Sports Horse Racing

Mystery Classic, who had been sidelined with a non-displaced condylar fracture to his right hind leg. Returned to training on Aug. 25, said his trainer, Bob Schultz. The horse is based at Retama.

“He just got back,” said Schultz. “He probably won’t be ready until Houston. We ought to be able to start putting works in him the first part of October.”

Mystery Classic was the Texas-bred horse of the year in 2007.

F-T Texas colt gets $120,000

A colt by Even the Score topped the Fasig-Tipton Texas yearling sale held at Lone Star Park on Monday and Tuesday. Lee Young purchased the horse for $120,000 from Elysian Bloodstock, agent. The Louisiana-bred horse is out of the mare Whata Rock, a multiple stakes winner of $205,502. His connections said plans are for him to launch his career at 3.

* A half-brother to Liberty Bull, winner of this year’s $600,000 WinStar Derby, topped a summer yearling sale in Oklahoma City on Saturday when he brought a bid of $50,000. He is by Slew City Slew.

Jockey Clinton Potts celebrated his 37th birthday Wednesday. By riding Ten Churros to a 2 1/2 -length victory over Tammys Luck in the $108,200 Generous Portion Stakes at Del Mar.

Ten Churros, who carried 116 pounds, covered six furlongs in 1:11.61 and paid $9.80, $5.40 and $3.80. The win in the race for California-bred 2-year-old fillies was the second in four lifetime starts for Ten Churros and was worth $64,920.

They put the blinkers on her today to get her to relax, Potts said. You can do that with them sometimes and that was the plan today and it worked. She was very responsive and when it was time off that fast pace, she came running. It worked out great.

Tammys Luck returned $9.40 and $4.80. Trash Master, a 17-1 long shot, finished third and paid $5.20 to show. Streamin Heat, the 17-10 favorite, was last in a field of seven.

The stakes win was the first of the Del Mar meeting for trainer Bob Baffert and his 79th overall at the trackmost of any trainer.

Well, I got my stakes win for the meet, he said. Now I can go home. Shes been working well and training, and I decided to put Clinton (Potts) back on her. I told him if were going to rate her, maybe this is the day. When he came off the turn, I was feeling pretty good.

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Cagey Girl wins Mollie Wilmot.

Cagey Girl beat Nedjma by 1 lengths Wednesday at Saratogna in the $83,250 Mollie Wilmot Stakes for New York-bred fillies and mares.

The 4-year-old Cagey Girl, ridden by Mike Luzzi, ran a mile on the turf course in 1:36.01, and paid $47, $23.20 and $12.20. The David Duggan-trained Cagey Girl earned $49,950 for North Shore Racing.

Nedjma returned $12.20 and $8.20, and Love Cove paid $7.10 to show.

The depth of Joseph LaCombe racing stable will be evident in the $250,000 Del Mar Futurity next Wednesday.

LaCombe owns Azul Leon, who was promoted from second to first via disqualification in the Best Pal Stakes on Aug. 10, and Escalon, an exciting maiden race winner on Aug. 1. As of Wednesday, Escalon was expected to start in the Del Mar Futurity, while Azul Leon may be held out of that race in favor of Norfolk Stakes over 1 1/16 miles at Santa Anita on Sept. 28, according to LaCombe’s son, Joe.

Doug O’Neill trains both colts. Escalon beat maidens by two lengths in a six-furlong race on Aug. 1, drawing off in the final furlong. For Joe LaCombe, the style of the win justifies a start in the Del Mar Futurity.

“He ran great the first time out,” LaCombe said. “He came from off the pace and ran really well. Anytime you see a first-time starter run like that you have to be excited.”

Azul Leon is unbeaten in three starts. He finished a nose behind Futurity hopeful Kelly Leak in the Best Pal Stakes, and was promoted to first after Kelly Leak was ruled to have caused interference. The Best Pal Stakes was Azul Leon’s second stakes win, preceded by the Grade 3 Hollywood Juvenile Championship over six furlongs at Hollywood Park on July 5. After that race, LaCombe and O’Neill said that Azul Leon may have only one one start at Del Mar. They may stick to that plan.

