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ELMONT, N.Y. -- Baseball isnt the only game of inches.Fans of the horse Syndergaard -- including the New York Mets pitcher for whom he was named and who was in attendance Saturday at Belmont Park -- were reminded of that as Practical Joke, after a furlong battle, got his nose down on the wire in front of Syndergaard to win the Grade 1, $500,000 Champagne.The victory was one of three graded stakes that trainer Chad Brown won on Saturdays card at Belmont. Practical Joke earned an automatic berth into the $2 million Breeders Cup Juvenile on Nov. 5 at Santa Anita but he is not Breeders Cup nominated and his connections - owner Seth Klarman and Bill Lawrence - would have to pay a $100,000 nomination fee. After that, his shipping expenses would be picked up by the Breeders Cup through the Win and Youre In program.Practical Joke overcame a slow start as, breaking from the rail, he took a left-hand turn and nearly went into the opening between the chute and the main track. Jockey Joel Rosario straightened him out, saved all the ground he could for more than six furlongs before tipping his horse off the rail turning for home.Syndergaard, under John Velazquez, had set torrid fractions of 22.74 seconds for the quarter-mile, 44.63 for the half, and 1:08.76 for six furlongs while being hounded by Big Gray Rocket.Syndergaard disposed of Big Gray Rocket at the three-sixteenth pole but was soon confronted by Practical Joke. The pair raced in lockstep through the final furlong and it was going to come down to a head bob, with this one going to Practical Joke.He got a beautiful pace setup but he had a terrible break as well, said Brown, who trains Practical Joke for Seth Klarman and Bill Lawrence. He showed how good a horse he is. The runner-up is a very good horse as well. He deserves a lot of credit for fighting as well as he did. It was a close bob at the end but Im glad we got it.It was 6-1/2 lengths back to Favorable Outcome - also trained by Brown. He was followed, in order, by Big Gray Rocket, Thirst for Victory, and Lookin At Blessing.Practical Joke, who added the Champagne to his narrow victory in the Grade 1 Hopeful at Saratoga, covered the mile in 1:34.68 and returned $7.90 to win.Rosario, who was riding Practical Joke for the first time, said he could sense the horse wanted to do something mischievous coming out of the gate. He said the break cost him a few lengths but he thought he would benefit from an anticipated quick pace.I was going to be stalking it looked like because it looked like on paper there was a lot of speed, Rosario said. I was planning to take my time with him and keep coming with that long run he has.There was a bit more buzz surrounding the Champagne as the presence of Syndergaard, the pitcher, drew a lot of interest from fans who chanted No-ah, No-ah when they saw him in the paddock.Syndergaard, sipping a bottle of Corona, watched the race from the box seats and thought the horse had won, raising his hands in victory.He was not nearly as frustrated, however, as Todd Pletcher, the colts trainer.It was just unfortunate Mike never gave us a breather, said Pletcher, referring to Mike Smith, the rider of Big Gray Rocket. It set up well for somebody to come from off the pace. I thought the horse ran very courageously. Frustrating loss. C. J. Cron Jersey . Robinson finished with 17 points, all but two in the second half, and Lawson had 14 after halftime and finished with a game-high 11 assists as the Nuggets handed Dallas its first home loss in eight games this season. J.J. Hickson led Denver with 22, and Kenneth Faried added 10 points and 10 rebounds. Nick Gordon Twins Jersey .1 million pounds ($61.2 million) on Saturday, giving the beleaguered English Premier League champions a major lift. https://www.cheaptwins.com/152t-paul-molitor-jersey-twins.html .ca looks back at the stories and moments that made the year memorable. Brusdar Graterol Jersey . -- Anaheim Ducks defenceman Luca Sbisa will be out at least six weeks with a torn tendon in his right hand. Brusdar Graterol Twins Jersey . On Saturday night, the normally free throw-challenged centre did just that. Howard scored 18 of his 25 points in the fourth quarter, including 13 of 19 free throws in a 2 1/2-minute stretch, and the Houston Rockets beat the Denver Nuggets 122-111. PHILADELPHIA -- Luke Weaver is learning