Nicky Henderson’s exciting French import Excello upset odds-on favourite Solo when running out a ready winner of the Howden Graduation Chase at Ascot.
In a contest previously won by the likes of Top Notch, Riders Onthe Storm and L’Homme Presse, Solo set out to lead all the way and looked comfortable enough out in front.
However, four-year-old Excello was also travelling well and jumped alongside the pacesetter at the third-last before powering past him on the home turn.
Two good jumps up the straight allowed Nico de Boinville just to keep his mount focused for an impressive six-and-a-half-length success over two miles and five furlongs.
The 11-4 scorer was a winner over fences at Auteuil in March, and Henderson said: “The whole plan was to go novice hurdling this season and then to come back chasing not as a novice.
“But the way he is doing that, would you really want to go back to novice hurdling? You may as well get on and do what he’s good at – and that’s jumping.
“He went a bit left a few times, but you wouldn’t be worried about that. At Ascot, you will always see them just wander that way, it’s a natural trait.
“We schooled him Tuesday to see if this is something we could do and he was so good. I wouldn’t bring too many four-year-olds here to jump those fences.
“That’s probably the handicap mark gone out the window as well, so that (route) is not an option. He’s five at Christmas, so he loses that four-year-old slight advantage.
“It’s very French and they have already run over fences as a three and four-year-old – and this is Mr Henderson trying to parler francaise.”
There was heartbreak for followers of Harper’s Brook when he threw away victory in the Howden Handicap Chase by faltering close home, allowing Triple Trade to claim a dramatic triumph.
Kielan Woods set a fast pace on Harper’s Brook, who ran his rivals ragged and jumped superbly throughout, with a big leap at the last fence looking sure to have sealed it.
However, he stopped to a near-walk on the run-in and Triple Trade swooped in the dying strides under Brendan Powell to oblige by half a length at 9-4.
Winning trainer Joe Tizzard said: “He hasn’t actually had his ground this season because he wants soft ground, but he’s winning anyway and had he not missed four out, which he missed badly, he would have been able to travel a bit longer, because when he hits the front, he doesn’t do a great deal.
“I would have taken second jumping the last and then the horse in front tied up. Brendan said he felt like he was treading water going to the last and then the horse got competitive again when he was closing in (on Harper’s Brook).
“He was a cheap horse and the owners are very good boys and we’re having a lot of fun with him. This time last year, we pulled up at Wincanton on Boxing Day and we were struggling to be honest, and then we won a couple at the end of the season and now look where we are.
“I said to the lads having lunch before, you’ll get used to these nice days and that’s where he’s taking them. He’s one of those horses who will take them to these lovely big days and he’s winning still at the moment, so quite where we end up I don’t know.
“We’ll see what the handicapper does and play our way, but we will take him to one of the festivals because the guys who own him deserve to have a runner there.
“The horse is probably putting himself in that picture, without getting too carried away. I’m not saying he’s going to go and win at a festival but he deserves to go and have that day out because he’s won four times in the last six or seven months.”
Top Cloud kept on gamely under Liam Harrison to get the better of Scamallach Liath in another thrilling finish to the Ascot Racecourse Supports Schools Photography Competition Novices’ Handicap Hurdle.
Market leader Scamallach Liath made a brave attempt to make all under top weight over just short of three miles but was pipped at the post by Robbie Llewellyn’s 11-2 scorer.
The six-year-old has now won four out of five since joining Llewellyn from Chris Grant after being snapped up for only £8,000 by his new connections in May.
“It’s magical and we want to be competitive on the big days,” said Wroughton handler Llewellyn after his charge had prevailed by a head.
“I haven’t got a lot of money to spend and I think our most expensive horse is £12,000. This time last year, we had one winner, but we’ve got a better team of horses and it’s paying off.
“We’re in a new yard just below Alan King’s, it’s brilliant and I think that’s our 12th winner now from about 50 runners, so I’m over the moon.
“This lad has a brilliant attitude and is as hard as nails, I don’t think he is a world beater but what he will do is go through the pain barrier for you and just puts his head down and grinds it out – he does it the hard way.
“He thinks he is faster than he actually is, but he has a great attitude and hardly leaves a nut, so you can go to war more times with him.
