Le Journal des sports du 29/05/2025 : Del Toro dynamite le Giro
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ABC News
25 minutes ago
- ABC News
After making history together, Nathan Cleary and Jarome Luai will face off in the NRL for the first time
As far as Jarome Luai is concerned, there are only two kinds of people on a rugby league pitch, even if he's facing Nathan Cleary. He said as much before the last time he played against Cleary, ahead of the 2022 World Cup final, a showdown the two will wage in the NRL for the first time when the Panthers face the Tigers on Sunday. "We're competitors through and through and it's going to be a great battle against one of my boys. But out there on the field, there's no friends — only brothers and enemies," Luai said. "I'm always going to look at it that way." Luai is the kind of player who talks and lives in absolutes, but if anyone could be both brother and enemy to him it might be Cleary. They first competed against each other a long time ago and Luai was the better prospect when they were boys — Cleary himself has acknowledged as much many times before, as will anyone who's been at Penrith long enough to remember the two of them running around for St Mary's and Penrith Brothers, and then for the club's junior rep sides. Luai won plenty of those early contests as well. When they first wore the black jerseys together as Under 16s players in 2013, it was Luai who started at halfback with Cleary first stuck on the bench before getting a start at hooker. Eventually, they combined for the first time in the halves later that season, and once they did it was clear their games were made for each other because even back then they were a mix of the iron will and the loudest voice, the light and the heat. The following seasons are when Cleary surged ahead — three years after he couldn't beat out Luai in a junior team, he was starting for Penrith in the big league at 18 and looking good doing it. By the time they partnered in the halves in the NRL for the first time in 2019, Cleary had already three finals series and a winning Origin campaign under his belt, as well as all the prestige and pressure that comes with being anointed as one of rugby league's young Messiahs. For Luai, it was just his ninth NRL game. That first match was against Parramatta, six years and two weeks ago at the same ground where they'll face off this Sunday. Back then, the Panthers were dead last on the ladder and talk was that Cleary could be in danger of losing his spot for New South Wales. It was a tough watch. Calling it one for the purists would offend the purists and it's strange, after what they've become, to go back and see a time when Luai and Cleary were the incomplete versions of themselves. Cleary is determined and dogged, but the game always seems a bit beyond his reach. He is grasping out desperately but cannot seize and control it the way he does so easily now. Compared to the bulletproof confidence and electricity he exudes so easily now, Luai is positively demure — he mainly shifts the ball from side to side, doesn't run it once and kicks it only twice. But one of those kicks came late, and it took a rebound off a Parramatta defender right into Cleary's path for him to score what would be the winning try. It doesn't look like much, but once you know what happened next it's a harbinger of doom. This rebounded kick in a sloppy, forgettable game is the first time Luai and Cleary clicked together in first grade and that's a clicking that didn't stop until they parted ways after last year's grand final as the most successful club halves combination of the NRL era. In the first few premiership years, Cleary fed off Luai's confidence while Luai excelled with the space Cleary learned to provide. Watching them together is to see two players in perfect harmony with one another. As the run of titles continued and their games became more complex, each began to show more of the other. Cleary learned to add more and more flourishes and subtleties to his rock-solid fundamentals as Luai learned to take the team around the park more effectively without blunting his own prodigious attacking gifts. That transformation helped drive Penrith to immortality because it meant each learned to live without the other and in a world where most teams are a strained halfback's hamstring away from collapsing, having two playmakers who can shine independently as well as together is close to priceless. Their combination took them to greatness but to stay there they had to be as effective apart as they could be together and in the last two years they have proven they can. Cleary has played many great games in his life and has many more to come but the final stages of the 2023 grand final will likely always be his finest hour, due in no small part to Luai succumbing to a shoulder injury and the weight of destiny falling almost solely on the halfback. Likewise, with hamstring and shoulder problems slowing Cleary down, last year it was Luai who came to the fore as the side's top dog, running them around the park in a style all his own. By the time the finals started, Luai (eight) had played nearly as many games at halfback as Cleary had (ten) and the Panthers