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SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. -- Mike Smith has ridden some of the best female horses of all time -- four, in fact, who are in the Hall of Fame, including Zenyatta, whose induction takes place in less than three weeks.Smith, a Hall of Famer himself and still going strong at age 50, has found another fabulous filly in Songbird, who is undefeated in eight career starts. She will put that streak on the line Sunday in the Grade 1, $500,000 Coaching Club American Oaks at Saratoga, where she will meet four rivals, including Grade 1 winners Carina Mia and Weep No More.Songbird has won her eight starts by a combined 42 1/2 lengths. Shes done it with breathtaking ease, eliciting comparisons to some of the best Smith has ridden. That list includes champions and Hall of Famers Azeri, an 11-time Grade 1 winner; Inside Information, a six-time Grade 1 winner; Sky Beauty, a nine-time Grade 1 winner; and Zenyatta, a 13-time Grade 1 winner.The comparisons, however, are coming from other Hall of Fame riders. Smith said hes heard from retired jockeys Pat Day, Chris McCarron, Jerry Bailey, and Jacinto Vasquez -- the regular rider of the brilliant Ruffian -- to talk Songbird.I had the best of the best riders call me after shes run, a lot of them retired, saying she might be the best filly theyve ever seen, Smith said in a recent interview. I had Pat Day call me out of the blue one day and say, Is she really that good? Chris McCarron has come out and said, She might be better than any of them youve ridden.Since Songbird is just midway through her 3-year-old season, its understandable that Smith stops short of putting her in the elite category. For now.She still has a lot to prove to get to not just one of them but several of them, Smith said. Ive been that blessed to have ridden that many good fillies. Ive ridden some fillies that in their time, they were just unbeatable as far as fillies are concerned. I mean, no one was going to beat Sky Beauty in her time. No one was going to beat Inside Information in her time. No one was going to beat Jersey Girl when she was good - people forget about her. No one was going to beat Azeri, and no one was definitely going to beat Zenyatta. They were just all that good in their time.Smith himself brought up how difficult a decision it would be if, in their prime, that group met in a race.Just because Ive been on them doesnt mean Im going to pick the right one, Smith said. You get a little sentimental about this or that, and the next thing you know, youve taken off the wrong horse. I mean, how many times have we done that? Over and over again.Smith doesnt have a difficult time discussing what makes Songbird so good.Shes extremely intelligent -- shes really, really a smart filly, Smith said. Man, you show her one time, and shes got it, and she just gets better at it, and thats been from Day 1. Every work was better, every race was better, the way she handled it, and shes just extremely talented. So well balanced, her mechanics, theres no wasted action. What she does thats the norm for her is very difficult, it seems like, for other fillies, which is mechanics, which is the way she does things. She just gets over the ground so effortless.Songbird, a daughter of Medaglia dOro trained by Jerry Hollendorfer for Rick Porters Fox Hill Farm, won her first seven races on the lead. In her most recent start, the Grade 2 Summertime Oaks at Santa Anita on June 18, she stalked the filly Bellamentary, ridden by Martin Garcia, for a few furlongs before taking control.Last time, they thought, Well, were going to get in front of her; well show her, Smith said. That was the best thing that ever happened. I was telling Martin, Go ahead, I dont want to be here. I wanted to be farther back.Smith said he wouldnt mind seeing Songbird rate again Sunday, but its hard to imagine any of her four rivals being able to outrun her early.Id love for someone to get in front of her, Smith said. Theyre just going to have to run a little quicker than 45 [seconds] to do it.Songbird arrived at Saratoga on Wednesday night following a flight from Southern California that made stops in Denver and Lexington, Ky. The flight was delayed from Ontario Airport near Los Angeles because another horse acted up and needed to be unloaded. Songbird arrived at Saratoga just before 8 p.m. Eastern.On Thursday, Songbird was on the track at 5:40 a.m. for a 1-1/8-mile jog.Shes feeling good, said Christina Jelm, who was overseeing Songbird here before Hollendorfer arrived Thursday afternoon. Usually when we ship, well jog the next day, but you want to make sure they eat their food and their temperatures good, so its just better to say, Lets make our final decision in the morning. Everything went perfect. She ate up, she was happy, with her head out [of the stall] in the morning, so Jerry said, Go to the track.Smith, who was the leading rider at Saratoga from 1991-93, said hes looking forward to Songbird performing before an East Coast