Las Lomas United drubbed Edinburgh 500, 7-0 as action continued in the Super Industrial Services Central Football League.

Edinburgh’s main tormentor was Leo Wiley who scored five goals in the fourth, 23rd, 48th, 53rd and 87th minutes last Tuesday.  Anthony Jacob in the eighth minute and Nigel Daniel in the 54th also netted for Las Lomas to complete their rout of Edinburgh 500. Ateba McKnight continued his goal spree when he helped himself to a hat-trick as Couva Players United easily got past Cap-Off Youths 6-0 last Thursday. McKnight scored in the 10th, 31st and 87th minute. George Parris (21st), Jonathan Marcel (23rd) and Kevin Adams in the 63rd minute also got on the scoring sheet as the strong Couva team breezed past the “Youths”. The Central Football League are launching a new tournament on Sunday at Woodford Lodge, Chaguanas at 9 am. There will be competition in three age categories: Under-11, Under-13 and Under-17. All teams interested in participating can contact Hugo Francis of Ramsingh’s Sports World at 636-2472.

Full Scores
Tuesday 29th July: Las Lomas Utd. 7; Leo Wiley 5(4,23, 48,53,87), Anthony Jacob 1(8), Nigel Daniel 1(54). Edinburgh 500 0.  Wednesday 30th July: Leeds FC 2: Marcus Blackett 1(52), David Samuel 1(73). Perseverance Sports 0.  Thursday 31st July:  Couva Players Utd. 6 Ateba McKnight 3(10,31,87), Kevin Adams 1(63), George Parris 1(21), Jonathan Marcel 1(23). Sunday 3rd August: Central Falcons 4:  Lewis Johnson 1(36), Wendell Oliverre 1(46), Francis Pascall 1(75th), Dennizon Francis 1(89). Caroni FC 0.

A FIRM RELIEF and Isle Be There were handed the topweight of 56.5 kilos for the two handicaps framed on the Arima Race Club Day 24 card at Santa Rosa Park, Arima, on Saturday.

Isle Be There will tote his burden over 1750 metres against nine rivals on the main course, while A Firm Relief was allotted the identical weight for an 1100 metres race on the turf course. In the staying event, framed as one of the prep races for next month’s Royal Oak Derby, the John O’Brien inmate will hand out as little as 1.5 kilos to stablemate and chief  rival Due Dilligence, and as much as 12 kilos to debutant Dunsborough. Undisputed and Affirm Decision will also be using the staying contest en route to next month’s Blue Riband contest (September 24), where Top Of The Class will be seeking to become the second triple crown winner since racing was centralised at Santa Rosa Park in 1994. First to accomplish the elusive feat was stablemate Carnival Messiah, who was successful in 2001 for owner Wilma Primus and trainer Glenn Mendez.

The two heavy weights on Saturday who  have accumulated sufficient points to be among the starting line-up in the final leg of the triple crown series follows closely in at the weights, by Undisputed who is conditioned by Grant Lourence and races in the colours of Junior Sammy. Undisputed will take along 53.5 in his saddle bag, with Anthony Serville’s runner, Affirm Decision weighing in at 52.5 kilos. Super Grey, Sir Vidia, Fresh Mandate and Bound To Dot Com, for whom  subscriptions have been paid for the derby are others testing the waters. The field is completed by Fresh Honey and the unraced Dundborough. A Firm Relief will have 14 West Indian-bred three-year-olds and over runner, which are yet to win three races to contend with in the dash. The Derick Mosca-owned and trained four-year-old colt who finished runner-up to Bandinthong over course and distance on last Friday’s Emanicpation Day programme,  has Beatutful Mind (55.5 kilos), a winner last time out, closest at the weights with Finest Gem (45.5 kilos) bottom of the handicap.

Following are the framed handicap races, runners and weights.
RACE 5: W I BRED 3 Y.O WINNERS & W I BRED 4 Y..O AND OVER NON-WINNERS OF THREE RACES – PURSE $21,000 – 1750 METRES.
(1). Isle Be There – 56.5, (2). Due Dilligence – 55, (.3). Undisputed – 53.5, (4). Affirm Decision – 52.5, (5). Super Grey – 51.5, (6). Sir Vidia – 49.5, (7). Bound To Dot Com – 49.5, (8). Fresh Mandate – 48.5, (9). Fresh Honey – 47.5, (10). Dunsborough – 44.5.

RACE 6: W I BRED 3 Y.O & OVER NON-WINNERS OF THREE RACES – PURSE $19,000 – 1100 METRES (TURF).

(1). A Firm Decison – 56.5, (2). Beautiful Mind – 55.5, (3). Living In Hope – 53.5, (4). Lady Rossie – 53, (5). Mir On Fire – 53, (6). Full Of Promises – 52.5, (7). V For Victory – 52.5, (8). Return To Glory – 51.5, (9). Tribal Place – 51.5, (10). Fuirst Time – 51, (11). Hatrick – 51, (12). Richie Rich – 49.5, (13). Hyarima – 48.5, (14). Fantastic Lad – 47.5, (15). Finest Gem – 45.5.

