Cricket commentator and SportsMax analyst Nikhil Uttamchandani believes the innovation of the bonus-points system implemented in this year’s CG United Insurance Super 50 Cup competition, has been a positive one.
Speaking on a recent edition of the Sportsmax Zone, Uttamchandani, while reviewing the group stages of the tournament stated, “I credit CWI, Miles Bascombe and his team for the innovation. There was no point coming into this tournament doing the same things over and over again. It is about now building towards the 2027 World Cup.”
Commenting on specific improvements seen during the group stage, Uttamchandani highlighted two key areas.
“Coming into this, I looked closely to see where the West Indies have fallen behind in ODIs in the last few years, and it’s in the middle overs. It is no secret that we have struggled.”
Since the 2019 ODI World Cup, the West Indies have ranked 12th of the 19 teams in the world between overs 11 and 40, only scoring at 4.69 runs per over. “It was refreshing to see the two youngest teams being the only two teams above five runs per over in overs 11-40 during the group stages. It shows that while the bowling will not be the same at the international level, there is added impetus being shown in the middle overs.”
The Combined Campuses and Colleges team was the best middle-over team of the preliminary stages, scoring at 5.58 runs per over, while the West Indies Academy was second best at 5.04. He also accentuated the increased intensity in the first 10 overs of the innings, where five teams had scored better than five runs per over in this year’s competition, a significant improvement over last season.
From a bowling perspective, Uttamchandani revealed that he was impressed by new Leeward Islands sensation Daniel Doram, the tall left-arm spinner who took 13 wickets in six matches, including a 7-29 against Jamaica. However, while he was impressed with his uniqueness, Uttamchandani wants to see Doram perform well in two to three more tournaments before being considered for play internationally.
“He is different to Motie and Hosein. He has been impressive, but if he can go into the four-day championship, CPL, if selected, or even the next Super 50 and put out good performances, it will create a better environment for West Indies cricket and offer more for the selectors to choose from. In bouncy conditions, Doram provides an alternative option. I’m excited for the future of his career.”
The analyst believes the impact of the bonus points system and this year’s Super 50 Cup will be further reflected in the England and Australia series bowling off in the next few months.
In a tradition spanning nine years, the MVP Track & Field Club is once again making a significant impact on Jamaica's budding athletic talents through its Island-wide Grassroots Athletics Training Camps. The club has extended invitations to secondary schools across the nation, urging them to nominate student-athletes aged 12 to 18 for participation in one of the three Advanced Level Training Camps. These camps are set to take place in each of Jamaica's counties throughout the month of November.
MVP President, Bruce James, expressed his delight at the overwhelming response, saying, "Over 100 schools, from all 14 Parishes in Jamaica have been invited, and we have almost exceeded the targeted number of participants."
Head Coach of the MVP Track & Field Club, Paul Francis, emphasized the importance of sharing their knowledge and training methods following their exceptional results in Budapest at the 2023 World Athletics Championships. He recalled, "A highlight in Budapest was when a participant in our 2016 MVP Grassroots Training Camps won Gold in the 400m. This athlete is Antonio Watson."
The journey of nurturing young talent begins with the Cornwall Advanced Level Training Camp, scheduled for Saturday, November 11th at the Montego Bay Sports Complex in St. James. The Middlesex Advanced Level Training Camp will follow on Saturday, November 18th, to be hosted at the GC Foster College in St. Catherine. The third and final Advanced Level Training Camp, dedicated to Surrey, will be conducted within the National Stadium, Kingston, on Saturday, November 25th, 2023.
These training camps will be supervised by a team of distinguished Jamaican coaches, led by MVP Head Coach Paul Francis, all of whom boast extensive international experience. The young athletes, numbering over 120 per training camp, will be guided through six track and field disciplines, including Hurdling, Sprinting, Throwing, Jumping, Distance Running, and Relays. It's worth noting that MVP Track & Field Club athletes frequently make appearances at these camps to interact with the aspiring young talents.
The training experience is further enriched as PUMA, one of the world's largest sports apparel companies, provides the athletes with top-quality gear. WATA and Powerade ensure that the young athletes remain well-hydrated, while NCB and the NCB Foundation offer financial literacy solutions. Best Dressed Chicken lends support for the nutritional needs of the student athletes, and the Sports Development Foundation continues its dedication to high-quality development programs throughout Jamaica. Digicel serves as the telecommunications partner for these camps.
