Termine » top-ranked skater in the February rankings. H

The path to the 2016 Breeders Cup is a road with plenty of ups and downs as talented racehorses vie for a spot in one of 13 championship races. This blog provides a capsule look at three horses who are heating up on the Road to the Breeders Cup World Championships and three horses whose Breeders Cup chances are not quite as strong as they were a week or two ago.For this weeks edition, the two major races were restricted to 3-year-olds and thats where the results took us for each of the names below. I think we can say at least one sophomore emerged as a probable favorite for a race on the Breeders Cup World Championships card, while quite a few other 3-year-olds came up empty.Heating up1. Songbird Originally, I planned to make Songbird an honorable mention. She was already the dominant leader of the 3-year-old filly division and one of the clear favorites for the Longines Breeders Cup Distaff, so she had no room to move up significantly. But ultimately, Songbird is without question the most likely Breeders Cup winner to come out of the racing action last weekend. In the Grade 1 Cotillion Stakes, she defeated a couple of highly regarded opponents in Carina Mia and Longines Kentucky Oaks winner Cathryn Sophia and also recorded a new career-top 122 Equibase Speed Figure, a 10-point jump from her previous career best earned while winning the 2015 14 Hands Winery Breeders Cup Juvenile Fillies. Sure, three-time champion Beholder would present Songbird her toughest challenge to date in the Distaff, but this is an absolute superstar at the pinnacle of her game.2. Connect While many of the other elite 3-year-olds are heading in the wrong direction, lightly raced Connect just seems to be finding his best stride. He had won three of his first four starts, including a stakes win at Saratoga Race Course, before a troubled sixth-place finish in the Travers Stakes. But Connect bounced back in a big way on Sept. 24 in the Grade 2 Pennsylvania Derby, outfinishing Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands and Travers Stakes third-place finisher Gun Runner and beating both Kentucky Derby winner Nyquist and Preakness Stakes victor Exaggerator. By two-time Horse of the Year Curlin, Connect seems to be improving as his 3-year-old season progresses, much like his sire did in 2007, and he earned a new career-best 108 Equibase Speed Figure for the Pennsylvania Derby victory. Connect has consistently been fast since his debut and, while hell face a tall task in the Breeders Cup Classic, he is in terrific form.3. Noholdingback Bear Before a third-place finish in August at Saratoga Race Course in the Grade 1 Ketel One Kings Bishop Stakes, Noholdingback Bears best races had come on synthetic surfaces. But after pairing a strong Kings Bishop with a 1-1/4-length win in the Grade 3 Gallant Bob Stakes on Sept. 24, this Put It Back colt looks like a legit threat for the Twinspires.com Breeders Cup Sprint. Three-year-olds historically can compete with older runners in the Sprint -- Runhappy last year and Trinniberg in 2012 won the race at 3 -- and, while there are some talented Sprint contenders, there are no true standouts. With 111 and 113 Equibase Speed Figures in his last two starts, Noholdingback Bear could pack a nice surprise on Breeders Cup Saturday.Honorable MentionTexas Chrome It was a tough call for the third spot between Noholdingback Bear and Texas Chrome, but I felt like Texas Chrome certainly warranted a mention after winning the Grade 3 Oklahoma Derby for his third straight victory. Looking back even further, hes actually been strong all year. Texas Chrome has not finished worse than third in seven races this season and has four stakes wins. Hes recorded Equibase Speed Figures between 101 and 106 (the career-top he earned Saturday) in his last five races, so hes also very consistent. He reportedly will target the Breeders Cup Las Vegas Dirt Mile, a race in which he figures to fit well. Sure, Runhappy would be a heavy favorite should he make the Dirt Mile, but he has not yet raced once in 2015. Take Runhappy out of the mix, and the Dirt Mile is wide open.Cooling down1. Exaggerator Its easy to forgive one bad performance, but back-to-back duds indicate to me that Exaggerator has either gone off form or hit a wall this season. One race after he finished 11th, beaten by 33 lengths, in the Travers Stakes, Exaggerator never fired in the Pennsylvania Derby and ran a nonthreatening seventh. Beaten