Derksen, Lucquin share lead in Mallorca

Golf Betting Lines

10/26/2007 - Mallorca, Spain (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Robert-Jan Derksen and Jean-Francois Lucquin both fired rounds of five-under 65 Friday to move into a share of the lead during the second round of the Mallorca Classic.

Derksen and Lucquin share the top spot on the leaderboard at nine-under-par 131. Peter Lawrie (68) and Mads Vibe-Hastrup (66) are tied for third at minus- six.

Defending champion Niclas Fasth, who led after the first round, managed an even-par 70 in round two.

Fasth was joined in a share of fifth by Thongchai Jaidee, Sam Little, as well as Alastair Forsyth, who is through seven holes of his second round.

The second round was suspended due to darkness. The start of the round was delayed as the first round was completed earlier Friday after storms halted play on Thursday.

The second round is scheduled to resume Saturday at 8:45 a.m. local time with the third round to follow. Players will go off split tees in threesomes for round three.

Derksen played the back nine first and opened with back-to-back birdies from the 10th to move to minus-six. After dropping a shot on the 14th, Derksen birdie the 15th at Pula Golf Club.

The two-time European Tour winner tripped to another bogey at the 16th to slip to minus-five. Derksen parred three straight around the turn before catching fire.

Derksen ran home a birdie effort on the par-three second and came right back with a birdie on No. 3. He parred the next three before consecutive birdies from the seventh got him in at minus-nine.

"If the tour gave out awards for consistency it would be great, but unfortunately it doesn't work like that," said Derksen, who has missed just three cuts in 27 starts this year. "I've been very consistent all season and to top it off with a win would be great."

Lucquin, who owns just three top-10s all year, was steady throughout his round. He carded his first birdie on the second and came back with another birdie at the par-four fifth.

The Frenchman ran off eight straight pars from the par-five sixth. Lucquin moved to minus-seven with a birdie on the 14th.

Lucquin made it two straight as he also converted a birdie at 15. For the second straight round, he birdied the 18th and that gave him a share of the lead.

Carl Suneson fired a six-under 64 to move into a share of ninth at four-under- par 136. He was joined there by Barry Lane, Francesco Molinari and Marcel Siem, all three of whom shot 68 Friday. Also at minus-four are Graeme Storm, who is through nine holes, and Andrew McLardy, who completed five holes of round two.

Sergio Garcia, who hasn't finished outside the top two here in the last three years, is one of eight players tied for 15th at minus-three. Garcia has completed nine holes of his second round.

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Horse Betting

(This is an update of a sportsbook for the May 4th issue of ESPN The Magazine).

The Kentucky Derby's post-position draw happened on Wednesday. And, as is always the case, shortly afterwards, a buzz raced around Churchill Downs. It was a low rumble at first, nothing that the squares in the mint julep crowd pick up right away. But by the time the sun set over the twin spires, the chatter was impossible to ignore. Everyone -- sharps, trainers, owners -- was talking about one thing: the wise guy horse, the pre-draw long shot us mopes didn't have on our radar until it was too late.

"You think you're hearing the scoop," says handicapper Lane Gold. "Then you get to the window, the odds are short, and you missed it."

Recognizing a wise-guy horse early is as hard as picking a Derby bonnet. That's because handicappers don't like hype (see ya, I Want Revenge). They want Thoroughbreds who look good losing prep races like the Santa Anita Derby. They eye horses who ate up the field after starting wide or made an easy transition from synthetic tracks to dirt. They look for ponies who showed muscle gain race to race and those who ran hard after several weeks' rest.

"A wise guy," says John Avello, a bookmaker at Wynn Las Vegas, "looks for a horse who can improve."

When I first wrote Horse Betting for The Mag, which I turned in a three weeks before Wednesday's draw, I predicted these three horses had wise guy potential:

CHOCOLATE CANDY (15-1 in mid-April, currently 20-1 according to Avello): His second-place finish at Santa Anita, following a seven-week layoff, proved two things: He can run after resting, and -- by losing a high-profile prep race -- he wouldn't be overhyped.

DESERT PARTY (15-1; 15-1): He was upset in the UAE Derby by a horse he had beaten twice. The public remembers his loss, but the wise guys his wins.

PIONEEROF THE NILE (8-1; 4-1): The big favorite at Santa Anita struggled to win, so he initially got less hype than Quality Road and I Want Revenge.

You may have noticed that the odds on Pioneerof the Nile have been cut in half, from 8-1 to 4-1. Which means the wise guys took a shine to him long before the post-position draw. But, to be honest, this is one of those years with four elite horses getting everyone's attention, squares and sharps alike.

"You're not gonna get a lot of chatter about a horse that isn't in that group, which includes Pioneer, I Want Revenge, Dunkirk and Friesan Fire," Avello told me Wednesday. "We don't have a group of horses behind those top four who look like real legit contenders."

Come Derby week, the final two elements in picking a wise guy horse are how he's working out and what gate he's coming out of.

(By the way, picking a Preakness favorite is a whole different bale of hay, partially based on how horses finish in the Derby. You can see my analysis of who has the best shot at Pimlico on Insider Sunday morning.)

Well, early in the week I Want Revenge, Pioneerof the Nile and Friesan Fire were working out better than anyone. Some thought Friesan Fire, currently 6-1, might have run too fast, burning a five-furlong run in :57 4/5. "When you are running that fast you have the sense that it took something out of him," says Gold. "The Derby is longer than any horse has run, and if they need that extra surge you worry they won't have it because they burned it in the workout."

But, Gold points out, Friesan Fire's trainer is Larry Jones, Two years ago his horse Hard Spun did a five-eighths workout in :57 3/5 and then went on to finish second, behind Street Sense, in the Derby. "Every trainer has different methods," says Gold. "And clearly he knows what he's doing."

Now, as for starting position, Gold says to remember this: Churchill Downs traditionally has 14 starting gates. For the Derby, it brings out auxiliary gates and between the original 14th gate and the new 15th gate, there is a little more space than there is between gates 1-14. "That 15 position will give you a precious second or two to sort out what's happening to your inside," says Gold. "Sixteen is also okay because you can follow the horse in front of you."

Dunkirk, one of the race favorites, is coming out of gate 15. In 16 is Baffert's Pioneerof the Nile. I Want Revenge drew 13, where Smarty Jones won from in 2004, and Friesan Fire picked the sixth position. "He doesn't have a lot of speed to the inside of him," says Gold. "So he will get a clear shot to be near the front."

All the jibber-jabber means this: Pioneerof the Nile has leapfrogged from 8-1 to being the second favorite, along with Dunkirk, behind I Want Revenge. Meanwhile, Friesan Fire, with a good trainer, a strong week of training and a decent post position, is still at 6-1. "By Saturday, it's possible he could go from fourth to the favorite," says Gold.

In other words, meet Friesan Fire, your 2009 wise guy horse.

"Now," says Avello, "it's time for action."

To visit this horse betting site go to MySportsbook.com for all your horse racing betting needs.