Russian athletes will be able to compete as neutrals at next year’s Paralympic Games in Paris despite the country’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
International Paralympic Committee member nations voted against a full suspension of the Russian committee at the organisation’s General Assembly in Bahrain, but a motion to partially suspend was passed on Friday afternoon.
The decision means Russian athletes will be able to compete in Paris next summer, provided they do not wear kit or fly the flag of Russia.
The partial suspension will mean Russia will be barred from team events, and entry in any Paralympic discipline will be subject to approval from the relevant international sports federation.
IPC member nations had voted 74-65 against a full suspension for Russia, with 13 abstentions.
Russia can appeal against the partial suspension, with the IPC set to hold similar votes regarding Belarus’ Paralympic committee later in the day.
The IPC decision comes in the same week that UEFA’s executive committee passed a motion supporting the return of Russian teams to Under-17 boys’ and girls’ competitions.
The Football Association has already said it will refuse to allow England teams to play against Russia at this or any other level while the Ukraine invasion continues.
The International Olympic Committee could make a decision on Russian participation in next summer’s Olympic Games at its session in Mumbai next month.
The IOC has issued a set of recommendations to international sports federations setting out conditions under which Russian athletes may be able to compete in qualifying events.
IOC president Thomas Bach has been adamant that athletes should not be discriminated against simply on the basis of the passport they hold.
Tom Marquand is backing Relief Rally to continue her excellent run of form in the Juddmonte Cheveley Park Stakes over six furlongs at Newmarket on Saturday.
The William Haggas-trained two-year-old has proven a real money spinner for owners Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, better known for their National Hunt acquisitions.
After scoring at Windsor and Salisbury, Relief Rally went down by just a nose to Crimson Advocate in the Queen Mary at Royal Ascot before landing a valuable sales race at Newbury in a convincing manner.
Last time out, she took a step up in trip to six furlongs in her stride when beating Aidan O’Brien’s reopposing Cherry Blossom in the Group Two Lowther Stakes at York.
A crack at Group One glory is next up and Marquand is delighted to maintain their ever-present partnership.
“At Windsor, she showed bags of speed and seemed really straightforward and sharp,” said the jockey. “I was a big fan of her that day.
“She has taken big steps forward with each of her runs and she was unfortunate not to win at Ascot, but she has shown a high level of form on those festival meeting cards.
“I was really looking forward to riding her over six furlongs to be honest with you at York. Over five, you had to give her that chance to fill up and then she would really rocket home.
“I was keen to jump on her over six furlongs as I thought it would suit her so well and she proved us right.”
Cherry Blossom has since done the value of that form no harm by picking up over €240,000 for finishing second of 23 in the Goffs Million at the Curragh, albeit beaten six lengths by One Look.
Soprano has performed consistently well in good company without quite adding to a debut success at this course.
George Boughey’s filly has been placed three times at Group Three level, in the Albany at Royal Ascot, the Sweet Solera on the July course here and the Dick Poole at Salisbury, when having to recover from fluffing her start and getting detached early on.
On the decision to run in this contest rather than Friday’s Rockfel Stakes, Boughey said: “I think staying at six furlongs is right. She is a strong stayer over that trip and she loves the track.
“There can be a speed influence in the Rockfel, but it looked like there are some stouter pedigrees in the Rockfel this year and I didn’t want her getting outstayed over seven furlongs by taking on horses that will stay a mile. We wanted to use her stamina over shorter.
“It was a massive effort for her to finish third at Salisbury given how she started the race. I think if the race was 50 yards longer, she would have nearly been in front. She certainly deserves her place in the line-up on Saturday.”
Jasna’s Secret bids to follow in the footsteps of some illustrious past French victors such as Ma Biche, Ravinella, Special Duty, Natagora and most recently Vorda in 2013.
She was snapped up by the shrewd Wathnan Racing recruitment team after completing a Deauville double in a valuable sales race for Carlos and Yann Lerner last month, when comfortably accounting for two-time winner Zorken.
Albany winner Porta Fortuna returns to the UK for Donnacha O’Brien, having since been placed twice in Group One company at the Curragh.
The daughter of Caravaggio was second to Bucanero Fuerte in the Phoenix Stakes and dead-heated for third behind Fallen Angel in the Moyglare on Irish Champions Festival weekend.
An informative renewal of the Juddmonte Royal Lodge Stakes looks in prospect at Newmarket on Saturday.
Any number of smart prospects take their chance, including Capulet who ran a tremendous race against well-touted stablemate Diego Velazquez at Leopardstown on Irish Champions Festival weekend.