by 12 lengths by Connect on Saturday, this is not the same horse who won the Preakness Stakes in May during a stretch of 10 straight races in which he either won or finished within three lengths of the winner. Theres no doubt Exaggerator is a gifted racehorse. Lets hope trainer Keith Desormeaux can find the key to get him back to his best.2. Cupid Hall of Famer Bob Baffert is as good as any trainer in bringing a 3-year-old back after the Triple Crown trail for a great second half of the season. After Cupid won the Grade 2 Indiana Derby, I had great confidence he was poised for a huge second half. His four-length runaway in the Grade 2 West Virginia Derby reinforced that confidence, but in the Pennsylvania Derby he came up empty when eighth, beaten by more than 14 lengths. It feels like Cupid is just a cut below the best of his division. Hes a very nice racehorse, no doubt, but at this point it would be tough to see him being competitive in the Breeders Cup World Championships when hes struggled against the best of his generation in the 3-year-old division.3. Nyquist Seeing a trend here? The romance is over for this years class of 3-year-olds. Nyquist didnt run a terrible race in the Pennsylvania Derby, but he wasnt the gutsy, powerhouse racehorse who opened his career with eight straight wins, capped by a clear win in the Kentucky Derby Presented by Yum! Brands. Hes now lost three straight starts and, even though he hasnt been beaten by more than five lengths in any of his defeats, he doesnt resemble the beast who took Mohaymens lunch money at the top of the Florida Derby stretch. Nyquist reportedly came out of the Pennsylvania Derby in good order, and trainer Doug ONeill and owner Paul Reddam will meet to discuss whats next for the 2015 champion 2-year-old male.For more stories like this check out Americas Best Racing. John Paxson Jersey . Already owning gold from competition in Vancouver in 2010, Loch posted a combined four-run time of 3:27.526. That included a track-record third run of 51. Chandler Hutchison Jersey . While hell be dialed in to that tournament on a course he loves, you can forgive him if his eyes glance down the calendar just a bit, towards April. http://www.bullsofficialsshop.com/kids-scottie-pippen-bulls-jersey/ . With their top three point guards and Kobe Bryant all sidelined by injury, the Lakers signed Marshall out of the D-League on Friday before their home game against Minnesota. Kris Dunn Jersey . White came in fourth place in the event. He was the two-time defending gold medallist. The gold medal went to Swiss snowboarder Iouri Podladtchikov. Toni Kukoc Jersey . The Barrie Colts defenceman, who impressed many with his play for Canada at the World Junior Hockey Championship, is the top-ranked skater in the February rankings. He has 19 goals and 24 assists for 43 points in 45 games with the Colts this season. WUHAN, China -- Former French Open finalist Simona Halep took less than 70 minutes to reach the third round of the Wuhan Open, advancing Monday when fellow Romanian Irina-Camelia Begu retired in the second set of their second-round match.The No. 4-seeded Halep was leading 6-3, 2-0 when Begu retired with a back injury amid warm and humid conditions. Halep, who skipped the Pan Pacific Open in Tokyo last week because of a hamstring strain, had a first-round bye at Wuhan.In first-round matches, 2014 champion Petra Kvitova opened with a 6-1, 6-3 win over Jelena Ostapenko and set up a meeting with Elina Svitolina, who rallied from a break down in the third set to beat Bethanie Mattek-Sands 4-6, 6-3, 6-4.This was the fourth time weve played this season and Im glad now its 2-2, Kvitova said. I know how difficult it can be to play her and how dangerouss she is.ddddddddddddNo. 10-seeded Dominika Cibulkova had a 6-2, 2-6, 6-3 win over Alize Cornet and Yulia Putintseva was leading 6-1, 4-1 when Anastasija Sevastova retired from their match.Johanna Konta, the 11th seed, had a 6-1, 6-2 win over Annika Beck, and Madison Brengle advanced after leading 6-3, 2-1 when British qualifier Heather Watson retired because of a stomach complaint.Top-seeded Angelique Kerber is in action on Tuesday against Kristina Mladenovic, who had a 7-6 (5), 6-3 first-round win over CoCo Vandeweghe.Serena Williams, who was replaced by Kerber at No. 1 in the rankings with her run to the U.S. Open title, has withdrawn from the tournaments in Wuhan and Beijing because of an injured right shoulder. 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