“You can have the best work horse and best rating, but if they don’t want to go through with it, they don’t win races – and his attitude has won him four races now.”
Famous Bridge continued his ascent up the staying ladder with a determined victory in an attritional renewal of the Betfred Tommy Whittle Handicap Chase at Haydock.
Although a dual winner over hurdles, the Nicky Richards-trained seven-year-old always looked the type to do better over the larger obstacles and he won three of his first six chase starts.
Fresh from a course-and-distance success four weeks ago, Famous Bridge – sporting the famous silks of the late Trevor Hemmings – was the 5-2 favourite to add to his tally and stuck to his guns admirably in the testing conditions to emerge victorious.
Burrows Diamond had built up a clear lead by the time he rounded the bend into the the home straight and soon had the majority of his chasing rivals in trouble, with only Famous Bridge and Credo able to stay in the fight from the third-last fence.
Burrows Diamond did not bend in front, but Famous Bridge slowly ate into his advantage and he was a length to the good at the line.
Richards said: “He crept away and did it grand. Sean (Quinlan, jockey) thought he was going to win from the second-last. I don’t know if we would want to run him on that ground too many times as it is fairly gruelling.
“He is a youngish horse for a chasing horse and I think he is on the up, but you don’t want to keep putting the gun to their head on that ground.
“He is a young horse, and he has not had a lot of mileage. He is improving and I want to keep seeing improvement as the handicapper is going to make sure we need to improve.
“We know he is going to come (through near the end) as he likes to get in a battle and he is the type of horse that is hard to beat when he gets in one.”
Famous Bridge was given a quote of 25-1 for the Grand National by William Hill, but the Greystoke handler has other targets on his mind away from Aintree.
He added: “He won’t go up enough in the weights for the National this time. We’ve got thoughts. I don’t think we want to go extreme distances on gruelling ground yet.
“He has won two nice races now and something like the Grimthorpe we could go for. Mick (Meagher, racing manager to Hemmings Racing) would love to come back here for the Peter Marsh, but I don’t know if he wants to be on that ground all the time.”
Pawapuri successfully stepped up to Listed class with a decisive victory in the Betfred Hat-Trick Heaven Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle at Haydock.
A dual winner on the Flat for William Haggas, the four-year-old was highly tried by Nicky Henderson on her first two starts over obstacles, running in Grade Two and Grade One company last season.
Having made the most of having her sights lowered on her reappearance in a maiden at Wincanton last month, the daughter of Golden Horn was back up in class in Lancashire and stuck her task well in the testing conditions to repel the challenge of Lunar Discovery by two lengths under James Bowen.
“She jumped well. She missed a couple on the way round when I forced her, but she stayed on well,” said the winning rider.
“It was her first time over two miles three (furlongs) and in the back of my head going down to the last I thought we’ve got another 300 yards left, but she finished well in the end.
“She is a big mare and it wasn’t really the right time for her last season. She has got her black type now, so they can have fun.”
Bowen is looking forward to returning to Merseyside on Boxing Day, having been booked to partner Henderson’s Jango Baie in the Grade One William Hill Formby Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree.
He added: “Hopefully it will be a big day – I’ve never had a Grade One winner and this will be one of the best chances I’ve ridden in a Grade One.
“Jango Baie is a sharp horse and is a proper two-miler at the moment. He is a nice horse.”
Pawapuri’s stablemate Issuing Authority had earlier belatedly opened his account over obstacles in the Betfred TV Beginners’ Chase.
Just three runners went to post for the extended two-mile contest, and Doyen Star was pulled up after never really threatening to land a telling blow.
Having tracked the pacesetting 11-10 favourite Inedit Star for much of the way, Issuing Authority – placed in each of his four races over hurdles without success – asserted in the home straight and passed the post 15 lengths clear.
“It is hard work out there as it is as deep as you can get. I barely got over the last (fence) to be honest with you,” said Bowen.
“I knew he would have come on for his last run. He jumped really well that day and we stepped him back down to an extended two miles today on this ground. I think that suited him as he is a strong traveller and a good jumper.
“Hopefully he can keep progressing now.”
Following successive wins at Sedgefield, Andrew Hamilton’s El Jefe (15-2) completed his hat-trick in the Betfred Nifty 50 Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle in the hands of Conor Rabbitt.
