Clarion-Ledger from Jackson, Mississippi • Page 45

Sunday, August 11, 1996 The Clarion-Ledger 3D Streak-busting upset means no victory, Cigar UBS Mi WBMl i 7, 7 pointed we lost. I'm disappointed in that I didn't plan the race differently." Bailey sent Cigar right after Siphon, the wire-to-wire winner of the Hollywood Gold Cup. "Maybe I asked too much of him early in the race," said Bailey, who rode Cigar in all but one of the races of the winning streak. "I'm certainly not putting the blame on him. If the blame comes my way, I'll take it I didn't think it was a killer pace but when I got to the three-eighths pole I thought if someone was goingto come at me, I was goingto be in trouble today." The victory was his second in six starts this year and the $600,000 first money from a $1 million purse boosted his earnings to $1,547,356.

The $200,000 second money pushed Cigar's bankroll to $9,019,815 and made him the third horse to surpass $9 million. The other two raced in Japan. Cigar now has won 17 of 19 starts on the dirt. In 11 races on grass before he was returned to the dirt and started his winning streak, Cigar won once. That victory came in 1993 at del Mar.

The upset was watched by a Del Mar-record crowd of 44,181. The previous record of 34,697 was set on opening day of the 1994 meet. Th Associated Pru DEL MAR, Calif. Close, but no Cigar. The upset victory over Cigar by Dare and Go in the Pacific Classic on Saturday at Del Mar even left the winningjockey a little unhappy.

"We're glad to have won," said Alex Solis, "but it was kind of sad. Cigar was kind of a hero for us on the racetrack." Cigar's second place finish snapped a 16-race winning streak and kept him tied with Citation for the longest victory string by a North America-based horse this century. "The streak is over, but there's still races to be won," said Cigar's trainer, Bill Mott. "He's still a great horse. I wouldn't back down in ranking him up there with the best." To winning trainer Richard Mandella, the victory by Dare and Go was "as good as it gets." Both Mott and Mandella said a lightning pace figured prominently in Cigar's upset by a horse who paid $81.20.

Cigar, who paid $2.40 and $2.10, finished seven lengths in front of Siphon, $2.10, who was followed by Dramatic Gold, Luthier Fever and Tinners Way, the winner of the Pacific Classic the previous two years who was pulled up. Each r- starter carried 124 pounds. "Pace makes the race, and obviously it had something to do with the outcome today," Mott said. Siphon led the six-horse field through three-quarters of a mile in 1:09 15, with Cigar second the entire time. Cigar was a head in front when they reached the mile in 1:33 35 and was 3V2 lengths back when Dare and Go completed the IV miles in 1:59 45.

"I could see when they went into the three-eighths pole (at the middle of the final turn) that Cigar had hooked Siphon and that there was a serious battle that was going to tell on one of them," Mandella said. "Then I looked up to see who had enough to finish and Dare and Go was moving up." Jerry Bailey had Cigar in front as they straightened for home but Dare and Go then flew by on the outside. It was obvious by midstretch that Cigar was going to lose for the first time since finishing third in a grass race on Oct. 7, 1994 at Belmont Park. "I'm as responible as anybody for the way the race came out," Mott said.

"Naturally, I'm disap .0 I I 961-7200 Or toll-free in Mississippi to I A nrr nnn nn 'i. I i-5UU--sui:) exl (Z(A)t' i Chargers stay She course, advance with 3n2 OT wira Regatta Lona Wearina, By Lee Baker Clarion-Ledger Staff Writer Quiet Riding Touring Radial Sale Price Size Reg. Price Per Tire $76.99 $78.99 $82.99 $88.99 Per Tire $57.74 $59.24 $62.24 $66.74 I WARRANTY "jVs Ay- P18570R14 P18575R14 P19575R14 P20570R14 P20575R14 P21570R15 $65.24 $73.49 $86.99 $97.99 Other Sizes Available. at their full strength." Four minutes into play Nashville moved ahead on a Pasi Kinturi goal oflfa pass from Keith Parrish and stayed in front until midway through the first half when Sheldon Bennett tied the match on a short shot past goalie Jon Bush. The deadlock held until 35 seconds from halftime when Tony Siikala scored from close in off a pass from Adam Cohen moving the Metros back on top.

"I'd rather be down 2-1 than tied 1-1 at the half," Najjar said. "I want to be ready to keep the pressure on, getting more juice stirred for the second half. "That helped in overtime, too, having more drive left." Just as Nashville struck early the first half, Jackson countered less than 3 minutes into the second with Dwayne Demmin popping a goal on a short shot from the left side on a pass from David Dausman. That 2-2 score held despite several scoring chances from both sides, finally bringing sudden-death overtime. "It was a very even match," Nashville coach Stephen Parker said, "both sides with chances to win in regular time shots hitting the crossbar, things like that.

