REGALLY BOLD should make amends for her recent disqualification by winning today’s 10th race over 1500 metres for native and imported three-year-olds (non winners of two) at Caymanas Park.Trained by Harry Jaghai for owners the Houston Stables, the lightly raced American bred 3-y-o filly came through a furlong out to beat the useful ACTION MAN by four lengths over 1300 metres on August 29, only to be disqualified following a stewards’ inquiry, this for causing interference to ACTION MAN (awarded race) on the inside at the half mile and placed second.REGALLY BOLD, however, won on merit in the fairly good time of 1:20.4. There was a lot to like about the manner in which she led a furlong out, going on to beat ACTION MAN and SILVER CLOUD, who renews rivalry today.Obviously, she looks a better animal than any of her eight opponents and with in-form Wesley Henry again in the saddle, should gain quick compensation, despite the presence of the Wayne DaCosta-trained SILVER CLIOUD, ANOTHER BULLET and VINTAGE RUCKUS, her main rivals.impressive winREGALLY BOLD continues to look sharp in her preparation and should take command leaving the half mile for an impressive win from the convenient mark of 54.0kg.Also on the 11-race programme are the round five renewal of the Winnie Anglin Memorial Cup for native bred two-year-old fillies and the eighth running of the Donald Tankoy Cup over 1300 metres, in memory of the former long serving executive of Caymanas Track Limited, who died on September 10, 2008.The Wayne DaCosta trained debutante PERFECT ASSET (Robert Halledeen up) has looked well forward at exercise and gets the nod over Philip Feanny’s SORRENTINO’S STAR in the Winnie Anglin Memorial, while STERRI’S CHOICE (Omar Walker) and DOOLAHIN (Shane Ellis) should fight out the finish of the Donald Tankoy Memorial Cup. Both races have attracted nine starters.Other firm fancies on the card are down in class LOVETTA JONES in the opening race for $180,000 claimers, RUNNER RUNNER to go one better in the second, LIGHT BRIGADE in the sixth, GLORIOUS CAUSE in the eighth and CLASSY PROSPECT in the closing race.
Sports Briefs
US Women drub T&T 6-0SAN ANTONIO, United States (CMC) :Trinidad and Tobago’s (T&T’s) national women’s team failed in its efforts to end an 11-year winning streak at home by the United States Women team on Thursday night.T&T women suffered a 6-0 drubbing at the hands of their American counterparts in a lopsided exhibition encounter at the Alamodome.T&T goalkeeper Kimika Forbes was outstanding, particularly in the first half, by keeping the scoreline manageable.The United States dominated the game and took the lead courtesy of a bizarre penalty call by the referee in the 21st minute when Alex Morgan collided with Forbes in mid-air as Forbes rushed to punch a ball out of her box.Soca Warriors go on strikePORT-OF-SPAIN, Trinidad (CMC) :Trinidad and Tobago Soca Warriors say they would not play their next international fixture because of a pay dispute with the country’s football governing body.A release from team captain Kenwyne Jones says that the Soca Warriors have withdrawn their services for their next game against Haiti because payment promised after their CONCACAF World Cup qualifier against the United States last November has not been made.”We were promised months ago that a payment would be made to the boys after the last game,” said Jones’ statement.T&T were carded to participate in the Copa AmÈrica Centenario Berth match, scheduled for January 8, at the Estadio Rommel Fern·ndez in Panama City, Panama.Gabriel ruled out of Hobart TestHOBART, Tasmania (CMC) :West Indies fast bowler Shannon Gabriel has been ruled out of the first Test match against Australia.The strongly built six-footer from Trinidad suffered a major injury on Thursday’s opening day and will play no further part in the match at the Blundstone Arena.Gabriel felt discomfort while bowling and had scans at a local medical facility. According to team spokesman Philip Spooner, Gabriel sustained a “stress reaction in the left ankle bone” and, therefore will not be able to bowl.The 27-year-old right-armer bowled just 10 overs on the opening day and took one wicket: Joe Burns bowled through the gate.If he is unable to recover in time for the second Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, starting Boxing Day, a repla-cement will be summoned from the West Indies.
