NEU » zky, Eric Lindros and Crosby as a generational talent

LOUISVILLE, Ky. -- All year long, Gun Runner had dodged no one when frequently competing against the very best 3-year-olds of 2016.Late Friday afternoon, beneath the glare of the Churchill Downs lights, the hard-knocking colt finally got his first Grade 1 victory, leading wire to wire in the 142nd running of the $500,000 Clark Handicap, the annual marquee race of the fall meet.He deserved this, said Steve Asmussen, who trains Gun Runner for the partnership of Winchell Thoroughbreds and Three Chimneys Farm. All those Grade 1 winners hed beaten, all the good races hed run. Im really happy for the horse and everyone involved.Sent away the 2-1 favorite as the only 3-year-old in a field of 10, Gun Runner made the early lead from post 1, with jockey Florent Geroux finding himself on a solo lead that seemed unlikely -- at least on paper.The expected frontrunner in the 1-1/8-mile race, Noble Bird, broke tardily under Julien Leparoux and quickly found himself in traffic, altering the complexion of the race as Gun Runner went unchallenged on opening fractions of 23.72 and 48 seconds.That horse [Noble Bird] doesnt always break well, so was I surprised I was by myself? Yes and no, said Geroux.He does that sometimes, Leparoux said afterward with a shrug. He doesnt break for some reason.Into the far turn, Noble Bird had made his way up to the flank of Gun Runner as the closest pursuer, but with a quarter-mile remaining, Noble Bird was spent and Geroux was bracing for Breaking Lucky, a 46-1 shot who was in full flight and angling out to challenge. Geroux put Gun Runner to a drive, and soon it was all over, with the final margin being 2-3/4 lengths.Breaking Lucky, ridden by Luis Contreras, finished another 3-1/2 lengths before Shaman Ghost. Hoppertunity was fourth, followed by Hawaakom, Effinex, Noble Bird, Are You Kidding Me, Prayer for Relief, and Mr. Z.Gun Runner returned $6.20 after after finishing 1-1/8 miles in 1:48.50 over a fast track. Under handicap conditions, he carried 118 pounds, six fewer than Hoppertunity, the 2014 Clark winner as a 3-year-old.Geroux, who rode Gun Runner in every one of the colts starts this year, was effusive in his praise.He ran in some very tough races all year, he said. Most of the other 3-year-olds are gone, referring to the retirements of Nyquist, Exaggerator, and Creator. Hes a pretty amazing horse.Gun Runner, a chestnut Kentucky-bred by Candy Ride, won the Risen Star and Louisiana Derby before finishing third at 10-1 behind Nyquist and Exaggerator in the Kentucky Derby. Withheld from the Preakness and Belmont, he then won the Matt Winn at Churchill in preparation for the Haskell, in which he turned in his only subpar finish of the year when fifth. He then was third in the Travers, second in the Pennsylvania Derby, and second in his first try against older horses in the Nov. 4 Breeders Cup Dirt Mile at Santa Anita.Asmussen and David Fiske, racing manager for Winchell, were slow to commit to the Clark before the colt breezed an easy half-mile here Monday.We were aware of this race, aware of the prospects, said Asmussen. Being just three weeks after the Breeders Cup, we wanted to make sure.Gun Runner will travel in the next few days to Asmussens main winter base, the Fair Grounds in New Orleans. He will be pointed to a 4-year-old campaign, with the $12 million Pegasus World Cup on Jan. 28 at Gulfstream being a possibility, said Doug Cauthen, vice chairman for Three Chimneys.Gun Runner finishes the year with four wins, two seconds, and two thirds from nine starts. The $294,500 winners share from the Clark lifts his earnings to $1,970,880 for 2016.The $2 exacta (1-7) paid $152.40, the $1 trifecta (1-7-4) returned $492.10, and the 10-cent superfecta (1-7-4-9) was worth $215.26.Racing resumes Saturday at Churchill with a 12-race Stars of Tomorrow card featuring twin 2-year-old stakes, the Kentucky Jockey Club and Golden Rod. The Single 6 jackpot (races 7-12) stands at $163,510 for Saturday.The 21-day fall meet ends Sunday with a 12-race card and a mandatory dispersal of the Single 6 pool. Post time daily is 1 p.m. Eastern. Balenciaga Pas Cher Livraison Gratuite . -- James Young couldnt wait to apply those tweaks to his jump shot, and the first one he made against UT Arlington told him it could be a good night. Balenciaga Pas Cher France . But Bourque, who has missed three games with a lower-body injury, wont be in the lineup when the Habs travel to Buffalo to take on the Sabres on Wednesday. http://www.pascherbalenciaga.fr/ . Reigning world champion Eve Muirhead of Scotland opened with a 12-2 rout of Winnipegs Jennifer Jones in a battle of teams bound for the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. Balenciaga