that he doesnt need to be so perfect.Weaver took the loss in his second major league start as Cesar Hernandez homered, doubled and singled to lead the Philadelphia Phillies to a 4-2 victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on Saturday night.Weaver (0-1), a 22-year-old 2014 first-round picks, went five innings and allowed three runs on nine hits with six strikeouts and no walks.I might be trying to make too good of pitches, which pushes the pitch count up, said Weaver, who was lifted after 96 pitches. Its not about making the perfect pitch, just making a quality one.Cardinals manager Mike Matheny said Weaver just needs to trust the stuff that got him to the big leagues.If theres one thing I think hes doing, he might be giving hitters at this level too much credit, Matheny said. Hes a guy thats been able to work in the zone and the bottom of the zone and trust his stuff and not feel like he has to be perfect. It looks like hes trying to be perfect here.Jeremy Hazelbaker homered and Jhonny Peralta had three hits for St. Louis, which had won five in a row. The Cardinals are 1 1/2 games ahead of Miami for the second wild-card spot in the National League.We had a hard time getting anything going against their starter, Matheny said. We couldnt get a lot of those late hits weve been accustomed to getting.St. Louis fell short of setting a major league record of 10 straight games with multiple home runs. The Cardinals tied the mark with a pair of homers Friday night.Its hard to hit one a game for a consistent amount of time, Matheny said. I thought today might be a day, especially when Hazelbaker hit one early. You could it the way guys were taking their at-bats there was an opportunity to maybe do it again.Maikel Franco had two hits, including a double and the winning RBI, and Aaron Altherr homered for the Phillies. They have hit home runs in 14 straight games.Great night for us, Phillies manager Pete Mackanin said.Jeremy Hellickson (10-7) became the first Phillies starter to throw seven innings since July 26.That was just what the doctor ordered, Mackanin said.Hellickson skipped his last start because of back tightness. The right-hander looked healthy and sharp, allowing two runs on seven hits with eight strikeoouts and one walk.dddddddddddd He pumped his fist into his glove after striking out pinch-hitter Greg Garcia to finish the seventh.I felt good, Hellickson said. It was good to save the bullpen tonight. I was just getting ahead and kept the fastball down for the most part.Franco put the Phillies ahead for good with a two-out single to left in the fifth that scored Hernandez from third.Jeanmar Gomez pitched a scoreless ninth for his 33rd save in 37 opportunities.The Phillies jumped on Weaver with a pair of runs in the first.Hernandez led off by driving an 0-1 pitch into the seats in right field for his fourth homer of the season. The Phillies have gotten Hernandez to level his swing midseason, and he is batting .350 since June 27. He is hitting .500 with a pair of homers in seven games during Philadelphias current homestand.Hes really swinging the bat well, Mackanin said. We had a harsh reality check for him -- keep the ball out of the air.Cameron Rupp put Philadelphia in front 2-0 with a broken-bat RBI single to left.The Cardinals tied it in the third. Weaver singled to center for his first career hit and scored on Hazelbakers two-run homer to left.After the Phillies took the lead in the fifth, Altherr made it a 4-2 game by drilling an 0-1 pitch from Jonathan Broxton over the wall in left.YOU AGAIN?Altherrs homer was the first the Phillies have hit off Broxton since Matt Stairs pinch-hit homer in Game 4 of the 2008 NLCS at Los Angeles.WEAVERS OUTINGRARE WINThe Phillies won for just the third time in their last 12 games against St. Louis.FAN HITA young fan sitting about 20 rows behind the Cardinals dugout was struck by a foul ball off the bat of Freddy Galvis in the eighth inning. After being treated at the seat for several minutes, the fan was carried out to the concourse by an adult into the waiting arms of medical personnel.TRAINERS ROOMPhillies: Hernandez was back in the starting lineup after a two-game absence due to a sore right foot. He did pinch-hit in Friday nights game.UP NEXTThe teams conclude their three-game series Sunday when Cardinals RHP Mike Leake (8-9, 4.78) faces RHP Vince Velasquez (8-5, 4.14). ' ' '