crowd.I cant wait, he said. Just to show her to different people. I think racing certainly deserves it; true fans certainly deserve it. Its cool.Cheap Wholesale Nike SB Shoes . Emery skated the length of the ice and fought an unwilling Holtby during the third period of the Flyers 7-0 loss Friday night in Philadelphia. He was given 29 penalty minutes, including a game misconduct. But Emery did not face even a disciplinary hearing with NHL senior vice president of player safety Brendan Shanahan because rules 46. Wholesalle Nike Sb China . Clarkson had been dealing with an elbow injury in early January and will be out of action for at least one week. He has three goals and five assists through 36 games with the Leafs this season. http://www.wholesalenikesb.com/ . "Theyve both been real good," said Babcock. "Havent changed our minds." A decision has seemingly been made - Sundays Group B-deciding tilt against Finland ahead - but it could not have been an easy one. Price opened the tournament with a sturdy 19-save performance against the Norwegians, yielding just one goal. Cheap Nike Sb Wholesale . He said Tuesday thats a big reason why he is now the new coach of the Tennessee Titans. Whisenhunt said he hit it off quickly with Ruston Webster when interviewing for the job Friday night. Wholesale Nike SB . There was no hesitation from the 40th-ranked Pospisil, from Vernon, B.C., who admitted that he cut back on his training sessions over the last few days to conserve energy as the long ATP season finishes next week at the Paris Masters.RALEIGH, N.C. -- Carolinas kids have the Hurricanes rolling, and now they get to take the show on the road.Victor Rask got his eighth goal of the season and Noah Hanifin scored his first, helping the Hurricanes beat the Winnipeg Jets 3-1 on Sunday night for their fourth straight win.The 23-year-old Rask was the oldest of Carolinas goal scorers in this one, backed by the 19-year-old Hanifin and 21-year-old Elias Lindholm.All but one of the Hurricanes 12 goals during this winning streak have been scored by players 24 or younger. The stretch has helped Carolina find its footing after a 3-6-4 start to the season.Its a great bunch of guys, said goalie Cam Ward, who is the fourth-oldest player for Carolina at 32. Its a fun group. Its an exciting group. There is a lot of potential in this locker room. Its great to see us putting it together. Guys want to score goals.Carolina finished this homestand 4-1-0 and now starts a three-game swing through Canada.Lindholm also got his first goal this season in the first period, and the Hurricanes kept up the pressure from there, challenging goalie Connor Hellebuyck with 40 shots.We got the first one early, Lindholm said. Hopefully for me, it will build some more confidence. I turned down some opportunities in the last two games and didnt believe in myself and my shot. Hopefully now I can get some more and take some more.Carolinas young legs took advantage of the Jets in the third period after Winnipeg played the night before, a 4-1 loss in Boston. It was the third game -- all losses -- of a five-game trip.Its going to be big to get a couple of days between games, captain Blake Wheeler said. Its been a pretty big grind, one like Ive never experienced before. Were a tired hockey team, theres no question about that. But weve got a group that can fight througgh it.dddddddddddd We just need to get our rest.Winnipegs next game is on Wednesday.Rask made it 2-0 on a power play early in the third, and after Mark Scheifele got his 11th goal for the Jets, Hanifin put it away with a power-play score with 1:43 left.Lindholm got on the board 6:45 in. He swept in from the left side along the goal line and ripped a shot past Hellebuyck on the short side. The goalie was screened by defenseman Dustin Byfuglien and couldnt find the puck.Rask stretched the lead by taking slick pass from Lee Stempniak in close and lifting it past Hellebuyck.Scheifele took over the NHL points lead (23) when he narrowed the deficit to 2-1. The 23-year-old one-timed a pass from Nikolaj Ehlers after Ehlers chased down a loose puck in the corner.Hanifin restored the two-goal lead with a hammered one-timer from the right point.The teams also played to open the season, when Winnipeg rallied from two goals down to win 4-3 in overtime.Ward stalled the effort for a similar rally Sunday with 28 saves. He helped kill off a hooking penalty on Viktor Stalberg with about six minutes left by stopping three shots.Carolina was perfect on the penalty kill for the ninth straight game. It killed three penalties Sunday and leads the NHL with a 91.3 percent success rate, including 19 straight. The Hurricanes have allowed only four power-play goals, killing off 42 of 46 tries.Game notesCarolina D Ron Hainsey picked up an assist in his second straight game. ... Scheifele has a point in 14 of Winnipegs 21 games. ... Rask recorded his second straight game-winning goal.UP NEXT:Jets: Continue trip at Minnesota on Wednesday night.Hurricanes: Play at Toronto on Tuesday night. ' ' '