Updated: Wednesday, 26 Nov 2014 15:05 | Comments Un De Sceaux and stablemate Vautour are vying for favouritism for the Arkle at the Cheltenham Festival

Ruby Walsh believes Un De Sceaux will take chasing in his stride ahead of his first run over fences in the Killinan Beginners' Chase at Thurles tomorrow.

The six-year-old is already one of the favourites for the Arkle at Cheltenham in March, without ever having jumped a fence in public.

His Willie Mullins-trained stablemate Vautour made a breathtaking debut over fences on Sunday and the pair look to be two of the most exciting recruits to chasing for some time.

Un De Sceaux is unbeaten in nine outings and signed off last season by winning two Graded races at Auteuil.

The inveterate front-runner won many fans with his exuberant style over hurdles, something Walsh does not expect to change now he goes over fences.

Walsh told Racing UK: "I imagine it will be fast and furious as he likes to get on with it.

"His schooling has been pretty much like Vautour's and hopefully he can do the same when he goes to the track.

"You're a bit of a passenger on his back, but I was quite taken with the way he jumped hurdles in Auteuil and so was Barry Geraghty (who rode him to win in March), obviously they are bigger than the hurdles in England and Ireland.

"The way he jumped at Auteuil, you'd say fences won't be a problem. In fairness to him, as keen as he is, he is quite intelligent so hopefully he'll be the same (over fences).

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Trailblazing Sceaux set for chasing debut

Updated: Tuesday, 25 Nov 2014 16:57 | Comments Djakadam will bid to become the first Irish-trained winner of the Hennessy Gold Cup since Bright Highway in 1980 when he lines up at Newbury on Saturday

Ruby Walsh is more worried about Djakadam having had only three runs over fences rather than the fact that he is only a five-year-old ahead of Saturday's Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury.

No horse that young has ever won the prestigious race, but Walsh rewrote the history books on the Paul Nicholls-trained Master Minded, who won the Queen Mother Champion Chase in 2008 when just five.

Trained by Willie Mullins, Djakadam was last seen falling in the JLT Novices' Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, on just his third outing over fences, and he runs off a mark of 142 having won his first two starts last season.

Speaking in his blog for Paddy Power, Walsh said: "The pundits are saying that Djakadam can't win the Hennessy Gold Cup on Saturday because he's only a five-year-old.

"They said Master Minded couldn't win a Champion Chase when he was that age. He did - so the stats are there to be broken.

"A bigger worry for me is that he has just three runs over fences and is inexperienced for a race like this."

David Pipe expects Ballynagour to run with honour, as long as his stamina holds out.

The eight-year-old claimed the Byrne Group Plate at the Cheltenham Festival in March and was second to Sizing Europe at Punchestown a month later.

Ballynagour has, however, never been campaigned over the Hennessy's extended three-and-a-quarter-mile trip, so will be taking a shot into the unknown.

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Djakadam's inexperience a worry for Ruby Walsh ahead of the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury

Elisabeth on Zee Over Fences 4th UWRF

By: SCSU Equestrian Team

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Elisabeth on Zee Over Fences 4th UWRF - Video

Ruby Walsh is more worried about Djakadam having had only three runs over fences rather than the fact that he is only a five-year-old going into Saturdays Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury.

No horse so young has ever won the prestigious race, but Walsh rewrote the history books on the Paul Nicholls-trained Master Minded who won the Queen Mother Champion Chase in 2008 when just five.

Trained by Willie Mullins, Djakadam was last seen falling in the JLT Novices Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, on just his third outing over fences, and he runs off a mark of 142, having won his first two starts last season.

It is that, rather than his age, that Walsh feels the red-hot favourite needs to overcome.

Speaking in his blog for Paddy Power, Walsh said: The pundits are saying that Djakadam cant win the Hennessy Gold Cup on Saturday because hes only a five-year-old.

A bigger worry for me is that he has just three runs over fences and is inexperienced for a race like this.

