Hayley Matthews is hopeful a leg injury won't interrupt the form of her life after the West Indies captain claimed an incredible eighth-straight player-of-the-match gong to cap a historic series against Australia.
The opener blasted 79 off 40 balls in a 47-run loss to Australia in Brisbane's series decider on Thursday night, having already mustered an unbeaten 99 off 74 and 132 from 64 on Sunday and Monday.
She became the first player to score more than 300 runs across three women's T20I games as West Indies fell just short of a first series win against the world champions.
"I don't think so," the 25-year-old said when asked if she'd ever been in better form. "Being able to notch up 300 runs in a three-game T20 series is something unbelievable. I set targets coming down here and I can tell you it definitely wasn't getting 300 runs in three T20s."
The sides begin a three-game ODI series in Brisbane on Sunday with Matthews hopeful a quadriceps niggle won't keep her from leading an improving team who, she knows, rely on her deeply.
The captain said she felt some tightness in Monday's second game. She was troubled by it again on Thursday and will have scans to determine the severity of the injury.
"I felt my quad pulling a bit from the last game when we were in the field. I was running for a ball and felt it again so maybe a little strain there but we're going to assess it when I cool down, and have a better picture of what's going on," she said.
"Hopefully it's nothing too serious and I'm all ready to go in the first game for the ODI series," she added.
Matthews was playing for the Barbados senior women's team as a 12-year-old, debuted for her country at 16 and powered the successful chase against Australia to win a T20 World Cup when she was 18.
Matthews' wicket on Thursday at Allan Border Field triggered a collapse of 5 for 7, West Indies falling from 97 without loss to be all out for 143.
"I know that I have a big impact on the way that the game goes," she said.
In 27 T20 innings as captain Matthews averages 40, compared to an average of 18 in 61 innings without the responsibility.
"Sometimes, it can be stressful, but as a leader they're things you have to put on your shoulders," she said. "And in the second game I couldn't win that game without what Stafanie [Taylor] did. How I've been batting here is just trying to play really, really good cricket shots and that's my exact plan going into the 50-over series as well.
"If I get fluent I'll be happy with that, but there's definitely a lot less pressure to score quickly."
West Indies have won once in 15 ODI meetings against Australia, Matthews confident her inexperienced middle order will fare better with less pressure to score quickly in the longer format.
Natalia Lupini will keep a close eye on ground conditions at the Curragh before committing her unbeaten filly Kitty Rose to a run in Saturday’s Staffordstown Stud Stakes.
An impressive winner as a 25-1 shot on her racecourse debut at Naas in August, the daughter of Invincible Army proved there was no fluke about that performance when successfully stepping up to Listed class in the Ingabelle Stakes at Leopardstown on Irish Champions Weekend.
Lupini hopes to see her stable star go in search of the hat-trick at Group Three level this weekend, but warns her participation is ground dependent.
“She has been in good form and she’s ready to run, the only thing is we’re monitoring the ground as we had a lot of rain yesterday and today,” said the County Armagh-based Italian.
“We’ll just have to keep a close eye on the ground as she probably doesn’t want it too soft, so we’re not going to run her on very soft ground.
“She seems to have stepped up a gear in her work since Leopardstown and everything looks good apart from the weather, unfortunately!
“The current owners are thinking this will be her last run of the year. She’s a big filly and she will definitely benefit from a winter break.”
Kitty Rose’s potential rivals include the experienced Aidan O’Brien-trained pair of Brilliant and Content and Gavin Cromwell’s Royal Ascot heroine Snellen.
The latter beat the boys in the Chesham Stakes in June, but needs to bounce back from a disappointing run when last of eight in the Debutant Stakes at the Curragh on her most recent start.
Leading 1000 Guineas contender Fallen Angel is set to sidestep next weekend’s bet365 Fillies’ Mile and be put away until next season.
The daughter of Too Darn Hot has won three of her four starts to date, her only defeat coming at the hands of Shuwari in the Star Stakes at Sandown in July.
Karl Burke’s filly bounced back to winning ways with a dominant success in the Sweet Solera at Newmarket before striking Group One gold in last month’s Moyglare Stud Stakes at the Curragh.
