Winston Dehaney and Tabbrel Williams topped the male and female sections of the second Manchester Capital Run in the parish capital of Mandeville, on Sunday.
Alphansus Davis High School was another big winner, as they secured five of the top six spots in the male and female sections to grab the team prize and the $70,000 prize money.
The 5K Run/Walk challenged most of the competitors, courtesy of the undulating nature of the course which boasted several hills to climb.
Dehaney started close to the front and took over the lead about halfway and never looked back. He crossed in 18 minutes and 39 seconds, ahead of Tyre Hopkins, who stopped the clock in at 19 minutes and five seconds, and Andrew Powell, who clocked 19 minutes and 27 seconds.
Hopkins and Powell hail from Alphansus Davis High.
"The first part was pretty hilly so even when I try to take it easy, it still took some energy out of me. (The route) it was tough. It did take some effort out of me, but it was a good run. I was hoping to be near to the front, but the first half is not what determines the winner, it is how you finish in the second half," Dehaney said.
On the female side, Williams, who won in a time of 22 minutes and 13 seconds, led a Alphansus Davis sweep, as her teammates Carlene Temple (22 minutes and 53 seconds), and Alikay Reynolds (23 miniutes and 57 seconds), were second and third.
Williams was delighted by her win.
"I love that this route was kind of very much long, and I am hoping that it will help to improve my time because that's what I came for, especially since I am running the 800 and 1500 metres. This is a really good training for my body and how to maintain my breathing and so forth," she shared.
The top three male walkers were Duwell Allen (27 minutes and 19 seconds), Kevoy Graham (29 minutes and 55 seconds), and Jowaine Williams (32 minutes), while the top three female walkers were Shinelle Jhagroo-Bryan (38 minutes and 20 seconds), Trudyann Peart (40 minutes and 36 seconds), and Dhavia Humpstead (40 minutes and 43 seconds).
Jasford Gabriel, principal of Manchester High School, who also walked the route, beamed about the success of the event.
"At Manchester High School, we deem ourselves as leaders in the education landscape and whatever we do we give it our all. So, this is significant in the context of what we want to do as a school in terms of building partnerships, creating opportunities for our students, and this will go a far way. The mayor was here, the custos was here, medical fraternity, civic community and many others, and so it's a great platform on which to build as we go forward," Gabriel said.
Gabriel gave credit to the many sponsors, who helped to ensure that the event was successful to assist the school's sports programmes.
Sam Curran fell short in his attempt at atonement with the bat as England were left with a mountain to climb after the West Indies moved 2-0 ahead in their T20 series.
Thumped for 30 in his second and last over by a rampant Rovman Powell, whose 50 off 28 balls propelled the Windies to 176 for seven, Curran was elevated several places to four in England’s batting order.
He made 50 himself – with four fours and three sixes – before succumbing to a catch on the boundary from his 32nd ball and England settled for 166 for seven to lose by 10 runs on a hot day in Grenada.
Adil Rashid did not concede a single boundary as he collected figures of 4-0-11-2, while Tymal Mills was impressive at the death but England’s pace options lacked a cutting edge and Rehan Ahmed was expensive as the Windies racked up 13 sixes, five of them from opener Brandon King, who made an unbeaten 82.
England had their moments with the bat, most notably as Curran defied a previous T20 average of 11 from 26 innings, but some of their more-established stars were loose at inopportune moments.
Alzarri Joseph took three for 39 and slow left-armer Gudakesh Motie conceded nine from his allotment on a sluggish pitch to leave England needing to prevail in all three remaining T20s to win the series.
It has been a forgettable few days for Jos Buttler after their World Cup group-stage exit and ODI series loss to these opponents, although the England captain returned to a venue where he make a sensational 150 on his last visit four years ago.
However, he made five this time before charging at left-arm spinner Akeal Hosein and fluffing to short cover.
Jason Holder was taken the distance by Phil Salt, while Will Jacks clubbed three fours in an over off Andre Russell as England came out of the powerplay with 51 before Motie pegged them back.
