Dein erstes Forum » logical -- stakes schedules paves the w

Danny Willett believes it is unfair that his withdrawal from next weeks World Cup in Australia has also cost Lee Westwood his debut in the event.Masters champion Willett pulled out of the event on Friday as he did not want to risk aggravating an ongoing back problem by competing at Kingston Heath in Melbourne.That meant Justin Rose, as the next highest-ranked player from the original standings used at the end of the U.S. PGA Championship, was invited to compete, only for the Olympic champion to also be ruled out by a back injury.Roses Ryder Cup team-mate Chris Wood was next in line and - under tournament rules -- able to select the partner of his choice, the 28-year-old from Bristol choosing fellow Hazeltine debutant Andy Sullivan.Obviously when the guys have booked their flights I think its not quite right just because one guy pulls out that the other guy has to kind of withdraw without having a say in it, Willett said ahead of the DP World Tour Championship, where he could win the Race to Dubai for the first time.I think you just then go down the list and see which guy potentially wants to play. With such short notice, I dont see why they have switched it around and made it two brand new guys.It was a decision made purely within my best interests going forward. And unfortunately the backlash is the Westy situation. I just think it was a bit unfair for that tournament to kind of go about it the way they did.I spoke to Westy and I apologised. Westy has been pretty good about it and it was a shame how it ended because we were both looking forward to going down there and pairing up.Asked if he was expecting a bill from Westwood for his wasted airline tickets, Willett joked: You never know. If we have a good week this week Ill be able to buy him a bottle of wine for Christmas.Johnny Damon Yankees Jersey . -- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson asked his players a simple question during Fridays morning shootaround: How many of them had ever been on a team 14 games over . Reggie Jackson Yankees Jersey . Michell Burger, a woman who lives on an estate next to Pistorius gated community, said she and her husband were awoken by the screams in the pre-dawn hours of Feb. 14 last year, when Pistorius killed Reeva Steenkamp by shooting four times through a door in his bathroom. https://www.cheapyankees.com/2901g-jordan-montgomery-jersey-yankees.html . After a replay, the winner will meet Sunderland in the quarterfinals. Sagbo did well to control Sone Alukos right cross and fire past Brighton goalkeeper Peter Brezovan. Aluko was making his first start in four months after recovering from an Achilles injury. Don Mattingly Jersey . U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield in Manhattan agreed that lawyers on both sides could make their formal requests by Nov. 8. A hearing is scheduled for a day earlier. Jordan Siev, a lawyer for Rodriguez, wrote in a joint letter to the judge from lawyers on both sides that MLB lawyers planned to ask that the lawsuit be dismissed. Tommy Kahnle Jersey . William Carrier opened the scoring for Cape Breton (6-4-2), but Andrew Ryan tied the game and Brent Andrews put the Mooseheads (8-6-0) in front for good with a short-handed goal at 13:49 of the second period.One of the biggest events, if not the biggest race, on Saturdays strong Stars & Stripes Festival card at Belmont Park is the Belmont Derby for 3-year-old males on the turf. And one of Saturdays four stakes at Arlington Park is the American Derby, also for 3-year-old males, and also on the turf.The American Derby has a purse one-tenth the size of the $1.25 million purse of the Belmont Derby and, at 1-1/8 miles, the American Derby is one furlong shorter than the Belmont Derby. The American Derby is also something of a means to an end. It is the local springboard to next months Secretariat Stakes. The Belmont Derby, with its outsized purse, is an end. The American and Belmont Derbies are not exactly mirror images of each other. But there are still compelling similarities between the two races.And thats the point. The Belmont Derby and American Derby are two turf stakes for 3-year-olds going long on the turf run on the same day. And yet, the Belmont Derby drew a field of 13, and the American Derby drew a field of 11. Even after you separate the wheat from the chaff, thats a lot of numbers. Who knew there were so many 3-year-old grass horses?Well, these 3-year-olds are still young, lightly raced, and full of hope. So clashing, competing stakes schedules -- not exactly a new matter -- are not quite the issue for this group that it is for other divisions which have been compromised to a greater extent by the contraction of the general pool of available race horses.Consider the older male division, and recent overlapping opportunities for this group.On June 18, the Grade 1, $500,000 Stephen Foster Handicap at 1-1/8 miles was run at Churchill Downs. The Foster drew a field of seven, and was won by Bradester. Bradester, a 6-year-old, is an admirable hard hitter, and on some level, it was nice to see his persistence finally rewarded with a score in a big spot. However, in 22 prior starts over four years, Bradester had never, ever been confused with a true Grade 1 performer.One week later, on June 25, the Grade 1, $500,000 Gold Cup at Santa Anita at 1-? miles was run. The Gold Cup attracted a field of eight, and it was won by Melatonin. Before his 5-year-old season this year, Melatonin had made only two starts in stakes races, and was unsuccessful in both. But the Gold Cup was his second major victory this year; he earlier won the prestigious Grade 1 Santa Anita Handicap. Melatonins emergence is a welcome development regardless of tthe reason for it.dddddddddddd Still, its only natural to wonder if Melatonins ascendency is due more to a weakened division lacking quality depth than to considerable improvement on his part.One week later, on July 2, the Grade 3, $300,000 Prairie Meadows Cornhusker Handicap at 1-1/8 miles was decided at Prairie Meadows. The 5-year-old Smack Smack, another one of those admirable campaigners who had previously finished third or better in 18 of 25 career starts, beat eight opponents in the Cornhusker for his first career graded stakes win. Despite having plenty of opportunity during a very active career, Smack Smack had only taken his chance in three prior graded stakes races, and never finished better than fifth in those graded stakes attempts.On Saturday, one week after the Cornhusker, two weeks after the Gold Cup at Santa Anita, and three weeks after the Foster, which represents a fast turnaround for race horses these days, one of the undercard stakes at Belmont is the Grade 2, $300,000 Suburban Handicap at 1-1/4 miles for, you guessed it, older males. The Suburban drew a field of eight, but the only previous front line race winners in it are Noble Bird, and Effinex, one of two in the Suburban making that fast turnaround from the Foster.Look, I understand racetracks are in competition with each other, and realize that one way for a track to gain a competitive upper hand is to put on a better race than its competition. Santa Anita wouldnt think twice if it were able to poach a horse from the Foster, and Belmont wouldnt shed a tear if it did the same to the Gold Cup.However, the absence of a tangible incentive for tracks to fashion more cooperative -- hey, lets make that read logical -- stakes schedules paves the way for an unappealing diet of diluted stakes events that frankly dont do the sport much good.I mean, look at the four stakes I referenced above. They all drew from the same pool of talent -- older males going nine to 10 furlongs on dirt -- and that pool is shallow this year. But even in years when there is a bit more depth to the older male division, its difficult to see the sense of four so similar stakes races run in a three week window. Not when you could have done a mash up between the Foster, Gold Cup, Cornhusker, and Suburban, and wound up with two very nice, much better races. ' ' '