Semoran Upsets Distorted Humor in Kentucky Cup

Semoran, trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by Kent Desormeaux, was the upset winner of the $500,000 Kentucky Cup Classic on Saturday at Turfway Park in Florence, Ky.

Semoran covered the 1 1/8 miles in 1:48, finishing a length ahead of Distorted Humor. Coup d’ Argent, the 8-5 favorite, was third, another half-length back.

The Kentucky Cup Day of Champions program, with purses totaling more than $1.1 million, included three other graded stakes plus a $100,000 race that was supposed to be Vivid Angel’s steppingstone to the Breeders’ Cup.

But Nurse Goodbody, trained by Joe Petalino and ridden by Eddie Martin Jr., was the upset winner of the Kentucky Cup Juvenile Fillies as Vivid Angel, trained by Baffert, finished fourth.

Laydown, trained by Nick Zito and ridden by Mike Smith, won the 1 1/16-mile Grade III Kentucky Cup Juvenile. Partner’s Hero, trained by Wayne Lukas and ridden by Pat Day, won the six-furlong Grade II Kentucky Cup Sprint.

Golf

Greg Norman eagled the ninth hole by holing a 130-yard shot and tied fellow Australian Peter O’Malley for the third-round lead in the Lancome Trophy at Saint-Nom-la-Breteche, France.

Norman and O’Malley both shot three-under-par 68s for 54-hole totals of 201, 12 under.

Mark O’Meara, the only member of the U.S. Ryder Cup team playing in this tournament, was one stroke back after a 66.

Bill Glasson shot a 67 for a 13-under total, one stroke ahead of John Adams in the CVS Charity Classic at Sutton, Mass.

Adams shot a 67 to head into the final round at 12 under. Brian Henninger shot a 63 and was two strokes back, tied with Chris Smith, Loren Roberts and Craig Parry.

Hale Irwin birdied five of the final six holes for a seven-under 65 and a share of the second-round lead with David Graham at nine-under 135 in the Boone Valley Classic at Augusta, Mo.

Gil Morgan (67), John Bland (68) and Dale Douglass (69) were two back at 137, and Dave Eichelberger (70) followed at 138.

Patty Sheehan, seeking her fourth Safeco Classic title, shot a seven-under 65 to take a two-stroke lead over Sweden’s Annika Sorenstam after the third round of the LPGA event at Kent, Wash.

Track and Field

Wilson Kipketer a 24-year-old Kenyan competing for Denmark, clinched the 1997 overall Grand Prix title by winning the 800-meter run at the Fukuoka (Japan) Grand Prix, the last meet on the circuit.

Kipketer, who set the world record of 1:41.11 last month, was timed in 1:42.98.

He earned $200,000 for the overall title and $50,000 for the 800 event title.

German discus-thrower Lars Riedel finished second with 99 points, and American hurdler Mark Crear was third at 95.

The women’s overall title and the $250,000 went to German shotputter Astrid Kumbernuss.

In the 110-meter hurdles, Crear won in 13.03 and Frank Fredericks of Namibia won the 200 in 19.81 seconds.

Marion Jones of Thousand Oaks, the 100-meter world champion, won the 200 in 21.84 seconds, .08 ahead of Merlene Ottey of Jamaica.

Sprinter Mike Marsh, a two-time Olympic gold medalist, says he expects to sit out next season while recuperating from foot surgery.

Tennis

Carlos Moya of Spain defeated Greg Rusedski of England, 6-2, 6-2, in the semifinals of the Samsung clay-court tournament at Bournemouth, England. Moya will play Felix Mantilla of Spain, who defeated Marcos Ondruska of South Africa, 6-7 (2-7), 6-1, 6-1, in today’s final.

Marc Rosset of Switzerland upset top-seeded Yevgeny Kafelnikov of Russia, 3-6, 7-6 (7-5), 6-2, to advance to the final of the President’s Cup at Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Rosset will face Tim Henman of Britain, who defeated Francisco Clavet of Spain, 6-3, 7-5.

Miscellany

Kristen Bower, 17, daughter of Southern Mississippi football Coach Jeff Bower, was killed early Saturday morning in a one-car accident at Petal, Miss.

Ben Iroha scored on a 10-yard header in the 29th minute as D.C. United beat the Tampa Bay Mutiny, 2-1, before 14,062 at Tampa, Fla., in Major League Soccer.

The United States defeated the Dominican Republic, 15-6, 15-6, 15-4, to advance to the second round of the North and Central American and Caribbean Volleyball Championships at Caguas, Puerto Rico.

The U.S. faces Cuba for the right to advance to the World Cup.

NBA forward Tom Hammonds and former player Larry Nance qualified in the pro stock division of the NHRA Pioneer Electronics Keystone Nationals at Mohnton, Pa.

Hammonds had a quarter-mile run of 7.009 seconds at 197.10 mph. Nance finished in 7.010 seconds at 196.46 mph.

Jim Yates topped the pro stock qualifiers with a track-record run of 6.946 seconds at 197.67 mph. Scott Kalitta stayed No. 1 in top fuel with his pass of 4.645 seconds at 313.80 mph from Friday. Chuck Etchells also stayed atop funny car with his Friday pass of 4.982 seconds at 309.91 mph.

Canada’s Eryn Bulmer won the women’s three-meter springboard competition in the World Diving Championships at Mexico City.

Fresno State freshman point guard Rafer Alston was suspended after a fight with a former girlfriend.

The U.S. Olympic Committee named figure skating’s Frank Carroll its coach of the year.