Looking back on the season

So we’re coming to the end of my first full season back in the UK after over 10 years in Hong Kong. Obviously there have been some ups and downs, but on the whole I’m absolutely delighted with how things have gone.

Royal Ascot was the catalyst for me really, winning the Kensington Palace on Rising Star for Marco [Botti] who has been such a great supporter this year.

There’s nothing I can say that people don’t know about Royal Ascot, it’s the pinnacle and the one place in Britain where the rest of the world comes to compete.

To come back and win there with just one ride was amazing. She was a 40/1 shot and I didn’t expect him to win which meant even more. Surprises like that are what makes racing so brilliant.

Royal Ascot joy for @neilcallan78 aboard 40/1 chance Rising Star for @MarcoBotti in the closing Kensington Palace Stakes.

He didn't get time for a celebration like this, having to settle for a punch of the air after the line. 😀 pic.twitter.com/eoSzGK9ijm

— Racing TV (@RacingTV) June 15, 2022

I then had a nice winner at York’s Ebor meeting which is pretty much the Royal Ascot of the North. Farhan was very good that day and it was another pleasant surprise for me and John Butler.

I’d say the Ebor meeting is probably the next best after Royal Ascot. There’s great prize money up there and they do such a wonderful job with the track. I love riding there. 

Prior to that, I absolutely loved riding in the Shergar Cup and winning the Silver Saddle was something I also didn’t expect. It was a great day and to win it for Britain and Ireland was a lovely feeling.

And then to top it all off was winning the Sun Chariot on Fonteyn for Kevin [Ryan]. It was the perfect way to round off a great first season back.

Group Ones are the cream, they’re the ones everyone wants to win and it meant so much more to me that it was for Kevin – on a personal level rather than a professional level.

What a moment for Neil Callan! ⭐️

Fonteyn wins the Royal Bahrain Sun Chariot Stakes 🥇#ITVRacing | @NewmarketRace | @neilcallan78 | @kevinryanracing pic.twitter.com/Q344aIGpTl

— ITV Racing (@itvracing) October 1, 2022

As we all know, there are plenty of highs and lows in racing and regarding last week’s incident at Kempton, all I can say is that it was a really stupid mistake which I never thought I would make.

Look, it’s happened but I’m tough enough and thick-skinned enough to move on.

I’ve paid all the costs back to the owner, including my riding fee, and I apologised to all the connections straight after the race. I’ve been punished for it and as far as I’m concerned, it’s forgotten about now.

I really didn’t know what to expect coming back from Hong Kong after all those years. It’s hard to come and waltz back in. I knew I’d have to work hard and I’m just glad it’s come off. Nothing’s for free in this game and I’ll be working even harder next season.

I have to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported me this season. My agent Steven Croft has done a great job and has got me into stables that I haven’t ridden for before.

I’ve had some good success for them and some of my old connections like Kevin have supported me also.

Doncaster, Saturday

It’s the final day of the turf season at Doncaster. I actually think it makes sense to crown the champion jockey at Ascot on Champions Day, but surely the trainer should be crowned that day as well?

I also think the season should start with the Lincoln at Doncaster rather than at the Guineas meeting.

The whole start of the season is all a bit weird. You get going at Doncaster and then you’re back on the all-weather again for a month, it doesn’t make sense.

I’ve got two rides and PRECISELY goes in the Listed fillies’ race (1:30) over a mile and a quarter. This will be my first time riding her but she’s had a good season winning three times and finishing second twice.

She also handles softer ground which is a bonus, but this looks wide open with 18 runners declared.

The November Handicap (3:13) is the last big betting race of the season and Israr is the obvious favourite after winning easily over course and distance last time.

The Gosden yard have a very good record in the race and he’s the one we all have to beat, but I do think my ride CEMHAAN has a good each-way chance.

He won well on soft ground at Newmarket in August which showed he can handle some dig, but we’ll have to see how soft it is up there. You want a horse coming into a race like this in good form and he is, so fingers crossed.

