Gavin Cromwell’s Malina Girl will seek to overcome a top-weight burden in the Wigley Group Classic Handicap Chase at Warwick on Saturday.
The classy mare was a faller last time when going well in a valuable Cheltenham handicap, prior to which she was victorious in the Jewson Handicap Chase at the same track in November.
The seven-year-old will shoulder 12st in what is invariably a gruelling affair, though conditional rider Conor Stone-Walsh can ease that slightly with his claim.
Cromwell – who has enjoyed plenty of success in his raids across the Irish Sea this season – said: “Top-weight is not ideal and she is quite a small mare so Conor Stone-Walsh is going to claim 5lb and give her every chance.
“She seemed to be going well last time, but it was too early to say (if she would have won).
“The trip won’t be a problem and she stays well. She seems in good order so hopefully gives a good account of herself. ”
Nigel Twiston-Davies will be represented in the contest by Beauport, second on his most recent outing when seeming to return to form in the London National Handicap Chase at Sandown.
Willy Twiston-Davies, assistant to his father, said: “It has always looked like there would be a big pot in him and the trip will suit him well. The ground will be spot on and we’re very excited and looking forward to running him.
“He won some very nice races as a novice over hurdles and the Colin Parker over fences, but last year just didn’t fall right for him, so hopefully there is a nice one in him this year.
“He has slipped down to a very handy mark which hopefully he will be very competitive off.”
Charlie Longsdon has long had this meeting in mind for Guetapan Collonges, third in the Cheltenham contest won by Malina Girl and fourth in this race last season.
“This race has been the plan for Guetapan Collonges for some time,” the Chipping Norton trainer said.
“We thought about going for a race at Cheltenham during the Christmas meeting but then we thought we would wait for this.
“He is a lot more experienced compared to this time 12 months ago when I thought we were right in the deep end.
“Although he had won at Warwick the time before he had only had a handful of races over fences against small fields and he was very much a second season-chaser that was still very inexperienced.
“Since last year’s race he has run in the Midlands National and a big handicap chase around Cheltenham. He is a lot more experienced now and a lot more streetwise.”
Paul Nicholls runs Broken Halo, a nine-year-old who looks to put behind him a fall in the London National.
“He bounced back to form with victories in two races for military riders at Sandown in the spring and was running another sound race at the same track six weeks ago when he fell three from home,” the trainer said via Betfair.
“I was surprised to see him going so well until then because I didn’t think he was ready. Broken Halo needed a bit of time to recover from quite a heavy fall that day, but he is fine now and has done plenty of schooling.”
Elsewhere in the field are Dan Skelton’s Galia Des Liteaux, the winner and runner-up of two Listed mares’ chase this season, and Nicky’s Henderson City Chief, fourth in the Jewson Handicap Chase and fifth in the handicap in which Malina Girl fell.
Venetia Williams runs Fontaine Collonges, the Rowland Meyrick winner at Wetherby on Boxing Day, and Sheila Lewis will saddle the grey stayer Volcano, fifth here last season.
West Indies wicketkeeper-batsman Joshua Da Silva is thankful for some time in the middle as he aims to produce a better performance than he did when the West Indies toured Australia from November-December 2022.
During those two Tests, Da Silva had scores of 0 and 12 in Perth and 23 and 15 in Adelaide.
“Just trying to use the experience that I got last year. Didn’t do too great so I just want to do better than I did and get some runs on the board and keep well. Once I’m doing well hopefully the team is doing well and everybody chips in,” he said in an interview after day two of the West Indies’ three-day warm-up game against a Cricket Australia XI at the Karen Rolton Oval in Adelaide.
The West Indies will enter the third and final day on 137-3 from 35 overs, leading the Aussies by 214.
Da Silva, who opened the batting in the second innings after batting seventh in the first, is unbeaten on 55 while Kavem Hodge, who got 52 in the first innings, is on 44.
“It was nice to get some time in the middle of course. Kraigg (Brathwaite) just asked me if I would like to the top and just have some time in the middle and luckily I took advantage of it and was able to get some time out there,” Da Silva said.
Of the 15 men in the West Indies Test squad, Da Silva is one of only four alongside Kemar Roach, Captain Kraigg Brathwaite and Alzarri Joseph to have played at least 10 Test matches.
In fact, the first Test, set to start on Tuesday in Adelaide, will be Da Silva’s 25th.
He said he enjoys being a source of information for the new members of the squad.
