A taste of the pinnacle of Australian racing has sparked Blake Spriggs desire to make a return to the elite level sooner rather than later.Three years of hard work for Waratah Thoroughbreds paid off for Spriggs when he won his first Group One race on Sir John Hawkwood in The Metropolitan Handicap at Randwick on October 1.It springboarded him and the horse on an unforgettable journey to the Caulfield and Melbourne Cups in which they finished 10th and 18th respectively.I feel like Im at the top of my game, Spriggs told AAP.Hopefully I can bring it back to Sydney and continue getting winners.Being surrounded by superstar jockeys from around the world in the Melbourne Cup gave the 24-year-old an understanding of the level he needs to reach to cement himself as a top-level rider.And he got to experience the atmosphere and build up of Australias great race.Theres nothing like it, Spriggs said.Theres more people that go to the parade the day before than a Randwick meeting on a Saturday.Spriggs is set to ride Lunar Rise for trainer James Cummings in the November Handicap (1400m) at Rosehill on Saturday.Lunar Rises win at at the same track last Saturday was bittersweet for Spriggs who was on Moral Victory who failed to beat a runner home in the race.He had partnered Lunar Rise in a trial eight days earlier but Tim Clark had already been booked for Rosehill.As disappointing as my horse was on the day, I was happy to see Lunar Rise get up because Id done a bit of work on it and gave them the advice that it was ready to fire, Spriggs said.The back-up wont hurt him. Hes a nice big strong horse.He will also ride the Paul Murray-trained Fine Mist in the 1100m-benchmark handicap.Spriggs, who won two races on Fine Mist early in her career, gets back on for the first time since she ran second over 1000m at Warwick Farm on October 3.She feels like a horse that youve got to really get along with and I seem to be able to do that, Spriggs said.Barrier eight is not too bad because shes a filly thats had a wind operation so she needs to be free flowing the whole way.Spriggs will also ride Hesco Gold in the Highway Handicap. Nike Shox Clearance Sale . -- The Magic have their first victory of the new year. Nike Shox Mens Clearance . The head of USA Boxing came out swinging Tuesday with an open letter to Tyson -- a former Olympic hopeful himself -- that accuses the former heavyweight champion of trying to poach fighters who might be candidates for the U. http://www.shoxoutletshoesstore.com/ . They hope to persuade the other team owners and commissioner Roger Goodell to put pressure on Redskins owner Daniel Snyder to drop the nickname they find offensive. "Given the way the meeting transpired," Ray Halbritter, an Oneida representative and leader of the "Change the Mascot Campaign," said Wednesday, "it became somewhat evident they were defending the continued use of the name. Nike Shox Sale . The 26-year-old Ireland striker, who has four goals this season, has signed a three-and-a-half year contract with his new club. Nike Shox Cheap . Francis told several hundred members of the European Olympic Committees that when sport "is considered only in economic terms and consequently for victory at every cost . NEW YORK -- In a back-and-forth game between the top teams in the NL East, the biggest swing came from Wilmer Flores.Thats been happening a lot lately for the surging New York Mets.Flores hit a go-ahead, three-run homer and New York rallied past the Washington Nationals 9-7 on Thursday night in the opener of a pivotal four-game series.Hes on a roll right now. Hes unbelievable, new teammate Jose Reyes said. He makes it look easy.Reyes, Travis dArnaud and Asdrubal Cabrera also went deep for New York in a slugfest that featured eight home runs -- most in the eight-year history of Citi Field. The second-place Mets improved to 7-1 on their 11-game homestand leading into the All-Star break and shaved Washingtons division lead to three games -- two in the loss column.Washingtons attempt to rally in the ninth inning was thwarted when Jayson Werth was called for an illegal takeout slide at second base, giving the Mets a double play after Cabrera made a diving stop at shortstop of Daniel Murphys sharp grounder.The call was upheld following a replay review, and Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo got into a shouting match with second base