TORONTO: Top Trinidadian jockey Emile Ramsammy logged his seventh Stakes win of the 2003 Woodbine when he captured the Seagram Cup on Sunday aboard the outstanding six-year-old horse Wake At Noon.

Wake At Noon, Canada’s 2002 Horse of the Year, won the CAN$136,500 Seagram by 2-3/4 lengths over Anglian Prince and gave Ramsammy his fourth consecutive Stakes triumph in as many weekends. Sent postward as the 8-5 favourite, Wake At Noon and Emile Ramsammy made every pole a winning one.  “I knew he was going to be on his game today. The race turned out the way we wanted it to. He had a nice easy lead again today,” Ramsammy said. “He just had nobody to pressure him. He just kept going,” added the 40-year-old Ramsammy, who won the Colin, Izvestia, and Bull Page Stakes races in the previous weeks. Wake At Noon won four stakes races last year on his way to double Sovereign Awards, named Canada’s top sprinter as well as Horse of the Year.  Ramsammy, a two-time champion jockey of Canada, has 52 wins so far this season and is lying fourth in the jockeys’ championship table behind Todd Kabel (85), Patrick Husbands (76) and McAleney (54). Husbands had one win on the card, pushing 2-1 favourite To the Chapel to victory in the first race by two lengths.

MEMBERS of the Brechin Castle Golf Club, owned by Caroni (1975) Limited, have up to the end of this year to play golf on the company’s golf course.

But until such time, club members must maintain the course at no cost to the company, which is currently undergoing restructuring. The company’s 9,000 employees have been sent home on a VSEP package and the Brechin Castle factory has been shut down. With most of Caroni’s 77,000 acres of land to be devoted to agriculture, housing and enterprise development, the Brechin Castle 40-acre golf course is earmarked for closure by year’s end. Company management declined to reveal plans for the greens. Club members who are former employees of the company turned out to play yesterday, in what was possibly their last round.

It was mixed feelings of sadness and anxiety stirred by specualtion of what is to become of the grounds which stretch for three miles. Already the course and grounds are on the verge of becoming overgrown with grass and shrubs. Members of the club dismissed the perception that only the company’s elite staff played golf.  “A lot of ordinary sugar workers have been playing golf on this course for many years,” a member said. The club’s match secretary, Bhola Lakhan, said members have been allowed to utilise the facilities, including the Sevilla Club, only until the end of the year. “But the club must bear the cost,” Lakhan, a former senior supervisor in the company added. The company has offered to provide two tractors to cut the grounds, Lakhan said.  The club is currently working on the cost to determine whether it is feasible, she said. The divestment secretariat overseeing Caroni’s restructuring has earmarked the three-mile course for lease to a foreign company.

KINGSTON: West Indies middle-order batsman Marlon Samuels had a good allround game in helping Melbourne defeat Clarendon by six wickets in Jamaica’s Capital and Credit National Limited Overs Championship on Saturday.

Samuels picked up four wickets and then helped guide Melbourne easily past the 77-run target at Jamalco. Batting first, Clarendon slumped to 76 all out in 34.2 overs with Samuels capturing four for 11 off 9.3 overs. Samuels (24) and his older brother Marlon Samuels (22) then carried Melbourne to victory at 81 for four off 15.2 overs, Marlon ending the match with a six over extra-cover. West Indies fast bowling rookie Jerome Taylor captured three for 26 off 10 overs for St Elizabeth to restrict Lucas to 188 all out, but rain aborted the match. 

LONDON: Former West Indies captain Carl Hooper smashed a half century and steered Lancashire to a 25-run victory over Nottinghamshire in England’s National Cricket League (NCL) limited overs championship on Sunday.

Hooper scored 71 in Lancashire’s score of 210 for nine off their 45 overs, and Nottinghamshire responded with 185 all out in 42.3 overs.
West Indies pacer Vasbert Drakes made his summer debut for Leicestershire in a losing effort against Warwickshire, and Nixon McLean’s Somerset beat Durham. At Cleethorpes, the 36-year-old Hooper and Australian Stuart Law maintained the fine form that saw them set up Lancashire’s big county win against Leicestershire last week. Hooper followed up his century in that match, with four fours and three sixes in his 105-ball 71. Law made 47 off 45 balls with nine boundaries. Nottinghamshire floundered badly at first, slumping to 34 for three at the hands of Peter Martin (3-18) and fell short in the end although Kevin Pieterson hit 54 off 46 balls. Hooper picked up one for 37 off nine overs with his off-spin.

At Leicester’s Grace Road, Pakistan pacer Waqar Younis picked up four for 37 to limit Leicestershire to 172, but it took a gritty team effort for Warwickshire to overhaul the total with four wickets and three overs to spare. Drakes, signed up last week by Leicestershire, scored 12 runs and took one for 24 off seven overs.  Ian Blackwell guided Somerset to victory at Chester-le-Street with an unbeaten 79 from 81 balls, after the top-order had made heavy weather of Durham’s meagre total of 187. Vincentian McLean picked up one for 41 off nine overs in Durham’s total, and Somerset reached 189 for six in 39 overs, against Shoaib Akhtar’s haul of five for 35.