Only half a length separated them in the Group Two KPMG Champions Juvenile Stakes, with Capulet taking plenty of pulling up after the line.
Ryan Moore was on the winner that day but takes charge on the Justify colt for this latest Group Two assignment.
“He did it nicely on his debut at Dundalk last month and he obviously improved a good deal when running Diego Velazquez to half a length at Leopardstown last time,” Moore said in his Betfair blog.
“That form looked strong at the time and it looks even better now with the well-beaten fourth, Deepone, coming out and winning the Beresford next time. All of these have the potential to take a big step forward, most notably Ghostwriter maybe, but he deserves to be the favourite as it stands, as the Leopardstown form is the best on offer going into the race.”
Trainer Aidan O’Brien was pleased with the horse at Leopardstown and felt he served his purpose in giving Diego Velazquez a real run for his money.
He told Sky Sports Racing: “We thought he was very nice when he won first time at Dundalk and we knew he was going to drag Diego Velazquez. We knew he needed to have a race for himself and learn because he’s very lazy at home, Diego, and if he went and won four or five lengths he wasn’t going to learn much.
“That’s why we ran Capulet, we knew he was going to take him and he was going to make him fight and that’s what he did do.
“We were delighted with him that day, we’re looking forward to him on Saturday. He’s in lovely form, we think the mile will suit him and the ground will suit him. We’ve always thought he was a very nice horse.”
Charlie Appleby has not had the headline year he has been accustomed to so far, but hopes are high that Aablan has Classic potential.
The Moulton Paddocks trainer told the Godolphin website: “We felt that Aablan did well to win the Solario Stakes, when seven furlongs looked sharp enough for him, and we are looking forward to seeing him over a mile. He has done well since Sandown and looks a live contender.
“We are hoping that this can propel him onto a bright three-year-old career.”
The aforementioned Ghostwriter is two from two for Clive Cox and, having impressed in both outings so far, his handler is keen to see how he handles the step up in both class and trip.
“His first success at Newmarket on the July course, and the way he was balanced and produced a winning debut, gives me confidence he will handle the track,” said Cox.
“He followed that up with a really impressive success at Ascot and showed a lot of class. He has thrived throughout, he is a wonderful physical, big, strong colt and I’m looking forward to seeing him step up to a mile.
“He is very deserving of running in this sort of grade. He’s a horse we have always loved and he definitely sets the pulse racing.”
Roger Varian is another to saddle an unbeaten contender in Defiance, while the Carlburg Stables handler has another strong string to his bow in Al Musmak, a winner in Listed company at Haydock last time out.
He renews rivalry with Ralph Beckett’s Macduff, who was a length and a half runner-up but lost little in defeat.
Brent Sam scored deep into second half stoppage time to rescue a 1-1 draw for Defence Force against fellow Trinidad and Tobago side Port of Spain in Group A action on Thursday, at the Hasely Crawford Stadium in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago.
With the result, Port of Spain complete their campaign with one point, while Defence Force remain in third place in the group with five points.
The draw for Defence Force also means that Jamaican club and Group A leaders Cavalier FC have qualified for the semifinals.
There was no shortage of chances in the first half for either side, as they went back-and-forth in an exciting and wide-open affair.
Port of Spain looked set for an opener in the fifth with captain Duane Muckette bearing down on goal, but his effort was parried wide by Defence Force goalkeeper Christopher Biggette.
Defence Force looked to wrestle control away from Port of Spain in the second half and if not for a reaction save from Port of Spain goalkeeper Jadel Poon-Lewis, Nathaniel Garcia would have had the first goal of the match right before the hour mark.
But Port of Spain would muster the first goal in the 77th, when Michel Poon-Angeron stripped a Defence Force player of possession, played a quick one-two combination with Muckette and then finished into net for a 1-0 lead.
Defence Force pushed hard for a late 1-1 equalizer and hit paydirt in the 90+3 on a well-placed strike from Sam off a pass from Reon Moore to earn Defence Force a share of the spoils.
Jamaica's Dunbeholden ended their 2023 Concacaf Caribbean Cup campaign on a high note with a 2-1 victory against Cibao FC of the Dominican Republic in Group B action at the National Stadium on Thursday.
The result saw Dunbeholden FC complete their failed campaign with four points from their four games, while Cibao FC are eliminated from advancing with one match to play. It also ensured another Jamaican side Harbour View, a spot in the semifinals.
The first big chance came right before the half-hour mark in the 29th, when Dunbeholden’s Nicholas Nelson did well to evade a pair of defenders and round Cibao goalkeeper Miguel Lloyd but hooked his shot wide with two defenders stationed on the goal line.
