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Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu clinch gold; full house for China

Published in Table Tennis

Sunday, 28 April 2019 06:47

by Ian Marshall, Editor

Success and they very much maintained the ethos of the tournament; they commenced play as the second seeds as opposed to their opponents who headed the order. Thus, somewhat different to previous years, of the five events on offer, not one was won by the top seeds.

Undoubtedly the crucial stage of the contest arose in the sixth game, level at 9-all, Hina Hayata and Mima Ito, elected for “Time Out”, the break was to work in favour of Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu.

Notably Hina Hayata and Mima Ito had enjoyed success in opposition to Chinese partnerships; on the Seamaster ITTF World Tour, they beat Chen Meng and Zhu Yuling in the final in 2017 in Stockholm before last year securing the title in Linz at the final expense of Chen Xingtong and Sun Yingsha.

In Budapest there was to be no repeat, Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu underled their growing status, having earlier this year won on the Seamaster 2019 ITTF World Tour in Qatar.

It is the 22nd time when China has won the women’s doubles title but since 1997 in Manchester when Deng Yaping and Yang won, it is only the second time that the title has not been won be a left and right handed partnership. Like colleagues Liu Shiwen and Zhu Yuling who won in 2015 in Suzhou both Sun Yingsha and Wang Manyu are right handers.

Moreover, it is the ninth time China has completed the clean sweep of the five events.

Men’s Singles Final: Match Report

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Premiership: Saracens brush aside Wasps with dominant first-half showing

Published in Rugby

Saturday, 27 April 2019 10:29

Saracens ran in three first-half tries to beat Wasps 31-14 and consolidate second place in the Premiership table.

Ben Spencer's interception try opened the scoring early on before an Owen Farrell penalty and a Liam Williams try put Sarries 15-0 up after 20 minutes.

Lima Sopoanga's first Wasps try was cancelled out by a Will Skelton effort and two more Farrell penalties.

Farrell kicked a fourth penalty before Nathan Hughes' consolation try for Wasps with Sarries down to 14 men.

Wasps centre Jimmy Gopperth played for the first time since suffering a pre-season anterior cruciate ligament injury, but his side were a shadow of the one that lost to Saracens in his last game - their Premiership semi-final defeat at Allianz Park last season.

Wasps are seventh in the Premiership, four points off the final play-off place with two games to go, while Saracens need one more win to guarantee second place and a home semi-final in the play-offs.

Spencer intercepted Joe Simpson's pass to run 60 metres for the opener and British and Irish Lions full-back Williams rounded off a good move soon after.

Sopanga took advantage when Simpson appeared to be offside as he charged down a Sarries kick before feeding Kearnan Myall, who put the former All Black through for his first five-pointer in 23 games since his summer move from New Zealand.

The 6ft 8in Skelton then raced over for Sarries after a clever short pass from Spencer helped open up a gap in the Wasps defence around the ruck before the break.

Nick Isiekwe was sin-binned with 14 minutes to go for bringing down a Wasps maul on his side's try-line and the hosts took advantage as Hughes went over after a television review to score the only try of a poor second half.

Wasps director of rugby Dai Young:

"We got what we deserved. We were miles off the pace in the first half and came second best in every area.

"We didn't get past four phases so never really fired any shots ourselves.

"The week off last week hasn't done us any favours, we just looked out of aces which is hugely disappointing considering where we are.

Saracens director of rugby Mark McCall:

"I think to back up last weekend emotionally and physically given the scale of the game and at the same place was always going to be a challenge.

"I think the team did well to put in the overall performance that we did, especially in the first half. It was a good performance given what we'd gone through the week before.

"It's the first time we've played more or less the same team in consecutive games for seven matches, trying to fight on two fronts.

"We've come through this unscathed and we can wrap some players up in cotton wool with the final in mind."

