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NEW YORK -- Heavily favored Flintshire lost for the first time this season, with Ectot winning the $500,000 Joe Hirsch Turf Classic by five lengths Saturday at Belmont Park.Ectot, a 9-1 shot, set the pace for the 1+ miles over the rain-softened course in a race with only four runners. Flintshire, the 1-5 choice, rallied under Javier Castellano on the final turn but was no match for the pace-setter.I was surprised because I think he is one of the best horses in the country, Castellano said. It was really soft ground and heavy. I think he didnt like it much.The Hirsch was one of five stakes on the first of two Super Saturdays at Belmont Park featuring Breeders Cup prep races.Ectot paid $20.80 and $4.40. Flintshire was second, ending his string of Grade 1 victories at three. He returned $2.10. There was no show betting.The victory gave Ectot, a 5-year-old trained by Todd Pletcher and ridden by Jose Ortiz, a spot in the $4 million Turf on Nov. 5 at Santa Anita.Ectot joined the Pletcher barn this year after starting his career in Europe. He was winless in two modest starts this season before the Hirsch upset.He went off form in his last few starts in Europe but came to us in great condition, Pletcher said. His races leading up to this were sneaky good and he seemed to be improving.Improving all the way to the Breeders Cup.Todays race was a big step, Pletcher said. We dont anticipate well get a lot of rain in California but, at the same time, hes run well on firm ground.Twilight Eclipse was third, followed by Money Multiplier.In other stakes results: Joking ($10 to win) earned the other guaranteed Breeders Cup spot with a dramatic rally in the mud to take the $350,000 Vosburgh for sprinters.It was the first Grade 1 victory for both owner-trainer Charlton Baker and jockey Manny Franco.He used to be a horse that was always jittery, Baker said. Hes gotten calmer as hes gotten older. The price, when I got him for $20,000, I thought was a bargain.It was the fourth straight win for the 7-year-old gelding, who is now heading to the $1.5 million Breeders Cup Sprint.- Forever Unbridled ($3.50) cruised to a commanding victory under a hand ride by Joel Rosario to take the $400,000 Beldame for fillies and mares.The 4-year-old filly trained by Dallas Stewart got her third win in five stakes starts this season.- Paulassilverlining ($5.60) rallied six wide in the stretch to beat Quezon by three quarters of a length in the $300,000 Gallant Bloom for filly and mare sprinters.It was the fourth win in seven starts this season for the 4-year-old trained by Michelle Nevin.- The $200,000 Pilgrim, the other turf stakes on the card, also went to a frontrunner as Oscar Performance ($5.40) romped to a six-length victory in the race for 2-year-olds.The colt logged his second win in three starts. Dallas Cowboys Shirts . 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But now that hes in the NHL, the Calgary Flames centre showed big improvement in that department by scoring the winner in the eighth round of a 5-4 shootout victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Monday. Maybe, as Haseeb Hameed suggests, there really is an element of fate in his selection for his Test debut?In an ideal world, he may have gained some experience at this level in Bangladesh. And, in an ideal world, he might have graduated through a Lions tour and another season of county cricket before facing the No.1-ranked Test side and the No.1-ranked Test bowler in conditions in which he has limited experience. A year ago, after all, he had never made a first-class century. Gareth Batty, his England team-mate, made his first-class debut in 1997, the year Hameed was born.But, as he looks forward to make his Test debut in Gujarat, the state in which his family have their roots and where, last weekend, his brother, Numan, was married, it is hard to avoid the conclusion he would have it no other way. He will have family here to support him - he had family in Bangladesh to support him when all he was doing was running drinks on to the field - and he will be playing both with and against his heroes. He gleams with joy at the thought.Hameed will become Alastair Cooks tenth opening partner since the retirement of Andrew Strauss at the end of the 2012 English season when he walks out to bat in the first Test of the series against India this week in Rajkot. It is a statistic that reflects, by and large, a catalogue of failure. In the end, the England management have decided they should not reward success in county cricket so much as pick a talent out of it and mould them in the manner they require.We need not look far for examples of such selections bearing fruit. Cook was only 21 when he made his Test debut. Joe Root, too. James Anderson and Steven Finn were both 20. The idea that England are more reluctant than other sides to blood young