Dunbeholden stayed on the front foot and Nelson looked almost certain to break the deadlock in the 41st, when alone one-on-one with Lloyd, but the veteran goalkeeper made the big-time save to keep things scoreless.
At the third time of asking in the first half, Dunbeholden broke the deadlock in the waning seconds before halftime when Nelson outraced a defender and played a simple ball across to Shakeen Powell, who had an easy sweep into net for a 1-0 lead.
Cibao woke up in the second half and pulled even 1-1 in the 55th on a sensational left-footed volley from Facundo Guichon off an inch-perfect cross from Lean Torres.
But Dunbeholden answered right back and went back ahead 2-1 in the 63rd, when Rohan Brown nodded home a header at the back post.
From there, the Dunbeholden defense did the rest to keep the Cibao attack at bay and nail down the three points.
Cachet will take her chance in the Qatar Prix de la Foret at ParisLongchamp on Sunday.
Last year’s 1000 Guineas heroine was returning from 457 days on the sidelines when fourth in the Sceptre Stakes at Doncaster’s St Leger meeting.
The Highclere Thoroughbred Racing-owned filly did have the option of waiting for next weekend’s Sun Chariot Stakes, but the promise of favourable ground conditions means George Boughey’s charge will be in the Bois de Boulogne this weekend.
“We’ve decided we’re going to run Cachet on Sunday in the Foret,” said Highclere’s Harry Herbert.
“George is delighted with her since her comeback run at Doncaster and she worked well on the Rowley Mile earlier in the week.
“The key to her is getting good or fast ground, so hopefully she’ll get that in Paris this weekend and if she does we hope she’ll be competitive.
“This could be her last run for Highclere before she is sold at the mares’ sale in December.”
Cachet will take her chance in the Qatar Prix de la Foret at ParisLongchamp on Sunday.
Last year’s 1000 Guineas heroine was returning from 457 days on the sidelines when fourth in the Sceptre Stakes at Doncaster’s St Leger meeting.
The Highclere Thoroughbred Racing-owned filly did have the option of waiting for next weekend’s Sun Chariot Stakes, but the promise of favourable ground conditions means George Boughey’s charge will be in the Bois de Boulogne this weekend.
“We’ve decided we’re going to run Cachet on Sunday in the Foret,” said Highclere’s Harry Herbert.
“George is delighted with her since her comeback run at Doncaster and she worked well on the Rowley Mile earlier in the week.
“The key to her is getting good or fast ground, so hopefully she’ll get that in Paris this weekend and if she does we hope she’ll be competitive.
“This could be her last run for Highclere before she is sold at the mares’ sale in December.”
Aidan O’Brien relies on Emily Dickinson as he bids to win back-to-back runnings of the Qatar Prix du Cadran.
Twelve months ago, the Ballydoyle trainer watched on in delight as his superstar stayer Kyprios produced a performance of absolute domination in the Group One feature over a searching two and a half miles.
An injury-hit campaign has only recently seen Kyprios back on a racecourse and he will not be in Paris on this occasion, instead waiting for the Long Distance Cup on Qipco British Champions Day.
Emily Dickinson steps up to the plate in his absence, with Frankie Dettori in the saddle as Ryan Moore is in Newmarket.
A consistent campaign has seen the daughter of Dubawi finish fourth in the Gold Cup at Royal Ascot and second to runaway winner Quickthorn in the Goodwood Cup.
“We’ll run Emily Dickinson in the Cadran, she’s in good form,” O’Brien said.
“Obviously, she had a good run in the Gold Cup and we’re pleased with her.
“We think the trip will suit her and any ease in the ground will suit her as well.”
Trueshan’s return to winning ways in the Doncaster Cup was one of the many highlights of the St Leger meeting.
It was just the third run of the year for Alan King’s hugely-popular gelding, who had been off since disappointing in the Sagaro Stakes at Ascot back in May, after which he had wind surgery.
He won this race in 2021 and is again partnered by Hollie Doyle before heading to Ascot on Champions Day.
Last year’s Cesarewitch winner Run For Oscar takes his chance for Charles Byrnes, with Skazino, Moon Wolf and Vert Liberte completing the line-up.
An informative renewal of the Juddmonte Royal Lodge Stakes looks in prospect at Newmarket on Saturday.
Any number of smart prospects take their chance, including Capulet who ran a tremendous race against well-touted stablemate Diego Velazquez at Leopardstown on Irish Champions Festival weekend.
Only half a length separated them in the Group Two KPMG Champions Juvenile Stakes, with Capulet taking plenty of pulling up after the line.