Champions Savannah held in opener
WESTERN BUREAU: The 2015-16 Charley’s JB Rum Western Confederation Super League season got cracking on the weekend with six matches, including a less-than-auspicious start for defending champions Savannah Sports Club, who were held to a scoreless draw by Lucea FC at Frome Sports Complex on Sunday. This year’s staging has the 12 teams aligned in two groups of six based on how they ended the last campaign, with Savannah, Granville, Montego Bay Boys and Girls’ Club (MBBGC), Salt Marsh, Petersfield, and Lucea in Group One. Group Two comprises Wadadah, Sandals Whitehouse, Beaches Negril, Village United, newcomers Reggae Youths and Clarks Town, the St James and Trelawny champions, respectively. Another new development of note is that Livingston Berley has taken the hot seat as coach of the defending champions. RONIEL WHYTE ON TARGET While his team failed to shine against Lucea, Roniel Whyte was on target in the 19th and 36th minutes in leading Petersfield FC to a 2-0 victory over Montego Bay Boys and Girls’ Club. Former St James Premier League kingpins, Wadadah FC, were also in the winners’ corner as forward Javier Peak struck twice in Saturday’s 3-1 win over newly promoted Clarks Town of Trelawny. Ajai Black also found the net in that match for Wadadah, while Dwayne Brown netted the consolation for Clarks Town. Also on Saturday, Reggae Youths and Beaches Negril ended 1-1, with Oshane Russell getting a late equaliser for Reggae Youths in the 81st minute to cancel out Ashley Forrest’s 18th-minute strike. In another game on Saturday, Salt Marsh edged Granville 1-0 as Marvin Reynolds scored in the 20th minute to give them three points and a share of the early lead in Group One with Petersfield. Wadadah are early leaders in Group Two on three points. The league continues on Sunday with four matches, the pick of which should be the Granville-Petersfield FC clash, starting 3 p.m. at Granville Community Centre.
Mixed fortunes for Dottin
PERTH, Australia (CMC):West Indies Women’s star Deandra Dottin experienced mixed fortunes on her debut in the Women’s Big Bash on Boxing Day, as her Perth Scorchers beat Melbourne Stars by six wickets.The 24-year-old snared two for 27 from four overs of medium pacer as Stars, opting to bat first at the Western Australia Cricket Association ground, stumbled to 102 for six off their 20 overs.Fast bowler Katherine Brunt had the best figures of two for 11.Katie Mack struck 32 from 30 balls while opening partner and captain Meg Lanning got 27 from 31 deliveries in a 56-run stand for the first wicket.In reply, Scorchers reached their target in the final over, with veteran opener Charlotte Edwards stroking an unbeaten 61 off 56 deliveries.Dottin suffered the indignity of a fourth-ball ‘duck’, falling leg before wicket to leg-spinner Kristen Beams in the tenth over with the score on 50 as Scorchers lost three quick wickets for 12 runs.However, Edwards combined with Brunt (11 not out) in an unbroken fifth wicket stand of 45 to see the hosts to victory.
Man City confirm Guardiola as next coach
MANCHESTER, England (AP):Pep Guardiola and Manchester City have long been considered a likely match: football’s most admired coach and a club with massive spending power seeking to become the dominant force in Europe.It’s been four years in the making, but finally, they’ll be united.City announced yesterday that Guardiola will take over as manager on a three-year contract starting next season, furthering the English team’s goal to be a global superpower.Guardiola will replace Manuel Pellegrini, who – minutes before City’s announcement – ended a pre-game news conference by saying that he would be leaving the club at the end of the season.The news was sudden but not unexpected.Guardiola announced in December that he would be leaving Bayern Munich at the end of this season after three years in charge when he enhanced his status as football’s most sought-after coach. Then, last month, he said that his next job would be in the English Premier League.City was always his most likely destination. Backed by Abu Dhabi cash since 2008, the club has been transformed into the most successful in England of recent times, winning two league titles and two cup competitions since 2011 and assembling an all-star squad including players like Sergio Aguero, David Silva, Yaya Toure, and Kevin De Bruyne.”In recent weeks, (City) has commenced and finalised contractual negotiations with Pep Guardiola to become head coach for the 2016-17 EPL season onwards,” City said in a short statement. “These negotiations were a re-commencement of discussions that were curtailed in 2012.”That was the year Guardiola quit Barcelona, after winning 14 trophies in four years as coach, and took a 12-month sabbatical. During his time off, he agreed to join Bayern for the start of the 2013-14 season and has gone on to win back-to-back German league titles, the German Cup, and both the Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup.
