Major League Soccer commissioner Don Garber says they will do whatever it takes to compete with the likes of the Premier League and believes an eventual relaxation in their spending rules is inevitable.
The 29th season of the United States and Canada’s top division got under way on Wednesday, with Lionel Messi shining in Inter Miami’s 2-0 home win against Real Salt Lake.
MLS sent ripples around the world last summer by signing the now eight-time Ballon d’Or winner, kicking off an exciting new chapter in the ever-evolving competition’s history.
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The loosening of rules and restrictions around spending would help accelerate that progress, but Garber believes patience is key to maximising developments without risking instability.
“(From some there is) this pressure and this energy to spend more money and just accelerate what has been a very strategic and careful growth plan for the league,” the long-serving MLS commissioner said.
“And at some point that’s going to come. The market is going to dictate that.
“But we’re still in a world where we’re managing player engagement and player involvement on a global basis, managing our economics here.”
MLS clubs must currently adhere to a strict salary cap, with three Designated Players allowed outside of that budget to help attract the world’s best.
“We are living through a world where MLS is still a growth opportunity,” Garber said. “Now we’re seeing unique revenue here, so the Messi effect has been dramatic.
“I saw some article about their forecasted revenue. If we thought every team could deliver that by signing players, I could assure you that MLS would adapt its rules to be able to deliver that.
“Somebody wrote an article about how we’re thinking about how to evolve over the next number of years, are thinking in terms of strategic player spending.
“We will do whatever we need to do to grow our fan base, to build the competitiveness of our league, and to grow our revenues, and ultimately the credibility and viability of MLS on a global stage.
“Nothing is going to stop us from doing that. But we just want to be thoughtful about it.”
Messi’s arrival in Miami underlined MLS’ ambitious growth plans and the 2026 World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico offers the chance to take a further giant stride.
Whether the 36-year-old is still playing by then remains to be seen, but the Argentina skipper’s swashbuckling display in Wednesday’s curtain-raiser suggests he has plenty left in the tank.
“Getting him signed was a statement about Major League Soccer – that we can compete, deliver a great experience for a player, a competitive environment,” Garber said. “One where they can further their career.
“There’s going to be another Lionel Messi at some point, and I hope that MLS is in a position to be able to sign that player. Who that player is today, I don’t know.
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“But it was a very, very competitive dynamic. I don’t think any of you thought that Messi was going to get signed by Miami when those discussions were going on with Barcelona and in Saudi Arabia.
“So, there’ll be another player that will come in that maybe will be part of the chapter book of our league, but there’s only one Leo.”
Gavin Cromwell expects Vanillier to take a step forward in the Tote.ie Bobbyjo Chase at Fairyhouse on Saturday as he builds up towards a return to Aintree.
The grey flew home in the Grand National last year – and passed all bar the winner Corach Rambler.
He has been allotted 4lb more in his quest for National glory this term but first he must take on last season’s Irish National winner I Am Maximus and the Gordon Elliott pair of Fury Road and Minella Crooner.
In three runs to date this season, Vanillier has failed to get anywhere near troubling the judge.
However, Cromwell said in his William Hill blog: “Vanillier is certainly moving in the right direction and I’m happy with him ahead of the Bobbyjo Chase.
“We’re hoping to see a good run here which should set him up well for the Grand National. He’s taken a bit of time to get to where I’d like him to be, but we weighed him on Friday morning and he’s a similar weight to where he was this time last year, which was encouraging to see.
“We were happy with the weight the handicapper gave him for the race at Aintree. It’s a lovely racing weight considering how well he ran in it last year and you can’t really make any excuses on that front.
“It would be amazing to win a Grand National and I do think he’s capable of doing it, as we know he likes the fences and has the stamina. He’s coming along nicely and Saturday will hopefully bring him forward again.”
The University of Albany reinforced their dominance at the 2024 America East Indoor Championships that concluded in Boston on Monday winning both men and women’s titles.
Led by their Jamaican star sprinter Shakur Williams UA’s men amassed 165 points to secure their 15th title in 19 years while the women, led by Dominique Clarke were even more impressive scoring 191 points winning their 15th overall championship and third in the past four years.
Albany’s dominance was led by their short sprinters who have now won seven consecutive 60m titles at the conference level while enjoying their third sweep of the event indoors.
Following in the footsteps of 2023 champion, Travis Williams, Shakur, a junior at UA, led a sweep of 60m men’s dash winning in 6.67 over teammate Shavar Staats Jr (6.78) and Lucas Casab (6.91). The former Meadowbrook High School sprinter completed the sprint double in a UA 1-2 in the 200m. He strolled to victory in 21.35 with Staats Jr taking the silver medal in 21.58.