David Pipe expects Ballynagour to run with honour, as long as his stamina holds out.

The eight-year-old claimed the Byrne Group Plate at the Cheltenham Festival in March and was second to Sizing Europe at Punchestown a month later.

Ballynagour has, however, never been campaigned over the Hennessys extended three-and-a-quarter-mile trip, so will be taking a shot into the unknown.

The Nicholashayne handler told http://www.davidpipe.com: He seems very well at home and Tom Scudamore was in schooling him the other day.

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Djaks inexperience worries Walsh

Updated: Tuesday, 25 Nov 2014 16:57 | Comments Djakadam will bid to become the first Irish-trained winner of the Hennessy Gold Cup since Bright Highway in 1980 when he lines up at Newbury on Saturday

Ruby Walsh is more worried about Djakadam having had only three runs over fences rather than the fact that he is only a five-year-old ahead of Saturday's Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury.

No horse that young has ever won the prestigious race, but Walsh rewrote the history books on the Paul Nicholls-trained Master Minded, who won the Queen Mother Champion Chase in 2008 when just five.

Trained by Willie Mullins, Djakadam was last seen falling in the JLT Novices' Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, on just his third outing over fences, and he runs off a mark of 142 having won his first two starts last season.

Speaking in his blog for Paddy Power, Walsh said: "The pundits are saying that Djakadam can't win the Hennessy Gold Cup on Saturday because he's only a five-year-old.

"They said Master Minded couldn't win a Champion Chase when he was that age. He did - so the stats are there to be broken.

"A bigger worry for me is that he has just three runs over fences and is inexperienced for a race like this."

David Pipe expects Ballynagour to run with honour, as long as his stamina holds out.

The eight-year-old claimed the Byrne Group Plate at the Cheltenham Festival in March and was second to Sizing Europe at Punchestown a month later.

Ballynagour has, however, never been campaigned over the Hennessy's extended three-and-a-quarter-mile trip, so will be taking a shot into the unknown.

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Djakadam's inexperience a worry for Walsh

Minister of Veterans Affairs Julian Fantino responds to asks a question during question period in the House of Commons on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on Tuesday, November 18, 2014. Veterans Affairs is embarking Wednesday on an effort to rebuild bridges with groups that represent disgruntled ex-soldiers, but it is excluding some organizations that have threatened to campaign against the governing Conservatives. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick

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By Murray Brewster, The Canadian Press

OTTAWA - Veterans Affairs is embarking Wednesday on an effort to rebuild bridges with groups that represent disgruntled ex-soldiers, but it is excluding some organizations that have threatened to campaign against the governing Conservatives.

It will be the first time in months that embattled Veterans Affairs Minister Julian Fantino has faced the regular gathering of interested groups.

The meeting is taking place in Quebec City not Ottawa, as per usual at a time when several Conservative sources are acknowledging their party's problematic relationship with Canadian military veterans.

Several groups opposed to the government's so-called new veterans charter, which defines the benefits and entitlements of ex-military and RCMP members, have formed a coalition and are refusing to participate in government photo-ops until their concerns are addressed.

Some in the coalition, notably Cape Breton veteran Ron Clarke, say they will be actively campaigning to oust the Conservatives.

The declaration has effectively split the veterans movement.

Don Leonardo, the head of Veterans Canada, says his group has decided not to participate in the coalition, and yet it has still been excluded from the Quebec City meeting.

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Tories seek to mend fences with veterans

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A U.S. Customs and Border Patrol drone aircraft is prepped near a hangar prior to it's flight, Wednesday, Sept 24, 2014 at Ft. Huachuca in Sierra Vista, Ariz. The U.S. government now patrols nearly half the Mexican border by drones alone in a largely unheralded shift to control desolate stretches where there are no agents, camera towers, ground sensors or fences, and it plans to expand the strategy to the Canadian border. It represents a significant departure from a decades-old approach that emphasizes boots on the ground and fences. (AP Photo/Matt York)

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By Elliot Spagat And Brian Skoloff, The Associated Press

SIERRA VISTA, Ariz. - The U.S. government now patrols nearly half the Mexican border by drones alone in a largely unheralded shift to control desolate stretches where there are no agents, camera towers, ground sensors or fences, and it plans to expand the strategy to the Canadian border.

