Corey Nakatanis first experience with the Breeders Cup Mile did not scar him for life, although hed rather drink castor oil than relive the moment. That first Mile did, however, light a fire that made him one of the worlds most effective jockeys in a race that by all measures has been the most exciting, most satisfying event on the Breeders Cup menu.The Mile is a perfect blend of ingredients, a mix of European specialists at the distance against Americans accustomed to turning left at high speed. No race among the traditional Breeders Cup events has created more transcendent stars: Miesque and Goldikova, Lure and Da Hoss, two-time Horse of the Year Wise Dan.The final dress rehearsals for the Breeders Cup Mile will take place Saturday, when Keeneland offers the $400,000 First Lady and the $1 million Shadwell Turf Mile and Santa Anita presents the $200,000 City of Hope Mile over the Breeders Cup course and distance.Name a top American turf miler, and he or she will be in one of those gates: Tepin, Tourist, Obviously, Om, Grand Arch, Ring Weekend, What a View. Stir in the well-traveled Arlington Million winner, Mondialiste, and the three races should be more than enough to set the stage for the 33rd running of the BC Mile on Nov. 5.Six days after his 20th birthday, in the seventh Breeders Cup, held at Belmont Park, Nakatani found himself in a pitched battle aboard the 3-year-old Itsallgreektome late in the Mile with Jean-Luc Samyn and Expensive Decision. Nakatani had Samyns measure, though, so it became a matter of what would be coming at them late on the far outside.Everybody knew it would be that horse, Nakatani said, referring to the Vincent OBrien colt Royal Academy, ridden by 54-year-old Lester Piggott, who was making a comeback after a tax-dodge incarceration in England.Yeah, Lester beats me, right out of jail, Nakatani said with a sigh. There was nothing I could do about it.The margin was a neck, but at least the Brits were impressed. Five years later, Clive Brittain hired Nakatani to ride Sussex Stakes winner Sayyedati in the Mile at Belmont. Ridgewood Pearl and Fastness handled the deep going best, but Nakatani and his mare won a close race for third.Nakatani was destined to finally win the Mile at Gulfstream Park in 1999. He had been riding both Silic and the mare Tuzla to stakes wins in California and opted for the colt, Silic.I had just won a longer race with Tuzla, so I knew the Mile would hit her right between the eyes, Nakatani said. I left calls like that to my agent, and we got it right.Although not by much. In the closest Mile finish ever, Silic edged Tuzla in an avalanche of a finish. The first five under the wire were separated by a neck, head, nose, and a half-length.Nakatani went on to finish second in subsequent BC Miles with Forbidden Apple and Aragorn.I broke my back about a month before Silics race, he said. Compression fractures to my T-12 and L-1 vertabrae. Thats the kind of thing you have to do if you want to be a rider.In his most recent injury of consequence, Nakatani fractured his collarbone in May 2015 at Santa Anita. Later in the year, he fractured his ribs.After the ribs, I had to get the doctor to release me to ride Chiropractor in the Del Mar Derby, Nakatani recalled. When we won, I thought his name was perfect.The ribs healed, but the collarbone continued to give him trouble.I kept riding with it, and finally my doctor said I had to stop, Nakatani said. He wouldnt clear me to ride until it did heal. Sometimes youve just got to give your body time to recover.Nakatani, who turns 46 this month, has not ridden since early April. He had been bouncing around the country, looking for the kind of business that once had him in demand from trainers like Christophe Clement, Steve Asmussen, Bobby Frankel, Richard Mandella, and Bob Baffert. Nakatani ranks 12th on the all-time earnings list with more than $227 million banked by his mounts.He is also one of the most polarizing personalities in the game, cursed with a penchant for speaking uncomfortable opinions to authority and sometimes exhibiting an inclination to take the enforcement of riding rules into his own hands.Few find fault with his skills on a racehorse, however. Nine Breeders Cup winners and 10 Southern California riding titles speak loudly enough. His classic Pincay-esque style and eerie mastery of any turf course are legend, helping to balance the controversies that have pockmarked his career.I realized early that I was never going to overpower a Thoroughbred, Nakatani said. I had to get along with them, convince them I was on their side. And Ive dealt with a lot of horses youd call characters. Youve got to understand the character in the horse to get the athlete to perform.Nakatani insists hes not finished. He is anxious to get back in the saddle.Ive watched some races, but I havent really been to the track, Nakatani said. Im going to the gym, doing my physical therapy, so it shouldnt take long to get back in shape. It took some time, but my bodys starting to feel good again.Fake China Jerseys . "It doesnt get any better than that," Giambi said. "Im speechless." The Indians are roaring toward October. 