Vermont’s Alex Siaton claimed the bronze medal finishing third in 21.62.
UA’s men continued to showcase their quality in the 60m hurdles. Antwone Messado blew away his rivals hurdling to a time of 8.07. Left in his wake was his teammate Adrian Rippstein (8.43) and Luke Stelmach of UMass Lowell, who ran 8.43 to take the final podium spot.
It was a similar situation in the men’s high jump where Ja’Lil Reynolds cleared 2.12m to claim gold with teammate Zhi Luncheon-Lowrie’s cleareance of 2.09m securing the silver medal. Bryant’s Michael Marshall took third with his best leap of 2.00m.
Former Kingston College jumper Louis Gordon led an Albany sweep of the long jump competition. The Caymanian athlete soared out to a mark of 7.57m with teammates Marcus McFadden and Christian Quinn finishing second and third with marks of 7.31m and 7.23m, respectively.
Travis Robinson imposed his class on the shot put field. The Jamaican put 18.53m more than a metre better than his nearest rival, Maine’s Jonathan Prell (17.03m) and New Hampshire’s Caden Zalenski (16.16m). The winning mark was a personal best, school record and championship record.
Meanwhile, UA’s women were showcasing their own prowess on the track led by former Papine High School standout Dominique Clarke who led a remarkable 1-2-3-4 sweep of the women’s 60m dash. Clarke, who won the title in 7.45 in 2023, was even faster this time, taking the gold medal in 7.41. UA’s women have won the 60m dash for the seventh consecutive year.
Shenequa Vassell took the silver in a personal best 7.63 edging teammate Jazmen Newberry (7.64) and freshman Shantae Pryce (7.65).
Clarke, however, was unsuccessful in her defence of the 200m title she won in 2023. She finished second to University of Maryland, Baltimore County sprinter Caitlyn Bobb, who clocked 23.95 to Clarke’s 23.96. Newberry was third in 24.09 in the closely contested event.
UA went 1-3 in the 60m hurdles. Antoinette Galloway earned a valuable 10 points when she won in 8.25 ahead of Binhghamton’s Jenna Chan (8.52). Katelyn del Gandio took bronze in 8.59.
Albany’s Amelia Benjamin won the high jump with a clearance of 1.80m. Lucciana Robinson of Binghamton cleared 1.71m for the silver medal while UMass Lowell’s Erin Jensen was third with her best leap of 1.63m.
University of Albany’s women also claimed two of the three podium places in the long jump. That event was won by Ofe Omokeni with her leap of 5.73m. Her teammate, Rebeca Valerie Barrientos Alpha, took second place with 5.50m, a single centimetre ahead of UMass Lowell’s Rebecca Crosier (5.49m).
Leann Nicholas won the triple jump and Barrientos Alpha took second place with efforts of 12.55m and 11.88m respectively.
Albany’s Kiana Nosile was just edged out in the weight throw with her mark of 18.91m being bettered my Maine’s Cheyenne Figueroa, who threw 18.93m. Mackenzie Wilson, also of Maine took bronze with her throw of 18.09m.
Among the men, UMass Lowell finished second in the standings with 144.5 points with Binghamton third with 119.5.
Binghamton scored 134 points for second place among the women with UMass Lowell third on 114.
Harry Derham cannot believe his luck that the first horse his two superstar new owners Graeme McDowell and Brooks Koepka became involved with is heading to Kempton with a live chance in the Coral Adonis Juvenile Hurdle.
Derham played in a Pro-Am golf tournament with McDowell and ended up with a horse after the fledgling trainer won a nearest to the pin wager with the 2010 US Open hero on the way round.
The unlikely outcome was McDowell’s involvement with Givemefive, and he got Koepka involved as well, adding a bit of stardust to his new yard. The fact their horse is more than useful is a big bonus.
“As with any ownership, if you’re new to the sport, then you’re hoping to get a horse like him. He has had two runs, two wins and he looks really exciting,” Derham told OLBG.
“Obviously, being in Florida makes it difficult for them to come and see him but in the WhatsApp group they are really excited about this weekend.
“Graeme is coming over this weekend to watch, which is great, and I think any ownership pays more attention when they’re winning.”
A winner at Market Rasen in December, the former Johnny Murtagh inmate really impressed at Warwick last time out, showing soft ground will be no issue this weekend.
“It makes a lot of sense for us to go for the Adonis,” said Derham. “There are a few four-year-olds who have won the Dovecote but we will stick to our own age group, we are second-favourite.
“Kalif Du Berlais is a very smart horse but has to give us 5lb, which is handy, and we are really looking forward to it.
