Frankie Dettori is one of six nominations for this year’s BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
The Italian had announced that 2023 was to be his last in the saddle but he enjoyed so much success that he has been tempted to continue his career in America.
His supposed farewell season got off to the perfect start when he won the 2000 Guineas on Chaldean and ensured he won two of the five Classics on offer by taking the Oaks on Soul Sister.
Further big-race glory followed at Royal Ascot in the Gold Cup on Courage Mon Ami and the winners continued to flow – so much so that he later admitted that by August he was having second thoughts about his retirement decision.
On Champions Day at Ascot, his scheduled last meeting in Britain, he produced a stellar ride on Trawlerman in the Long Distance Cup and signed off in customary fairytale fashion by winning the Champion Stakes on King Of Steel.
So far Sir Anthony McCoy is the only jockey to have won the award in 2010. Dettori himself finished third in 1996, the year of his Magnificent Seven. Hollie Doyle was third in 2020.
The event will take place on Tuesday, December 19 and the other nominees are cricketer Stuart Broad, England goalkeeper Mary Earps, wheelchair tennis player Alfie Hewett, heptathlete Kataina Johnson-Thompson and golfer Rory McIIroy.
Dettori has just completed a spell on reality TV show I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here!, in which he was the first contestant to be voted off.
Coral make Dettori a 16-1 chance to win with Earps their 1-7 favourite.
West Indies T20I Captain Rovman Powell has expressed excitement at the return of all-rounder Andre Russell to the West Indies T20 side on the eve of the first of five games against England.
Russell last represented the West Indies at the ICC T20 World Cup in Dubai two years ago.
“It’s always good to have Andre Russell in a West Indies team,” Powell said in a pre-match press conference on Monday.
“We know the quality that he comes with and he’s fit and rearing and ready to go put on the maroon again for the people of the Caribbean. It’s exciting time for me as a Captain and also for the fans,” he added.
Powell and Russell, along with fellow squad members Nicholas Pooran, Kyle Mayers, Akeal Hosein and Jason Holder, were most recently a part of the Abu Dhabi T10 League, a fact that the skipper thinks will help them in this upcoming series.
“We have enough cricket under our belt to do well at the international level. It’s good that the guys played games in Abu Dhabi right down to the finals and if you look at the individual performances, they were very good so that brings confidence coming into this series,” Powell said.
“I’m very excited. When you look on our team that includes so much returning guys, it’s a powerful team. Having said that, we still have to play some good cricket and put it together as a complete team and from an individual perspective,” he added.
The last time the West Indies hosted England for a T20I series, they came out as 3-2 winners. Powell finished that series as the second-leading run scorer with 147 runs in three innings, including a career best 107* at Kensington Oval, the venue for Tuesday’s series opener.
“It’s always nice to be in Barbados. It always brings back good memories especially against England so it’s good to be here,” Powell said.
“It’s important for me to try my best and lead from the front. Once you lead from the front, players will always follow so I’m looking at my personal game and once I come to the party, naturally the guys will follow,” he added.
With the 2024 ICC T20 World Cup a few months away, Powell says this series gives the team an opportunity to find combinations that will work for them.
“It’s very important. It’s good that we’ve played T20 series’ before so we have an idea of the combinations that will work well for us. These five games against England provide another opportunity for us to fine tune whatever areas we need to fine tune,” he said.
In a lavish ceremony held in the heart of Montego Bay, Jamaica, Sunshine Girl defender Shamera Sterling exchanged vows with her long-time partner, Andrew AJ Humphrey, on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. The union marks the second marriage among the Sunshine Girls, as netballer Shimona Nelson recently tied the knot with Buay Jok in Australia less than a month ago.
Shamera Sterling, renowned for her exceptional skills on the netball court, recently earned the title of Suncorp Super Netball Player of the Year. The wedding ceremony was a celebration of love and commitment, bringing together family and friends to witness the union of the outstanding defender and her newlywed husband.
Humphrey, a recent graduate of the University of the West Indies, shares a sports background with Sterling. Having played as a defender for his high school Herbert Morrison High in DaCosta Cup football, Humphrey's connection to the world of sports mirrors Sterling's own illustrious career.
