Owen Burrows is considering the Greenham Stakes at Newbury as a potential stepping-stone to the Qipco 2000 Guineas for his exciting colt Alyanaabi.
The son of Too Darn Hot won two of his four starts as a juvenile, including the Group Three Tattersalls Stakes at Newmarket, and rounded off his campaign by finishing best of the rest behind star two-year-old City Of Troy in the Dewhurst in October.
While City Of Troy is odds-on to provide trainer Aidan O’Brien with an 11th victory in the season’s first Classic on the Rowley Mile, Alyanaabi is available at 25-1 and Burrows is keen to at least give him the opportunity to advertise his Guineas credentials this spring.
He said: “I’m very pleased with him, he’s done well (over the winter) and we’ve just started faster work with him, so all good.
“We might give him a run (in a Guineas trial), if he goes anywhere he’ll probably go to the Greenham at Newbury. It just sort of makes sense as it’s just up the road for us and luckily he had a couple of runs at Newmarket last year, so he handles the Rowley Mile well by the look of it.
“We’re a long way off and like most people, we’ve not been able to do much on the grass as yet. It would be nice for it to dry out a little bit so we can get a bit of work on the grass into him, but we’re happy that he might just go to Newbury and have a run before the Guineas.
“City Of Troy is the standout at the minute, but you can’t run away from one and we’d like to think that we’ll be up there with a few of the others, so we shall see.”
The Lambourn handler has also entered Futurity Trophy fourth Deira Mile for the 2000 Guineas, but his bid for Classic glory may have to wait until later in the year.
“I’ll be honest, I’ve got him in the English Derby and the French and the Irish (Derbys) and we’ve just put him in the Guineas in case for whatever reason he doesn’t stay,” Burrows added.
“I’d be amazed if he doesn’t because that’s all he did in the Futurity and obviously that was over a mile in heavy ground.
“The Guineas entry is just a speculative entry, but the owner was happy to cover all bases and he’s going to be treated like a Derby horse, who will start over a mile and a quarter at the beginning of April and then we’d be expecting to hopefully look at a Derby trial with him after that.”
7venz Media Agency has proudly announced the signing of Jamaican high jumper Romaine Beckford, adding an extraordinary talent to their roster of exceptional athletes. This collaboration signifies a momentous stride in the agency's commitment to supporting athletes both on and off the track, propelling them toward unparalleled success.
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With Romaine Beckford on board, 7venz Media Agency continues to cement its status as a trailblazer in the sports marketing industry. Prioritizing athlete-centric values and innovative strategies, the agency is poised to redefine the landscape of sports brand development
In a thrilling display of dominance, Slingerz FC secured a resounding 4-1 victory over Fruta Conquerors in the second week of action in Guyana's KFC Elite League. The match, which unfolded on Tuesday night at the National Training Centre, was another demonstration of the prowess and potential of Slingerz FC, but coach Alex Thomas insists that his team has yet to hit their peak.
Darren Niles emerged as a star for Slingerz FC, netting two goals, while Leo Lovell and Jeremy Garrett each contributed one to seal the comprehensive victory. Despite Dwayne Jones managing to pull one back for Fruta Conquerors, the defeat marked their second consecutive loss of the season.
Slingerz FC, under the guidance of Jamaican coach Alex Thomas, celebrated their second win in as many starts this season. Thomas, who took over the team in February following Charles Pollard's departure, has been steering his squad to success. Their impressive campaign began with a commanding 7-0 triumph over Monedderlust FC on February 25.
However, despite the early triumphs and a goal tally of 11 for and only one against in two matches, Coach Thomas believes there is still room for improvement. In a post-match interview with Sportsmax.TV, he stated, "The team’s performance tonight was average. We didn’t play up to expectations. Nevertheless, we came out on top."
Thomas acknowledged that the players are gradually understanding his coaching philosophy and instructions. He expressed satisfaction with their progress but emphasized the need for continuous improvement, particularly in the mental aspect of the game.
Slingerz FC currently holds the second position in the league with a perfect six points, trailing Western Tigers FC on goal difference. The latter secured a 4-0 victory over Ann’s Grove United FC on Sunday. The Guyana Defence Force is also at the top with six points after a convincing 6-1 win against Buxton United SC.
In another match on Tuesday night, Den Amstel SC clinched their first win of the season with a narrow 1-0 victory over Santos FC.
