10/25/2008 - Arcadia, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Raven's Pass, ridden by Frankie Dettori, caught defending Breeders' Cup Classic winner Curlin down the stretch to pull off one of the biggest upsets in racing history to conclude the two-day $26 million Breeders' Cup World Thoroughbred Championships at Santa Anita Park on Saturday.
Jockey Garrett Gomez recorded four victories during the event to win the Willie Shoemaker Award. This was the first of two consecutive Breeders' Cups to be held at Santa Anita, before it moves to Churchill Downs in 2010.
In the $5 million Classic, Curlin was sent off as the 4-5 favorite in the 12 horse field. Raven's Pass, from Europe, was the 6-1 second choice in the morning-line and was 13-1 when the gates opened.
Both Curlin and Raven's Pass settled in off the pace in the 1 1/4 mile Classic. Running on the lead was Casino Drive and Fairbanks. Vying for third and fourth up the backstretch was Go Between and Duke of Marmalade.
On the turn for home Curlin and jockey Robby Albarado began their drive. The reigning Horse of the Year was five wide around the turn, but was able to take the lead entering the stretch. Raven's Pass simply followed Curlin's path and quickly joined him on the lead.
Raven's Pass, owned by Princess Haya of Jordan, passed a tiring Curlin in mid- stretch shocking the world. Raven's Pass posted a two length victory over Henrythenavigator with Tiago finishing third. Curlin and Go Between were in a dead-heat for fourth.
The time for the 25th Classic was 1:59.27.
The win by Raven's Pass was the second of the day for his owner, jockey and trainer John Gosden. A three-year-old colt, Raven's Pass earns $2.7 million with the victory and now has career winnings of more than $3.6 million. He has won half of his 12 lifetime starts.
"It doesn't get any better than this," noted Gosden. "Having been with my wife and family for 11 years, based at Hollywood Park, Del Mar, all our great friends here, from the guys that are raking up in the shed areas, through to the owners and trainers and jockeys. No, it doesn't get any better. And if you think it's going to get better, you're really a greedy so and so, you know. So to me this is a dream come true and a day I'll cherish the rest of my life."
A winner of his last three starts, the Classic marked the first time Raven's Pass raced beyond a mile in his career.
Raven's Pass returned $29.00, $15.80 and $8.00. Henrythenavigator paid $22.00 and $11.20, and Tiago paid $7.00 to show.
The second day of the 25th edition of the Breeders' Cup commenced with Muhannak winning the inaugural running of the $500,000 Marathon.
Muhannak's victory was the first by a European horse in this year's championships.
Ridden by Patrick Smullen, Muhannak was fourth while Booyah set the pace in the 1 1/2 mile event. On the final turn Muhannak ranged up from the outside to join the leaders and assumed the lead at the top of the stretch.
Muhannak, trained by Ralph Beckett, held off Church Service and Big Booster down the stretch to post a head victory. Finishing fourth in the eight-horse field was Delightful Kiss. Sixties Icon, the 7-5 favorite, finished off the board.
"He got the perfect trip," Beckett noted. "Pat (Smullen) just said they were crawling. We worked it out beforehand that he had to be running going into the bend. Whether that meant he hit the front too soon or not, he had to be rolling going into the bend. He got that part of it right.
"He's trained very well all week. He's not an easy horse to train. A big, big part of this is the team at home because he hasn't been easy."
Final time for the 1 1/2 mile Marathon was 2:28.24 on the synthetic track.
Trainer Barry Abrams reported Saturday morning that Marathon entrant Add Heat had sustained a minor injury to the suspensory of his right front leg and was withdrawn from the race.
Owned by Richard Pegum, Muhannak earned $300,000 with the win to boost his career bankroll to $417,575. The four-year-old gelding has won seven of 15 lifetime starts, including his last five races.
Muhannak returned $26.80, $10.80 and $6.20. Church Service paid $9.60 and $6.80, and Big Booster paid $6.80 to show.
Desert Code, ridden by Richard Migliore, flew down the stretch to nail Diabolical at the wire and win the $1 million Breeders' Cup Turf Sprint at Santa Anita. The time for 6 1/2 furlongs was 1:11.60 on a firm turf course.
Setting the pace was Mr. Nightlinger and California Flag. Idiot Proof and One Union were racing in third and fourth, respectively, while Desert Code was in the middle of the field.