A potential rematch with Shuwari on the Rowley Mile looked to be on the cards, but connections of Fallen Angel feel their filly has done enough for this season and they will now spend the winter dreaming of Classic glory next spring.
“I’d say she is unlikely to run again this year and will just head straight for a Guineas next year,” said Joe Foley, racing manager for owners Clipper Logistics.
“We were always planning to give her just four runs this year. If she hadn’t won the Moyglare we would have targeted the Fillies’ Mile, but she’s already a Group One winner at two now and she’s a big filly with lots of scope for next year, so we don’t want to interfere with that.
“We’ve decided to let her off and give her a break, so she’s not going to run in the Fillies’ Mile and she was never going to a Breeders’ Cup this year.”
On whether Fallen Angel could have a prep run before running in the 1000 Guineas next year, Foley added: “We’ll see how she goes and leave that to Karl. Going straight to the Newmarket Guineas was the original plan, but that could change.”
Ascot’s Jim Barry Cumberland Lodge Stakes has been a happy hunting ground for Shadwell down the years and they have a strong hand again this Saturday.
The likes of Mutamam, Nayef, Mubtaker, Mawatheeq, Laaheb, Hawaafez, Laraaib and Hukum have carried the famous blue and white silks to victory in this mile-and-a-half contest since the turn of the century.
Angus Gold, racing manager for Shadwell, said: “It’s a very good race for older staying horses and it comes at a nice time in the calendar, so we’ve always kept it in mind.”
This term, Jim Crowley has opted to partner the William Haggas-trained Al Aasy, who followed up a Haydock victory at this Group Three level by chasing home Irish Derby runner-up Adelaide River at Leopardstown when giving away 11lb.
“He ran very well at Leopardstown,” commented Gold. “He had to come from a long way back and the winner had already kicked on well.
“This horse is in good form and hopefully he can put in another good performance at Ascot.”
Benoit De La Sayette will get the leg-up on Israr for John and Thady Gosden in the same colours.
He was an impressive scorer in the Princess of Wales’s Stakes at Newmarket before faltering behind Bay Bridge at Kempton last time out.
“Everyone was of the same opinion that he just didn’t handle the all-weather; he just looked miserable on it,” stated Gold.
“It was a hot day, the surface got very sticky and he just hated it, so we’ll get him back on the turf and he should enjoy that a lot more.”
Stablemate Fortino, a multiple Group One winner in Chile, also struggled to get into the September Stakes and finished a well-beaten last of seven on his debut for the yard.
Al Qareem returned from 175 days off when bravely battling back to beat Bluestocking in the Listed-class Stand Cup Stakes at Chester last month.
“He’s come out of the race at Chester well and he will improve fitness-wise for that run,” said Nick Bradley, managing director of owners Nick Bradley Racing.
“It is obviously a slight step up in grade and this will tell us if we go for another Group Three in three weeks’ time or think about the Prix Royal-Oak.”
L’Astronome was two and a half lengths back in third in that Roodee race on his first start for Hugo Palmer since switching from France, where he was a Group Two scorer at ParisLongchamp last summer.
Claymore has a Group Three course success in last season’s Hampton Court Stakes to his credit but has been hit by setbacks since then.
On his only start this term, the son of New Bay was tailed off behind Hukum in the Brigadier Gerard at Sandown back in May, when it was reported that he bled from the nose.
Jane Chapple-Hyam is hoping her charge is back fit and well, though, and commented: “We’ve got to try and he’s been off the track a while.
“I would prefer it to be over a mile and a quarter, but he’s back on his winning track. There wasn’t much else for older horses.
“Neil Callan came in and rode him and liked what he rode and was pleased with him.
“He’s just had little niggles here and there, but we feel we have ironed them all out and he’s ready for a run.”
Euchen Glen took top honours in the 2020 renewal of this race when it was rerouted to York after the original Ascot fixture was abandoned due to waterlogging.
The 10-year-old was sixth behind Hamish in it 12 months ago for Jim Goldie and makes the long trip down from Scotland again.
