Spensley lands his hat-trick

He had already scored over a mile and a half in September and October and the four-year-old continued his upward curve with a comfy success in the Office Christmas Parties At Kempton Park Handicap.

His last two wins had come off the back of far from clear passages but Kieren Fallon was happy to settle the James Fanshawe-trained gelding in mid-division.

Stepped up in class, there was no trouble in running this time, although there was a slight moment of worry for favourite backers as Alsadaa and Ian Mongan made the most of an easy lead.

The pair still held a clear advantage three out but when Fallon asked Spensley the response was immediate and he was able to ease his mount at the line for a half-length verdict over Iron Condor.

"Unfortunately there are no more races for him at Kempton this year which is a pity," said Fanshawe.

"The key to him is not running him on soft ground and getting the trip right. Kieren gets on with him really well.

"He's grown up an awful lot from the sweaty horse that had no confidence in the summer to the one that's really got the hang of things now.

"I'm going to have a think and see where we go with him."

Towering Storm (20-1) overcame a slow start to make a winning debut in impressive style in division two of the Win A Kia Venga At kempton.co.uk Median Auction Maiden Stakes.

A steady gallop allowed jockey Steve Donohoe to make up the lost ground without taking too much out of the Gerard Butler-trained youngster.

However, he still had plenty to do in the straight as If You Whisper made his bid on the far side to hit the front a furlong out.

Towering Storm hit full stride to pounce 50 yards out and score by three-quarters of a length.

"He's been going well at home, but I thought with the Richard Hannon horse (Sinfonico) and the William Haggas horse (Groomed) he might have to play third fiddle to those today. He had other ideas," said Butler.

"I thought the lack of experience would be his undoing. No complaints and the horses are running very well at the moment

"We'll leave him alone for a time. We'll see what the handicapper does and take the direction from there."

Donohoe completed a 90-1 double when steering home Final Drive (100-30) to victory in the digibet.com Handicap.

He steered the John Ryan-trained top-weight through the field to lead inside the final furlong and score comfortably by two and a quarter lengths from Hip Hip Hooray.

Cheery Cat followed up a Wolverhampton win to score for a second time this month in the hands of 7lb claimer Matthew Cosham.

The 2-1 favourite, trained by John Balding, got the better of the pace-setting River Bounty by a length.

"He did it nicely and has probably found himself. Matthew gave him a cracking ride. He does as he's told and I'll put him on him again," said Balding.

"He's had a couple of quick runs and normally he takes a fortnight between runs. We'll see how he comes out of it in the next couple of days."

Echo Ridge (7-2) got up in the last few strides to deny Fairy Familiar in the EBF Maiden Fillies' Stakes.

The Ralph Beckett-trained newcomer was only fifth turning for home but ate up the ground under Jim Crowley to lead close home and score by three-quarters of a length. The favourite Palais Glide was two lengths back in third.

Jo Crowley's Amerthyst (8-1) came with a late rattle for Dane O'Neill to short head Top Diktat in division one of the Win A Kia Venga At kempton.co.uk Median Auction Maiden Stakes.Justify Full

Source: http://www.skysports.com

Brunei Good Enough For Final

By Yee Chun Leong

Bandar Seri Begawan - There is plenty resting on the shoulders of Pg Mohd Nasir Pg Anak Ja'afar, but he has what it takes to make it into the final of the equestrian Individual Jumping event on Wednesday.

At least that is what Hj Muhd Zamri DP Hj Hamdani, Brunei's chef de mission, thinks - keeping his faith in the Bruneian athlete and saying that Pg Mohd Nasir is capable of taking on 38 other riders from 13 countries to qualify for the Asian Games final at the Guangzhou Equestrian Venue.

"Hopefully they (Pg Mohd Nasir and his horse) can go through to the final but it will all depend on the rider. But based on their achievements, I believe that they should have no problems," said Hj Muhd Zamri, in an interview with The Brunei Times, yesterday.

"The jumps are set at a bar of 1.45 metres but the horse (Rudolf Z) is more than capable of jumping 1.5m," he added.

Pg Mohd Nasir's trusty steed, Rudolf Z, the 1 1-year-old Zangersheide gelding, underwent the "1st Horse Inspection" yesterday and then continued with the "Training Competition" without any problems.

The second session was for the riders to get accustomed to the match venue, which will be used for the two qualifying sessions today.

"There were no problems with the inspection and the horse is fit for competition," said Hj Muhd Zamri, who is also the vice-president of the Brunei Darussalam National Olympic Council (BNOC).

"The jumps were fine during training and they managed to complete the track within the time frame set at 90 seconds. I hope that they will be able to do better and make it through all barriers in the actual competition today (Monday)," he added.

"The biggest difference would be the crowds coming in and hopefully he will be in control," continued the Deputy Director (II) of the Department of Youth and Sports.