Wasps: Le Roux; Watson, Daly, Lovobalavu, Bassett; Sopoaga, Simpson; Zhvania, Johnson (capt), Brookes, Rowlands, Myall, Shields, Carr, Hughes.

Replacements: Cruse, McIntyre, Cooper-Woolley, Matthews, Morris, Hampson, Gopperth, de Jongh.

Saracens: Goode; Strettle, Lozowski, Tompkins, Williams; Farrell, Spencer; Barrington, George, Lamositele, Skelton, Kruis, Itoje, Clark, B. Vunipola.

Replacements: Gray, Thompson-Stringer, Koch, Isiekwe, Burger, H. Taylor, Morris, Lewington.

Referee: Wayne Barnes

For the latest rugby union news follow @bbcrugbyunion on Twitter.

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Saracens Women beat Harlequins Ladies to retain Premier 15s crown

Published in Rugby

Saturday, 27 April 2019 12:28

Saracens won a second successive Premier 15s title after seeing off a late comeback from Harlequins.

England forward Poppy Cleall and fly-half Zoe Harrison both crossed twice for the defending champions.

Saracens wing Sydney Gregson also scored in a dominant first half which saw Quins rarely venture into the opposition's 22.

But Harlequins improved after the break and were rewarded with tries from Vickii Cornborough and Rachael Burford.

Quins full-back Emily Scott scored a penalty, but Harrison replied with two of her own to ensure victory for Sarries.

The match was a repeat of last season's final, when Saracens were crowned champions of the inaugural Premier 15s - the top tier of English women's rugby.

Saracens were without injured England forwards Bryony Cleall, Vicky Fleetwood and Marlie Packer but they still dominated the first half.

It was a fast start as number eight Poppy Cleall - twin sister of Bryony - went over from a driving maul off a line-out after a perfectly placed kick to the corner by Harrison.

The defending champions threatened again almost immediately and it was not long before Gregson went over in the right corner after fast hands from Cleall and England prop Hannah Botterman.

Harrison then confounded the Harlequins defence with a show and go to score Saracens' third, before player-of-the-match Cleall claimed her second try off another line-out.

Harlequins rarely ventured into Saracens' 22 in the first half, committing repeated handling errors and being smothered by Sarries' defence.

A yellow card for Jodie Rettie after the Saracens flanker was offside just before half-time gave Quins an advantage.

But Sarries even came out on top in this period when Harrison crossed again after more impressive footwork.

Quins come back

It was an improved Harlequins performance after the break, but the south-west Londoners still struggled to break through the impenetrable Saracens wall.

Hannah Botterman's ferocious work at the breakdown stopped several Quins attacks but they eventually drove over and Cornborough touched down.

Harlequins soon built momentum again and England centre Burford capitalised as she burrowed over from close range.

Trouble from the tee

The only blot on Saracens' brilliant performance was Harrison's kicking, after the fly-half made three kicks from eight in total.

There has been some talk this season about how the women's game has room for improvement in this area, and the blustery conditions did not make life any easier for Harrison.

Given that women often start rugby later in life, they do not get as much time to develop their kicking skills and this was demonstrated in the fly-half's mixed results from the tee - although her kicks from hand were more impressive.

The crowd of 2,590 at Franklin's Gardens was perhaps also disappointing after 4,837 attended a Quins game at The Stoop in the regular season.

We embraced the pressure - what they said

Saracens head coach Alex Austerberry: "I'm ecstatic. It's a combination of a lot of people's hard work.

"People build pressure on you from the outside. We've worked hard and the players have shown great character throughout. We embraced the pressure and got on pretty well.

"Plans are afoot already for next season which is important because the league is going to get better and better.

"The group want to be the best that they can be and if we keep with that mentality that will drive standards."

Harlequins co-head coach Gary Street: "I was frustrated with the first half, I don't think we've played like that ever.

"But we've got to look forward. It's our second year as Harlequins with a young squad and we know we'll be stronger next year.