Tony Becca: Going, going, and may be almost gone
Finding a vision Top eight teams According to merit Although it is common knowledge that the West Indies have lost 80 of 132 Test matches while winning only 14 against the top eight teams since losing 5-0 to England in 2000 and 5-0 to Australia in 2000-1, and have failed to qualify for the Champions Trophy while Bangladesh have done so, cricket, results on the field, have nothing to do with it, not really. The problem which threatens to explode and blow West Indies to the four corners of the earth is money, pure and simply money. The West Indies are set to participate in the World Twenty20 tournament in March in India, but once again, as happened so many times in the recent past, including the 2014 Test tour of India, the squad of players, led by captain Daren Sammy, wrote the board, demanding more money for the services. In a nutshell, that’s what the players want, more money. The players, led by Sammy, want double the match fee, 50 per cent of sponsorship money, and 100 per cent of any prize-money won. On top of that, they don’t want to deal with the West Indies Players’ Association whatsoever. The board seems adamant that it will not pay. According to the board, it cannot pay. It is as simple as that. The board, if needs be, will select a new team for the tournament. The players claim they are losing money, that they are losing as much as 85 per cent of their money, and that they cannot afford that, even if some of that money is going to subsidise the salaries of contracted Caribbean first-class players for the newly formed Professional Cricket League. The West Indies players, it seems, cannot afford to subsidise Caribbean first-class players, not even for the suffering first-class players to go from getting nothing to getting something. The West Indies players, however, would be comfortable if they were to be, as they are now, subsidised by the cricket world from the money earned by the money-spinners elsewhere in the world. Is it right for the non-West Indies player to run around in the sun day after day for days at a time and then sit down and twiddle his thumbs, with nothing to do or eat, just looking on from the outside? No, it is not right, it was never right, and it can never be right. The West Indies Cricket Board has made many mistakes in their time, but this is not one. This is one to produce for West Indies cricket. This is one to ensure that what is happening now never happens again. This is one for West Indies cricket. West Indies cricket, the envy of the world for decades past because of its exiting and brilliant batsmen, fast and furious fast bowlers, and its acrobatic fielders, and undisputed champions of the world for 19 years up to 1995, is now at rock bottom and looks like getting deeper and deeper. In fact, based on the events of this week, and after all that have gone on in the past 15 or 20 years, a good bet is that the West Indies days are numbered. West Indies cricket is not the West Indies team alone. It is the West Indies teams and West Indies cricketers, all West Indian cricketers. And every penny belongs to the West Indies – to be added up, divided up fairly and equitably, and to be distributed to the players according to merit and on value to the team. The West Indies players have been on so many strikes, it has not been funny. Some have gone ahead, and some have been short-lived. Almost after every one of them there have been court cases, all sorts of meetings, all sorts of plans, and all sorts of MOUs and understandings. There have also been all kinds of pay structures agreed on. After 2014 and the Indian embarrassment, there were all kind of calls for all kinds of meetings, for all kinds of take-overs, and there were meetings involving prime ministers, Dave Cameron and board members, players, lawyers, and players association members. There were mediations and arbitrations at which there were ICC representatives, FICA representatives, WICB members, WIPA members, and accountants, at which the players and the board discussed their responsibilities along with finding a vision of West Indies cricket. The meetings, all of them, one or the other, agreed and decided on all categories of remuneration, on player compensation re West Indies, international, franchise, or first-class levels, incentive payments, down to injury payments, and with the help and agreement of ICC and FICA.at that, according to the board. All this was done from May, and then suddenly, two few weeks before the deadline, comes another storm. “I am sending this as captain of the West Indies T20 side as a collective representative of the 15-man squad selected for the upcoming T20 World Cup,” said Sammy. And then he proceeded to say that WIPA does not represent the players, that the money is not what the players had expected, that they wanted it doubled at least, and he made it clear, in his first letter, that the players would not accept the current offer. “If you don’t agree to the above, would you consider that this matter goes to mediation for a settlement?” said Sammy. Michael Muirhead, CEO of the board, replied, politely, “If we should not hear from any player by February 14, we will presume that you have refused selection.” The West Indies payment structure was changed in 2014, partly by the ICC because of the money they decided to share around: 25 per cent of ICC cricket money guaranteed from the player pool per year, 53 per cent to international players, 47 per cent to 90 contracted first-class players, at the end of four years fund assessed and any excess will be paid to international players only. For all fees retainers, Test match fees, ODI fees, T20 fees, ICC, events, practice matches, captains fees, and per diems fees will be paid separately, worked out with WICB, WIPA, FICA, and ICC, who added on US$1,000 per day of cricket for each player who is not on a senior contract for the use of their image rights. According to the board, the retainer fees were increased in 2013 from US$5,000 to US$160,000 to most of the top players in the T20 league. Additionally, the windows are left open for Indian Premier League and Big Bash League twice a year. It is now possible for top West Indies players to earn, according the board, US$315,000 per year ($155,000 from WICB and $160,000 from CPL). West Indies cricket has so much money and no more, and they can pay only what they can afford to pay. The cricket has to be supported, and other players have to be looked after. Why, for example, wait from May until now to deal with these things? Money is money, and it is important, no doubt about it. There are times, however, when some things are more important, when one can do with a little less for the benefit of a brother or a sister. If this tour beaks up again, it may be the end of West Indies cricket. Trinidad and Tobago have already whispered the idea to members of the ICC, and Richard Pybus, West Indies director of cricket, has already said, just recently, “A split can’t be discounted in 10 years.”