Postileo earned this step up in class by landing the Lanark Silver Bell Handicap, Hamilton’s richest-ever prize, when fitted with cheekpieces for the first time.
Patrick Mullins will be bidding to make it third time lucky in the Velka Pardubicka when he gets the leg up aboard defending champion Mr Spex at Pardubice on Sunday.
The decorated amateur rider is yet to complete in the challenging four-and-a-quarter-mile cross-country contest, having fallen from Kaiserwalzer in his two previous attempts in the famous Czech contest.
However, he has a Pardubice specialist on his side this time around, with Lubos Urbanek’s nine-year-old not only the winner last year, but also third in 2021.
“It’s a hugely exciting day and it’s an honour to be asked to go and ride last year’s winner,” said Mullins. “It’s a fantastic opportunity and I can’t wait.
“This is my third time going over and I’ve had a few seconds and thirds in some of the other races but no joy in the Velka yet.
“Mr Spex won last year and was third the year before, so he would have to have a huge chance and I’m hoping for third time lucky. He has a fabulous record around the track and a clear round would be a great start, but I’m hoping we will be bang there at the finish as well.”
Charlie Mann was the last British rider to triumph in the Velka Pardubicka when partnering It’s A Snip in 1995, but no Irish jockey has ever won the unique contest, which Mullins has many fond memories of from down the years.
He added: “I remember Richard Dunwoody going over one year to ride Risk Of Thunder and Ruby (Walsh) went over one year and broke his leg in a race before the Velka.
“When you watch the videos of it, it is proper National Hunt racing. To be a part of it and compete in it is a privilege.”
Despite failing to complete in his two previous spins aboard Kaiserwalzer, the County Carlow native believes the Pardubice cross-country circuit compares favourably with both the Cheltenham and Punchestown equivalents.
And although having to encounter the famous Taxis and it’s formidable five-metre ditch, he embraces the different proposition the Czech track presents.
“They are slightly different but at the end of the day they are just jumps,” he added. “The horses have run over them before so you are trying not to interfere with them too much.
“The Taxis is very wide but the rest of them would be very similar to the Punchestown and Cheltenham cross-country tracks.
“The water jumps are slightly different, they are flat water jumps. They are wider and there is no upright in front of them. They are probably the most different jumps, but at the end of the day they are just jumps.
“I like the variety, I think it makes it exciting and interesting and it is a very special race.”
Back on home soil, the record-breaking amateur has made a stellar start to the 2023-24 campaign, bringing up his 800th career winner at Listowel last month, and currently leads the Irish jump jockeys’ championship.
Mullins now anticipates a slight easing in the numbers ahead of some of the stable’s main hopes striding out onto the track in the coming months and believes there is plenty of ammunition in Closutton to look forward to.
“We’ve had a superb start and the bumper horses have been running out of their skin,” he said.
“We will probably have a little bit of a lull now, with our summer team coming to an end and our winter team about to begin, but it looks like we have plenty of soldiers to go to war with in the winter and I’m looking forward to turning the screw with them over the next six weeks or so.
“We’re kind of the end of November before ours start coming out, so we’re a bit away yet.”
Zoulu Chief has the chance to land a valuable prize at Newmarket on Saturday when bidding for a hat-trick in the £150,000 Tattersalls October Auction Stakes.
Heather Main’s youngster has been in destructive form this summer, winning a pair of competitive nursery handicaps in devastating fashion from the front.
The handler was keen to test the strong-travelling front-runner in Group company following the second of his victories at York but that plan was thwarted by wet conditions throughout September.
As a result, the Zoustar colt and regular pilot Gina Mangan now get the opportunity go in search of the £81,165 first prize on the Rowley Mile, with Main keen to get her charge back on track having not been seen for 45 days.
“He’s ready to run again and we’re excited to get him out again,” said Main.
“We’ve had this race in sight for a while since we bought him and I think it will suit him nicely.
“I really wanted to run him in the Mill Reef or the Flying Childers at Doncaster but the ground went against him which was frustrating. Hopefully it will hold out until Saturday for him.”
