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5751. wabbit - 9/10/2007 1:44:34 AM  The champion at Cog Hill, the front-runner for the FedEx Cup. Indeed, Tiger Woods is where most everyone figured he would be heading into the final week of the PGA Tour Playoffs. With a 50-foot birdie putt that got him back on track Sunday, Woods matched the lowest final round of his career with an 8-under 63 that shattered the scoring record at Cog Hill and gave him a two-shot victory in the BMW Championship. Woods took the lead for good with a 12-foot birdie on the 13th hole and kept his distance from Aaron Baddeley and Steve Stricker with a swing so solid that he missed only two fairways all weekend. Woods finished at 22-under 262, breaking by five shots the record he set four years ago at Cog Hill. It also gave him a commanding lead with one week remaining in the FedEx Cup. Woods goes to East Lake in Atlanta with a 3,133-point lead over Steve Stricker, who finished third at Cog Hill, and a 4,120-point margin over Phil Mickelson, who decided not to play this week. Mickelson, the Deutsche Bank Championship winner Monday, will have to win to have any hopes of capturing the FedEx Cup and the $10 million prize. If Stricker does not win at East Lake, Woods could win the cup by finishing second. Only two other players - Rory Sabbatini and K.J. Choi - have a mathematical chance of winning the FedEx Cup.
Amateur Stacy Lewis finished atop the leaderboard at the rain-shortened LPGA NW Arkansas Championship on Sunday, when Jin Young Pak finished a three-day first round two strokes behind. The LPGA Tour shortened the event from 54 holes to 18, setting up a bizarre finish on a nearly empty course at Pinnacle Country Club. Only 32 players hadn't finished when play resumed Sunday, and the final day was closed to the public. Lewis, the NCAA champion, isn't considered an official winner because the tournament did not last at least 36 holes.
PGA news
5753. wabbit - 9/10/2007 1:47:02 AM  Roger Federer sure gave Novak Djokovic chances, all sorts of chances, to pull off a major surprise in the U.S. Open final Sunday. Federer knows how to win these things, while Djokovic is still learning, and that might have made the difference. Hardly at the top of his game, Federer came through, beating Djokovic 7-6 (4), 7-6 (2), 6-4 for his fourth consecutive U.S. Open championship and 12th Grand Slam title overall. Federer is the first man since Bill Tilden in the 1920s to win the American Grand Slam four years running, and he moved within two of Pete Sampras' career record of 14 major titles.
Let those big-spending spectators or TV types gripe about Justine Henin's lopsided Grand Slam final victories. She'll take 'em. Every last one. Capping a dominant run, the top-seeded Henin overwhelmed No. 4 Svetlana Kuznetsova 6-1, 6-3 Saturday night to win her second U.S. Open title and seventh major championship overall.  Henin, also the 2003 Open winner, didn't drop a set all tournament and became the first woman to win a Grand Slam after beating both Williams sisters along the way. The only help Henin needed was when she got a boost from a couple of fans while she climbed into the stands to greet her coach after the match ended. Kuznetsova matched the fewest number of games for an Open women's runner-up in the past 31 years, making Henin work for less than 11/2 hours.
US Open
5754. wabbit - 9/10/2007 1:47:33 AM  Josh Beckett allowed two runs in seven innings to earn his 18th victory, and the Boston Red Sox completed another successful season at Camden Yards by beating the Baltimore Orioles 3-2 Sunday. Coco Crisp singled home the tiebreaking run in the eighth inning, Mike Lowell drove in two runs and Dustin Pedroia had three hits for the Red Sox, who went 6-3 in Baltimore this year and stayed 5 1/2 games ahead of the second-place New York Yankees in the AL East. Boston has had a winning record at Camden Yards every season since 1998, going 54-23 during that span. Beckett (18-6) yielded seven hits, struck out eight - including Brian Roberts three times - and walked none. The right-hander is 4-1 lifetime against the Orioles, including 4-0 with a 2.05 ERA in four starts at Baltimore. Hideki Okajima worked the eighth and Jonathan Papelbon got three outs for his 35th save in 37 chances. The closer had retired 17 straight batters before Melvin Mora singled with one in the ninth. Mora and Nick Markakis homered for the Orioles, who have lost 16 of 19. The defeat assures Baltimore (61-81) a 10th consecutive non-winning season. I love Mike Lowell.