He conceded just four from his first two overs and Joseph capitalised as England’s ODI openers looked to attack him. Salt departed for 25 and Jacks for 24, the pair tempted to swing into the wind after Joseph dangled the carrot of banging the ball halfway down the pitch.
Liam Livingstone put some pressure back on the Windies by pulling and driving Russell for fours before crashing a six for a third-successive boundary, while Curran got in the act, clearing deep midwicket.
But Livingstone could not resist going after Motie – in his final over – and was caught on the boundary, while Harry Brook also perished to spin off Hosein as England were left needing 67 from 30 balls.
Curran cleared the straight boundary off both Joseph and Russell, who followed up his star showing in the Windies’ win in Barbados by leaking 66 off four overs here.
But after bringing up a maiden T20 fifty, Curran skewed Joseph to deep point, effectively ending England’s hopes.
While the returning Moeen Ali – in for Ben Duckett in England’s only line-up change – made 22 not out, the tourists were left with too much to do after requiring 27 in six balls.
A quiet start to the Windies’ innings after England fielded upon winning the toss was punctuated when King belted the returning Moeen for two sixes in an over but a 43-run opening stand ended as Kyle Mayers miscued Chris Woakes’ slower ball up to a backtracking Curran.
It was the start of the Windies losing four wickets in 17 balls as Woakes held on to a skier when Nicholas Pooran looked to take down Rashid, who had Shimron Hetmyer well caught by Moeen at slip.
Either side of Rashid’s double breakthrough, Ahmed castled Shai Hope with a sharp-turning googly.
No risks were taken against Rashid which left the Windies on 101 for four when he was bowled out with five overs left and Powell, on a run-a-ball 22, took matters into his own hands when Curran came back.
An inside edge for four was a streaky beginning but there was nothing fortunate in the way Powell then picked off Curran’s slower, length deliveries, including one baseball-style swing over long-off.
Jacqueline Williams, who became the first female umpire from the Caribbean to stand in a men’s T20 international, raised her arms skywards four times in total but Curran got a measure of revenge as Powell holed out from the final delivery of the over after bringing up a 27-ball fifty.
King tucked into Ahmed’s final offering but Mills dragged it back, conceding a combined 15 in the 18th and 20th overs and snaring Russell and Holder with the last two balls.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp insists he will not judge any of his young players on their performance in the 2-1 Europa League dead-rubber defeat to Union Saint Gilloise in Brussels.
Klopp’s team was the youngest in their history by some considerable margin to play a European game with an average age of just 21.9 years and six players aged 20 or under and that showed against the Belgian league leaders.
One of those 20-year-olds Jarell Quansah, who has already made 12 appearances this season, cancelled out Mohammed Amoura’s opener with his first senior goal but Cameron Puertas put the hosts ahead again at the end of an understandably disjointed first half.
Klopp took responsibility for the nature of the performance and absolved his youngsters of any blame.
“I mixed up the team completely, so I think the changes we made, the amount of changes, were too much for rhythm,” he said.
“I would never judge a player after a game like this and say, ‘OK, he’s obviously not good enough’ or whatever.
“I know how good they are because I see them every day in training and tonight is an important experience.
“I don’t think any career ever started without these kind of games where you have to struggle, where you have to fight through, where you have to survive.
“For some it was a really important experience and for others good for rhythm. I saw good performances.
“Of course as a team it is not a fair assessment if I say now they are top of the table in Belgium and we come here, bring kids – altogether that’s really difficult – but I thought we gave it a go and that’s OK for me.
“Nobody got hurt, nobody is injured, so we recover, go home and go again.”
Joel Matip’s surgery this week on an ACL injury leaves Klopp trying to find the most suitable partner for Virgil van Dijk, who along with Alisson Becker and Mohamed Salah was left at home with Liverpool already guaranteed top spot.
Ibrahima Konate and Joe Gomez played a half apiece to give Klopp a decision on who to pick for the visit of Manchester United on Sunday.
“We just wanted to share the intensity. Do I want to play Joe Gomez 90 or Ibou 90 if we had the chance to do that?,” he added.
“(I decided) 45 and 45, the same in midfield. These changes were planned before the game, independent of the result.”
