Offtopic/fun » ave provided that information, she said, but

Certainly the biggest shock of the day Saturday, the last big day of prep races for next months Breeders Cup, was Tepins loss in the First Lady at Keeneland. But it wasnt just that Tepin could finish only second at 2-5 that was so surprising, it was also the manner in which the First Lady upset was sprung.Photo Call, of all horses, bounded to the early lead and quickly dared everyone else in the First Lady field to catch her. It wasnt like Photo Call hadnt shown speed before. She had. This year. In all of her recent races. But those races in which Photo Call showed speed were all slow-paced, extended-distance events, most of which she didnt even run particularly well. So when Photo Call opened a sizeable early lead through a second quarter-mile in a fast 23.19, you could be forgiven if you were wondering what happened to the real Photo Call, and who is this imposter?Yet even when Photo Call turned for home with a gigantic lead that seemed in double-digit territory, I still kind of thought that Photo Call would tire and Tepin would catch her, just as Tepin did last March in the Hillsborough when Isabella Sings tried the same, front-running gambit. Only this time, Photo Call was a much better horse than Isabella Sings (even if she hadnt shown it in a while), and Tepin wasnt going to have her tank emptied in the stretch, not with the Breeders Cup just four weeks away.Photo Call held on to win by almost three lengths. And this was the first time Tepin was beaten by open lengths since August 2014, a staggering 26 months ago.Tepins connections were up front beforehand about not wanting to take too much out of Tepin on Saturday, which is why she went in the First Lady in the first place instead of the Shadwell Turf Mile against males. They didnt want her to have to run an A race, and she didnt.That said, this is now two straight races from Tepin since her historic victory at Royal Ascot that were not A performances. She did beat males winning last months Woodbine Mile, but that was not Tepin at her top. I know very well to never, ever underestimate a champion, and Tepin is absolutely all of that. But this is something to think about as she now targets a defense of her title in the Breeders Cup Mile.The irony of Saturday is Tepin lost against a female, and Miss Temple City prevailed over males in the richer Shadwell Turf Mile, a race she ran in, in part, to avoid having to face Tepin.This is the second time this year Miss Temple City opted for a Grade 1 start at Keeneland against males instead of taking on Tepin. She won the first one, too - last Aprils Makers 46 Mile the day before Tepin won the Jenny Wiley.Miss Temple Citys connections might consider sending a very nice gift basket to Tepins people. But dont make the mistake of taking Miss Temple City as a mere lucky opportunist. She is very good - she ran much better than her two losses at Saratoga would suggest on paper - and she beat a stronger group of males in the Shadwell than she did in the Makers 46.But for me, the Shadwell was all about Ironicuss fast closing second. This was Ironicuss first start since his troubled-trip second to none other than Flintshire in the Manhattan on Belmont Stakes Day due to foot issues, and he might have gotten up had not an opponent shifted out in front of him in mid-stretch. In any case, Ironicus is now primed for a peak performance in the Breeders Cup Mile, and I think he is very dangerous in that spot.One other standout turf female who raced on Saturday must be mentioned here, and that is Lady Eli. Lady Eli, so breathtaking in the first phase of her racing career, made it all the way back from the scourge of laminitis to win the Flower Bowl. And now she sets her sights on the Breeders Cup Filly & Mare Turf, for which she is Americas top hope.This is just a remarkable story. Remarkable, too, was the rousing applause fans in attendance at Belmont Park on Saturday gave Lady Eli on her return to the winners circle. Downstate New York racing fans throw receptions such as this around like sewer covers. So it was great to see, and thoroughly deserved.Saturday notes** Sadly, the devaluation of the once-great Jockey Club Gold Cup continued Saturday with Hoppertunitys decision over Effinex and three others.I dont want to knock Hoppertunity. Hes had the tall order of facing California Chrome, Beholder, and Shared Belief in several of his races and, like many others, he was simply not up to the task. Still, Hoppertunitys only victory in his 13 starts immediately preceding the Gold Cup was a nose decision in the San Antonio last February over Imperative, another who rarely wins. Lets just say this Gold Cup was not a key prep for the Breeders Cup Classic.** I liked both preps for the Breeders Cup Juvenile - the Champagne and the Breeders Futurity. The Champagne was a terrific race. Practical Joke got up by a nose despite a bad start over Syndergaard, who was admirably game after setting a scorching pace and fighting back after getting hooked by Practical Joke in mid-stretch. These are two fine colts.Classic Empire also showed a lot of substance winning the Breeders Futurity decisively. Because he wheeled and lost his rider at the start of the Hopeful (won by Practical Joke), the Breeders Futurity was Classic Empires first representative start in three months, and he was stretching out to two turns for the first time, to boot. Moreover, Classic Empire was wide throughout, a concession of ground that would have been significant in almost any situation, but one that was even more noteworthy considering the inside appeared to be very live Saturday on Keenelands main track. This was a very strong effort.