Breeders’ Cup starts at stake at Summit of Speed Djokovic, Monfils to meet in final of Wimbledon tuneup
Saturday’s Summit of Speed at Gulfstream Park will be a sort of homecoming for many horses competing in the program’s seven stakes races.
In the $250,000 Grade 3 Smile Sprint Stakes, both Awesome Banner and defending champion Delta Bluesman will seek to replicate their past Gulfstream success. In 2016, Awesome Banner posted five winsand a pair of seconds in eight starts at the Hallandale track. However, he is winless in his six starts since, four of which occurred elsewhere.
Likewise, four of Delta Bluesman’s 10 career wins have come at Gulfstream, which included the 3 ¾-length win in last year’s Smile. He has just one win since, with the majority of his starts at other venues. Onthe strength of their past performances, Awesome Banner is listed at 3-1 in the morning line and Delta Bluesman at 5-1.
Because the Smile Sprint and the co-featured $250,000 G2 Princess Rooney Stakes carry “Win and You’re In” status, it is typical for both races to attract “invaders,” horses that ship to Gulfstream seeking the guaranteed starting spot in the Breeders’ Cup race afforded the winner.
That applies to Imperial Hint, the early favorite in the 6-furlong Smile. A winner of his last three, hismost recent score came in February as he captured the General George Stakes at Laurel Park. He is the early 9-5 choice in the eight-horse Smile field.
The Smile victor will earn a starting spot in the Breeders’ Cup Sprint, while the winner of the Princess Rooney will secure a place in the Breeders’ Cup Filly andMare Sprint field. Both races will run Nov. 4 at Del Mar.
Curlin’s Approval is also hoping to recapture her own Gulfstream magic in the 7-furlong Princess Rooney.
She looked impressive in winning a pair of graded stakes during the winter’s Championship Meet, but most recently finished seventh intheMatron Stakes in May at Churchill Downs. She has been assigned early odds of 9-2.
Favoritism in the field of 11 fillies and mares has been given to invader Lightstream at 7-2. The 4-yearold has finished in the money in seven of nine career starts, almost all in gradedstakes company.
The day’s third graded race, the $150,000 G3 Carry Back Stakes, will see Three Rules attempt to revive the dominance he showed in the 2016 Florida Sire Stakes. Three Rules burst onto the scene with his 5-length win in the Birdonthewire Stakes on last year’s Summit card before sweeping the threerace series.
But his sophomore campaign hasn’t been as stellar — SaturdayThreeRules will seek his first win since his final Sire Stakes’ victory. He is the early favorite (3-1) and will face 10 rivals in the 7furlong Carry Back.
Fans will get their first look at 2-year-olds in stakes competition with a pair of 5
furlong races, each with a $100,000 purse. Diamond Oopsis the early9-5 favorite in the five-horse Kiss a Native Stakes field, while Classy Dancer is a clear 6-5 favorite in the Brave Raj Stakes, which sports a field of six fillies.
The lone turf sprint on the stakes docket, the $75,000 Bob Umphrey Turf Sprint, will see nine 3-yearolds and upward vie at five furlongs. Pay Any Price is the heavy 3-5 favorite. Finally, 10 3-year-old fillies will chase a $75,000 purse in the Azalea Stakes. R Angel Katelyn begins the day at 2-1 for the 7-furlong affair.
EASTBOURNE, England — Novak Djokovic advanced to his third final of 2017 by beating Daniil Medvedev 6-4, 6-4 on Friday at the Eastbourne International, an event that is proving the ideal preparation for Wimbledon for the former No. 1.
The top-seeded Djokovic, who will take on second-seeded Gael Monfils for the title, has not dropped a set in three matches at the grass-court tournament, which he is playing for the first time in a bid to rediscover some form amid a disappointing season.
Like in his previous matches this week on England’s south coast, Djokovic mixed periods of quality with sloppiness to underline that he is still short of his top form heading to the All England Club.
He sealed victory on his second match point, when Medvedev could only return his second serve into the net.
In a well-contested first set, the former No. 1 exchanged early breaks with the 21-year-old Medvedev and clawed his way back from0-40 to stayonserve at one point. Djokovic made fewer errors in the second set, which he took on his third match point when his Russian opponent sent a forehand return into the net.
Monfils squandered three match points in the second set before winning an all-French semifinal against Richard Gasquet 6-2, 6-7 (7), 7-6 (4). Monfils finished the match with strapping on his left leg after appearing to twist his knee when he slipped just after serving late in the second set.
He finally secured victory with a strong serve that Gasquet returned long at full stretch, improving to 9-7 against Gasquet.
“It was very tough mentally. I twistedmy knee a bit and he saved some match points,” Monfils said, adding that he still felt pain in his knee at the end. “Right now it’s a little bit painful. Hopefully it will be better tomorrow, it’s tough to say.”
Djokovic haswon all 13 of his ATP matches against Monfils, although they have never played on grass.
In the women’s tournament, Caroline Wozniacki played through an abdominal injury to beat Heather Watson 6-2, 3-6, 7-5 and advance to a final against Karolina Pliskova, who got a walkover after Johanna Konta pulled out of their semifinal match because of a spine injury.
The seventh-ranked Konta had a hard fall near the end of her win over topranked Angelique Kerber in the quarterfinals on Thursday. It jeopardizes Konta’s participation at Wimbledon, where she is seeded No. 6 andwas drawnto play Su-Wei Hsieh in the first round onMonday.
Manyfanswouldhave arrived at Eastbourne hoping forKonta andWatson to set up an all-British final. In the end, neither made it.
Wozniacki got pegged back byWatson, ranked No. 126, after comfortably taking the first set and needed treatment while trailing 5-2 in the second set.