Reigning Jamaica Premier League (JPL) champions Mount Pleasant Academy and English Football League One representatives Charlton Athletic have engaged a partnership with the long-term aim to further improve the quantity of elite players graduating from the club’s esteemed academy.
Mount Pleasant Academy (MPA) is a charitable organization offering talented children from throughout the Caribbean fully-funded boarding school scholarships. The club has also provided two members of the current Reggae Boyz squad, as have the Addicks, in Michael Hector and Karoy Anderson.
The 'Mountain to Valley Partnership’ will provide a clear pathway for young, talented Caribbean footballers to play professionally in London, and will also allow Mount Pleasant to benefit from the knowledge, experience and expertise of Charlton's academy.
Non-Executive Director Paul Elliott CBE MBE, a Charlton academy graduate, who himself has Jamaican roots said the partnership is a strategic one that will prove beneficial to both parties.
“This long-term, strategic partnership will allow Charlton to dramatically increase the talent pool our brilliant academy is able to draw from. A lot of Charlton’s most successful homegrown players of the last 50 years have been of Jamaican origin - including many in the current team - so there is also a really good cultural fit,” Elliott said.
Mount Pleasant’s owner Peter Gould echoed similar sentiments.
“This Memorandum of Understanding is a symbol of the solid partnership and mutual commitment to the development of football talent in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean. This will help move regional football forward as young athletes will get an opportunity to hone their skills and develop their talents outside of the region,” Gould noted.
As Mount Pleasant continues to showcase its unique blend of Football and Academics, Sporting Director Paul Christie pointed out that the academy is already fortunate enough to attract many of the very best young players from throughout the Caribbean.
“Our belief is that this partnership with such a renowned London club will make us even more of an attractive proposition for talent. Charlton and Mount Pleasant have long-standing connections at many levels, from our respective ownerships to directors to coaching staff, so we are going to be building on firm foundations,” Christie reasoned.
Charlton’s academy was ranked eighth in England as of 2022 and long-standing Academy Director Steve Avory pointed to quality recruitment as key to a successful academy.
“Our recruitment of talented players in the immediate Charlton catchment area has been a key factor in our success and youth development over so many years. It all starts with talent ID,” Avory said.
“The Mount Pleasant partnership is an interesting, potentially fruitful, link outside of our south and east London focus and I know Bert Dawkins [Academy Recruitment Manager], who has been over to Jamaica to visit Mount Pleasant, is very positive about the possibilities with player recruitment from an emergent CONCACAF academy programme.,” he added.
As part of the various commitments underpinning the partnership, Charlton’s young players will take part in an annual youth tournament at Mount Pleasant’s campus, while the Addicks will host Mount Pleasant’s senior side in an annual pre-season charity match at The Valley.
French star Theleme will revert to the Flat next month in preparation for a tilt at the Paddy Power Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
The seven-year-old has struck Grade One gold five times in his homeland, including victory in last year’s French Champion Hurdle and successive wins in the Grand Prix d’Automne at Auteuil.
He has enjoyed a winter break since his most recent triumph in the latter contest in November – and with alternative opportunities thin on the ground, the Arnaud Chaille-Chaille-trained gelding is set to switch codes for for his final outing before an intended trip to the Cotswolds in March.
Bertand Le Metayer, racing manager for Leeds-based owners the Gordon family, said: “Cheltenham is very much the plan. It’s probably not ideal as we’ve only got one Flat race that suits him for a prep run and that is on February 23.
“It’s not really ideal, but we can’t really prep him otherwise. I know it’s not the most usual programme, but the French system is not made at all for running on both sides of the Channel.
“The horse has just won a Grade One, we gave him a break after that and he looks fabulous for it.”
Le Metayer hopes a spin on the level next month will give Theleme a taste of the pace he is likely to encounter at Cheltenham, with hurdle races at Auteuil traditionally far more tactically-run affairs.
He added: “The Flat race he is going for is at Tarbes, which is a nice, big oval with a long straight and it will be the first (meeting) of the year, so we expect it to be nice, soft ground.
“Hopefully the race will just give him some rhythm. We have a short amount of time to get him ready and we don’t want to squeeze the lemon too much.