"At half-time I told them to be themselves and play how we know we can play, but 27-0 is too big to come back to.

"It was surprising as much as it was disappointing."

Saracens: McKenna; Gregson, Casey, Cattell, Clapp (c); Harrison, Gulliver; Perry, Campbell, Botterman; Green, Galligan, Rettie, Newman, Cleall.

Replacements: Duffy, Layola, Searcy, Bebbington, Swords, Vistisen, Miell.

Harlequins: Scott, Cowell, Camara, Burford (c), Breach; Green, Riley; Cornborough Catlin, Edwards, Scott, McCormack, Fletcher, Butler, Konkel.

Replacements: Lyons, Viksten, Voyle, Saynor, Packer, Myers, Wilcock.

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Glasgow thump Edinburgh to secure home Pro14 semi-final

Published in Rugby

Saturday, 27 April 2019 13:30

Glasgow Warriors secured a home Pro14 semi-final with a bonus-point victory over Edinburgh, who missed out on next season's Champions Cup.

Warriors sought a win to finish top of Conference A and crossed in the first half through Sam Johnson and Ali Price.

Niko Matawalu and Tommy Seymour went over in the second period and Adam Hastings kicked a total of 14 points.

Duhan van der Merwe got Edinburgh's only try and Simon Hickey's boot amassed five points.

And Richard Cockerill's side will enter the Challenge Cup next term after finishing fifth in Conference B.

Dave Rennie's Glasgow will meet either Ulster or Connacht in the Pro14 semi-final at Scotstoun over the weekend of 17/18 May.

Glasgow power their way to semi-final

Edinburgh were aware before kick-off that their Pro14 play-off hopes were dead by dint of Benetton's defeat of Zebre. For them, a place in the play-off for next season's Champions Cup was the prize and for that they needed a minimum of two points to finish fourth.

If the visitors suffered the pre-match blow of knowing that their league campaign was over, they had the boost of seeing Jonny Gray withdrawn from the Glasgow team through illness. Gray's loss, along with eight other missing Glasgow forwards, suggested that Edinburgh could at least get that European slot.

That notion faded early. Hastings put Glasgow 3-0 up early on and that became 10-0 when Johnson scored the opening try, a product of sustained pressure and then excellent decision-making and clinical finishing. Stuart Hogg, Hastings and Matawalu were all involved in putting Johnson away. The centre swerved around Darcy Graham to score at the posts.

Hickey made it 10-3 after 12 minutes but the scoring was all one-way after that. Glasgow matched, and surpassed, Edinburgh in the collisions. Tom Gordon, the rookie openside, might have had no experience of games of this intensity, but he was outstanding.

That Glasgow power set the scene for the second try, a counter-ruck and turnover ball being ruthlessly capitalised on when Ryan Wilson - in for the stricken Gray - fed Hogg, who bounced through a tackle and then scampered away, finding Price running free outside him. Price, who was in at the heart of that pivotal ruck earlier on, ran away to score.

Hastings' second conversion attempt was good and a game that was expected to be close was now anything but at 17-3. Edinburgh's woes continued when they lost Graham to injury. The composed Hastings made their lot even worse by making it 20-3 with the boot just before the break.

Visitors left to bemoan missed opportunities

Glasgow had a stiff breeze at their back in the opening 40. The question was whether Edinburgh could do anything with it in the second. They could not.

They had tonnes of field position in the opening minutes, had Glasgow giving away a mountain of penalties under pressure, had 5m lineouts and 5m scrums and penalty advantages but could not get a thing out of any of it. Edinburgh's attacks were all about grunt, grunt and more grunt. Glasgow's defence looked like it could soak that stuff up all night.

Eventually in that seven or eight minute passage Edinburgh went wide through Van der Merwe, but Hastings was there to put him into touch. Having helped save one try at one end, the fly-half then set about creating one down the other.