were ensconced in the top four and ready for yet another premiership tilt, which they duly converted into a title that felt like it ran on muscle memory. Things are different now for Penrith. They miss Luai and James Fisher-Harris as they have not missed any of the other stars who have departed through the premiership years. They miss Luai's energy, his focus, his ability to channel his competitiveness towards victory and to inspire such efforts in others as much as they miss his skill, his cunning and his ability to work both with and without Cleary. The Panthers only moved off the bottom of the ladder last week and with a heavy Origin representation they cannot afford to drop many more games if they want to make the finals, especially against a side like the Tigers who are also fixing to be part of the logjam at the end of the top eight. Cleary is still great — his fingerprints were all over last week's win against Parramatta, as they have been for most of Penrith's best moments this year. But with so many of their players so unfamiliar with such hard times what the Panthers wouldn't give for Luai to supercharge them, to remind them of who they are, to send a bolt of lightning up their arm and get the angry blood pumping again. That is exactly what Luai is fighting hard to give his new club. At the Tigers he is starting again with a club stuck way down in the hole, trying to teach players young and old how to be great which is a lesson as hard to teach as it is to learn. This is a club still in transition, still building itself up after years in the doldrums. They have made progress this year and Luai has been a big part of it but after three straight losses and the Lachlan Galvin saga the Tigers need a win and they need it bad. Which means Luai and Cleary back where they were when they first locked horns on suburban fields across Sydney's west all those years ago. Their only previous meeting as stars was at Old Trafford in front of 60,000 with a World Cup on the line and Cleary's Australian side got the better of Luai and Samoa. But this one is more familiar to them both because it's a battle of the weekly desperation that they know so well, the knife fight in the mud that makes all the bigger days possible. Cleary and Luai both know that finals are the end of the story but wins like this are how you get there. Their mighty wills, which were united so many times through the history they made together, are now fixed on the other and for the first time in their club colours they want the same thing and only one of them can have it. Brothers fight all the time but so do enemies and after the history Cleary and Luai lived together they really can be both, even if it's just for 80 minutes at a time.
News.com.au
an hour ago
- News.com.au
Trainers Jim and Greg Lee dare to dream of another Group 1 staying classic with emerging Convergent
The trainer's hut at the mile start of Royal Randwick is laden with history. If only the walls could talk. Most mornings, you find Jim and Greg Lee watching trackwork from the hut, right alongside Hall of Famer Les Bridge. The trio are the longest serving trainers at the famous racetrack. There's nearly 200 years of experience between them. Bridge started training at Randwick in 1964. Three years later, Jim and Greg were apprenticed to him. 'When we went to the track each morning to ride work, the 'boss' would say 'here comes the Kray brothers','' Greg Lee said. 'Jim and 'me' didn't know who the Kray brothers were, we thought he had us mixed up with someone else. We still laugh about it to this day.'' • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! For those who may not know, Ronnie and Reggie Kray were identical twins and infamous English crime figures before their arrest in 1968. The Lees were often mistaken as twins, particularly in their youth, but they are 'clean skins' and about as far removed from the Kray brothers as you can get. They are old school and to this day still refer to Bridge rather quaintly as 'boss' or 'Mr Bridge''. The Lees started training in 1981. Training partnerships weren't in vogue back so Jim Lee was the registered trainer but the brothers share everything. It's always been this way. Bridge turns 87 next month, Jim Lee is 71 and a year older than his brother. But the three men share two traits that will never leave them – their love for the thoroughbred and a desire to find the next good horse. In recent years, Bridge has won The Everest with Classique Legend and a Doncaster Mile with Celestial Legend. Both horses are now retired so their trainer is searching again. Classique Legend takes out the 2020 #TABEverest! Gun ride from @KPMcEvoy to take it home again! — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) October 17, 2020 But for the Lees, maybe their search could soon be over. There is something about the relatively unknown and inexperienced Convergent that excites the brothers. 'He's a strong stayer and he can run time,'' Greg Lee said. 