Phenomenal running! – Taylor earns new respect after Bloomfield challenge
HEIGHTENED ANTICIPATION PREPARED WELL “I didn’t surprise myself because I have been training for this for the last months, but coming out here tonight and doing this is really amazing.” Calabar’s assistant coach, Omar Hawes, said Taylor surprises them everyday. “This is how we normally set up our (4x400m) team, it is not a Bloomfield situation why we put him out there, that is where he normally runs in the order. But if Bloomfield is there and he thought he could have gone past Christopher Taylor and won that race, he had a next thing coming. That young man is so talented that everyday he does something new, I am impressed again, he is that special.” The school’s head coach, Michael Clarke, says it is a joy working with the youngster. “He is an extraordinary talent, a wonderful person to work with, and I’m looking to work with him for some time to come.” However, the KC athlete, who admitted that he came into the championships at around 60 per cent and is the only schoolboy many genuinely believe can beat Taylor over the 400m, made sure he conserved this time so that he could participate in the relays. So when both were pitted against each other on the final leg of the 4x400m, it had the entire stadium on its feet in excited anticipation. They were not disappointed, as it was a race for the ages, truly one of the great races of ‘Champs’. When Taylor received the baton approximately 10 metres ahead of Bloomfield, the Calabar fans were celebrating wildly. But the moment Bloomfield got hold of the baton, the noise of the KC faithfuls snuffed out that of their perennial rivals, as Bloomfield – in all his magnificence – rounded Taylor on the backstretch and went on to create a 10-metre gap at the 200 mark. It was then that Taylor made his move. As they headed into the final straight, like David and Goliath, the gigantic Bloomfield began to wane, while the pint-sized Taylor, who always appeared to have energy to spare, stood tall, caught and passed his opponent with nearly 50 metres and sprinted to a clear victory. The modest youngsters told The Gleaner that only God can explain his extraordinary talent and put his win over Bloomfield down to his race strategy. “I can’t say anything about that (talent). God gave me the talent and the speed … you would have to ask God that question,” he commented. “The strategy going into the race (4x400m) was that if I got the baton first, I am just going to maintain my pace, no big outburst of speed, then accelerate in the home straight,” Taylor pointed out. “I was confident in my team and knew that I would play my part, and I just went and executed a perfect game plan in the final of the 4×4, and I give God thanks for the victory,” he said on Saturday night after the event. Everyone knows Calabar High School’s track and field star, Christopher Taylor, is special. However, the just-concluded 2016 Girls and Boys’ Athletic Championships proved much more. The young Calabar athlete burst on to the scene as a 400 metre sensation with stamina to burn and no one in his age ranks close to being his rival, as he broke record after record in the event. This season, however, he revealed that he is a true sprint phenomenon. At the championships, he easily walked away with the Class Two 200m and 400m gold medals, setting records in both events (20.80 in 200m and 46.33 in 400m) in the preliminaries and won the respective finals in 21.24 and 47.76. He also helped Calabar break the Class Two 4x100m record, erasing the old mark of 40.54 set by JC in 2013 with a scorching 40.29. However, it was the young runner’s magnificent run in the meet’s closing event, the 4x400m anchor leg against Kingston College’s (KC) outstanding and talented quarter-miler/sprinter, Akeem Bloom-field, that brought the house down and lifted his stocks among track and field enthusiasts to another level. Bloomfield, the Class One record holder, set the record (44.93) last year, but took no part in the relays.
Mixed results for Williamses
ROME (AP):Singles was the easy part for Venus Williams yesterday. The difficult part came with younger sister Serena in doubles.After Venus comfortably beat CoCo Vandeweghe 6-4, 6-3 in the first round of the Italian Open, the Williams sisters lost to Andreja Klepac and Katarina Srebotnik of Slovenia 6-1, 7-5.It was the first time the sisters played doubles together since the 2014 US Open. They are preparing for an attempt at a fourth Olympic gold medal in doubles in Rio de Janeiro.”We didn’t play our best at the same time,” Venus said. “That’s not typical. Usually one of us is playing well. That helps the team a lot. Two of us are playing well, it usually goes our way.”In other first-round matches, Sara Errani was slowed by physical problems in losing to Heather Watson of Britain 6-4, 3-6, 6-0 and Lucia Safarova of the Czech Republic defeated former French Open champion Francesca Schiavone 6-3, 6-2.On a rough day for the home players even in the men’s tournament, Fabio Fognini of Italy was beaten by Guillermo Garcia-Lopez of Spain 6-1, 7-6 (2).Also, Milos Raonic overcame two breaks of his serve to get past Italian wild card Marco Cecchinato 6-4, 4-6, 6-4.Raonic will next face Nick Kyrgios, who eliminated Salvatore Caruso, another Italian wild card, 6-1, 6-2.Seventh-seeded Jo-Wilfried Tsonga withdrew because of a muscle problem and was replaced in the draw by fellow Frenchman Lucas Pouille. He doesn’t have much time to recover before the French Open, which begins in two weeks.”It’s not something good to be a little bit injured before this event,” Tsonga said. “I hope I will have the chance to recover.”