** On the face of it, the Frizette seemed like a strongly run race, with Yellow Agate getting up by a head over Libbys Tail, with a chasm of more than nine lengths back to the third finisher. The clock says otherwise, however. Yellow Agates winning Beyer Figure was a modest 77, only marginally better than the even more modest 73 Beyer Dancing Rags was assigned for winning Fridays Alcibiades.For the record, Classic Empire and Practical Joke each earned 88 Beyers.wholesale jerseys china . He was followed closely by David Clarkson, donning red, seconds later. Clarksons actions one night earlier, leaping off the bench in defence of Kessel during a pre-season game against the Buffalo Sabres, will cost him the first 10 games of the regular season. fake jerseys china . The 26-year-old Ireland striker, who has four goals this season, has signed a three-and-a-half year contract with his new club. https://www.chinajerseysreplica.us/ .S. hockey team after paying his dues as an NHL general manager for more than three decades and giving up a lot of his free time to help USA Hockey. cheap jerseys from china . Jeff Green scored 13 points and Kris Humphries 12 for the Celtics, who nearly blew an 18-point, second-half lead. Sullingers 20-20 was the first by a Celtics player since Kevin Garnetts first game in Boston in 2007. Garnett was dealt -- along with Paul Pierce -- to Brooklyn during the off-season. replica jerseys china . The next step is a better finish. Bae played bogey-free Friday on another gorgeous day at Riviera for a 5-under 66, giving him a one-shot lead over Aaron Baddeley and Robert Garrigus going into the weekend.COLUMBIA, Mo. -- A former University of Missouri tutor said she can document at least a dozen instances of serious academic fraud involving mens and womens athletes during a 16-month period.Yolanda Kumar told The Kansas City Star that she felt pressured to keep athletes academically eligible , especially football and mens basketball players. Her allegations come less than a year after the school sanctioned its mens basketball team for violating NCAA rules.Hours after Kumar posted in her personal Facebook account Tuesday afternoon that she had taken entrance exams and completed entire courses for Mizzou athletes, the university issued a statement announcing its investigation.The University of Missouri has received allegations of potential academic rules violations by a former tutor in the Athletics Academic Services area, the athletics department said in a statement. Consistent with our commitment to rules compliance and to operating our athletics program with integrity, we are conducting a review of the allegations.Of the hundreds of Missouri athletes she has tutored since 2010, Kumar said, 15 involved serious academic fraud. She told The St. Louis Post-Dispatch she felt like she had been groomed over time by her superiors to participate in what she described as academic dishonesty.The last straw for Kumar involved a male athlete she said needed help during the summer on a core class she was told he needed to graduate. The student passed, she said, but he really was struggling with very basic things that my eighth-grader could do.The same student was assigned to her in the fall and became depressed after he wwas unable to grasp basic statistics equations, she said.ddddddddddddThis kid, he has no hope, Kumar said. Hes so lost, and I helped. I helped ruin him. I probably cant take it all, because its not all me. Its not all me at all, but he was the one who forced me. That was enough. I couldnt do it anymore.During an 18-minute phone call on Nov. 2 with Mary Ann Austin, the universitys executive associate athletic director for compliance, Kumar came clean about her involvement.Initially it felt good to have provided that information, she said, but she soon realized the evil was out of the box and you cant put it back in.Kumar didnt immediately respond to messages from The Associated Press on Wednesday seeking comment.In her Facebook post Tuesday, she said at least two academic coordinators for athletes in revenue-generating sports encouraged, promoted and supported her activities. Kumar resigned her position Nov. 7 prior to a meeting with a member for compliance, general counsel and an individual that reports to the chancellor.The universitys announcement comes 10 months after it self-imposed sanctions against the mens basketball program stemming from a sham internship program and impermissible benefits received by players and their families at Tan-Tar-A resort at the Lake of the Ozarks.Third-year basketball coach Kim Andersons team was banned from the 2016 postseason and forfeited two scholarships as part of the sanctions that were accepted by the NCAA when it closed the case in August. ' ' '