Even the rider himself, Pg Mohd Nasir, backed up the statements made by the chef de mission.

"The horse is jumping great and everything seems to be in order," said Pg Mohd Nasir yesterday.

"I'm really happy with Rudolf and we're working great together.

He's in top form," added the Brunei rider.

Asked if he was confident of making it into the final, the 21-year-old Bruneian replied: "I feel really good about it and hopefully we can make it into the final."

The first qualifying session will start at 9am while the second will be held at 2pm.

Points collected from the respective qualifying rounds will determine whether Pg Mohd Nasir and Rudolf Z will make the cut for the final round the day after.

The 2009 Merdeka Team Cup champion became the first Bruneian to compete in the equestrian event when he was chosen to represent the country during the 2007 SEA Games in Korat, Thailand. Coached by 2009 Belgian champion Lieven Debos and the Netherlands' David Molin for the past two years, Pg Mohd Nasir had been training in Belgium to prepare for the 16th Asian Games. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

Dennis Wins BSB Golf Tournament

By James Kon

Bandar Seri Begawan - Dennis Koh captured the overall gross winner's trophy of the 40th Anniversary renaming of Bandar Brunei to Bandar Seri Begawan Golf Tournament after he finished two shots ahead of the field with 71 gross at the RBA Golf Club yesterday.

His nearest rival, On Sie Lu came in second place with 73 gross and Rijal Hj Kassim was third with 74 gross.

In the Division A category, Hj Azaman Daud was first with 37ocb followed closely by Khairul Kamis (37ocb), Rudy Yussof (37), Chu Vui Kiat (36ocb) and Ak Mukmin Abd Latif (36ocb).

The Division B winner was Abd Kadir bin Abd Ghani (38) followed by Hj Jalalludin Hj Ghazali (37ocb), Sanusi (37), Ahmad Munadi Khairi (36ocb) and Khairul Jamaluddin (36).

In Division C category, Captain Kadam Thapa scored 36 points to win first spot followed by Safrin Mohammad Noor (35ocb), Fung Ah Chan (35) and Yubaraj Tamang (34).

Col (Retired) Hj Abd Aziz Abdullah (37 points) was the winner in the Senior Points category followed by Hj Zainal Daud (35ocb), Yussof Daud (35ocb), Musa Hj Mahadi (35ocb) and Hj Momin Shawal (35),

For the VIP and Sponsor category, Hj Aziz Kassim was the winner with 37 points. Dato Paduka Sa Bali Abas (36ocb) was second followed Md Ali Tuah (36ocb), Chris Tay (36ocb) and Bahrin Md Noor (36).

For the novelty prizes, nearest to the Pin for Hole No 2 went to Hj Aedy, Aminuddin Hl Ali (Hole No 5), Rijal Hj Kassim (Hole No 12), Ajamain Hj Othman (Hole No 14) and Kadir Abd Ghani (Hole No 16).

The guest-of-honour, Dato Paduka Sa Bali bin Abas, the Permanent Secretary of Home Affairs presented the prizes to the winners. Also present was Pg Hj Mohammad Ali Bin Pg Hj Othman, Chairman of Municipal Board. -- Courtesy of Borneo Bulletin

Karate Kids Eye Iran

Bandar Seri Begawan - Plans are in the works for Brunei to send the national karate-do team to train in Iran.

With four exponents, the team were the largest represented among the four sports that the country sent to the Nov 12-27 Guangzhou Asian Games in China.

But not only did they return empty-handed, they also failed to win a single match - hardly the kind of result the Department of Youth and Sports or the Brunei Karatedo Federation (Brukaf) were expecting.

One of the two exponents who saw action during the final day of the karate-do competition last Friday, Mainudin Hj Mohamad was the sole member of the quartet to have progressed to the next round of his event, the men's kumite -75kg class. However, the only reason he advanced to the quarter-finals was because his opponent had delivered an illegal kick which knocked him out - and he was unable to compete in the last-eight as a result.

In his daily report during the Games, the Brunei contingent's chef de mission Hj Muhd Zamri DP Hj Hamdani said that Mainudin needed to improve his strategy and tactics, especially in terms of psychology.

"Mental toughness is still lacking and needs to be worked on," said the Deputy Director (II) of the Department of Youth and Sports.

"In terms of technique, Mainudin needs to improve. He needs quality sparring partners that are experienced and it is proposed that he undergoes training in Iran," added the vice-president of the Brunei Darussalam National Olympic Council (BNOC).

Iran's karate-do team finished the 16th edition of the Games with two gold and two bronze medals, third in the standings behind Japan (two gold and four silver) and Malaysia (two gold, two silver and one bronze medal).

When interviewed yesterday national karate-do coach Hj Okhida Simangasing said that training in Iran was just one of the possibilities being looked at.

