Herausforderungen » the middle.Azhar also had a word of appre

There was nothing unusual about Bill Mott and John Shirreffs crossing paths near the Shirreffs barn at Santa Anita Park this week. The Breeders Cup was in the air, luring marquee trainers like flies to warm honey, and those two are always attracted to the taste of million-dollar races.Their greeting was genial, and from there it would not have been a surprise if theyd tumbled together down memory lane, sharing Classic tales of Cigar and Zenyatta, better known in the superhero universe of Breeders Cup lore as Captain America and Wonder Woman. But instead, Motts opening parry was pure, good-natured smack imported straight from the mean streets of Belmont Park.Whats this I hear about you and a 2-year-old? Mott cracked.Shirreffs broke into a silly grin.Yeah, how about that? he said. Will wonders never cease?From there it devolved into a conversation between the pot and the kettle. Neither Shirreffs nor Mott has been known for his prolific work with 2-year-olds, and the fact that Shirreffs has one of the choices in the $2 million Breeders Cup Juvenile on Saturday and Mott is live on Friday in the $1 million Juvenile Turf is worth a Man Bites Dog headline at the very least.Shirreffs will be sending out FrontRunner Stakes winner Gormley for owners Ann and Jerry Moss, while Mott has Summer Stakes winner Good Samaritan teed up for the partnership of the China Horse Club and WinStar Farm. A win for either trainer would be a first.Gormley is a robust son of Malibu Moon who will be only the fourth 2-year-old among 26 Breeders Cup starters for Shirreffs dating to 1994. The best any of them finished was fourth.Motts first Breeders Cup was 1986. Of his 88 starters, 12 have been 2-year-olds, including second-place finishers Sweet Roberta and Take Me Out, but none of the rest was close.A dozen babies in the Breeders Cup is hardly dabbling, but even Motts number pales when compared to the 2-year-old totals of Bob Baffert (44 of 90 starters), Todd Pletcher (44 of 119), and Pletchers mentor, D. Wayne Lukas (87 of 164).Was that Johns first 2-year-old Grade 1 winner? wondered Jerry Moss shortly after Gormley took the FrontRunner Stakes at Santa Anita in early October. I think maybe it was.First colt, yes. Shirreffs came up with his breakthrough 2-year-old filly right away, her name emerging from a list of stable stars that included not only Zenyatta but Life Is Sweet, Giacomo, Tiago, Manistique, Harmonious, and Starrer.Hollywood Story, Shirreffs said. She broke her maiden in the 2003 Hollywood Starlet.Mott got the same question and went momentarily blank. A lifetime of training older horses like Cigar, Royal Delta, Escena, Theatrical, Drosselmeyer, and Paradise Creek will do that to you. It was suggested that he must have stumbled into one of those Grade 1 New York 2-year-old races somewhere along the way.Thats it, Mott said, lighting up. The Hopeful, with Majestic Warrior.He also won a Frizette with Confessional.I guess everyones forgotten that when I trained privately for 505 Farm, we had a whole bunch of 2-year-old winners who were sold at the dispersal, Shirreffs said. Swept Overboard, Ive Decided, David Copperfield, Hook and Ladder -- they all went on to win good races for other people.That is a fact, and ditto Mott, who put in the early work on Marty Wygod youngsters like After Market and Life Is Sweet before they were sent to California as older runners to be trained by -- wait for it -- John Shirreffs.And look what he did with them, Mott said, with Shirreffs back to that grin. Turned them into Grade 1 winners. Guess you can say I train 2-year-olds to win at 5.While Mott was bouncing around the Midwest working for Jack Van Berg, Shirreffs cut his teeth in the business working at Loma Rica Ranch in central California, taking young Thoroughbreds through their early lessons. He would say goodbye to each crop at the dawn of their 2-year-old season, and by then he could pretty much tell which ones would be heard from sooner than later.It wasnt easy watching them load onto vans after all the time you spent with them, Shirreffs said. I learned early that you have to let them go, though. On to the next chapter.Gormley, named by Moss for a British artist, gave Shirreffs no reason not to go on. He won his maiden race at Del Mar on Sept. 4 and came back 27 days later to take the 1-1/16-mile FrontRunner from gate to wire, with an assist from a loose horse who compromised another runner with early speed.You always worry when that happens with 2-year-olds because they can be unpredictable, Shirreffs said. If they dont start zig-zagging, youve got a chance. Fortunately, that one went straight and then lost interest around the turn.Shirreffs has had Breeders Cup starters since Zenyatta made her swan song in the 2010 Classic at Churchill Downs, the only loss of her career. None of those had a shot like this time around with Gormley, who has had Shirreffs humming this week in anticipation.The fact that Gormley runs under Zenyattas colors is icing on the cake. Asked to describe his Juvenile starter, the trainer summoned a term straight out of 19th century horsemanship.Stout, Shirreffs said, and just about perfect. Corey Harris Jersey . - The Oakland Raiders re-signed offensive lineman Khalif Barnes on Friday. Todd Heap Jersey . Shot outdoors against the stunning backdrop of Banff, Alta., the networks 30-minute original production airs tonight at 8pm et/5pm pt on TSN2. 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Pakistanis 208 (Younis 54, Valente 4-36) and 6 for 216 dec (Azhar 82*) beat Cricket Australia XI 114 (Amir 3-16, Rahat 3-26, Wahab 3-28) and 109 (Nair 42, Nawaz 3-31) by 201 runsScorecard Left-arm spinner Mohammad Nawaz came to the fore on the final day of the warm-up match in Cairns, taking three wickets to help skittle Cricket Australia for 109 in 27.3 overs and complete a 201-run win for the Pakistanis. Rahat Ali and Mohammad Amir took two wickets each, while Wahab Riaz and Azhar Ali claimed one apiece.The lid had been ripped open by the new-ball pair of Rahat and Amir, who reduced CA XI to 4 for 27 in the chase of 311. Nawaz, who had bowled only five overs in the first innings for no wicket, then claimed the wicket of Matthew Short before going on to add the scalp of Arjun Nair, who top scored with 42, to his bag. No other CA XI batsman made more than 20 against the pink ball in the second innings.For me to express my skills out there was a good opportunity. It felt good out there, decent deck, and to score some runs was a good, positive end to the game, Nair said. For me, its about building my own game, so getting runs was a good confidence-booster and something for me to work towards in the future. Batting against quality bowlers like Mohammad Amir, top class, and for us to come against those bowlers was a good experience. Its about taking this experience and learning.The third and final day of the practice game had begun with the Pakistanis on 5 for 124, wwith Azhar Ali unbeaten on 44.dddddddddddd Azhar went on to make 82 not out and contributions from the lower-middle order took the score to 6 for 216 before the declaration came.As a batsman, you want to spend time in the middle and get used to the conditions, Azhar said. As a bowler, you have got to get used to the lengths according to the pitch, so everyone tried to get the best out of this game.And, obviously, playing the pink ball in Australia is different to playing in Dubai. During the night, when the lights come on, it starts to do a bit more. I think we are very satisfied with what we got. The wicket was not as quick as we thought it would be, still it was good time in the middle.Azhar also had a word of appreciation for the fielding. We really worked hard on our fielding. As a team, we want to improve in that regard. Fielding is really important. In Test matches, if you catch well, you generally end up on the winning side.Cairns has been a lovely experience. The hospitality has been brilliant. We were welcomed here, and obviously enjoyed the game as well. Were looking forward to the Gabba. Obviously, it will be hard work, but as a batting unit were really confident that we have the capability to deliver in these conditions.The first Test between Pakistan and Australia - a day-night fixture in Brisbane - begins on December 15. ' ' '