Ryan Moore was on the winner that day but takes charge on the Justify colt for this latest Group Two assignment.
“He did it nicely on his debut at Dundalk last month and he obviously improved a good deal when running Diego Velazquez to half a length at Leopardstown last time,” Moore said in his Betfair blog.
“That form looked strong at the time and it looks even better now with the well-beaten fourth, Deepone, coming out and winning the Beresford next time. All of these have the potential to take a big step forward, most notably Ghostwriter maybe, but he deserves to be the favourite as it stands, as the Leopardstown form is the best on offer going into the race.”
Charlie Appleby has not had the headline year he has been accustomed to so far, but hopes are high that Aablan has Classic potential.
The Moulton Paddocks trainer told the Godolphin website: “We felt that Aablan did well to win the Solario Stakes, when seven furlongs looked sharp enough for him, and we are looking forward to seeing him over a mile. He has done well since Sandown and looks a live contender.
“We are hoping that this can propel him onto a bright three-year-old career.”
The aforementioned Ghostwriter is two from two for Clive Cox, and Defiance is another unbeaten contender, representing Roger Varian.
Varian has another strong string to his bow in Al Musmak, a winner in Listed company at Haydock last time out. He renews rivalry with Macduff, who was a length and a half runner-up but lost little in defeat.
Multiple Grade One winner Envoi Allen is reported fit and well ahead of kicking off his campaign in the PWC Champion Chase at Gowran Park on Saturday.
Henry de Bromhead’s nine-year-old can boast a trio of Cheltenham Festival victories among an overall tally of 15 strikes from 22 outings under rules.
He landed the 2019 Champion Bumper, the 2020 Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle and last season’s Ryanair Chase, when powering up the hill to deny Shishkin under Rachael Blackmore.
“He’s in good form, he’s been working well, he’s schooling well, so we’ll get him started and see,” De Bromhead told Racing TV.
“It’s a competitive race, he’s got his penalty but he’s in good form and we’ve got to start somewhere and this seems an ideal place to start.”
Blackmore will again be in the saddle but Envoi Allen must give away 4lb to the Willie Mullins-trained Easy Game, who will be seeking a third success in this Grade Two race.
He beat The Storyteller by seven lengths in 2020 and got the better of stablemate Kemboy 12 months ago.
Zone B action in the ISSA/WATA DaCosta Cup saw Rusea’s and Frome Technical both secure wins on Wednesday.
Former champions Rusea’s maintained their perfect record after five games with a 4-0 home win over Cambridge High while Frome secured a comfortable 7-0 win over Merlene Ottey to move to nine points from four games in second.
In Zone A, Cornwall College moved to 13 points from their five outings with a 2-0 win over St. James High at Jarrett Park. Irwin High are close behind them in second with 11 points from five games as well after their own 2-0 win over Maldon at home. Spot Valley and Green Pond played out a 1-1 draw in the zone’s other game.
In Zone C, William Knibb secured a massive 8-0 win over Discovery Bay while Browns Town beat Ferncourt 7-1. William Knibb are currently third in the Zone with nine points from five games, one behind York Castle and three behind zone leaders, Cedric Titus. York Castle lost 2-4 to Ocho Rios on Tuesday while Cedric Titus beat Aubuthnott Gallimore 10-2.
STETHS moved to 13 points from five games in Zone E after a massive 9-1 win over Sydney Pagon. Munro College trail the former champions by two points after securing a 7-0 win over Roger Clarke on Tuesday. Elsewhere in the zone, Lacovia and Maggotty played out a 1-1 draw.
In a pair of Zone I clashes, St, Mary High got the better of St. Mary Tech 3-2 while Wycliffe Martin High secured a 5-0 win over Carron Hall High. Wycliffe Martin and St. Mary High are currently fourth and fifth in the zone with seven and six points, respectively. Tacky High (13 points from five games), Annotto Bay (12 points from five games) and Horace Clarke (10 points from four games) occupy the top three spots.
Morant Bay High maintained their perfect record in Zone K after four games with a 4-2 win over Robert Lightbourne.
Kingston College now have five wins from as many games as action continued in the ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup on Wednesday.
KC, who initially opened their season with an 0-4 defeat to Hydel before that result was overturned to a 3-0 win after it was deemed that their opponents used an ineligible player, defeated Charlie Smith 1-0 to move to 15 points from their five outings, six points ahead of Calabar in second and nine ahead of Hydel in third. Charlie Smith also have six points in fourth.
Elsewhere in Group B, defending champions Jamaica College secured a 2-1 win over Kingston Technical to move to the top of the group with nine points from four games, two points ahead of Tivoli in second and three ahead of Kingston Technical in third.
