Mo Donegal rolls
NEW YORK – Triple Crown veteran Todd Pletcher had simple advice Saturday for jockey Irad Ortiz Jr. before the Belmont Stakes. “Be patient,” the trainer said. “I think you have the best last quarter of any horse in the race.” Sometimes, less is Mo. Mo Donegal pulled away down the home stretch and held off filly Nest to win the Belmont Stakes, giving Pletcher a 1-2 finish and his sixth Triple Crown victory, including four at this track on the outskirts of New York City.
Rich Strike, a stunning Kentucky Derby winner at 80-1 odds, was sixth. Rich Strike trainer Eric Reed said the team encouraged jockey Sonny Leon to try pushing Rich Strike from the outside, but the horse kept trying to get back inside – where he made a late charge past 19 horses to win the Derby. Rich Strike spent much of the Belmont race in last place and couldn’t recover.
NCAA track and field
• Kentucky’s Abby Steiner set a collegiate record in the 200 meters at the NCAA track and field championships on a soggy Saturday at Hayward Field in Eugene, Oregon. Steiner was focused until the finish, when she raised her arms and smiled broadly. Her time of 21.80 seconds bested LSU sophomore Favour Ofili’s record of 21.96 set this year. Ofili was second. Julien Alfred of Texas won the 100, finishing in 11.014 seconds and just narrowly holding off Oregon’s Kemba Nelson in 11.020. Florida won the women’s team title with 54 points. Gators sophomore Talitha Diggs, daughter of four-time Olympian Joetta Clark Diggs, won the 400 in 49.99.
• Florida’s Joseph Fahnbulleh pulled away at the finishes to win the 100 and 200 meters at the men’s championships Friday night. Fahnbulleh, who competed for Liberia at the Tokyo Olympics, won the 100 title in 10 seconds. Tennessee freshman Favour Ashe was second in 10.08. Oregon’s Micah Williams, who had the nation’s fastest time of 9.86 seconds this year, finished seventh. Fahnbulleh won the 200 later in the evening, finishing in 19.83 ahead of Matthew Boling of Georgia. Boosted by Fahnbulleh’s performance, the Florida Gators won the men’s team title with 54 points. Texas finished second with 38.
Women’s College World Series
Jocelyn Alo and Tiare Jennings put Oklahoma on the brink of a repeat national championship with their stellar play throughout the Women’s College World Series. Their teammates brought it home. Kinzie Hansen and Grace Lyons hit three-run homers, Jayda Coleman made spectacular defensive plays and No. 1 seed Oklahoma defeated unseeded Texas 10-5 on Thursday night to win its second straight title. Alo, the two-time USA Softball Collegiate Player of the Year, was named Most Outstanding Player. She hit .667 for the World Series, tied Jennings for a series-record five home runs and set a series mark with 12 runs scored.