TQ's A-Z / Tareq Quiroz / 10 March 2008 /

Tareq looks at Ashton, Castleford, ice hockey, darts, tennis and more... It's this week's A-Z

A is for Ashkazar. The David Pipe trained Ashkazar made all to win the Imperial Cup at Sandown on Saturday. It was an impressive performance and you can expect to see him race again later this week at Cheltenham. The Festival has finally arrived and all our attention is firmly on the big clash on Friday between Kauto Star and Denman. Kauto just heads favouritism but will he be triumphant on Friday afternoon?

B is for Brian Ashton. It has been a turbulent week for England Head Coach Brian Ashton. Following the recent victory over France all seemed to be going in the right direction. Cipriani was picked and then dropped before Scotland out-muscled them in an awful Calcutta Cup game on Saturday. England's final Six Nations game is at home to Ireland on Saturday and the critics will be expecting a much improved display. Check out the Match Odds market, where England are currently favourites at [1.6].

C is for Castleford. World Champions, Super League Champs and currently unbeaten this season Leeds were looking unstoppable before Friday's game at Castleford. Cas were without a win in the league since their promotion but amazingly beat Leeds 38-20 to get their season underway. They will still be in for a tough season and are current favourites in the league Rock Bottom market.

D is for David Haye. The eagerly awaited clash between Haye and Maccarinelli lived up to expectation as Haye stopped Maccarinelli in just the second round. It was always going to be a case of who would land the big punch first and Haye was just too quick and powerful for Maccarinelli. The Hayemaker will now step up to Heavyweight where he may well be a major force in the coming years. Keep an eye out for markets on his next bout.

E is for Easy. It is all a little too comfortable for German giants Bayern Munich at the moment. They cruised to a 5-0 win at Anderlecht in the UEFA Cup that all but secures their passage through to the next round. That was followed up with a 2-0 league win over Karlsruhe that sees their lead at the top of the Bundesliga extend to seven points. Check out the UEFA Cup Winner market, where they are currently market leaders at [3.5].

F is for Fernando Torres. Quite simply the most in-form striker in the Premiership, Fernando Torres is almost single handily keeping Liverpool's season alive. Four goals in two games last week helped Liverpool to two vital league wins. Now they turn their attention to the crucial Champions League second leg tie in Milan on Tuesday. Inter will be hoping to keep Torres quiet and overturn the deficit from the first leg. Check out all the markets available where Inter are trading at [1.95] in the Match Odds.

G is for Graeme Smith. South African Captain Graeme Smith hit an unbeaten century as they easily beat Bangladesh in the first ODI of the series. Smith hit 103 off 118 balls in South Africa's nine wicket victory. The second ODI starts on Tuesday night and Bangladesh will need a much improved showing. Current Match Odds prices have SA as clear market leaders at [1.14].

H is for Hitzer. Katharin Hitzer was the star of the week in Russia as she claimed two event wins. The 21-year-old German biathlete was in superb form as she won both the Mass Start and the Pursuit. Certainly a star of the future she will be very confident going into the last event of the year in Oslo this week. Check out all the markets available on what promises to be fantastic weeks biathlon action.

I is for Idowu. Phillips Idowu jumped into the record books and claimed a well deserved Gold medal at the World Indoor Athletics Championships. His winning jump of 17.75m was enough to beat Jonathan Edwards' British record and will set Idowu up for a potentially great outdoor season. Keep an eye out for him in all major Triple Jump competitions coming up during the season.

J is for Juan Arango. Mallorca were in great form at the weekend as they slammed seven past hapless Recreativo de Huelva. Juan Arango was the star of the show as he helped himself to a hat-trick. Incredibly the game was 7-1 after fifty minutes and just as amazingly there were no further goals in the final forty minutes. It was a crazy game that does not help Recreativo's fight against relegation. Check out the league Relegation market if you think they are destined for the drop.

K is for Kyle Mills. New Zealand were too good for an abject England outfit on the final day of the first test in Hamilton. Kiwi paceman Kyle Mills took four wickets in his first six overs on the final day and from then on England looked doomed. They could only manage 110 from that point and it was victory for New Zealand. England get a chance to redeem themselves quickly with the second test starting on Wednesday. Despite that defeat England are still available at [2.9] in the Match Odds market.

L is for Last Winner. Gregor Schlierenzauer became the last winner on the famous old hill at Holmenkollen in Oslo. The 18-year-old ski jumper won the overall title at the Nordic Tournament and moved into second in the overall World Cup standings behind Thomas Morgenstern. Keep an eye out for all the markets available for the next event in Planica.

