Sadler finally breaks through
LOUISVILLE, KY. — Accelerate took the lead at the top of the stretch and held off Gunnevera to win the $6 million Breeders’ Cup Classic by a length Saturday, strengthening his bid for Horse of the Year over Triple Crown winner Justify.
The race lacked the retired Justify and left a wide-open field, which the chestnut 5-year-old horse eventually overtook after breaking from the No. 14 post as the favorite. Accelerate made a sweeping move in the far turn and was in charge at the top of the stretch, then held off Gunnevera for his fifth consecutive Grade 1 victory and sixth of seven overall this year.
That gave trainer John Sadler his first Breeders’ Cup win in 45 starters across 30 years.
Ridden by Joel Rosario, Accelerate covered 1 1/4 miles in 2:02.93 and paid $7.40, $6 and $4.40.
Gunnevera returned $21.80 and $11.80, while Thunder Snow paid $8 in redeeming himself at Churchill Downs after a last-place finish in the 2017 Kentucky Derby.
Baffert has another Derby contender: Game Winner’s latest triumph included bumps along the way.
The colt shook them off before shaking the field to remain perfect and make his case as the year’s best 2-year-old.
Game Winner overcame an early bump to surge down the stretch, then pulled away from long shot Knicks Go after another nudge to win the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile by 21/4 lengths Friday at Churchill Downs. That gave trainer Bob Baffert an early Kentucky Derby favorite just five months after winning his second Triple Crown with Justify.
But not without some anxious moments for the Hall of Fame trainer and co-owners Gary and Mary West.
“This is a huge win for me,” said Baffert, who second-guessed himself during Game Winner’s rough start before his pupil recovered.
“Any other horse, he would’ve been done. That’s how good a horse he is.”
The race favorite was bumped after breaking from the No. 9 post and lagged in the middle of the 13-horse field before pushing forward on the outside and into contention at the top of the stretch. Game Winner and Knicks Go brushed before the horse broke away for the win to improve to 4-0 lifetime. Signalman was a length back in third.
“He likes Churchill Downs, and that’s a good sign,” Baffert told NBCSN. “These races are hard to win. I have a great crew and a great team and we got it done.”
The thrilling finish in the $2 million, Grade 1 race capped a first day devoted to 2-year-olds at the season-ending world championships. By Marcus Hartman Staff Writer
For an idea of how the season has gone for Ohio State defensively, consider that allowing 450 yards to Nebraska represented only the fourth-worst performance of the season for the Buckeyes, who allowed 539 yards their last time out, a 49-20 loss at Purdue two weeks earlier.
The Cornhuskers tallied 31 points, but that was merely tied for second worst through nine games. (Oregon State also tallied 31 in the opener, but some of those came against reserves.)
Still far from resembling the famed Silver Bullets of the 1990s or the stout units of the Jim Tressel era from 2001-10, these Buckeyes at least took a step in the right direction after being humilated in West Lafayette.
“I thought our defense improved,” coach Urban Meyer said. “Obviously nowhere near where we need to be, but they improved. We’re still stop-gapping. That means the lineups continuously keep changing because of injuries, but I think we should have everybody back next week if we don’t get a guy hurt in practice.”
It turns out the latter happened last week when starting cornerback Jeffrey Okudah suffered a groin injury that kept him out of the game against the Huskers.
The Buckeyes also played without starting safety Isaiah Pryor (shoulder impingement), and they lost the other regular starter, Jordan Fuller, to a targeting ejection in the
2. Concentrating on running the ball helped
Ohio State made the ground game more of a priority by cutting back on run-pass options that give Haskins the ability to pull the ball and throw. The offensive line responded by opening some big holes for Dobbins and Weber.
The Buckeyes made more use of heavier personnel, too, using their two-tight end sets more often and unveiling a goal-line offense with a backup offensive guard lining up at tight end and two tight ends flanking Haskins with Dobbins lined up behind him.
