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  October 22, 2018 12:13 PM EEST

  The roster of breeds carrying the colors of the United States in the equestrian competition beginning this weekend at the Summer Olympics includes three Belgian Warmbloods, three Dutch Warmbloods, a Danish Warmblood, a Westphalian, an Irish Sport Horse, a Holsteiner, a Hanoverian stallion ?And a former Thoroughbred racehorse named Blackfoot Mystery. Daniel Norris Jersey .Anyone who took 35-1 on Blackfoot Mystery in a maiden claimer at Hollywood Park on the quiet Friday afternoon of July 13, 2007, probably tore up the ticket after he finished last of six going 1-1/16 miles on the main track. Too bad.Now a proud and robust 12, that same Blackfoot Mystery and rider Boyd Martin are part of the eventing team being fielded by the U.S. this week in Rio de Janeiro. These are the versatile equestrian triathletes, required to compete in jumping, dressage, and cross-country, with medals on the line for both teams and individuals.In the modern era, the list of former Thoroughbred racehorses who have made the U.S. Olympic team is short. The bar was set by For the Moment, the winner of the 1977 Blue Grass Stakes and eighth in the Kentucky Derby, who was part of the 1988 team-jumping silver-medal glory in Seoul, South Korea.For a former racehorse to get even close to such rare air is cause for celebration. Blackfoot Mystery is a poster boy for life after the racetrack, even though his career lasted only three races and he never picked up a check or, for that matter, beat a horse.He was lucky, though, to be trained by Jesus Mendoza, who donated Blackfoot Mystery to Leigh Grays Thoroughbred Rehab Center at the Winners Circle Ranch of Dr. Don Shields in Bradbury, just east of Santa Anita Park.Gray, a veterinary technician, ranch manager, and former racing official, has spent what probably feels like a lifetime in the rehabilitation, retraining, and offtrack placement of racehorses who can no longer make the grade. She was already the go-to resource at Southern California tracks for years before she founded the Thoroughbred Rehab Center in 2003. More recently, the TRC has developed a close working relationship with the California Retirement Management Account, which helps to fund the states qualified aftercare programs.The call Gray received from Mendoza nine years ago had a familiar ring.It was clear that racing was not going to be Blackfoots forte, Gray said. When he called me, he said, Youll love this one, which is pretty much what he says every time he calls. He was attractive but big and gangly. He was really easygoing, the kind of disposition I look for that makes them easier to place. He just needed more time because he was going to be such a big horse.Blackfoot Mystery is a Kentucky-bred son of the Coxs Ridge stallion Out of Place, who suffered an irreparable injury in his Claiborne Farm paddock in 2010 at the age of 23. He is buried at Claibornes Marchmont Cemetery, alongside such champions as Damascus, Ack Ack, Easy Goer, Conquistador Cielo, Unbridled, Numbered Account, Moccasin, and Dearly Precious.Blackfoot Mysterys dam is True Mystery, a daughter of Proud Truth, the 1985 Breeders Cup Classic winner who bequeathed his grandson his chestnut color and considerable size. He was 16-1 or 16-2 when I had him as a youngster, Gray said. And he only got bigger from there.The journey from last place in a maiden claimer to the starting team for the Olympics took Blackfoot Mystery from Gray in Southern California to Shirley Aronson and then Lisa Peecook in Northern California, then eastward to Kelly Prather in Pennsylvania, and finally to Olympian Boyd Martin, who was part of the 2012 U.S. team.Martin and Blackfoot Mystery must handle all three eventing disciplines. But it is the cross-country that has their fans excited.Thoroughbreds are perfectly suited for this sport, Gray said. They have the endurance to go the distance. They have the fortitude, the brain, theyre strong, and they can bring the speed. Dressage is always a difficult phase for eventers, but its the cross-country that is the main, hard test.In Olympics past, the cross-country courses were unforgiving, sometimes downright brutal.Cross-country has changed, Gray said. Its now pretty fast, and they ask different questions. They have narrows and corners, which means the horse has to be very agile, thinking on his feet. Thoroughbreds do that in spades.All the major betting shops encourage play on the Olympics, equestrians included. With 15 countries represented, Coral has the German team heavily favored to win the eventing competition, with Britain and New Zealand next and the United States offered at 12-1.The dressage portion was scheduled for Saturday and Sunday, while Blackfoot Mystery and his teammates will take to the cross-country course on Monday. (DVRs should be set for 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Eastern on the USA network.) The eventers wrap up on Tuesday with the jumping competition, after which Blackfoot Majesty can kick back and enjoy the synchronized swimming.I cant wait, Gray said. I think he is talented enough and has the potential to get a medal, but there are some incredibly tough competitors from Europe wholl be there. Out of 580-something horses that Ive rescued so far in the last 15, 20 years, this is my Olympian - and probably will be my only one. Im going to relish every minute. James McCann Jersey . The (11-11-4) Jets are seventh in the Central Division with 26 points.  