"But the last 20 minutes they were stronger and that could have been a big factor in their winning." Trottman had a shot picked off by the goalie a minute and a half into overtime, then 3 minutes later Bush plucked a shot by Demmin, but finally at the 8:50 mark of the 15-minute extra period, the Chargers struck. On a corner kick from Sheldon Bennett, Richard "Bubba" Williams headed the ball to Trottman who sent the ball flying in the goal. "I just cut in front of a Nashville guy and headed it into the middle," Williams said, "and Trottman put it into the mixer." Just follow the game plan! That was Hannibal Najjar's approach to beating the Nashville Metros and, while eventually successful, required more than expected in patience as well as time. His Jackson Chargers finally won 3-2 just over 6 minutes into overtime Saturday on a goal by Mickey Trott-man, earlier irate at Najjar for keeping him benched until the second half but delighted post-game. "Coach knows best his approach is the best," said the midfielder from Arima, Trinidad, a senior at the University of Mobile.

"And now we go to the nationals." Winning the Eastern Conference playoff championship Saturday at The Sports Club boosts the Chargers into next week's United Systems of Independent Soccer League's Premier Division six-team finals at Cocoa, Fla. "We played to our plan," Najjar said. "All four of our subs got in and helped us. "Nashville is a quality team and we wanted to have strength at the end. It heiped being able not only to have fresh legs, but good legs, too." The Chargers had an advantage in freshness from the start.

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How much has women's soccer grown in the last decade? Consider this comparison: The 76,481 fans at Athens, who watched the United States beat China 2-1 in the gold medal game at the Olympics nearly equaled the number of female high school players in this country 11 years ago. According to the Soccer Industry Council of America, based in West Palm Beach, high school programs in 1985-86 registered 85,173 girls playing soccer. By 1994-95, the number had grown 225 percent to 191,350. "We're winning many girls over from more traditional women's sports, like basketball and soft-ball," said Florida State coach Heather Kerby. "It's like night and day from the way it was back in the 1970s." Eight years ago, only 15 or 16 girls tried out for soccer at Leon High School in Tallahassee.

Last year, it was almost 60. On the youth level, California boasts 1.8 million female participants, more than 806,000 of them in Los Angeles, the nation's top soccer market. ''There are more opportunities than players right now, and I expect that to be the case for the next several years at least," said Kerby, whose school has a women's roster of 30 players, including 12 on scholarship. One reason for the college-level growth is a rush by schools to increase the number of women who play intercollegiate sports. Gender equity is being pushed hard by the NCAA, and that means more women athletes are needed.

"I'm not sure demand will ever be outstripped by supply," said Florida coach Becky Burleigh, whose team also has 12 of 30 players on scholarship. "For women, no other sport generates as many people that quickly." Five years ago, 75 of the 293 schools in NCAA Division I had women's soccer programs. In 1995-96, 18 ljof the 305 Division schools Li -------------a------H---a----Bl John BazemoreThe Associated Press Women's soccer, which drew huge crowds in the Summer Olympics (above), is seeing participation rise dramatically at many levels. Ridgeland Northpark Mall 896 South Wheatley 956-0312 Pearl McLaurin Shopping Center Hwy 80 E. 939-6512 Jackson 1480 Canton Mart Rd.

977-081 1 Jackson 2601 Robinson St. 354-4004 had them. Competition for quality players also is booming, and coaches are constantly attending top soccer tournaments to recruit new talent The Junior Orange Bowl soccer tournament in Miami, for example, drew 149 college coaches in December, organizer Don Tufts said. It also drew 16 club teams in the under-19 division and 32 in the under-18s. The rise of women's soccer also has had an impact on equipment sales.

There are women's sections in nearly every mail-order soccer catalog, featuring top-quality shorts and shoes with narrower cuts from makers like Nike and adidas. T-shirt "No More Hop- scotch" and "Prim and Proper is for The Prom," and "I'm Not Here to Dance." "Thirty percent of all soccer players are women," said Michael Kohner, vice president of Sunrise, based Soccer Madness, an equipment retailer. "The women are also staying in it longer, partly because of the success of the U.S. national team. The college pipeline isn't full yet "We have demanded quality products (for women) and the manufacturers are providing them.

It's absolutely a growth market" Whatever the reasons for participation, coaches said they expect the number of girls and women playing soccer tjo continue to grow. 1 1 1 Penske Auto Penske Auto Robinson Terry Road American Barnett's Southern Center at Center at Service Tire Tire Body Tire K-Mart K-Mart Center Alignment Service Shop Mart WnSSS, 282 Hwy. 51 3101 Terry Rd. 3" Cmpg-. ,30 105 Rd.

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