“If he doesn’t run in the Futurity, he’ll go for the Norfolk,” LaCombe said. “He’s doing so well.”

LaCombe, a frequent visitor to trainer Doug O’Neill’s stable this summer on behalf of his father, pegged Azul Leon’s chances of starting in the Del Mar Futurity as “50-50.”

Escalon worked five furlongs in 1:02.60 on Wednesday. Another O’Neill-trained hopeful, S.S. Stone, worked five furlongs in 1:01.20. Owned by Robert LaPenta, S.S. Stone finished eighth in the Best Pal Stakes in his stakes debut.

The Del Mar Futurity has 11 probable starters, including Arashi Cat, Believe in Hope, Blazing Spirit, Coronet of a Baron, Kelly Leak, Midshipman, Southern Exchange, and Wild Wild Posse.

Monday’s $250,000 Del Mar Debutante for 2-year-old fillies over seven furlongs has 10 probable starters, led by Evita Argentina, the winner of the Grade 3 Sorrento Stakes on Aug. 6, and Empressive lady, a flashy maiden race winner here on July 27.

The other hopefuls are Emmy Darling, Montana Fields, Palacio de Amor, Saucey Evening, Stardom Bound, Trifecta King, and Turtle Creek Babe.

Mast Track’s next uncertain

Mast Track, third in the Pacific Classic last Sunday, is bound for the Breeders’ Cup Classic at Santa Anita on Oct. 25, owner-trainer Bobby Frankel said. Frankel said it was unclear whether Mast Track would have another start before the BC Classic, in a race such as the $500,000 Goodwood Stakes at Santa Anita on Sept. 27.

In the Pacific Classic, Mast Track finished 2o1/2 lengths behind race winner Go Between after racing in fourth for much of the 1 1/4-mile race. The Pacific Classic was Mast Track’s first start since winning the Hollywood Gold Cup on June 28.

“I thought he ran good,” Frankel said. “He was a little wide. He was competitive.”

Frankel said “I haven’t made up mind yet” on whether Mast Track would start in the Goodwood.

Zappa, who finished a troubled fourth in the Pacific Classic, has the $500,000 Breeders’ Cup Dirt Marathon over 1 1/2 miles on the main track on Oct. 25 as a long-term goal, trainer John Sadler said.

In the Pacific Classic, Zappa finished 3 1/4 lengths behind Go Between, but was in traffic on the turn and in early stretch. Sadler said the Goodwood or the $125,000 Ralph Hinds Pomona Invitational at Fairplex Park on Sept. 21 are possible preps for Zappa.

Awesome Gem, a disappointing seventh as the 4-1 second choice in the Pacific Classic, could return in the Goodwood, although trainer Craig Dollase said no plans have been finalized.

Chocolate Candy deserves to be favorite

Following sixth-place finishes in his first two starts, Chocolate Candy will be favored to win a one-mile maiden race for 2-year-olds on Friday.

“If he doesn’t win that race, I’ll be disappointed,” said Dan Ward, assistant to trainer Jerry Hollendorfer. “We’ve been waiting for distance.”

Chocolate Candy was beaten 2 3/4 lengths in a six-furlong maiden race on July 26. By Candy Ride, Chocolate Candy could run in the Norfolk Stakes if he wins on Friday.

Chocolate Candy is owned by the Craig Family Trust, and was bred by Sid and Jenny Craig. Sid Craig died earlier this summer after a lengthy illness.

Yankee Bravo passing on Del Mar Derby

Yankee Bravo, unraced since finishing 10th in the Preakness Stakes on May 17, was not entered for Sunday’s $350,000 Del Mar Derby after trainer Paddy Gallagher decided the colt was not ready.

Yankee Bravo worked five furlongs in 59.20 seconds on Tuesday, but jockey Alex Solis told Gallagher he was not pleased with the way the colt finished. “Alex thought galloping out he was getting a little tired,” Gallagher said.

“I missed a bit of time with him. He had a little thing with his feet.”