“He’s only been back in training three weeks and we’ve got five weeks until the Flat race, so we’ll give him a nice blow there, jump him over some English hurdles and then take him to Cheltenham.”
Theleme will be bidding to become the first French-trained winner of the Stayers’ Hurdle since the mighty Baracouda claimed back-to-back victories in 2002 and 2003, although Le Metayer feels it is difficult to compare the two with Baracouda having excelled on British soil, as evidenced by four wins in the Long Walk Hurdle, two Ascot Hurdles and two Long Distance Hurdles.
“I actually spoke at length with Francois Doumen, but his ways of doing it were different because Baracouda was not as good a horse in France and he was trained for Cheltenham to the millimetre as that was his objective,” he said.
“The reason we are going to the Stayers’ Hurdle is because we don’t like the prep races (for the French Champion Hurdle) in France as they make you carry top-weight. We have to run in prep races with 72 kilos, which is not something we like doing, so we thought the best way would be to take him to Cheltenham off level weights and also give the Gordon family a taste of Cheltenham.
“The horse has a brilliant mind and he’s obviously a super horse, there’s no doubt about it. It’s just more complicated to prep him for Cheltenham this year than it would be next year because firstly it is unknown and secondly, by next year he will have had a third run on the Flat, so he will have a handicap mark which opens up other options.”
Theleme is a 4-1 joint-favourite for Cheltenham with sponsors Paddy Power alongside the Gordon Elliott-trained Teahupoo, with the latter’s stablemate Irish Point only a point bigger at 5-1.
Prince Zaltar will miss the Coral Lanzarote Handicap Hurdle at Kempton on Saturday after suffering a minor setback.
Philip Rothwell’s charge has run two fine races in Britain already this season, finishing sixth at Cheltenham in November before filling the runner-up spot behind Sonigino at Aintree last month.
Rothwell had been eyeing a third successive trip across the Irish Sea for this weekend’s feature handicap, but said on Wednesday: “I’m not running. He’s had a little setback, so he won’t go.
“He worked well yesterday, but we just weren’t happy afterwards. I haven’t a clue how long it will hold us up for, it won’t be long I’d say, but we’re not going to make Kempton anyway.
“The horses are flying, thank God, but their welfare is the most important thing and we’ve got to make sure they’re 100 per cent right. If it was an Irish race I might still plan on going, but when you’re going across to Kempton and things aren’t 100 per cent right I’m definitely not going to go.”
Prince Zaltar’s non-participation is a rare blip in an otherwise excellent campaign for Rothwell.
Numerically the Cheltenham Festival-winning trainer is enjoying his best ever season, with a tally of 33 winners and prize-money totalling over €390,000 putting him fifth in the trainers’ table behind the powerhouse quartet of Gordon Elliott, Willie Mullins, Henry de Bromhead and Gavin Cromwell.
He added: “We’re doing really well and getting huge support for a small yard. We’re just trying to turn them over and thrash the winners out as best we can and we’re really happy with how it’s going.
“The last three or four seasons have been very strong and we have a very strong team of staff and people working here in a very small environment.
“We’re very specific about what we’re doing, the whole thing is a team job and I’m just very lucky that the players on my team at the moment are very good.
“We’ve been building this for the last few years and hopefully we can keep at the kind of level we’re at now as we’re not going to get further. I’m fifth in the trainers’ table, we’re not going to hassle the top four and I’m sure some of the lads behind us can pass us at some stage.
“We have 55 or 60 boxes, whereas the lads in front and some behind have 200 boxes. Their average spend is in excess of £80,000 and my average spend is about £5,000, so we’re boxing way above our weight and we’re very happy to be doing that.”
Paisley Park is on course to attempt a fourth win in the McCoy Contractors Cleeve Hurdle at Cheltenham on January 27.
Big Buck’s won the race twice while Lady Rebecca won three in a row from 1999-2001, but a victory for Emma Lavelle’s stalwart would see him stand alone as a four-time winner.
In two outings this year the 12-year-old has been beaten a head by Dashel Drasher at Newbury and a short head by the young pretender Crambo in the Long Walk Hurdle – a race which Paisley Park has also won three times in his stellar career.