Hamilton said: “Last year we won the Last Fling (Handicap Chase) with All About Joe, but we lost him in the summer. It is nice to come back to Haydock and get another good winner.
“Last season he never lifted the bridle at all, and I could not find the bottom of it. He has come back this season looking like a new horse. He loves life and that was fantastic.”
Adelaide Thunderbirds superstar Shamera Sterling-Humphrey will be back in pink in 2024 after signing a three-year deal with the Suncorp Super Netball club.
The Thunderbirds’ 2023 Club Champion will enter her sixth season with Adelaide in 2024 on the back of the club’s first title in a decade.
Throughout the 2023 season, Sterling-Humphrey proved time and again why she’s considered one of the best defenders in the game with another stellar stat sheet to her name.
In 2023 she topped the league with an incredible 46 intercepts and 118 deflections, and was second for defensive rebounds with 38.
She finished third across the competition for Nissan Net Points with 1472 - the most for the Thunderbirds - and appeared in the Team of the Round on seven occasions.
In her fifth season with the Thunderbirds, Sterling-Humphrey added Leadership Group member and Premiership Player to her impressive list of accolades.
Post-season, she was crowned the 2023 Suncorp Super Netball Most Valuable Player and was named as Goal Keeper in the SSN Team of the Year.
Thunderbirds High Performance Manager Pitre Bourdon said the club was thrilled to welcome back a player of Sterling-Humphrey’s caliber.
“Shamera has grown immensely during her time with the club and proved yet again what she’s capable of in our premiership season,” Bourdon said.
“She stepped up into a leadership role in 2023 and led our defensive end to new heights and successes.
“Securing Shamera on a three-year deal is exciting for the club and will extend her tenure with the Thunderbirds to eight seasons.
“We look forward to welcoming her back to Adelaide and working with her to build on what we achieved in 2023.”
William Haggas has won many of racing’s biggest prizes, but there is one triumph he will treasure forever after Desert Hero became the King and Queen’s first Royal Ascot champion on an afternoon that will go down in history.
Only a year after his charge Baaeed embarked on a brilliant journey to superstar status, the Somerville Lodge handler could have helped secure racing’s future by ensuring royal success at the meeting many hold most dear.
Throughout the reign of Queen Elizabeth II, racing could sit back and bask in the comfort of knowing the royal family had its back. Royal Ascot was always the first event entered on the late Queen’s calendar and that in turn ensured the summer showpiece remained at the top of public consciousness.
However, her death marked a time of uncertainty for the sport, as rumours of the royal string being disbanded and the new King failing to share his mother’s love and enthusiasm for racing circulated.
It was essential that racing put on a show for its newest patrons and that is exactly what Desert Hero did as the ice-cool Tom Marquand threaded the eye of a needle to deliver a thrilling victory, to the delight of a jubilant King and Queen watching on from the royal box.
“It was a tremendous day for obviously lots of reasons, not least us having a winner at Royal Ascot, which is always a lot harder than it sounds,” explained Haggas.
“We made history a couple of times this year, but that was one of the good ones.
“This was very special for us personally, and for everyone involved with the horse in the yard. To win on such a big stage like Royal Ascot for the King and Queen was just fantastic.”
He went on: “We’ve been so used to the ruling monarch being a passionate supporter and follower of racing and when Queen Elizabeth II passed away, there was a seed of doubt that His Royal Highness wouldn’t be as involved as her.
“From what we can see, he is every bit as enthusiastic and obviously there has been a bit of trimming, but I can’t tell you the joy it appeared to give both of them, certainly after the race and the excitement beforehand, it was great.”
To many, Desert Hero’s success came somewhat as a shock. He was fairly unheralded, having finished out of the money in his only previous start at three, and the son of Sea The Stars was among the outsiders at 18-1 for the King George V Stakes handicap.
However, Haggas was always confident the best of Desert Hero had not yet been seen and, with a real urge amongst the royal trainers to be the one to provide a first Ascot triumph for the newly-crowned King, this race was always a central part of the Newmarket handler’s masterplan.
Haggas said: “He didn’t appear to be that fancied by the pundits, but we thought he would come on for his first run in the London Gold Cup and I suppose he was trying this trip for the first time.