The all-day training camps commence at 8:30 am and are strictly by invitation only, emphasizing the importance of fostering the future stars of Jamaican athletics.
Jumps fans are served up a midweek treat in Ireland on Thursday as one of the sport’s superstars makes his long-awaited return in the Clonmel Oil Chase.
Willie Mullins has landed seven of the last 10 editions of the Grade Two feature at Powerstown Park, with Champagne Fever (2014), Kemboy (2018) and Douvan (2019) among those on the roll of honour.
This year the champion trainer saddles two of the of declared runners, with Janidil joined by his long-absent and esteemed stablemate Allaho.
The Cheveley Park Stud-owned gelding was spectacular in winning back-to-back renewals of the Ryanair Chase at Cheltenham, pummelling his rivals by 12 and 14 lengths respectively, before successfully stepping up to three miles with a 14-length demolition job in the 2022 Punchestown Gold Cup.
He has not been seen in competitive action since the latter of those triumphs 19 months ago, but will nevertheless be a short price to dispatch of his three rivals in the hands of Paul Townend.
“Allaho has been fantastic for us, winning a couple of Ryanairs, a Punchestown Gold Cup and a John Durkan. It’s great to see him back and hopefully he can show us that he’s back to his best,” said Cheveley Park Stud director Richard Thompson.
“He’s nine turning 10 in January, he’s been one of the stalwarts from the bunch of jumps horses we bought and hopefully we’ll still have some good days with him.
“He’s been off the track since April 2022, a good year and a half, so it will be fascinating to see him back and we’ll see how he gets on.
“Before he got injured last season we hoped he might be a three-time winner of the Ryanair and hopefully still can be.”
The biggest threat to the Mullins pair is French Dynamite, who bids to provide Mouse Morris with another big-race win following Gentlemansgame’s victory in the Charlie Hall at Wetherby on Saturday.
Morris said: “He’ll probably take the run and it would be hard to think we’ll beat Allaho, but it’s a good place to start and it will put him right for wherever we want to go afterwards.”
John Ryan’s outsider Grange Walk completes the quartet.
Gold Cup hero Subjectivist will stand at the Skelton family’s Alne Park Stud next year.
The six-year-old was a brilliant winner of the Royal Ascot showpiece in 2021, adding to his previous big-race victories in the Prix Royal-Oak and Dubai Gold Cup.
A career-threatening tendon injury sidelined Subjectivist for the best part of two years following his Gold Cup heroics, but he did finish an honourable third in his bid for a second victory in the two-and-a-half-mile contest this summer before being retired.
He will now be readied for a stallion career in Warwickshire in 2024 with a stud fee of £4,000.
Alne Park Stud director Grace Skelton, wife of leading National Hunt trainer Dan, said: “The addition of Subjectivist to our stallion roster is a huge leap forward for Alne Park Stud. To stand a stallion of this calibre is an immense honour.
“He will stand at an introductory fee of £4,000. We firmly believe that keeping this exceptional stallion in the UK is a real boost to British breeders and we hope that he will see plenty of support in his debut season.”
Subjectivist was initially trained by Mark Johnston, before his son Charlie took over the licence, and he added: “I always say that, when placing horses, the opposition trumps all other factors. But, very rarely, you come across a horse where the opposition isn’t a factor at all. Subjectivist was such a horse.
“In 2021, I truly believed that there wasn’t a horse in the world that could beat him at two miles or more, in any ground.
“There is less and less need for British NH (National Hunt) breeders to travel to Ireland and, with the incentives on offer in the UK, perhaps the Irish breeders will be thinking of coming over here!”
Porta Fortuna could be aimed at a Guineas trial in the spring following her narrow defeat at the Breeders’ Cup on Saturday.
The daughter of Caravaggio has enjoyed an excellent campaign for trainer Donnacha O’Brien, highlighted by her big-race wins in the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot and the Cheveley Park at Newmarket.
Stepping up to a mile for the first time for the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf, Porta Fortuna was beaten just half a length into second by Hard To Justify and will now be given a well-earned break.
O’Brien said: “She ran very well and we were delighted with her. Obviously she’s had a long season, for her to be holding her form this late in the year shows how brave a filly she is.
“I think she got the trip well, it wasn’t an issue, and we’re going to give her a good break now.
“I’m not sure exactly when she’ll be back out, but we might look at a Guineas trial over seven furlongs to try to get a read on her and see whether we go back sprinting or go back to a mile.
“That would be the thinking for now, but obviously it’s a long way away.”