The ceremony holds sentimental value for both Sterling and Humphrey, as the defender attended Queens High but began her high-school career at Anchovy High School, not far from Hebert Morrison High School, where her husband was a student before continuing his education at the University of the West Indies. Sterling is also a graduate of the university.
Their love story endured the test of distance and time, as Sterling spent the majority of the last five years playing professional netball overseas. She began her journey with the Loughborough Lightning in England and has been a standout player for the Adelaide Thunderbirds in the Suncorp Super League since 2019. Sterling's prowess on the court has earned her recognition as one of the best defenders in the world.
The wedding festivities were a blend of joy, laughter, and the promise of a shared future. As Sterling and Humphrey embark on this new chapter of their lives, their love story stands as a testament to the strength of their affection for each other, overcoming challenges and distance to build a life together. The Sunshine Girls, both on and off the court, continue to inspire with their achievements and celebrations of love.
Fergal O’Brien’s Dysart Enos will take another step in her hurdling career when she lines up at Cheltenham on Friday.
The five-year-old was unbeaten in bumpers, including taking the Listed Alan Swinbank at Market Rasen ahead of the equally-promising Queens Gamble and then the Grade Two Nickel Coin at Aintree by nine lengths.
Her hurdling debut came at Huntingdon in November, where the bay was the seven-and-a-half-length winner of a mares’ two-mile novice event.
Cheltenham is her next destination as she holds an entry for the British EBF “National Hunt” Novices’ Hurdle, a race in which she we take on geldings over two miles and a furlong.
“That’s the plan, to go and give her a spin around there,” O’Brien said.
“I know we’re against the boys, but fingers crossed it’ll be a good bit of experience for her.
“It’s a very competitive novice hurdle on paper, but we have to go and try these things, the main reason is to get her there and to see how she handles Cheltenham.”
Stablemate Bonttay is entered at the same meeting as she is due to run in the Virgin Bet Every Saturday Money Back Mares’ Handicap Hurdle after winning her seasonal debut at Hereford in early November.
The six-year-old has never been out of the top two in nine starts, winning six times with a record of two from three at Cheltenham.
“She’s in good form, we’re really happy with her,” O’Brien said.
“She won very well at Hereford and we were pleased with that, she loves Cheltenham – she’s run there three times and won two and was second in the other.
“If you could pick a track that wouldn’t suit her it would be Hereford over two miles, it was just a case of wanting to get a run into her and get the freshness out of her, then this race was always the target.”
Jamaica’s Mariah Gordon made history on Saturday with the country’s first ever Gymnastics gold medal at the Pan American Hopes Tournament at the National Indoor Sports Centre in Kingston.
Gordon took home gold in the 11-12 Uneven Bars category ahead of Colombia’s Gabriela Herrera and Panama’s Aylin Lan.
Gordon had a 3.600 score for difficulty and an 8.633 score for execution for an overall score of 12.233, 0.067 more than Herrera and 0.433 more than Lan.
Jamaica also secured another medal through Zuri Mantadara-Clarke in the 11-12 Vault category. Mantadara-Clarke produced an overall score of 12.566 to finish fourth overall behind Panama’s Lan (12.600), Venezuela’s Mia Morales (12.700) and Puerto Rico’s Amaia Lebron (12.900).
Jamaica also finished fourth in the overall team standings with a score of 87.097. Colombia won the team title with 93.931 ahead of Venezuela (91.464) and Argentina (88.897).
Joseph O’Brien is pondering the options for Grade One scorer Banbridge ahead of his impending return to the track.
A Cheltenham Festival winner over hurdles in 2022, the seven-year-old made a real impression in his novice chasing season, winning at Cheltenham in the autumn and chasing home El Fabiolo in the Irish Arkle before securing big-race success at Aintree in the spring.
Soft ground and the persistent wet weather has so far seen him kept under wraps this season, but O’Brien is eager to get his campaign up and running and is mulling over the numerous upcoming options.