Trinidad and Tobago's Head coach Angus Eve was pleased that they achieved their objective from the two-match friendly series against Jamaica, but expressed that the overall fitness of local players require significant improvements to meet international standards.
Eve's sentiments came after a goalless stalemate between his Soca Warriors and their Reggae Boyz counterparts in the second contest at the Larry Gomes Stadium, on Sunday. Jamaica won the first game at the Hasely Crawford Stadium 1-0 courtesy of a Kahiem Dixon strike.
While he singled out players such as Adrian Foncette, Rhondel Gibson, Kai Moos and central defenders Jamal Jack and Robert Primus as standout performers over the two matches, Eve, who gifted debut caps to seven players, pointed out that getting the local-based players to the desired standard remains a work in progress.
"Everything you do is about stages. Everything about life is stages. Every time you go up a level, the work is more intense. Every time you go up a different level, it means you have to be more prepared," Eve said in the post-match press conference.
"We have to look at what the international standards are and we have to work harder to get the players fitter so they will be ready to play sharper and faster. The football now is more athletic. Jamaica's coach, Heimir Hallgrimsson, is saying the league in Jamaica is too slow. I find the same thing here," he added.
Still, with the friendlies aiding in his charge to gauge players, Eve is now in a better position to identify his final squad for their crucial Copa America qualifying playoff contest against Canada on March 23.
"Sometimes people ask for players to get opportunities, and these are the opportunities we have given to them over these two matches. You get to see who could stand up to physicality and stand up to the pace of the game and stuff like that. When I say our league is a little too slow, normally I get licks for it sometimes," Eve stated.
"I thought it was a good game of football. Jamaica were getting everybody behind the ball, and we were trying to break them down. One team was trying to win, and one team was trying to keep what they had. We were working on ball possession and trying to get in behind as much as possible to break them down. Clearly, they were working on their defensive shape and keeping things very tight, and that's basically what happened," he noted as he reflected on the second game.
Last March, the Soca Warriors visited Jamaica for a pair of friendlies, with attacker Reon Moore earning Eve's side a 1-0 win in the first game, before the teams played to a goalless stalemate in the second friendly. The results were a flip on this occasion.
"I thought it was a good competitive game for the local players, as we had good intensity. The exercise was good for both teams. Exactly what we wanted out of it is what we got," Eve ended.
Tom Dreaper took the first step in continuing the family legacy as he enjoyed his maiden winner as a trainer at Thurles with Folly Master.
Dreaper is the son of Jim, from whom he has taken over the training licence, and the grandson of the great Tom Dreaper, trainer of the one and only Arkle.
Dreaper guided Arkle to three consecutive victories in the Cheltenham Gold Cup, a King George and an Irish Grand National among countless other famous triumphs.
Upon retiring in 1971, Tom handed the reins over to Jim, who has now in turn done the same and passed the baton to his own son, Tom, 40, who is named after his grandfather.
The switch happened on March 1 and so the new Dreaper in the training ranks wasted no time in getting off the mark when Folly Master won the Leugh Beginners Chase at Thurles.
Ridden by Keith Donoghue as the the 11-10 favourite, the chestnut could well have been Jim Dreaper’s last winner rather than Tom’s first as the race was an afterthought when another contest was lost due to abandonment.
“Our licences changed over on March 1 and while I’d love to say this was a master plan, it wasn’t,” said the winning trainer.
“I trained point-to-point winners in my own name in recent years to differentiate the two set ups, when selling began to get going, but this is different and is great. I’m glad to get that out of the way.
“He is a lovely horse who has improved hand over fist and this time last year he wouldn’t have run in a point-to-point so was a long way down the pecking order.
“He has got better with racing and I know this was relatively low grade stuff, but he is what my father would want and what I want and that’s a staying chaser for the future.
“I have a good few point-to-pointers to run and a handful left to run on the racecourse before going out for the summer.”
Dreaper now hopes to continue in the same vein through the spring and into the summer and build momentum as the year progresses.
He added: “We’ll definitely push on now and the way this game has gone, it is a 12-month a year job now so we’ll need to roll all jobs (winter and summer) in together. The job is changing and anything that will win a race, we’ll hope to give it a rattle.
“We have had some great traditional owners down through the years – long before I was ever thought of, and we don’t ever worry too much about the number of horses. As long as we keep the quality up and maybe push on.”