“It’s nice to be somebody they can ask questions about Test cricket. I’m still learning from them as well. Always good learning on the job and nice to lend my expertise as well,” he said.
Shamar Joseph’s rise from first-class debutant to a potential Test cap has been nothing short of remarkable.
The 24-year-old, who worked for a security firm prior to his switch to professional cricket, made his first-class debut in February 2023 for the Guyana Harpy Eagles against the Barbados Pride.
Joseph played in just three games and took nine wickets to help the Harpy Eagles lift the West Indies Championship title for the sixth time in eight years.
Though his numbers may not have been that impressive, he showed enough promise to be selected as part of the West Indies A squad for their tour of South Africa in December.
The South Africans won the series 2-1 but it was a coming out party for Joseph who was the joint leading wicket taker for the West Indians with 12 wickets at an average of 21.25 and a strike rate of 34.50.
That performance led to him being selected in the West Indies squad for their upcoming two-Test series against the mighty Australia.
“It’s amazing for me to be honest, knowing that I’ve been putting in a lot of work back at home and now getting the rewards for it, it’s been really nice for me,” Joseph said in an interview after day two of the West Indies’ three-day warm-up game against a Cricket Australia XI.
The first Test bowls off in Adelaide on Tuesday and there is a decent chance Joseph will be earning his maiden Test cap.
If he does end up making his debut, he will be hoping to make his family proud.
“They will watch and they will support. I know that support is out there for me so I will definitely do my best to make them proud,” he said.
He credits West Indian greats including the likes of Sir Curtley Ambrose and Courtney Walsh as his main inspirations as a fast bowler.
“I was intrigued by a lot of fast bowlers back then like Sir Curtley (Ambrose) and Courtney Walsh and these men so, I really love it. That works for me so I just continue doing that and it brings success for me,” he said before going into what he feels makes him successful as a fast bowler.
“I just adjust to conditions. Just stick to the basics and be consistent as much as I can. I just try to bowl fuller when the ball is doing much for me,” he said.
Joseph took 2-28 from his eight overs to help the West Indies restrict Cricket Australia XI to 174 in their first innings.
He bowled a few no-balls but he put this down to a bit of nerves.
“I think I was a bit too fast getting to the crease. I just had to adjust my self and get back to my rhythm and that worked well for me today,” he said.
The West currently lead by 214 runs heading into the final day on Friday and Joseph says he’s ready to go if needed.
“I’m just ready to go. Always prepared to fight the war ahead of me,” he said.
The Republic Bank Caribbean Premier League (CPL) has further strengthened its commitment to develop sports tourism across the Caribbean by employing Deanna Weekes as its new Tourism Partner Manager.
Weekes is an experienced tourism professional, who will work with CPL’s tourist board partners to create packages for travelling fans to visit all CPL host countries during the 2024 tournament.
According to figures from the UNWTO, sports tourism currently represents 10% of global tourist flow, with this expected to grow to 12% in 2024. With sports tourism being such a key economic driver for the industry, the Caribbean has much to gain by growing its share of this lucrative sector.
In 2024, CPL will be working even more closely with partners across the region to develop sports tourism and build valuable market share.
Pete Russell, Republic Bank CPL’s CEO said the organisation is tremendously excited to be able to begin offering fans travel packages to watch CPL teams in six wonderful locations across the Caribbean.
"We are blessed with hugely passionate fans and by employing a dedicated tourism manager who will work with hotels, airlines and tourist boards, we will be making it easier than ever for fans to travel to watch CPL cricket. With the ICC T20 World Cup in the Caribbean this year be a bumper year for sports tourism and CPL are looking forward to building on the momentum from that event," Russell said.
Weekes also expressed excitement at her appointment as Tourism Partner Manager.
“This is a really exciting opportunity to be involved in the biggest annual sporting event in the Caribbean. I am looking forward to working with all CPL’s tourism partners to build on the existing strong relationships to push CPL’s impact on the regional economies to another level," she noted.
Track And Trace played a starring role in a Catterick treble for trainer Jonjo O’Neill and jockey Richie McLernon with victory in the Vickers.Bet North Yorkshire Grand National.
While the Jackdaws Castle handler recalled booting home plenty of winners at Catterick during his illustrious riding career, he is a rare visitor these days, so punters should perhaps have taken note of his presence at the North Yorkshire track’s flagship jumps meeting of the year.
