Among the classic horse races held this weekend,
the Belmont Stakes, the third race in the
US Triple Crown for three-year old
Thoroughbreds, was run at
Belmont Park, NY yesterday. Because neither the winner of the
Kentucky Derby nor the winner of the
Preakness was in the Belmont, the usual hyperbolic media frenzy was largely absent in the days leading up to the race. As it turned out, the major drama in the race occurred when a horse named "
Drosselmeyer" zipped by another horse, unfortunately named "
First Dude" - apparently after the infamous husband of the erstwhile US Republican Vice-Presidential candidate - to cross the finish line first. Good for Drosselmeyer! Given the demonstrated US MSM tendency to give tons of press to the least deserving of personalities, a win for "First Dude" would have forced the barely half-term governor's presence on us all even more than ever. Thank God that bullet was dodged!
Meanwhile, on the European side of The Pond, there was quite a spectacular win at the
Epsom Derby yesterday, with lightly-raced "
Workforce" distancimg himself from the field and
setting a new course record in his win. Veterans of the Derby remarked that the race reminded them most of the spectacular race run in 1981 by the ill-fated champion "
Shergar." It was the fifth Derby win for trainer
Sir Michael Stoute. I find it interesting that the Brits actually knight some of their sports heroes. And Derby Day at Epsom, with men dressed in top hats and tails, along with women in frilly dresses and splendid hats, is quite fun to watch. It was made famous in the musical "
My Fair Lady." The Derby was also a victory for three-time champion jockey,
Ryan Moore - his second of the day, in fact. Moore at 26 has already amassed an amazingly impressive array of racing records and trophies and is well on his way to making racing history in the UK.
Yesterday, a young Italian woman won her country's first
French Open Women's Singles title. By the final, most of the top-seeded women had been eliminated, but that should take nothing away from
Francesca Schiavone's win. Today, it was less of a surprise that
Rafal Nadal, who met erstwhile giant-slayer
Robin Soderling in the French Open final, romped away with the Men's Singles title for the fifth time. In doing so, he not only got his own back from Soderling for last year's defeat earlier in the tourney but also recaptured the No. 1 ranking that he forfeited to
Roger Federer last season. Clay is Nadal's best surface. It will be interesting to see what happens during the rest of the tennis season. But if Federer wants to reclaim his No. 1 rank, he'll need more fire in his belly than he's demonstrated so far in 2010. Not that Federer needs to prove anything. At all.
Attention here now is turning towards the upcoming
World Cup playoffs to be held for the first time ever in the
Republic of South Africa. I received a flyer in my mailbox yesterday advertising that all matches will be retransmitted
outdoors on a giant screen set up in nearby
Nyon. Entrance is free. There are
many other similar opportunities in the area. Because some of the visitors who will be arriving soon are major soccer (aka football everywhere in the world except in the US) fans, they may be interested in checking these out for the
ambiance, if nothing else. We will, of course, also be able to view the games on TV at home.
No comments:
Post a Comment