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Wholesale Custom Jerseys[/FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- Josh Richardson is bracing to be sidelined for the next six to eight weeks, a timetable that virtually ensures he will miss the entirety of Miami Heat training camp and calls into question his availability to start the season.The Heat shooting guard partially tore the MCL in his right knee on Friday in an offseason workout.They said its depending on how the rehab and stuff goes, how I approach it, Richardson said. But anywhere from like, they said, six to eight weeks, somewhere around there.Richardson made a pre-scheduled appearance at a store opening Saturday, arriving with the help of crutches and with his right leg in a brace stretching from his ankle to his mid-thigh.He will not need surgery, barring a setback.When I hit the ground, it was like my knee was on fire, Richardson said. I just kind of laid there and my teammates helped me off and carried me off to the training room. I just tried not to think the worst.Richardson averaged 6.6 points in 52 games with Miami last season, but became a key part of the rotation after the All-Star break -- shooting 53 percent from 3-point range.With Dwyane Wade leaving for Chicago this summer, Richardson figured to be in the mix for the open starting spot at shooting guard along with Heat newcomers Dion Waiters and Wayne Ellington.Theres 82 games this season, Richardson said. So Im going to have a lot of games to play, still. But man, Im excited for my new brothers on the team and my brothers that were already here. I know theyre going to hold the fort down when Im out.The Heat open training camp Sept. 27. The season-opener is Oct. 26 at Orlando.[url=https://www.shoesirelandsale.com/]Wholesale Shoes Ireland . But when it comes to determining if Raymond will find a place on the Leafs roster when training camp concludes in a week, well, that decision will ultimately fall to the head coach. Discount Shoes Ireland . According to a report from the Winnipeg Free Press, the Bombers will name Acting GM Kyle Walters to the post full time. https://www.shoesirelandsale.com/ . Following a lopsided 5-2 loss against the New Jersey Devils on Wednesday night, Paul MacLean told reporters that "theres a lack of focus, theres a lack of leadership and theres a lack of preparation" with his struggling team. That came on the heels of Bryan Murray taking the unusual step of going into the locker room at the Prudential Center and addressing the players himself. Fake Shoes Ireland . -- On the field, it was business as usual for Jameis Winston and No. Shoes Ireland On Sale . The Redskins announced Monday that the quarterback who led the team to the Super Bowl championship in the 1987 season will serve as a personnel executive.South Carolina is one of the biggest surprises of the young college basketball season.The Gamecocks are 6-0 and coming off back-to-back impressive wins over Michigan and Syracuse. They beat both the Wolverines and the Orange by double digits behind stout defensive efforts.South Carolina entered the AP Poll at No. 20 this week. Still, Gamecocks coach Frank Martin knows his team has its hands full Thursday, when the scrappy Vermont Catamounts visit Colonial Life Arena in Columbia, S.C.(Being) 6-0 doesnt help you win No. 7 in any way, shape or fashion, Martin said. So weve got our work cut out for us. Vermont is a very good basketball team.Like the Gamecocks, Vermont (6-2) is off to a solid start to the season. The Catamounts only two defeats came against Providence and Houston. They are coming off a 67-65 win over Yale that followed a 72-71 loss to Houston in the Gulf Coast Showcase final Nov. 23 at Estero, Fla.Its just heartbreaking to lose like that, Vermont coach John Becker told the Burlington (Vt.) Free Press after the game. Weve won our fair share, but it hurts right now.Vermont features a balanced offensive attack, led by junior forward Payton Henson, who is