With about a furlong to go Desert Code accelerated down the middle of the grass course to catch Diabolical just before the wire. Owned by Tarabilla Farms, Desert Code posted a half-length win over Diabolical with Storm Treasure third and Fleeting Spirit fourth in the 14-horse field.
Desert Code is trained by David Hofmans and picked up $645,000 with the victory. The four-year-old colt has won six of 19 lifetime starts for than $1 million.
"I thought we'd be closer but when I saw a 41-and-change half, I knew we had a chance," said Hofmans. "He was so far back, but Richie (Migliore) did a great job. He deserves all the credit. The horse really bounced out of his last race. He's never been better and he loves this course. This is his fourth win over it."
Sent off at 36-1, Desert Code paid $75.00, $30.80 and $21.00. Diabolical returned $7.60 and $5.20, and Storm Treasure paid $9.20 to show.
Gomez guided Albertus Maximus through traffic to capture the $1 million Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile on Santa Anita's synthetic track. The one lap race was timed in 1:33.41.
Two Step Salsa, a 22-1 longshot, led the 12-horse field for most of the race while Albertus Maximus settled about 10 lengths off the pace. Gomez, who won Friday's Filly & Mare Sprint, rode Albertus Maximus between horses down the stretch to join the leaders with a furlong to go.
The four-year-old colt took the lead with 100 yards to run and went on to win by 1 1/4 lengths over 18-1 longshot Rebellion. Two Step Salsa held on for third with My Pal Charlie finishing fourth.
"I had to move before I wanted to at the three-eighths pole," Gomez noted. "I was waiting to see what was happening with Well Armed, hoping he'd get shoved down inside and I could swoop around him. When he started making his run, I had to go with him and he had me down inside. I had to wait on (My Pal Charlie). He found a hole and I followed him in there and it worked out perfectly."
Owned by Maryanne and Brandon Chase, Albertus Maximus picked up his fifth win in 15 career starts. With Saturday's $540,000, the colt has lifetime earnings of more than $900,000.
In his last race, the Vladimir Cerin trained thoroughbred was third to Well Armed in the Goodwood at Santa Anita. Well Armed was the defeated 6-5 favorite in the Dirt Mile.
Albertus Maximus returned $14.60, $7.40 and $5.40. Rebellion paid $16.00 and $11.20, and Two Step Salsa paid $12.80 to show.
Goldikova, the 9-5 favorite, surged along the rail to win the $2 million Breeders' Cup Mile on Santa Anita's turf course. Goldikova became the fourth female to win the Mile and defeated defending champ Kip Deville in doing so.
Setting the pace in the Mile was Thorn Song with Goldikova stalking the leader from second. Kip Deville was close to the lead in fourth.
With Olivier Peslier riding, Goldikova found room along the inside down the stretch and was able to defeat Kip Deville by 1 1/4 lengths. Finishing third in the 11-horse field was Whatsthescript with Precious Kitten getting fourth.
The time for the Mile was 1:33.40 on a firm course.
The French-based Goldikova was making her North American debut in the Mile for her owners, the Wertheimer Brothers. Trained by Freddie Head, the three-year- old earned $1 million with the win and has now banked $2 million lifetime.
"She's a wonderful filly," Head said. "She's in the same class as Miesque (who won the Breeders' Cup Mile in 1987 and 1988 with Head aboard). She was a little backward before, but now she's in the same league as Miesque."
The Mile was Goldikova's fourth straight victory and sixth in nine career starts. She beat male rivals going a mile in the Prix du Moulin at Longchamp in France on September 7.
Goldikova returned $5.60, $4.00 and $2.80. Kip Deville paid $4.80 and $3.40, and Whatsthescript paid $3.40 to show.
Midshipman, ridden by Gomez, set the pace most of the way in winning the $2 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile at Santa Anita.
It marked Gomez's third Breeders' Cup win of the weekend.
Sent off as the 7-2 co-favorite with Square Eddie, Midshipman took the lead in the Juvenile as the field of 12 entered the clubhouse turn. The two-year-old colt vied for the lead with both Square Eddie and Street Hero.
Around the turn for home Midshipman grabbed the lead for good and went on to post a 1 1/4 length win over Square Eddie. Street Hero finished third and Terrain was fourth.
Elusive Bid was an early scratch.