“I’m not that clever, but that was always the race. All of us, all of the trainers and John Warren, were all keen to have as many runners with a chance for the King and Queen at Ascot, because they were going to be there for five days.
“So, it was an obvious target from quite a way out.”
Even the best-laid plans often need a stroke of luck to pay off and Desert Hero needed plenty when handed a nightmare starting position in stall 21.
From there, Marquand had no option but to sit tight and take his medicine, but fortune favoured the brave when, rounding the turn for home, the pacesetters turned into stragglers and the expert pilot was able to weave his way to the front with the winning post fast approaching.
A photo finish was called to add nerves to the excitement, before the grandstands erupted when horse number five was announced the victor.
“I actually think in the race itself, they went so fast and he was drawn so wide – he was drawn 21 of 20 if you can believe that – that Tom had no option just to give him a chance and you can only win doing that if they go a proper gallop,” explained Haggas.
“All the leaders fell apart between the two-furlong marker and the furlong marker and he stayed on with a few others and fortunately it was his head that was in front on the line.
“They were fading and coming back on top of him and he needed a bit of luck and he got it and it was great.”
That result was only the beginning of the Desert Hero story, as the colt marched on to Goodwood to land the Gordon Stakes and tee-up a shot at the final Classic of the season, the St Leger.
It was at Doncaster the royal silks were last carried to success in one of racing’s crown jewels by Dunfermline in 1976, and the momentum built up from both Desert Hero’s Ascot and Goodwood triumphs ensured there was a real sense of anticipation heading to the final Classic of the season.
With both the King and Queen in attendance, it was a day racing could look back on with pride and although Desert Hero could only muster a gallant third behind an imperious Continuous, there was a feeling that the unbreakable bond between monarch and the Sport of Kings had been firmly secured once more.
“He won nicely at Goodwood and unfortunately neither the King or Queen could be there,” continued Haggas.
“However, they did indicate a while out there was a chance they might go to Doncaster and I thought it was fantastic for racing that they went. While the horse didn’t win, I thought he ran with great credit.”
In the immediate aftermath of that Town Moor third, a tilt at the Melbourne Cup was mooted.
However, with that tentative idea failing to reach fruition, attentions now turn to 2024, when a return to the Royal meeting in quest of another historic victory appears top of Haggas’ wishlist.
“The obvious target for him in the early part of the season is the Hardwicke,” he added.
“We have just got to decide whether we take him to Australia, it has not been discussed and I think everyone is just waiting for us to indicate the horse is in good shape or ready to do it, and then a decision will be made which is out of our hands.
“If he doesn’t go to Australia, he will be prepared for the Hardwicke, with one or two races beforehand, I suspect.
“It is a very special week and it is helped if the ruling monarch is present every day, which he was this year. It is a week where everyone wants to be involved, not just the King and Queen.”
Ante-post favourite Allaho heads a field of six for the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day.
Willie Mullins’ runner has won eight of his 13 chase starts to date, including two wide-margin Ryanair Chase verdicts and a similarly impressive Punchestown Gold Cup win in 2022.
He made a satisfactory return to action after a 561-day absence at Clonmel last month and is short price for the Christmas highlight.
Last year’s victor Bravemansgame returns to defend his title for Paul Nicholls, although his campaign has not gone to plan so far this term with the eight-year-old having suffered odds-on defeats in both the Charlie Hall at Wetherby and the Betfair Chase at Haydock.
Frodon, winner of the race in 2020, gives Nicholls a second string to his bow, with regular partner Bryony Frost taking the ride.
The Nicky Henderson-trained Shishkin is also on something of a redemption mission as he makes his seasonal bow. He refused to start at Ascot last month while a planned Fighting Fifth Hurdle prep was scuppered by testing ground at Sandown.
The Real Whacker, winner of the Brown Advisory at Cheltenham last term, and Shark Hanlon’s Hewick complete the line up, with Gerri Colombe and Royale Pagaille absentees as expected.
Constitution Hill is the headline act in the Ladbrokes Christmas Hurdle, which also has six contenders.
Henderson’s two-mile champion is long odds-on to extend his unbeaten run over obstacles, with the Nicholls-trained Rubaud the next best on ratings, albeit some 26lb behind.
