Secretariat - Belmont Stakes 1973...Hughes wins semifinal...Softball today...Belmont PP's and picks

("He is moving like a tremendous machine." ). One of the best race calls in history to go with the best race in the history of the sport. Chick Anderson was the race caller on CBS at Belmont Park that day. He also was track announcer at Churchill Downs for 17 years.


THURSDAY @ CARDINAL COUPLE:

-Hughes, Okoro in NCAA Championships

-Ky. State Girls Softball Championships begin today

-2011 Belmont Post Positions and Predictions

-Cierra Warren undergoes knee surgery.

Okoro is a senior on
the women's track
and field team at UofL.

Two University of Louisville track and field athletes participated in the NCAA Championships yesterday at Drake Stadium in Des Moines, IA. Men's distance runner Matt Hughes won his semi-final heat in the 3,000 meters and will run in the finals Friday night. Hughes won the event last year. Thrower Chinwe Okoro placed ninth in the discus throw after a sixth place finish in the qualifying round.

Today's action includes Cardinal high-jumper Rachel Gehret. Gehret won the high jump in the BIG EAST Championship earlier this year. The women's throwing team will also compete in the shot put and hammer tosses during the championships.

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Sixteen teams from across the state will vie for the title in the 2011 Kentucky State Softball Tournament beginning today at Jack C. Fisher Park in Owensboro, KY. Locally, Louisville Ballard and PRP will take part in the action. The tournament runs three days...with the championship game scheduled for 2 p.m. Saturday. The first round pairings:

Three Ballard Bruins,...Walker, Wise and Fairley

PRP vs. Montgomery County

Allen County-Scottsville vs. East Jessamine

North Laurel vs. Central Hardin

Walton-Verona vs. Hopkins County Central

Lexington Lafayette vs. Owensboro Catholic

Calloway County vs. Ashland Blazer

Ballard vs. Letcher County Central

Ryle vs. Magoffin County

Ballard is ranked #1 in the state and went 35-4 during the regular season. They are led in the pitching circle by senior Kayla Fairley. Fairley is a dominating pitcher who went 26-3 on the season with a 1.11 ERA. She's also not too bat at the plate...hitting .308 for the season with four home runs. Fairley was the Seventh Region Player of the Year. She has yet to commit to a college...but Louisville is her first choice.

Never can have enough good arms, Sandy....go after this girl and put her in the Cardinal red...

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The post positions and odds for the 143rd running of the Belmont Stakes have been assigned and ANIMAL KINGDOM has been made the favorite at 3-1. The Kentucky Derby winner narrowly missed in the Preakness...running second to SHACKLEFORD who will also try the Belmont and is listed at 5-1. The post positions, jockeys and odds below:

Post 1:  Master of Hounds.  Garrett Gomez on board.  10-1
Post 2:  Stay Thirsty.  Javier Castellano rides.  22-1
Post 3:  Ruler On Ice.  Jose Valdivia, Jr. gets the assignment.  25-1
Post 4:  Santiva.  Shaun Bridgmohan in the saddle.  15-1
Post 5:  Brilliant Speed.  Joel Rosario is the jockey.  20-1
Post 6:  Nehro.  Corey Nakatani has the reigns.  9-2
Post 7:  Monzon.  Jose Lezcano in the stirrups.  35-1
Post 8:  Prime Cut.  Edgar Prado guides.  25-1
Post 9:  Animal Kingdom.  John Velazquez returns.  3-1
Post 10:  Mucho Macho Man.  Ramon Dominguez has the mount.  15-1
Post 11:  Isn't He Perfect.  Rajiv Maragh takes the call.  45-1
Post 12:  Shackleford.  Jesus Castanon goes for two straight.  5-1

Paul's Predictions:

I'm picking NEHRO here. He ran second in the Derby, sat out the Preakness and will love the added distance. He'll have to contend with ANIMAL KINGDOM, a threat in the long Belmont stretch. The question is how tired is ANIMAL KINGDOM after the Derby and Preakness? Look for MUCHO MACHO MAN to be gobbling up the speed at the end and just behind these two. I don't see SHACKLEFORD liking this extra distance and he'll fade late...Longshot special is PRIME CUT, with Edgar Prado on board. Prado knows Belmont and this horse has had six straight third place or better finishes in a row.

Sonja Says:

ANIMAL KINGDOM is my selection to win the Belmont Stakes. This horse can run forever and would have won the Preakness if Velazquez had moved him earlier. I can see NEHRO putting in a huge effort here but couldn't catch Velazquez in the Derby and won't here. I'll take SHACKLEFORD and SANTIVA battling for third. BRILLIANT SPEED is a live longshot to respect.

(David Watson is on vacation and has no selections for the Belmont Stakes.) We did ask CARDINAL COUPLE handicapper Tommy Boy about his picks but he hasn't finished his research and studies on the race as of this column posting. Respected charter Alan Patterson is trying to narrow it down between five horses as of yesterday and has MASTER OF HOUNDS, ANIMAL KINGDOM, NEHRO, SHACKLEFORD and MUCHO MACHO MAN on his short list...

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Lady Cards post Cierra Warren recently underwent knee surgery but is already up and around on crutches. We aren't sure what procedure was performed or her status for fall ball...but have some feelers out to try and find out. Up and around already is a good sign...

We absolutely love this collage that Charlie Springer
created last year of Cierra Warren! (Photo from UofL Card Game)
You can read Charlie's site daily at http://www.uoflcardgame.com/

Warren transferred to the University of Louisville last year after her freshman season at North Carolina. The bright and bubbly 6'5" center is expected to make a significant contribution to the Lady Cards in the 2011-12 season...after sitting out the mandatory year required for transfers from one D1 program to another. We had reports all last season that she was a force on the court during practice and look forward to her Lady Cards debut.