“I can’t remember the last time I was here, to be honest, it will be a while ago,” he said.
“It was a lucky track for me as a jockey, I rode plenty of winners around here, and it’s been a lucky track all round really. It’s a nice little track really and the facilities are really nice now.”
Having struck gold in the previous two races with Time For A Pint and Hasthing respectively, Track And Trace was a 7-2 favourite to provide his trainer and jockey with a third win in little over an hour in the near £21,000 feature and ultimately got the job done in fine style.
After travelling well for much of the three-mile-five-furlong contest, the lightly-raced seven-year-old took over the running with three fences to jump and stuck to his guns on the run-in to beat Crixus’s Escape by two and a quarter lengths, with Court At Slip just a neck further behind in third.
“He jumps well and I was gambling on him staying, but I thought he would and it just went the right way,” said O’Neill.
“He made a couple of little errors, but he hopped away grand. It’s a long trip and he was probably getting a bit tired at the end.
“Hopefully he can move up the ladder a little bit. We’re looking forward to him going forward.”
Time For A Pint justified 3-1 favouritism in the Download Raceday Ready Today Novices’ Handicap Chase, before Hasthing knuckled down to make it two from two over obstacles as a 10-11 shot in the Friends Of Kiplin Hall/EBF ‘National Hunt’ Novices’ Hurdle.
The latter finished third in the Grade Two Aintree bumper last spring and is now likely to have his sights raised.
O’Neill added: “He’s a big old boy isn’t he – he has a leg in every county!
“He jumped much better today to be fair, it’s more experience and he’s learning all the time. Hopefully he can keep going forward.
“He’s qualified now (for the EBF Final), so we’ll see how he comes out of it, have a chat with Frank (Berry, racing manager to owner JP McManus) and see where we go from there.”
Brucio (11-4 favourite) barely broke sweat when opening her account in the opening Watch Racing TV Now Mares’ Maiden Hurdle.
Carrying the colours of Simon Munir and Isaac Souede, the Irish raider was a solitary ride on the card for leading jockey Daryl Jacob, who was securing only his second ever Catterick winner.
He said of the Stuart Crawford-trained winner: “She felt good there today and she’s relished the ground. It was a very weak mares’ maiden, the ground was right and everything fell into place for her.
“The more I’ve ridden her the more she’s starting to get the hang of things. She’s a slow burner and hopefully with a summer’s break we might see her improve a little bit more.”
The Sue Smith-trained It’s Maisy (7-2) followed up last month’s Market Rasen victory in the Racingtv.com Mares’ Handicap Hurdle under Nick Schofield, profiting from the final-flight exit of likely winner Minniemum.
Tristan Davidson and Harry Reed combined to land the Every Race Live On Racing TV Handicap Hurdle with 15-2 chance Shantou Moon, while the concluding Racing Again 24th January Handicap Hurdle went to Freddy Robinson (100-30), trained by Brian Ellison and ridden by 7lb claimer William Maggs.
Officials at Wincanton are delighted to play host to Henrietta Knight’s return to the training ranks – but are keeping their fingers crossed the track passes an early Friday morning inspection.
The 77-year-old is best known for the Cheltenham Gold Cup-winning exploits of Best Mate in the early 2000s but has been missing from the training fraternity since handing in her licence in 2012.
However, she announced her plans to end that 12-year hiatus late last year and is set to saddle two runners on the Wincanton card as she begins the new chapter of her decorated career in racing alongside right-hand man Brendan Powell.
Knight is of course no stranger to Wincanton saddling 42 winners from 262 runners during her previous time as a trainer, with her Champion Chase and King George hero Edredon Bleu a winner on four of his five visits to the Somerset track.
“It’s a big day and it’s a testament to their trust in Wincanton to come over and we’re excited,” said clerk of the course Daniel Cooper.
“We heard rumours last week that it could be the case and when we raced on Saturday I asked Brendan Powell and he confirmed it was going to be here.
“It’s lovely and we will look forward to showing Henrietta we are just how she would remember us in the past and we’re a new team here now so it will be good to try to carry on that trust.
“It will be great to have Henrietta and Brendan’s presence here, they are two great figures in racing.”
But before Knight has the chance to enter the saddling boxes to prepare her runners for action, the course will have to pass an 8.30am inspection with Cooper concerned about the prospect of frost affecting areas of the course.