The favourite will be joined by stablemate First Street, with Kerry Lee potentially double-handed with Black Poppy and Nemean Lion. Alan King’s Sceau Royal is the other runner.
Il Est Francais represents France in the Ladbrokes Kauto Star Novices’ Chase.
Trained by Noel George and Amanda Zetterholm, Il Est Francais has been a dominant force at home and has five rivals at Kempton, led by Nicholls’ Hermes Allen.
Giovinco, Kilbeg King, Marble Sands and Tightenourbelts also line up, with no Irish representation after Mullins and Gordon Elliott did not declare Grangeclare West, Klassical Dream or Imagine respectively.
Jamaica Tallawahs, the 2013, 2016 and 2022 Caribbean Premier League champions, will not feature in the tournament's 2024 season and will be replaced by a new franchise based in Antigua and Barbuda.
Kris Persaud, a Guyanese businessman based in Florida, owned the Tallawahs franchise but has sold it back to the CPL.
"The owners were left with no option but to sell the Tallawahs back to CPL as they could not find a way to operate the team sustainably," a CPL spokesperson told ESPNCricinfo.
The three-time CPL champions will be replaced by a not yet named Antigua-based franchise in 2024.
The island hosted a franchise named Antigua Hawksbills in the first two CPL seasons, but they won only three matches and were replaced by St Kitts and Nevis Patriots in 2015.
Daryll Matthew, the minister of sports in the Antigua and Barbuda Senate, revealed plans to host a franchise in 2024 earlier this week. "We can expect very easily and conservatively to generate approximately US$6 million per year by simply having a CPL franchise based in Antigua and Barbuda," Matthew said, as reported by the Antigua Observer.
The CPL intends to relaunch a Jamaica-based franchise in years to come.
"The CPL remains committed to having a team based in Jamaica, but this will be in 2025 at the earliest," a spokesperson said.
"In 2024, there will be six teams taking part in the CPL with franchises based in Antigua & Barbuda, Guyana, St Kitts & Nevis, Saint Lucia and Trinidad & Tobago," they added.
Inter Miami have signed former Liverpool and Barcelona striker Luis Suarez from Brazilian side Gremio for the 2024 Major League Soccer season.
The 36-year-old Uruguay international has agreed a one-year deal with Miami – co-owned by David Beckham – and will team back up with former Barca team-mates Lionel Messi, Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets.
Miami said on their official website: “Inter Miami CF announced (on Friday) that it has signed UEFA Champions League, FIFA Club World Cup and Conmebol Copa America winner and five-time LaLiga champion Luis Suarez to a contract running through the 2024 Major League Soccer (MLS) season.”
Suarez was named the best player and best striker in the Brazilian league this season, scoring 26 goals and making 17 assists to help Gremio win their regional league and cup double.
Beckham told Miami’s official website: “We are delighted to have a player of Luis’ quality and passion for the game join our club.
“He joins a squad that is inspiring the next generation and we look forward to seeing him take to the field with both former team-mates and young players from our academy.”
Suarez joined Liverpool from Ajax for £22.8million in 2011 and after winning the Premier League player of the season award in 2014 he was signed by Barcelona for a reported fee of £65m.
He won the Champions League, four LaLiga titles and four Copa del Reys with Barca, scoring 195 goals and making 113 assists in 283 appearances for the club and then spent two seasons at Atletico Madrid, where he won another LaLiga title.
Suarez returned to Uruguay with club side Nacional in 2022 and switched to Gremio in December 2022.
Venetia Williams’ Royale Pagaille will miss the Ladbrokes King George VI Chase at Kempton on Boxing Day due to a sore foot.
The nine-year-old was last seen winning the Betfair Chase from Bravemansgame at Haydock in November, the same horse that beat him by 14 lengths into second in the King George last season.
Royale Paigaille was being prepared for another tilt at the Christmas showpiece, but a setback has scuppered that plan and he will instead be aimed at a third successive win in the Peter Marsh Chase at Haydock in January.
The Herefordshire-based trainer said via Instagram: “Unfortunately Royale Pagaille is unable to run in the King George VI Chase on Boxing Day due to a sore foot.
“The timing is probably more painful than the foot itself, and hopefully he will bid for a third Peter Marsh Chase at Haydock in January.”