“This is a big step up in grade, we are really excited for it. I’m 15 months into my training career and I have a second favourite in a Grade Two, it’s brilliant. I am really excited, he has schooled very well and we will give it a really good shot.”
In a time of dwindling ownership, it is not lost on Derham how big a boost for the sport as a whole it is to have two such high-profile patrons in his yard.
“Brooks and Graeme said when they bought him that they just want to do the right thing for the horse. We are not going for the Adonis as a prep, we are going to have a good go. If he comes out of it well, then we will consider Cheltenham, but it is not the be all and end all,” he said.
“New owners are massively important. If you can give them a good experience, then great, but you can’t always guarantee them a nice horse. But for their ownership journey to start with Givemefive, it couldn’t have gone much better. Hopefully he keeps progressing and giving them a lot of fun.”
Kalif Du Berlais is trained by Derham’s uncle, 14-time champion Paul Nicholls, and he created a big impression when winning on his UK debut.
“He was bought to be a chaser and could hardly have been more impressive on his first start in this country over hurdles last month at Kempton,” said Nicholls.
“He was in control the whole way, jumped fluently and stretched clear for a decisive success. Kalif is very smart, worked great this week and has an obvious chance of defying a 5lb penalty. We will see how he runs before making any plans about Cheltenham or Aintree.”
Nicholls also runs Swift Hawk, another who made a winning start for the stable – but the ground may have turned against him.
“Rated 72 on the Flat, he made a pleasing winning debut for us over hurdles at Taunton at the end of December. But this is a big step up in class for Swift Hawk, who would not want too much more rain at Kempton and I wouldn’t be keen on running him if it gets testing,” Nicholls told Betfair.
In the Coral Dovecote Novices’ Hurdle, Ben Pauling’s Fiercely Proud will attempt to return to winning ways, having finished third to the highly touted Jeriko Du Reponet at Doncaster.
“I thought we were going to win that race at Doncaster quite nicely – we were the last horse on the bridle and travelling the best, and I just think he was a bit green when Brian (Hughes) asked him,” said Pauling.
“I do honestly think it was just greenness, he certainly wasn’t tired, and he’s got a lot of speed, so I think Kempton will suit him more than Doncaster.
“I’m looking forward to seeing how he gets on, he’s in very good form going into the race and I think it’s a good opportunity for him to try and get a one by his name in a decent race.
“He was in the Supreme at Cheltenham early doors, but we just feel he’ll be better going here and then Aintree, so we’ve taken him out of the Supreme.”
Panjari runs for Nicholls but he is giving weight to all his rivals.
“He has improved with experience, is growing up all the time, and put up his best performance in cheekpieces when cruising clear at Musselburgh early this month,” Nicholls said.
“We found he had a problem with ulcers after a below par run at the same track on New Year’s Day. Panjari is definitely going the right way and must have a leading chance despite carrying a 3lb penalty at a track which is quite similar to Musselburgh. We are very happy with him.”
The Athletics Association of Guyana (AAG) has named a 23-member team for the 51st edition of the Carifta Games scheduled for March 30 to April 1, in Grenada.
Headlining the team are, Tianna Springer and Javon Roberts, along with Nerissa McPherson, Attoya Harvey, Malachi Austin, all of whom bring valuable experience to the team having enjoyed success at previous stagings of the Games. The likes of Sahel Cornett, Charisa December, Nalicia Glen, Rondell Green, Jamal Sullivan, Robert Marcus and Dhanielson Gill, who will compete in Under-20 category, are also expected to represent the Golden Arrowhead well.
Meanwhile, the Under-17 unit consist of Athaleyha Hinckson, Duel Europe, Skylar Charles, Kaidon Persaud, Ezikeil Millington, Easter Mc Kinnon, Ryan Joseph, Akilla Blucher, Keneta Fraser, Marissa Thomas and Nathaniel Samaroo.
The selection process involved a rigorous three-day trial recently, where 19 members were initially selected, 11 of which gained selection through qualifying process. The other four members were eventually shortlisted after several meetings, to complete the final squad. The AAG has high expectation that this team will make its mark at the three-day Easter Weekend meet.
Thelson Williams (Manager), Akeem Stewart (Physiotherapist), Wayne Pantlitz (male coach), Trishel Thompson (female coach), will accompany the team.
NB: The Carifta Games will be live on SportsMax and the SportsMax App.
Anthony Honeyball has a trio of chances ready to line up in the valuable Coral Trophy at Kempton on Saturday.
Forward Plan heads the group, an eight-year-old last seen finishing just a nose behind Annual Invictus in the Great Yorkshire Chase at Doncaster.