Cooper added: “At the moment (Thursday afternoon) I would be calling this 95 per cent raceable and there are three areas that are frozen in places, so I’m just hoping they improve, and if the forecast temperatures are to be believed, they will improve and we will be OK.
“My god it’s close but things are 95 per cent at Wincanton, but the concern is tonight it freezes again and we arrive to a problem again in the morning.
“I’m not able to do any more than that and it’s a completely precarious situation still, but things are much better now than when I walked the course this morning – I’m convinced it’s better.
“We are going to be having an 8.30am inspection and we want to see a bit of daylight and see what it looks like and if we have to push it back in the morning, we will carry on doing so if we think we will see improvement.
“Everyone wants to race and it is set to be a great day, but we will only do so if it is fit, so we keep our fingers crossed.”
All In You will head to Kempton on Saturday in a bid to replicate a neat Fontainebleau success as part of a renewed team for owner-jockey David Maxwell.
Maxwell owns a string of horses and rides on an amateur licence, with his most recent successes in the saddle including Joker De Mai in a Lingfield handicap, Queensbury Boy in a Chepstow bumper and All In You’s Fontainebleau win.
The latter horse is trained by French-based Noel George and Amanda Zetterholm and will now cross the Channel to contest a juvenile hurdle at Kempton after a neat victory on home turf in mid-December was added to a prior win on the Flat.
The four-year-old was purchased by French agent Guy Petit after his racecourse debut and changed hands and stables having previously been trained by Stephanie Nigge.
“I bought him privately, I can’t even remember how much I gave for him as I tend to blank it out of my mind as a distasteful experience!” said Maxwell.
“He’d won a Flat race and Guy reckoned he looked the business. Sure enough, when he won first time he was the business.
“He jumped straightforwardly and he’s got a bit of a turn of foot, he’s really nice.”
George and Zetterholm hit a significant career milestone at Kempton when their stable flag bearer Il Est Francais won the Grade One Kauto Star Novices’ Chase on Boxing Day, giving them a natural inclination to return to the track.
“I didn’t really have a plan, I just thought he was a nice horse and he went to Noel who said ‘let’s just run him’,” Maxwell said.
“I was probably going to bring him over here but then they ran him and he won, then Noel said ‘let’s send him to Kempton’ because Noel likes coming over to Kempton now for obvious reasons!
“Nothing has come out of that race in France yet so I don’t know if it was an egg and spoon race or if it was decent, but he did it well.
“We’ll see after we run him what sort of horse we have, he’s only a baby.”
All In You is one of a number of nice prospects Maxwell has sourced from the point-to-point field and the French circuit, bringing in younger horses as the older campaigners he is associated with hit their veteran years.
He said: “I’ve restocked, Noel Fehily and David Crosse have been buying Irish pointers for me and Guy Petit has been buying horses in France.
“They’re a nice bunch of young horses, you’ve just got to be patient with them and let them grow and mature and risk the urge to play with the shiny new toys.”
Seasoned chasers such as Bob And Co, Saint Calvados, Cat Tiger and Simply The Betts have been good servants for Maxwell in recent years, but the sad fate of the latter has affirmed his approach of enjoying his horses with few fixed plans.
He said: “I’ll just be led by them, you can’t make plans with horses and I’ll give you an example.
“I laid out a plan for the last 18 months that Simply The Betts was going to win the Foxhunters this year. A Cheltenham specialist, he’s a two-and-a-half-miler but with his age he’ll get the trip, he’s eligible for hunter chasing this year.
“He was going to go to Kelso next week to open his account in a hunter chase and he died last week from colic, we did all we could for him.
“It’s a microcosm of life and sadly it happens. That’s why you can’t really plan, you’ve just got to enjoy it and keep smiling.
“We’ll hopefully stay happy, stay healthy and win some races, that’s the plan, and just keep enjoying it.”
Jonjo O’Neill has not given up hope of getting Monbeg Genius back on track in time to contest the Randox Grand National, despite being forced to miss another big-race engagement at Warwick this weekend.
Last seen finishing third in the in the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury in early December, the eight-year-old is the 14-1 co-favourite with Paddy Power for the Aintree spectacular alongside last year’s first and third, Corach Rambler and Gaillard Du Mesnil.
However, a minor setback led to him not taking up his place as ante-post favourite for the Welsh Grand National over the festive period and he will also miss Saturday’s Wigley Group Classic Handicap Chase.