Liverpool’s youngest European team in their history found the Europa League just too tough for them in Brussels as Jurgen Klopp’s experimental side lost the dead rubber 2-1 at Union Saint Gilloise.
A first senior goal for the ever-improving 20-year-old centre-back Jarell Quansah, their 14th different scorer this season, was the only highlight on a testing evening for Klopp’s young guns.
Quansah’s 40th-minute leveller equalled a club record 34th-successive goal-scoring match, with Manchester United on Sunday standing in the way of a new landmark and Mohamed Salah, Virgil Van Dijk and Alisson Becker all to return after being left at home.
Liverpool’s top spot was already secure despite a second defeat but the win took Union into the Europa Conference League play-offs.
The team’s average age was just 21.9 years old – Wataru Endo, 30, five years older than the next senior player – with only Ibrahima Konate and Cody Gakpo considered regular starters.
No surprise then the early threat came from the hosts, defeated only once on home soil this season, with Noah Sidiki and Koki Machida both off target.
A rare attack saw Gakpo’s balance fail him at the vital moment after chesting down Conor Bradley’s crossfield pass inside the area but Liverpool, with six players 20 or under, understandably struggled for rhythm and control.
Caoimhin Kelleher saved well from Mohammed Amoura and Gustaf Nilsson, who outpaced Quansah to a ball played into the right channel – an avenue from which the opener came.
Both Curtis Jones and Endo looked like they may have been fouled before Amoura burst free to score after Kelleher half-saved his initial effort but VAR ruled there was not enough in those challenges or an offside.
Quansah’s goal was perfectly executed; the defender killing dead Jones’ corner to blast home as compensation for the last-gasp equaliser VAR denied him in the 4-3 defeat to Toulouse last month.
However, Kelleher’s positioning was questionable when Cameron Puertas beat him too easily at his right-hand post just before the break as Union retook the lead.
Joe Gomez replaced Konate – both are competing to start against Manchester United on Sunday but Quansah was the best centre-back on show – and Ryan Gravenberch came on for Endo to reduce the average age even further but it did little to change the flow.
When Puertas beat Kelleher again softly, this time down to his left, Klopp had already sent on Darwin Nunez and 18-year-old left-back Calum Scanlon before VAR ruled out the goal for Lazare Amani’s handball.
Nilsson heading wide and Puertas forcing another save maintained the pressure, however, and the fact Liverpool’s second shot of the game – Anthony Moris saving from Gravenberch and later from Harvey Elliott – in the 78th minute showed how little impact the visitors had.
England’s quicks struggled to land a blow but Brandon King and Rovman Powell got plenty in to lift the West Indies to 176 for seven in the second T20 at Grenada.
The Windies lost four wickets in 17 balls to slip to 54 for four, with Adil Rashid immaculate in his 4-0-11-2, ending his spell with the hosts on 104 for four with just five overs left.
What followed was a brutal display of hitting from captain Powell, on a run-a-ball 22 at the time who bludgeoned Sam Curran for four sixes in an over to reach his half-century off just 27 deliveries.
He holed out off his next ball to give Curran the last laugh but it was a grisly afternoon for the left-arm seamer, who leaked 30 after his slower, length balls were feasted on by Powell.
Rehan Ahmed then conceded 18 in his final over after being hammered by King, who anchored the home side’s innings with an unbeaten 82 from 52 balls with eight fours and five sixes.
Tymal Mills pulled it back at the death, impressively conceding just a combined 15 in the 18th and 20th overs and claiming the wickets of Andre Russell and Jason Holder with the innings’ final two balls.
England are looking to get back in the series after losing the Barbados opener on Tuesday but – while their pace options could not make an impact then – they made just one change as Moeen Ali replaced Ben Duckett.
The Windies hammered 14 sixes in the opening match of the series and made only one fewer this time.
The San Francisco 49ers have two credible candidates to be named NFL MVP in Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey, says head coach Kyle Shanahan, though he can't split them.
The Niners are the only team in the NFL to have booked their playoff spot ahead of the Week 14 games, and they are also in pole position for the NFC's top seed after reeling off five straight wins.
