In the end, however, the Gleneagle Stakes winner Newthinginthong should prevail in this 1800 metres heat for West Indies-bred three-year-old fillies with a total purse of $150,000.

Now trained by Dr Anthony Griffith and owned by Brian Thomas, Newthinginthong was a comfortable twolength winner of the 1750 Gleneagle and should readily get the added 50 metres of the Oaks.

But Final Effort has been quietly coming into her own, having won her last two starts including a threelength victory over older horses in a 1600 metres event on Gleneagle day.

Both Saint Honey and Embrace The Storm have been specially prepared for the Oaks and must be respected along with Rocket Princess.

Hi5 hunters will have a carryover of $63,294.00 added to a single winner bonus of $21,397.93 to go for in the day;’s fifth race of an attractive eight-race programme Today’s first race is timed to start at 1 pm.

Barbadian Primus, playing in his first match for the TT Red Force, seemed right at home recording impressive figures of six overs, one maiden, 30 runs and six wickets to dismiss the Windward Islands for a dismal 142 while batting first. In reply, TT got to 41 without loss at tea with Kyle Hope on 32 and Jeremy Solozano on eight. It could have been worst for the visitors as the Windwards were 50/8 at one stage. Veteran left-handed opener Devon Smith batted the entire innings as he was left stranded on an unbeaten 86, while Delorn Johnson contributed a valuable 38. Smith and Johnson combined for a ninth wicket partnership of 73.

Primus utilised the pink ball to great effect getting a lot of bounce of the surface that left the Windward Islands batsmen confused.

After fast bowlers Sheldon Cottrell and Marlon Richards grabbed one wicket apiece, Primus took over, sending batsmen back to the pavilion in quick succession. Narsingh Deonarine, who represented the Red Force last season, was the first batsman undone by Primus after being surprised with the bounce as the ball found the edge and ballooned in the air and the gully fielder took a simple catch.

Primus got another scalp as Sunil Ambris edged one and the first slip fielder Hope caught it on his second attempt. Windwards were now in trouble on 42/4.

It was soon 42/6 as Kavem Hodge and Liam Sebastian both fell for duck in consecutive deliveries to Primus.

While wickets fell around him, Smith was relatively unfazed as he continued to play his shots.

Shortly after the visitors got to 50, Shane Shillingford fell for duck when he edged one to first slip fielder Hope to give Primus his five-wicket haul in less than five overs.

It was two wickets in two deliveries for Primus as Mervin Matthew was trapped leg before to give Primus his sixth wicket.

Johnson came to the middle and showed aggression, hitting Primus for two sixes in one over, the first was over long off and the other over long on.

Just before lunch, Smith brought up his 50 with a single as the Windwards progressed to 87/8 at the first interval with Smith on 51 and Johnson on 24.

Smith and Johnson, batting fairly comfortably after the break, got the Windwards past 100.

Johnson continued to show aggression, striking leg spinner Imran Khan for a six over long on, but Khan had the last laugh as Johnson was bowled attempting another big hit.

Kenroy Peters (five) could not hang on long enough for Smith to get to his century as the opener was left stranded 14 short of another first class century. Smith faced 131 balls and struck 11 fours.

Rugby enthusiasts will flock to St Clair as competition takes place all weekend long as both male and female teams, take to the field from 9 am today in search of their respective titles.

Head coach of the men’s national team, Larry Mendez, expects a good showing from his team and anticipates the home team to be in the final of the tournament.

“The team have been preparing for over 14 weeks ahead of the championships and many players made personal sacrifices from either their work, family or school life even though they are not getting paid for what they are doing and this shows their passion and desire for the sport,” Mendez stated in an interview with Newsday.

Mendez did make note of his side being quite young as it would feature seven players on their international tournament debut. He added: “The squad has an exciting blend of youths and this would be a great experience for them especially because we would be at home, but home advantage would only become beneficial when the national support gets behind the team, especially after a world cup qualifier.” Joseph Qushie, captain of the men’s national team, expressed his feelings as he looks ahead of representing the country on home soil.

In the 65th minute, Bolanos was picked out inside the sixyard box by right-back Christian Gamboa after the TT defence were caught napping, and tapped into the vacant net.

And, in stoppage time, with the TT team seeking the equalising goal, they were caught on a counter-attack as Matarrita slotted his left-footed shot past TT goalkeeper Jan-Michael Williams.

With key TT playmaker Kevin Molino suspended by coach Stephen Hart, winger Jomal Williams was brought in to the starting line-up, for his seventh international cap.

