Dein erstes Forum » with the 77th and final pick of th

Instead of agonizing over why Beholder was unable to win her ninth straight race Saturday in the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar, the proper thing to do is to give credit to Stellar Wind, who engineered this half-length upset. She richly deserves it.Simply put, Stellar Wind ran demonstrably better than Beholder on Saturday. That doesnt mean Stellar Wind is now demonstrably better than Beholder, because it will take more meetings between these two to prove that, and wont we be lucky to witness these two terrific horses hash that out? But on this day, Stellar Wind was better, and heres why:Stellar Wind is a stalker/closer type performer. Beholder has much more positional speed. Beholder held an enormous pace advantage in the Hirsch on paper, and to let that advantage play out in the actual running would have been tantamount to conceding the race.With that in mind, much credit goes to Stellar Winds connections and especially her jockey, Victor Espinoza, for taking Stellar Wind out of the comfort zone of her established running style, and not just allowing Beholder her giant paper tactical advantage. Espinoza hustled Stellar Wind out of the gate, niggled on her down the backstretch, and hard-sent her midway on the far turn, all just to stay on Beholders flank and apply as much pressure as they could. And all the while, Beholder was running as easy as you please, setting fractions that were completely unremarkable.Stellar Wind ran hard every step of the Hirschs 1-1/16 miles, so it speaks volumes to her quality that she was still able to prevail. Then again, her Hirsch win was, as upsets of 1-10 shots go, more a surprise, and not as severe as a shock. It was a surprise only because few went on record beforehand predicting this outcome. But it was not a shock, for while Beholder is a three-time champion, Stellar Wind, last years Eclipse Award winning 3-year-old filly, is a champion, too.As for Beholder, Saturdays effort was not her best race, and we are reminded yet again that these horses we watch and bet on are not machines. But in no way do I subscribe to the theory that is floating around out there that the outcome of the Hirsch was an indication that Beholder has suddenly slipped past her prime, and is, at age 6, now looking up at Stellar Wind. Not nearly yet, anyway.After all, it was only weeks ago when Beholder toyed with Stellar Wind in the Vanity. For all she has accomplished, Beholder has certainly earned the right for opportunities (yes, plural; she has earned that) to make amends, something else champions have an uncanny knack of doing.Quick notes* The level of gamesmanship amongst the three jockeys who opposed Flintshire in Saturdays Bowling Green Stakes at Saratoga was off the charts. Their attempts to bottle up, box in, and generally make life as miserable as possible for the 1-10 Flintshire were blatantly obvious, not unexpected, and ultimately unsuccessful. The three horses who opposed Flintshire - Grand Tito, Twilight Eclipse, and Canthelpbelieving - just werent even remotely good enough to execute this strategy, and hope to capitalize.Flintshire, as his odds suggest, was supposed to win the Bowling Green, which was merely a bridge to Saratogas Sword Dancer on Aug. 27. Ironically, if Flintshire had a smooth trip in the Bowling Green and won by six, it wouldnt have been nearly as impressive as it was when he overcame his eventful journey with such aplomb.* I dont have positive things to say about the Jim Dandy. Laoban, who couldnt capitalize on as strong a rail bias as you will ever see in the Gotham last March, got his maiden win in the Jim Dandy. This result does not speak flatteringly of Destin, who finished third after a perfect trip stalking Laobans slow pace, or of Mohaymen, who did stumble at the start but did little running thereafter and finished fourth, or Creator, who was compromised by the slow pace but who also never got out of sixth and last.I mean, with the way the Jim Dandy played out, Destin was really, really supposed to win.* A. P. Indian is in raging form right now, and his victory in the Alfred G. Vanderbilt confirms he is currently the top active sprinter in the East.* Right after his most impressive (and heavily bet) maiden romp earlier on Saturdays Saratoga card, I called Theory the most impressive 2-year-old debut winner Ive seen in New York so far this year. Well, after sleeping on it, I have to amend my statement. Theory, by Gemologist and trained by Todd Pletcher, is the best 2-year-old Ive seen in New York so far this year, period.Air Jordan 19 For Sale . Traditional contenders Brazil, Greece and Turkey drew the other three spots to complete the 24-team field for this summers tournament in Spain, basketball governing body FIBA announced Saturday at its meeting in Barcelona. Cheap Jordan . Patrice Bergeron and Daniel Paille scored 20 seconds apart a few minutes after Stamkos was taken off the ice on a stretcher with a broken right leg, and the Bruins beat the Lightning 3-0 on Monday afternoon. https://www.wholesalejordanshoeschina.com/ . Three came down to the fourth quarter while quarterbacks continued to shine in all four games; so important to the overall quality of the game. Cheap Jordan From China . LOUIS -- St. Cheap Retro Jordan . -- Claudio Bieler hadnt scored since early September, and not from the run of play since mid-July.Geelong and Adelaide are set to secure respective father-son prospects Sam Simpson and Ben Jarman at Mondays AFL rookie draft.Sam, the son of 114-game Cat Sean Simpson, and Ben, the son of Crows and Hawthorn great Darren Jarman, were available to any club at Friday nights draft after Geelong and Adelaide decided not to follow through with their initial father-son nominations.But the pair remain undrafted and assuming they make it through the rarely used pre-season draft, both clubs have guaranteed them a rookie spot.Were very excited that Sam Simpson wasnt picked and (should) get through to us at the rookie draft, list manager Stephen Wells told AAP.So well take Sam and then use another three picks.Well go back and do our homework now to try and find the best group of players for us to consider.Both clubs initially flagged the pair as father-son prospects with the AFL, but decided against following through with the official paperwork.Despite that, they now have first call on those players at the rookie draft.As long as Ben gets through the pre-season draft, which I think we all know these days its rare thats someone is taken ... we would certainly guarantee Ben a rookie spot, Crows list manager Justin Reid told FIVVEaa radio on Friday night.ddddddddddddll falling into place, Ben will be down at the club on Tuesday morning ready to go.The three players who were officially tabbed as father-son selections made their way to their respective clubs at the national draft in Sydney.West Coast picked up Chris Watermans son Jake with the 77th and final pick of the draft, with Collingwood securing Callum Brown and Josh Daicos..With other clubs able to bid on father-son prospects as early as they see fit, the cards fell the Pies way.They matched a North Melbourne bid for Gavin Browns son Callum at pick 35 and secured Peter Daicos son Josh at pick 57 after no other clubs bid for him.It really should be noted that theyre with us now because they deserve to be ... its not a gift, chief recruiter Derek Hine told AAP.We cant get ourselves into a situation where were gifting spots on the list and theyve absolutely deserved their spots.The annual player movement period is drawing to a close, with all clubs required to submit their final player lists and total player payment estimates to the AFL by Wednesday at 2pm. 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