umpire Jim Joyce in the hallway between clubhouses just moments after the final out.I know Ive been told four or five different things from different crews about the rules and last time I was told it was going to be a common-sense type thing, Washington manager Dusty Baker said. I dont know how you teach young players now to break up a double play, because theres no such thing as breaking up a double play.The victory provided an emotional pick-me-up for the Mets, who announced sobering news before the game: Struggling right-hander Matt Harvey has symptoms consistent with thoracic outlet syndrome and might require season-ending surgery to treat a serious condition that has jeopardized the careers of other major league pitchers.Murphy homered and drove in three runs, his latest big performance against the Mets since the defending NL champions let him leave as a free agent in the offseason. Bryce Harper, Clint Robinson and Anthony Rendon hit solo shots off 43-year-old Bartolo Colon in the fourth to give the Nationals a 4-1 lead.That put prized prospect Lucas Giolito in good position to earn his first career win, but the 21-year-old right-hander tired quickly and never made it through the fourth inning. He threw 90 pitches over 3 2/3 innings and gave up four runs, seven hits and four walks in his second major league start -- both against the Mets.We fought back, they fought back. Probably a heck of a game to watch, but a terrible game to lose, Baker said.After the ninth-innning double play, All-Star closer Jeurys Familia struck out Harper for his major league-best 31st save.dddddddddddd Familia has converted a club-record 47 consecutive regular-season save opportunities since August, though he did blow a four-run lead this year.With the Mets trailing 6-4 in the fifth, Cabrera and Brandon Nimmo singled. Flores, who had just come off the bench in a double switch to play first base, drove the first pitch he saw from Oliver Perez (2-2) just over the facing of the second deck in left field.Scores of fans jumped out of their seats -- seemingly in unison -- when Flores connected. The fan favorite popped out of the dugout for a curtain call and pumped his left fist to acknowledge a crowd of 37,569 that chanted his name.On a tear at the plate all week, Flores homered twice Wednesday against Miami and went 6 for 6 with two homers Sunday against the Chicago Cubs.Theres just a good flow to our offense and our team right now, Mets second baseman Neil Walker said.Hansel Robles (3-3) retired Rendon with the bases loaded to end the fifth and worked 1 1/3 scoreless innings. Addison Reed struck out two in 1 1/3 hitless innings as New Yorks bullpen came through all night.Washington swept three games from the Mets at home last week to open a six-game lead.Still just trying to put ourselves in a situation where we can make a run for it in the second half, said New York outfielder Curtis Granderson, who reached base five times and scored twice.TIME TO GIVE THANKSReyes gave dArnaud a Rolex watch as a thank you gift for relinquishing uniform No. 7 when the longtime Mets star rejoined the team this week. He loved it, a smiling Reyes said before joking that he went looking to find a knock-off.TRAINERS ROOMNationals: 1B Ryan Zimmerman, who homered Wednesday against Milwaukee, sat out because of general soreness. It was simply a precaution and he is day to day, Baker said. Robinson started at first base.Mets: Cabrera was back at shortstop after getting scratched just before the first pitch Wednesday because a family illness had kept him up all night.UP NEXTWashington RHP Stephen Strasburg (11-0, 2.71 ERA) faces RHP Noah Syndergaard (9-3, 2.41) for the first time Friday night in a marquee matchup of ace pitchers heading to the All-Star Game next week in San Diego. Strasburg was pulled with a no-hitter intact after 6 2/3 innings Sunday against Cincinnati because he had already thrown 109 pitches in his first start since an upper back strain landed him on the DL. China NFL Jerseys Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys NFL Jerseys Cheap Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap Basketball Jerseys Online Stitched Hockey Jerseys Wholesale Baseball Jerseys Football Jerseys Outlet College Jerseys For Sale Cheap MLB Jerseys Wholesale Soccer Jerseys Wholesale Jerseys For Sale Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '