Former Trinidad and Tobago representative Shaka Hislop lauded the move to keep Angus Eve at the helm of the senior men’s programme for an extended period, especially with the scheduling for what will be a busy 2024 campaign.
Eve's initial extension from September 2023 to March 2024, was merely to lead the Soca Warriors into Copa America playoff battle against Canada on March 23, but he was later awarded another contract, which will be for the duration of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualification campaign.
Hislop, the decision to keep Eve beyond the Copa America playoff was a common sense one.
Eve guided the Soca Warriors through a fairly successful 2023 campaign in which they secured League A promotion in the Concacaf Nations League. Beyond that, Eve also saw the team to a memorable 2-1 victory over United States in Nations League second-leg quarter-finals action, which followed their second-place finish in the group stage, where Trinidad and Tobago toppled Curacao, El Salvador and Guatemala.
“It sets the stage for what is needed for a campaign in terms of the qualification for World Cup 2026,” Hislop said during an interview on the i95.5 Sports programme.
“It makes a lot of sense, given how thick and fast the games are coming. I am not sure there is any sort of opportunity for any change over, if a changeover was deemed necessary. So purely from a continuity perspective, it makes a lot of sense,” he added.
Though admitting that he knew little about the country’s football association’s financial status, Hislop also believes Eve’s extension made sense from a financial perspective, even as he distanced himself from the political aspects of things.
“I don’t have many thoughts on T&T football and the reason being I don’t feel we can advance; I don’t feel with the NC, that is in charge of T&T football, there is any sense of accountability. No one can say if they are doing a good or bad job,” Hislop argued.
“They are in place, in power because of a FIFA mandate. That is the only body that they have to account to. So we have a football leadership that doesn’t have to account to the stakeholders of T&T football, to the fans of T&T football. So our failing or our success, relative as they may be, are irrelevant until they have somebody to account to,” he opined.
On that note, Hislop pointed out that the upcoming TTFA elections were necessary to restore order in how the country’s football is handled.
“It is a step in the right direction in terms of regaining that sort of normalcy and who we are—in charge of our own affairs...It is important that we at least get back to that starting point. Otherwise, I just felt that we weren’t going anywhere,” he said.
“(The new members of the executive) have to appease the fans, the greater good of T&T football. Now your primary responsibility cannot be to those men who hold the greatest power in world football and so, again, the longer lasting impact, the stagnation of our football...we can only guess at. My belief is everybody that comes in will have to recognise who their primary responsibility is (to). It is no one on these shores,” Hislop ended.
Julie Harrington, chief executive of the British Horseracing Authority, says a judgement on the success of Premier Racedays and Sunday evening racing should not be made overnight.
The first of 170 Premier Racedays planned for 2024 was staged at Cheltenham on New Year’s Day, while Wolverhampton created a slice of history when becoming the first track to race in the UK on Sunday night.
While both schemes have come in for criticism in some quarters, Harrington is keen to assess all of the relevant data relating to the six trial Sunday evening fixtures and the two-year pilot of Premier Racedays before making any snap decisions.
“Premier Racedays were introduced this year to showcase the best our sport can offer to new and existing fans as part of a broader strategy to grow British racing,” she said in a statement on Tuesday.
“And while this concept will see a gradual roll-out, with innovations and enhancements to the customer experience delivered throughout the year, it has been heartening to see the positive initial response to Premier racing from the public, racecourses and participants.
“There were high-quality runners at Plumpton on Sunday, with races taking place in front of healthy and engaged crowds. And of course, the year began with a big crowd at Cheltenham enjoying quality racing at our first Premier fixture.
“The 170 Premier Racedays planned for 2024 reflect a significant investment by the sport. These are fixtures proposed by the racecourses which meet strict criteria, including around prize-money and race quality. We should be encouraged that so many racecourses want to invest in and stage these Premier events.
“We will also see more promotional work and, we hope, an HBLB-funded national campaign to support the work already being done by GBR and the racecourses.
“Ultimately, the objective is to encourage more, better-quality horses to be bred, trained, owned and raced in Britain. The sport has agreed that putting on high-quality, valuable racing is the way to achieve this.
“We must accept that this will not happen overnight. But we have made a start on creating and developing an attractive product to secure a long-term future for the sport by encouraging greater engagement with it. Time and experience will help us determine the optimum number of Premier Racedays with regards to racecourses and the horse population.”
She added: “This is the start of a two-year pilot and so we should resist the temptation to make snap judgements on its success based on limited experience. Throughout the pilot we will learn what does and does not work, how we can best package and promote Premier Racedays and ultimately achieve growth that will benefit all levels of the sport.
“Alongside Premier Racedays we also started the trial of Sunday evening racing at Wolverhampton. This saw good prize-money on offer to healthy field sizes meaning competitive racing was taking place in a window we believe affords us an opportunity to grow engagement with the sport.
“Clearly there are a range of views regarding this pilot and we respect those opinions. For this reason, the financial performance of these fixtures will be far from the only measure of their viability; we will continue to seek the views of all those involved in servicing such meetings and this feedback will form a core part of the ultimate assessment of the pilot.”
Doncaster clerk of the course Paul Barker is confident Wednesday’s meeting will go ahead if the weather forecast is accurate.
There was a slight grass frost on Tuesday morning and with similar temperatures forecast overnight, a precautionary inspection has been called for 8am.
However, Barker reports the course to have been frost-free by 10am on Tuesday and as long as the weather does not differ widely from what is expected, no problems are anticipated.
“We were raceable by 10am today after being a little bit crispy this morning. The forecast is pretty similar for tonight, although it is due to get cooler earlier tonight,” said Barker.
“Because this morning was a little crispy, we felt it was only right that we called an inspection but if the forecast is right, we should be OK.
“We’ve got some really good fields which is great to see. We had a relatively good mid-December fixture and were a little bit quieter on the 29th.
“It’s bizarre really as this fixture did exactly the same last year, we had 90 runners then, so it is obviously one that works really well.”
There is also a precautionary 8am inspection for Wednesday’s other jumps card at Leicester.
“It just depends on the forecast. We’re hoping it clouds over to keep the temperatures up, but it went down to -3C last night and it’s taken a bit of shifting,” said clerk of the course Jimmy Stevenson.
“I wouldn’t want it as cold tomorrow but it is not forecast to be, so that is what we are hoping for. We won’t know until the morning, though.
“Today was supposed to be the coldest day, so that is what we are hoping for.”
National Hunt superstar Constitution Hill heads 22 entries for the Unibet Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
Nicky Henderson’s unbeaten charge was a nine-length winner of the hurdles highlight at Prestbury Park last year, one of his eight victories under rules to date.
Constitution Hill is already long odds-on for a repeat on March 12, having made a faultless return in the Christmas Hurdle at Kempton on Boxing Day.
The Willie Mullins-trained State Man chased him home last year and he is among seven contenders for the trainer this time around.
Lossiemouth, winner of the Triumph Hurdle last term, features in the Closutton squad along with 2023 Champion Hurdle fourth Vauban, Echoes In Rain, Gala Marceau, Impaire Et Passe and Zarak The Brave.
Zanahiyr was third behind Constitution Hill 12 months ago and he has been entered by Gordon Elliott, with stablemates Irish Point and Pied Piper also on the list.
Henderson has alternates in First Street, Under Control and Luccia, while four-year-old Burdett Road is an intriguing entry for James Owen.
Harry Fry’s Love Envoi, the Henry de Bromhead-trained Bob Olinger and popular veteran Not So Sleepy are others of note.
The Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle takes place on the same day as the Champion Hurdle and Lossiemouth, Echoes In Rain, Gala Marceau, Love Envoi and Luccia are all entered for that Grade One.
Ashroe Diamond, Magical Zoe and Jetara are others towards the head of the betting, with Jamie Snowden’s You Wear It Well looking for a second Festival win after taking the Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle last term.
A total of 25 have been entered for that race – a number which is surpassed by the 36 initial contenders for the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle.
Run on March 14, the three-mile contest has a clutch of previous winners in the potential line-up, with Elliott’s 2023 hero Sire Du Berlais, Gavin Cromwell’s dual victor Flooring Porter and 2019 winner Paisley Park all potentially coming back for more.
Teahupoo and Irish Point are other key contenders for Elliott, with potential French raider Theleme prominent in the betting having won an Auteuil Grade One in November.
Crambo and Sir Gerhard are in the mix, with the Lucinda Russell-trained Ahoy Senor an interesting possible after a couple of disappointing chase starts this term.
Harriet Graham has confirmed Aye Right an intended runner in Saturday’s rearranged Unibet Veterans’ Handicap Chase Final at Warwick but is a little disheartened the prize-money has been reduced.
The original race was due to be run for £100,000 at Sandown last weekend, when it would have been the feature race, but that meeting was abandoned through waterlogging.
This Saturday, the race will take place at Warwick, like Sandown owned by Jockey Club Racecourses, but the total prize fund is down to £75,000.
“He’s still in and the plan is to go, hopefully the weather doesn’t intervene again,” said Graham, who trains Aye Right in partnership with Gary Rutherford.
“I’m a little bit put off that they’ve managed to knock £25,000 off the prize fund. This race will probably have 14 runners and nearly every horse will have a story behind it. We’ve all run in races to get there.
“I know it is really hard to reschedule races and I know everybody at the BHA works really hard to do it, but it just seems a wee bit cheap. That’s just my feelings, it maybe doesn’t matter to the big trainers and owners.
“It’s a bit like Premierisation, it’s awful for small trainers and awful for small racecourses. They are taking the money from the poor to give to the rich. It’s Robin Hood the wrong way round.
“I know the Jockey Club have two Premier meetings on Saturday, with Kempton and Warwick with really decent prize-money, but to me it just seems a bit cheap to take money off what is a Final.
“These horses have provided entertainment for the last six or seven years, a little recognition would have been the right thing to do.
“I am pleased it’s on, we plan to go and hopefully the weather doesn’t spoil it again.”
Aye Right is once more likely to meet Good Boy Bobby, the two fought out the finish to the 2021 Rehearsal Chase at Newcastle and the seventh leg of the Veterans’ Series in October at Chepstow, securing a narrow success apiece.
Thomas Darby, Two For Gold, Sam Brown, Mill Green, Ramses de Teillee and Lord Du Mesnil are among 16 entries.
Tom Cannon is optimistic the step up in trip will help Edwardstone return to winning ways in Saturday’s Coral Silviniaco Conti Chase at Kempton.
In two outings this season over two miles, Alan King’s charge has been no match for Jonbon but he did get appreciably closer to him in the Tingle Creek than on his seasonal reappearance in the Shloer Chase.
Saturday will be the 10-year-old’s first run over two and a half miles since a hurdles effort back in April 2021, but Cannon feels it is the right move.
“I think it is a logical move, as Edwardstone is not getting younger and now is as good a time as ever to step him up in trip,” he said.
“Although he has not run over this distance over fences, he ran well over two and a half miles over hurdles when he was third at Aintree (in 2021).
“We are going back to slightly calmer waters having run in the Tingle Creek last time, but there are still some good horses in this race.
“It is still a competitive race, so he will have to be at his best to win.
“All his best runs have been around Sandown and he definitely improved for the run at Cheltenham in the Tingle Creek.
“I was more than happy with his run. It was as good a run as he had put in for a long time.”
Cannon went on: “He felt back to his best and, fingers crossed, he can continue that form going forwards.
“He has not been over-raced and he has been well managed throughout his career, which has been a big help.
“He had a jump last Thursday at home and he jumped very well, so there is no problem in that department. He seemed fresh and very well, so I couldn’t be happier with him.”
Lucinda Russell’s Giovinco has Sandown and Cheltenham options after pulling up in the Kauto Star at Kempton on Boxing Day.
The seven-year-old claimed his first win over fences at Aintree in November and then chased home Paul Nicholls’ useful Stay Away Fay in the Grade Two Esher Novices’ Chase at Sandown next time out.
He was subsequently entered in the Kauto Star, a Grade One run over the same trip of three miles, but under Stephen Mulqueen he never seemed to hit his stride and was eventually pulled up as Il Est Francais went on to win impressively.
There was less than three weeks between the gelding’s last two runs, a time-span Russell suspects may have been too short with hindsight.
The Scilly Isles at Sandown and the Festival Trials Day card at Cheltenham could now appear on Giovinco’s agenda, both of which would involve a step down to the near two-and-a-half-mile trip he was successful over twice as a hurdler.
“He might go to Sandown, we’ve got a couple of options with him,” said Russell.
“We might even go to Cheltenham and go over two miles four (furlongs) there.
“He was quite tired after Kempton and we felt, in hindsight, we’d gone to the well just a bit too quickly with him.
“He seems well now, he had a quiet time over the New Year and he’s back to being his usual self again.”
Too often, we wait until our pioneers are gone before we shower them with the praise they deserve.
The Jamaica Football Federation ensured this wouldn’t be the case on Monday when they held a ceremony honoring four stalwarts of football in Jamaica at the federation’s headquarters.
The first set of honorees included Geoffrey Maxwell, Leander Marshall, Everton “Bob West” McLeary and Allan “Skill” Cole.
According to Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) President Michael Ricketts, this initiative was long overdue and is one that he plans to do annually.
“We really want to use this opportunity to express my personal views and those of the JFF. We would have previously planned similar exercises which really did not work out as we would’ve liked and we took a decision that we would select four or five persons annually,” he said.
“Here we are today showing our love and appreciation for the commitment, love, loyalty and the level of entertainment that these players and administrators have given to the sport,” he added.
Ricketts explained that this initiative is a part of the JFF’s efforts to re-connect with past players.
“The JFF is intent on ensuring that we re-establish a relationship with our past players and persons who would have given support to football over the years,” he said.
“Those were the days when service to sport, and especially football, was straight volunteerism,” he added.
Geoffrey Maxwell represented Jamaica as a defender before transitioning into coaching.
He guided Excelsior High to one Manning Cup title and two Walker Cup titles in the 1980s and also coached Waterhouse to the National League trophy in 1998.
Schoolboy football apart, Maxwell coached at the club level with Santos, Waterhouse, Harbour View, Tivoli Gardens, Arnett Gardens, St George's SC, the JDF, and Maverley/Hughenden, among others.
Leander Marshall served as president of the Portmore Football League for over 30 years.
Everton “Bob West” McLeary was a respected administrator to the JFF 30 years ago and sponsored a football competition holding his name. This was part of the KSAFA ecosystem.
Prior to his post at the JFF, he served as a Journalist and a Policeman. He was seriously injured after being knocked down by a vehicle when he was on his motorcycle on Mountain View Avenue in 1994.
Unfortunately, as a result of this accident and the head injuries he sustained, he wasn’t the same. McLeary helped to improve the quality of administration and getting things in place even when resources were not there. McLeary is currently at a nursing home in Manchester.
Allan “Skill” Cole is widely regarded as Jamaica’s greatest ever footballer.
At the peak of his powers, Cole was a midfield maestro local fans compared to Pele. He remains the Jamaica's youngest senior football international, donning national colors against a Brazilian team when he was only 15 years old.
In addition to his local exploits, Cole represented the Atlanta Chiefs in the NASL and Nautico in Brazil.
“First I want to thank the federation for honoring us,” Cole said on behalf of the honorees.
“I cherish these things because I remember in the early days when we were playing football and we didn’t get any form of honor. You see schoolboys today getting citations, plaques and all these things when they score goals, we didn’t get those things. The game has evolved and that is very good” he added.
Cole, who has had his fair share of health issues, made the point that people must be honored more while they are living.
“Honor us before we die. Don’t wait until we die before you honor us. It’s sad and it happens all over the country. Let a man live in his glory,” he said.
The British Horseracing Authority has announced the Unibet Veterans’ Handicap Chase will be rescheduled for Warwick on Saturday.
The valuable handicap was originally lost to the weather following the abandonment of Sandown last weekend.
All existing entries will be cancelled, with new entries to be made by midday on Tuesday. Final declarations will be made with the rest of the card on Thursday. The weights of the race will be republished following the new entries.
The BHA said it was grateful to the Jockey Club for agreeing to host the rescheduled race, to the Horserace Betting Levy Board for their prize-money contribution and to Unibet for its sponsorship of the race, as well as continued support of veterans’ races.
The Stayers’ Hurdle has emerged as an unorthodox potential stepping-stone to a third tilt at the Randox Grand National for Noble Yeats.
The eight-year-old won the world’s most famous steeplechase at Aintree in 2022 and finished fourth in both the Cheltenham Gold Cup and when defending his Grand National crown last season.
Making his first appearance since the Grand Steeple-Chase de Paris in May, Noble Yeats reverted to the smaller obstacles at Limerick over the festive period – and while beaten by Sa Majeste as the 10-11 favourite, his owner Robert Waley-Cohen was satisfied with the performance.
“It was a very good first run of the season,” he said.
“I don’t think he really likes that very heavy going as it was at Limerick, but we had to start somewhere and hopefully we’ll get some better ground later in the year.”
Connections decided against entering Noble Yeats for the Gold Cup this time around, but Waley-Cohen has raised the intriguing possibility of him turning up in another major event at the Cheltenham Festival.
He added: “We’re going to enter for the Stayers’ Hurdle – if you don’t enter you can’t decide whether to go for it when the time comes.
“His main target for the year is still the Grand National. The Gold Cup is a tough race and the Grand National is a tough race and I think winning both in the same year is nigh on impossible.
“He was fourth in both last year, which was a fantastic performance, but I’d be more excited about winning one than being fourth in two!
“I don’t think he’s going to win a Gold Cup. He’s a 166-rated horse, the average Gold Cup winner is probably 175 and the very good ones might be closer to 180.”
Whether Noble Yeats runs over hurdles or fences on his next start remains to be seen, with Waley-Cohen keen to keep all options open.
He said: “We might put him in the Cleeve Hurdle, or if you want a chase where you require a lot of stamina you could look at the Cotswold Chase, in which he finished third last season.
“Let’s wait and see, but everything is being geared towards getting to the Grand National in first-class order to give ourselves the best possible chance.”
Conditions are much improved at Huntingdon after severe flooding caused by the overflowing of the Alconbury Brook.
The track is due to host a meeting on Friday, its first since November as the Peterborough Chase fixture was lost last month, as was a further fixture last week.
The Cambridgeshire circuit was virtually underwater just days ago due to the deluge brought in by Storm Henk, but most of that water has now cleared and officials are optimistic about racing going ahead on Friday.
Clerk of the course Roderick Duncan said: “The river is down to pre-flood levels, all the drainage systems are now working and the floodwater has cleared.
“There is just a small area that often accumulates at the two-mile-four (furlong) chute, but not on the racing line.
“There’s a bit of standing water that remains, but we believe we’ve an opportunity of getting this meeting on with the forecast as it is.
“We’ve had a big team in, all the ground staff at Newmarket have given us a hand because there was a lot of debris about, but we’ve found nothing of concern.
“We were lucky that racing-critical buildings like the stable yard have all been flood-defended so that water couldn’t enter them.
“We wouldn’t want a lot of frost, but our forecast indicates that we shouldn’t get it and for that reason we’d be quite optimistic.”
Exeter abandoned Tuesday’s meeting due to frost, losing a seven-race card with temperatures dropping to minus 3C overnight.
Guyanese left-arm spinner Gudakesh Motie ended 2023 with the best match figures in Test cricket with his 13-99 against Zimbabwe in February in Bulawayo.
The 28-year-old took figures of 7-37 from 14.5 overs in the first innings and 6-62 from 17.3 overs in the second innings to set up an innings and four-run victory for the Windies.
Motie also took six wickets in the first match of the two-match series to finish with 19 in total, being named Player of the Series in the process.
Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin had the second-best match figures of 2023 with his 12-131 against the West Indies in Dominica in July while Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon was third with his 11-99 against India in Indore in March.
Lucinda Russell’s Apple Away could make her next start at Warwick in the Trustatrader Hampton Novices’ Chase.
The seven-year-old was a high-class novice hurdler last season, taking Grade One honours when winning the Sefton at Aintree’s Grand National meeting.
Graduating to fences this term, the mare acquitted herself well in a competitive contest on debut when finishing third at Haydock in a late November graduation chase.
She then headed to Leicester for a beginners’ chase last month, triumphing by an easy 31 lengths after a fluent round of jumping against two respectable rivals.
The mare could now take the step up to graded level over fences as she holds an entry for the Grade Two Hampton on Saturday, while she is also engaged in the William Hill Towton Novices’ Chase at Wetherby.
“She in at Warwick and Wetherby, my preference would be to go to Warwick over three miles, but we’ll just check on the ground conditions,” said Russell.
“I think three miles around Warwick would really suit her, she’s absolutely perfect after her last run and she’s back to being the queen she is!
“She’s really smart and I think at Leicester you saw that, she learnt throughout the race and by the end of it she was really confident in her jumping.”
Elsewhere in the Warwick race is Brave Kingdom, Paul Nicholls’ unbeaten eight-year-old who has two novice handicap victories to his name in two starts.
Nigel Twiston-Davies has entered Broadway Boy, an impressive winner of two successive Cheltenham contests in his last two starts.
Evan Williams has thrown Carbon King’s hat in the ring, a winner last time out at Ffos Las, while Dan Skelton may be represented by Grey Dawning, the winner of Apple Away’s chasing debut.
Joe Tizzard has an entry in The Changing Man, with Trelawne also on the list for Kim Bailey.
Trinidad and Tobago striker Reon Moore has come to terms on a move to Canadian Premier League outfit Pacific FC according to reports from Transfermark’s Manuel Veth.
The 27-year-old striker looks set for a move to Starlight Stadium following his second spell with Trinidad and Tobago top flight side Defence Force FC, for whom his form in the Concacaf Caribbean Cup turned heads
He scored back-to-back goals against Jamaica’s Cavalier FC and Martinique’s Golden Lions FC before adding an assist against fellow T&T side AC Port of Spain last fall.
Despite his strong form over for four games, however, his club would fail to progress out of Group A.
Moore is also an established presence within the Trinidad and Tobago national team, tallying a healthy return of eight goals in 25 appearances for the Soca Warriors.
The centre forward dished out two assists in Nations League A before scoring the first goal in Trinidad and Tobago’s 2-1 quarter-final comeback win over the USA.
His professional career began with hometown side North East Stars before a move to Matura Reunited came the following year.
He then enjoyed five fruitful years with Defence Force before testing himself internationally with Guatemalan side Municipal in 2022, but with no goals coming there he returned to Defence Force last year and has clearly found his footing in the time since.
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