The hottest hitter in the majors cannot lie. Once in a while, even A-Rod steals a glance at the scoreboard and goes "Wow!" "Sure. Sometimes,'' Alex Rodriguez said. ''I've peeked up there a couple of times. You smile. You have to enjoy it a little bit and keep it moving." The Kauffman Stadium scoreboard on Sunday registered A-Rod's seventh home run in five games and his ninth in 11, as the New York Yankees beat the Kansas City Royals 6-3 for a three-game sweep. The win increased the Yankees' AL wild-card lead to four games over the Detroit Tigers. It's the fifth time in his brilliant 13-year career that the Yankees third baseman has homered in five straight games. With 19 games left in what he calls 'a magical season,' A-Rod leads the majors with 52 home runs and 140 RBIs.
Pedro Martinez soaked in every pitch, celebrated his fifth career double and cherished a rare curtain call. This was one terrific homecoming. Martinez tossed five shutout innings in his first start at Shea Stadium this season, outpitching Roy Oswalt and leading the New York Mets past the Houston Astros 4-1 Sunday for a three-game sweep.
MLB scores
5755. wabbit - 9/10/2007 1:47:58 AM  Randy Moss caught a long pass and stepped into the end zone, flashing the dominant playmaking ability that made him one of NFL's most feared wide receivers. Looks like it's time for opposing defenses to get scared again. Moss caught nine passes from Tom Brady for 183 yards and a touchdown in his New England debut, leading the Patriots to a 38-14 victory over the New York Jets on Sunday. Ellis Hobbs also set an NFL record by taking the second-half kickoff 108 yards for a score. Moss, acquired from Oakland in a draft-day deal, missed most of training camp with a hamstring injury and it was unclear how much of an impact he would have with his new team, or if he'd even play against the Jets. In the end, Moss made all the difference.
As the Steelers huddled around him, Mike Tomlin was presented with a game ball following his first game as Pittsburgh's coach. The Cleveland Browns handed him win No. 1 much earlier. In their first game in 15 years without iconic coach Bill Cowher stalking the sideline, the Steelers blitzed, battered and bullied their way to a 34-7 win over the hapless Browns, whose season opener couldn't have gone much worse. Ben Roethlisberger threw a career-high four touchdown passes as Pittsburgh built an early 17-0 lead and rolled for Tomlin, the easy-going 35-year-old former defensive coordinator who shares Cowher's passion - not his volcanic personality.
Jon Kitna backed up his big boasts with a clutch fourth-quarter comeback and a couple of key defensive plays by Dewayne White . Kitna threw a go-ahead, 32-yard touchdown pass to Shaun McDonald with 4:15 remaining and White forced two late turnovers that helped the Detroit Lions rally to beat the Raiders 36-21 Sunday after blowing a 17-point lead. The matchup between the NFL's two worst teams from a year ago turned highly entertaining in the second half when former Lions backup quarterback Josh McCown led the Raiders on three touchdown drives to turn a 17-0 deficit into a 21-20 Oakland lead with 7:43 to go. Then Kitna took over and spoiled Lane Kiffin's coaching debut in Oakland. Kitna, who predicted a 10-win season for the team that has been the NFL's doormat this decade, completed four of five passes for 67 yards on the game-winning drive, capping it with his third touchdown pass of the game. Facing no pressure, Kitna moved around in the pocket until McDonald broke open in the end zone for the score. McDonald then taunted the fans in Oakland's Black Hole, celebrating the go-ahead score. The Lions added to the lead when Jason Hanson kicked a 23-yard field goal with 2 minutes left after McCown was intercepted by White. White then stripped McCown on the next play and recovered a fumble to set up a 14-yard score by Tatum Bell that iced the game. Despite the loss, the Raiders showed much more offensive spunk than they did a year ago, when they managed only 12 touchdowns on offense on the way to a 2-14 season. McCown, who beat Daunte Culpepper for the starting job completed 30 of 40 passes for 313 yards and two touchdowns, but also turned the ball over three times.