A step up to three miles could be on the cards if electing to run in either Leopardstown’s Savills Chase (December 28) or the Savills New Year’s Chase at Tramore, while a trip to Kempton for the Coral Silviniaco Conti Chase on January 13 is another possibility.
“He’s in good shape and he has a few options over the Christmas period and into the new year and when we find the suitable race for him he will be ready to make his reappearance,” said O’Brien.
“He has the entry at Leopardstown and there is also the Silviniaco Conti at Kempton in the new year and there’s the race on New Year’s Day at Tramore. There are different races over the next month or so that are all possibilities.
“We’re looking forward to getting him back out.”
O’Brien is also planning a Christmas appearance for taking Fairyhouse scorer Nurburgring, who will take the next step up the juvenile hurdling ladder in Leopardstown’s Grade Two Knight Frank Juvenile Hurdle on December 26.
He added: “I’m very pleased with him and I thought he was quite impressive as well (at Fairyhouse).
“The plan for him is he is likely to go to Leopardstown at Christmas time for the juvenile hurdle there.”
Love Envoi is pencilled in for a Sandown return after her second-placed performance in the relocated Fighting Fifth on Saturday.
The seven-year-old was back in action after 224 days off the track, her final run of last season being a beaten effort at Punchestown where she picked up an injury.
Prior to that she was enjoying a very successful campaign, however, winning twice at Sandown before being finding just the great Honeysuckle too good in the Close Brothers Mares’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
The complexion of the Fighting Fifth changed twice before the race, firstly because of the relocation of the contest from Newcastle to Sandown and secondly because of the withdrawal of leading hurdler Constitution Hill.
Without Nicky Henderson’s champion in the line-up the Harry Fry-trained Love Envoi started at 6-4 with only Jamie Snowden’s You Wear It Well more fancied as the 5-4 favourite.
Love Envoi was held up in last place in the early stages of the race and did not jump fluently to start with, but as the contest unfolded she stayed on to chase home Hughie Morrison’s veteran Not So Sleepy, who was an eight-length winner at 9-1.
The runner-up is owned by Noel Fehily Racing Syndicates and the former jockey was not disheartened by the performance after a significant lay-off for the mare.
“She’s fine, she did well to finish second but she was a bit slow and ring rusty early on,” he said.
“Then when she got into it she actually ran a good race in the end.
“The first two she jumped really up in the air and slow, she was definitely ring-rusty but she warmed up into it and came from a long way back.
“Overall it was a good run. I wouldn’t think the ground had anything to to do with it, I’d be surprised if it did.
“Harry always said she was only just about ready to start so I think she will come on plenty for the run.”
One of Love Envoi’s Sandown successes last term was the Listed Unibet 3 Uniboosts A Day Mares’ Hurdle in early January, a race that she will now target again.
Fehily said: “We’ll head to Sandown for the mares’ hurdle she won last year, all roads lead back there at the minute.”
The Fehily syndicates also had another runner-up at the meeting as Insurrection came home second in the Grade Two Betfair Beacons Winter Novices’ Hurdle.
The Paul Nicholls-trained gelding was making his second start over obstacles after an easy win on debut last month, lining up at Sandown a 5-2 chance under Harry Cobden.
He looked the winner for almost all of the race and was only passed on the run to the line as Dan Skelton’s Deafening Silence headed him before the post.
“We were very happy with him, he looked the winner jumping the last but he just didn’t quite stay on that ground up the hill,” said Fehily.
“He’s a lovely young horse, he jumps for fun, we were very impressed with him.
“We don’t have any plans at the minute, we’ll give him a week or two and then make plans, it’ll be after Christmas and new year probably.”
Baroness Dido Harding will become senior steward of the Jockey Club next year, making her the first woman to hold the role in the organisation’s 273-year history.
The unpaid position is currently held by Sandy Dudgeon, whose term expires in July when Harding will take over, chairing the Jockey Club’s main board, which sets the strategic direction of the organisation and oversees the executive functions.
In 2017, Harding, 56, was appointed to the board of stewards of the Jockey Club, which owns high-profile racecourses such as Epsom, Newmarket, Cheltenham and Aintree, having been a member since 2004.
She is a former chief executive of TalkTalk and initially oversaw the government’s test-and-trace programme during the coronavirus pandemic.