Zoulu Chief has made his mark when allowed to bowl along in explosive fashion and Main sees no reason to change proven tactics now.
She added: “It’s how he likes to race so I think it will be the usual.”
Tom Ward’s Woodhay Wonder secured over £50,000 when winning a similar contest on the July course in late August and has been held back by his handler for a tilt at further riches in this event.
The daughter of Tamayuz was a respectable third in the Group Two Duchess of Cambridge Stakes before that and her touch of class could come to the fore once again.
“She’s a nice filly and I think she has come on a bit from her last win at Newmarket,” said Ward.
“She’s fresh and well and I have kept her fresh for this race having got some black type with her earlier in the year.
“She’s got plenty of size and scope about her so hopefully she will be a nice filly next season as well, but we’ll have this last run and then put her away. She’s a nice type and I hope she will run a nice race.
“She’s already picked up one of these races and hopefully will run well and go close again on Saturday.”
Amy Murphy’s Dubai Hills (fourth), Richard Hannon’s Commander Crouch (fifth) and Karl Burke’s Cuban Slide (seventh) all finished behind Woodhay Wonder in August, as did James Ferguson’s Drama who finished 11th.
However, the latter is backed to improve on that effort this time by his handler.
Ferguson said: “Things didn’t go to plan for Drama last time at Newmarket.
“I still have plenty of confidence in the horse. His work has been impressive, and you cannot shy away from a challenge with this sort of prize money on offer.”
Dragon Leader has already proven to be a real money-spinner this season and will be chasing more sales race riches in the William Hill Two Year Old Trophy at Redcar.
Following a Salisbury double, the Kennet Valley Thoroughbreds-owned juvenile picked up just under £150,000 for winning a similar contest at York in August.
Clive Cox’s son of El Kabeir then had to settle for second best behind Room Service in a Weatherbys-backed event at Doncaster, but still collected almost £60,000 for his efforts that day.
With the weights for Saturday’s Listed-class race again framed around auction ring activities, the bargain buy is once more favoured by conditions.
Sam Hoskins, racing manager for Kennet Valley Thoroughbreds, said: “We’re really looking forward to seeing him run again and it’s a perfect fit in terms of where he sits in the weights because of his sire’s median price.
“The ground was just a bit too soft for him at Doncaster but he still ran a very game race to finish second and it was another good day all round. Hopefully, it will be a little quicker at Redcar on Saturday, as that will suit him much better.
“He doesn’t owe us anything and we’re obviously aware of the fact that it’s the end of a relatively busy first season for him.
“But Clive says he’s going well at home and showing no signs of being over the top, so fingers crossed he holds his form.
“It’s quite nerve-wracking being odds-on for such a valuable race, but we’ve got 15 of his owners going up to Redcar and it promises to be another great day out.”
There is always the temptation for syndicate owners to cash in on a star juvenile, but Dragon Leader’s 16 patrons appear to be in it for the long haul.
“There were quite a few enquiries about him after his win at York but his syndicate are in it for the sport and a bit of fun, so it would have taken an exceptional offer to tempt anyone,” added Hoskins.
“He’s a horse that’s got plenty of scope and we’re all very excited about where he could take us again next season.”
Karl Burke’s Kylian looked the main danger but was taken out on Friday morning when he was found to be lame.
Richard Fahey’s Flaccianello was two and a half lengths adrift of Dragon Leader when fifth at Doncaster last month but has since secured her third success in an Ayr nursery and is the second choice of the bookmakers.
As the dust continues to settle on the Jamaica Football Federation’s (JFF) controversial non-renewal of Lorne Donaldson’s contract to head the Reggae Girlz programme, former JFF president Tony James believes the outcome could have been different had both parties tempered their egos.
James is of the view that neither the Michael Ricketts-led JFF, represented by general secretary Dennis Chung, nor Donaldson really considered the bigger picture, which was to place the Reggae Girlz and their progress at the forefront of the decision-making process to arrive at a more amicable settlement.
In fact, while noting that Donaldson’s outspoken personality may have led to his ousting, James was by no means reserved in his criticism of the JFF, especially given the Girlz overwhelming success under the outgoing coach’s leadership.
