Pirate Galaxy » more.- With Melancons departure, Rizz

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Hoppertunity got away from California Chrome and got back to the winners circle, outfinishing Effinex to take Saturdays Grade 1, $1 million Jockey Club Gold Cup at Belmont Park.After racing along the inside and within two lengths of the pace-setting Protonico in a bunched field, Hoppertunity, under John Velazquez, tipped to the three-path turning for home. He gradually gained through the stretch on Protonico and Effinex and beat the latter to the wire by a half-length.It was 2-1/2 lengths back to Protonico in third. Mubtaahij and Watershed completed the order of finish.Jockey Javier Castellano dismounted from Protonico past the wire and he was vanned off. Dr. Anthony Verderosa, the chief examining veterinarian for the New York Racing Association, said Protonico was lame.For Hoppertunity, the win was the sixth from 22 starts and it pushed his career earnings to $3,562,675. The win also earned a fees-paid berth to the $6 million Breeders Cup Classic at Santa Anita on Nov. 5, where he will face California Chrome. Hoppertunity finished third to California Chrome in this years Dubai World Cup and fourth to him in the Pacific Classic.Hes earned his spot in the Breeders Cup, hell be in the game, trainer Bob Baffert said from Southern California, where he watched the race on television. Well get him back here, see how hes training. Hes always right there, he always gets a piece.In addition to getting away from California Chrome, Baffert shipped Hoppertunity here believing he would like the deeper surface and the wide turns of Belmont Park.Baffert told jockey Velazquez that Hoppertunity doesnt run the turns well, and Velazquez said he wanted to keep the horse closer to the pace so that he wouldnt have so much to do in the stretch.Protonico set a modest pace of 24.87 seconds for the quarter, 49.03 for the half-mile and 1:12.18 for six furlongs while being pressed by Effinex, under Mike Smith.Protonico proved a stubborn foe and it wasnt until the sixteenth pole that Effinex was able to get by him. But his lead was short-lived as Hoppertunity wore him down.Hoppertunity, a 5-year-old son of Any Given Saturday owned by Karl Watson, Mike Pegram and Paul Weitman, covered the 1-1/4 miles in 2:00.68 and returned $9.60 as the 7-2 third choice.They told me he doesnt run really well around the turns so, okay, I kept that in mind and hopefully I can keep him close enough without overdoing it and he did everything I asked him to do, Velazquez said. When I pulled him out, he responded.Hoppertunity did have an abrasion on the back of his left foreleg after the race.He ran down through the bandages a bit, said Jimmy Barnes, Bafferts assistant who was here to saddle the horse. It should be superficial.Hoppertunity was scheduled to be flown back to Southern California on Sunday to prepare for the Classic.Effinex, who finished second in last years Classic, may have had to expend more energy than his connections had hoped to get by Protonico, leaving him vulnerable for Hoppertunity to wear him down.I had hoped to hopefully spurt away when headed for home, but that thing was on me and kept grinding me down little by little, Smith said.Still, trainer Jimmy Jerkens said, Effinex did enough to earn himself a trip to the Breeders Cup Classic, a race in which he finished second to American Pharoah last year.Well give it a shot, Jerkens said. Hes tough.Effinex will likely need a new rider for the Classic as Smith will probably ride Arrogate, dominant winner of the Travers, in that race. Michael Porter Nuggets Jersey . Coach Tom Thibodeau says the former MVP will probably start travelling with the team in the next few weeks. 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OXON HILL, Md. -- If Bryce Harpers representatives have had real discussions about a long-term contract with the Washington Nationals, general manager Mike Rizzo is not tipping his hand.Meeting with reporters Monday at baseballs winter meetings, Rizzo deflected a question about whether hes engaged Harper or agent Scott Boras about an extension for the slugger who was the 2012 NL Rookie of the Year and 2015 NL MVP.Its not like us to discuss anything that we (say) when were talking to players about anything, so Im not going to answer any of those kind of questions, Rizzo said. Those are private discussions between us and the players.Harper -- who is coming off a down year, hitting .243 with 24 homers and 86 RBI for the NL East champions -- is under Washingtons control for two more seasons.He can become a free agent for the first time after the 2018 season.With every player that you acquire, its a possibility that you may lose them in their specific time frame. With Bryce Harper and every other player that has a contract expiring, you better make plans, Rizzo said, when asked about preparing for the chance that Harper could leave in 2018. And its not just Bryce Harper; its everybody on the roster.Rizzo said he speaks weekly with Boras -- and other agents. That the GM would be in regular contact with Boras is hardly surprising, given that he represents several Nationals in addition to Harper, including pitchers Max Scherzer and Stephen Strasbuurg and third baseman Anthony Rendon.ddddddddddddere constantly talking to him throughout the year, throughout the winter, during the season, Rizzo said. Theyre not specific negotiations, but theyre discussions about strategies and philosophies and all those things that come into it.Among other topics touched on by Rizzo:- Things just didnt work out with closer Mark Melancon, who was acquired by Washington at the trade deadline last season and agreed to a free-agent deal with the San Francisco Giants. Rizzo said the Nationals offered market value, but the Giants offered him more.- With Melancons departure, Rizzo acknowledged the obvious, saying: The bullpen is something were going to have to address.- On the possibility of trading for White Sox starter Chris Sale or Pittsburgh outfielder Andrew McCutchen, Rizzo said: Weve had ongoing discussions with a lot of different teams. The White Sox and the Pirates have been two of them. But weve got a lot of lines in the water. Weve got a lot of irons in the fire. ... Were going to be aggressive if the occasion arises, but were going to be prudent and smart about it.- On whether he feels a sense of urgency to improve his roster, Rizzo responded: I think urgency is a mistake. Were coming off a 95-win team with a good young core of players and blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. ' ' '