Prior to that, he was a winner on Town Moor when taking the bet365 Handicap Chase over the same three-mile distance, his third victory in eight runs over fences, having only been out of the placings once.
He has now reached a career-high mark of 133, though Ben Godfrey’s 3lb claim eases his handicap allocation and he will run off a competitive 10st 9lb.
“Forward Plan goes quite well on any ground really,” said Honeyball.
“The best of our racing has been on goodish ground with him and our next race for him will be Aintree, so we feel like he’s ready for a race and we’ve got to have a go because it’s such a brilliant prize – it’s worth £25,000 more than the Ultima at the Festival.
“If we had our dream scenario, we would like slightly quicker ground, but he has a light weight, he’s one of the favourites after his run at Doncaster and we kind of feel duty bound to give the owners a chance to win it.
“He loves a bit of decent ground, but there’s no reason why, off a light weight, he can’t run well.”
Stablemate Blackjack Magic began his season in good form when taking the Badger Beer Chase at Wincanton and subsequently came home fourth in the Howden Silver Cup at Ascot.
Much of his best form is on testing ground and he is expected to appreciate the soft going at Kempton.
“Blackjack Magic has proven he is up to this class and he won the Badger Beer,” said Honeyball.
“He will love the soft ground and, in fact, the heavier the better for him, that will suit him a bit better than a couple of the races he has run in this season.”
Honeyball’s third runner is the veteran chaser Sam Brown, who carries a top weight of 12st under Jonathan Burke.
The 12-year-old has some valuable races on his CV and showed he was not losing his enthusiasm when landing the Veterans’ Chase Series Final at Warwick last month.
His age and the significant weight he carries may leave him an outside chance, but his trainer is not ruling out a good performance from the gelding.
Honeyball said: “He’s a big outsider at the minute, but that’s only because he’s 12 years old and rated 152 and there’s probably some stats that tell you that is a near impossible task.
“Is he going to win and go up to 156 or 157? It’s probably unlikely, but he is overpriced.
“There’s plenty in his favour, he will enjoy the ground and he doesn’t mind a competitive handicap. He can sit halfway and he has that turn of foot where if he can stay in the hunt approaching the business end, then he can quite come through with a decent surge.
“I don’t think it would be the biggest shock ever, but we have got to run him and hopefully there is another day in the sun for him – we’ve got to give him the chance.”
Ben Pauling has a live chance in Bowtogreatness, an eight-year-old jointly-owned by Harry Redknapp.
The trainer enjoyed a three-timer at Ascot last weekend, along with jockey Ben Jones, but Bowtogreatness was not among his runners after a tracheal wash which caused connections to skip the meeting.
He will instead line up at Kempton for his third start of the season, after which he has one of his three Cheltenham Festival entries on the horizon.
“He’s in really good form with himself. He was supposed to go to Ascot last weekend, but just had a slightly average tracheal wash 10 days previous, so we decided to wait,” Pauling said.
“He was as clean as a whistle this week and worked well on Saturday, so I’m really looking forward to seeing how he runs.
“On his first run of the season, I left the ear plugs out and he just head-butted his fences round Newbury and didn’t jump well enough, then he went to Cheltenham and it was almost like his first run of the season really. He travelled into it very well and just blew up going to two out.
“I dare say he’ll be spot-on for Saturday and he’s a hardy horse that needs a lot of graft, so it’s very much the plan to get a proper run into him before going to the Festival.
“He’s in the Ultima, he’s in the Kim Muir and he’s in the National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham and how he goes on Saturday will tell us which race he’ll run in.”
At the head of the market is Dan Skelton’s Flegmatik, a winner over course and distance last time out, with Nicky Henderson’s Tweed Skirt and Chris Gordon’s Lord Baddesley also well fancied in a field of 12.
White Abarrio is carrying maximum stable confidence into the $20million Saudi Cup at the King Abdulaziz Racecourse on Saturday.
The striking grey was last seen winning the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita in November, making it two Grade Ones in three starts for Rick Dutrow since moving from Saffie Joseph.
And Dutrow – who has returned to the big-race limelight after enduring a 10-year suspension imposed for medication and administration violations that forced him to build again from scratch – sees the world’s most valuable race as tailor-made for his charge, who will again be ridden by Irad Ortiz Jr.
“All the work has been done with him and he’s in a zone that I wish every horse that ever lived was in that kind of zone,” said Dutrow.
“We just made a couple of minor adjustments with him (after he switched yards), they just happened to work out really well.
“I think the glue-on shoes sealed the deal for him. We did that after his Met Mile run, we knew we needed to make some kind of changes with his front feet, because he wasn’t level, wasn’t even.