That diamond formation paved the way for a Dobbins touchdown run in the third quarter.
“I think we pounded the ball in there pretty good,” Meyer said. “We worked second quarter.
On the bright side, their absences created an opportunity for Brendon White to step out of his father’s shadow.
The son of former Ohio State captain and All-Big Ten defensive back William White tied linebacker Malik Harrison for the team lead with 13 tackles.
Two went for a loss, and he teamed with Chase Young to stop Nebraska running back Devine Ozigbo at the 1-yard line on third-and-goal with about eight minutes to go.
That forced the Huskers to settle for a field goal, cutting Ohio State’s lead to 30-24.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment forever,” said White, a four-star recruit from Olentangy ad nauseam at that. The amount of time that we spent at that was over the top, and I felt the line of scrimmage change. And it’s difficult to run against that bear defense that Nebraska runs.”
3. Special teams provided a big boost
After falling behind early 7-0, Ohio State got its first points from a blocked punt by Keandre Jones. It rolled into the end zone out of bounds for a safety.
Meanwhile, Ohio State punter Drue Chrisman had another strong day, averaging 47.8 yards on four punts. He landed two inside the 20 and boomed a 59-yarder.
He averaged 14 more yards per punt than his Nebraska counterpart, and Ohio State enjoyed a 20.0yard advantage in average net yards per punt.
4. Dwayne Haskins had an off day
The sophomore quarterback has been magnificent Liberty north of Columbus who has spent time at linebacker and receiver before settling at safety. “As an athlete you face adversity that most people would want to quit, but when an opportunity comes like this, if you’re positive about it, you know you’re going to take advantage.”
Although Nebraska has only won two games this season, that is hardly the fault of the offense.
With athletic freshman Adrian Martinez at the controls of first-year coach Scott Frost’s spread-option attack, they entered 18th in the country in total yards (471.2 per game).
“It definitely was kind of difficult with the skill they most of the season, but he struggled with accuracy Saturday against Nebraska.
A 71.1-percent passer entering the game, Haskins completed 18 of 32 for 252 yards. He threw a pair of touchdown passes but also lost a fumble and threw an interception in the end zone that cost Ohio State a chance at points.
“It wasn’t very sharp,” Haskins said. “I would probably give it like a six as far as a grade would go. But the good thing about it is we still won. The running game got better. We can always improve. We haven’t played our best game yet, and when we get really dynamic on both sides of the running and passing, we’ll be scary.”
On the bright side, he broke J.T. Barrett’s single-season record for completions (240), finishing the day with 242.
5. Turnovers played a big role
Haskins fumbled with Ohio have and the quarterback that’s shifty and the strong running backs they have,” White said. “We followed our rules, trusted in the coaches’ game plan and got the win.”
He credited Ohio State defensive coordinator Greg Schiano and safeties coach Alex Grinch for helping him develop, but having a former NFL safety for a father certainly didn’t hurt, either.
“The biggest thing my dad tells me is just enjoy the game of football,” White said. “So that’s what I try to do, just put my head down, go to work and enjoy the game. If you don’t enjoy the game, you can’t play. I enjoy my teammates and this program, and I’m ready to get after it next week.” State looking to add to a 16-7 lead in the second quarter. Instead, the Cornhuskers got the ball and drove for a touchdown to draw within two.
K.J. Hill’s fumble on the next possession gave Nebraska the ball in Ohio State territory, and the visitors cashed in with another touchdown drive that gave them a 21-16 halftime lead.
“I’m very upset with the turnovers,” Meyer said. “That would have been a different game. I thought special teams was awesome. We blocked a punt. Our punter did a great job ... Kickoff return wasn’t great.”
On the flip side, Nebraska quarterback Adrian Martinez’s day was marred by a bad decision to throw a backward pass in the red zone that turned into a fumble Ohio State recovered, ending a scoring threat.