Djelo maintained his unbeaten record over fences with another polished display, this time in Grade Two company at Ascot.
Trained by the in-form Venetia Williams, the diminutive five-year-old only won once over hurdles last season after moving from France but looks a completely different proposition faced with the bigger obstacles.
Having beaten the useful Master Chewy on chasing debut at Aintree he was an easy winner at Newbury last time out.
The form of that race was given a boost just before the off when Nicky Henderson’s Persian Time, who chased him home that day, won a handicap and Djelo had clearly progressed again.
Few jockeys are riding with more confidence than Charlie Deutsch at the moment and he set him alight at several fences, taking lengths out of his three rivals.
The 145-rated Might I had soon cried enough and only Kandoo Kid was in hailing distance when Djelo made his only mistake in getting too close to the second-last, but he was soon back on an even keel.
The 6-5 favourite was just kept up to his work to win by six lengths.
Deutsch told Sky Sports Racing: “I really enjoyed it, he travelled really well and jumped well apart from the second-last when I had to steady him slightly because I didn’t want to go any faster but I didn’t want to go any slower. Other than that his jumping was electric.
“He’d been long at quite a few so I didn’t want to chance it again and just let him run into it, but he picked himself up and jumped the last well.
“He will have learned a bit today and it’s good because it takes a bit of jumping this track.
“He’s a lovely horse, he enjoys his racing and he’s a hardy, racing type, he wants to get on and do it. He does what you need for a top-class chaser.
“I would be happy with today’s trip (two miles and three furlongs), he was a little outpaced the last day, today was more in his comfort zone.”
Let It Rain (8-1) gained some very valuable black type when beating the boys in the Listed Thames Materials Open National Hunt Flat Race.
In what looked arguably the strongest race of its type run in the UK this season with nine of the 13 runners having already won, it was the four-year-old filly trained by Dan Skelton who came out well on top.
A winning favourite on her debut at Warwick against her own sex, she was even more impressive on this occasion and the form has a rock-solid lock to it with Brechin Castle, winner of a similar race at Cheltenham, three and a quarter lengths back in second.
The winner was, though, in receipt of 11lb from the runner-up.
Jockey Harry Skelton said: “She shows you everything you want to see, she’s like a good woman and everyone needs one of those in their life!
“Bridget (Skelton, wife) has done a lot of work with her and she always said there was something about her – she’s got it all.
“It’s early on in her career, she’s definitely done everything we’ve asked. She’s a long way from where we want to be, but she’s going the right way.
“On paper there were a lot of good horses, lots of winners in there and she was getting the allowance so it was probably a mighty run from the second with his penalty, but we’re delighted with her.”
West Indies T20I Captain Rovman Powell praised his team’s ability to perform under pressure to secure a 3-2 series victory over England on Thursday at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba.
The West Indies won the first two games of the series relatively comfortably before England produced a pair of magnificent batting performances to tie the series heading into the Thursday’s decider.
The West Indians first restricted the English to 132 all out in 19.3 overs, their lowest score of the series.
The hosts then held their nerve to reach 133-6 with four balls to spare, securing another series win under Powell’s leadership in international cricket’s shortest format.
“I think we played very well today. After England came back in the series and put us under pressure, I think the guys responded like champions,” Powell said in a post-match interview.
He especially credited his bowlers for keeping player of the series, Phil Salt, in check. Salt hit hundreds in both the third and fourth T20Is. He made 38 on Thursday to finish the series with 331 runs.
"It was very important for us to control him. Yesterday we sat in our team room and tried to have some one on one discussions with the guys to try our best to come up with collective plans to control him. For the last two games they scored 70 in the powerplay to totally write us off," Powell said.
Powell added that he feels like his side are well prepared for next year’s T20 World Cup but mentioned that there’s still work to be done, particularly in the bowling department.
“I think we are prepared but we still have areas we need to sharpen up, especially our bowling. Two games back to back where England beat us badly as a bowling unit. Hopefully, over the next few months we can sharpen up and get those areas sorted,” Powell said.
Powell also heaped praise on opponents England, noting that the reigning World T20 Champions have an excellent chance of defending their title next year.
“England is a world class team and they have world class players to come into their squad so that is always going to boost them. All they need to do is get familiar with the conditions. Because they are such a quality team, if they get familiar with conditions they will be difficult to beat,” he said.