She also rode more than 25 winners as an amateur jockey and owned 1998 Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Cool Dawn, the horse she had ridden the previous year to finish second in the Festival hunter chase.
More recently she won the Magnolia Cup in 2017, winning Goodwood’s charity race at the third attempt having previously finished second twice.
She was in the winner’s circle at the end of last month, when the Robert Walford-trained Hipop Des Ongrais won at Hereford.
“As a lifelong racing enthusiast, it is a huge privilege to be appointed senior steward,” said Harding.
“The Jockey Club holds a unique position to both protect the sport’s heritage and tradition and also to innovate to attract and delight racegoers of the future to ensure horseracing can thrive for generations to come.”
Dudgeon added: “Dido has been a terrific asset to the board of stewards since she joined in 2017. She has brought a wealth of experience, deep knowledge of the industry and a lifelong enthusiasm for our sport. I would like to wish her every success as senior steward when she takes up the role in July next year.”
In other Jockey Club news, Grand National-winning rider Sam Waley-Cohen will join the board of stewards from January 1, 2024, while the late Queen’s granddaughter Zara Tindall has become a member, as has racing presenter Rishi Persad.
Grand Sefton hero Gesskille will be given another opportunity to showcase his prowess over a unique jumping test when he takes on the challenge of Cheltenham’s cross-country track on Friday.
The seven-year-old has developed a real affinity to the Grand National fences at Aintree since joining Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero and having gone close in both the Grand Sefton and Becher last season, returned to Liverpool last month to get his head in front.
Gesskille’s training team are now preparing him for a first taste of Prestbury Park in the Glenfarclas Crystal Cup Cross Country Handicap Chase and a race that could contain high-class Gordon Elliott pair Conflated and Galvin, as well as former Gold Cup winner Minella Indo.
However, Greenall is hopeful his charge will relish his next assignment in a race which could help determine whether a return to Aintree for the Grand National is on the cards for 2024.
Greenall said: “It’s obviously a unique track and it’s hard to know what type of horse likes it. He’s ran in France, not in a cross-country, but in a normal chase which is a bit similar to a cross-country race, but not really the same.
“He’s going to go for a school (at Cheltenham) and I’m sure he will enjoy the jumping, it’s just the twisting and turning to work out. We just felt it might be a good option for him.
“He’s been in good form (since Aintree) and he will probably have a break after this and we will aim him at either the National or Auteuil in the spring.”
Joseph O’Brien’s Fakir D’oudairies adds a touch of class to proceedings at Cheltenham as he tops the 15 confirmed for the Virgin Bet December Gold Cup Handicap Chase.
The eight-year-old has been something of a stable star for O’Brien over the years, picking up Grade One prizes at both Aintree and Ascot and regularly seen competing against the very best.
He now drops into handicap company for his seasonal return, with his Owning Hill handler confirming he is on course to appear at Prestbury Park on Saturday.
“The plan is for him to run at Cheltenham,” said O’Brien.
“It will be nice to get him back started this season and it looks a good place for his reappearance. Hopefully he goes well dropping in class.”
Fakir D’oudairies is one of two possible runners in the race for owner JP McManus with Emmet Mullins’ So Scottish another potential raider from Ireland.
Champion trainer Paul Nicholls also has two bullets to fire with Monmiral joining Paddy Power Gold Cup third Il Ridoto on the Ditcheat teamsheet.
“I’m looking forward to Saturday, they’re both in great shape,” Nicholls said in his ‘Ditcheat Diary’ on Betfair.
“Bryony (Frost) is going to ride Il Ridoto and Harry (Cobden) is going to ride Monmiral. We’ve just schooled them both and they’re both in good order.
“Monmiral is a Grade One winner coming back from a few problems, I’m looking forward to running him.”
Richard Hobson’s Fugitif has a fine Cheltenham record and attempts to better his fourth at the track last month now switching to the New course which suits him better, while Thunder Rock saw the form of his winning Carlisle reappearance franked by the runner-up Mahler Mission at Newbury and will represent trainer Olly Murphy.