“He ran a big race that day (Met Mile, third), we were extremely happy with how he finished his race. Then we went with the glue-ons, then we knew we were training better. The riders could just feel he was better.
“I feel if he is on his game and runs his race, he is going to be tough to beat.
“This race, a mile and an eighth (nine furlongs), around one turn…I feel as if he were to wake up in the morning and we were to ask him, ‘Hey babe, what do you wanna do for a $20million race?’, he’d say, ‘Make it a mile and an eighth around one turn’.”
Dutrow stressed he was “all in” on the Saudi Cup – but would love to go on from Riyadh to Dubai for the Dubai World Cup.
“We’re so excited to do something like that, but it’s going to be up to him. I want him to have an easy race here – I shouldn’t be saying that, because there’s so many good horses here. How are we expecting to have an easy race?” Dutrow said.
“We have a really good horse and he is on it, that’s what I’m hoping for. We’ll have a little chat with Irad, our main goal is to win and our second main goal is to save horse for his next race. If we can get those things done, we’re going to be excited going to Dubai.”
The five-year-old drew stall two at the post-position ceremony on Wednesday, with that doing little to dent confidence.
“He had the two-hole (in the Classic) last time, this can’t be a problem,” Dutrow said. “We’ve got the best rider, one of the best horses. It’ll be fun. We’ll be ready. He really takes my breath away every time I see him.”
Leading the opposition is the Hidetaka Otonashi-trained Derma Sotogake for Japan – just a length adrift of White Abarrio when second in the Classic.
He reportedly suffered a minor injury scare on the flight over, but rider Christophe Lemaire is happy with what he has seen.
“The horse has got more mature, stronger, I think. He looks happy here, so I’m very confident,” he said.
“He was still young last year as a three-year-old, as a four-year-old he’ll get better and better. He didn’t run much last year, of course they were tough races, but he’s the kind of horse who keeps himself safe, he still has many things to show us.
“The field will be very strong, but he’s a tough horse, he’s able to jump well from the gates and take a position, he can keep a strong pace.”
Otonashi said: “The accident during the flight is the only concern but we did everything we could have done. He is in good form.”
Bob Baffert has yet to win the race but has come close, with Charlatan the length runner-up to the John and Thady Gosden-trained Mishriff in 2021, while Country Grammer was half a length down on Emblem Road in 2022 and three-parts of a length second to Panthalassa 12 months ago, when ridden by Frankie Dettori.
His runner this time is National Treasure, winner of last year’s Preakness and second in the Dirt Mile at the Breeders’ Cup, before reappearing in the Pegasus World Cup, holding on to score from Senor Buscador, who reopposes for Todd Fincher.
Baffert’s assistant Jimmy Barnes said: “He has matured into a fine horse. He likes to be on the pace, that’s clear, but he was able to back off a little when he won the Pegasus last month.
“If there is a speed battle in this race, we feel he will still be able to get the right trip under a strong rider (Flavien Prat).
“He has a good post to work from in seven. This is our fifth runner in this race, we have been second three times, so we are hoping to make the breakthrough.”
Richard Fahey will bid to provide Sir Alex Ferguson with further international success when Spirit Dancer lines up in the Howden Neom Turf Cup on Saturday.
The seven-year-old gave the former Manchester United manager and his fellow owners, Ged Mason and Fred Done, a day to remember when scoring in the Bahrain International Trophy last November and attentions were soon turned to securing more valuable prizes in the region.
Spirit Dancer tuned up for his crack at this $2million prize by finishing fourth in Meydan’s Jebel Hatta last month and his handler believes that will have put him spot on for this Saudi Cup night assignment.
“I felt he would need the run the last day and it looked that way as well,” said Fahey.
“He has had four or five weeks to acclimatise now. It’s all stuff of dreams, which is becoming a reality when we get to run on Saturday.
“It’s fantastic here, we are well looked after and the horse is happy. When you come on these trips, the most important thing is how the horse is – and the horse is in good order. I’m very pleased with him and at the moment I wouldn’t swap my fella.”
Fahey admitted to being awestruck by the footballing great in the early stages of training for him, but now relishes the time they spend together comparing notes on how to prime star sporting talent for action.
“To be fair, when I first started training for him, I was a little bit humbled,” Fahey this week.
“I have some fantastic conversations with him and he has been to the yard three or four times now. He is just a wonderful man and you can see why he has been a success.
“It’s a humbling experience but it’s amazing, because even this (Thursday) morning we were discussing footballers and horses and Sir Alex was asking why we didn’t canter on the grass.