“He doesn’t run on Saturday, he’s still not right, he’s not recovered,” O’Neill said at Catterick on Thursday.
“He’ll be all right, but I don’t know when he’ll be able to run. He hasn’t done any work, so he won’t be running for a little while I’d say.”
The Jackdaws Castle trainer admits he will need to get another run and potentially another win into his charge to ensure he makes the cut for what will be a 34-runner National for the first time this year.
He added: “He still could be a Grand National horse, it’s a few months away. That is still in the back of our minds obviously, but he needs to come right first. There’s no point running them if they’re not right.
“He will have to run before then (Aintree), he probably needs to win to get into the weights now the field has been cut down.
“If he can’t go there, he could go for the Scottish National or Midlands National or something like that. He has plenty of time, but he’s a horse for those races.”
Whispering Royal will attempt to put himself in the Cheltenham Festival picture when he lines up in the Weatherbys Chatteris Fen Juvenile Hurdle at Huntingdon on Friday.
A useful cast of six have assembled for another competitive running of the juvenile event, with Paul Nicholls’ French import Kabral Du Mathan heading most bookmakers lists ahead of his first outing for the Ditcheat team.
Whispering Royal has already tasted defeat at the hands of the same connections’ Liari earlier in the season, but stepped up markedly on that Wincanton third when a taking winner at Doncaster last month.
Alan King’s youngster now has the chance to follow in the footsteps of recently-retired Barbury Castle stalwart Sceau Royal, who won this contest in 2016, while also going a step closer to booking his ticket to Prestbury Park in the spring.
“It looks like a hot race on paper, as it always is,” said Ella McNeill, National Hunt racing manager for owners Chelsea Thoroughbreds.
“Alan has been really pleased with him at home and he’s a horse that takes his racing really well. He’s been running since the beginning of the summer on the Flat and I hope we go there with a nice chance.
“I think he prefers the better side of soft so hopefully it keeps drying out and doesn’t get too tacky, but I think we will really know what we have got on Friday.
“He obviously won really nicely at Doncaster in the middle of December and I think this is the perfect next race to see what we have really.
“I think most of the horses in there will be looking at the Boodles (Fred Winter) at the Festival so it is nice timing in terms of it being six weeks until Cheltenham. We will see if we can go there after this.”
Gary Moore has won this with Kotmask and Perseus Way in the past two years and will be relying on wide-margin Fontwell scorer Soigneux Bell to bring up the hat-trick.
“He schooled well over hurdles, but then the first time I ran him over them he was disappointing and he was disappointing the next day at Huntingdon,” said Moore.
“When he won at Fontwell I was much happier, and I think he is just starting to come together.
“He needs to improve a lot to win this on Friday, but I did have this race earmarked out for him.
“He seemed much happier on the softer ground the other day as it was his first time on it over here since coming over from France. Hopefully he will continue improving.”
Although that was Soigneux Bell’s first victory in the three starts over obstacles at Fontwell, Moore is yet to totally give up on the four-year-old taking his place at the Festival in March.
He added: “I hoped this lad was going to be a Triumph Hurdle horse, but I don’t think he is that at the moment. He would have to win well on Friday and prove me wrong.
“There are some nice handicaps at the end of the season for juveniles and that is the route he is likely to go down.
“If the owners want to go to the Cheltenham Festival then he would run in the Fred Winter (Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle), but he would need to go up in the handicap to get in that.”
Ile Atlantique faces the acid test of his Cheltenham Festival credentials as he leads the four-strong Willie Mullins-trained team into battle in the rearranged Lawlor’s Of Naas Novice Hurdle.
The race fell victim to the fog that descended on the Kildare track on Sunday, but thankfully the ultra-competitive Grade One event has been saved and Mullins will be bidding for a record-extending ninth win in the contest, 19 years after first striking with Homer Wells.
Closutton stable jockey Paul Townend has elected to link up with Ile Atlantique after the duo sauntered to a 19-length success on hurdles debut at Gowran.
The six-year-old brings smart bumper form to the table – including a narrow defeat by chief market rival Firefox – but connections appreciate this is a huge leap up in class on just his second start over obstacles.
“He’s going from winning a maiden hurdle to a Grade One and it’s a big ask, but Firefox is doing the same and so are a few other horses in the race,” said Sean Graham, racing manager to Ile Atlantique’s owner Tony Bloom.
“You don’t know how much improvement a horse can find after winning a maiden hurdle, but then are they good enough to win a Grade One?