“No responsible organization is going to have its employees in the public making negative comments about the federation. The JFF has the authority to run football in Jamaica and there can be no questions about that and then there is the case of everybody having an ego which is not such a bad thing,” James remarked.
“The issue is that when you are excessive then you have a problem, so the ego has to be balanced. I am not approving one side; both sides needed to temper their ego and place the Girlz at the centre of their issues. Everybody is on a tangent and once you put the Girlz at the centre and they (JFF) apply good governance principles, I don’t think you would have had the same result,” he told Sportsmax.tv.
James argued that the national development of football should always be of utmost priority for the JFF hierarchy and its Technical Committee, despite personal feelings.
As such, he believes the decision to cut the country’s most successful coach, should have been discussed with certain stakeholders, to include women’s football ambassador Cedella Marley, who has significantly invested in the programme.
It was Marley, who first introduced Donaldson and former Head coach Hue Menzies to the Reggae Girlz programme in 2015, and the two led the country to an historic first FIFA Women’s World Cup appearance in France in 2019.
However, after Menzies departed the programme in late 2019, Donaldson followed suit a few months later, but was reappointed in June 2022, to replace Vinimore “Vin” Blaine, who was forced to resign a few months into his tenure after the players expressed their displeasure with his leadership in a scathing letter.
Like he did in 2019, Donaldson again led the Reggae Girlz to the World Cup, jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand, where they had an historic run to the round of 16, after drawing with France and Brazil and defeating Panama in the group stage.
The Reggae Girlz eventually bowed out following a 0-1 loss to Colombia.
In their most recent fixtures, the Reggae Girlz suffered back-to-back losses to Canada in a failed bid to qualify for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, but the progress the team has made under Donaldson’s leadership is without question.
“You can’t take sides, you have to look on every stakeholder and see what they are bringing to the table and if you have good governance principles then you should discuss it with at least the major stakeholders.
“Cedella Marley is a major stakeholder, have they discussed it with Cedella Marley?” James questioned.
“And in all this the Girlz should be the front of the equation, there are representatives of the Girlz who are very vocal and very focused, you should have called them in and say ‘listen, here is our position. What is your view because I am sure they are going to get a view that is not in agreement with that decision by the JFF,” James continued.
The former football boss also took issue with the JFF’s widely circulated release stating that the decision to part ways was with Donaldson was mutual, as the coach refuted the claims and revealed that the meeting with Chung and JFF’s Human Resource Manager Suzie George-Gayle, lasted a mere five minutes.
The JFF statement said, “after an extended discussion, both parties came to an agreement that the contract would not be renewed.”
James said this again called the JFF’s character into question.
“And again, that is against governance principles. Discussion and respect are a part of good governance principles, so a five-minute thing, I don’t know what you call that, it is just disrespectful,” he opined.
“If the context of what the man [Donaldson] said is true, the press release emanating from that is also false then, because it said that they were in agreement. So, once it says that, and you bring false into it, then it doesn’t put JFF in a good light because there are other things people are going to assume are false,” James noted.
Upon reflection, James recalled the fact that Donaldson was not the initial first choice for the JFF from the onset.
It was Englishman Jonathan Morgan, who found favour with the JFF Technical Committee. However, Morgan later received an offer from Burnley Women’s team and opted out of the race for the Girlz top job, which resulted in Donaldson taking the reins.
“I think that is what is ticking off the JFF, the fact that coach Lorne Donaldson was not selected by them. So, what is embarrassing to the Technical Committee is that they chose someone [Morgan] and Cedella Marley chose a different person [Donaldson] and that person has worked miracles,” James reasoned.
“So, people should be willing to eat humble pie in the context of national importance given the success and progress made in that (World Cup) campaign and say alright let us look at it (Donaldson’s contract) again.
“From there, they could then lay down the plan, not only to Lorne, but to everybody in the national programme that you have to seek permission to speak on certain matters and if you don’t follow the guideline, you will be severely sanctioned,” he explained.
