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Instead of agonizing over why Beholder was unable to win her ninth straight race Saturday in the Clement L. Hirsch Stakes at Del Mar, the proper thing to do is to give credit to Stellar Wind, who engineered this half-length upset. She richly deserves it.Simply put, Stellar Wind ran demonstrably better than Beholder on Saturday. That doesnt mean Stellar Wind is now demonstrably better than Beholder, because it will take more meetings between these two to prove that, and wont we be lucky to witness these two terrific horses hash that out? But on this day, Stellar Wind was better, and heres why:Stellar Wind is a stalker/closer type performer. Beholder has much more positional speed. Beholder held an enormous pace advantage in the Hirsch on paper, and to let that advantage play out in the actual running would have been tantamount to conceding the race.With that in mind, much credit goes to Stellar Winds connections and especially her jockey, Victor Espinoza, for taking Stellar Wind out of the comfort zone of her established running style, and not just allowing Beholder her giant paper tactical advantage. Espinoza hustled Stellar Wind out of the gate, niggled on her down the backstretch, and hard-sent her midway on the far turn, all just to stay on Beholders flank and apply as much pressure as they could. And all the while, Beholder was running as easy as you please, setting fractions that were completely unremarkable.Stellar Wind ran hard every step of the Hirschs 1-1/16 miles, so it speaks volumes to her quality that she was still able to prevail. Then again, her Hirsch win was, as upsets of 1-10 shots go, more a surprise, and not as severe as a shock. It was a surprise only because few went on record beforehand predicting this outcome. But it was not a shock, for while Beholder is a three-time champion, Stellar Wind, last years Eclipse Award winning 3-year-old filly, is a champion, too.As for Beholder, Saturdays effort was not her best race, and we are reminded yet again that these horses we watch and bet on are not machines. But in no way do I subscribe to the theory that is floating around out there that the outcome of the Hirsch was an indication that Beholder has suddenly slipped past her prime, and is, at age 6, now looking up at Stellar Wind. Not nearly yet, anyway.After all, it was only weeks ago when Beholder toyed with Stellar Wind in the Vanity. For all she has accomplished, Beholder has certainly earned the right for opportunities (yes, plural; she has earned that) to make amends, something else champions have an uncanny knack of doing.Quick notes* The level of gamesmanship amongst the three jockeys who opposed Flintshire in Saturdays Bowling Green Stakes at Saratoga was off the charts. Their attempts to bottle up, box in, and generally make life as miserable as possible for the 1-10 Flintshire were blatantly obvious, not unexpected, and ultimately unsuccessful. The three horses who opposed Flintshire - Grand Tito, Twilight Eclipse, and Canthelpbelieving - just werent even remotely good enough to execute this strategy, and hope to capitalize.Flintshire, as his odds suggest, was supposed to win the Bowling Green, which was merely a bridge to Saratogas Sword Dancer on Aug. 27. Ironically, if Flintshire had a smooth trip in the Bowling Green and won by six, it wouldnt have been nearly as impressive as it was when he overcame his eventful journey with such aplomb.* I dont have positive things to say about the Jim Dandy. Laoban, who couldnt capitalize on as strong a rail bias as you will ever see in the Gotham last March, got his maiden win in the Jim Dandy. This result does not speak flatteringly of Destin, who finished third after a perfect trip stalking Laobans slow pace, or of Mohaymen, who did stumble at the start but did little running thereafter and finished fourth, or Creator, who was compromised by the slow pace but who also never got out of sixth and last.I mean, with the way the Jim Dandy played out, Destin was really, really supposed to win.* A. P. Indian is in raging form right now, and his victory in the Alfred G. Vanderbilt confirms he is currently the top active sprinter in the East.