Costa Rica were steady in the first half, but they had a good chance to open the scoring in the fourth minute, with left-back Francisco Quesada sending a free-kick narrowly wide from the left.

Trinidad and Tobago’s strategy was clear from the onset, with long balls from the back to Cordell Cato and Joevin Jones on the flanks, who were then given the license to attack the Costa Rica wingbacks.

However, the Costa Ricans, coached by Oscar Ramirez, decided to double-team the TT wingers whenever the chances arose.

TT centre-back Sheldon Bateau, in the 19th, stayed up from a Khaleem Hyland corner and met a cross from the midfielder; however his header went wide from the mark.

Jomal Williams had a subdued first half showing, but he had an opportunity to score in the 32nd.

Right-back Daneil Cyrus swung a cross which was missed by Kenwyne Jones, but Williams swiveled and unleashed a right-footed volley which went overbar.

TT goalkeeper Jan-Michael Williams was called into action in the 39th, as he produced a fine close-range save to deny Kendall Watson’s header.

The visitors were forced to make a change three minutes later with Quesada, who suffered a right ankle injury during a setplay, having to be replaced by Michael Umana.

Seven minutes into the second half, Joevin Jones, in one of his many runs down the right, sent in a ball across the face of goal, beyond the reach of Kenwyne Jones and Jomal Williams.

In the 65th, Costa Rica broke the deadlock – Cato and left-back Aubrey David were in a virtual tangle on the flank and Gamboa received a return ball from Bryan Ruiz. Gamboa got himself in the penalty box and squared the ball past Jan-Michael Williams, with Bolanos collecting it and slotting home from three metres out.

Hart rang in the changes, bringing in Andre Boucaud, Levi Garcia and Willis Plaza – for Jomal Williams, Cato and a subdued Kenwyne Jones respectively – the Plaza change for the TT skipper brought a near standing ovation from the estimated 13,000 TT fans at the venue.

TT showed more impetus in attack with stopper Carlyle Mitchell, who remained up front after a set piece, forcing a magnificent save from Keylor Navas in the 69th while, from the defensive clearance, Costa Rica substitute forward Joel Campbell narrowly missed his left-footed shot, with Jan-Michael Williams beaten.

With seconds ticking, Costa Rica got the killer goal.

Campbell teed up Bolanos in a counter-attack and Bolanos evaded a challenge from Boucaud and found Matarrita, who duly finished from inside the penalty box, to the delight of the hundreds of vocal Costa Rica fans in attendance.

Also in the Final Round, Panama earned a 1-0 victory away to Honduras, with a 22nd minute freekick from Fidel Mendieta.

The United States were due to host Mexico on the other match last night.

Teams: TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO – Jan-Michael Williams; Sheldon Bateau, Carlyle Mitchell, Aubrey David, Daneil Cyrus; Kevan George, Khaleem Hyland, Cordell Cato (Levi Garcia 75th), Joevin Jones, Jomal Williams (Andre Boucaud 66th); Kenwyne Jones (capt) (Willis Plaza 79th).

COSTA RICA – Keylor Navas; Kendall Watson, Johnny Acosta, Francisco Quesada (Michael Umana 42nd), Cristian Gamboa; Randall Corrales, Celso Borges, Ronald Matarrita, Bryan Ruiz (capt) (Johan Venegas 78th), Cristian Bolanos; Marcos Urena (Joel Campbell 57th)

Mark has been in the business for over ten years and says the time has come for him to assist others on their musical journey.

“But most important for me at this stage of my career, I have been doing this for ten years, I just really want to have fun, do what I love and really bring along some of the talent that I meet.

“You never know who you cross paths with, but my job is anyone that I meet and I can influence in a good way, coming to music.

That is my personal journey.

I don’t worry about the hype.

I worry about the people and treating people with respect and pushing the music as far we can push it.” Mark and Ragoonath have collaborated for the 2017 Carnival season and created a new single called “Ah Doh Mine She”. It was released last Wednesday.

The song was conceptualised by Ragoonath and written by the duo in two days time when Mark was on vacation in TT from Canada earlier this year. “Basically, I came home for a family vacation approximately one month ago and we met up. Shivan explained he had the concept for the song, which speaks about your wife liking rum more than you,” Mark explained.

He was quick to add that although the song speaks about women drinking, it in no way denigrates women, but is simply a fun song.