“The bumper form has held up well and we’re hoping he’s as good as everyone thinks he is, but it’s only his second run over hurdles and its a big ask going straight in there at Grade One level. I asked Willie if there was any chance of giving him another run before going into Grade One company and Willie said those races don’t exist anymore.
“He’s a classy horse and he works with all the best horses Willie has, but until he goes and does it, you are not quite sure. If we run on Friday and finish fifth or sixth, then you’ve got to think maybe Cheltenham isn’t on the cards then, so it will be a learning curve for us as well as the horse. We’re just hopeful he will run his race.”
Not only does Friday’s contest represent a step up in grade for Ile Atlantique, it is also the first time he will race beyond two miles in Ireland.
Despite that, he is already single-figure odds with the majority of bookmakers for the Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival and connections feel that is currently his most likely Prestbury Park target if all goes according to script.
“We always felt on his bumper form he would need further, but when Paul rode him at Gowran Park, he more or less said he wasn’t a slow horse,” continued Graham.
“We didn’t think three miles would be his trip this year and the Albert Bartlett would be too far for him, but the Ballymore is in his stretch. That is not to say next year he won’t get three miles, or further over fences in the future.
“We’re hoping he will run well and the Ballymore is his most likely target, but Friday will tell us a lot more.”
Joining Ile Atlantique from Closutton is easy Clonmel scorer Chapeau De Soleil, who will be the mount of Patrick Mullins, Navan runner-up Lecky Watson (Danny Mullins) and the four-timer-seeking Readin Tommy Wrong (Daryl Jacob).
If Mullins is the race’s most successful trainer, then it is Gordon Elliott who has dominated the recent history winning four of the last seven runnings.
Death Duty (2017), Battleoverdoyen (2019), Envoi Allen (2020) and Ginto (2022) have all struck for Elliott in the past and it is Firefox who carries the Cullentra House handler’s main hopes this time around.
Following his documented exploits in bumpers, which includes the defeat of Ile Atlantique, he has claimed the scalp of the highly-regarded Ballyburn since turning his attentions to hurdling – form that was given a timely boost over the Christmas period.
Elliott has a second string to his bow in the form of Croke Park, who arguably sets the standard on hurdling form, having landed the Grade Three Monksfield at Navan last time out.
“We’re looking forward to both of our horses and we hope they’ll run well,” said Elliott.
“Firefox was good the last day and I don’t think stepping up in trip will be a problem to him.
“Croke Park is a good horse as well and hasn’t done much wrong.”
The only runner not trained by Mullins or Elliott is Henry de Bromhead’s An Tobar, who steps up in trip after finishing third in the Grade One Royal Bond at Fairyhouse.
De Bromhead’s race planner Robbie Power said: “He ran very well in the Royal Bond on what was only his second ever start over hurdles. With that experience and the step up to two and a half miles, this looked a good race to go for.
“The Fairyhouse race looked a strong Grade One, as the winner, Farren Glory, looked like he was going to win another Grade One at Aintree over Christmas (before falling) and the runner-up, King Of Kingsfield, was very impressive winning at Leopardstown over Christmas, so it is strong form.”
Jeremy Scott’s Dashel Drasher could briefly resume his chasing career after his placed run in the Howden Long Walk Hurdle.
The fan favourite, now 11 years old, had a lucrative spell in staying hurdles last season but is also a well-regarded chaser with four successes over fences on his CV – including the Grade One Ascot Chase.
Second in the Relkeel Hurdle, the Cleeve Hurdle and the Stayers’ Hurdle last season, the latter a placing gained upon appeal, the gelding returned to action this term to finish third in the bet365 Hurdle at Wetherby in November.
He then headed to Newbury for the Long Distance Hurdle, a Grade Two event he won by a head from fellow veteran Paisley Park – another stalwart of the division.
Both horses lined up for the Long Walk to give Fergal O’Brien’s Crambo a run for his money, with the young horse coming out on top as Paisley Park was second behind him and Dashel Drasher in third place.
Scott could now call on his stable star’s versatility as the horse’s next outing could either be a hurdle start or a brief return to chasing, though both paths will likely lead to the Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
“He’s doing really well. He did pull a muscle, I think over the last hurdle because he went quite long there, so we’ve had a little hold-up there,” said Scott.
“That’s probably neither here nor there and we’ve sorted that out, so he’s fighting fit for the end of the month or the beginning of next month.