'In his work, he runs times that others horses can't. He's a very promising horse.'' Convergent puts his unbeaten record on the line in the Midway Handicap (1500m) at Royal Randwick on Saturday. He is rated a $15 chance in early TAB Fixed Odds betting behind the $4.60 favourite Engine Room. A rising five-year-old gelding, Convergent has o nly been to the races once, making his debut at Kensington on Anzac Day and swooping from last in a small field to win comfortably. Convergent wins on debut for Jim & Greg Lee with @Reganbayliss in the saddle ðŸ'° @aus_turf_club — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) April 25, 2025 • Lee only had Convergent in his stable for a few weeks prior to the horse's winning debut. The trainer had given Convergent two very different barrier trial hit-outs leading into his debut race to learn more about the gelding. In the first trial Convergent led most of the way to win his heat comfortably, then he was ridden more conservatively in his next trial and finished at the rear of the field behind boom English import Sir Delius. 'I wanted him ridden on the pace in his first trial to see how much speed he had,'' Lee said. 'Then in his second trial, he was ridden quietly to teach him to relax. He got back in the field and was inside runners so he was sort of 'buried' away there. 'But by this stage we knew he could gallop and we were confident he could win his first start.'' Interesting trial. 1st - Convergent (4g Impending x Victoria Heights) for Jim & Greg Lee. Unraced 4yo having his 8th trial. 2nd - Klondike (5g Galileo x Koora). New import into the @JohnOSheaRacing team. Winter and Melbourne Cup aspirations. 3 wins from 9 to G3 level. @larneuk — Breednet (@BreednetNews) March 28, 2025 • Convergent's backstory is interesting. The modestly-bred gelding was passed in when he failed to meet his $15,000 reserve at the 2022 Magic Millions National Yearling Sale before finding his way into the Anthony Cummings stable. Cummings gave Convergent plenty of time and the four-year-old gelding had not made it to the racetrack when the trainer's licence was revoked in March. He then approached the Lee brothers to see if they were interested in buying the unraced horse. 'Anthony kept telling me he reckons Convergent was a Melbourne Cup hope,'' Greg Lee said. 'He showed me the times the horse was running on the track and I believed him. 'Anthony gave us the horse for a month to trial him which was a very fair thing for him to do. 'When the horse won his first trial, I could see he was running the times Anthony was telling us he could run.'' Lee's long-time stable client Fred Khedoori agreed to purchase Convergent for an undisclosed sum. The owner has had a lot of success with the Lee stable over the years with the likes of Fouardee, winner of five stakes races including the Group 3 Concorde Stakes, Group 3 Bill Ritchie Handicap and two Listed Satellite Stakes, and Keepin' The Dream, winner of the Group 3 Hawkesbury Gold Cup, Group 3 Newmarket Handicap, Listed Gosford Gold Cup and Listed Scone Cup. But Convergent is something else again. It has the Lee brothers thinking of the heady days with their best horse, outstanding stayer Hayai who won the 1983-84 Metropolitan Handicaps, 1983 Caulfield Cup and Tancred Stakes, and 1984-85 Craven Plates. • Bargain basement buy knocks off $3m filly More than 40 years since Hayai, the Lee brothers are daring to dream again. 'After Convergent runs on Saturday, we are going to give him a short break then bring him back for races like the Wyong Cup and Newcastle Cup,'' Lee said. 'If he is as good as we think he is, we are hoping he gets to The Metropolitan and who knows where he might end up after that.' But what makes the Lee brothers believe Convergent could be their next good horse given his lack of race exposure? Well, when you have been working with horses as long as the Lee brothers have, you just know. 'The good horses are different, you can tell. They have a great set of lungs and a will-to-win,'' Greg Lee said. 'Convergent has those qualities. He will run 2400m no worries at all, and he shows every sign he will get over further, too. 'He jumps out, puts his head over his chest, goes to 'sleep' and doesn't move unless his rider asks him. We like the horse a lot.'' The Lee brothers only have 10 horses in training and whatever they are doing, it's working. They have had five winners from their past 10 starters – Convergent, Power Smash, Valiant Bomb and My Shalom (twice). My Shalom gets the best of the rest in a tight finish at Kembla Grange! ðŸ'¥ @HeavelonVan — SKY Racing (@SkyRacingAU) June 3, 2025 They also have a very promising three-year-old Glorious Moments that won a barrier trial by nearly 10 lengths last week, and an unnamed two-year-old by sire sensation Wootton Bassett that Greg says can really gallop. Even though Jim Lee stays at home more often than not these days, it was like old times at Randwick trackwork for Greg Lee this week. Giving Greg a helping hand at the stables was Neville Voigt, who rode Hayai to most of his wins, Hall of Fame jockey Jim Cassidy, three-time Sydney premier rider Kevin Moses and trainer Bobby Pearse. And Bridge is right next to Lee in the trainer's hut at the mile start, both men sitting on the same chairs that have been for decades. 'They all have their own ideas and you never stop learning from them,'' Greg Lee said. 'With all these great horsemen around you, it's hard to make a mistake.''