Last year, Mark released “Oh Gosh”. He says while it has been challenging living abroad and doing music, he has been dedicated to coming back each year to create and promote his songs.

“Ah Doh Mine She” was produced by Rishi Mahato, and has yielded sponsorship from Angostura.

He says having grown up with Ragoonath in Cumuto, it provided the perfect platform for collaboration between the two of them. Mark says after Ragoonath pitched the concept he decided to work with him (Ragoonath) to get the song done.

This is Ragoonath’s first ever collaboration with a soca artiste.

He has been singing traditional chutney since 2010/2011. They described the song as being “catchy”.

Since its release, Mark says there have not been any negative feedback. A video is scheduled to be shot over the weekend and will be released soon. The duo intends to enter the Chutney Soca Monarch, among other competitions.

Ragoonath says while his day job is outside of music industry, music is his ultimate love. For while others smoked or drank, he made music. The 29-year-old recalls the overall good feeling he had when he first hit the stage at a party he had attended. He says he was encouraged to ‘take the mic’ and that singular event led him down a musical path. He hopes the song will be well received for Carnival 2017.

Earlier this year Mark released a track called “Thank You Father” – a conscious song thanking God for blessing him and his family.

He plans to release two more soon — “Highly Intoxicated” done with Stefan “Jaxx” Bindoo, and “Born A Drinker”.

Among the business initiatives are “Radio TUCO” and “Natural” water.

Radio TUCO, he said, will be an Internet radio station.

“Since 1999 we applied for a broadcast license, even before there was TATT (Telecommunications Authority of Trinidad and Tobago) with no luck so we established Internet radio. We are now loading up the music and will be testing in a couple of days.” The station can be accessed by logging on to: www.

longlivecalypso.radiostream123.

com Massimba made the announcement at TUCO’s Gala Event “Kaiso – The Mother Music”, held at Queens Hall in St Ann’s on Wednesday night.

“It is a new vibration to make calypsonians hold their heads up high. It is important for us to stand proud,” he quipped.

Massimba said: “When calypsonians were blazing the trail there were no warriors to agitate for them.

He recalled in earlier years in TT when there were signs reading ‘no dogs and calypsonias allowed’, then justifying the reason to celebrate calypso with all the activities associated with Calypso History Month. “It is a nice feeling and that is what we are celebrating here tonight.” He saluted the work of past calypso legends who contributed tremendously to the art form, making special mention of the transformation on which TUCO is now embarking. He said the days of free ticket giveaways are all but over. “We have to find ways to do things to sustain our upkeep. We can’t wait on Government for handouts. If we know the power that we have then we must find ways to develop ourselves.” The Natural water, he said, is a commodity that TUCO will soon put on the market, with $1 from each sale going back to the organisation. “Let us change that mentality to make things work for us.” On the night, several awards were handed out for contributions to the calypso art form in various spheres, from singer to researcher, musician to promoter.

Among the awardees were: John Cupid, Judith Laird, Clyde Mitchell, Carl & Carol Jacob, Terry Rondon, Carey “Kinte” Stephens, Junior “Ibo” Joseph, Robert Amar, Ackbar Khan, Michael Baker and Garth St Clair.

There were live performances from reigning National Calypso Monarch Devon Seale, Junior Monarch Sharissa Camejo, National Calypso Queen Amrika Mutroo, the evergreen Brother Mudada (Allan Fortune), Drupartee Ramgoonai, Baron (Timothy Watkins), and Singing Sandra, who gave the most spirited performance of the night with “Ancient Rhythms”. Edwin “Crazy” Ayoung brought the curtain down on the evening’s entertainment.

Musical accompaniment was provided by Len Cummings & the Wailers, with The Pips providing background vocals.

It is Friday night at Trendz, an entertainment hotspot in Carnarsie, Brooklyn.

Ricardo Greenaway is a virtuoso pannist who has worked tirelessly to showcase his craft to the most discerning of audiences. He sets the tone for his five piece band, a musical outfit that embraces every conceivable genre. He reflects for a moment before recalling his days as a Trinidad and Tobago police officer.

That was some 30 years ago. “It was nine well spent years,” he begins. “Being an officer that patrolled Morvant, San Juan, Belmont and Port-of- Spain was an experience that taught me invaluable lessons. I will never trade those years for the world.