Iroko has connections excited as he prepares to complete his comeback from injury in the Turners Novices’ Chase at the Cheltenham Festival.
The six-year-old gave upwardly mobile training duo Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero a landmark first Festival success when claiming the Martin Pipe 12 months ago.
It seemed unlikely he would feature at this year’s showcase meeting, with an injury suffered shortly after his imperious chasing debut expected to keep him out of action for the rest of the campaign.
However, he returned to full training quicker than anticipated and will head to Prestbury Park’s New course attempting to repeat last year’s heroics in an open Turners Novices’ Chase that kicks off day three of the Festival.
“He’s absolutely fine and in good health and is all set to run – we’re looking forward to running him on the Thursday in the Turners,” said Greenall.
“He seemed to really handle the New course (in the Martin Pipe), but I think he’s pretty versatile and he would handle the Old course just as well.”
The injury sustained by Iroko earlier in the season has left his training team in a race against time to prepare their stable star for the Cheltenham Festival.
Despite failing to beat the clock in order to provide the gelding with a prep run, Iroko successfully came through an away day at nearby Haydock recently, with Greenall believing the experience he has garnered running in handicaps will stand him in good stead for his Turners assignment.
“It (possible races) just came too soon really, fitness wise, but he has been away and schooled at Haydock and we’ve done everything we can,” continued Greenall.
“I think the fact he has run in some good juvenile races and some good handicaps, he is streetwise in that sense and it will just be jumping the fences at speed he will lack experience in, I suppose.”
It could be a big afternoon for the Greenall and Guerrero partnership, as fast on the heels of Iroko, in the very next race they will saddle White Rhino in the Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle.
A general 10-1 shot to land a knockout blow with the bookmakers, the eight-year-old brings solid course form to the table, having finished second at the November meeting before going one better over the Pertemps track and trip the following month.
He was last seen qualifying for this event by finishing third at Huntingdon and is predicted to sharpen up for that outing back in the Cotswolds.
“He will go in the Pertemps on the same day, if he gets in,” continued Greenall.
“He seems to have come on nicely since his Huntingdon run, has a nice weight and we look forward to running him.”
City Of Troy tops the 49-strong list for the initial entry stage of the season’s first Classic contest, the Qipco 2000 Guineas.
The Aidan O’Brien-trained colt was unbeaten in three runs as a juvenile, culminating in a superb three-and-a-half-length Dewhurst victory at Newmarket in October.
He has his name on the long list to return to Headquarters on May 4, alongside stablemate Henry Longfellow – also unbeaten and the winner of the Vincent O’Brien National Stakes.
Richard Hannon’s Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere champion Rosallion features, as does the well-regarded Godolphin colt Ancient Wisdom, winner of the Futurity Trophy for Charlie Appleby.
Owen Burrows is represented by Shadwell’s Alyanaabi, second to City Of Troy in the Dewhurst and the winner of the Tattersalls Stakes, plus Futurity Trophy fourth Deira Mile.
Coolmore and O’Brien also have the leading fancy in the 1000 Guineas with Opera Singer, a Justify filly last seen winning the Prix Marcel Boussac at Longchamp. Ylang Ylang, winner of the Fillies’ Mile, is another for Ballydoyle.
Karl Burke’s Fallen Angel won both the Sweet Solera and the Moyglare Stud Stakes last season and is another exciting prospect put forward to head to the Rowley Mile on May 5.
The Ryanair Chase remains “very much the plan” for ante-post favourite Banbridge, despite concerns about ground conditions ahead of next week’s Cheltenham Festival.
Joseph O’Brien’s charge was a non-runner in the Turners Novices’ Chase at the showpiece meeting last year due to the rain-softened ground and the official going at Prestbury Park on Tuesday morning was soft, heavy in places.
Banbridge made an impressive start to his campaign when accounting for subsequent Ascot Chase winner Pic D’Orhy in the Grade Two Silviniaco Conti Chase at Kempton and he has since been saved for the Festival, with a final decision on his participation unlikely to be made until the morning of the race.
“There’s still a long time to go between now and then, there’s lots of racing to happen and lots of weather forecasts that will come and go,” said O’Brien.
“As we’ve said all along, we’ll look forward to the race and hopefully we’ll walk the track on the morning of the race and hopefully he can run.
“Very much the plan is to run. He’s prepared well for Cheltenham so far.”
Banbridge is set to lead a small but select team of “six or seven” runners for O’Brien across the biggest four days of the season in the Cotswolds.