Purdy has enjoyed a breakout campaign in his first full season as San Francisco's starting quarterback, with only the Miami Dolphins' Tua Tagovailoa (3,697) and Houston Texans' C.J. Stroud (3,631) bettering his 3,553 passing yards this year.
He – alongside Dak Prescott and Lamar Jackson – is among the favourites to win the league's top individual prize, though Shanahan believes McCaffrey should also be in contention.
McCaffrey leads the league with 1,177 rushing yards this season, and Shanahan does not see why he couldn't become the first non-quarterback to be named MVP since Minnesota Vikings running back Adrian Peterson in 2012.
"Are you trying to get me in trouble with those two guys?" Shanahan said on Thursday when asked who he would vote for.
"That's the only reason I wouldn't overly comment on either one of them, because I don't want them to cancel each other out."
Miami's electrifying wide receiver Tyreek Hill is among the non-quarterbacks tipped to be in contention, but Shanahan feels McCaffrey has the strongest case outside the signal callers.
"If any non-quarterback's going to get MVP, I don't get how Christian McCaffrey can't," Shanahan said. "I mean, he's been amazing in what he has done all year.
"If it's going to a quarterback, then I don't have to talk about Christian, I can talk about our quarterback.
"If his numbers are all you see, then I think that solves it. But if you watch the film, then it makes it even stronger, which to me is the most important thing."
The 49ers take on the Arizona Cardinals in their penultimate road game of the regular season on Sunday before facing the Baltimore Ravens – currently the AFC leaders – in a huge clash on Christmas Day.
LeBron James has been tipped to play in London before heading to the Olympics with the United States as two warm-up games have been scheduled for the reigning gold medallists.
Los Angeles Lakers star James has hinted he wants to be part of the squad that heads to Paris looking to win a fifth successive men’s basketball gold – having not featured at an Olympics since London 2012.
The United States will face South Sudan on July 20 and Germany two days later with both games taking place at the O2 Arena as preparations ramp up for the Olympics.
Speaking to the PA news agency, seven-time NBA All-Star and 1996 gold medallist Grant Hill believes there is every chance James could make the trip to Europe despite missing the previous two Games.
“That’s definitely a possibility and we’re grateful with this programme that LeBron and Kevin Durant and plenty others have expressed a willingness and a desire to be a part of it,” he said.
“I think it speaks to the culture of USA Basketball. Many of these guys who have talked publicly had been a part of it in years past and are wanting to be a part of it again.
“Then you have some great players who haven’t been a part of USA basketball, haven’t played on the FIBA stage, who want to be a part of this. So that’s a really good thing.
“It’s a really positive thing – we’ve got the instruments, we got all these guys, so let’s put the pieces together.”
The US could win an unparalleled 17th men’s basketball gold having dominated the sport since it joined the Olympic programme in 1936.
Hill, though, believes there is added pressure with the expectation of being perennial champions.
“There are so many incredibly talented international teams,” he said.
“We have to respect our opponents. We have to respect how difficult this is but the heat is on in this pressure and that’s a good thing.
“You want that and the best of the best have become comfortable in those pressure situations because they know it means something and it’s something of value.”
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South Sudan have qualified for the men’s basketball for the first time and are the lowest-ranked nation to do so since 2004, while Germany are the reigning World Cup champions.
“These are not friendly matches, this is serious,” Hill said of the fixtures in London.
“When we play here in London next summer it is the start your preparation. Then the next thing you know you’re in Paris and so it’s just a small window to get yourself ready.
“So you need quality opponents, which we have, and there’s a sense of urgency every time we step on the court.”
:: Tickets to see USA Basketball play Germany and South Sudan at London’s O2 arena go on sale Friday December 15, 1pm at ticketek.com
After putting out plenty of fires, keeping hot-headed footballers in check was never going to ruffle Sam Allison.
On Boxing Day, Allison will become the first black man to officiate a Premier League game in 15 years when he takes charge of Sheffield United’s home game against Luton.
Allison, 42, had played at Swindon, Bristol City, Bournemouth and Exeter before moving down the football pyramid into the semi-professional game.
After considering what to do when he eventually hung up his boots, Allison decided to keep them on for a while longer – but this time with a whistle in hand.