“I explained we race on the (grass) surfaces because if we were to train on them all the time, we wouldn’t have many horses left, so we tend to use the artificial surfaces – and he compared it to a very good football team whose training pitch was quite quick and a lot of the players were getting hurt, so there is comparisons with football and racing.”
There is plenty of British and Irish involvement in the extended 10-furlong event, with Aidan O’Brien’s Luxembourg a clear favourite with the bookmakers, having knocked on the door behind Auguste Rodin on home soil in the autumn before also going close in Hong Kong in December.
Andrew Balding’s The Foxes is another who is no stranger to international competition, having finished second in the Belmont Derby last summer, and the Dante winner is expected to take a step forward from his comeback run at Southwell recently.
A January afternoon at Rolleston is poles apart from the pressure cooker of Riyadh on Saudi Cup night, but connections are confident of a bold bid from their four-year-old.
“He’s got here in great form,” said the trainer’s wife and representative Anna Lisa Balding.
“I was very pleased with how he looked out there on Thursday morning.
“Last year, we took him to America and he finished second in a Grade One, so we felt he would be up to the travel again.
“We’re delighted with his position in gate six and Oisin Murphy is back on and he rides him so well. He needed the run last time at Southwell but it was a good effort and he will come on for it.”
John and Thady Gosden struck gold with subsequent Royal Ascot and Juddmonte International Stakes champion Mostahdaf 12 months ago and will look to repeat the dose with stable newcomer Jack Darcy.
Astro King has been something of a superstar for Daniel and Claire Kubler and their Cambridgeshire hero should not be underestimated after being far from disgraced in sixth behind Spirit Dancer last time.
“With a little more luck, he might well have placed second or third (in Bahrain),” said Claire Kubler.
“He was on the rail in Bahrain and ran into traffic. It was frustrating but we had to notice that it was established horses like Point Lonsdale and Nations Pride that were in his path and he was finishing stronger than them.
“It’s amazing for our team and his owners to be a part of this occasion. It’s so exciting and we feel he can run well.”
FC Cincinnati asserted their dominance in the 2024 Concacaf Champions Cup Round One series, securing a convincing 2-0 victory over Jamaican club Cavalier in the first leg at the National Stadium in Kingston, Jamaica.
The match witnessed early and intense action, with both teams having promising opportunities to score within a span of 30 seconds. Sergio Santos of FC Cincinnati initiated the action, heading a shot at Cavalier goalkeeper Jeadine White. In response, Cavalier's Orlando Russell's shot at goal was thwarted by a save from FC Cincinnati custodian Roman Celetano.
Santos came close to breaking the deadlock in the 34th minute, striking the crossbar with a powerful shot. However, his persistence paid off just before half-time when Bret Halsey found Santos, who skillfully slotted home a shot, giving FC Cincinnati a 1-0 lead.
In the second half, Cavalier aimed to stage a comeback and tested the FC Cincinnati defense. A crucial moment occurred in the 64th minute, with Shaniel Thomas, the top scorer in the 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Cup, seemed poised to take a shot but FC Cincinnati's Yuya Kubo intervened with a last-ditch slide tackle, clearing the imminent threat.
Determined to further assert their dominance, FC Cincinnati sought a second goal and they came close in the 82nd minute when Pavel Bucha unleashed a volley from a corner kick that grazed the crossbar.
The coveted second goal materialized for FC Cincinnati in the 87th minute, orchestrated by a slick back heel from Arquimides Ordonez. Malik Pinto sealed the deal with a powerful and well-placed right-footed finish, securing the 2-0 victory and putting Cavalier on the ropes as FC Cincinnati will carry this advantage into the next leg, aiming to advance further in the competition.
John and Thady Gosden’s Lord North will look to retain his BetUK Winter Derby title as he blows away the cobwebs ahead of his usual Dubai travel.
The Dubawi gelding won the race last season when defeating Roger Varian’s Tyrrhenian Sea by three and a quarter lengths and was second the year prior when coming home behind William Haggas’ Alenquer.
The Group Three contest has become something of preparation run for him before he heads out to Meydan for the World Cup meeting in March, where he has won the Group One Dubai Turf for the past three seasons.
He landed that contest by three-quarters of a length last year and has not been seen since, meaning he returns from a significant break to try to regain his Winter Derby title at its new home – and distance – of Southwell.
“He’s won the race and finished second, it’s served him well as a good prep race for the Dubai Turf,” said Thady Gosden of Robert Havlin’s mount.
“Although of course the race switching from a mile and a quarter at Lingfield to a mile and three furlongs at Southwell significantly changes the dynamic of the race.