Gary Moore is keen for a crack at the Ladbrokes Long Walk Hurdle with Botox Has after his winning return at Wetherby.
The game seven-year-old had been off the track since finishing fourth in Cheltenham’s Cleeve Hurdle in January and pulled out arguably a career-best performance to deny Red Risk by a length in the West Yorkshire Hurdle.
That was the second time he has struck at Grade Two level and his handler was thrilled to see him return from 280 days off in such brilliant form.
“It was good to see him back on form, he’s a big-hearted horse who tries really hard,” said Moore.
“It worried me when he made a mistake two out, but he stuck to his guns and won quite well in the end.”
Botox Has holds an entry for the Betfair Exchange Stayers’ Handicap Hurdle at Haydock later this month – a race he won 12 months ago.
However, Moore is keen to stick to the graded route in a division without a standout performer and is eyeing up a first run in Grade One company at Ascot on December 23.
“I hope to train him for the Long Walk Hurdle now, that’s what I hope the plan will be,” he added.
“Whether he won the other day because he was fitter than the rest of them and because he had been trained for that race, I don’t know? He always does run well fresh, but I hope he can improve on that.
“It’s probably not quite the strongest division there is.”
Nickisha Pryce has become the latest collegiate athlete from Jamaica to sign a NIL deal. The 22-year-old Pryce, now a junior at the University of Arkansas, has signed a deal with Puma, according to her announcement on Instagram on Tuesday evening.
A NIL deal is an agreement or arrangement between a student-athlete and a third party, such as a brand, company or individual, where the student-athlete receives compensation for the use of their name, image and likeness.
“New level unlocked. Very excited to be a part of the Puma family. It gives me great pleasure to share that I am now an officially recognized Puma NIL athlete. God’s timing is the right timing,” she said in her Instagram post.
The opportunity to earn while still competing at the collegiate level has come on the back of an outstanding season during which Pryce won a bronze medal in the 400m final at the NCAA Division 1 Outdoor final at the Mike A. Myers Stadium in Austin, Texas, in a then personal best time of 50.23 in June when she was also a member of the Razorback’s gold-medal winning 4x400m relay team.
She would go on to claim her first Jamaican national title at Jamaica’s national championship in Kingston in a new lifetime best to 50.21 in July.
At the 2023 World Athletics Championships in Budapest, Hungary, Pryce helped Jamaica to the 4x400m silver medal. Jamaica lost the gold medal at the death to a fast-finishing Netherlands team anchored by the incredible Femke Bol.
Pryce joins fellow Razorback student-athletes Wayne Pinnock and Jaydon Hibbert who have signed NIL deals with Puma. Pinnock, a two-time Jamaica national long jump champion, won the silver medal at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest in August while Hibbert, the 2023 world leader in the triple jump at 17.87m, won NCAA Division SEC and NCAA national Indoor and Outdoor titles last season.
Maximilian’s novice chasing career is temporarily on hold, with the seven-year-old set to miss the first part of the season through injury.
Trained by Donald McCain, Maximilian built up a fine reputation as a staying novice hurdler last season winning three times, including when scooping Grade Two honours in Doncaster’s River Don Novices’ Hurdle.
He finished second to Apple Away in the Sefton Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree on his final start of the campaign, with impressive Warwick scorer Iroko and Cheltenham Festival winner Stay Away Fay behind in third and fourth respectively and was due to embark on a novice chasing campaign this term.
Having seen Storm Babet curtail plans for a chasing bow at Carlisle, Maximilian’s season has now met with further interruption after suffering a setback which will keep him sidelined.
“He’s picked up an injury so he won’t be out for a few months,” said Dan Downie of Owners Group, to whom Maximilian belongs.
“It’s not a big thing, but he will need some time off, so it’s just frustrating really.
“He will come back at some point and it will just be a case of giving him time. I’m not too sure on the timescale exactly. He definitely won’t be out in the next few months.
“The plan was to go novice chasing with him and I think that would still be the plan.”
Cheveley Park Stud director Richard Thompson is targeting further top-level success next year with the brilliant Inspiral following her last-gasp success at the Breeders’ Cup on Saturday.
A homebred daughter of Frankel, the John and Thady Gosden-trained filly headed for Santa Anita in search of a sixth Group or Grade One victory in the hands of Frankie Dettori.
Stepping up to a mile and a quarter for the first time for the Breeders’ Cup Filly & Mare Turf, Inspiral was still well back in the field rounding the home turn, but her trademark acceleration soon kicked in as she fairly rocketed home under an inspired ride to get up and beat Warm Heart by a neck.