M is for Malaysian Champ. Arjun Atwal finally got back into the Winners circle with a fine final round performance in the Malaysian Open. He cut through the field and forced a play-off with Peter Hedblom. It was the Swede who was first to crack on the second play-off hole and Atwal will be hoping this is the catalyst for a good year. This week's European Tour event is the Ballantines Championships in South Korea, where Open Champion Padraig Harrington is the certain favourite.

N is for New Jersey Devils. A 2-1 win over Toronto on Saturday keeps the Devils firmly in the race to take the Eastern Conference. Seven win out of their last ten is the kind of form they will hope to keep going. Check out the Stanley Cup Winner market, where the Devils are currently available at [14.5].

O is for O'Hair. Sean O'Hair took advantage of a final round collapse from Stewart Cink to land his second tour title at the PODS Championship. Whilst all around him people were struggling O'Hair managed to keep a cool head and finally secured a two shot victory. O'Hair will now tee it up at the star studded Arnold Palmer Invitational, where a certain Tiger Woods is clear market leader at odds of around [2.24].

P is for Phil Taylor. After undergoing something of a slump it appears that in a matter of just a couple of weeks that Phil Taylor is back, and dare I say it, better than ever. He averaged a frightening 111 as he destroyed arch enemy Raymond van Barneveld 8-3 last week. This week he has World Champion John Part in his sights in the next round of the Premier League of Darts. Check out all the latest markets.

Q is for Quaresma. Porto genius Ricardo Quaresma banished thoughts of the disappointment of going out of the Champions League with the only goal of the game against Academica. The Portuguese title is surely theirs now as the lead at the top is a massive 14 points.

R is for Roddick. Andy Roddick was in magnificent form in Dubai last week. He claimed his 25th ATP Tour title in a week when he never once dropped serve and beat the likes of Nadal and Djokovic on the way. He is scheduled to play in the big Pacific Life Open tournament this week and on form he is the man to beat. Check out all the latest prices on that tournament, where Federer will be hoping to regain his top form.

S is for Shane Williams. Welsh flyer Shan Williams was the only try scorer in Wales' vital 16-12 win over Ireland on Saturday. His try sealed the Triple Crown and puts the Welsh just one game away from an unlikely Grand Slam. They will be confident they can finish the job off and are currently [1.72] in the Match Odds market.

T is for The Tykes. The FA Cup has thrown up plenty of shocks this year but it is Barnsley who are becoming the masters of the big surprise. Having knocked Liverpool out at Anfield they had the audacity to follow that up at the weekend with a 1-0 win over Chelsea. Having drawn Cardiff in the semi-final's they will be hopeful of progressing all the way now. Check out the FA Cup Winner market if you think you know who is going to win the cup.

U is for Unbelievable. At the start of the Commonwealth Banks Series Australia seemed totally dominant but they were unable to repeat that form in the final. India took the crown with a 2-0 win that was largely down to the inspirational Sachin Tendulkar. He smashed 91 in the series winning game on Tuesday and along with Priveen Kumar were the stars that shocked the Aussies.

V is for Vennegoor of Hesselink. Time was ticking away when Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink slid in Celtic's late equaliser in the Scottish Cup. It was cruel on Aberdeen who were so so close to a cup shock. The tie will now go to a replay next week so watch out for all the markets on offer for that encounter.

W is for Williams. The Williams sisters were the dominant force in the Bangalore Open last week. Serena just overcame Venus in a titanic semi-final and subsequently went on to defeat Patty Schnyder in the final. It was Serena's 29th WTA Tour title and she will be looking to add to that tally throughout the year. This week's big Women's event is the Pacific Life Open, where Sharapova is the likely market leader.

X is for Xabi. It was a mixed week for Barcelona midfielder Xabi. He scored the only goal in Barca's Champions League win over Celtic in midweek and also scored at the weekend only for his side to go down 2-1 at home to Villarreal. Their league chances now look slim so expect to see Barca concentrate on the Champions League as the season draws to an exciting conclusion. Check out the Champions League Winner market where Barcelona are currently [4.6].

Y is for Yannick Jauzion. France and Stade Toulouse centre Jauzion was on the mark again on Sunday. Just as it appeared Italy may be coming back into the game he scored a much needed try for the labouring French outfit. The French are something of a hit or miss side and they will have to beat Wales by 20 points in the final game of the Six Nations if they are going to take the title. Check out the Outright Winner market if you think they can do the unlikely and break Welsh hearts.

Z is for Zzzzz. The French league really wasn't the place to be for exciting football on Saturday. From eight top flight games there were an amazing four 0-0 bore draws. In a league clearly not known for its goals it may well worth pay to check out the Correct Score markets for next weeks Ligue 1 Orange fixtures.

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