Gallagher said that Yankee Bravo will be pointed for the $150,000 Oak Tree Derby over 1o1/8 miles on turf Oct. 25.

The Del Mar Derby, run over 1 1/8 miles on turf, has drawn a field of nine, including Sky Cape, the winner of the La Jolla Handicap on Aug. 9, and Tiz West, the winner of the Cinema Handicap at Hollywood Park in June who finished 10th in the La Jolla.

Owners host U.S. Marines

Pablo Suarez, who co-owned Thor’s Echo, the 2006 Eclipse Award-winning sprinter, is among a group of Del Mar horse owners, including Bob Bone and Scott Guenther, who will be hosting a group of United States Marines at the track on Monday.

Suarez said about 150 Marines will attend. He is seeking additional owners to make donations to give to the Marines as they leave the track. “Not gambling money,” he said in an email, but a cash gift. He is hoping to raise $30,000, or $200 per Marine.

According to Suarez, donations can be left with Bridget Crawford, the paymaster of purses at Del Mar. Suarez said he can be reached at 661-904-8185.

o Jockey Aaron Gryder took off his mounts Wednesday through Friday because of a mild concussion suffered when he was unseated from a horse during training hours, according to his agent, Craig O’Bryan.

Gryder is expected to ride on Saturday, O’Bryan said. Through Monday, Gryder has won 9 races from 91 mounts at this meeting, and was ranked 14th in the standings.

Sugar Bay and Verdana Bold, who were separated by a nose as the one-two finishers in the seven-furlong Duchess Aug 9. Will meet again on different terms at Woodbine on Saturday.

The surface this time is turf and the distance is one mile for the Ontario Colleen, a $150,000 stakes for 3-year-old fillies that attracted a field of 13.

Sugar Bay, an Ontario-bred homebred who races for George Strawbridge Jr. and is trained by Mac Benson, is coming off back-to-back wins at seven furlongs, with the first coming in a first-level allowance here July 18.

Benson considered working Sugar Bay, who will be making her turf debut, on the training track turf course for the first time before the Ontario Colleen, but decided to give his filly her final tune-up on the main track here Tuesday.

“She’s by a good turf horse,” said Benson. “She’s been on the grass all her life, grazing and running. If a horse is going to like the turf, he’s going to like it.”

Chantal Sutherland, who has been aboard Sugar Bay for her recent wins, was committed to Northern Kraze, winner of the recent Wonder Where and one of the favorites for the Ontario Colleen.

Jono Jones, who was aboard for Sugar Swirl’s recent 1:01.80 breeze, picks up the mount.

Verdana Bold is hot horse

Verdana Bold, a Kentucky-bred owned by Edward Seltzer, won the six-furlong Star Shoot and the 1 1/16-mile Selene in her first two appearances here for trainer Danny Vella and just missed adding a third stakes score in the Duchess.

“The race went perfect,” said Vella. “The winner had a garden trip, but we didn’t have a bad trip either.”

Although she won her debut for trainer Rodney Jenkins at 5 1/2 furlongs on turf at Laurel last December, Verdana Bold disappointed when trying the local course for the first time in the 6 1/2-furlong Alywow two starts back.

“That race just didn’t go right for her,” said Vella. “We know she can handle the turf. And the one-turn mile should suit her perfectly.”

Tyler Pizarro, still looking for his first stakes score, retains the mount on Verdana Bold in the Ontario Colleen.

Whitepark Bay belongs, Vella says

Whitepark Bay, who joined the Vella barn here late last month, also will run in the Colleen.

A Kentucky-bred, Whitepark Bay won her debut at Pimlico in April and followed with a close second in an optional $50,000 claiming/first-level allowance. Both races were at one mile on grass.

After finishing in a dead heat for fifth in a first-level allowance at 1o1/16 miles on turf at Delaware, Whitepark Bay cut back to 6 1/2 furlongs for her debut over the local course and finished four lengths behind the winner in 10th place.

“She really shipped in too close to that last race - she was supposed to be here earlier,” said Vella. “I ended up putting her in there, but I shouldn’t have.