“But the thing with the Girlz programme is that you don’t know who has the authority to speak because you don’t hear anything from anybody else. So, I am not sure who is making the decision for the JFF, if it is the Technical Committee or the Board of Directors, nobody really knows, so apparently all legislation is left to this fellow [Chung],” James ended.
The West Indies Academy players will assemble in Antigua from Monday, 9 October for a High-Performance camp ahead of their participation in the upcoming CG United Super50 Cup.
The 14 players will be under the guidance of Head Coach Andre Coley and Assistant Coach Rayon Griffith during the week-long camp at the Coolidge Cricket Ground (CCG). Following the camp, they will travel to Trinidad to participate in the eight-team CG United Super50 Cup. Nyeem Young, the batting allrounder has been named captain.
Coley said: “We are really looking forward to competing in this year’s edition of the CG United Super50 Cup. The camp provides an excellent opportunity for us to prepare and focus on our white ball skills and certain match scenarios, as we build on the performances of the previous tournament and explore ways to execute the brand of cricket that we want to play as a West Indian team.”
The region’s premier List A 50-over tournament will bowl off on Tuesday 17 October and conclude on Saturday 11 November with a new eight-team league format followed by Semi-Finals and Finals to determine the 2023 CG United Super50 Cup Champions. The West Indies Academy’s first fixture is against Combined Colleges and Campuses (CCC) on the 19 October.
The event will feature 31 matches to be played at three venues: the Brian Lara Cricket Academy (BLCA), the Queen’s Park Oval (QPO) and the Sir Frank Worrell Cricket Grounds of the University of the West Indies Sport and Physical Education Centre (UWI SPEC) at the St. Augustine Campus.
All 13 matches at the BLCA, including the Semi-Finals and Final, will be televised live on ESPN Caribbean, with 12 of those matches being day/night games.
FULL SQUAD
Nyeem Young (Captain)
Ackeem Auguste
Joshua Bishop
Teddy Bishop
Carlon Bowen-Tuckett
McKenny Clarke
Matthew Forde
Leonardo Julien
Johann Layne
Kimani Melius
Matthew Nandu
Ashmead Nedd
Kelvin Pitman
Kevin Wickham
CG United Super50 Match Schedule:
Venues: Queen’s Park Oval (QPO); Brian Lara Cricket Academy (BLCA); UWI SPEC
Matches in bold are televised matches, exclusively live on ESPN Caribbean
All other matches are streamed live on the windiescricket YouTube channel
17 October: Trinidad & Tobago Red Force vs CCC at QPO – 9am
17 October: Guyana Harpy Eagles vs Windward Islands Volcanoes at BLCA – 1pm
18 October: Leeward Islands Hurricanes vs Jamaica Scorpions at BLCA – 1pm
19 October: Trinidad & Tobago Red Force vs Windward Islands Volcanoes at QPO – 9am
19 October: CCC vs West Indies Academy at BLCA – 1pm
20 October: Barbados Pride vs Jamaica Scorpions at UWI SPEC – 9am
21 October: Leeward Islands Hurricanes vs West Indies Academy at QPO – 9am
21 October: Trinidad & Tobago Red Force vs Guyana Harpy Eagles at BLCA – 1pm
22 October: Windward Islands Volcanoes vs CCC at UWI SPEC – 9am
23 October: Guyana Harpy Eagles vs Leeward Islands Hurricanes at QPO – 9am
23 October: Barbados Pride vs West Indies Academy at UWI SPEC – 9am
25 October: Windward Islands Volcanoes vs Barbados Pride at BLCA - 9am
25 October: West Indies Academy vs Jamaica Scorpions at QPO – 9am
25 October: Guyana Harpy Eagles vs CCC at UWI SPEC – 9am
26 October: Trinidad & Tobago Red Force vs Leeward Islands Hurricanes at BLCA – 1pm
27 October: Jamaica Scorpions vs CCC at UWI SPEC – 9am
28 October: Trinidad & Tobago Red Force vs West Indies Academy at QPO – 9am
29 October: Barbados Pride vs Guyana Harpy Eagles at UWI SPEC – 9am
29 October: Jamaica Scorpions vs Windward Islands Volcanoes at BLCA – 1pm
31 October: Windward Islands Volcanoes vs Leeward Islands Hurricanes at QPO – 9am
31 October: CCC vs Barbados Pride at UWI SPEC – 9am
1 November: West Indies Academy vs Guyana Harpy Eagles at UWI SPEC – 9am