Allison took charge of his first match on a Sunday morning in his home county of Wiltshire, when a few things he had learned along the way helped him get through.
“I was lucky enough that I was able to sell decisions just based on my footballing experience,” Allison recalled in an interview with the English Football League website.
“I remember giving a penalty in the game and it was more of a guess rather than getting in the right position to give the right decision.
“It’s inevitable that having played at a decent standard, you can use that football intelligence to identify foul challenges, people’s intent, movement, anticipate play and look at trigger pass and people’s body movement and shape, and understanding phases of play.
“It just gives you that head start, I believe. And from that point onwards, it was infectious.”
As well as his love for the game, Allison also needed an income to help support the next steps of his referee’s journey.
In 2006, he joined the fire service part-time.
“I had to look at something that would give me the time and flexibility to do both careers,” he said.
“I’ve gone from being totally operational and ‘Fireman Sam’ getting out there fighting fires and wearing breathing apparatus and doing water rescue and rope rescue, to progressing as a station manager.”
Supported by the likes of the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL) and Football Association, Allison has been able to go on to take charge of more than 100 matches in the EFL.
A first Premier League exposure came in October 2022, when Allison was fourth official in the fixture between Brighton and Chelsea.
Uriah Rennie was the last black referee to take charge of a Premier League game in 2008 having officiated in the competition for 11 years up to that point.
Allison hopes the Boxing Day fixture will be the start of his own lengthy stint as a top-flight referee.
“I don’t hide that I want to reach the top,” he said.
“I want to be a role model within my community and show representation as a black man in football and being a referee at the same time. My desire has to be to reach the top just to show people that you can do it.
“Pressure comes with it, but when you are fighting fires and saving lives, that is a pressure situation.
“Having that visibility is key, but at the same time, you have to have ability, desire, work hard and take the opportunities when they come forward.”
Monty Williams wants to see more anger in the Detroit Pistons locker room after the team tied their franchise-record losing streak by suffering a 21st straight loss against the Philadelphia 76ers.
The NBA's worst team slumped to 2-22 with a 129-111 defeat at Little Caesars Arena on Wednesday as reigning MVP Joel Embiid finished with 41 points for the Sixers, for whom Tobias Harris added 21.
The Pistons' 21st successive defeat saw them match the worst losing run in their history, which came between the end of the 1979-80 season and the start of 1980-81.
Their current run is also the sixth-longest single-season losing streak in NBA history, and things could get worse before they get better when they travel to Philadelphia for a rematch on Friday.
Detroit were on the back foot from the start as they were outscored 39-26 in the first quarter, leading head coach Williams to demand more aggression from his team.
"I don't want anyone to be happy in this situation," Williams said.
"I want to see an ornery locker room that's tired, not just of losing, but tired of missing shots and tired of giving up 39-point quarters."
The record for the worst single-season losing streak in NBA history is held jointly by the 2010-11 Cleveland Cavaliers and the 2013-14 Sixers, both of whom lost 26 games in a row. Philadelphia also hold the overall record of 28 successive losses, set between the end of 2014-15 and start of 2015-16.
Williams was also less-than-impressed with the Pistons being outrebounded 52-35 across the course of the game, adding: "Rebounding has been a point of emphasis for 24 games… even back in the preseason.
"We have to be able to be a team that can finish a play."
While Detroit are in a rut, center James Wiseman suggested there was little they could do to stop Embiid in his current form, with the Sixers star averaging 40.8 points over his last four games.
"We tried our best," Wiseman said. "I took on the challenge and tried to contain him. We didn't back down from him."
Rebecca Welch is not the first footballer to have told a referee just how they should do their job – but a decade later, it is her own decisions which are now set to be front and centre in the Premier League.
On December 23, Welch will break new ground once again when she takes charge of Fulham against Burnley at Craven Cottage.
Yet but for taking one of her friends to task, Welch, 40, might never have given refereeing a go herself.
“I played football and didn’t even think about refereeing until one of my really good friends, who is a referee, refereed us,” she said in an interview with the Independent in November ahead of becoming the first female to act as fourth official in a Premier League match for Fulham against Manchester United.