“In a similar fashion to last year we hope he’ll come forward for the run, though obviously it’s his first run back since Dubai last year.”
The Gosden team also run Godolphin’s Forest Of Dean (Kieran O’Neill), a race regular who has been part of the line-up for the past three seasons.
The eight-year-old was the winner in 2021 and then finished fourth in the 2020 and sixth last year.
“He’s obviously well versed on the all-weather, he’s been in good order at home,” Gosden said of the bay.
“Again, it’s a different type of track to last year but hopefully the track and the trip should suit him.”
The flashy grey Tyrrhenian Sea takes his place again, with Jane Chapple-Hyam’s Claymore making his second start on the all-weather.
There is a fascinating contender in Eydon, who represents his new trainer Andrew Balding as he returns to action.
The five-year-old won the Listed Feilden Stakes in 2022 and was fourth in the 2000 Guineas that same season before injury intervened when being prepared for the Derby.
He has now moved stables having previously been trained by Varian and he will be partnered by Kevin Stott on his comeback.
“Andrew has been pleased with him and was pleased with his gallop at Kempton,” said Ted Voute, racing manager to owner Prince Faisal.
“We’ve got a Group One-winning jockey – all the jockeys seem to be out in Saudi Arabia – but I think we we have a good young jockey on and we will see what happens.
“It’s a pretty even field and they are all rated around the same figures apart from Lord North and we will see.”
Jamaica's Cavalier and Dominican Republic's Moca FC will both have to play catch up in order to progress to the next round of the Concacaf Champions Cup, after they suffered 0-2 and 0-3 defeats to Major League Soccer (MLS) outfit FC Cincinnati and Nashville SC in their respective Round One first-leg fixtures on Thursday.
Despite a gutsy performance, Cavalier were undone by goals from Sergio Santos (45+5) and substitute Malik Pinto (87th), much to the delight of a small FC Cincinnati fan base, which outcheered their local counterparts inside Jamaica's National Stadium.
FC Cincinnati started more purposeful and controlled the tempo of the game for the most parts, as their high attacking line forced Cavalier into a defensive posture from where they tried to catch their opponents on the counter.
By virtue of their consistent press, the visitors, which boasts the likes of out-of-favour Reggae Boy Alvas Powell, were always more threatening in opening play, and it took some good glovework from Cavalier's custodian Jeadine White, as well as the crossbar, to keep them at bay.
Santos's header from close range, was kept out by a well-positioned White in the 22nd minute.
Cavalier responded immediately after, on the counter, through Orlando Russell, whose effort was parried by FC Cincinnati's goalkeeper Roman Celetano.
FC Cincinnati again went close on two occasions in quick succession, first in the 33rd where the menacing Luciano Acosta's effort from a distance was parried by White, who got down well to his right, and the second a minute later through Santos, who caught White off his line, but his right-footer came back off the crossbar.
It took some desperate defending from Richard King and Jeovanni Laing, putting their bodies on the line to deny Acosta, who got through on twice in the 38th and 45th minutes. However, just when it seemed as if Cavalier had survived the storm, Santos broke their hearts when he poked home from a Bret Halsey on the stroke of the break to put FC Cincinnati 1-0 up.
Cavalier were more assertive on the resumption as they went on the probe for the equaliser, which they should have had in the 64th minute, but Shaniel Thomas failed to finish off a tidy team build up and was later dispossessed.
With the introduction of fresh legs, FC Cincinnati again went on the attack and almost doubled the lead in the 82nd, when Pavel Bucha met Acosta's weighted corner kick on the volley, but the effort grazed the crossbar on its way out.
Pinto, who entered the field in the 84th minute, eventually found the second for FC Cincinnati in the 87th when he drove home a right-footer from an Arquimides Ordonez backheel pass, to give his team a tidy cushion heading into their home leg on Wednesday.
MOCA FC vs NASHVILLE SC
Over in Dominican Republic, Hany Mukhtar and Sam Surridge each had a goal and an assist to lead Nashville SC to a 3-0 over Moca FC at the Estadio Cibao in Santiago de los Caballeros.
Mukhtar (12th), Surridge (25th) and Tyler Boyd (75th), got the job done for Nashville, who will be aiming to wrap things up on their home turf on Wednesday.
Nashville SC could not have asked for a better start, as they broke the deadlock in the 12th minute, when star attacking midfielder Mukhtar polished off a one-two combination with Surridge by finishing past goalkeeper Pascual Ramirez.
The dynamic duo of Mukhtar and Surridge hooked up again to produce Nashville’s second in the 25th. This time it was Mukhtar, who filtered a pass for Surridge to fire past Ramirez.