He added: “Hopefully we’ll have something running most of the days, some of them would like the ground a bit softer and some of them would like it a bit quicker.
“At the moment, it looks as if it’s going to favour the horses that prefer a bit of juice, but let’s see what happens – it can dry out fast and it can get softer quickly too. We’ll keep an eye on things over the next week.”
Lark In The Mornin heads the betting for the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle, but O’Brien revealed his participation is “up in the air”.
Considering some of his other running plans, he said: “Nurburgring is an intended runner in the Triumph Hurdle, he is still entered in the Boodles but he’s going to run in the Triumph.
“Home By The Lee is in the Stayers’ Hurdle, we’ll have Solness in the Grand Annual and Busselton in the Ultima Handicap Chase, so there’s a few runners there.”
Gavin Cromwell is leaning towards the Stayers’ Hurdle with two-time former champion Flooring Porter.
The nine-year-old won the contest in both 2021 and 2022 before finishing fourth behind Sire Du Berlais last season.
He began his steeple chasing career this term, beating Broadway Boy on debut at Cheltenham and then finishing third in both the Florida Pearl and the Neville Hotels Novice Chase.
It has not been guaranteed that he will stick with the discipline at the Cheltenham Festival, however, and with the withdrawal of Constitution Hill from the Champion Hurdle picture there has been a ripple effect on other races.
Gordon Elliott’s Irish Point now looks likely to start in the Champion Hurdle and in his absence Cromwell is minded to bid for another Stayers’ Hurdle with Flooring Porter.
Speaking on a stable tour for Attheraces.com, the trainer said: “We are leaning towards the Stayers’ Hurdle. That isn’t 100 per cent confirmed, but with Irish Point looking likely to go for the Champion Hurdle, that might just seal it.
“We had a really tough preparation for Cheltenham with him last year as he missed a month after Christmas, but he still ran really well. We’ve had a much better preparation with him this year.
“It’s a very competitive race, but if he brought his best form to the table, he’d be entitled to be in the mix with the best of them.”
Perceval Legallois is the second favourite for the Kim Muir at present. but will not line up for the race as Cromwell feels the mark of 144 he has been allocated is prohibitive.
He said: “We’ve decided not to run him at the Cheltenham Festival. The British handicapper was very tough on him, so we’ll stay at home with him.”
My Mate Mozzie holds entries for both the Grand Annual and the Arkle and is most probably going to run in the latter race, especially considering Marine Nationale has been ruled out of the contest.
“He’s more than likely going to run in the Arkle,” said Cromwell.
“He’s going to have to run a career-best to win it, but he shaped really well right on the tail of the current favourite Found A Fifty at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting and that form has worked out well since.
“Maybe the winner was idling, but we got further back than was planned and finished off very well, so we have reasons to rate him better than the bare form too.
“Marine Nationale coming out can only help him too. The better the ground, the better his chance.”
Jamaica, Windward Islands and Guyana all kicked off the 2024 CG United Women’s Super50 Cup with comfortable wins in St. Kitts on Monday.
Jamaica were the most dominant on the day, securing a massive 200-run win over defending champions Barbados at Warner Park.
The Jamaicans first piled up an intimidating 289 all out off 46.5 overs thanks to a top score of 97 from Captain Stafanie Taylor and a rapid 93 from all-rounder Chinelle Henry.
Taylor’s knock came off 100 balls and included 11 fours and a six while Henry was more belligerent, making her score off just 69 balls and hitting nine fours and four sixes.
Natasha McLean also chipped in with 24 against 3-24 off 8.5 overs from Aaliyah Alleyne and 2-35 off 10 overs from Allison Gordon.
Jamaica then produced an excellent display of bowling to restrict the Bajans to just 89 in 37.4 overs.
Taylor completed an excellent all-round performance with 2-16 from 6.4 overs while Vanessa Watts took 2-24 from her full quota of 10 overs.
NaiJanni Cumberbatch top scores for Barbados with 22.
Full Scores: Jamaica Women 289 all out off 46.5 overs (Stafanie Taylor 97, Chinelle Henry 93, Aaliyah Alleyne 3-24, Allison Gordon 2-35)
Barbados Women 89 all out 37.4 overs (NaiJanni Cumberbatch 22, Stafanie Taylor 2-16, Vanessa Watts 2-24).