John ‘Shark’ Hanlon is gearing Hewick up for a crack at the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase, providing conditions at Kempton prove suitable over the Christmas period.
The Boxing Day feature has an open look to it following the Betfair Chase defeat of Bravemansgame and Nicky Henderson’s struggles to get Shishkin a prep run and as such, Hanlon is keen to throw Hewick’s hat into the ring having been successful on raiding missions in the past.
The eight-year-old, who was famously picked up for just €850, has won the American Grand National on his travels before, as well as progressing from winning the Durham National to win land both the Bet365 Gold Cup and John Oaksey Chase at Sandown in the past two seasons.
However, ground conditions will prove crucial in deciding where Hewick lines up for his seasonal reappearance, with Leopardstown’s Savills Chase (December 28) also on the radar.
“He’s entered in the King George which looks a possibility at the minute,” Hanlon said.
“A lot will depend on the ground and with the weather the way it is at the minute, if we don’t have goodish ground I won’t run him. He wants good ground.
“We’re after getting a month of rain in the last fortnight and meetings are still being called off in England this week.
“If the ground is anywhere near good at Kempton he will go to Kempton. With the results over there in the last couple of weeks you would have to think he would have a real chance.”
Hewick was running a massive race in last season’s Cheltenham Gold Cup when taking a crushing fall at the second-last and another shot at the blue riband is central to the gelding’s plans this season.
His Christmas outing at either Kempton or Leopardstown could be the only time Hewick is sighted before March, with his handler keen to arrive at Prestbury Park with a horse at the peak of his powers.
“He’s in real good form and we’re kind of training him for a Gold Cup, that’s the plan,” continued Hanlon.
“He ran very well in it last year and he will go fresh to it this year. He will probably only have one run before he goes and I would love to go to Kempton, but we’re kind of dependent on the ground and it is the same with Leopardstown, wherever the ground is best he will go.
“We’ll put him away then and have a crack at the big one.”
Clemson University’s Indoor Track Facility witnessed a spectacular showcase of Jamaican talent at the Clemson Opener on December 8, 2023.
Shantae Foreman, the former Excelsior High standout renowned for her prowess in the high jump, took on a new challenge making her triple jump debut a memorable one. She leaped an impressive 13.08m securing the top spot in the women's triple jump event.
Ronasche Fluker of Georgia State University claimed the second spot with a leap of 12.00 m. Foreman's outstanding performance added a layer of excitement to an already spirited day of competition.
Jessica McLean, a sophomore at Clemson, carved her name in the annals of the Clemson Opener with an exceptional display in the women's 1000m event. Setting a personal best of 2:53.59, McLean showcased her speed and stamina, leading the pack.
Marie Forbes, a senior from Clemson, exhibited her strength in the women's weight throw, launching an impressive 21.86m to claim victory.
Daniel Cope, a senior from Clemson, dominated the men's weight throw finals with a mighty throw of 21.31m.
England head coach Matthew Mott suspects a switch from ODIs to T20s and a shift to the top of the order can get Jos Buttler firing on all cylinders again.
Buttler’s World Cup hangover followed him to the Caribbean with two single-figure scores either side of a sparkling unbeaten fifty in a new-look England side’s 2-1 ODI series defeat by the West Indies.
He was out for a golden duck in Saturday’s decider in Barbados, caught at fine-leg after an imprudent hook, bringing the England captain’s average down to a modest 18.09 in his last dozen innings.
With ODIs on the back-burner till September, England can focus on building towards the T20 World Cup in June with a five-match series against the co-hosts, where Buttler will be in his usual opening role.
“It’s always good when you lose a series to change the format, you move on pretty quickly,” Mott said ahead of the T20 series opener on Tuesday at the Kensington Oval.
“Jos showed his class the other day and he may well, at the top of the order, come out and take the bowling on as he has done for for a number of years.”
Will Jacks and Phil Salt have put on four opening stands of 50 or more in five ODIs, finding some fluency together in the manner predecessor Jason Roy did, first with Alex Hales then Jonny Bairstow.
The pair’s success invites speculation as to whether England could persevere with the pair in T20s and move Buttler down to number three in a reshuffle, but Mott dismissed the notion out of hand.
