Goodwood Stakes features Lava Man

Horseracing Betting Lines

09/26/2007 - Arcadia, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Defending champ Lava Man returns to face nine rivals in Saturday's $500,000 Goodwood Stakes at Santa Anita Park. The winner of the race will gain automatic entry into the $5 million Breeders' Cup Classic as part of the "Win and You're In" program.

Lava Man, owned by STD Racing and Jason Wood, can become the third horse to repeat as the winner of the Goodwood. Lord At War won in 1984 and 1985, and Pleasantly Perfect posted consecutive victories in 2002 and 2003.

Trained by Doug O'Neill, Lava Man will be ridden by Corey Nakatani from post seven. The six-year-old gelding is coming off a rare loss, he was sixth in the Pacific Classic at Del Mar. This year he repeated as the winner of the Santa Anita Handicap and won his third straight Hollywood Gold Cup.

Lava Man has won 17 of 41 lifetime starts for more than $5.2 million.

Dennis O'Neill, brother and associate of Doug, recently indicated that Lava Man may also be entered in the Oak Tree Mile on turf next weekend. "Beyond that," Dennis said, "the Breeders' Cup Dirt Mile definitely is a possibility. That race is worth $1 million, but if he were to run big, we'd have to think of the ($2 million) Breeders' Cup Mile. We've got all kinds of options."

Santa Anita Derby winner Tiago will face older horses for the first time in the 1 1/8 mile race. The three-year-old has drawn post four with Mike Smith set to ride. The pair are coming off a solid victory in the Swaps Stakes at Hollywood Park in July.

Owned by Mr. and Mrs. Jerry Moss, the colt has earned $815,270 in seven career starts with three wins. John Shirreffs trains Tiago who was seventh in the Kentucky Derby and third in the Belmont Stakes.

With Pacific Classic winner Student Council going in the Hawthorne Gold Cup on Saturday, the top finisher from the Del Mar event entered in the Goodwood is runner-up Awesome Gem. The four-year-old will start from post eight with David Flores in the saddle.

Awesome Gem is trained by Craig Dollase for owners West Point Stable and others. The gelding has won four of 13 lifetime starts for $531,360. Prior to the Pacific Classic he was second in the San Diego Handicap to the now deceased Sun Boat.

Here is the complete field for the 26th Goodwood Stakes in post position order: Arson Squad, Victor Espinoza; Hello Sunday, Brice Blanc; Lewis Michael, Eddie Baird; Tiago, Mike Smith; Porfido, Joel Rosario; Big Booster, Michael Baze; Lava Man, Corey Nakatani; Awesome Gem, David Flores; A. P. Xcellent, Jose Valdivia, Jr. and Wanna Runner, Tyler Baze.

The Goodwood has a scheduled post-time of 7:30 p.m. (et).

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MySportsbook.com: NFL draft - The NFC South


In part two of MySportsbook.com’s draft preview, we’ll take a look at a division that was extremely disappointing last season: the NFC South.  Many “experts” predicted the Panthers to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, of course they could not even make the playoffs in an extremely weak NFC.  The Saints definitely made up for the disappointing seasons of their NFC South brethren by exploding out of no where en route to the NFC Championship game.  For the avid NFL gambler, it is imperative to pay attention to the NFL draft.  Although free agency gets a ton of publicity, the successful franchises build their teams around the draft.

1. New Orleans Saints
Who would have thought this time last year that the Saints would be the favorites to win the NFC South for the 2007 campaign?  New Orleans is loaded with firepower on the offensive side of the ball but with the exodus of Joe Horn they will most likely look to draft a WR on Day 1.  Despite having the NFL’s 3rd ranked pass defense last season, the Saints will most likely upgrade their CB’s with one of their first two picks. Other possibilities for the Saints will be TE and DT.  Because of where they will be selecting (27th), the Saints could go the “best available player” route which could net a LB.

Key additions: Eric Johnson TE, Troy Evans LB, David Patten WR
Key loses: Joe Horn WR,
Team needs: CB, WR, TE, LB, DT
Possible draftees: Aaron Ross CB Texas, Darrelle Revis CB Pitt, Ted Ginn Jr. WR OSU, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Chris Houston CB Arkansas, Greg Olsen TE Miami

2. Carolina Panthers
Carolina was one of the biggest disappointments in the NFL last season.  With the signing of David Carr, expect the very first quarterback controversy to come out of Carolina if Jake Delhomme doesn’t rebound quickly from an average 2007 season. With veteran safety Mike Minter getting up there in age, they will look to draft a safety on Day 1 but probably not in the first round.  LB is another need with the loss of Chris Draft to go along with Dan Morgan’s concussion problems.  If TE Greg Olsen is still on the board, he might be too good to pass up despite their needs on the defensive side of the ball.

Key additions: David Carr QB
Key loses: Chris Draft LB
Team needs: LB, TE, S, OT
Possible draftees: Greg Olsen TE Miami, Patrick Willis LB Ole Miss, Paul Posluszny LB PSU, Levi Brown OT PSU

3. Atlanta Falcons
The Falcons were another NFC South team to have a disappointing 2007 season.  The Falcons have been plenty busy during the off season with plenty of players coming and going including a new head coach.  The Falcons were able to improve their draft position with the trade of coveted backup QB Matt Schaub.  High on the list of Day 1 needs will be a defensive end to replace Patrick Kerney and a hard hitting safety since Lawyer Milloy is nearing the end of his career.  With an additional 2nd round pick, the Falcons could attempt to trade up to acquire local product WR Calvin Johnson. 

Key additions: Joey Harrington QB, Toniu Fonoti OG, Joe Horn WR
Key loses: Justin Griffen RB, Patrick Kerney DE, Matt Lehr OG, Ashley Lelie WR, Matt Schaub QB
Team needs: DE, S, OT, WR, DT
Possible draftees: LaRon Landry S LSU, Amobi Okoye DT Louisville, Levi Brown OT PSU, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas, Alan Branch DT Michigan

4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Age really caught up to the Bucs last season.  The Bucs still have plenty of household names on defense in Ronde Barber, Simeon Rice and Derrick Brooks but the one thing those three have in common is unfortunately age.  It is imperative for the Bucs to get much younger, especially on the defensive side of the ball. Despite having bigger needs on the defensive side of the ball, WR Calvin Johnson is the most likely pick if he is still available when the Bucs pick at the four spot.  This would suit Bucs’ faithful just fine as Johnson is widely considered the top talent in the draft and it is a position of need for the Bucs.

Key additions: Jeff Garcia QB, Kevin Carter DE, Torrie Cox CB, Cato June LB
Key loses: Dewayne White DE, Sean Mahan OG
Team needs: WR, LB, DE, CB (Youth on defense!)
Possible draftees: Calvin Johnson WR Georgia Tech, Gains Adams DE Clemson, Jamaal Anderson DE Arkansas

It is never too early to start betting on the NFL. Log on to MySportsbook.com to checkout all of the NFL futures for the upcoming season.  On the clock: the NFC North

Odds to win the NFC South:
New Orleans Saints 8-5
Carolina Panthers 2-1
Atlanta Falcons 12-5
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 9-2    

Odds to win the NFC:
New Orleans Saints 13-2
Carolina Panthers 7-1
Atlanta Falcons 20-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 25-1

Odds to win the Super Bowl:
New Orleans Saints 18-1
Carolina Panthers 20-1
Atlanta Falcons 50-1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 75-1

To visit this sportsbook get to MySportsbook.com for all your online sportsbook needs. Mysportsbook.com online sportsbook accepts Visa and Mastercard credit cards.