NFL scores
5756. wabbit - 9/10/2007 1:52:51 AM  Doctor Dino (Fr) gradually wore down game runner-up Sunriver in an extended stretch duel to win the $500,000 Man o’ War Stakes (G1) by a head on Saturday at Belmont Park. Trained by Richard Gibson for owner Javier Martinez Salmean, Doctor Dino placed in a pair of Group 1 races earlier this season—finishing third in both the Prix Ganay (Fr-G1) on April 29 at Longchamp and the Singapore Airlines International Cup (Sin-G1) on May 20. The five-year-old Muthathir (GB) horse followed with a third-place finish behind victor Jambalaya and multiple Grade 1 winner The Tin Man in the Arlington Million Stakes (G1), but would not be denied a breakthrough Grade 1 win in the Man o’ War.
Ginger Punch dug in gamely to prevail by three-quarters of a length in the $285,000 Ruffian Handicap (G1) on Saturday at Belmont Park, securing her second consecutive Grade 1 win. Sent off as the 0.75-to-1 favorite under Rafael Bejarano, the four-year-old Awesome Again filly chased pacesetter and multiple Grade 1 winner Take D’ Tour through six furlongs in 1:10.06. Advancing three-wide on the turn, Ginger Punch responded when roused and overtook Take D’ Tour for a half-length lead in early stretch. She dug in gamely to hold off fast-closing Grade 1 winner Miss Shop and complete the 1 1/16-mile race in 1:40.25 on a track rated as fast. Miss Shop finished a half-length back in second, a half-length in front of multiple Grade 2 winner Teammate. Take D’ Tour faded in the final furlong to finish last in the four-horse field.
In his United States debut, Noel O'Callaghan's Alexander Tango (Ire) rallied from near the back of the ten-horse field to earn a three-quarter-length win in the $219,800 Garden City Stakes (G1) on Saturday at Belmont Park. As New Edition set a leisurely pace in the 1 1/8-mile turf race for three-year-old fillies, winning jockey Shaun Bridgmohan rated Alexander Tango in ninth along the outside as the leader took the field through six furlongs in 1:14.52. Nearing the turn, Bridgmohan asked for more from the chestnut Danehill Dancer filly. Rallying five wide approaching the stretch, Alexander Tango raced in fifth in early stretch and unleashed a strong bid on the outside to overtake four opponents en route to the win in 1:48.97 on the firm turf. Grade 3 winner Bit of Whimsy finished second, a nose in front of multiple graded stakes winner Sharp Susan. Rutherienne, the 8-to-5 favorite, was wide for much of the trip and had no rally, finishing last of ten.
Thoroughbred Times
5757. wonkers2 - 9/11/2007 1:44:59 AM Hydroptere 5758. robertjayb - 9/14/2007 3:25:12 AM Another cycling doper?
BONN, Germany – (AP)-- Former Tour de France winner Jan Ullrich transferred money to a Spanish doctor suspected of providing doping services to riders, according to German prosecutors.
The transfer of $34,742 to Spanish sports physician Eufemiano Fuentes was made in early 2004 from Ullrich's account in a Swiss bank, Bonn prosecutor spokesman Joerg Schindler said Thursday.
A similar transfer was made in early 2006, but investigators are still trying to determine if that sum was sent to Fuentes. Investigators say Ullrich is suspected of fraud and they are trying to link him to doping.
In April, prosecutors matched a sample of Ullrich's DNA to blood found stored in Fuentes' office in May 2006.
Ullrich, who won Tour de France in 1997, has denied doping but he was fired by his T-Mobile team and retired in February. He lives in Switzerland.