The time for the 1 1/16 miles was 1:40.94 on Santa Anita's Pro-Ride surface.
Bob Baffert trains Midshipman for the Darley Stable. Baffert now has six career Breeders' Cup victories. The win makes Midshipman the early favorite for the 2009 Kentucky Derby.
"You think you want to plan it that way," Baffert noted, "and sometimes it happens and sometimes it doesn't. The plan worked to get him out there. I liked his draw. He's broken well in all of his races. It put him in the race early. It got him cruising. There wasn't a ridiculous pace or anything like that.
"You don't know, but you're just hoping that when he kicks for home that he's the real deal and he showed he was."
The colt collected $1 million with the win and has total earnings of $1.3 million. A winner of three of four career starts, Midshipman won the Del Mar Futurity this September and was second to Street Hero in Santa Anita's Norfolk Stakes.
Midshipman paid $9.20, $4.40 and $3.20. Square Eddie returned $5.00 and $3.80, and Street Hero paid $4.40 to show.
Donativum, ridden by Dettori, rallied down the stretch to capture the $1 million Breeders' Cup Juvenile Turf.
A field of 12 two-year-olds went postward in the second running of the Juvenile Turf. Taking the lead early was 55-1 longshot Orthodox. Racing in his first stakes, Orthodox led the field up the backstretch and into the far turn.
Dettori had Donativum along the inside on the final turn and angled him outside as the field entered the stretch. Coronet of a Baron had a clear lead with 200 yards to run, but Donativum accelerated down the middle of the stretch to hit the wire first.
Finishing a half-length back in second was Westphalia followed by Coronet of a Baron in third and City Style in fourth.
The time for the mile on a firm course was 1:34.68.
Donativum was making his first start outside of England for owner Princess Haya. Trained by Gosden, the gelding earned $610,000 with the win and recorded his third win in six starts. The two-year-old has won better than $1.58 million this year.
"It was a good effort," Gosden said. "This was a high-quality field of colts. The second horse (Westphalia) won a major race the other day and we won a $1 million dollar race today. I don't give Frankie (Dettori) any instructions. He was a little farther back than I would have liked, then he got squeezed, and then pinched. I was afraid he was going to be an unlucky loser, but he got there."
Donativum returned $13.60, $7.00 and $5.00. Westphalia paid $5.40 and $3.80, and Coronet of a Baron paid $5.40 to show.
Defending champ Midnight Lute rallied down the stretch to repeat as the victor in the $2 million Breeders' Cup Sprint. The win gave Baffert his second victory of the day.
Racing for just the second time in 2008, Midnight Lute and Gomez broke slowly from the gate in the eight-horse field. Setting the pace up the backstretch was First Defence and Fatal Bullet.
Fatal Bullet took the lead on the final turn as Midnight Lute began his rally. Running down the middle of the track the defender caught Fatal Bullet inside the furlong pole and opened up to the wire.
Midnight Lute posted a 1 3/4 length victory over Fatal Bullet with Street Boss third and In Summation getting fourth.
Trainer John Sadler said Cost of Freedom, who drew the inside post, was scratched from the Sprint after a veterinary inspection Saturday morning.
The time for the six furlongs was 1:07.08 on the synthetic surface, more than two seconds faster than the winner's time last year at Monmouth Park.
Midnight Lute was coming off a 10th-place finish in the Pat O'Brien Handicap at Del Mar in his lone start this year. The Sprint victory was worth $1.08 million to bring the five-year-old's career earnings to $2.7 million. He has won six of 13 lifetime starts.
Owned by Mike Pegram, Midnight Lute is now in the mix to win his second Eclipse Award as champion male sprinter.
"Winning this race twice shows what a great horse he really is," Baffert observed. "He is a freak. He had a hock injury after he won last year, and we thought we were going to have to retire him. We X-rayed him after 60 days and it had healed."
Midnight Lute paid $7.40, $5.00 and $3.20. Fatal Bullet returned $6.60 and $3.80, and Street Boss paid $2.40 to show.
Conduit rallied from off the pace to take the $3 million Breeders' Cup Turf. The three-year-old colt covered the 1 1/2 miles in 2:23.42 on a firm course.
Ridden by Ryan Moore, Conduit was making his first start in North America after racing exclusively in England. The chestnut colt was taken back by Moore in the 11-horse field as Red Rock Canyon set the early pace.