Fifth place Dallas and sixth-seeded Nashville also have 26 points, but the Stars have three games in hand on Winnipeg while Nashville has two. Ryan Carpenter Jersey . -- Jakob Silfverberg is making himself right at home with the Anaheim Ducks, scoring four goals in his first four games. http://www.tigersgearshop.com/Tigers-Sparky-Anderson-Kids-Jersey/ ;. The 17-year-old native of Marystown, N.L., pulled out of Skate Canada International last month in Saint John, N.B., with the same problem. Kane Williamson and Tim Southee will both play their 50th Test for New Zealand, against Zimbabwe in Bulawayo. Both men have done their bits, with bat and ball, respectively, to build New Zealand into a competitive Test outfit that has steadily climbed the rankings. Their mini-milestone makes them part of an elite club. Only 18 other New Zealand players have racked up 50 caps, and of those, just three have gone on to double the number. As Kiwis, we are stuck with eight Tests a year, so for them to achieve 50 Tests - its over a long period of time. Tim has grown in stature over the last couple of years and Kane has been Kane for a long period of time. Theyve both put in big performances for us. -- BJ WatlingESPNcricinfo takes a look at three of the biggest moments in the careers of New Zealands Northern Districts team-mates.Dazzling debutsBoth Southee and Williamson made an immediate impact after making their Test debuts.Southee was drafted into the XI for the third Test of the 2008 home series against England on the back of performances at the Under-19 World Cup in Malaysia, after Kyle Mills was injured. By that stage, Southee had already made his debut in the shorter formats. Daniel Vettori believed he was ready and Southee showed exactly that.In his second over, he had Michael Vaughan trapped lbw, and went on to remove Andrew Strauss as Englands top order crashed to 4 for 3. Later, Southee claimed Kevin Pietersen, Stuart Broad and Ryan Sidebottom to finish with 5 for 55, but it was not enough to prevent a New Zealand defeat.Two years later, Williamson, who had been on New Zealands radar from the age of 14, but whose international career began with a couple of ducks in ODIs, was picked for the first Test of the tour of India, in Ahmedabad. After watching India pile on the runs, he saw his own side slip, before pulling them up to level terms through a 194-run stand with Jesse Ryder - New Zealands second-highest fifth-wicket stand in Tests. Both batsmen notched up centuries, with Williamsons back-foot technique particularly standing out. His efforts helped New Zealand draw the match.Subcontinental success Making an impact on the surfaces in the subcontinent is seen as a defining moment in a cricketers career. For Southee, that came in 2012, when Williamson had a second success.Southees swing got the better of India in Bangalore where he accounted for all but three of their batsmen on his way to 7 for 64. Leonys Martin Jersey. Southee dismissed Gautam Gambhir and Cheteshwar Pujara in his opening spell, Suresh Raina later on, before engineering a lower-order collapse in which India lost four wickets for 19 runs. Of note was the way he consistently moved the ball away from the right-handers and used the offcutter. New Zealand took a 12-run first-innings lead, but still lost the match. Southee followed up with a five-for against Sri Lanka in Colombo later that year. In that same Colombo Test, Williamson scored his third Test century and put on a defiant 262-run third-wicket stand with Ross Taylor. Having already lost the first match, New Zealand had slipped to 14 for 2, when Williamson and Taylor came together and showed fight. In a chanceless five hours at the crease, Williamsons work off the back foot was particularly impressive, but his ability against spin too made the century special. New Zealand won the match and squared the series. Williamson has since struck centuries in Chittagong and Sharjah.On the Lords honours board Being recognised at the Home of Cricket is also an important step in a cricketers career. Southees moment came in the first Test of their 2013 tour, when he kept New Zealand in the match after England had taken a slender first-innings lead. At 159 for 2 in the second innings, England were 184 ahead when Southee flattened Joe Roots middle stump and took out Johnny Bairstows entire set, before bouncing out Matt Prior to take three wickets in 16 deliveries. He went on to remove Ian Bell and Graeme Swann to finish with 6 for 50. New Zealand had a gettable 239 to chase, but were bowled out for 68.Williamsons inscription on the board came two years later, in 2015. After England posted 389, New Zealand began a solid reply, but it was Williamson who allowed them to edge ahead with another solid stand with Taylor - of 189 runs - and an assured century, his 10th in Test cricket. Williamson had not batted for more than a month before that innings, but his timing, especially through third man, and his concentration at the crease were the complete opposite of a man who may have been out of touch. 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