At Conaree Sports Club, the Windward Islands won a thriller against Trinidad & Tobago by two wickets.
The Windwards first restricted T&T to 185 all out off 48.2 overs after losing the toss and being asked to field first.
Lee Ann Kirby led the way for the Trinidadians with 59 off 40 balls including eight fours and a six while Samara Ramnath and Captain Britney Cooper made 28, each.
Windwards skipper Afy Fletcher took 3-40 from her 10 overs while Carena Noel provided good support with 2-18 from 5.2 overs.
The Windwards then recovered from being 53-5 after 14.3 overs to reach 186-8 off 49 overs and secure a fantastic win.
Malika Edward was the only top order batter for the Windwards to reach double figures with 22.
The bulk of the runs came from Jannilea Glasgow, Nerissa Crafton and Pearl Etienne who batted at six, seven and eight, respectively.
Glasgow top scored with 62 off 114 balls including seven fours while Crafton made 45 off 77 balls including four fours.
The pair embarked on an 86-run sixth wicket partnership before Crafton fell. Glasgow and Etienne then put together a 43-run seventh wicket partnership to all but seal victory.
Etienne made a quick 22-ball 23 including two fours. Karishma Ramharack took 2-19 from her 10 overs for T&T.
Full Scores: Trinidad & Tobago Women 185 all out off 48.2 overs (Lee Ann Kirby 59, Samara Ramnath 28, Britney Cooper 28, Afy Fletcher 3-40, Carena Noel 2-18)
Windward Islands Women 186-8 off 49 overs (Jannilea Glasgow 62, Nerissa Crafton 45, Pearl Etienne 23, Malika Edward 22, Karishma Ramharack 2-19).
Finally, Guyana secured a comfortable 56-run win over the Leeward Islands at St. Paul’s Sports Complex.
The Leewards won the toss and proceeded to bowl out Guyana for just 139 in 37 overs thanks to a fantastic 3-9 off seven overs from Shawnisha Hector as well as 3-21 off nine overs from Rozel Liburd.
Realeanna Grimmond top scored for Guyana with 38 while Shabika Gajnabi made 20.
Guyana then produced an excellent reply with the ball to dismiss the Leewards for just 84 off 36.5 overs.
Plaffiana Millington led the way with 4-10 from her 9.5 overs while Nyia Latchman took 3-25 from eight overs.
Full Scores: Guyana Women 139 all out off 37 overs (Realeanna Grimmond 38, Shabika Gajnabi 20, Shawnisha Hector 3-9, Rozel Liburd 3-21)
Leeward Islands Women 84 all out off 36.5 overs (Divya Saxena 18, Plaffiana Millington 4-10, Nyia Latchman 3-25)
Connections of L’Homme Presse are metaphorically applying the bubble wrap as they anxiously count down the days to the Boodles Cheltenham Gold Cup.
Venetia Williams’ nine-year-old gave co-owners Andy and Pam Edwards and Peter and Patricia Pink a day to remember when scooping the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase on a wet Wednesday in 2022, but they were forced to watch on as he missed the blue riband through injury 12 months ago.
Seen as one of Britain’s best chances of Gold Cup success, L’Homme Presse is now close to finally getting his chance to bid for glory in the week’s feature event.
Having shown no signs of any reoccurring injury worries since returning from a long 391-day lay-off, connections will soon be able to dream of a second triumph at National Hunt racing’s showpiece meeting.
“We haven’t had any little niggles or anything so far, touch wood, but we still have 10 days or so to go and that is plenty of time for a racehorse to do something silly,” said Edwards.
“It’s a slightly anxious time, rather than a nervous time. At this time (of year), everyone is in the same boat and they are trying to wrap their horses in cotton wool, while keeping the horses ticking over – and it’s a massive effort to get them to any race, never mind the Festival.
“The beauty of any other race is, if you don’t get them to a said race, there is always another one. But if you don’t get them to the Festival, that is it until next year, so the pressure is on all the staff and trainers at the moment.”
He went on: “From our point of view, we just want to get him there and what chance he has and all the rest of it, right now that is immaterial. Once we are there on the day, that’s when we can start thinking about what sort of chance we have.
“I’m very relaxed and he will get there or he won’t. What will be, will be, and I’m very relaxed about that side of things.”
It was an emotionally-charged afternoon when L’Homme Presse returned from injury in imperious style in Lingfield’s Fleur De Lys Chase, but the gelding failed to read a similar script when tuning up for his Gold Cup bid in the Ascot Chase.