Outlet France . - The Oakland Raiders re-signed offensive lineman Khalif Barnes on Friday. Balenciaga Pas Cher Chaussure . You can watch the game live on TSN at 7:30pm et/4:30pm pt. The Flyers had won seven of eight before dropping their last two outings on consecutive days over the weekend. Philadelphia was handed a 6-3 loss by the visiting Tampa Bay Lightning on Saturday afternoon before dropping a 4-1 decision to the Rangers the following night in New York City. Connor McDavid went around Pavel Datsyuk like he was standing still, blowing past a longtime NHL star for the kind of scoring chance a teenager shouldnt be able to produce with such ease.McDavid playing above his age is nothing new.Ive seen him ever since hes been about 14 years of age and hes been the best player against everybody two, three years older than him, Dallas Stars general manager Jim Nill said. Hes an elite player.McDavid is elite at 19 years old, and going into his second pro season with the Edmonton Oilers is already knocking on the door of being the best hockey player in the world. Sidney Crosby has that title right now, but uncertainty about the Pittsburgh Penguins captains third concussion in six years has put his run of dominance on hold.Oilers general manager Peter Chiarelli believes in short order fans will realize how stellar McDavid is. The Great One already sees it.I like Connor McDavid, Wayne Gretzky said. I think this kids going to be a tremendous superstar and a great player for our sport for a long time.McDavid follows agent Gretzky, Eric Lindros and Crosby as a generational talent who everyone knew had star potential. A broken collarbone limited him to 45 games in his rookie season, yet McDavid still had 16 goals and 32 assists. He was a finalist for the Calder Trophy despite missing half the season.Making moves like hes using a joystick, McDavid is earning every bit of the hype that has surrounded him since he had 209 points in 88 games during his 14- and 15-year-old midget season in Toronto. His peers are in awe at just how fast McDavid is able to make plays.You can see a guy who can make plays in full speed, said Stars forward Lauri Korpikoski, who spent last season in Edmonton. Hes got some wheels, he can fly and at the same time he sees the ice and is able to make plays and find guys at that full speed.The NHL is trending toward speed and skill, and McDavid exemplifies that. Scouts -- and his own agent and Hockey Hall of Fame defenseman Bobby Orr -- have said McDavid needs to build upper-body strength as he grows into his frame, and having a stronger lower body, as Crosby does, would push him even further.That willl come in time.dddddddddddd. Hockey lifers see all the right ingredients for greatness in McDavid, who is part of an exciting wave of young players that includes 2016 top picks Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Patrik Laine of the Winnipeg Jets, 2015 No. 2 pick Jack Eichel of the Buffalo Sabres and 2014 No. 1 pick Aaron Ekblad of the Panthers.The future of the sport is bright because of all that talent, but McDavid stands out -- even to his peers.Hes a very special player, everybody knows who he is and what he can do, Matthews said. He thinks the game extremely well, and hes a fast player. ... He can do a lot of things at a pace that not many people can do.McDavid is progressing fast, too, and is still learning and adding more tools to his game. Faceoffs need work after he won just 41.2 percent of draws as a rookie, but whats most dangerous to the competition is that hes fine-tuning how and when to use his speed to take over.You can definitely use your speed to give yourself a little bit more space, McDavid said. Another thing that Ive had to learn is to slow down sometimes and not let yourself kind of fly through the hole or fly through an opportunity where you could get the puck. Theres definitely a need for speed and theres a time to be slow and kind of slow down for the puck and wait for it.McDavid hasnt had to wait for much: He was the no-doubt No. 1 pick when he was eligible, and the Oilers last week named him the youngest captain in NHL history. Unflappable as usual, McDavid called opening a new arena and being the face of a franchise the same pressure that Ive always dealt with before.This is nothing new, but the pressure will only expand with time.Hes going to continue to grow our game with his skill level, Nill said. He can play the game at such a high level, he plays the right way. Hes a very respectful man on and off the ice. I just think the ceiling is endless with him. Hes going to be the face of our game for many, many years.---Follow Stephen Whyno on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/SWhyno ' ' '