2 November: Trinidad & Tobago Red Force vs Jamaica Scorpions at QPO – 9am
2 November: Leeward Islands Hurricanes vs Barbados Pride at BLCA – 1pm
3 November: West Indies Academy vs Windward Islands Volcanoes at UWI SPEC – 9am
4 November: CCC vs Leeward Islands Hurricanes at QPO – 9am
4 November: Jamaica Scorpions vs Guyana Harpy Eagles at BLCA – 1pm
5 November: Trinidad & Tobago Red Force vs Barbados Pride at BLCA – 1pm
8 November: Semi-Final 1 at BLCA – 1pm
9 November: Semi-Final 2 at BLCA – 1pm
11 November: Final at BLCA – 1pm
Jamaican quarter-miler Sean Bailey has signed a professional contract with Adidas. Bailey, a finalist in the 400m at the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary in August, made the announcement on Instagram on Thursday, explaining that the development is a dream come true.
“Lost for words. These past two years out of college, I wanted to run track and field professionally. Two years later I am Adidas athlete,” Bailey said in his post.
The younger brother of Jamaican Olympian icon Veronica Campbell-Brown, Bailey enjoyed perhaps his most successful season. In May, he ran a personal best 44.43 to win at the Drake Relays defeating the 2012 Olympic champion Kirani James and then won his first national title at the Jamaica National Championships in July.
In winning the national title, Bailey defeated Antonio Watson, who would go on to win the 400m at the championships in Budapest. Bailey made it to the final where he finished fifth in 44.96. An injury prevented him from participating in the 4x400m relay. His presence was missed as Jamaica finished fourth.
However, he has had his fair share of injuries which have hampered his progress and at one point had him thinking about giving up.
“The journey has not been an easy one by any means. I wanted to give up so many times because I felt as if I was not good enough. I stuck with it and I’m here to tell anyone out there chasing a goal that it is possible. It’s not a cliché, work hard and dedicate yourself.”
He expressed gratitude to his management team, OntrackManagement, “for believing in me and working with me through all my rough patches. I am grateful to have you all by my side.” He also thanked his coaxh Mickael Hanany for believing in him and giving him the opportunity to lean every day. “We have a lot more work to get done,” he said.
Sheikha Hissa’s Shadwell operation went to 1,600,000 guineas to purchase a Frankel filly on the final day of the Book 1 sale at Tattersalls in Newmarket.
Consigned by Watership Down Stud, the chestnut is out of the Group One-winning Millisle, who took the Cheveley Park Stakes for Jessica Harrington in 2019.
It is the second-highest figure commanded by a yearling over the three-day sale and the buyers were delighted to get their hands on such regally-bred young stock.
“She is a lovely first foal, I saw her on the farm and loved her, I loved her every time we saw her here as did Sheikha Hissa,” long-standing Shadwell racing manager Angus Gold told Tattersalls.
“We knew she’d make a lot of money, but we need some fillies for the stud and a first foal out of Cheveley Park Stakes winner and by a great stallion, it was sort of fairly self-explanatory.
“She seems very athletic, very well-balanced and has a very good mind, so now she has got to be able to run!”
Shadwell have achieved notable on-track success this season with Hukum, Mostahdaf, Al Husn and Anmaat all registering Group One victories in the famous blue with white silks.
All four of those horses are aged five or six, showing a willingness of Shadwell’s Sheikha Hissa to extend a horse’s career beyond the typical three or four.
Their latest buy is part of the Shadwell rebuilding process and Gold added: “It is a period of rebuilding, it is a long-term project for Sheikha Hissa.
“We have been lucky this year with the older horses, and Sheikha Hissa is happy to take a different route to her father Sheikh Hamdan who did not like to keep the older horses and she is prepared to if we think there is more to come, and she has been rewarded with a Group One winner.