Back to Bahrain

I’ll be heading out to Bahrain in a couple of weeks to ride out there again. I really enjoyed it last winter and I managed to ride quite a few winners which was lovely.

I’ll come back home to have Christmas with the family in our new place and I’ll then be back out there after that. I’ll be back in the UK at the end of February preparing for the new season. I’m looking forward to it all.

Less racing and better prize money

I know I’ve banged on a lot about the issues in racing this season and there are too many to mention sadly, but the main ones are very simple; there’s too much racing and prize money needs to be improved. It isn’t rocket science.

If you solve those two issues, it brings the quality up, it brings people into racing and stops people around the world buying all our horses.

FIRST PUBLISHED: 3rd November 2022

WITH the World Cup Finals commencing later this month, I am compiling nostalgia blogs to share memories of the most incredible international matches that I have attended in my 50 years of watching football.

In this offering, I reflect on the highest scoring football match I have ever seen:

Isle of Wight 20, Sark 0 

Yes, 20-0 !!!

First off all, it needs some context. Sark is a tiny Channel Island which measures five kilometres long by two and a half kilometres wide. The population is 550 so there wasn’t a massive pool to choose their football squad from.

Anyway, this game took place on 30th June 2003 at the St Martins AC ground on Blanche Pierre Lane in Guernsey. It was part of the Island Games, which is like a mini-Olympic Games for small islands around the world.

I still have the match statistics that I scribbled down during a frantic 90 minutes. Can you imagine trying to negotiate in play betting based on this data…

• Isle of Wight – 47 shots on target, 37 shots off target, 24 corners, 20 goals scored!

• Sark - 0 shots on target, 0 shots off target, 0 corners, 0 goals scored!

Apart from those 20 goals, Isle of Wight rattled the woodwork on six occasions, had a goal disallowed and saw two penalties saved by Sark’s goalkeeper Leon Burletson who pulled off 20 other sprawling saves in a heroic man of the match performance! 

Burletson – who was a gardener by trade – received a tremendous ovation from everyone present on the final whistle. He said: “The match was a little soul-destroying and depressing by the end. But we refused to drop our heads or let it get us down. For me, it was just amazing to appear in the Island Games as a once in a lifetime opportunity.”

By contrast, Isle of Wight keeper Richie Newbury was a virtual spectator. He only touched the ball once in the entire match and that was when he casually gathered a long punted clearance from the besieged Sark team! I wonder what the betting would have been on that happening!

Sark coach Shane Moon summed up the happy-go-lucky spirit of his players by telling me: “It was a special occasion for my lads to enter the Island Games. They will probably never do this again but they enjoyed it and achieved a great deal.”

The most popular results recorded in football matches are 1-1, 1-0 and 2-1

In my 5,174 football matches attended, I've seen 1-1 results a total of 531 times, 1-0 a total of 430 times & 2-1 a total of 409 times

The highest scoreline I've ever seen was:

Isle of Wight 20 Sark 0

— Tony Incenzo - my 50th football season (@TonyIncenzo) October 3, 2019

Meanwhile, Sark’s most experienced player at the tournament was 52 year old former Huddersfield Town professional Barrie Dewsbury. 

Midfield man Dewsbury said: “I never thought an old bloke like me could play in such a great competition. But when it was decided on Sark that we would enter the Island Games, I came out of retirement. I felt it was a chance not to be missed - even at my age. Although I did wonder at times what I had got myself into!”

There were words of praise for Sark from the Isle of Wight coach John Carragher. He said: “The match was played in a tremendous spirit. Sark really had a go - they ran their hearts out and kept putting their tackles in. 

“The keeper Burletson was fantastic and I wish he could play for us. The Sark players were some of the nicest people we have ever met in football and we had a whip-round at full-time to buy them all a drink in the bar.”