Glasgow's third try - and the one that settled it once and for all - was another beauty. Scott Cummings, Seymour and captain Fraser Brown took Glasgow deep into Edinburgh territory where Hastings showed the coolness and accuracy to loop a pass for Matawalu to score in the corner.

Two more points from Hastings' boot made it 27-3, but Edinburgh's suffering was not quite done. A few dominant Glasgow scrums brought Scotstoun to its feet. That stuff meant a lot to the home team. For almost two seasons they have had to listen to Cockerill almost mocking their shortcomings in the physical exchanges, questioning their bottle on the big occasions.

This was an unequivocal response, a victory that propelled them into a semi-final at Scotstoun while simultaneously firing Edinburgh out of two competitions all at once. And it had a final flourish, too.

From inside their own 22, Glasgow came up with a bonus-point try. It began with the blur of movement and creativity that is George Horne, the replacement scrum-half, dummying his way through a gap and then kicking downfield.

Hogg was alive to the possibilities, taking it on and then spotting Seymour outside him to gallop over. Lethal.

Van der Merwe reduced the deficit at the end and Hickey converted, but Edinburgh's haunted look remained. This was a vicious end to their season and a win that keeps Glasgow's title dream firmly on track.

Glasgow Warriors: Hogg, Seymour, Steyn, Johnson, Matawalu, Hastings, Price; Bhatti, Brown, Z Fagerson, Harley, Cummings, Wilson, Gordon, M Fagerson.

Replacements: G Horne for Price (59), P Horne for Johnson (65), Hughes for Matawalu (65), Allan for Bhatti (69), Stewart for Brown (69), Rae for Z Fagerson (65). Not Used: Tameilau, Wilson.

Edinburgh: Graham, Fife, Johnstone, Dean, Van Der Merwe, Hickey, Pyrgos; Schoeman, McInally, Nel, Toolis, Gilchrist, Barclay, Watson, Mata.

Replacements: Shiel for Pyrgos (60), Sutherland for Schoeman (64), Ford for McInally (64), Berghan for Nel (60), Hunter-Hill for Barclay (68), Bradbury for Mata (60). Not Used: Baggott, Bennett.

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Jake O’Neil Sets Sail At Longdale

Published in Racing

Sunday, 28 April 2019 04:05

LONGDALE, Okla. – After missing most of April while he recovered from medical issues, Jake O’Neil has steadily improved both physically and inside the cockpit of his LG2 chassis by Jimmy Owens.

On Thursday night he returned to USMTS action for the first time since King of America IX in March and brought home a fifth-place finish. Friday night he improved to third and Saturday he made the climb to the top of the mountain by winning at Longdale Speedway.

O’Neil started on the outside of the front row for the 35-lap main event, but it was back-to-back Sybesma Graphics Pole Award winner Dereck Ramirez who got the jump at the drop of the green flag with Ryan Gustin and R.C. Whitwell following Ramirez while O’Neil slipped to fourth on the opening lap.

Still looking for his first USMTS victory of the year, Gustin pressured Ramirez for the first eight laps before Whitwell got by to claim the second spot. Whitwell nosed ahead to lead lap 12 but Ramirez powered back to the front one lap later.

O’Neil was eventually able to get around Gustin and Whitwell, and then wrestled the lead away from Ramirez with 27 laps in the books while Gustin coasted to the pit area with mechanical troubles for a second straight night.

For the final eight laps around the half-mile clay oval, O’Neil left no doubt as he pulled away to a six-car-length triumph at the finish line with Ramirez following in the runner-up spot. O’Neil’s fourth USMTS win was worth $3,000.

Meanwhile, USMTS national points leader Rodney Sanders worked his way to the third spot after starting 20th due to switching to a back-up car after his heat race, which he won. He would have started sixth in the feature race if he had driven the same car he qualified with.

Whitwell held on for fourth ahead of 14th-starting Tyler Wolff.