“He’s great. He’s come out of the race (Long Walk) so well, he cantering away and I just can’t believe he’s run two such fantastic races and just got beaten in both of them,” Lavelle told Sky Sports Racing.
“We’re so proud of him. He’s just turned 12 and we’ll head to the Cleeve, all things being equal.
“It would be nice if he could just get his head in front there, to win the Cleeve four times would be extraordinary.
“I’ve always said he’ll tell us when he’s had enough and clearly his first two runs this year have shown us he hasn’t had enough.
“If he keeps running the way he is then I don’t see why we would necessarily retire him at the end of the season.
“We’ll keep going with him as long as he is happy to keep going and quite clearly at the moment he is very happy.”
Stable stalwart Thomas Darby spearheads Olly Murphy’s bumper squad of horses on Saturday afternoon, with the trainer poised to saddle key runners across the country.
The 11-year-old is part of the furniture at Murphy’s Warren Chase base and was one of the horses who helped put the trainer on the map when finishing second in the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle in 2019.
Since then the seven-time winner has been a regular on the big days and counts victory in Newbury’s Long Distance Hurdle as one of his greatest accolades.
He will now seek another major prize in the rearranged Unibet Veterans’ Handicap Chase at Warwick, returning to the scene of his comfortable course-and-distance success in November.
“He’s in good form and obviously he’s off a lofty mark now but he has course-and-distance form round Warwick and seems in good order,” said Murphy.
“He was second in a Supreme behind Klassical Dream and has had success at a high level throughout his career.
“He has been a very good horse, just probably 7lb short of being a proper Grade One horse. But we’ve had some very good days. He’s won a Long Distance Hurdle at Newbury and he’s run well on many occasions at the highest level so to win a nice handicap like this would be great.
“Harry Skelton rides him and if he gets into a good rhythm I don’t see why he wouldn’t have a good each-way chance in a valuable race.”
Sporting the same silks of owner Diana Whateley is Chasing Fire who has always threatened to be a quality operator and is upped in class at Wetherby for a shot at the Grade Two William Hill Towton Novices’ Chase.
“He definitely runs at Wetherby and is in good form,” continued Murphy.
“He’s a horse that hasn’t achieved what I think he should have achieved yet, but it is still really early days for him.
“It will be a competitive race, but we’re looking forward to it and Brian Hughes rides him.”
Meanwhile, Thunder Rock could be tasked with a stiff-looking recovery mission if taking his chance in Kempton’s Coral Silviniaco Conti Chase.
The eight-year-old fluffed his lines when sent off favourite for Cheltenham’s December Gold Cup prior to Christmas and with Murphy toying with the idea of reverting to hurdles, is keen to give his charge another chance to prove himself over fences back in a small-field contest.
“We’re short of options and running him back in a handicap is probably not the right thing to do with him at the moment,” explained Murphy.
“We would rather run in a smaller-field Graded race if possible, but options are far and few between.
“He’s in good form, he just got a terrible fright at Cheltenham last time. If he runs it will be very much a confidence boosting run.
“Unfortunately I think he’s rather well-handicapped but we’re not able to put that to good use just yet. He’ll have a run back over fences whether that is Saturday or not and see how we go, and if it doesn’t work out we’ll go back over hurdles.”
Fontwell’s meeting on Thursday has been abandoned with parts of the course frozen and another cold night forecast.
Temperatures dipped to a low of minus 3.5C on Tuesday evening and were only due to rise to a high of 2C on Wednesday.
To make matters worse there was a windchill of minus 4C preventing conditions from improving.
Given it could get even colder on Wednesday evening all hope was lost that the track would thaw and having originally called an inspection for 8am on raceday, that was brought forward to 1pm on Wednesday and an early decision was made.
Wincanton on Friday is also under threat due to frost.
Having performed a minor miracle to get the course raceable on Saturday, clerk of the course Dan Cooper and his team now face a different problem.
The course is currently frozen in places and temperatures overnight could reach minus 3C before racing but a daytime high of 5C offers hope.
The meetings at Doncaster and Leicester on Wednesday both passed inspections before racing.
There were no issues at all at Doncaster but Leicester did need three inspections before getting the go-ahead, the latter at 12 noon.