5759. wabbit - 9/16/2007 6:28:39 PM  Josh Beckett and Eric Hinske pushed back at the surging New York Yankees and tightened Boston's grip on the AL East. Beckett became the first 19-game winner in the majors and Hinske provided the muscle, bowling over Jorge Posada in a home-plate collision to help the Red Sox rout New York 10-1 Saturday and open 51/2-game lead with two weeks and a day to play. Boston lowered its magic number to nine to end New York's nine-year stranglehold on the division title.
Surging perhaps too late to catch Cleveland in the AL Central, the Detroit Tigers still can overtake the New York Yankees in the wild-card race. Carlos Guillen had an RBI single and Ivan Rodriguez hit a three-run double off Johan Santana in the first inning, and Detroit held on for a 4-3 victory over the Minnesota Twins on Saturday night that pulled the Tigers within 21/2 games of New York.
The Cardinals ended their slide, probably too late to do them any good. Miguel Cairo's RBI triple capped a four-run third inning, and St. Louis rallied past the Chicago Cubs 4-3 in the second game of a day-night doubleheader to end a nine-game losing streak.
MLB scores
5760. wabbit - 9/16/2007 6:28:55 PM  In many ways, it was just like the old days at Nebraska, with a top-ranked team running all over an overmatched opponent in front of a crazy crowd at Memorial Stadium. The difference was the Cornhuskers were the team getting pushed around Saturday night and No. 1 Southern California was doing the dominating. The Trojans got physical with the No. 14 Nebraska in a 49-31 victory, piling up 313 yards on the ground. Stafon Johnson led USC's tailback brigade with 144 yards and the Trojans averaged 8.2 yards per rush. It was a thoroughly impressive performance by USC and more one-sided than the final score showed.
Florida's "blue-out" turned into a blowout, courtesy of Tim Tebow, Percy Harvin and Brandon James. The trio made play after play Saturday, accounting for more than 600 all-purpose yards and lifting the fifth-ranked Gators to a 59-20 romp over No. 22 Tennessee on Saturday. The winner of this game has won the division 11 times in the last 14 years. None of those previous meetings were nearly as lopsided. This was the largest margin of victory in the series since the Volunteers hammered the Gators 45-3 in 1990. It also was the most points Florida has scored in a conference game since beating Kentucky 59-31 in 2000. The Gators (3-0, 1-0) extended their winning streak to 10 games, stretched their home winning streak to 18 and improved to 7-0 against their three biggest rivals under Meyer. Florida hasn't lost to Tennessee, Georgia or Florida State since 2004.
Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan was the clear winner in a showdown with another of the country's top players, throwing for a career-best 435 yards to lead the 21st-ranked Eagles to a 24-10 victory over No. 15 Georgia Tech on Saturday night. Ryan's previous best: a 408-yard effort two weeks ago against defending Atlantic Coast Conference champion Wake Forest. He's now just shy of 1,000 yards for the season, in only three games. Ryan was 30-of-44 in the third 400-yard passing game of his career, which included a 39-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Robinson . The Yellow Jackets were clearly impressed.
NCAA Football
5761. robertjayb - 9/16/2007 8:45:11 PM O.J. Simpson arrested on armed robbery charges---Vows to find real robbers*...
LAS VEGAS — (AP) -- Twelve years after being acquitted of killing his ex-wife and her friend, O.J. Simpson was arrested today on charges related to an armed robbery involving sports memorabilia.
Police said Simpson was arrested shortly after 11 a.m. local time and is being brought to a police office, Capt. James Dillon said. Police are still determining charges against the former football star.
Several police officers were seen entering the hotel where Simpson is staying; a security guard said police took Simpson out a side door shortly after.
At least one other person has been arrested and police said earlier today that as many as six people could be arrested in connection with the alleged armed robbery that occurred in a room at the Palace Station Hotel-Casino on Thursday.