one of three Catamounts averaging in double figures at 13.5 points per game.The Catamounts rank in the top 25 in the nation in rebounds and assists.Martin is familiar with Vermonts program through his time spent coaching Northeastern in the American East Conference.They were just impossible to beat, very disciplined basketball, Martin said of the Catamounts. (Its) a very, very hard game to play, especially coming off the two we just played.Senior guard Sindarius Thornwell leads the Gamecocks, averaging 20.0 poiints per game, third best in the Southeastern Conference.ddddddddddddSenior guard Duane Notice and sophomore guard PJ Dozier are also key contributors on a South Carolina offense averaging 75.5 points per game.Dozier had a big game in the win over Syracuse, scoring 15 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and recording three steals. He is tied for the SEC lead in steals.The Gamecocks are winning with defense, though. They held both Michigan and Syracuse to less than 51 points last week. Louisiana Tech, in the first game of the season, is the only team to put up 70 on South Carolina.The Gamecocks also got off to a hot start last season and finished with a school-record 24 wins. Yet, South Carolina lost three of its last four games and was left out of the NCAA TournamentThat is why Martin says this years 6-0 start is nice, but nothing really matters until the end.Everything is about being in the right place in March as a basketball team, Martin said at his weekly press conference. I hope we get there.In order to play into March, Martin says his players cant start believing that they have it made.I dont want my guys wrapped up in that. I want them to approach things as were still the nobodys, he said. We have to stay on edge, have to stay on point.While Vermont has a reputation as a dangerous underdog, the Catamounts have not beaten a ranked team since 2007, when they knocked off then-No. 14 Boston College.The Thursday game will be the second all-time meeting between South Carolina and Vermont. The teams played in 1979, with the Gamecocks winning 66-65. ' ' ' url] . Blackwood, 28, has played the last three seasons in the San Diego Padres system, including the past two summers with Class AA San Antonio of the Texas League.Theyre clear favourites to win Tuesday nights World Cup qualifier, but former Brisbane Roar captain Matt Smith has warned the Socceroos might struggle to contain Thailands `Messi.Diminutive playmaker Chanathip Songkrasin, fittingly known as `Messi J, will be Thailands tricky trump card at the Rajamangala National Stadium.Former Socceroos defender Smith, who won three A-League titles the Roar, has himself been on the receiving end of Chanathips cunning game.Smith plays for Thai Premier League outfit Bangkok Glass while Chanathip steered champions Muangthong United to last seasons title.In terms of their attacking strengths, he would be the one the Socceroos would have the most trouble with, Smith said.Hes probably the cleverest, hes very good on the ball technically - he could definitely play at a higher level.He tries to get the ball into the smaller pockets and hes very comfortable linking with players around him.With a name like Messi J he literally floats around.Hell get himself into transition and look to counter-attack pretty quickly.Hes good around the box and he can see a lot in terms of forward runners - and he can finish.Smith expected Thai fans to come out in force onn Tuesday, in what will be the first opportunity for the community to show public national support following a 30-day mourning period after the death of their king.ddddddddddddDespite Socceroos coach Ange Postecoglou predictingThailand would set up defensively, Smith felt their real strength lay in attack.I see it week in, week out, he said.They can defend also, but in terms of picking one over the other they attack very well.Smith was on the sidelines watching Socceroos training over the weekend, taking up a rare opportunity to reunite with former Roar coach Postecoglou.The 34-year-old has been attempting to implement Brisbanes football philosophy at Bangkok Glass, where he is their first foreign captain.The team also has another Australian influence in new coach Aurelio Vidmar, appointed in August after his contract with the Australian national teams wasnt renewed.I think our club is ready for a coach of Aurelios stature, Smith said.Hes settled in well, now weve got a good opportunity in the pre-season to work on stuff hes been trying to implement. 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