Fastorslow will have two options at next month’s Dublin Racing Festival, as Martin Brassil looks to put the finishing touches to his Cheltenham Gold Cup contender.
Having inflicted a shock defeat on Galopin Des Champs in the Punchestown Gold Cup in April, Fastorslow proved there was no fluke about that when again getting the better of last season’s Cheltenham hero in the John Durkan Memorial Punchestown Chase on his seasonal debut.
The trilogy was expected to take place in Leopardstown’s Savills Chase over the festive period, but Fastorslow was withdrawn on the morning of the race due to the deteriorating ground conditions.
In his absence, Galopin Des Champs got back on the winning trail with a brilliant victory, cementing his status in the eyes of the bookmakers as the one to beat in the blue riband at Prestbury Park in March, while trainer Willie Mullins is considering taking in the Irish Gold Cup before the defence of his Cheltenham crown.
Fastorslow is also in Irish Gold Cup contention, but Brassil will also consider the two-mile-one-furlong Ladbrokes Dublin Chase at the same fixture should testing conditions again prevail.
“The entries closed today for the Dublin Racing Festival, so we’ve entered him up for there,” Brassil told the PA news agency on Wednesday.
“He’s in the Irish Gold Cup and we’ve put him in the shorter race as well, just in case the ground came up heavy, then we might run in the shorter race with it being close to the (Cheltenham) Gold Cup.”
Brassil has no regrets about sidestepping the Savills Chase, adding: “It was a horrible evening there, I’d had a couple of runners in the Paddy Power Chase the day before and the ground had well opened up.
“We’ve never ran him on it (testing ground) before, we said we had another option (Dublin Racing Festival) and we said we’d take it.”
While admitting to being impressed by the 23-length success of Galopin Des Champs, he is not shying away from taking him on again.
He said: “He was great wasn’t he? He really was. It’s two-nil at the moment anyway.”
Fontwell’s meeting on Thursday must pass a precautionary inspection at 8am due to the threat of frost.
Temperatures dipped to a low of minus 3.5C on Tuesday evening and are only due to rise to a high of 2C on Wednesday.
It could get even colder on Wednesday evening but there is hope that a daytime high of 4C may help thaw the track in time.
Wincanton on Friday is also under threat due to frost.
Having performed a minor miracle to get the course raceable on Saturday, clerk of the course Dan Cooper and his team now face a different problem.
The course is currently frozen in places and temperatures overnight could reach minus 3C before racing but a daytime high of 5C offers hope.
The meetings at Doncaster and Leicester on Wednesday both passed inspections before racing.
There were no issues at all at Doncaster but Leicester did need three inspections before getting the go-ahead, the latter at 12 noon.
This afternoon’s meeting at Doncaster will go ahead as planned but the card at Leicester must pass a third inspection at 12 noon.
Shortly after 7am Doncaster’s clerk of the course Paul Barker was confident temperatures had not dropped sufficiently to cause a problem but it was a different story for Jimmy Stevenson at Leicester.
By 8am the temperature on course had dropped to a chilly -4C but it is forecast to rise to 4C or 5C later on.
The track failed a second inspection at 10.30am but with temperatures slowly rising and a 1.05pm first race, officials are keen to give it every chance.
There are also issues at Wincanton on Friday where clerk of the course Dan Cooper and his team have called an 8.30am check for raceday.
The course is currently frozen in places with temperatures potentially going as low as -3C before racing.
An 8am precautionary inspection has also been called at Fontwell ahead of the meeting there on Thursday, also due to frost.
The Noel Fehily Racing Syndicate could be doubly represented in next month’s Betfair Hurdle at Newbury, with both Hansard and Kamsinas in line for the lucrative handicap.
Gary Moore’s Hansard showed his liking for the Berkshire track when landing the Gerry Feilden in November, since when he has finished a creditable fifth under a big weight in the Betfair Exchange Trophy at Ascot.
Kamsinas looked a potential star novice for Fergal O’Brien after landing a Grade Two prize at Haydock on his penultimate start, but having since come up short in the inaugural running of the Grade One Formby Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree on Boxing Day, he is set for a switch to handicap company.
“The plan at the moment remains for them both to run at Newbury, as long as everything stays okay between now and then,” Fehily confirmed.