*tic
5762. wabbit - 9/20/2007 2:43:41 PM  Sliding feet first, Lori Chalupny scored 57 seconds into the game -- the second-fastest goal in the history of the Women's World Cup. The goal came amid heavy rain and with a typhoon on the way, sending the United States past Nigeria 1-0 Tuesday and into the quarterfinals against England. Abby Wambach took a throw-in from Cat Whitehill and headed the ball to Chalupny. She settled it off her chest and chipped a short right-footed shot that deflected off a Nigerian player behind goalkeeper Precious Dede. It was her fifth goal for the national team. The only quicker goal in tournament history was a 30-second score by Sweden's Lena Videkull in 1991.
The U.S., seeking another title to go with the ones from 1991 and '99, finished first in Group B -- the toughest of the tournament with three of the world's top five teams. Next up is England on Saturday in the northern city of Tianjin. North Korea lost 2-1 to Sweden in Tuesday's other Group B game, but still advanced to face defending champion Germany on Saturday in the central city of Wuhan. The final is Sept. 30 in Shanghai. Four other teams will qualify Wednesday and Thursday in Groups C and D. Norway, Australia, Brazil and China are the favorites. The Americans topped their group with seven points. North Korea and Sweden, the runner-up in 2003, had four, but the Asians advanced on goal difference.
Women's World Cup soccer
5763. wabbit - 9/20/2007 2:44:08 PM  I remember telling people back in June not to count the Yankees out of the division race. And here we go with the usual, Yankees on fire and the Red Sox tanking at the end of the season. Sigh. Andy Pettitte got a milestone ball from Mariano Rivera and the lineup card from manager Joe Torre. The New York Yankees got another step closer to the top of the AL East. Pettitte earned his 200th win, Rivera escaped a bases-loaded jam in the ninth inning and the Yankees edged the Baltimore Orioles 2-1 Wednesday night to complete a three-game sweep that pulled them within 1 1/2 games of first-place Boston.
Scott Hairston is making the most of his home runs for the San Diego Padres. Hairston hit a three-run homer with two outs in the ninth inning Wednesday night, lifting the Padres over the Pittsburgh Pirates 5-3. The win increased San Diego's lead in the NL wild-card race to 2 1/2 games over Philadelphia, which lost 2-1 in 10 innings at St. Louis. Hairston, acquired in a trade with Arizona on July 27, also hit a game-winning, solo homer to give San Diego a 4-3 win in 10 innings on Aug. 3 against San Francisco. He entered that game as a defensive replacement and hit a three-run homer in the eighth to tie the game.
Barry Bonds continues to seal his reputation as a fine human being. Bonds said the man who bought his 756th home run ball and announced plans to let the public decide its fate is an "idiot." Fashion designer Marc Ecko had the winning bid Saturday in the online auction for the ball that Bonds hit last month to break Hank Aaron's record of 755 home runs. The final selling price was $752,467, well above most predictions. Ecko, 35, has set up a Web site that lets visitors vote on three options for the ball: give it to the National Baseball Hall of Fame, brand it with an asterisk before sending it to Cooperstown or blast it into space on a rocket ship. The asterisk would suggest that Bonds' record is tainted by alleged steroid use. The Giants slugger has denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs.
MLB scores
5764. wabbit - 9/20/2007 2:50:52 PM  It is 342 square feet of the most historic real estate in boxing, a place where some of the sport's greatest champions have stood -- and where some were laid flat on their backs.
After 82 years, Madison Square Garden retired its storied boxing ring and donate it to the International Boxing Hall of Fame, where it will go on display this fall.
"The fans. The atmosphere. The Garden was special ... I think some of my most exciting fights were in that ring, and I always got the job done there," said Joe Frazier, who had a 9-1 record in "The Mecca of Boxing," including a 15-round decision over Muhammad Ali on March 8, 1971, in what became known as "The Fight of the Century."
The Frazier-Ali bout was one of more than two dozen heavyweight championships fought in Madison Square Garden over its long history, along with hundreds of other title fights and thousands of non-title matches...
5765. jexster - 9/22/2007 10:49:16 PM TIGER BAIT!
LSU is awesome. Maybe one of the best football teams in years and certainly NUMBER ONE.