The finish:

Jake O’Neil, Dereck Ramirez, Rodney Sanders, R.C. Whitwell, Tyler Wolff, Hunter Marriott, Terry Phillips, Joe Duvall, Mike Striegel, Jon Herring Jr., Hunter McDonald, Mickey Lassiter, Gene Nicholas, Jon Herring Sr., Ryan Gustin, Dustin Allen, Zack VanderBeek, Adam Kates, Jessie Hoskins, Logan Robertson.

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Webb Gets No. 7 In New Jersey

Published in Racing

Sunday, 28 April 2019 04:06

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — It was a night of excitement, drama, and significant championship point moves in the penultimate round of the Monster Energy AMA Supercross, an FIM World Championship at MetLife Stadium.

The 450SX event dropped the gate with four racers still with a mathematical chance at the title. When the checkers flew the crowd of 61,247 cheered for Red Bull KTM’s Cooper Webb, taking his seventh win of the season and stretching his points lead to 23 with one round remaining and only 26 points available to the winner of each round.

In the Eastern Regional 250SX Class, GEICO Honda’s Chase Sexton took his first Monster Energy Supercross win and also the points lead; he holds a nine-point advantage, but the final round is a 250SX East/West Showdown round where nine points can be easily made up or lost.

When the 22 riders funneled through the first turn, Webb emerged with the holeshot with Rockstar Energy Husqvarna’s Zach Osborne and Eli Tomac right behind while Musquin picked himself off the ground after high siding over another rider’s rear wheel. Tomac wasted no time getting around Osborne and the match up was set – number one and two in the points going for a win at the second to last round of the season.

At just under two minutes into the race Tomac got cleanly around Webb, but Webb was not looking to settle for second and the two riders traded the lead and rode several sections side by side during the first five minutes of the 20-minute plus one lap race.

Just before the midway point the leaders looked to have settled into their positions up front; meanwhile Musquin had worked his way up to tenth. Then Tomac got off balance in one of the two whoop sections and crashed softly, handing the lead to Webb.

While Tomac picked his bike up and pursued from fourth, Osborne moved into the lead until a bobble that almost sent him over a berm dropped him back to third. Tomac had the fastest pace and with three and a half minutes and one lap remaining, Tomac got back into second place; but one minute later he repeated his previous mistake and went down in the whoops in what looked like a replay of his first crash.

Webb brought home the victory, his seventh this year – and seventh total after three years contesting the 450SX Class. With more wins than Tomac, and a 23-point lead, Webb can ensure his first Monster Energy 450SX Title with a 20th place (out of 22 riders) at the final round next weekend in Las Vegas.

“It was tough. I was just getting handed [gifts] left and right,” Webb said. “Guys were making mistakes and I felt good. I was starting to battle with Eli for a bit and then tightened up a little. He got a good flow, but he crashed and then Zach was all over me. And I rode good, but man, those guys were a little better. But, I think when they got around me [they found out that] it’s tough to lead out there the way the track is. You’ve got to be so precise, and they made some mistakes and gave me a nice gift… I can’t believe it.”

Osborne was feeling good after proving he has the speed to lead.

“It was an incredible race,” he said. “To lead some laps and pass for the lead and just be in there and get that experience was huge for me. As you said my [late 2018] off-season performance was really, really good and I came into a couple weeks before Christmas and had an injury and it was pretty much worst-case scenario from there. And it’s just been a long, long comeback trail. Our chaplain here at the track, he talked about facing giants this morning and that’s what I feel like I’ve been doing all season. And today I conquered some giants and I’m very blessed to stand here right now.”

In the Eastern Regional 250SX class, Sexton grabbed his first ever Monster Energy Supercross win and took over the points lead in the process.

It was a dramatic day leading up to the Main Event. Sexton was only three points behind Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Austin Forkner; Forkner had earned zero points at the previous round due to a torn ACL in his left knee from a practice crash that same day.