News.com.au
2 hours ago
- News.com.au
Ka Ying Rising locked in for 2025 The Everest as slot details confirmed
Hong Kong superstar Ka Ying Rising, the world's number one-ranked sprinter, has been confirmed as a starter in the Group 1 $20 million The Everest. Ka Ying Rising will race for new slot-holder the Hong Kong Jockey Club which is understood to have negotiated a lease arrangement for the Australian Turf Club's slot. There is a synergy with the two race clubs' Everest alignment as the rich Royal Randwick sprint is part of the World Pool which is managed by HKJC, and the deal also ensures the world's best sprinter, Ka Ya Rising, races in Sydney during spring. It is understood ATC and HKJC are negotiating to expand the World Pool's commingling parimutuel betting operation to include more major Sydney race meetings including the Golden Slipper. Final details of the Ka Ying Rising Everest slot deal are expected to be announced later today. Hall of Fame trainer David Hayes has been anticipating Ka Ying Rising's Everest selection and is already planning the champion's two-start Sydney spring campaign. 'I've had stables at Randwick before and always had a good relationship with the club (Australian Turf Club) so I'm pleased that it seems likely the Hong Kong Jockey Club has come to a deal with them,'' Hayes said. 'Now we can concentrate on getting Ka Ying Rising ready for The Everest.'' Hayes said he has had discussions with James Ross, the former ATC executive who is now working with HKJC, about the quarantine and training facilities at Canterbury where Ka Ying Rising will stabled during the spring. 'I haven't had a horse stabled at Canterbury before but I've seen the success the internationals have had out of there so I'm not worried about having a horse there,'' Hayes said. Ka Ying Rising returned to Hayes' Hong Kong stables this week to begin pre-training ahead of his Sydney spring campaign. HE DOES IT AGAIN! 🚀 Ka Ying Rising makes it 12 straight wins, four Group 1s and a HK$5 million Speed Series bonus with victory in the 2025 Chairman's Sprint Prize... @zpurton #FWDChampionsDay | #HKracing — HKJC Racing (@HKJC_Racing) April 27, 2025 • Hayes confirmed Ka Ying Rising would contest The Everest, the world's richest turf race run at Royal Randwick over 1200m on October 18, and then back up two weeks later in the $3 million Russell Balding Stakes (1300m) at Rosehill Gardens. If Ka Ying Rising wins both sprints, he would collect more than $10 million prizemoney. Bella Nipotina became the first to win both races last spring. Champion Ka Ying Rising, who has won 12 races in succession, is already $1.90 favourite with TAB Fixed Odds for The Everest and is set to start the shortest favourite in the race's history. Nature Strip was $1.90 when he ran fourth to Giga Kick in the 2022 The Everest. Ka Ying Rising has risen to the top of the world rankings after completing a perfect season in Hong Kong, winning all eight races including four at Group 1 level. The latest edition of the 2025 Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings can be found here: — IFHA's Longines World's Best Racehorse Rankings (@worldsbesthorse) May 8, 2025 'We gave Ka Ying Rising a five-week spell and he returned to my stables this week,'' Hayes revealed. 'I'm still working out his program but I'm building him up slowly with a view he may run at Sha Tin on the opening day of the new season in early September and then go into quarantine for Sydney. 'I've got another horse to travel with him to Sydney so he has a bit of company. Ka Ying Rising is a terrific trackworker and doesn't have to work with anything but it would be good for him to have a mate when he's in quarantine at Canterbury.'' Hayes said the $1 million bonus on offer for any sprinter that could win the Everest-Russell Balding double and also Racing Victoria's strict veterinary protocols had led to his decision to keep Ka Ying Rising in Sydney after The Everest and not aim the freakish sprinter at the Group 1 Champion's Sprint at Flemington. Hayes said he believed there was enough time after the two Sydney races to get Ka Ying Rising back to Hong Kong to prepare for his defence of the Hong Kong International Sprint (1200m) at Sha Tin in December.