“We realized something with the English batters. Once you put them on the good wickets, they’re very good but when the pitch starts assisting the bowlers, it becomes a little bit tricky for everyone. For us Caribbean players, we’ve been playing on bad wickets for such a long time so we know how to play on it,” he added.
The West Indies’ next T20I assignment will be a three-match away series against Australia from February 9-13.
Noel Fehily rates winning the King George VI Chase as “one of the highlights of my career” 10 years on from his first success aboard Silviniaco Conti.
A product of the Charlie Mann academy, few in the weighing room can produce a CV to match that of the Irishman and lay claim to being the go-to jockey for some of the biggest operators in the sport.
Among his 1,352 winners were victories for both Paul Nicholls and Nicky Henderson in the Champion Hurdle, while he also counts a Champion Chase triumph aboard Special Tiara in his Cheltenham Festival haul.
He was the first port of call for the master of Seven Barrows when injury to Nico de Boinville presented Fehily the opportunity to ride Altior, while he was in pole position to ride Kauto Star in the absence of Ruby Walsh before his own injury woes curtailed that particular dream.
Fehily may have missed out on the opportunity to link up with one of Ditcheat’s greats in the King George, but there was only one man owners Chris Giles and Jared Sullivan wanted aboard Silviniaco Conti once Walsh had ended his long association with the 14-time champion trainer.
The pair had enjoyed a brief association in 2010 when landing both the Persian War and Ascot Hurdle, but would have to settle for minor honours behind Cue Card in their Betfair Chase reunion.
However, it would not be long before they would turn the tables on the Tizzard stalwart when arriving on the outskirts of London on Boxing Day 2013 for a race no trainer has mastered quite like Nicholls.
“It was an amazing day and is an amazing race really,” said Fehily.
“Cue Card had won the Betfair Chase before that and Dynaste was second and we were third, but we did think Conti would come on that year from that Betfair run.
“Cue Card was an excellent horse and him and Conti did battle plenty of times. After jumping three out, I kind of thought Cue Card had got away and gone and won the race, but Conti stayed very well that day and picked him up. Whether Cue Card stopped a little bit as well maybe, but it was a hell of a good race.”
Although riding at Kempton 340 times over the course of his career, it was the first time Fehily would ride in the King George and get his hands on the trophy.
“The King George is a massive race and is one every jockey wants on their CV,” continued Fehily.
“I suppose in a season, after the Gold Cup, it is the one you want to win for that sort of horse.
“It is the big race at Christmas every season and to have a horse good enough – Silviniaco Conti was amazing – it was one of the highlights of my career, I think.”
Although never quite conquering Prestbury Park with the Cheltenham Gold Cup eluding him, Kempton at Christmas was Silviniaco Conti’s playground and he returned 12 months later to put on a flawless display and retain his title.
“The second King George was probably the best performance of Silviniaco Conti’s career,” added Fehily.
“I think that was the best performance he put up. He was just on fire that day – he jumped, he galloped and dictated the race.”
Silviniaco Conti failed to sparkle in his hat-trick bid in 2015, but went out on his shield in third behind Thistlecrack and old adversary Cue Card in 2016 before retiring at the end of that campaign.
Fehily would bow out of the saddle in 2019 and since retiring has enjoyed plenty of success with his burgeoning ownership operation, the Noel Fehily Racing Syndicates.
The likes of Love Envoi and Hansard have given Fehily and his growing band of owners the chance to celebrate big-race glory and on the 10-year anniversary of Silviniaco Conti’s first King George triumph, Fehily will be represented by the Fergal O’Brien-trained Kamsinas in Aintree’s Grade One Formby Hurdle.
“Kamsinas goes to Aintree for the Grade One and was good at Haydock when he won the Grade Two,” said Fehily.
“He’s lightly raced and hopefully he can keep on improving. It will be a stiff task but hopefully he can keep on improving and he is up to the task.
“We want to be on the big stage and at the big days and when we buy horses, that is the horse we are looking for, ones who can compete on the big stage.
“It’s not always easy finding them horses, but we’ve got some nice youngsters coming through and we hope the likes of Kamsinas can keep flying the flag for us.”
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