Forkner wasn’t at 100% in qualifying in New Jersey, pulling out midway through the second qualifying session but still qualifying with the third fastest lap time. When the gate dropped on the Main Event JGRMX/Yoshimura/Suzuki’s Alex Martin was out in front with the holeshot, with Monster Energy/Pro Circuit Kawasaki’s Martin Davalos, Forkner, and Sexton right behind. Sexton got right around Forkner, but before the pack had completed a lap Forkner aggressively slammed his way back past in a 180-degree bowl turn.

Shortly after, Alex Martin went down, and title contenders Forkner and Sexton looked to be closing in on race leader Davalos. Two and a half minutes into the Main Event, Forkner landed hard on a flat landing and aggravated his knee. He rolled off the track in obvious pain, out of the race for a DNF and just one championship point. A little over six minutes into the race, Sexton took the lead away from Davalos and stayed composed on the challenging track to take the win, and with it a nine-point lead in the championship chase with one round remaining. Sexton’s closest competitor, Monster Energy/Star Racing/Yamaha’s Justin Cooper, finished third. Cooper’s teammate Mitchell Oldenburg, split the title contenders for his first podium of 2019. Anything, especially making up big point gaps, can happen at the final round next weekend in Las Vegas where both the Eastern Regional and Western Regional 250SX Classes compete in one combined Main Event for single-event points payout.

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Hagar Is Jackson ASCS Star

Published in Racing

Sunday, 28 April 2019 04:10

BYRAM, Miss. — With a run from mid-pack to the top, Derek Hagar was the class of the field Saturday night at Jackson Motor Speedway with the Griffith Truck and Equipment ASCS Gulf South and Stealth Recovery ASCS Mid-South Regions.

Topping King of the Wing IV, Hagar took the green from the 10th starting spot. Pacing around the low line of the Mississippi oval early on, Hagar began moving around with his No. 9jr cracking the top five before lap 10.

Seemingly stalled with the raced moving past the midway point, Derek battled several laps with Channin Tankersley for the third spot. Taking the spot away, slower traffic in the mix brought Tim Crawley to a near stop; allowing Hagar to take away second.

Running past Dale Howard for the lead, a red with five laps to run cleared the racing groove for Derek to steadily pull away for the win.

Dale Howard held on for the runner-up spot with Tim Crawley in tow. Moving up from 13th, Marshall Skinner brought his No. 26 home fourth with Channin Tankersley completing the top five.

The finish:

Feature (25 Laps): 1. 9JR-Derek Hagar, [10]; 2. 47-Dale Howard, [1]; 3. 1X-Tim Crawley, [2]; 4. 26-Marshall Skinner, [13]; 5. 17-Channin Tankersley, [4]; 6. 91A-Ernie Ainsworth, [11]; 7. 2-Joseph Miller, [7]; 8. 3G-Paxton Gregory, [3]; 9. 01-Shane Morgan, [17]; 10. 16-Cody Tankersley, [14]; 11. 10-Landon Britt, [16]; 12. 88-Brandon Blenden, [6]; 13. 48-Cody Stacy, [5]; 14. 21M-Jason Shavers, [20]; 15. 121-Todd Bliss, [18]; 16. 40-Howard Moore, [8]; 17. 6-Dustin Gates, [9]; 18. B52-Bill Mason, [21]; 19. 52-Cody Karl, [15]; 20. 21S-Spencer Meredith, [19]; 21. 93-Jake Knight, [12]; 22. 21-Butch David, [22]

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Wagner & Smith Share Port Royal Spoils

Published in Racing

Sunday, 28 April 2019 04:11

PORT ROYAL, Pa. – Logan Wagner took the lead from his father, Mike Wagner, early and then drove to victory in Saturday’s 410 sprint car main event at Port Royal Speedway.

The younger Wagner took the lead on lap five and proceeded to lead the remainder of the 25-lap 410 sprint car feature aboard the Zemco Racing No. 1. He beat Lucas Wolfe to the checkered flag by .759 of a second.