Sark conceded a grand total of 70 goals during their four matches in the Island Games without getting on the scoresheet themselves:

• Gibraltar 19, Sark 0 

• Isle of Wight 20, Sark 0 

• Greenland 16, Sark 0 

• Froya 15, Sark 0

Richard Drewe, manager of the overall Sark Island Games sports team back in 2003, put things into perspective.

He explained: “We faced all sorts of selection difficulties. Most people on Sark are self-employed, so it was hard for the players to take a week off from work to go to the competition in Guernsey - especially in the tourist season.

"It was bad enough trying to find enough men for one team, let alone two so that they could have a training match in the build-up period. 

“The football tournament was pretty stiff but we competed in the spirit of the Island Games. We are not the biggest of places - in fact, we were the smallest island taking part in the Games. But I am a firm believer that after the end of every match, everyone should be able to shake hands.”

Alas, Sark have not featured in an international tournament since then due to those logistical problems. There was some talk of entering a team in lower divisions of the Guernsey League but that failed to materialise.

In the meantime, Sark host occasional friendly matches against touring sides who are royally entertained in the island’s Mermaid Tavern pub afterwards.

*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*

FIRST PUBLISHED: 2nd November 2022

Argentina were handed a relatively favourable draw for this winter’s tournament in Qatar, yet they trail several teams in World Cup betting.

Winners of the Copa America last year, La Albiceleste have tournament experience on their side, and plenty of top-tier talent to call on. 

World Cup success has been hard to come by in the 21st century, however. Since 1990, Argentina have reached the semi-finals just once, which resulted in a heart-breaking final loss to Germany in Brazil in 2014.

If the Argentines are to go one better in Qatar, these five players need to shine. 

Lionel Messi

Simplistic, perhaps, but this will most likely be Lionel Messi’s last World Cup, and definitely the last anywhere near his peak.

He has relinquished his status as Argentina’s most valuable player. While not quite the player he once was, Messi is still capable of things that others cannot even fathom. 

Failure to win a World Cup does not harm Messi’s legacy in a meaningful way, but neutrals will be desperate to see some magic from the PSG star this winter.

Lisandro Martinez

Following some overly simplified criticism after his move to Manchester United, Lisandro Martinez has been a rock at the heart of the Red Devils’ defence.

Their online betting chances of a clean sheet are much improved with Martinez in the side, and he will surely be a starter at the World Cup. 

Martinez will be tested early on, with Argentina set to face Robert Lewandowski in the group stage. If Argentina are to succeed, they need their defence to be without drama.

There are some hot-headed personalities in this back line, but Martinez’s form indicates he could be a much-needed reassuring presence.

Rodrigo De Paul

With over 40 caps to his name, Rodrigo De Paul is an established member of the Argentina squad. He can bring a bit of everything to the team this winter, and will help to balance the side around Messi. 

There are plenty of options in the midfield for Lionel Scaloni. De Paul looks set for a place in the XI, though, and has an eye for goal which could swing a match at some point in the tournament.

Lautaro Martinez

A record of 21 goals in 40 Argentina caps is more than deserving of a place on this list.

Lautaro Martinez is a menace for opposing defences, and the latest in a long line of elite Argentinian strikers, following in the footsteps of Gabriel Batistuta, Hernan Crespo and Sergio Aguero.

An intelligent runner and hard-working, Martinez is a superb complement to Messi. He’s an interesting dark horse for the Golden Boot.

Giovani Lo Celso (Injured)

A starter in three of Argentina’s last four matches, Giovani Lo Celso is in line for a big role at the World Cup. Likely slotting in on the left of the attack, Lo Celso could also be utilised in the midfield three in they go to 4-3-3. 

While he is set to miss out on the opener through injury, the Villarreal midfielder should be available for the rest of the tournament.

At his best, Lo Celso can be a connective player, linking the midfielders to the attack.

*Credit for all of the photos in this article belongs to AP Photo*

FIRST PUBLISHED: 2nd November 2022