Group C action saw Haile Selassie continue their winning ways, moving to 15 points from five games with a 1-0 win over Eltham. The other game in the group saw Dunoon Technical defeat Denham Town 3-2 for their first win of the season.
In Group E, Mona High hammered Edith Dalton 6-0 to move to five wins out of five.
The in-form Chindit will bid for a fantastic three-timer in the Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai Joel Stakes at Newmarket on Friday.
Richard Hannon’s five-year-old has won at Group level in each of the four years he has been in training with the Everleigh handler and has thrived of late, adding Sandown’s Fortune Stakes to the Group Three Superior Mile he secured at Haydock earlier this month.
He will now attempt to end September on a real high in a race which could be his final outing before commencing stallion duties for owner Dr Cyrus Poonawalla in India.
Hannon said: “I’ve been very happy with him at home and he’s just doing his routine canters and moving great – he’s arguably in the form of his life.
“He’s a gentleman and a pleasure to have around and I think this might well be his last run before he goes to India to stand as a stallion.
“He’s top-class and has been ultra-consistent and deserves his shot at a nice big race like this.”
Standing in Chindit’s way is Charlie Hills’ defending champion Mutasaabeq who made all in good style 12 months ago.
Four of his six career victories have come on the Rowley Mile, but he has been without a win since scoring at the track in May and having somewhat disappointed in his most recent efforts, connections are hoping his love affair with the track can see him bounce back to his very best.
Hills said: “He seems to love Newmarket and the Rowley Mile. He has a great record there and it has always been the plan really to aim him at this race after York.
“He’s been good (since York). We were a bit disappointed and he didn’t finish off his race as well as he could have done. We’ve had no problems with him and his work has been good leading up to this race so we’ll see how we get on.
“There is not too many runners in it and I’m not sure what the tactics will be, but we’ve got a good record there.”
William Haggas’ Maljoom counts a German 2000 Guineas triumph among three wins from his first four starts and could be classed as an unlucky loser when seeing his unbeaten record ended in the St James’s Palace Stakes at last year’s Royal Ascot.
He now returns from 472 days off for this Group Two event, while John and Thady Gosden have a decent hand saddling both Epictetus and Sovereign Stakes scorer Mighty Ulysses, who had Sir Michael Stoute’s reopposing Regal Reality behind in third at Salisbury.
It could prove a profitable afternoon for the Clarehaven team who also hold all the aces in the Princess Royal Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai Stakes with Running Lion and Sweet Memories.
The former was extremely progressive earlier in the campaign before seeing her momentum checked in both the Oaks at Epsom – when withdrawn at the start – and then the French equivalent when well held.
She was a keeping-on second following a break at Salisbury last month and is now upped in trip for a first try at 12 furlongs.
The Frankie Dettori-ridden Coppice and Atalanta Stakes second Queen For You dominate the market in the Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai British EBF Rosemary Stakes, another race in which the Gosden training team have leading claims.
Meanwhile the lightly-raced Lion’s Pride is also given the chance to confirm his potential in a competitive Al Basti Equiworld, Dubai Godolphin Stakes which features last year’s St Leger runner-up New London and Lion’s Pride’s Windsor conqueror Candleford.
Greek Order will bid to show the Pattern-class potential connections hoped he possessed at the start of the season when he takes his chance in the bet365 Cambridgeshire at Newmarket.
Trained by Roger and Harry Charlton, the Juddmonte-owned colt is a full-brother to the smart Sangarius and has found his feet following placed efforts on his first three starts.
Having got his head in front at Sandown in May, he followed up at Newbury in August – form boosted by four and a half length runner-up Maximilian Caesar winning next time out at Doncaster.
Greek Order now bids to become the first three-year-old to win the first leg of the autumn double since the high-class Lord North in 2019.
“It’s a very difficult task, he’s a very inexperienced three-year-old horse taking on seasoned campaigners, but he’s a nice horse and we’re giving it a go,” said Barry Mahon, racing manager for the owners.
“You probably do need to be a Group horse, and earlier this season we probably thought we’d have gone out of handicaps by now, but just the first couple of runs of the year didn’t pan out for him.
“We took our time and he had a little hold-up then midsummer, so we were a little bit behind the eight-ball, hence the reason we’re still in the handicap division, but we’re looking forward to seeing him.”
Oisin Murphy retains the ride after being on board at Newbury and is looking forward to the challenge.
He told Racing TV: “The Cambridgeshire is a very hard race to win but he’s nicely weighted and on past renewals he has a nice draw.”
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