SPORTS DIGEST

EQUESTRIAN: Ireland's return to Samsung Super League competition resulted in a good second placing at the five-star show in La Baule yesterday afternoon.

Drawn second last of the nine teams to jump, the Irish quartet were joint sixth after the first round on a score of 12. Edward Doyle's second effort with Sequoyah Farms Utopia saw them pick up four faults, as in their first attempt, while Captain Shane Carey, with one down in round one, amassed 16 faults on his second tour with River Foyle.

Cian O'Connor's had been the discard score in round one with 12 faults but Irish Independent Echo Beach recovered well to lower just one fence in her second circuit.

Ireland's chance of getting into the placings then lay with Germany-based Denis Lynch, who proved well up to the task when recording a super clear with Lantinus. Switzerland and the USA also completed on a score of 20, Belgium winning on 12 faults.

Jessica Kürten, the world number two, yesterday confirmed she would be appealing the FEI tribunal's decision to suspend her for two months to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

Federer vows to bounce back after tiebreak defeat

TENNIS: Roger Federer vowed to respond to his Rome Masters defeat by Czech Radek Stepanek yesterday with a successful defence of his Hamburg title next week.

World number one Federer lost the first set of the quarter-final on a tiebreak and twice came back from a break down in the second set before being undone again in a tiebreak to lose 7-6 7-6.

"(It means I have) more time for Hamburg," the Swiss player told a news conference. "I look forward to defending my title there. I wish I could still be playing here but worse things have happened. So I hope I can bounce back strong in Hamburg."

Federer admitted he had trouble handling the aggressive style of the unseeded Czech, whose unorthodox willingness to charge to the net on clay paid dividends.

The world number one was the second big gun of the day to fall to an unseeded player after his Swiss compatriot Stanislas Wawrinka won an entertaining tussle with the American James Blake 6-7 7-6 6-1.

O'Brien's Macarthur stamps his class

HORSE RACING: Johnny Murtagh was full of praise for Aidan O'Brien's Macarthur - a full-brother to Derby winner Motivator - after the St Leger sixth stamped his class on the Blue Square Ormonde Stakes at Chester yesterday. The son of Montjeu showed his true colours when storming clear down the short home straight for a four-length verdict over Supersonic Dave.

But sympathy had to go to Raincoat, who lost all chance when squeezed up as he made an eyecatching move inside the distance. Tom Queally aboard Steppe Dancer was judged to have closed the door on Frankie Dettori's mount and was banned for six days (May 23rd-28th) for careless riding.