“It is exciting times for the stud, but you have to keep regenerating.”
He added of Sheikha Hissa’s ever-growing passion for the sport: “She has loved coming here, she can stand looking at the horses all day if someone did not come and move her!
“She loves coming to see the yearlings, we saw them all Monday and she has been back over the three days to see horses again. She is picking it up very quickly, like her father, and really enjoys the business.
Palmar Bay could have a bright future having shown a game attitude to claim the feature British EBF Radcliffe & Co Conditions Stakes at Salisbury.
The Ralph Beckett-trained colt claimed the scalp of subsequent July Stakes scorer Jasour when getting off the mark at the Wiltshire track in May, but missed out on an intended run in the Listed Rose Bowl Stakes at Newbury during the heart of summer when breaking out of the stalls prior to the off.
Sent off the 3-1 joint-favourite among a smart cast of juveniles, he produced a professional display in the hands of Hector Crouch to edge out fellow market principal Solar Aclaim by three-quarters of a length.
Palmar Bay was joined on the Salisbury scoresheet by stablemate La Pasionaria (8-1) who made a winning debut in division one of the Byerley Stud British EBF Novice Stakes, as the Kimpton Down handler enjoyed a double at a venue he enjoys both notable and regular success at.
Beckett said: “I like La Pasionaria, she has shown up well at home and really got her head down and toughed it out I thought. She will probably be put away for next year.
“Palmar Bay, ditto really. Off a break he did really well to overcome the pacesetter who is a nice horse as well and he could run in a stakes race before the end of the season.
“I don’t know where at this stage because he could go seven (furlongs) and I think he probably wants that.”
Elsewhere on the card there were maiden victories for Clive Cox’s Finbar Furey (9-2) and Ed Walker’s Ten Bob Tony (6-4 joint favourite), who both claimed divisions of the Radcliffe & Co British EBF Novice Stakes in eyecatching fashion, while the other juvenile contest went the way of David Menuisier’s debutant Goodwood Odyssey (20-1).
St. George’s College defeated Ardenne High 3-0 in ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup action on Wednesday.
The game started on Tuesday and the 22-time Manning Cup champions took the lead through Brian Burkett in the 13th minute before play was halted by weather in the 55th minute.
The game was then rescheduled and started at an earlier time on Wednesday and the light blues picked up where they left off.
It took them only two minutes into the restart to double their lead as Adrian Reid Jr. slotted home in the 57th.
Matthew Spence then later added a third in the 88th to put the tie to bed. STGC now extends their unbeaten run to five games and is comfortably atop Zone F on 15 points, six points ahead of second placed Jose Marti and eight ahead of Campion College in third.
The five other games scheduled to take place on Wednesday were postponed due to weather.
San Juan North leapfrogged Fatima College to the top of the Trinidad and Tobago Secondary School Football League (SSFL) table on Wednesday following a 2-1 victory over Trinity College East. The three points means San Juan North now have 18 points, two more that previous leaders, who were beaten 1-0 by Presentation College in Round-7 action.
Fatima College was suffering their first loss of the season.
Meanwhile, Naparima College lost their second match of the season when they went down 3-2 to St Benedict’s College, which leaves them three points behind San Juan North.
Elsewhere, Speyside High School notched their fourth win of the season edging East Mucurapo Secondary 2-1 to be fifth in the league standings with 13 points.
Three teams are locked on 12 points but St Anthony’s College is ahead on goal difference lying sixth following their 6-1 drubbing of Pleasantville Secondary. Arima North Secondary are next following a 2-1 victory over Malick Secondary.
St Mary’s College is the third team in the mid-table log jam following their 3-2 win over Bishop’s High School.
Queen’s Royal College enjoyed the biggest win on the day when they blanked Chaguanas North Secondary 6-0 and now have nine points from their seven games this season.
SportsMax is the Caribbean sports channel of choice, committed to providing sporting content of the highest quality to the Caribbean, delivered by a team of highly innovative, passionate and qualified professionals.
(876) 619-7629
digitalmedia@sportsmax.tv
