Longshots triumph in Derby prep races

Front-running Line of David won the $1-million Arkansas Derby by a neck on Saturday at Hot Springs, propelling the 17-1 longshot into Kentucky Derby consideration after his first race on dirt.

Line of David had never before run in a stakes race, and his last two victories were on the turf.

Suddenly, trainer John Sadler has two prospects for the first Saturday in May, along with Sidney’s Candy, who went gate to wire in winning last weekend’s Santa Anita Derby.

It was the biggest victory of veteran jockey Jon Court’s career. Trainer Todd Pletcher’s Super Saver was second on Oaklawn Park’s dirt, with Dublin another neck back in third for four-time Kentucky Derby-winning trainer Wayne Lukas.

Stately Victor stunned the field at the $750,000 Blue Grass Stakes in Lexington, Ky., surging to the front in the stretch then pulling away to beat Paddy O’Prado by 41/4 lengths and secure an unlikely spot in next month’s Kentucky Derby.

The 3-year-old bay colt went off at 40-1 odds, the longest shot in a nine-horse field filled with Derby hopefuls. He didn’t look like an underdog as he recovered from a slow start to win the 11/8-mile race over Polytrack at Keeneland and collect the $450,000 winner’s check.

Paddy O’Prado and jockey Kent Desormeaux appeared to have things under control in the stretch before fading late. First Dude, with Ramon Dominguez up, finished third.

TENNIS

Querrey reaches clay court final

Third-seeded Sam Querrey defeated Wayne Odesnik, 7-6 (4), 1-6, 7-5, in the semifinals of the U.S. Men’s Clay Court Championships at Houston.

Querrey will go for his second title this year in Sunday’s final against Argentina’s Juan Ignacio Chela, who beat sixth-seeded countryman Horacio Zeballos, 7-5, 6-2. Chela will play in his first final since March 2007.

After winning only one game in the first set and trailing 5-3 in the second, Caroline Wozniacki was thinking about the next tournament on the WTA Tour stop in Charleston, S.C.

However, she still has one more match at the MPS Group Championships in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., after rallying past fourth-seeded Elena Vesnina, 1-6, 7-6 (4), 6-4, in the semifinals.

Wozniacki, the top-seeded player and defending champion, will face Olga Govortsova in Sunday’s final. Govortsova defeated third-seeded Dominika Cibulkova, 6-4, 7-5, in the other semifinal.

MIXED MARTIAL ARTS

Edgar upsets Penn for lightweight title

In the UFC’s first show in the Middle East and its first outdoors, heavy underdog Frankie Edgar won a unanimous decision over BJ Penn to claim the lightweight title at UFC 112 in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Anderson Silva also successfully defended his middleweight title with a unanimous decision over fellow Brazilian Demian Maia, and Matt Hughes stopped veteran Renzo Gracie with 20 seconds left in the third round.

The bouts were held in a temporary arena next to a theme park.

COLLEGE HOCKEY

Boston College beats Wisconsin for title

Cam Atkinson scored twice, John Muse made 20 saves and Boston College won the NCAA hockey championship for the second time in three years with a 5-0 victory against Wisconsin at Detroit.

The Eagles scored four times in the third period, with Atkinson and Chris Kreider scoring 2:02 apart early in the period.

A world indoor attendance record was set for hockey with a crowd of 37,592 at the home of the NFL’s Lions.

ETC.

Chelsea is back in FA Cup final

Defending champion Chelsea returned to the FA Cup final with a 3-0 victory over Aston Villa at Wembley, England.

In the final May 15, Chelsea will face the winner of Sunday’s semifinal between Tottenham and Portsmouth.

American Chris Horner of Team RadioShack won the Tour of Basque Country over Spaniard Alejandro Valverde at Orio, Spain, after taking Saturday’s time trial.