Sent off the 5-4 favourite, L’Homme Presse’s usual zest was lacking as he struggled to hunt down the boldly-ridden Pic D’Orhy on ground quicker than ideal – and over a trip shorter than optimum.
However, connections are taking encouragement from the way their charge finished the race and with two runs now under L’Homme Presse’s belt, they feel he is in the ideal spot to challenge for top honours in the Cotswolds on Friday week.
“He came out of the race really well and we were really happy with him,” continued Edwards.
“I think Ascot has put him right, but not by design. We went there to win it and for whatever reason, he just wasn’t quite himself.
“He didn’t jump with the same sort of passion that he had at Lingfield and Charlie (Deutsch, jockey) had to kick him in the belly twice to get him started. He was just always slightly behind the bridle going into the fences and in his racing style.
“The result of that is he ran below his best, but he ran through the line and it’s brought him on nicely, which means we have a nice fresh horse going to Cheltenham.”
With the Ascot Chase contested over two miles and five furlongs, the L’Homme Presse team can look forward to a much more suitable stamina test in the Gold Cup for their staying star.
And while the current ground updates coming out of Prestbury Park may be unnerving for some connections ahead of the Festival, Edwards will be willing the rain to keep falling for a repeat of the soft conditions L’Homme Presse has previously relished.
“Everyone is desperate for a bit of sunshine but I only want sunshine on March 16,” he added.
“Soft ground is in our favour and we would be happy with it being soft. We are going to enjoy the moment and we will always keep the faith.”
Kim Bailey’s has paid handsome tribute to his Grade One-winning chaser First Flow after announcing his retirement.
The 12-year-old was last seen winning the Godstone Handicap Chase at Lingfield during the Winter Million meeting, carrying top-weight to a length-and-a-quarter victory over Saint Segal.
That run will be his last as the decision has been been made to retire Bailey’s stable stalwart after a career that saw him win 12 races and amass over £300,000 in prize-money.
A €4,500 Tattersalls purchase with a pedigree that offered little insight into his ability, First Flow became a smart novice hurdler who won his first three starts over obstacles after a brief bumper career.
He then went novice chasing in the autumn of 2019, acquitting himself well when winning four times and never finishing out of the top three in eight starts in his opening season over fences.
The following term he won three successive starts and shone at the top level when landing the Clarence House Chase at Ascot, defeating the likes of Defi Du Seuil and Politologue.
Reaching a career-high mark of 166, he was subsequently sixth in the Queen Mother Champion Chase at the 2021 Festival and from there was consistently placed in graded chases from two miles and a furlong to two miles and six – including a second-placed finish behind Hewick in the Oaksey Chase at Sandown.
“He was a unique horse and a complete star for the yard,” said Bailey.
“It’s very sad to see him retire but it’s something I expected to happen last year and he’s done another season, I’ve got no races to run him in so I think it’s a good time to stop.
“We’ve very much run out of options, he isn’t good enough for Grade One races anymore and he’s carried top-weight in handicaps three times this year.
“He was very tired after the last one and you can only go to the well so many times.
“I probably should have retired him there and then, but emotionally I couldn’t cope with that idea.
“He is a freak of nature, I think most good horses are, it’s been an interesting journey the whole way through because he’s such an interesting character – if he was a human being you would enjoy a night out with him!
“I hope we can find him a home close by so I can keep an eye on him, he is quite special to me.”
The Jockey Club has announced the opening race on day two of next week’s Cheltenham Festival will be run as the Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle.
The Grade One contest, registered as the Baring Bingham Novices’ Hurdle, has had several different sponsors in recent years, including Neptune Investment Management and Ballymore.
Gallagher, a global insurance broking and risk management firm, joined The Jockey Club as its Official Community Partner in May 2023 and has now agreed to put its name to a two-mile-five-furlong contest that features the brilliant Faugheen (2014), Envoi Allen (2020) and Impaire Et Passe (2023) on its recent roll of honour.
The partnership sees The Jockey Club and Gallagher work together with the collective aim of opening up the sport to young people from a broad range of backgrounds and communities to the industry of racing and encourage them to consider it as a potential career.
Sophie Chambers, managing director of Gallagher’s bloodstock practice, said: “We are thrilled to be expanding our relationship with The Jockey Club by sponsoring the Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival later this month.