players is based partially in myth and partially in some suspect birth certificates.Hameed has, therefore, been picked with a long-term view. If all goes well, England hope his career will follow a similar pattern to Cooks. It would be unreasonable to expect so much of him at this stage, but the fact that he will be the youngest man to debut for England as an opening batsman and the fifth-youngest of all time does underline the belief held in him. He hasnt been picked just on potential; he has been picked because they believe he is the best man for the job right now.Perhaps it underlines Englands desperation, too? Its not as if they havent tried almost everyone else. Hameeds county coach, Ashley Giles, had suggested that, in an ideal world, a Lions tour might come before a Test debut. But these are not ideal times. And so taken was Andy Flower - not officially a selector, but a hugely influential figure in English cricket - with Hameed that he has been fast-tracked.How much Trevor Bayliss had seen of him before the tour remains unclear. He had been sent footage during the season, but it is quite possible that the Rajkot Test will represent the first time he has seen him bat in a first-class match.At first glance, it may seem a slightly contradictory selection. Bayliss, has previously spoken of his desire for dynamic players at the top of the order and Hameed is a player in a more old-fashioned mould. It is not accurate to refer to him as a blocker, though. While he is most unlikely to demonstrate the reverse-sweeps we saw from Ben Duckett in Dhaka, Hameed is an unusually elegant player with a wide range of strokes..dddddddddddd He will build his innings, certainly, but he will put away the loose ball too.He has two other key assets. A temperament described as unflappable by Cook and some experience of these conditions gained when his father, Ismail - a huge cricket lover who has clearly played a huge part in his sons development - arranged for him to spend time playing in Mumbai as a 13-year old. There he worked with the coach, Vidya Paradkar, and spent a couple of months playing on the citys maidans and learning to combat spin.He returned ahead of the England Under-19 visit to Sri Lanka, spending a month developing his game, learning to use the crease and adding options to his game to ensure he wouldnt be tied down by spin bowling. It may take him a while to adjust - this is a huge jump in quality - but he should be able to rotate the strike better than many.One of the qualities you can say has been instilled in me is to not get too high or too low, Hameed says now. Cricket is a very up-and-down game. You can be on top of the world one minute and come down quite quickly, so its important to stay level-headed and take things in the short term, day by day, ball by ball, as it comes.I have been to India a couple of times on my own. I have trained a bit in Mumbai, where I was fortunate that a coach, Vidya Paradkar, helped me get used to conditions.Spin plays a massive role here, but its not just spin, there is more reverse swing than back home in England, I guess the more time you spend out here playing and batting and get used to it, you learn things about yourself and what the ball will do. I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to come out here before and its helped me get used to it.He recalls watching the 2012 series on TV and marvelling at Cooks prolific form - he recorded centuries in the first three Tests of the series - and Kevin Pietersens remarkable innings in Mumbai. But Sachin Tendulkar, who posed for a photo with a seven-year-old Hameed in Mumbai, and Virat Kohli, whom he has never met, were every bit as much his heroes.That is one of the amazing things, he says, but I try not to think about it too much and take it in my stride. There are guys on both sides I can watch and learn from. I have to do a job as well, but its important to pick up things as Im young and starting my Test career. It would be amazing to speak to a guy like Virat.I guess a lot of things are meant to be. The fact that it is against India in the home state of my parents - they are from a small village near Bharuch and my dads village is called Umraj - the way it has fallen in to place is amazing. My brother has just had his wedding in Gujarat. I see it as fate.There is another lesson from that 2012 series that may be relevant.I remember England were underdogs and India were favourites, but England pulled off a remarkable victory, Hameed says. We can take confidence: likewise, we are underdogs here and coming to India is the biggest challenge in cricket.But weve prepared well and its time to crack on now. I see it as an exciting challenge. Its nothing to be afraid of. Im 19, coming up against the best bowler in the world and the best team in the world. It will be a great experience and Im sure at the end of the tour Ill be a better player. ' ' '