It's them damn Yankees. Wonk and Al Sharpton and their ilk who think it's just fine to beat up white boys 5766. jexster - 9/22/2007 11:14:03 PM 
5767. alistairConnor - 9/27/2007 7:49:01 AM Took the family to see some World Cup rugby last night.
 Samoa 25-21 USA.
A cold, rainy night in Saint Etienne. Perfect conditions for the match (we've had something of an Indian summer these last few weeks, and teams have often suffered from the heat). Excellent ambiance in the Stade Geoffroy Guichard, a legendary soccer venue. Near-capacity crowd, mostly locals and mostly... soccer fans.
The Samoans came to the Cup with big ambitions : they have been quarter-finalists several times before. But this is not a good year for them, and this was their only win of the Cup.
The USA have lost their three games (England, Tonga, Samoa) but with honour and style, scoring tries in each game (and achieving one point on the Cup scoreboard, by virtue of their narrow losing margin in this match). They still have one match to go... but will be harbouring no illusions, since they will be playing South Africa, who I rank as second favourites for the Cup, behind New Zealand.
%5f2881%5fsq%5ffull-lnd.jpg)
USA in red, Samoa in blue.
A more competitive match than I had expected. My girls were waving the Samoan flag, but I tried to remain even-handed. We were lucky to be seated behind the right set of goalposts : Samoa dominated the first half, but the USA were on top in the second, so we saw most of the play up close.
%5f2883%5fsq%5ffull-lnd.jpg) Man of the match for me was this man, number 14, Takudzwa Ngwenya, who scored a brilliant winger's try, the USA's first, in the second half. Can't find a decent photo of him, he's new to international rugby. All I know about him is that he's... a Texan.
Veteran captain Mike Hercus was reliable with his kicking, scoring from three penalties and getting one difficult conversion out of two.
Guardian
BBC
# USA captain Mike Hercus:
"I think at the end we played really good.
"We've really got in the habit of being slow starters. The spirit of rugby was there. Hopefully we entertained people."
Thank you sir, you did! 5768. anomie - 9/29/2007 4:54:18 AM Cubs win! The Northsiders in Chicago, of which I was once one, are happy to be in the playoffs as NL Central Division champs. I await the inevitable October heart break. 5769. wabbit - 10/1/2007 12:12:36 AM  J.D. Drew skipped Boston's wild celebration of its first AL East title in 12 years. He didn't miss much Saturday night. Continuing his surge at the end of a trying season, Drew hit a full-count fastball for a three-run homer in the seventh inning to help the Red Sox beat the Minnesota Twins 6-4. The win, combined with Cleveland's loss to Kansas City, guaranteed the Red Sox will have the best record in the AL - with a tiebreaker edge if they match the Indians at 96-66. That gave them the right to choose whether to start their division series at home against the Los Angeles Angels on Wednesday or Thursday. They picked Wednesday, giving them an extra day off during the series, and Cleveland will begin Thursday against the New York Yankees. The Sox lost 4-3 in this afternoon's game, but Mike Lowell was named team MVP, which makes me happy.
The Arizona Diamondbacks clinched their fourth division title - and home-field advantage throughout the NL playoffs - before they even took the field thanks to the Milwaukee Brewers' come-from-behind win over San Diego. The Brewers' 11-inning win also kept Colorado's postseason hopes afloat. Today, the Rockies beat Arizona 4-3 and the Padres lost 11-6 to Milwaukee. Colorado will play a tie-breaker against San Diego Monday at Coors Field for the final playoff spot in the majors. Chicago clinched the NL Central division with a 6-0 victory in front of thousands of raucous Chicago fans on Friday night.
The Mets are out and the Phillies are in. Considered all-but-out of contention just 2 1/2 weeks ago, the Philadelphia Phillies overcame a huge deficit in the standings, caught the Mets and won their first NL East title since 1993 on the final day. Ryan Howard hit his 47th homer, 44-year-old Jamie Moyer pitched 5 1-3 gutsy innings and the Phillies, backed by a crowd going crazy, beat Washington 6-1 Sunday to end a 14-year playoff drought.