Warren was the "greeter" at the end of the huddle during UofL Cardinal pre-game introductions and...along with Shawnta Dyer, who returns after a red-shirt season...should give the Cards some pretty spectacular front line power.

GOOD NEWS! We have received confirmation from UofL that the surgery was minor, all things are GOOD on Cierra and she'll be ready to go for fall ball!

LOOK OUT, BIG EAST and LADY CARDINAL OPPONENTS...

FRONT LINE COMING TO GET YA...
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Soggy Saturday sets softball back to a 1:30 p.m.start

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SATURDAY @ the COUPLE:



Almost 3 inches of rain in the
last 16 hours in Louisville and
more expected today will
delay the Cards on the diamond



-Softball threatened by rain

-We review the Derby Classic

-Sonja's first look at the Derby contenders

Today's softball games have been moved back to a 1:30 p.m. start and they'll try to get both in against Providence today. (This updated from Lori Korte, assistant S.I.D. at Louisville. )

Buckets of rain, thunder and lightning and more forecast for Saturday here in Louisville...it's been a soggy spring and even though they cover the field at Ulmer...lightning in the area not a great combination with aluminum bats...
Providence is scheduled to fly back home early Sunday morning, so they'll try to eventually get both contests in at Ulmer today. Where's that retractable dome when you need it?

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Louisville fan excited about getting Cardinal post player
Gorgui Dieng's autograph. Dieng (in grey t-shirt) signs for a mass of
appreciative fans during the Derby Classic

About 10,000 fans attended the Derby Classic Basketball shootout at KFC YUM Center Friday Night...most of them seeming to arrive right at tip off. They were treated to a high scoring, slam dunking and
three point fiesta from the high school stars. The Gold Team came back from a double digit deficit to win 126-122 over the UofL stacked White team.

Teams get ready to tip it up in the Derby Classic

Gotta like all three future Cardinals that prowled the paint in the KFC YUM center. 6'8" small forward Angel Nunez had a great game for the White team and showed his abilities to run the court, go inside and create and take the long range bomber. Cardinal fans are going to love his intensity and hustle. Chane Behanan, a 6'7" powerhouse showed his inside skills and will be a solid addition to the guys who prowl the paint on Rick Pitino's squad. Give him a little conditioning and technique work and he'll be a monster. Zach Price, 6'11" tall and lanky lean mixed it up all night against Cody Zeller and the other Gold team front line guys. He'll get valuable back up minutes as an understudy to Terrance Jennings and Gorgui Dieng next season and he won't back down to either of them.

Cardinal Sports Report favorite Howie Lindsey took care the pre-game introductions and half-time three point and slam dunk public address duties. He did a very good job, we never knew he had that talent. Sean Moth has nothing to worry about in job security...but 'the Howitzer' handled the microphone with confidence and the proper amount of home-town deference to the future Cardinals. WE miss the old "lights flashing, spotlight showing" introductions of years past...new arena, new traditions...we're guessing. They didn't utilize the player point total boards that are in the corners of the KFC YUM either...and that's something they definitely need to work into next year's game. Along with a girls' game. Get cracking KDF!!

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It's time to start doing some handicapping for the upcoming Run for the Roses. I'll admit that I've haven't been following things too closely this spring with work and all. My time here on CARDINAL COUPLE has been almost non-existent as well. I'm still here, though. 

I am looking pretty closely at four horses right now and I'll share them with you. 

1) UNCLE MO. I'm going to draw a line through his last race in the Wood Memorial at Aqueduct because he wasn't feeling good that day. Intestinal tract difficulties definitely affect a horse's running performance. He's perked up considerably since returning to Churchill Downs and has proven in every other race in his career that he's a capable winner. 

2) PANTS ON FIRE. Beside me loving the name, the horse won the Louisiana Derby over a nice and talented field. Rosie Napravnik knows how to get the best out of the front runner and if she can get a uncontested lead when the horses hit the Churchill stretch, she and PANTS ON FIRE may be tough to catch.

3) NEHRO. If there is a horse that can haul in the front runners, it is definitely NEHRO. His all-out charge in the Arkansas Derby is quite impressive and he almost caught the tiring ARCHARCHARCH.
The extra distance will be in his favor. So is the training of Steve Asmussen. Given a clear trip down the Churchill long and demanding stretch, I expect this one to be gobbling up all of them in front of him.

Stay Thirsty romped the field in New York.
Didn't care so much for Florida. Seems to
be enjoying Churchill Downs.

4) STAY THIRSTY. Another one that I'll give an excuse for in his last effort. He never seemed comfortable on the Gulfstream track and I'm remembering how he slaughtered the field in the Gotham Stakes in New York before that. Todd Pletcher knows how to get them ready and STAY THIRSTY seems very happy to be on the Churchill Downs premises. A key might be on who Pletcher gets to ride STAY THIRSTY. Calvin Borel hasn't been announced on a horse yet and Calvin knows Churchill better than any of them.

OK, there they are!  Please keep in mind that many things can happen between now and the first Saturday in May and these preliminary top four might change. I'll watch the Coolmore Stakes at Keeneland today and see if anything comes out of that Derby prep race that warrants attention.
I'll also watch the horses as they work out at Churchill these next two weeks and see if  any of them look like the incredible, shining,  full of himself Alysheba in the days that led up to the 1987 Derby. That winner looked so powerful, so strong in the final days leading up to the race that I felt he would destroy the competition. He did.

(SONJA'S SELECTIONS are for entertainment purposes only and if you wager on horse racing, please do so responsibly...)
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