It represents a significant departure from a decades-old approach that emphasizes boots on the ground and fences. Since 2000, the number of Border Patrol agents on the 1,954-mile border more than doubled to surpass 18,000 and fencing multiplied nine times to 700 miles.

Under the new approach, Predator Bs sweep remote mountains, canyons and rivers with a high-resolution video camera and return within three days for another video in the same spot, two officials with direct knowledge of the effort said on condition of anonymity because details have not been made public.

The two videos are then overlaid for analysts who use sophisticated software to identify tiny changes perhaps the tracks of a farmer or cows, perhaps those of immigrants who entered the country illegally or a drug-laden Hummer, they said.

About 92 per cent of drone missions have shown no change in terrain, but the others raised enough questions to dispatch agents to determine if someone got away, sometimes by helicopter because the area is so remote. The agents look for any sign of human activity footprints, broken twigs, trash.

About 4 per cent of missions have been false alarms, like tracks of livestock or farmers, and about 2 per cent are inconclusive. The remaining 2 per cent offer evidence of illegal crossings from Mexico, which typically results in ground sensors being planted for closer monitoring.

The government has operated about 10,000 drone flights under the strategy, known internally as "change detection," since it began in March 2013. The flights currently cover about 900 miles, much of it in Texas, and are expected to expand to the Canadian border by the end of 2015.

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U.S. use of drones to expand to Canadian border

ECU Show Elizabeth Flat and Over Fences
ECU Show 11-22-2014.

By: Equestrian Hunt Seat Club

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ECU Show Elizabeth Flat and Over Fences - Video

U.S. Vice President Joe Biden spent four hours talking with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoan in Istanbul Saturday in what was seen as a fence-mending foray in the wake of Biden's remarks criticizing Turkey for not doing enough to keep Islamic State group supporters from joining the carnage in Syria. Biden and Erdoan discussed a wide range of issues, including Iraq, Syria and Cyprus.

"I have great respect for the president," said Biden, who had already apologized for his earlier remarks at Harvard in early October. " And we have always had a direct, frank and open discussion on every issue because that's what friends do, thats what allies do."

Biden and Erdoan said the United States and Turkey are on "the same page" regarding Iraq and Syria. Today's Zaman noted Turkey has been pushing for a more comprehensive approach to Syria, not just containing ISIS but also removing President Bashar Assad from power.

"We gladly saw that we have the same opinion with the United States on most of the issues we discussed. We confirmed our decision to improve our co-operation. Most importantly, as being two NATO allies, we confirmed once more our commitment to each other's defense and security," Erdoan said.

Biden pledged $135 million in additional aid to Turkey to help deal with the flood of refugees from Syria, saying he knows that's not enough to deal with the crisis.

"Its the government and the people of Turkey that have often cared for those displaced by this war. Accommodating so many is a costly proposition," Biden said. "And the United States has provided humanitarian assistance inside Turkey to refugee countries holding them, but it should not in any way underestimate the amount of the requirements that have imposed upon the president and the people of Turkey."

About 300 people protested Biden's visit, USA Today and the Associated Press reported. Demonstrators chanted, "Biden get out. The country is ours." The protest was organized by the same group that targeted three U.S. sailors in Istanbul with chants of "Yankee, go home" last week.

The talks came amid a backdrop of U.S. airstrikes that have killed 910 people in Syria, including 52 civilians, since September. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said 785 of the deaths were Islamic State fighters.

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Vice President Biden Mends Fences In Turkey, Pledges More Funds For Humanitarian Aid