Dein erstes Forum » Tuesday night, the clubs fifth straight at home

SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- Mike Smith has ridden some of the best female horses of all time -- four, in fact, who are in the Hall of Fame, including Zenyatta, whose induction takes place in less than three weeks.Smith, a Hall of Famer himself and still going strong at age 50, has found another fabulous filly in Songbird, who is undefeated in eight career starts. She will put that streak on the line Sunday in the Grade 1, $500,000 Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga, where she will meet four rivals, including Grade 1 winners Carina Mia and Weep No More.Songbird has won her eight starts by a combined 42 1/2 lengths. Shes done it with breathtaking ease, eliciting comparisons to some of the best Smith has ridden. That list includes champions and Hall of Famers Azeri, an 11-time Grade 1 winner; Inside Information, a six-time Grade 1 winner; Sky Beauty, a nine-time Grade 1 winner; and Zenyatta, a 13-time Grade 1 winner.The comparisons, however, are coming from other Hall of Fame riders. Smith said hes heard from retired jockeys Pat Day, Chris McCarron, Jerry Bailey, and Jacinto Vasquez -- the regular rider of the brilliant Ruffian -- to talk Songbird.I had the best of the best riders call me after shes run, a lot of them retired, saying she might be the best filly theyve ever seen, Smith said in a recent interview. I had Pat Day call me out of the blue one day and say, Is she really that good? Chris McCarron has come out and said, She might be better than any of them youve ridden.Since Songbird is just midway through her 3-year-old season, its understandable that Smith stops short of putting her in the elite category. For now.She still has a lot to prove to get to not just one of them but several of them, Smith said. Ive been that blessed to have ridden that many good fillies. Ive ridden some fillies that in their time, they were just unbeatable as far as fillies are concerned. I mean, no one was going to beat Sky Beauty in her time. No one was going to beat Inside Information in her time. No one was going to beat Jersey Girl when she was good - people forget about her. No one was going to beat Azeri, and no one was definitely going to beat Zenyatta. They were just all that good in their time.Smith himself brought up how difficult a decision it would be if, in their prime, that group met in a race.Just because Ive been on them doesnt mean Im going to pick the right one, Smith said. You get a little sentimental about this or that, and the next thing you know, youve taken off the wrong horse. I mean, how many times have we done that? Over and over again.Smith doesnt have a difficult time discussing what makes Songbird so good.Shes extremely intelligent -- shes really, really a smart filly, Smith said. Man, you show her one time, and shes got it, and she just gets better at it, and thats been from Day 1. Every work was better, every race was better, the way she handled it, and shes just extremely talented. So well balanced, her mechanics, theres no wasted action. What she does thats the norm for her is very difficult, it seems like, for other fillies, which is mechanics, which is the way she does things. She just gets over the ground so effortless.Songbird, a daughter of Medaglia dOro trained by Jerry Hollendorfer for Rick Porters Fox Hill Farm, won her first seven races on the lead. In her most recent start, the Grade 2 Summertime Oaks at Santa Anita on June 18, she stalked the filly Bellamentary, ridden by Martin Garcia, for a few furlongs before taking control.Last time, they thought, Well, were going to get in front of her; well show her, Smith said. That was the best thing that ever happened. I was telling Martin, Go ahead, I dont want to be here. I wanted to be farther back.Smith said he wouldnt mind seeing Songbird rate again Sunday, but its hard to imagine any of her four rivals being able to outrun her early.Id love for someone to get in front of her, Smith said. Theyre just going to have to run a little quicker than 45 [seconds] to do it.Songbird arrived at Saratoga on Wednesday night following a flight from Southern California that made stops in Denver and Lexington, Ky. The flight was delayed from Ontario Airport near Los Angeles because another horse acted up and needed to be unloaded. Songbird arrived at Saratoga just before 8 p.m. Eastern.On Thursday, Songbird was on the track at 5:40 a.m. for a 1-1/8-mile jog.Shes feeling good, said Christina Jelm, who was overseeing Songbird here before Hollendorfer arrived Thursday afternoon. Usually when we ship, well jog the next day, but you want to make sure they eat their food and their temperatures good, so its just better to say, Lets make our final decision in the morning. Everything went perfect. She ate up, she was happy, with her head out [of the stall] in the morning, so Jerry said, Go to the track.Smith, who was the leading rider at Saratoga from 1991-93, said hes looking forward to Songbird performing before an East Coast crowd.I cant wait, he said. Just to show her to different people. I think racing certainly deserves it; true fans certainly deserve it. Its cool. Joe Morgan Jersey . The formidable trio of Canadian receivers -- individually known as Chris Getzlaf, Rob Bagg and Andy Fantuz -- will share the field at Mosaic Stadium one more time on Sunday. Joe Morgan Athletics Jersey . The International Olympic Committee released the official list of bid cities on Friday after the deadline for applications had passed. The candidates -- all previously announced in their own countries -- are: Almaty, Kazakhstan; Beijing; Krakow, Poland; Lviv, Ukraine; Oslo, Norway; and Stockholm. https://www.cheapathleticsonline.com/2405m-frankie-montasdagger-jersey-athletics.html . Brett Kulak and Jackson Houck of the Vancouver Giants were each charged with assault causing bodily harm on Aug. 18, according to the B.C. court services. Cheap Athletics Jerseys . "Four now," Carl Gunnarsson told the Leaf Report proudly following a 5-2 victory over New York on Tuesday night, the clubs fifth straight at home. Josh Phegley Athletics Jersey . Three came down to the fourth quarter while quarterbacks continued to shine in all four games; so important to the overall quality of the game. PISCATAWAY, N.J. -- Rutgers fifth-year senior linebacker Greg Jones is going to miss the rest of the season with a neck injury.Scarlet Knights coach Chris Ash updated Jones status Saturday, less than an hour before Rutgers was to host No. Michigan.Jones was hurt playing against No. 2 Ohio State last weekend. He is fully recovered but has been told not play football at this timme.dddddddddddd.A native of Colonia, Jones started the first five games at strong-side linebacker. He had 20 tackles, including eight in the victory over New Mexico. He also had a sack and a pass break-up at Washington in his first start at Rutgers. ' ' '