On the final turn 8-5 favorite Soldier of Fortune took the lead with Out of Control close behind. However, it was Eagle Mountain that led the field into the stretch as Conduit began to rally.
Owned by Ballymacoll Stud, Conduit caught and passed Eagle Mountain in mid- stretch and went on to register a 1 1/2-length victory. Eagle Mountain held for second followed by Dancing Forever and Soldier of Fortune.
Conduit, trained by Michael Stoute, takes home $1.7 million with the win and has career earnings of $2.5 million. He has nine career starts with five wins.
"The jockey rode a masterful race and had him in the right position," Stoute said. "When he asked him, the jockey got him into gear and I thought from a long way out that he was going to come and pick them up and he did. I was very confident running him on the course here because he's raced well on firm turf before. I was not worried about the heat today because he's a young horse and quite fit."
Conduit returned $13.60, $8.40 and $5.80. Eagle Mountain paid $9.60 and $6.40, and Dancing Forever paid $12.80 to show.
The highlight of Friday's action was Zenyatta's impressive victory in the Ladies' Classic, the other Breeders' Cup races run on Friday's 10-race card were won by Charles Cono's two-year-old filly Stardom Bound (Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies), Augustin Stable's four-year-old filly Forever Together (Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Turf), Juddmonte Farm's four-year-old filly Ventura (Breeders' Cup Filly & Mare Sprint) and Karen Woods and Khaled bin Saud's two-year-old filly Maram (Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies Turf).
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Two playoff teams from 2007 take center stage on the NFL Network Sunday night in a Week 2 NFL betting match-up when the (0-1) New England Patriots betting head south to Florida for a contest with the (1-0) Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
New England HC Bill Belichick couldn’t care less about the way his team plays in the preseason. With a chance to tie last week’s game with the Baltimore Ravens betting, He elected to go for the two-point conversion and outright victory. The conversion failed, and the Pats ended up falling to the Ravens by a 16-15 final count.
New England rolled off twelve unanswered points to give it a chance at securing the victory, but it never threatened to cover the 3.5-point spread. NFL bettors saw this one coming, as they bet the Ravens down from +6 to +3.5 as the week progressed. QB Tom Brady didn’t take part in the Patriots first preseason clash, but could see action this weekend.
His three replacements all put up embarrassing numbers. They went a combined 17 for 33, and threw three interceptions and no touchdowns. The New England defense was encouraging, as they held the Ravens to 2/12 third down conversions and surrendered just ten first downs. That ‘D’ should be bolstered with the addition of former Bucs and Denver Broncos betting safety John Lynch, who could make his Patriots debut on Sunday against his former mates.
HC Jon Gruden had to be impressed with the way his Bucs played on both sides of the ball in their dominating 17-6 victory over the Miami Dolphins in Week 1’s NFL pre-season betting action. Bucs bettors were quite happy with the effort, as they made a mockery of the fact that they were underdogs in the game.
The logjam at the quarterback position didn’t get any easier to separate for Gruden, as all four of his QBs had positive experiences in the first exhibition of 2008. The four combined to complete 28 of their 40 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown, and that was without starting QB Jeff Garcia in the lineup.
RB Michael Bennett had 19 carries and four receptions, totaling 90 yards and a touchdown. Expect to see more of Bennett, Kenneth Darby, and Earnest Graham, as they all compete for playing time with Warrick Dunn in the backfield this season. Defensively, the Bucs recorded four sacks and held the Fins offense in check all day.
First round draft pick Aqib Talib was impressive in the secondary, recording a tackle and two pass defenses in his debut. Don’t be surprised to see Talib in the starting lineup opposite Ronde Barber for the Bucs in ’08.
The betting trends suggest that NFL bettors should be backing the Bucs in this intra-conference exhibition.
These two teams hooked up last year in Tampa Bay, with the Bucs winning that game 13-10. The Buccaneers have only lost one preseason game at home dating back to the beginning of the ’05 preseason. The Patriots have had a mixed bag of results in their recent exhibitions. They have gone 2-2 ATS and SU each of the last three years.
New England currently sits as modest 1-point favorites in this preseason showdown with the ‘total’ now sitting at 34.5.
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NEW YORK (AP) -By staying away from the cupcakes, Southern California earned itself a slim new ranking.
No. 1 always seems to fit USC.