“He could either go back to the Cleeve (Hurdle, at Cheltenham) or go for the Denman (Chase, at Newbury), I’ve a notion to do that.”
Should Dashel Drasher head for the Denman he may meet Nicky Henderson’s Shishkin and Paul Nicholls’ Bravemansgame, with the going pivotal to the decision made.
“It’s just a matter of the timing and the ground as to which direction we go in, but he’s very well at the moment and one of those is the plan,” Scott said.
“I’d imagine he’d go for the Stayer’s Hurdle either way, there’s nothing for him over fences really at Cheltenham, only the Gold Cup and I wouldn’t quite think he was up to that.”
Judicieuse Allen could be set for a step up in class on her next start having shown a blistering turn of foot when making a winning start for trainer Willie Mullins over the Christmas period.
A €100,000 buy, the five-year-old was sourced by Valentine Bloodstock’s Ed Partridge in partnership with Thurloe Thoroughbred’s Jess Stafford from French handler Gabriel Leenders and was bred by Bruno Vagne, the man responsible for producing Grade One and Cheltenham Festival champions Espoir D’Allen and Envoi Allen.
Sent off the 6-5 favourite for her eagerly-awaited first start in the Thurloe Thoroughbred silks at Limerick, she produced a performance full of potential as she sprinted home at a rate of knots in the hands of Adrian Heskin to claim first prize close to the line.
Delighted with the result, connections can now look forward to the future, with a possible outing in Fairyhouse’s SBK Solerina Mares Novice Hurdle on January 27 raised as an option by her trainer.
“She has come out of the race OK – which is the main thing – and I think the plan is to run her at the end of the month at Fairyhouse,” said Thurloe’s James Stafford.
“It’s very early days, but she showed a nice turn of foot that day (at Limerick) and I don’t think it was just other horses stopping. I think she finished quite well having got into a bit of trouble.
“She’s a nice mare and there’s definitely ability there. She showed a bit in France before we bought her and she certainly showed her turn of foot at Limerick. I was very pleased and Willie was pleased, which is the main thing.
“We are very pleased with her, but it is still early days – it was only her first run so we must not get too carried away.
“We haven’t had a long-term discussion with Willie about it, but the Solerina was mooted and that is where we are at the moment. But the fact he is even considering it is quite a good sign. Willie will decide, but the end of the month is definitely something we have on the radar.”
Although at the early stages of hopefully a long and fruitful career, Judicieuse Allen is already a part of Closutton folklore having been part of Mullins’ fantastic across-the-card seven-timer at Limerick and Leopardstown on December 27.
It was Judicieuse Allen that kick-started that fabulous afternoon for the master trainer, who expressed his delight at seeing the Thurloe youngster find the scoresheet.
Stafford added: “Willie sent me a very nice message after the race when he was having winners all over the place – he had seven winners that day.
“I called her one of his magnificent seven and I think she set the ball rolling. I got a very nice message saying how thrilled he was and he wouldn’t have done that just for the sake of it.”
The Cricket West Indies (CWI) Senior Selection Panel has named both 15-man squads to play against Australia in three One Day Internationals (ODIs) and three T20 Internationals (T20Is) from February 2-13.
The ODI squad features two debutants, Grenadian top order batsman Teddy Bishop and Guyanese wicketkeeper batsman, Tevin Imlach.
Bishop has impressed with the bat on assignments for the West Indies Academy during the recent CG United Super50 Cup and Academy series against Emerging Ireland. Imlach, who is currently in Australia with the Test team, averages 30.1, having played 26 List A matches.
Justin Greaves, who has recently returned from a hamstring injury sustained in the CG United Super50 Cup in November, gets a recall to the ODI team. He was particularly impressive at the top of the order in that tournament, amassing a total of 403 runs in his seven innings at an average of 80.59 for the Leeward Islands Hurricanes.
Also returning to the squad are Hayden Walsh Jr. and Kavem Hodge. Walsh Jr. last played in the ODI format in July 2022, when the West Indies played India in the Caribbean. Hodge made his debut in June 2023 when he played in all three matches against the UAE in Daren Sammy’s first series as Head Coach.
Missing from the last ODI squad that won the series against England in December, are Brandon King and Sherfane Rutherford, who have both been given the opportunity to take up T20 franchise contracts during this period, along with Shimron Hetmyer and Yannic Cariah.