“Hansard won the Gerry Feilden on his second to last start and I think the track suits him, so the Betfair Hurdle is very much the aim for him.
“Kamsinas won a Grade Two at Haydock, he was beaten in a Grade One last time out, but I think this race could just suit the likes of him as well. He is a novice and is hopefully still improving.”
Neil King is also considering another crack at handicap riches with his stable star Lookaway.
The seven-year-old completed a hat-trick of novice wins when beating Kamsinas in Grade Two company at Cheltenham towards the end of October.
He then performed with credit against seasoned campaigners when second in the Greatwood Handicap Hurdle back at Prestbury Park, only being headed on the run-in by Iberico Lord.
Lookaway filled the same position behind Captain Teague in the Grade One Challow at Newbury over the festive period and Britain’s most valuable handicap hurdle is now one of his upcoming options.
“We have the three options for him now following his huge run in the Challow Hurdle; we either go to Cheltenham Trials Day, back to Newbury for the Betfair Hurdle or the Sidney Banks Hurdle at Huntingdon,” said King.
“I thought Trials Day would come too soon after the Challow but he has come out of the race so well, I don’t think he had as hard a race as we anticipated, he is in great form.
“We will review entries and ground conditions and make a decision as to where we go next, but the Betfair Hurdle is very much an option.”
With a total prize fund of £155,000 up for grabs on February 10, the Betfair Hurdle has predictably attracted a strong book of entries.
Nicky Henderson has six of the 40 possible contenders, with the aforementioned Iberico Lord joined by Betfair Exchange Trophy one-two Luccia and Impose Toi, plus Under Control, First Street and Doddiethegreat.
Paul Nicholls has Elite Hurdle hero Rubaud and Long Walk Hurdle fifth Blueking d’Oroux, while Willie Mullins has three of the four potential Irish raiders in Alvaniy, French recruit Ocastle Des Mottes and Onlyamatteroftime.
Olly Murphy’s Go Dante is one of four early co-favourites with the sponsors and Betfair spokesman Barry Orr commented: “It’s a cracking list of entries and that’s reflected in the market at 8-1 the field.
“Last month’s Betfair Exchange Trophy, which was won by Luccia, could hold the key to this race, with eight of the nine runners entered here.
“The winner looked a different proposition at Ascot and she would be considerably shorter if taking up this engagement, while Onlyamatteroftime, Impose Toi and Altobelli will all be in the mix.
“Rubaud would also be an interesting contender having disappointed in this race last season as a novice but rated 19lb more in this renewal.”
This afternoon’s meeting at Doncaster will go ahead as planned but the card at Leicester must pass a second inspection at 10.30am.
Shortly after 7am Doncaster’s clerk of the course Paul Barker was confident temperatures had not dropped sufficiently to cause a problem but it was a different story for Jimmy Stevenson at Leicester.
By 8am the temperature on course had dropped to a chilly -4C but it is forecast to rise to 4C or 5C later on. Whether it rises in time remains to be seen.
There are also issues at Wincanton on Friday where clerk of the course Dan Cooper and his team have called an 8.30am check for raceday.
The course is currently frozen in places with temperatures potentially going as low as -3C before racing.
Following his break over Christmas, Darren Bravo is back with the Trinidad and Tobago Red Force unit.
The Red Force players will get the first of just two opportunities to play competitively before the start of the West Indies Four-Day Championship when they play a three-day practice match in Preysal. Bravo is expected to be part of the action.
This was confirmed by Red Force coach and selection chairman David Furlonge on January 2.
He also told the Trinidad Express that Bravo would also play in next week’s North/South Classic, as well as the Four-Day Championship.
The confirmation comes after Bravo announced in November that he planned to “step away just for a bit” following being overlooked by the West Indies selectors for last month’s One-Day International series against England.
In an emotional post on social media platform Instagram, he said he had “taken some time to ponder and wonder” about his future in West Indies cricket, and while he was not “giving up”, believed a break would be the best move for his career.
He gave no clear indication of the length of the break, but said it was proving difficult to continue finding motivation amid the ongoing selection disappointments.