“Jos is a lock-in, definitely opening,” Mott said. “He’s proven over a very long period of time.
“It will be just what he needs to get up the top and really boss the game from the start and I know for a fact he’s looking forward to it.”
Mott’s position came under scrutiny after England’s shambolic World Cup and he has lost 18 ODIs in his tenure and won 16 – but five of those have been against non-Test playing Ireland and the Netherlands.
A series defeat against a side that did not qualify for the World Cup was another low moment but the success of this tour might be judged on how the T20s pan out with a more experienced bunch of players.
Moeen Ali, Adil Rashid, Chris Woakes and Tymal Mills are now in tow and, alongside Reece Topley, they trained in Bridgetown barely 12 hours after England’s rain-affected defeat at the same venue.
The quintet give England more depth with the ball, while Mills and Topley are attractive options at the death after their pacemen struggled at the back end in the ODI defeats in Antigua and Barbados.
On both occasions, England were in with a sniff of victory courtesy of their spinners – led by teenager Rehan Ahmed, who was described as “a bit of a revelation for us with the ball” on this tour by Mott.
But Sam Curran was flayed and recorded the most expensive ODI figures by an England bowler in the opener while Gus Atkinson leaked 24 in an over when the Windies needed 33 in 24 balls in the finale.
“We’ve got some really good (death bowling) options,” Mott added. “The guys getting an opportunity haven’t had a lot of opportunity in this format yet but I think they will be better for the experience.
“Sam’s definitely a player that we really want to invest in. He hasn’t missed too often at the death for us. But he’s that type of bowler that wants the ball in his hand at the back end.
“When you’ve got guys who want to do that, they’ll come out on top more often than they miss it as well.”
Andrew Flintoff is due into Barbados on Sunday night and is scheduled to be at training on Monday as he rejoins England’s coaching set-up in a paid role as a team mentor.
Search For Glory toughed out victory in the Singletons Supervalu Stayers Novice Hurdle at Cork, completing a treble on the card for jockey Jack Kennedy.
A field of five runners went to post for Grade Three contest, and all of them were still in with some sort of a chance rounding the home turn.
With the strong-travelling Mahon’s Way checking out quickly under pressure, and What Path also faltering in the latter stages of the three-mile contest, it was course and distance winner Solitary Man who threw down the biggest challenge to Gordon Elliott’s 7-4 favourite.
But in truth, Search For Glory was already winning the argument on the approach to the final flight and he asserted on the run-in to score by three lengths.
“He stays well, jumped and travelled great and is a progressive horse. He is a staying horse and hopefully he keeps going the right way now,” said Kennedy.
The in-form rider, fresh from a double at Navan on Saturday, had earlier won the first two races aboard Joseph O’Brien’s Harsh and the Elliott-trained No Time To Wait respectively.
Having finished third on his jumping debut at Punchestown a fortnight ago, Harsh justified cramped odds of 2-5 with an eight-length success in the Bar One Racing ‘Bet 10 Euros Get 50 Euros Sign Up Offer’ 3-Y-O Maiden Hurdle.
No Time To Wait was a 3-1 winner of the Bar One Racing ‘Guaranteed Multiples All Shops’ Maiden Hurdle, with 4-6 shot Western Diego disappointing in fifth.
Of Harsh, Kennedy said: “His last jump was his best and it took him a while to warm into it. Some horses don’t really take to those rubber hurdles but he is a nice horse.
“He is learning away the whole time and it was probably a good race he finished third in at Punchestown. It was nice to get today done.”
Cafe Con Leche was a 40-1 winner of the Bar One Racing “Guaranteed Overnight Prices” Handicap Hurdle for trainer Charles Byrnes and owner-rider Anthony Bustin.
Byrnes said: “I’m delighted for Anthony who works for me and he claimed the horse.
“I recommended him for €10,000 as he was looking for a horse to ride and I thought this fella would give him plenty of fun.”
The concluding Greenvalley Transport Novice Handicap Hurdle went the way of the John McConnell-trained West Away (10-1), ridden by Ben Harvey.
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