Southern California jumped two spots to No. 1 in The Associated Press Top 25 on Tuesday, rewarded by voters for opening the season with a dominant performance on the road against a BCS conference opponent.
Georgia and Ohio State, the preseason Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, started their seasons with glorified scrimmages at home against FCS (formerly I-AA) teams. USC, however, traveled across country to face Virginia and could not have been more impressive in a 52-7 victory.
Georgia fell to No. 2 and Ohio State to No 3.
"We realize that rankings so early in a season are certainly fluid. But rankings do help establish a pecking order for things later in the season," USC coach Pete Carroll said in a statement. "As for moving into the No. 1 spot, it's nice to know that people think highly of our team."
Since reaching No. 1 on Dec. 7, 2003, the final-regular season AP poll of that season, USC has been No. 1 in 39 polls, by far the most of any team during that time.
"Some have said the voters are taking our schedule into consideration," Carroll said. "Our philosophy has always been to schedule outstanding opponents. We need to play challenging games like we just did, traveling across the country to open the season at Virginia. Games like that bring out our best and make us stronger as a team."
The latest voting was close. USC received 21 first-place votes and 1,539 points from the 65-member media panel. Georgia had 20 first-place votes and 1,506 points. Ohio State got 15 first-place votes and 1,497 points.
"I'd say we've evolved as pollsters," said Stewart Mandel of SI.com, who moved USC up to No. 1. "In the past, voters just kind of automatically moved teams up and kept teams where they were if they won."
Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-21 on Saturday and Ohio State opened with a 43-0 win over Youngstown State.
"There's a bit of a growing backlash for the amount of teams that open with I-AA cupcakes," said Mandel, whose book "Bowls, Polls and Tattered Souls" chronicles college football's controversies. "To see a team [USC] go on the road and play a New Year's Day bowl team from last season, and not only play them but destroy them, how could you not reward that team?"
USC also jumped past Georgia to No. 1 in the USA Today coaches' poll, which has the same top five as the AP poll.
"It's definitely a privilege to be No. 1. But it's not heartbreaking to me if we drop," Georgia offensive lineman Josh Davis said. "It doesn't matter right now what we're ranked. What matters is our next game and right now, that's Central Michigan. The only time the polls matter is in December. That's when the polls matter."
While the Bulldogs opened easy, their schedule ultimately should be as difficult as any team's. Georgia's big nonconference test is at No. 15 Arizona State on Sept. 20. The Bulldogs also face six Southeastern Conference rivals that've been ranked in the first two polls.
As for Ohio State, the Buckeyes play at USC on Sept. 13 before getting into the Big Ten schedule.
But of the teams in this week's top 10, USC and Texas are the only ones that don't play an FCS opponent, and the Trojans are the only team that doesn't play a team from a non-BCS conference.
Get the latest 2009 BCS Championship odds at MySportsbook.com.
The last team to drop from No. 1 after a victory was USC last season. LSU jumped from No. 2 to No. 1 when it beat Tulane 34-9, the same week the Trojans edged Washington 27-24 on the road.
The last preseason No. 1 team to lose the top spot after winning its opening game was Florida in 2001. The Gators beat Marshall 49-14, but preseason No. 2 Miami opened with a 33-7 victory over Penn State and the Hurricanes jumped to No. 1 with Florida slipping to second.
The next four teams in the new Top 25 stayed the same: No. 4 Oklahoma (two first-place votes), No. 5 Florida (five first-place votes), No. 6 Missouri (one first-place vote), No. 7 LSU (one first-place vote) and No. 8 West Virginia.
No. 9 Auburn and No. 10 Texas each moved up a spot, taking advantage of Clemson's big drop. Clemson, ninth in the preseason, fell out after losing 34-10 to Alabama on Saturday.
Also falling out after losses were Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
Moving into the rankings were No. 21 Fresno State, No. 22 Utah, No. 23 UCLA and No. 24 South Carolina.
Alabama moved up 11 spots after its big victory over Clemson.
The second 10 started with No. 11 Wisconsin, followed by Texas Tech, Alabama and Kansas. BYU and Arizona State were tied for 15th. Rivals BYU and Utah are both ranked for the first time since 1996.
South Florida was No. 17, ahead of Oregon, Penn State and Wake Forest at No. 20.
The final five were all the teams to move into the ranking, except for Illinois, which dropped four spots and tied South Carolina for No. 24.
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