Responsibility and punctuality are keys to success. Being an officer also taught me to quickly assess a situation and how to best respond. These are essential attributes especially when doing business in New York.” Greenaway is equally thankful for his formative years at Malick Senior Comprehensive School where he was introduced to pan. “I can say that pan kept me constructive and disciplined.” He talks about daily practice on the tenor pan that guarded him from the destructive allure that the streets sometimes offer. “I can say that all the kids involved in pan were mature and never fell prey to vices.” Greenaway went on to play for several bands, including, Solo Harmonites, Cordettes, Exodus and

The intimate event was well attended and was held strengthen the bank’s relationships with customers and key stakeholders.

“We’re really pleased to see such a great turnout of our clients.

We know they all have busy schedules so we appreciate them sharing the evening with us” said Naseeb Mohammed, manager, Scotiabank Tobago branches.

“Scotiabank is deeply committed to helping our customers become better off and through events such as these, we are provided with the opportunity to further engage with clients and find out how we can help them achieve their goals”

That was the posture yesterday of former Managing Director of the Housing Development Corporation (HDC) Jearlean John, as she challenged Attorney General Faris Al-Rawi, to bring court proceedings against her for any corruption. A letter from John’s Attorney Gerald Ramdeen, to the Supreme Court Registrar, also requested that she be served with proceedings filed by the State last week against, “persons who had improperly removed monies for their own benefit through conspiracies.” John and Ramdeen addressed the matter at a media conference yesterday at the San Fernando Room of the Hyatt Regency in Portof- Spain. She declared her innocence of any such allegation and not only challenged Al-Rawi to serve her the proceedings, but put him on notice that when he does, she could then make the public aware of matters related to his tenure at the HDC. As John outlined her position yesterday, she said, “Number one, there is something in an organisation called a delegation of financial authority.

So, my authority at HDC there was $1million.

I cannot purchase a property for over a million dollars. It’s just impossible. I can’t even say that I want to buy a property as a matter of fact. And you might ask, there is a lot of state land everywhere, as was posed to us by the Integrity Commission.

That is not so, because during my tenure, I was out on the field with the then Commissioner of State lands, looking for land. We were able to put in writing and send Mr Chunilal, who was then the Commissioner of State Lands, a letter to the HDC that there were, in fact, no state lands.” John reiterated that it was the government’s policy at the time, to purchase land and all she did was follow the stipulated process. After stating that she followed the proper protocol in the matter, John went straight to what she felt was the heart of the matter: the Government’s attempt to disparage her work at the HDC. She questioned the delay in Al-Rawi serving proceedings, saying she and Al-Rawi are not friends and, “only friends keep secrets for friends.” John questioned the legitimacy of the allegations made against her, suggesting that Al-Rawi cannot substantiate his claims, because if he could, he would have already served the proceedings.

She concluded, therefore, “…So I’m expecting that this Attorney General will come quickly and file or serve his proceedings. You see, what I’ve noticed is that this is a government of smear and innuendos, and ‘ole talk’, and ‘standpipe talk.’ Instead of going about their business and running the country, they are looking to see how they can substantiate smears against people. “Now, somehow you can’t substantiate it, because you know what, facts are stubborn things…Our process document at HDC developed by me is 1,502 pages. I’m very meticulous…

You know what will save my life today? The documentation.

In addition to which, whenever there was a matter of procurement, I was never involved. I strongly believe that the objective of these people is really to disparage and destroy my tenure at HDC. And I urge the Attorney General to serve his proceedings quickly!” Additionally, John made clear that when she receives the proceedings, she will share with the public, the details of Al Rawi’s tenure there (at the HDC) as acting chairman. She then quipped that when she gets through with him, “he will sue himself!” John remained staunch in her stance that she is guilty of no wrong. “Posers!” she called members of the Government. “Posers!” Meanwhile, Attorney Ramdeen provided the media with a packet of documents, all in chronological order, detailing events surrounding the acquisition of land at Eden Gardens in Freeport, in supporting his client’s innocence.

Included in the packet was a letter from Ramdeen, dated Wednesday last (November 9), to the Registrar of the Supreme Court, requesting that John be served with the proceedings and stating that his client John, “was entitled to due process and the protection of the law.” Ramdeen also referenced the fact that on October 21 2014, the Integrity Commission cleared John of corruption charges in the acquisition of lands at Eden Gardens, Calcutta Road No. 2.

Rowley took the opportunity to reaffirm the commitment of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to strengthening and deepening the already excellent bilateral ties, which exist between TT and the US. Citing Trump’s victory as an indication of the confidence placed in him by the American people, Rowley conveyed best wishes to Trump, his administration and his family.