In brief: Zito’s War Pass takes Champagne race

Nick Zito just loves the Champagne, and he was all smiles in the winner’s circle after War Pass gave the trainer his fifth victory in the oldest stakes race for 2-year-olds.

“The Champagne is a top race, and it’s been a pretty good race for us,” Zito said after War Pass cruised to a 1 1/2 -length win over Pyro and gained automatic entry into the Breeders’ Cup in three weeks.

While Zito has fared well in the $400,000 Champagne at New York City – his five winners have come in the last 10 runnings – the Hall of Fame trainer still is looking for his first win in the Breeders’ Cup Juvenile.

He’s 0 for 9 in the Juvenile, and in War Pass he’s sure to have one of the favorites at New Jersey’s Monmouth Park on Oct. 27.

“He’s an amazing horse,” Zito said. “He’s got incredible speed, and he’s got those afterburners.”

The bay son of Cherokee Run improved to 3 for 3, and earned $240,000 for owner Robert La Penta, who bought War Pass for $180,000 last year.

Ridden by Cornelio Velasquez, War Pass took the lead by nearly five lengths and maintained his advantage heading into the final turn. Down the stretch, Pyro staged a late run and finished second, with Z Humor third.

“Breakdowns – at least two of them fatal – marred a record slate of stakes races at Keeneland in which four horses earned automatic spots in the Breeders’ Cup.

Teuflesberg, the 17th-place finisher in the Kentucky Derby, pulled up short in the Grade 3 Phoenix Handicap with fractures to both feet. He was expected to have surgery early next week to fuse bones in his ankles, said veterinarian Alan Ruggles.

The ugliest injury of the day didn’t happen on the track but in the paddock as Dream of Angels was being saddled for the Phoenix. The horse was euthanized because of severe head trauma, severe bleeding and cranial and spinal cord problems.

Gold Train also was euthanized after pulling up lame with a fractured right foot just past the quarter-pole in the Lane’s End Breeders’ Futurity.

That Futurity, the highlight of a record five graded stakes races for the Lexington, Ky., track, was won by Wicked Style.

Tennis

Williams loses final

Top-seeded Venus Williams was upset by Virginie Razzano 4-6, 7-6 (7), 6-4 in the final of the Japan Open at Tokyo.

Williams had three match points in the tiebreaker of the second set but couldn’t finish off the fifth-seeded Razzano, who won her second straight WTA tournament.

On the men’s side, top-seeded David Ferrer of Spain defeated Ivo Karlovic of Croatia 7-6 (3), 6-3 and will face Richard Gasquet of France in today’s final. Gasquet defeated second-seeded Tomas Berdych of the Czech Republic 7-6(3), 6-3.

Williams was down 5-2 in the second set but fought back to tie and then broke Razzano to take a 6-5 lead.

The Frenchwoman broke Williams to force a tiebreaker and then came back from 6-3 down to win it 9-7.

“At Stuttgart, Germany, top-ranked Justine Henin defeated Jelena Jankovic 7-6 (2), 7-5 and will play Tatiana Golovin for the title of the Porsche Grand Prix.

Figure skating

U.S. defeats Japan

Caroline Zhang and Johnny Weir helped the United States defeat Japan in a team figure skating competition at Yokohama, Japan.

The U.S. women defeated the heavily favored Japanese women, featuring world champion Miki Ando, by a total of 289.00 points to 284.90. The U.S. men outpaced Japan 362.81 to 334.48.

Ando fell on a combination and briefly stopped her performance before finishing 10 points back of world junior champion Zhang, who scored 56.78.

Weir outpaced Yasuharu Nanri 73.90 to 51.07, with a routine that featured a triple lutz.

The event featured four male and four female skaters from the two nations in head-to-head competition in either the short or free programs.