Cheveley Park has enjoyed huge success on the Flat over the past three decades and more recently taken the National Hunt game by storm – but Thompson admits the the team’s triumph in the Californian sunshine may have been the biggest highlight of his racing life.
“It’s hard to put into words, it really is. I’ve seen some big moments on the racecourse over the years, but that’s got to be right up there,” he said.
“Inspiral is a homebred filly, it was her sixth Group One and as well as that it’s the way the race unfolded – it’s California, it’s Santa Anita.
“My legs had gone after the last furlong!”
With Inspiral having now proven her stamina over the longer distance, there is every chance she will bid for further riches over 10 furlongs on home soil next summer.
Thompson added: “She obviously stayed the mile and a quarter. She probably needs the right ground and the right track, but she needed every inch on Saturday, didn’t she?
“That home straight at Santa Anita is a bit short, but she needed every inch of that particular straight and she was running on at the end, which is a good sign.
“You’d like to think she’ll run in another handful of Group Ones next year and let’s see what she can do. As long as she’s enjoying her racing and John and Thady tell us that she’s in great form and wants to race, she’s carrying on, which is great for us and everybody.”
Considering possible plans for 2024, Thompson said: “I guess you might see her over the stiff mile in the Queen Anne at Royal Ascot, but we’ll give give 10 furlongs a shot at some stage during the summer, absolutely.
“You could potentially see her in the Nassau at Goodwood or the Juddmonte International at York. I wouldn’t have thought she’d run in both of those as they’d probably be too close together, but certainly one of those could come into play.
“We can look at anything from eight to 10 furlongs, depending on the track and the ground, and hopefully we’ll have another couple of great days with her. That’s the objective.”
Reigning champions Jamaica College revived their chances of a successful title defence, while Kingston College made a big statement, as both registered victories in their respective ISSA/Digicel Manning Cup quarterfinal encounters at Stadium East field on Tuesday.
Davion Ferguson’s Jamaica College, who lost their first contest to Hydel High, returned to winning ways with a 2-1 win over reigning Walker Cup champions Tivoli High in Group Two.
Elsewhere in the group, many-time champions St George’s College came from behind to secure a 1-1 stalemate with Hydel at the Ashenheim Stadium.
With those results, St George’s College remain atop the group on four points, same as Hydel but with a slightly better goal difference. Jamaica College occupies third position on three points, with Tivoli Gardens now out of contention for a semi-final berth.
In Group Two, Jaheim McLean’s all-important goal lifted Kingston College to a 1-0 win over perennial rivals St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS) in a clash which was a repeat of last year’s semi-finals.
It was another lively clash between the two that could have gone either way, but Mclean’s 18th-minute strike proved the difference, as Mona High and St Catherine high played out a 1-1 stalemate in the other group fixture.
The win saw the North Street-based Kingston College to the summit of the group on four points, one ahead of STATHS, while Mona (two points) and St Catherine (one point), remain in contention heading into Friday’s final round of games.
In the feature contest at Stadium East, Kingston College fired the first warning shot through Demario Dailey, who attempted an acrobatic finish that just went wide of the target.
STATHS settled into their rhythm and controlled the tempo of the game from there on, as they created a few half chances of their own which they failed to make count.
The Bumper Hall-based team was caught napping when a quickly taken freekick found McLean open and the player sporting the number 10 jersey had a decent first touch and an even better finish to send the North Street fans into a frenzy.
Though Kingston College led the contest, STATHS looked the more dominant outfit and the Phillip Williams-coached team almost pulled level on the stroke of halftime. A delightful strike from Alexavier Gooden from about 40 yards out rattled the underside of the crossbar and bounced on the goal line.
STATHS maintained the momentum on the resumption and should have pulled level three minutes in, but Andre Salmon went for power instead of accuracy from deep inside the 18-yard box. He was left annoyed by his poor decision.
With Kingston College content on sitting back, STATHS again went close in the 70th minute. Taraine Hall found time and space inside the final third for a stinging left-footed effort that was well saved by Malique Williams diving to his left.
The famed purples, much like they did at the start, had the last attack of the game, but Dailey’s effort from a distance came off the upright.
Winning coach Vassell Reynolds praised his young charges for their execution.