“Our partnership has made real progress in our aim to expand the sport to more young people and this is the natural next step.
“Horseracing is a fantastic sport and we want to encourage more youngsters who traditionally would not consider this a career choice to consider coming into the racing and thoroughbred industry.
“There are hugely diverse roles available, beyond just the jockeys we see on the racecourses, all offering great future progression. We hope our series of experience days will open youngsters’ eyes to the opportunities.”
Acting director of partnerships at The Jockey Club, Matt Powell said: “Gallagher has been instrumental in expanding the Junior and Youth experience days which are a hugely important part of our joint efforts to engage communities that the sport doesn’t traditionally reach.
“We are excited to see our partnership grow with the Gallagher Novices’ Hurdle opening the card on Style Wednesday.”
Dunbeholden Football Club’s recent signings have added a new dimension to Lenworth “Teacha” Hyde’s squad and are pushing teammates to reach a higher level, as the St Catherine-based team continued its Wray and Nephew Jamaica Premier League (WNJPL) playoff hunt with a 3-0 win over Harbour View, on Monday.
Dwight Merrick (35th), on loan from Mount Pleasant FA, and Rojay Smith (89th), who signed from Harbour View in January, joined Carlington Blackwood (72nd) on the score sheet, as Dunbeholden outshone the “Stars of the East”, at Stadium East field.
They have now won three games on the trot in a five-match unbeaten run and are now sixth on 33 points, three ahead of closest rival Waterhouse FC (30 points). Mount Pleasant (46 points), Cavalier (44 points), Tivoli Gardens (41 points), Portmore United (41 points) and Arnett Gardens (38 points), occupy the other playoff positions.
Dunbeholden’s assistant coach Ricardo Smith, was delighted by the team’s dominant display and current vein of form heading into the business end of the season.
“I am very impressed by the win, especially with the clean sheet. The performance was so good that I can't pick out a player to say they didn’t play well. Everybody had a good game and the fact that we are back in a playoff position is an even bigger positive,” Smith said.
After going down 0-2 to Harbour View earlier in the season, Dunbeholden were mindful not to suffer another defeat in a similar manner and that might have resulted in their cagey start.
However, once they found rhythm, it was only a matter of time before they broke the deadlock, which they eventually did when Merrick drove a firm left-footer from about 20 yards out pass Trinidad and Tobago-born custodian Glenroy Samuels, at his near post.
With Merrick’s second goal of the season proving the difference at the end of the first half, Harbour View showed more purpose at the top of the second half, and enjoyed a good passage of play in which they used the right channel well to provide service inside the box, but failed to get on target.
In fact, of the four shots that Harbour View got off throughout the entire game, none was on target, and that all but explains why they succumbed to a fourth-consecutive defeat.
Dunbeholden doubled their lead in the 72nd minute courtesy of a tidy team build-up, which comprised 16 passes, very much reflective of a typical Lenworth Hyde-coached team. That series of ball movement opened up Harbour View’s defence and Donovan Segree played a perfect final pass through to Blackwood, who applied an excellent finish.
They almost had a third three minutes later when Segree found space at the top of the 18-yard box for a left-footed effort, which was tipped over by Samuels.
But with Harbour View offering very little in attack, Dunbeholden applied consistent pressure and inevitably gifted another. Samuels gave up possession to substitute Brian Burkett, who played a pass across goal for Smith to tap in, and put Harbour View, who were celebrating the club's 50th anniversary, out of their misery.
Harbour View’s Head coach Ludlow Bernard was again left disappointed by his team’s sub-par display, which all but sums up why they are currently in 11th position on 19 points.
“It was a non-performance from us, and we only have ourselves to blame. I mean, when I look at the three goals, it's really a crying shame,” Bernard lamented.
“I don't want to come with a blame game over the air, it is something we have to deal with internally, but clearly someone has to answer to the goals. It really costs us, especially at a critical point in the game when we're just getting on top of the game and getting ready to come back in the game and you concede a goal like that…its Unthinkable,” he added.
Matchweek 21 Results
Lime Hall 1, Molynes United 2
Portmore United 1, Montego Bay United 1
Treasure Beach 0, Tivoli Gardens 5
Vere United 0, Arnett Gardens 1
Waterhouse 0, Mount Pleasant 1
Cavalier FC 1, Humble Lion 1
Dunbeholden FC 3, Harbour View 0
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