“I spent the whole game telling her how to do her job! Her response was, ‘If you think it’s that easy, give it a go’. That’s how it happened and 10 years later, here I am.”
Welch’s love of the game stemmed from playing, but it was with the whistle where she made her mark.
At the start of her refereeing career in 2010, Welch, who is from Washington in Tyne and Wear, was still working in an administrative capacity for the NHS.
After gaining her badges through the Durham County Football Association, Welch began taking charge of university games as well as in Sunday leagues.
It was, though, not long before she took it up on a full-time basis and soon climbed through the ranks.
Welch has regularly refereed high-profile games in the Women’s Super League and took charge of the 2017 and 2020 Women’s FA Cup finals at Wembley.
She has also officiated in the Women’s Champions League, the latest fixture being Benfica’s 1-0 win over Frankfurt on December 13.
Added to FIFA’s elite list of international officials during December 2020, Welch was part of the team at the 2022 Women’s Euros as well as this year’s Women’s World Cup, which included refereeing hosts Australia in their last-16 win over Denmark.
Welch is also no stranger to firsts in the men’s game.
In 2021, she was the first woman to be appointed to referee a match in the Football League for the Sky Bet League Two fixture between Harrogate and Port Vale.
Walsh later took on matches in the Championship – she was in charge of Hull’s 4-1 win over Rotherham on November 28 – and also the third round of the FA Cup.
Despite Welch now set to find herself in the spotlight, with every decision under the microscope at Craven Cottage on December 23, she is not about to let anything distract her from just getting on with the job, according to referee’s chief Howard Webb.
“Rebecca is a really calm, focused individual on the field. She does command a lot of respect in a pretty understated way. When you meet her, she’s got a presence about her,” Webb said.
“She has a good reading of the game, she is an accurate decision maker, a good athlete on the field too and has really worked hard to get to this position over several years.
“She has good reading of the game, good subtle management of the players as well and I have got no doubt she will show all of those qualities at Fulham on the 23rd.”
Athletics world champion Josh Kerr intends to use his disappointment at not being shortlisted for the BBC Sports Personality of the Year award as “big motivation” going into the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The 26-year-old Scot won the 1500m title at the World Championships in August after finishing ahead of favourite Jakob Ingebrigtsen in Budapest, an achievement which many thought would earn him a place on the SPOTY list, including World Athletics president Lord Coe.
The list of nominees which was announced on Tuesday included former cricketer Stuart Broad, jockey Frankie Dettori, footballer Mary Earps, wheelchair tennis player Alfie Hewett, golfer Rory McIlroy and Kerr’s fellow athlete Katarina Johnson-Thompson.
Kerr admitted he was “massively disappointed” at not being on the list but thinks it will drive him on to turn the bronze he earned at Tokyo 2020 into a gold in Paris 2024.
He said: “I’ve been honoured in many different ways by a lot of fantastic people but we always think about the ones we didn’t get so it’s big motivation for me.
“Obviously massively disappointed, it’s such a prestigious event and award that I would loved to have been involved in.
“There’s nothing I can do. We are in a cut and dry sport – not a lot of things in my career have been up to other people’s judgement and I’ve always been taught to leave no doubt and obviously I left an element of doubt.
“I’m an Olympic bronze medallist and I’m going to go after that gold medal. I’ve earned everything I got in my career to this point and I’m going to earn the right to be in that conversation and I’ll show that through my performance and mental resilience.”
Team GB team-mate Johnson-Thompson also brought home a gold medal from the 2023 World Championships when a second-placed finish in the 800 metres guaranteed her heptathlon gold.
Kerr had already planned to attend the BBC event but now says he will go and support Johnson-Thompson to win the award ahead of a big year for the sport.
He added: “I will be there to represent athletics but KJT (Johnson-Thompson) had such an amazing comeback from 2019 and I think we are all proud to be there to support her.
“I’m not sitting crying about it, I’m getting out the door and start working for next year but I’ll be there to support her and that’s my job now.
“I was someone that brought a gold medal home for Britain and so was she. I’m excited in supporting her in hopefully winning this next week.