“I am very proud. It was a tough game, we knew it was going to come down to the last 20 minutes, so we relied on fitness. I believe we are a lot fitter than we think, so kudos to the boys they have been working very hard and I think it was a masterful performance from them,” Reynolds said in a post-game interview.
His counterpart Williams also felt his team gave a good showing.
“It was a good performance, we turned off one time and we got punished, but apart from that, the guys displayed some good football. This is a setback because it makes the last game (against Mona) a little tougher, but we have to go and do what we have to do,” he noted.
Tuesday’s results
Group One
Mona 1, St Catherine 1
Kingston College 1, STATHS 0
Group Two
Jamaica College 2, Tivoli High 1
St George’s College 1, Hydel High 1
Friday’s fixtures
Group One
STATHS vs Mona
Kingston College vs St Catherine
Group Two
Hydel High vs Tivoli High
Jamaica College vs St George’s College
Cricket West Indies (CWI) thanked Sunil Narine for his service to West Indies cricket during his international career. The talented spin bowler announced his retirement from international and regional List A cricket on Sunday, ahead of the final preliminary match for Trinidad & Tobago Red Force in the CG United Super50 Cup.
The 35-year-old made his debut for West Indies in India in 2011 and his last appearance was also against India in Guyana in 2019. He played in West Indies colours in 122 matches, which included 6 Tests, 65 appearances in One-Day International (ODI) and 51 in T20 International (T20I) cricket.
He was a member of the West Indies team which won the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup in 2012 when they beat Sri Lanka at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo. He played a crucial role with the ball in the victory, with three wickets as West Indies won by 36 runs.
Narine represented the West Indies in all three formats. He played six Tests and took 21 wickets with best bowling figures of 6-91 against New Zealand in Hamilton. In 65 One-Day Internationals he took 92 wickets including a best of 6-27 vs South Africa in Guyana in 2016. He also took 52 wickets in 51 T20 Internationals, with best returns of 4-12 against New Zealand in Fort Lauderdale in 2012 to help secure the series victory.
CWI Director of Cricket, Miles Bascombe said: “On behalf of CWI I would like to thank Sunil Narine for his contribution to West Indies during his time on the international stage. He was the kind of bowler who excited fans and brought them to the game. He was the ‘X’ factor in the West Indies bowling attack and produced some amazing spells. When at his best he ranked among the very best in the modern era. We all remember the magical bowling performance in Sri Lanka, when he helped the West Indies to their first T20 World Cup title. As he continues his playing career, we wish him more success.”
Narine is in the Trinidad & Tobago Red Force squad for the first Semi-Final of the CG United 50 Cup to be played on Wednesday 8 November at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy and he may therefore make his final List A appearance on Saturday 11 November in the Final. The Semi-Finals and Final will be live on ESPN Caribbean.
Pakistan Women A and West Indies Women A are set to play the final of the T20 tri-series on 8 November at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. The match will be live-streamed on PCB’s YouTube Channel.
Leading up to the final, the tri-series saw three matches played at the same venue. The three participating teams – Pakistan Women A, West Indies Women A and Thailand Women Emerging – played two matches each.
The hosts won both their games, whereas West Indies Women A defeated Thailand Women Emerging, with the latter losing both their matches.
Pakistan opener Shawaal Zulfiqar has been leading the batting charts having scored an unbeaten half-century (67 not out, 66b, 10x4s) against Thailand Women Emerging in the third match of the series.
Sidra Nawaz also scored an undefeated half-century (54 not out, 40b, 7x4s), which came against West Indies Women A in the first match.
In their two games, West Indies off spinner Sheneta Grimmond has taken three wickets at an average of 4.33.
Fast bowlers Jannilea Glasgow, Qiana Joseph and Jahzara Claxton have accounted for three wickets each as well. Pakistan skipper Rameen Shamim, fellow off spin bowler Omaima Sohail and pacer Humna Bilal have also claimed three wickets in two games.
Rameen Shamim, Pakistan Women A captain, while speaking to PCB Digital said: “We have two consecutive wins under our belt in this T20 tri-series and are banking on the wave of momentum. The girls are really confident and we back ourselves completely to win the final as well.”
West Indies Women A captain Rashada Williams stated: “Even though we lost to Pakistan earlier in the series, it was a close encounter and we'll be confident to turn it around this time. With the win against Thailand Emerging, we are now looking to capitalize on the winning momentum and clinch the trophy.”
Gordon Elliott’s Imagine looks set to go on to bigger and better things judged on a successful start to his career over fences in the opening race at Fairyhouse on Tuesday.
