Times wires
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Horses
Long shot's fast finish nets berth in derby
HOT SPRINGS, Ark. — Archarcharch, which went off at 25-1, took the lead down the stretch and won the $1 million Arkansas Derby on Saturday at Oaklawn Park.
The Grade I stakes win, in a Kentucky Derby prep race, is the first for trainer Jinks Fires. He and owner (and fellow Arkansan) Bob Yagos will make their first appearance in the Derby on May 7.
"This horse is something special," Yagos said. "Jinks gave us confidence in this horse since Day 1."
The colt trailed with a second group of horses for much of the race before charging the final eighth-mile of the 11/8-mile race. He passed Dance City and Sway Away on the home stretch, then held off Nehro by a neck to earn the win in 1 minute, 49.34 seconds.
The Factor, the 4-5 favorite, finished seventh among 13 horses. Brethren, which won the Sam F. Davis at Tampa Bay Downs on Feb. 12, finished 11th.
Blue Grass Stakes: Brilliant Speed rallied from last to beat Twinspired by a nose at the $750,000 Derby prep race in Lexington, Ky. The $450,000 winner's check likely gives Brilliant Speed, which ran 11/8 miles in 1:50.92, enough graded-stakes earnings to make the Derby field. Trainer Tom Albertrani praised Joel Rosario, who made his first start aboard the horse: "He split horses, and at the quarter pole, he weaved his way right through traffic and angled him out perfectly at the drive."
Tennis
Nadal overwhelms an injured Murray
Rafael Nadal reached the Monte Carlo Masters final by beating Andy Murray 6-4, 2-6, 6-1 in Monaco. Nadal needed almost three hours to win his 36th consecutive match on clay. The start was delayed for about 30 minutes so Murray could get a cortisone shot for a sore right arm. And Murray, who did not disclose specifics of his injury, took a medical timeout while down 3-0 in the third. In a rematch of last year's final, Nadal faces David Ferrer.
Fed Cup: Andrea Petkovic beat 18-year-old Christina McHale 6-3, 6-4 and Julia Goerges beat 19-year-old Melanie Oudin 6-2, 7-6 (7-5) to give host Germany a 2-0 lead. The Americans, without the injured Williams sisters, have won the Fed Cup a record 17 times. But they lost to Belgium in the first round, and a loss in reverse singles or doubles today will relegate it to a lower tier for the first time.
Et cetera
Soccer: Yaya Toure scored in the 52nd minute as Manchester City beat Manchester United 1-0 at London's Wembley Stadium to reach the FA Cup final. City hasn't won a trophy since the 1976 League Cup and last reached the FA Cup final in 1981, when it lost a replay to Tottenham. On May 14, it faces the winner of today's game between Stoke and Bolton. … Cristiano Ronaldo's late penalty kick canceled out Lionel Messi's as 10-man Real Madrid rallied for a 1-1 tie against Spanish leader Barcelona in the first of their four matchups in 18 days. Ronaldo scored his first career goal against visiting Barcelona in the 82nd minute after Daniel Alves brought Marcelo down inside the area. Messi scored his 49th goal of the season after Madrid defender Raul Albiol was red-carded for tugging striker David Villa down inside the area.
Boxing: Amir Khan (25-1) retained his WBA light welterweight title against Paul McCloskey (22-1) in Manchester, England. The fight was stopped in the sixth round because of a cut over McCloskey's left eye caused by an accidental clash of heads. So the bout went to the scorecards, and Khan led 60-54 on all three.
Times wires