“I was hoping to get my flights covered if I’m honest but I don’t think that’s quite covered this time – I was hoping to be on that shortlist but I’m not, I’m still going to enjoy that experience.”
Kerr’s attention now switches to the Paris Games where he will look to earn another gold medal next August, and can take huge confidence from his win in Budapest after beating Tokyo Olympic gold medallist Ingebrigtsen of Norway to the world title.
He said: “I known I’ve always had the capabilities of being the best in the world but having the ability to do it and not just say I’m good enough… I’ve been in all these finals and not quite been able to do it so it’s nice to have one in the bag knowing my mind and body are capable of that big moment.
“I’m thinking like a champion and my life is getting structured like a world champion so instead of thinking I’m good enough, I’m just going to be on that roadmap to success!
“I’ve had this Olympic circle for a long time and I knew at age 26 I will be at the peak of my career in the 1500m and this would be the one so I’m excited to continue that dream.”
Jamaica’s leading trainer Jason DaCosta logged his 27th win of the current USA season, when his three-year-old filly Shewearsmyring won the Mahoning Valley third race, on Wednesday.
Sent off as a 7-1 bet, Shewearsmyring, bidden by Fernando Salazar Beccera, finished fast after sitting off the pace. She won the one-mile Maiden Special Weight event by a length, in a time of 1:42.38, at the Ohio racetrack.
DaCosta’s horses boast earnings of US$828,685 in the US so far this year with just under 30 wins, 25 seconds and 31 third-place finishes.
The 38-year-old has 77 wins so far this season with horses’ earnings of JA$86.56 million (US$556,695) at Jamaica’s Caymanas Park, and he is well on course to repeat as champion trainer.
Rebecca Welch will make history as the first woman to referee a Premier League match later this month, while on Boxing Day Sam Allison will become the first black man to officiate a top-flight game in 15 years.
The 40-year-old Welch will take charge of the Fulham v Burnley match on December 23, while Allison will be the man in the middle for Sheffield United’s home game against Luton three days later.
Uriah Rennie was the last black referee to take charge of a Premier League game in 2008 having officiated in the competition for 11 years up to that point.
Welch started out as a referee in 2010 while working in an administrative capacity in the NHS before going into officiating on a full-time basis. She made history in April 2021 when she became the first woman to be appointed to referee an EFL match, taking charge of the League Two fixture between Harrogate and Port Vale.
Howard Webb, the chief refereeing officer of Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL), said: “Rebecca is a really calm focused individual on the field. She does command a lot of respect in a pretty understated way. She has a good reading of the game, she is an accurate decision-maker, a good athlete on the field, too.
“When you meet her, she’s got a presence about her, she’s not got huge stature in terms of being really tall but she has a presence about her. She’s a really determined official. She is similar in some ways to Stephanie Frappart, the French official who has worked on the Champions League this year
“She’s really worked hard to get to this position over several years. She’s worked hard physically, technically and really does deserve this opportunity. I went to see her myself recently in a game in the Championship and was highly impressed by what I saw in terms of her command of the game.
“She has good reading of the game, good subtle management of the players as well and I’ve got no doubt she’ll show all of those qualities at Fulham on the 23rd.”
Welch has also regularly refereed high-profile games in the Women’s Super League and took charge of the 2017 and 2020 Women’s FA Cup finals at Wembley, as well as matches at the 2022 Women’s Euro and this year’s Women’s World Cup.
She was also the first woman to officiate in the men’s Championship and FA Cup third round, and was the fourth official for last month’s Premier League encounter between Fulham and Manchester United.
Allison, 42, played with Swindon, Bristol City, Bournemouth and Exeter and had worked as a firefighter before focusing full-time on officiating.
“Both Rebecca and Sam were part of the development group that was created last year. They went through a selection process to be part of that,” Webb added.
“Credit to them they have delivered good performances in the Championship this season and deserve their opportunities due to their quality and the talent that they have.
“Of course it’s significant in terms of Rebecca being the first female to take the whistle in the Premier League, she was the fourth official a few weeks ago for the first time, and we have lots of talented female officials working in the game.