“At this point in my career it’s not easy or should I say it takes a lot to continue to find the energy, the passion, commitment and discipline to be able to perform to the best of my ability and put myself in a position to make my return to international cricket.”
Bravo, who last played for the West Indies in January 2022 in a T20 International against England, led the Red Force to victory in last November’s Super50 Cup, in which he was the leading run-scorer. Earlier in the year, Bravo also had the second-highest aggregate in the four-day competition.
Subsequent to his snub for the England ODI series, Bravo was contacted by director of cricket for Cricket West Indies (CWI) Miles Bascombe about going on the Test tour of Australia, but according to CWI, he declined the offer.
Speaking on the Mason and Guest cricket radio show in Barbados last Tuesday, Furlonge admitted he was “surprised” that Bravo had turned down the chance to tour, but added that, “I know he’s disappointed at not being selected in the 50 overs against England but we have to move on. Hopefully he gets back himself. He has made himself available for Trinidad. We’ll see how that goes from there.”
Furlonge also said: “I respect his decision, I know what he is going through...I believe he will have to start over and have another good year before he’s considered for (West Indies) selection again.”
John McConnell will work backwards with Mahler Mission from his ultimate aim of the Grand National at Aintree in the spring.
The eight-year-old was last seen finishing a gallant second in the Coral Gold Cup, missing out by three and three-quarter lengths after losing both shoes during the three-mile two-furlong trip around Newbury.
The Grand National was mentioned in the aftermath of that race, with the gelding usually a fluent jumper who looked poised to triumph in the National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham last year until falling at the penultimate fence, having pulled four lengths clear.
Connections have now decided to pursue the Aintree aim and Mahler Mission may even have a start over hurdles to protect his mark of 155 ahead of the marathon contest.
“He’s in good form, he had a good break after the Coral and he’s back riding out now,” said McConnell.
“It was a good race, horses have won out of it since and we were very, very happy on the day. Hopefully, there’s a bit more to come.
“Hopefully, we’ll get a clear run with him; he’ll miss Cheltenham and the target will be the National.
“He should be on a nice racing weight, it’s the Grand National and we could get him there and then anything could happen on the day, but he’s entitled to take his chance.
“He ticks a lot of the boxes for the race, he’s still a relatively young horse and he’d certainly be worth his place in the field.
“We’ve not got a plan yet, I’d have to sit down and try and find a race for him before and see what there is about.
“It wouldn’t bother us if we went back over hurdles, that’s definitely an option.”
Blow Your Wad looks set to return to Kempton for the Coral Pendil Novices’ Chase on February 24.
Tom Lacey’s six-year-old won a decent handicap at the track over Christmas, having previously chased home a subsequent Grade One winner in Le Patron.
The Grade Two Pendil over two and a half miles has been dominated by Paul Nicholls in recent years, with the champion trainer responsible for 13 winners in all since 2006, but Lacey feels Blow Your Wad could potentially be one of the best he has trained.
“We are potentially going to go back to Kempton for the Pendil Novices’ Chase next month. It is just so competitive at Cheltenham that you could go to the Pendil, miss Cheltenham, then go to Aintree,” said Lacey.
“He is not a horse that I want to over-race, as he is still relatively young. He has only had two runs over fences so far but he is a good horse with plenty of progression to come.
“His jumping was outstanding at Kempton the last day. To be honest, it wasn’t until they were turning in that I saw him coming through, as he was very much on and off the bridle.
“He is a horse that is not hard on himself and he is an exciting prospect. He is potentially one of the nicest horses I’ve ever had come through the yard.”
Stablemate Tea Clipper could be going hunter chasing and looks like another with Aintree, rather than Cheltenham, as his ultimate aim.
“After having a discussion, we are going to go hunter chasing with him. He is getting older and he has been running around in those big staying handicaps without winning one. If we could get his head back in front, it might give him some confidence,” said Lacey.
“I think he is more potentially an Aintree horse, as I’m not sure he would get that extended three and a quarter miles around Cheltenham, although he has finished fourth in an Ultima there over slightly shorter.
“After Aintree, you could look at the hunter chase meeting back at Cheltenham for him. We have always got the option of going back in those types of races he has been running in if we want to. He does deserve to get his head back in front, as he has run some great races in defeat.”
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