Mike Wagner finished third ahead of Danny Dietrich and Ryan Smith.

Smith backed up his top-five result in the 410 sprint car feature with a victory in the United Racing Club 360 sprint car feature.

Starting from the eighth position, Smith avoided two early incidents and made his way up to second after one lap was completed. Smith spent most of the feature chasing Wolfe, eventually overtaking him for the lead with six laps left.

Smith pulled away to a 1.402-second victory over Wolfe, who ended the evening with two runner-up results. Steve Buckwalter, Austin Bishop and Josh Weller completed the top-five in the URC feature.

Nick Sweigart was the winner in the 305 sprint car class.

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Golobic Pounces For Petaluma Score

Published in Racing

Sunday, 28 April 2019 04:47

PETALUMA, Calif. — Shane Golobic patiently paced a rocket-fast Geoff Ensign in the early laps and pounced on him in traffic to claim a lead he would keep all the way to the checkered flag, winning the Sprint Car Challenge Tour at Petaluma Speedway Saturday night.

Golobic started the 35-lap race on the pole, but Ensign was the class of the field early on, diving to the bottom groove from fifth on a lap three restart and coming out on top of a three-wide fight for the lead through turn one before motoring away in a car old enough–in race car years—to get a senior citizen discount at the pit gate.

Ensign’s multi-car length lead evaporated as he hit traffic by lap nine on the three-eighths mile oval and Golobic struck his winning move seven laps later, gambling on a outside pass while Ensign was stuck in the bottom groove behind a lapped car. When Golobic opened that door, Chase Johnson and Caleb Henry followed, dropping Ensign to fourth.

“Geoff was in a tough spot, being in the lead in traffic,” said Golobic. “If he stayed low, I was going high, but if he moved up on the track, I was going low.”

Ensign said he was trying to be patient and simply waited too long to make a move on the lapped car that held him up. “My car was getting tight and I was waiting for him to make a mistake so I could drive under him,” said Ensign. “He did make a mistake that let me get by him, but he did it three laps later.”

Golobic bet consistently on the bottom groove during a couple of yellow flag restarts to keep the lead but faced his biggest challenge with five laps to go after a yellow flag for the stalled car of Bradley Terrell. On the restart, Chase Johnson powered past Golobic through turns one and two and seemed to have the race won before biking the car in turn three, giving Golobic the chance to drive underneath him and to the checkered flag.

Behind them, Ensign, driving a 12-year old car that had been reassembled and painted just the night before and powered by an engine whose age is a mystery, motored past Henry to take the third while Tim Kaeding stormed around the top side of the track to move up six spots in the last five laps to finish fifth.

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Horse named for Avs captain 2nd in stakes debut

Published in Hockey

Saturday, 27 April 2019 18:42

HOT SPRINGS, Ark. -- Landeskog entered the $150,000 Bachelor Stakes coming off an impressive victory to begin his career.

He came out of it with his first loss Saturday, finishing second by 1¾ lengths to 5-1 shot Nitrous at Oaklawn Park in Arkansas.

One of his co-owners knows the feeling.

The 3-year-old gelding is named for Colorado Avalanche captain Gabriel Landeskog and co-owned by Avs defenseman Erik Johnson. Colorado opened its Western Conference semifinal series against San Jose with a 5-2 loss Friday night.

Trained by Doug O'Neill, Landeskog was making his stakes debut after a front-running, 5¾-length victory March 31 in his career debut. He took control early in the Bachelor, leading through the first half-mile before getting reeled in by Nitrous.

Sent off as the second choice in the wagering, Landeskog returned $4.20 and $2.80.

O'Neill says he had Landeskog gelded because of his high energy and shin soreness that he experienced early in his career.

"Lo and behold, it definitely seemed to work," the Southern California-based trainer said.

Landeskog was purchased for $75,000 and has earned $84,000 over his first two races.

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