Barrett, Taylor, Lambert named as Courtney Walsh Award nominees
West Indies female cricket star Stafanie Taylor; former Jamaica cricket captain, Tamar Lambert; and former Jamaican goalkeeper, Warren Barrett are the three names shortlisted for this year’s Courtney Walsh Award for excellence, which is set for Thursday, October 13, at The Jamaica Pegasus hotel. Taylor became the first West Indian to win the International Cricket Council (ICC) Women’s Cricketer of the Year in 2011. Her outstanding achievements enabled her to win the One-Day International Cricketer of the Year a year later. She then completed a sweep of all ICC Women’s Cricketer of the Year awards when she won the T20 Cricketer of the Year in 2015. A right-handed batsman who bowls off spin, Taylor is the only cricketer, male or female, to top both the ICC batting and bowling rankings in ODI cricket. She became the first Jamaican to lead the West Indies women cricketers to a global championship at the ICC World Cup T20 tournament in India. Cricketer Tamar Lambert has represented Jamaica at every level. To this day, he remains Jamaica’s most successful cricket captain ever. An all-rounder who bats right-handed and bowls right-arm offspin, Lambert’s greatest successes came while leading Jamaica’s senior cricket team from 2008-2012. He led Jamaica to an unprecedented five consecutive triumphs in the regional four-day championship. Lambert also led Jamaica to two regional Super50 titles, in 2007 and 2011, plus two play-off shields. The other nominee is Warren Barrett, a retired national goalkeeper and current national goalkeeping coach. Barrett made his debut for the Jamaica national football team in 1990 against Barbados and played his final international in 2000 against Honduras in the Gold Cup. He was Jamaica’s main man in goal when the Reggae Boyz qualified for France ’98. He was the goalkeeping coach of the Jamaican squad that finished as runners-up in the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup. The criteria on which the nominees will be considered to receive this award are: a history of outstanding achievement in their chosen sport; a spirit of sportsmanship and goodwill reflected by truthfulness, courtesy, and respect when dealing with other players/competitors and administrators; strong national pride; appropriate leadership skills; appropriate deportment; high level of discipline and integrity both inside and outside of the sports; as well as humility even in the face of victory.
Bridgeport, KC to resume second half battle today
Kingston College (KC) will take a 1-0 advantage over Bridgeport High in the continuation of their ISSA-FLOW Walker Cup semi-final football game at Constant Spring today.The game was abandoned after the first half because of heavy rains, after KC’s leading scorer Rashawn Mackison had given his team the lead when he converted a penalty kick in the 30th minute.With the rains coming down, the officials decided that the field was not in a good condition to continue play.Hence, ISSA Competitions Officer George Forbes decided that the KC-Bridgeport match would continue today, followed by the feature encounter between first-time semi-finalists Haile Selassie and Jamaica College.”The games will be played tomorrow (Wednesday) at this venue, starting with the first game continuing at 1 p.m. and the unplayed game with JC and Haile Selassie starting at 2 p.m.,” Forbes told The Gleaner yesterday.He also said: “For the spectators holding ticket stubs, they must show it to enter. Those without will have to pay.”GOOD COMBINATIONSBefore the game was called off, KC had the better of Bridgeport, with some good combinations from Mackison, Nathan Thomas, Fabian Grant and Denilson Simpson in attack.The Bridgeport team was on the back foot for the first half. They will have to come better in the second half to contain KC and get back into the game.The Haile Selassie-JC game that was not started yesterday is highly anticipated. The Geoffrey Maxwell-coached Haile Selassie, who knocked out traditional schoolboy powerhouse Excelsior High, will look to take down another top school.In the knockout, the teams will play to the finish, so if a winner is not decided at the completion of regular time, extra time will be played. If there is still a deadlock, penalty kicks will decide the outcome.The winners of each semi-final will advance to the final, which is scheduled for November 26.