In the T20I format, Alzarri Joseph, who was rested for the final two T20I’s against England comes back into the team to replace Matthew Forde.
CWI's Lead Selector, the Most Honorable Desmond Haynes is anticipating another competitive series in both formats.
“On the back of a series win against England, we are expecting our ODI team to be very competitive in Australia. We have some new inclusions, who have impressed over a significant period and a couple of returning players, who we think will have an impact. For the T20I series, this forms part of our crucial preparations for the upcoming T20 World Cup where we are hosts. We are hoping to build on strong overall performances against India and England and to keep improving as we approach the major tournament," Haynes said.
The white ball series will follow the upcoming Test series between Australia and West Indies, which begins on January 17 and concludes on January 29.
West Indies ODI Squad -Shai Hope (Captain), Alzarri Joseph (Vice-Captain), Alick Athanaze, Teddy Bishop, Keacy Carty, Roston Chase, Matthew Forde, Justin Greaves, Kavem Hodge, Tevin Imlach, Gudakesh Motie, Kjorn Ottley, Romario Shepherd, Oshane Thomas, Hayden Walsh Jr.
West Indies T20I Squad -Rovman Powell (Captain), Shai Hope (Vice-Captain), Johnson Charles, Roston Chase, Jason Holder, Akeal Hosein, Alzarri Joseph, Brandon King, Kyle Mayers, Gudakesh Motie, Nicholas Pooran, Andre Russell, Sherfane Rutherford, Romario Shepherd, Oshane Thomas
Australia vs. West Indies ODI Series Schedule (Match start time in brackets)
1st ODI – 2 February – Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne (2:30pm local time/12am Eastern Caribbean/11pm Jamaica)
2nd ODI – 4 February – Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney (2:30pm local time/12am Eastern Caribbean/11pm Jamaica)
3rd ODI – 6 February – Manuka Oval, Canberra (2:30pm local time/12am Eastern Caribbean/11pm Jamaica)
Australia vs. West Indies T20I Series Schedule (Match start time in brackets)
1st T20I – 9 February – Bellerive Oval, Hobart (7:00pm local time/4:30am Eastern Caribbean/3:30am Jamaica)
2nd T20I – 11 February – Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (6:30pm local time/4am Eastern Caribbean/3am Jamaica)
3rd T20I – 13 February – Perth Stadium, Perth (4pm local time/1:30am Eastern Caribbean/12:30am Jamaica)
Having moved to settle their legal dispute with former selectors Courtney Browne and Eldine Baptiste, Cricket West Indies (CWI) is yet to fulfil its payment obligation to both men and, as such could be headed back to court.
This latest development was revealed by cricket commentator and broadcaster Andrew Mason, who during his recent Mason and Guest show, disclosed that Browne, Baptiste and their lawyers are back in the industrial courts of Antigua and Barbuda, hoping to enforce an order against CWI.
The two former West Indies players received letters of termination on April 10, 2019, shortly after Ricky Skerritt and Dr Kishore Shallow won the Cricket West Indies presidential elections in March that year. The termination letters made reference to a task force that was being established to review the selection system. The task force that was chaired by Shallow –now the CWI president –was expected to make recommendations.
Notwithstanding that the task force had not yet met, CWI fired the selectors ahead of any recommendations that would have come from the task force. The matter has been before the courts for the past four years, with CWI now seemingly backtracking on its decision to settle and pay all legal costs and 15 months’ payment of the contract to Browne and Baptiste.
Top lawyer Anthony Astaphan, who is working on behalf of Browne and Baptiste gave the latest on the situation.
“No, the matter with Courtney Browne and Eldine Baptist has not been fully settled. There were negotiations between the parties attended by counsel, not me. Mr. West appeared on behalf of Mr. Browne and Mr. Baptiste. I couldn't make it and I think the president of Cricket West Indies was either present or participated and an agreement was arrived at to pay Eldine and Courtney a specific sum,” Astaphan, who was Mason’s guest, shared.
“That agreement on the sums was crystallized into a consent order or an order of the industrial court. Some sums were in fact paid but the full amount was not paid, as a result of which correspondence was sent over to Cricket West Indies.
“I don't believe there was a response, or at least a constructive response. So, Mr. West is in the process now of registering the order of the industrial court in the High Court for the purpose of having to enforce the order against Cricket West Indies by whatever means he may think the most expedient, including executing on the assets of Cricket West Indies,” he added.
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