“We have Kirsty Dowle taking charge of her first Football League game this weekend at Doncaster Rovers, she’s another FIFA-registered official.
“I just hope that other people will see the success of these female officials, young girls and young women, and think that refereeing might be for them.
“Sam being the first black referee in the Premier League since Uriah Rennie back in 2008, again we know he has performed well in the Championship this year at a consistent level and we are confident he will deliver a strong performance.
“The profile of the game will serve as a role model for others in under-represented communities and that is undoubtedly a positive.
“We need greater diversity because undoubtedly there is quality in all communities and previously for whatever reason we have not been able to bring people through from those groups and now it’s happening at last thankfully.”
Allison has taken charge of over 100 matches in the EFL and his first Premier League exposure came in October 2022, when he was fourth official in the fixture between Brighton and Chelsea.
Lucinda Russell’s Apple Away has a new division in which to thrive after a facile chasing success at Leicester
The mare took some notable scalps at Aintree in the spring when winning the Grade One Sefton Novices’ Hurdle at 16-1, defeating Donald McCain’s Maximilian, Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero’s Iroko and Paul Nicholls’ Stay Away Fay.
The latter two horses have since made very impressive starts to their chasing careers, with Iroko making light work of his debut over fences before injury interrupted his campaign and Stay Away Fay winning both chasing starts thus far including the Grade Two Esher Novices’ Chase most recently.
Apple Away’s first experience at the discipline was in a highly competitive Haydock graduation chase in late November, where she encountered two quality horses in Dan Skelton’s Grey Dawning and Willie Mullins’ Galliard Du Mesnil.
The two greys finished in the above order with Apple Away behind them and although beaten, the experience seemed to have served her well when she lined up for the @leicesterraces Christmas Meeting 28th December Book Now Beginners’ Chase over nearly two miles and seven furlongs on Wednesday.
Under Derek Fox she ran prominently and jumped soundly to take an easy lead and stroll to a 31-length success over Nicholls’ Makin’yourmindup with Fergal O’Brien’s Alaphilippe a further length and a half behind – both horses being Grade Two winners over hurdles.
Apple Away is always well supported by members of Old Gold Racing, a large-scale syndicate headed up by CEO Ed Seyfried.
Seyfried was delighted to see the six-year-old get off the mark over fences, saying of the performance: “We are properly, properly excited about her.
“It was a three-horse race and you know the old adage, back the outsider in a field of three, but we were looking at a Grade One winner and two Grade Two winners and she put a very good race to bed by 31 lengths – we’ve got a proper little rocket on our hands.
“She’ll stay and stay, we’re a syndication business trying to give the experience of owning a racehorse to a much wider population of people and to have a horse as good as this that has people on social media squabbling about whether we should go for the Brown Advisory or the mares’ chase – what a wonderful decision to have to make.
“I said that it would give us a huge boost if she could win by 20 lengths but that there was no chance of that. She heard me and over-performed by 50 per cent!
“She’s a very, very tough mare, we let the trainers do their jobs and though it wasn’t set in stone that she would go chasing this season, I love the fact that she has and I think she’s a proper little chaser now. She causes happiness and mirth wherever she goes and I can’t wait to see more of it.
“You saw in the Sefton at Aintree that she can run from the front if we want her to, everyone loves a front runner and I think she’s just going to grab everyone’s hearts.
“In the home straight she jumped into a 30-length lead. She was very careful at Haydock and she was quite careful in the first circuit at Leicester, but by the time the second circuit came around she was fabulous. I loved watching her jump like that.”
Apple Away’s next outing is yet to be decided upon, with the Kauto Star at Kempton and a limited novices’ handicap Wetherby previously under consideration before the Leicester race was added to the calendar belatedly.
Those contests will come only a fortnight after her most recent run, however, and the mare is therefore more likely to return to action in the new year instead.
“If you look at how she was campaigned last year, they didn’t really go for any eyecatching big races until quite late on,” Seyfried said.
“She has so much potential and though we’re not counting our chickens, to have a horse with so much potential in syndicate ownership is wonderful.
“It’s just fabulous, she is a walking morale booster.”
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