The Punchestown bumper winner won only one of his six hurdling starts last season, but was placed in Graded and Listed company and was not beaten far when fifth in the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in March.
He faced a far from straightforward task in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Beginners Chase, with Paul Nolan’s Albert Bartlett third Sandor Clegane and the talented Inothewayurthinkin from Gavin Cromwell’s yard both in opposition.
Jack Kennedy sent 9-4 favourite Imagine into the lead from the off, though, and some accurate jumping kept the pressure on his rivals in behind.
After seeing off his long-time pursuer Sandor Clegane, who can be expected to go back up in trip next time, Inothewayurthinkin charged home from an uncompromising position after the final fence, but Imagine was well on top as he passed the post with two and a half lengths in hand.
Of the winner, Elliott said: “It was a good performance, I was happy with him. I thought there would be plenty of improvement in him.
“Jack said he had a good blow going to the second-last. He jumped well and he’s not a bad horse.
“We might look at something like the Craddockstown at Punchestown. I’d say there is improvement in him.
“He ran to a good level last year and he can go up a bit in trip.”
Elliott doubled up with the Robcour-owned Absolute Notions, who landed odds of 1-12 under 5lb claimer Danny Gilligan in the Fairyhouse Membership 2024 Hurdle.
“To be honest, he’d probably have done more going around the gallop at home, but it was a nice opportunity for him,” the trainer added.
“He’ll have an entry in the Lismullen Hurdle and we’ll see what it’s like.”
An Tobar also carried the Robcour colours to victory on his rules debut for Henry de Bromhead and Rachael Blackmore in the Winter Festival 2nd & 3rd December Maiden Hurdle.
A wide-margin point-to-point winner in January of last year, the six-year-old was the 8-13 favourite for his first outing since and was not hard pressed to score by four and a quarter lengths.
“He’s been doing everything nicely at home. He got a little bit of a setback last year, so we had to ease off him,” said De Bromhead’s representative Robbie Power.
“He’s a big horse and in the long run it might have been the best thing that ever happened to him, to give him a bit of time to develop and grow into himself.
“We were hoping he’d go and do that today. We’ll have a look at options but he’ll be put into the Royal Bond and there is also the two-and-a-half-mile novice hurdle at Navan.
“It’s nice to get that out of the way.”
Cheltenham Festival hero Iroko made a spectacular debut over fences in the Stan Mellor Memorial Novices’ Chase at Warwick.
The JP McManus-owned five-year-old won his first three starts last season after joining the Cheshire-based training partnership of Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero, with successive victories at Wetherby followed by his Festival triumph in the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Hurdle.
He rounded off his campaign by finishing third in the Grade One Sefton Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree’s Grand National meeting and was the 11-10 favourite to make a successful reappearance and chasing bow in a race won 12 months ago by a subsequent Festival winner in the Paul Nicholls-trained Stage Star.
This season, the champion trainer saddled a 142-rated French recruit in Golden Son, who set out to make every yard of the running under Harry Cobden and jumped well throughout.
But while Golden Son still led the way rounding the home turn, Iroko soon moved powerfully into his slipstream under Jonjo O’Neill Jnr and the ultra-confident rider barely had to move a muscle on the run-in as his mount took full command and eased to a three-and-a-quarter-length success.
“That was absolutely perfect. Jonjo was thrilled with him, he said he jumped absolutely perfectly and travelled like a dream,” said Greenall.
“We thought he might be a bit outpaced over two-and-a-half (miles), but Jonjo said it was perfect, so we’ll probably stick to two-and-a-half I’d say.
“Warwick is a good test for a horse first time over fences and I was worried about the trip, but we couldn’t have asked any more from him really.”
Paddy Power cut Iroko to 10-1 from 20-1 to double his Festival tally in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at Prestbury Park in March, while Coral offer slightly more generous odds of 14-1.
While hesitant to commit to future plans, Greenall revealed options will be considered over a variety of different trips.
He added: “We’ve not really made any plans, we’ll just speak to AP (McCoy) and JP and see, but I think it will be ground dependent whether we go up or down in trip.
“AP was just saying if it was soft ground at Sandown, you could even go back to two miles for the Henry VIII, you could go two-and-a-half in the Dipper (at Cheltenham), or if Kempton on Boxing Day was nice ground, you could go back up to three miles for the Kauto Star Novices’ Chase.
“There’s a few races for him, so we’ll just see how he is and what the ground is like nearer the time.”
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