Moca started to threaten toward the end of the half and forced the Nashville defence into some nervy moments, especially when a Juan Angeles shot required a reaction save from Joe Willis, in goal for Nashville.
But Nashville later regained their momentum in the second half and after several looks at goal, they inevitably added a third through Tyler Boyd, who fired home in the 75th minute.
From there, it was just a matter of seeing things out for Nashville, who ensured Moca went scoreless, and maintain a very healthy advantage going into the return leg.
The West Indies Championship second-round clash between the Guyana Harpy Eagles and the West Indies Academy remains finely poised at the Coolidge Cricket Ground in Antigua. As the match heads into a crucial phase on Friday, the Harpy Eagles, having posted 175 in their first innings, find themselves at 165-5 in their second innings, holding a lead of 178 runs with five second innings wickets still in hand.
The West Indies Academy, resuming from their overnight score of 96-4, battled their way to a total of 162. Rashawn Worrell, who stood on 34 overnight, displayed patience and resilience to contribute 58 runs. Joshua Bishop complemented the effort with a half-century, scoring 51, before the remaining wickets fell relatively cheaply. Gudakesh Motie claimed 3-31, and Veerasammy Permaul proved economical with figures of 3-15, providing the Harpy Eagles with a narrow advantage. Kevin Sinclair, who had taken the first four wickets, ended with figures of 4-45.
Despite the slim lead of just 13 runs, the Harpy Eagles owed their second innings score to a substantial contribution of 49 from Kevlon Anderson. Tagenarine Chanderpaul (29), Matthew Nandu (19), and Tevin Imlach (22) each got starts but failed to capitalize on them.
As the Harpy Eagles aim to build on their marginal advantage, Kemol Savory will resume on 20, and Sinclair on 16. The spotlight will be on Ashmead Nedd, who has been effective with the ball, having taken 4-27 from 26 overs. Nedd will be eager to add to his tally and restrict the Harpy Eagles on a challenging batting pitch.
With both teams eager to gain the upper hand, the Coolidge Cricket Ground is set for an enthralling day of cricket, where every run and wicket will be crucial in determining the outcome of this closely contested West Indies Championship match.
Ferny Hollow is due to make a belated return to action in the Newlands Chase at Naas on Sunday.
The Cheveley Park Stud-owned nine-year-old looked at one stage to have the world at his feet when winning the 2020 Champion Bumper and then his maiden hurdle start ahead of Bob Olinger.
Injury interrupted his career after that and he returned in December 2021 to skip straight to chasing, winning both starts over fences including the Grade One Racing Post Novice Chase at Leopardstown.
He then met with a further setback and has not been seen since, with trainer Willie Mullins intending to run him in the Red Mills Chase at Gowran last weekend but eventually deciding against it.
Now his long-awaited comeback will come at Naas at the weekend, where he is booked to run in the Grade Three Newlands some 791 days after his last start.
“He’s entered at Naas on Sunday and hopefully he’ll run,” said Mullins, whose charge holds a Queen Mother Champion Chase engagement.
“He was ready to run last weekend in the Red Mills Chase at Gowran, but we had Saint Sam for that and he also gets in here without a penalty which is nice.
“He seems in good form so hopefully he can stay right. We’re very happy with him.”
Paul Townend’s mount will face five rivals, including Ash Tree Meadow (Gordon Elliott) and Espanito Bello (Barry Connell).
West Indies Test Captain Kraigg Brathwaite returned to form with an unbeaten 129 to put the Barbados Pride in a strong position after day two of their 2024 West Indies Championship third round fixture against the Jamaica Scorpions at Sabina Park.
The Pride were 315-6 off 97 overs at stumps, leading the hosts by 46 runs after starting Thursday 15-0 off seven overs.
Brathwaite, who entered this game with just 27 runs from four innings this season, batted in his customary relaxed fashion to end day two 129* off 290 balls including 13 fours.
Kevin Wickham provided excellent support for his skipper with 63, his second half-century of the season along with a hundred in round one against the CCC. His knock lasted 92 balls and included six fours.
Former West Indies wicket-keeper Shane Dowrich was the other not out batsman at stumps with 19.
Derval Green has so far taken 2-38 from 19 overs for the Scorpions.
Full Scores: Jamaica Scorpions 269 all out off 78.4 overs (Romaine Morris 97*, Carlos Brown 40, Kirk McKenzie 40, Jomel Warrican 5-62, Jair McAllister 3-69)
Barbados Pride 315-6 off 97 overs (Kraigg Brathwaite 129*, Kevin Wickham 63, Jonathan Drakes 31, Derval Green 2-38)
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