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Nov 22 '17
Long about 4:30 on Friday afternoon, after he has set the feed and neatened up the double-wide stall of a certain chestnut racehorse, Raul Rodriguez will wander over to the Santa Anita Park grandstand in Arcadia, California,?in time to watch the $2 million Breeders Cup Distaff. Womens Nike Air Vapormax .He wont be alone. The Distaff could be the most compelling event in the 13-race Breeders Cup gallery, which will be spread over two warm and dry Southern California days and feature such international stars as California Chrome, Tepin, Flintshire and Found.The Distaff, at 1? miles on the main track, has become that perfect storm of a horse race. Those getting the most attention are Beholder, who won the Distaff in 2013 on her way to the 3-year-old filly championship; Stellar Wind, who finished an unlucky second last year to clinch 3-year-old filly honors; and Songbird, the de facto 3-year-old filly champion of 2016 who will be facing her elders for the first time.Rodriguez, 59, is the groom who takes care of California Chrome for Art and Alan Shermans stable. They dont have a runner in the Distaff hunt -- California Chrome takes center stage on Saturday in the $6 million Classic -- but Rodriguez will be cheering on Songbird for all hes worth. His son Edgar Rodriguez is Songbirds regular exercise rider and boon traveling companion, a role he has played throughout the fillys career of 11 starts without a defeat.Such father-son stories are not uncommon around the racetrack. Racing is, after all, a family business, whether the family is the Whitneys, the Hancocks or the House of Windsor.Ben Jones and his son Jimmy were the dominant American classic trainers for two decades from 1938 to 1958. Marion Van Berg perennially was among the leading trainers before his son Jack won nine national titles in the 1960s, 70s and 80s.There were four generations of the Burch clan who that their marks in the game, as did the Parke brothers of Idaho, while California has had its own Jones boys, from Farrell to Gary to Marty.The Breeders Cup of 2016 is no less a family affair. Aidan OBrien will go head-to-head with his son, the fledgling trainer Joseph OBrien, in the Juvenile Fillies Turf on Friday. Keith Desormeaux will send out With Honors in the Juvenile Fillies, while his brother Kent has three Breeders Cup rides, including First Lady Stakes winner Photo Call in the mile.The Ortiz brothers have become a family to reckon with -- Jose and Irad have 15 Breeders Cup mounts between them. Norman Casse, son of Mark Casse, rarely lets defending mile champ Tepin out of his sight, while Riley Mott has become an important part of the operation for his Hall of Fame father, Bill Mott.Raul and Florentina Rodriguez have three sons.Raul Jr. is 32, Edgar just turned 30, and Freddie is 28, said their father. Two years apart. After the last one, I told my wife, Thats it. No more.The Rodriguez family comes from the state of Jalisco in Mexico, where Edgar and Raul Jr. were born. Freddie was born in Northern California after Raul went to work at Golden Gate Fields, eventually landing a job with the Shermans.When he was old enough, Edgar worked at the barn, Raul said one morning this week in California Chromes secluded corner of the Santa Anita backstretch.When he started to gallop horses, Art comes to me and says, Hes pretty good. Has he ridden before? Raul said. Yes, I said. Since he was little, he rode quarter horses at our farm all the time -- all the boys.Raul Jr. is a groom with the Sherman stable, and Freddie works alongside Edgar in the Jerry Hollendorfer barn, where Songbird resides. Edgars adventures with Songbird began last year when the daughter of Medaglia dOro made an impressive debut at Del Mar.I remember Edgar told me when she was entered, I should come out and see the race, Raul recalled. He said she looked like something special. He was right, dont you think?When Songbird took to the road this year for a campaign that included a monthlong stay at Saratoga for the Coaching Club American Oaks and the Alabama, Hollendorfer and his assistant Dan Ward made sure Edgar was with the filly every step of the way.You dont like to let her out of your sight for too long, Ward said. But Edgar knows her so well. He took good care of her.Watching the younger Rodriguez aboard Songbird is a treat. Then again, she could make any rider look good, but Edgar clicks in perfect harmony with her occasional fussing before they dip into the silky smooth rhythm that has held up through 16 months of training and competition.She is bigger now, sure, Edgar said. More mature. And she never gets tired.His father, who has California Chrome as a benchmark Thoroughbred, has nothing but admiration for his sons work with Songbird.She has a lot of condition, Raul said. You can see that. Im very excited to watch her run because its going to be a great race.And what if the Rodriguez family sweeps the table with victories in both the Distaff and the Classic?Well, we were too busy to celebrate Edgars birthday the other day, Raul replied. So, well do that next week at Los Alamitos, get a nice table and have dinner. Maybe well have even more to celebrate. Cheap Nike Air Vapormax . -- Jaye Marie Green shot a 4-under 68 on Thursday to increase her lead to five strokes after the second round of the LPGA Tours qualifying tournament. Cheap Nike Air Vapormax China . The veteran safety was a starter for the Bengals from 2008-2012. He totaled 41 tackles and three interceptions while starting all but four of the 13 games he played last season. http://www.cheapairvapormaxsale.com/ . A knee to the thigh might have stung him the most, but his sixth straight double-double made up for the brief burst of pain. Matthew Spiranovic admits Japans suffocating defensive style took the Socceroos by surprise in Tuesday nights 1-1 World Cup qualifier draw in Melbourne.Known for their attacking flair through the likes of midfield superstars Keisuke Honda and Shinji Kagawa, Japan were happy to keep numbers behind the ball to stave off a Socceroos comeback after taking an early lead.The tourists took the lead just five minutes into the game at Etihad Stadium and held it until the 53rd minute when a clumsy penalty gifted Australia an equaliser through captain Mile Jedinak.From there, the Blue Samurai rarely ventured forward with intent, focusing instead on preventing another goal.They scored the goal and were happy just to drop 10 players behind the ball, Spiranovic said.Knowing Japan in the past and the players that they have, I didnt expect it to be that extreme, to be honest.With the players theyve got - the Hondas and Kagawas and these guys in the midfield - I dont think they would like to be just basically retreating behind the ball andd chasing it. White Nike Air Vapormax. .But its normal away from home, they scored the goal and they were happy to do that.The Socceroos lacked aggression in a poor first half and Spiranovic said their slow start allowed Japan to gain the upper hand.I think in the last two games, weve sort of put ourselves on the back foot with the early goals weve conceded and weve had to fight our way back into the game twice, Spiranovic said.It would be nice to start off in a better way and even score the first goal and see what teams want to do then, because I think it would be hard for them to react against us if we do go that goal up.Japans defensive work earned praise from coach Vahid Halilhodzic, who said his side had deserved to win.We let the opponent have the ball because we knew that we would have the chance to score, Halilhodzic said..The opponent couldnt create chances. We were good, organised, with discipline. 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