* Right after his most impressive (and heavily bet) maiden romp earlier on Saturdays Saratoga card, I called Theory the most impressive 2-year-old debut winner Ive seen in New York so far this year. Well, after sleeping on it, I have to amend my statement. Theory, by Gemologist and trained by Todd Pletcher, is the best 2-year-old Ive seen in New York so far this year, period. Yeezy 350 v2 Clay Fake . Inter president Erick Thohir says in a club statement on Wednesday that Vidic is "one of the worlds best defenders and his qualities, international pedigree, and charisma will be an asset. Wholesale Yeezy 350 V3 . But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the eighth round of a 5-4 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. http://www.yeezys350cheap.com/fake-yeezy-350-black-wholesale.html .ca NHL Power Rankings for the second straight week, ahead of the Pittsburgh Penguins and Colorado Avalanche. Cheap Yeezy 350 Black .C. -- Calgarys Kevin Koe did it the hard way again. Cheap Yeezy 350 . Listen to the game live on TSN Radio 1050 at 7pm et. The Raptors traded Rudy Gay, Quincy Acy and Aaron Gray to the Sacramento Kings on Monday, in exchange for Greivis Vasquez, John Salmons, Patrick Patterson and Chuck Hayes. NEW ORLEANS -- The New Orleans Pelicans are trying to find more offensive support for the NBAs second-leading scorer, Anthony Davis.The Indiana Pacers are trying to pick up the slack while starting guard Monta Ellis rests a groin injury.Balanced contributions will be a key for both teams when they meet for the first time this season Thursday night in the Smoothie King Center.New Orleans guard Tim Frazier had his first triple-double in a 120-119 overtime victory at Phoenix on Sunday, and reserve guard Langston Galloway continued his hot 3-point shooting during a 113-109 home loss to Golden State on Tuesday.Galloway made 19 3-pointers over the past five games, a career best for that length of games, and he shot 44.2 percent on 3-pointers in that stretch.I think in college was probably the last time I had (such a green light to shoot), Galloway told the Pelicans team website. Last year in New York I had it somewhat, but the coaches, teammates, they all believe in me (here). I just go out there and play with a lot of confidence.Against the Suns, Davis tied for the third-most points among five New Orleans players who scored double figures.Against the Warriors, the Pelicans again had five double-figure scorers as Davis led the way. But down the stretch, the New Orleans offense -- Davis included -- broke down, producing a total of two points in its final 11 possessions as the Pelicans squandered a five-point, fourth-quarter lead and dropped to 8-18.It comes down to making plays at the end, New Orleans coach Alvin Gentry said. I thought the last five, six minutes of the game, we became a little stagnant, and if you become stagnant with this (Golden State) team, they do a great job of loading up their defense. You cant hold the basketball.The Pacers (13-13) lost at Miami 95-89 onn Wednesday as Ellis missed his second straight game.dddddddddddd He will sit out at least one more game after Thursday.Glenn Robinson III replaced Ellis in the starting lineup, though his contributions are more varied than just scoring, which is Ellis forte. Robinson is not among the five Indiana players with a double-figure scoring average.Its sad to see Monta out, you never want to see anyone injured, but I want to take advantage of this opportunity, Robinson told the Pacers website. I definitely want to be a starter in this league, and I think I can help this team out, bringing energy and being ready to play every night. Energy is the biggest thing we need in the starting lineup.Robinson left the game against Miami in the third quarter after his head collided with the Heats Hassan Whitesides knee, but he returned in the fourth quarter.Hes going to get better by the game, forward Paul George said of Robinson. We know how much he can do and how much offensively he has in his package. We want him to play his game, but hes the fifth option for us. Hes growing. Hes good now, but when his time comes, hes going to be really good.The Pacers made just nine 3-pointers against the Heat after posting season-high totals in their previous two games. They made 15 3-pointers against the Portland Trail Blazers on Saturday, then made 17 two nights later against the Charlotte Hornets.Im going to stay ready no matter what happens when Monta comes back, Robinson told the Pacers website. But the biggest thing is Ive learned a lot and Ive proven not only to myself and my teammates, but to the coaches and the rest of the league that I belong and Im here to stay. ' ' '