SANTO DOMINGO: English-speaking Caribbean teams are still struggling to secure victories in volleyball and hockey after two days at the 14th Pan American Games.

Barbados and Jamaica were victims against the experienced United States teams, while Trinidad and Tobago went down in both their hockey matches. On Sunday, the USA men’s volleyball team opened pool play with an easy 3-0 win over Barbados at the Pabellon de Voleibol at Olympic Park. Fabian Cox registered 11 points to lead Barbados in the 15-25, 21-25, 15-25 loss as they fell to 0-1 in pool play. Team captain Elwin Oxley added eight points for Barbados. Brook Billings scored a match-high 14 points for the USA. “First, I would like to congratulate Barbados,” said Team USA head coach Doug Beal. “They have been working with their national team since hosting our NORCECA zone championships in 2001, and I think they are a better team than they were a few years ago. “It is not easy to develop players on a small island nation, and it is difficult to compete with teams at this level,” Beal said. Competition in Pool “A” resumes today with Barbados playing Venezuela while the United States take on the hosts Dominican Republic.

The Dominican Republic opened play on Sunday with a 3-2 loss to Venezuela. Trinidad and Tobago, the reigning Central American and Caribbean (CAC) Games champions, suffered a 3-2 loss to Cuba in the men’s hockey competition, in spite of a two-goal game from Britain-based Kwandwane Browne. Browne scored in the 16th and 51st minutes, but the Cubans pushed to victory after a double strike Yoandy Blanco in the Pool “B” encounter.  TT’s women, also reigning CAC champions, crashed to a 9-0 loss to world champions Argentina in Group “A”. Meantime, the USA used five first-half penalty corner goals to down Jamaica, 5-0, in the team’s opening match. The USA got off to a quick start in the Group “B” fixture when Jill Reeve blasted the first of 22 corner opportunities into the back of the goal to give the Americans a 1-0 lead two minutes into the match. The USA added to the lead in the 22nd minute when Tracey Fuchs connected on the first of her two penalty corner goals, and the USA continued their dominance two minutes later when Reeve connected on her second score of the match. Without unveiling their full array of penalty corner plays, Kate Barber and Fuchs added additional first half goals to give the Americans their 5-0 halftime lead. The match represented a milestone for Barber, who  appeared in her 100th career international contest. The USA continued to control the match in the second half, but eight second half saves by Jamaica keeper Lorie-Ann McIntosh kept them scoreless through the final 35 minutes. 

Trinidad and Tobago opener Imran Jan is enjoying a very productive cricket season in England. Over the weekend he passed the 700-run mark.

Jan, who is the captain of Blackhall Cricket Club, competing in the Durham League has so far scored 710 runs at an impressive average of 47 in 15 matches. On Saturday he got 86 not out to lead his team to victory chasing 161 runs. Blackhall Cricket Club, with the win are now lodged in fifth place in the standings but Jan thinks that the chance of winning the league has slipped away. As captain Jan said his team is not in a better position because they spilled too many easy chances during the season. He will be returning next month to participate in the Red Stripe Bowl trial matches bidding for a place on the Trinidad and Tobago team for the limited overs regional championships.

Jan has been a consistent scorer on the TT team over the past two seasons. He scored a gritty 45 against the visiting Australians earlier this year in a tour match, playing for the  Busta XI. The TT senior team selectors will name two squads to prepare for the Bowl series. They are a North XI and a South XI to contest a competitive three-match series. After the series a squad of 16 players will be chosen to prepare further for the Bowl which gets underway in October in Jamaica.

Trinidad and Tobago cricket officials are expecting the national Under-19 cricket team to win the TCL Group West Indies U-19 cricket challenge in Guyana.

Second vice-president of the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB), Dudnath Ramkeesoon said the team is loaded with talent and is well balanced. “Once the guys play to their full potential they will win the title,” said Ramkeesoon. Trinidad and Tobago last won the crown in 1987. “The team is well-balanced with a lot of talent and potential. Once these guys play hungry I see no reason why they can’t win the title,” he said. The TT Under-19s go into action today against Bermuda at Enmore. Senior team manager Omar Khan who did motivational work with the team said he has great expectations. “The players are very good and will take us the title. We did a lot of mental work with them before departure and once they realise that cricket is played in the head they will win. They need to play intelligent cricket to make the difference,” Khan said.

Patrick Rampersad, an executive member of the TTCB was also very confident of the team emerging champions.  “This team has talent and the ability to do well. They will win in my opinion, they were given all the support they needed including great practice facilities and mental work. They must realise the investment in them and come good,” Rampersad said. The president of national champions, Merryboys added that his two club players, Capil Subran and Lendl Simmons will do this country proud. National coaching director Baldath Mahabir noted that for the past few seasons TT have been finishing in the runners-up spot. ‘Now they can only go one better and gave us the title. The technical team would have grown more capable since then and must have worked out the team’s problems. Now they must turn up at the matches play positive cricket and take the title,” Mahabir said.