Bernardini looks like real deal
Bernardini was brilliant again, and racing has a new star.
The imposing 3-year-old colt turned the $1 million Travers Stakes into his own personal showcase Saturday in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., blowing away the talented Bluegrass Cat in the stretch for another overpowering victory.
This time, the winning margin was 7 1/2 lengths, a sensational encore after wins in the Jim Dandy by nine lengths and in the Preakness by 5 1/4 lengths. The margin of victory was the largest in the Travers since General Assembly won by 15 lengths in 1979.
Bernardini, in winning his fifth straight race after a career-opening defeat in February, not only confirmed his status as the leading 3-year-old, but is a serious contender for Horse of the Year honors. His five wins have been by a combined 33 1/4 lengths.
Basketball
Sonics talk stadium
Memorial Stadium keeps popping up in discussions about the future of the SuperSonics as a Seattle team.
“I can tell you that the Memorial Stadium site has been suggested,” confirmed Jim Kneeland, a Seattle-based public affairs consultant hired by the Sonics’ and Storm’s new owners.
The Sonics new majority owner, Clay Bennett, first floated the idea while meeting with various Seattle officials to discuss the team’s future.
Tennis
Davenport injured
Lindsay Davenport retired from the Pilot Pen championship in New Haven, Conn., with an injured right shoulder, allowing Justine Henin-Hardenne to take the title in the final hard-court tuneup before the U.S. Open, which starts Monday. It is uncertain whether Davenport will play in the upcoming slam.
In the men’s final, second-seeded Nikolay Davydenko defeated Agustin Calleri, 6-4, 6-3, for his third title this season. At No. 7 in the world, Davydenko is the highest-ranked Russian on tour.
Miscellany
Sanctions upheld
The Italian team Reggina lost its appeal of soccer federation sanctions in the latest ruling stemming from the country’s game-fixing scandal. A sports tribunal also upheld a 2 1/2-year ban from soccer for Reggina president Lillo Foti, the Italian soccer federation said.
•Skip Schumaker went 4 for 5 with three runs scored to lead the United States to a 9-3 victory over Canada in Havana, Cuba, for the Americas qualifying tournament for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.
Mike Kinkade, a former player for Washington State who was part of the American’s 2000 Olympic gold medal team, had two doubles, including one that highlighted the United State’s four-run fifth inning.
The United States plays Brazil today.