"This is one of the ideas we have in our preparation for the 2011 Southeast Asian (SEA) Games to be held in Indonesia," said the trainer.

This whole time we have only been training abroad in Indonesia. But it is better if we go to Iran or Japan, countries where the sport is at a higher level.

"Things like these are usually carried out between federation to federation, and national referee Hj Malai Jefferydean Hj Malai Mohammed, who was at the Asian Games as a referee, has already talked to his counterparts about such a stint.

"Now we are at the stage where we have to improve in terms of mental strength. We will see if the trip to Iran works out or not, and if it is successful we will look at other countries.

"The SEA Games is in November, but we have to start training now," said the Indonesian.

The lack of overseas competition was also identified as a reason for the team's uninspiring results in Guangzhou, with Hj Okhida stating that the Sultanate was lagging behind in terms of competition experience.

"Most of the other teams in the Asian Games had already been to many tournaments this year before Guangzhou - up to seven," he said.

"We only competed in one, the Indonesian Open (in Bali from Sept 24-26). Countries like Vietnam have gone to Europe where they have leagues ... But as you know, that is all dependent on budget.

"From what I have seen at the Asian Games, South Korea have really made a lot of progress and that is because their exponents have a lot of exposure," added Hj Okhida.

Brunei were also represented by two athletes in wushu and one each in equestrian and fencing in Guangzhou, but all failed to secure a podium finish.

The decision to train in Iran comes less than a week after Brunei and Laos signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on sports, with the view of exchanging coaching expertise and information between the two Asean neighbours. The MoU also agreed to work on the exchange of sports officials and specialists, among others. -- Courtesy of The Brunei Times

Ruben Xaus to join Ten Kate Honda?

By Michael Guy

Spaniard Ruben Xaus is set to become the second rider in the Ten Kate Honda WSB team to ride alongside Brit Jonathan Rea in 2011. The 32 year old Spaniard is reported to have signed a deal this week that will see campaign the proven CBR1000RR.

Xaus, an 11 time WSB race winner and former title contender has had two tough seasons riding for the factory BMW squad alongside Troy Corser where he secured a best result of fifth. He last won a race in 2008 onboard the Sterilgarda Ducati at Misano.

Over recent weeks Ten Kate’s second rider has been the subject of endless speculation. The Dutch team were initially targeting former WSB champion James Toseland, but missed out on the chance to sign him when he elected to ride for the new BMW Motorrad Italia team.
Former MotoGP rider and current Moto2 man Alex De Angelis was also inline for the ride, but he has now confirmed that he will be staying in Moto2.

The Dutch team are expected to test at Portimao at the end of the month which will be Rea’s first ride back since undergoing surgery on his wrist he broke in Imola. It will also be Xaus’ first opportunity to acquaint himself with the Honda.

Casey Stoner: Winning harder for Rossi at Ducati

By Matthew Birt

Casey Stoner reckons competition in MotoGP is now so fierce that Valentino Rossi won’t be a consistent winner at Ducati.

When Rossi quit Honda to join Yamaha at the end of 2003, the Italian was instantly able to consistently fight for victories and won the title at his first attempt on a YZR-M1 machine in 2004.

But Stoner, who has made his own major career change in 2011 having left Ducati to join Honda, said: “I don't believe he's going to do the same amount of winning he did last time when he changed to Yamaha.

"The competition level is sky high. There are not many years when people could say the competition is a lot higher than what it is now and one mistake at the moment and it is game over.

"We'll have to wait and see what he is capable of doing on this bike but like me he has got a big challenge ahead of him.”

Stoner recently made an impressive factory Honda RC212V debut when he finished second quickest at the Valencia test earlier this month. Rossi was a lowly 15th on his much-hyped Ducati first ride.

Melandri on the pace in Valencia

By Michael Guy

Marco Melandri and Eugene Laverty concluded a successful one-day test at Valencia today with the Italian posting impressive lap times during his first ever ride on a Superbike.

Riding a black and white factory Yamaha R1 the 28 year old Italian set a competitive 1.34.5 on a race tyre before posting a fast 133.9 on a qualifier.

Melandri has spent his career racing prototypes having graduated from 125GP to 250GP and into MotoGP in a career that has already spanned 13 years. But despite having no racing experience on a production bike or Pirelli tyres he demonstrated an impressive pace.

Laverty spent the test riding a 2010 bike and a new 2011 R1 and set a 1.34.9 after making set-up changes to improve rear grip around the second gear constant radios corners of Valencia.

Speaking to MCN, Laverty said: “It’s been another good test. After riding the bike at Magny Cours I knew it was good so we didn’t want to go too far away from that.

“We did dome good work with the 2011 bike. It’s not a major difference to the 2010 bike and we spent the day calibrating the electronics so that when we get to Phillip Island for our test we’re going to be ready to go.”

For full insight into the test see MCN out Wednesday 17th November.

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