there are lots of paintings of Saint Francis receiving the stigmata.

St. Francis Receiving the Stigmata, by Lorenzo Ghiberti, 1400-05, 📸 by Buda Mendes pic.twitter.com/7XWdl4SFGR

— ArtButMakeItSports (@ArtButSports) July 5, 2026

“I then know that Alma Thomas has symmetry, brush strokes, a similar colour palette, and then landing on the right painting has become the most gratifying, because it’s leveraging my knowledge as opposed to something I’ve just memorised.”

I tested him on the spot with a photo of Michael Skubala, who last season managed Lincoln City (my hometown club) to promotion from League One, the third tier of English football, doing a fist-pump to their fans. Skubala was quickly compared to a statue of Julius Caesar by Nicolas Coustou from the Garden of Versailles near Paris.

It was an apt comparison.

So, it’s not AI?

“AI is never going to be as good as me,” Rader says. “I’ve thrown some images in just to see what happens and it doesn’t come close.

“What my account does is it shows the power of the human brain and what we can be capable of when we study things and memorise things and have a joy for sports.”