MLB scores
5770. wabbit - 10/1/2007 12:12:54 AM  Abby Wambach gave the United States something more than bad memories to carry home from the women's World Cup. Wambach's two goals, and two more from Lori Chalupny and Heather O'Reilly, led the United States to a lopsided 4-1 victory over Norway on Sunday in the third-place game. The powerful American striker scored in the 30th and 46th minutes, giving her six goals for the tournament and putting the United States in command. The U.S. team, distracted by the expulsion of goalkeeper Hope Solo, pulled together three days after a humiliating 4-0 semifinal loss to Brazil that ended a 51-game winning streak.
Defending champion Germany repeated its title, winning its second straight Women's World Cup on Sunday, defeating Brazil 2-0 behind second-half goals by Birgit Prinz and Simone Laudehr. Prinz scored in the 52nd minute and Laudehr added a cushion late in the game, helping Germany become the first women's soccer team to successfully defend its title in the World Cup or Olympics. Brazil star Marta, who had seven goals in the tournament, had a chance to tie the game in the second half, but her penalty kick was stopped by diving German goalkeeper Nadine Angerer. Germany managed to hold off flowing attacks by Brazil, which routed the United States 4-0 in the semifinal.
5771. wabbit - 10/1/2007 12:13:33 AM  Hard Spun, second in the Kentucky Derby, turned the tables on Derby winner Street Sense in winning Saturday's $350,000 Kentucky Cup Classic at Turfway Park. It was the first time Hard Spun finished in front of his rival in three races. Hard Spun and Street Sense were sent off as 4-5 co-favorites in the four horse field. Breaking from the inside post Hard Spun immediately took the lead at the start and never looked back. With Mario Pino in the saddle, Hard Spun repulsed the challenge of Street Sense down the stretch and went on to win by 1 1/4 lengths. Finishing third was Stream Cat with Cat Shaker fourth. The field was reduced to four when Muqbil was scratched by trainer Duane Knipe. The time for the 1 1/8 miles was 1:48.48 on the all-weather surface.
Owned by Rick Porter, Hard Spun finally got the best of Street Sense. After finishing second in the Run for the Roses, Hard Spun was third in the Preakness Stakes when Street Sense was second to Curlin. Curlin had been third in the Kentucky Derby. Hard Spun, trained by Larry Jones, has won his last two starts, including the King's Bishop Stakes at Saratoga. He was fourth in the Belmont Stakes and finished second to Any Given Saturday in the Haskell Invitational at Monmouth Park. Hard Spun collects $210,000 for the Kentucky Cup Classic, his second victory at Turfway Park where he won the Lane's End Stakes in March. His career earnings are now $1.6 million with seven wins in 12 lifetime starts. Hard Spun returned $3.80 and $2.10, and Street Sense paid $2.10. There was no show wagering due to the short field.
English Channel muscled his way through an opening along the rail and went to win the $600,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic at Belmont Park on Sunday for the second straight year. The 2 1/4-length victory over Stream of Gold earned English Channel an automatic berth in the $3 million Breeders' Cup Turf at New Jersey's Monmouth Park on Oct. 27. English Channel, trained by Todd Pletcher, left from the No. 1 post under John Velazquez, and ran third along the rail until the field turned for home. Behind a wall of horses, Velazquez somehow found room inside of Mission Approved and then held off Stream of Gold to become just the third horse to win the Grade 1 race two times.
After a lackluster performance in the Haskell, Curlin ran down favorite Lawyer Ron to win the $750,000 Jockey Club Gold Cup and get an automatic entry in the Breeders Cup next month. Lawyer Ron is already in, thanks to wins in the Whitney and Woodward Stakes, both in Saratoga.
Finally, good news for those of us who love the old man. 32-year-old John Henry is improving after a series of dehydration problems this summer. He is back to receiving visitors who come to see him at the Kentucky Horse Park.
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