“She’s quite a nice filly. I believe she belongs with these.”

Robert Landry picks up the mount on Whitepark Bay.

Cappal Mor making stakes debut

Vella also has a candidate for Sunday’s one-mile turf feature - Cappal Mor, who is slated to make his stakes debut in the $125,000 Vice Regent for Ontario-sired 3-year-olds.

Cappal Mor will be seeking his third straight victory. He dead-heated for the win at 6 1/2 furlongs on the main track here June 14, then scored in his turf debut in a first-level allowance at seven furlongs five weeks later. Both races were in Ontario-sired company.

“He’s out of a Riverman mare, and we thought he’d move up on turf,” said Vella. “He’s a very solid horse.

“Really, in his last race, he was much the best. We freshened him with this race in mind.”

Ice Bear in Woodbine Mile?

Benson is uncertain of his next move with Ice Bear, a 4-year-old gelding who is coming off a game win in the With Approval at 1o1/8 miles on turf.

“I’m trying to find something for him,” said Benson. “There’s one race in the book he’s eligible for. But it’s not on the grass, and I don’t think it will go.”

Benson has the option of running Ice Bear in the Woodbine Mile, as he anted up $1,000 to nominate the gelding to that Grade 1, $1 million race here a week from Sunday.

“I figured it would be better to spend $1,000, to be nominated, than to find out the race was coming up easier than expected and put up $20,000 to supplement him,” said Benson.

Lady Shakespeare one to watch

Youth and old were paired here Wednesday morning as 2-year-old filly Lady Shakespeare and 9-year-old horse Pellegrino worked five furlongs in company over the turf training course.

Both were clocked for five furlongs in 1:00.20, but Lady Shakespeare continued on to gallop out six furlongs in 1:14.10 compared to Pellegrino’s 1:15.

Lady Shakespeare, a full sister to last year’s Woodbine Mile winner Shakespeare, won her debut at six furlongs on turf and is pointing for the Grade 3, $250,000 Natalma, a one-mile turf race for 2-year-old fillies here Sept. 14.

“She just worked unbelievably well,” said Roger Attfield, who trains Lady Shakespeare for owner and breeder Charles Fipke. “I think she’s probably going to be a very, very nice filly.”

Lady Shakespeare was entered in Sunday’s Ice Water, a one-mile overnight turf stakes that came just days after her debut, but she was scratched.

“I shouldn’t even have put her in there,” said Attfield. “It was too soon back for a filly like her. It would have been bad management.”

Society’s Chairman readies for Halton

Society’s Chairman breezed five furlongs in a bullet 59.40 seconds on the training track turf course in preparation for Monday’s Halton, a one-mile turf race that will be one of six $125,000 yearling sales stakes on the Labor Day program.

“He looked good,” said Attfield, who trains Society’s Chairman. Jones rode Society’s Chairman for the drill.

A 5-year-old horse who finished a close second in the Grade 3 Connaught Cup at 1o1/16 miles on turf here this spring, Society’s Chairman, looks to rebound from a dismal outing at a mile and 70 yards on the Polytrack on Aug. 9.

Emma Ain’t Bluffin preps

Emma Ain’t Bluffin, 4 for 4 in 2008, breezed five furlongs on the main track in 1:01.20 under regular rider Jim McAleney in preparation for Monday’s Algoma, the 1 1/16-mile yearling sales stakes for fillies and mares.

“She was excellent,” said trainer Steve Owens. “Everything’s on schedule.”

Emma Ain’t Bluffin, a 5-year-old homebred who races for Empress Stable, began her streak at the $12,500 maiden claiming level and won most recently in an optional $62,500 claiming/second-level allowance race. All of her wins are at 1 1/16 miles.

Storm Mesa, who this summer won graded stakes on turf and dirt. Will remain on turf for the immediate future. Her trainer, Bret Calhoun, said he would like to see her make her next start in the Grade 1, $500,000 Queen Elizabeth II Challenge Cup, a 1 1/8-mile turf race for 3-year-old fillies at Keeneland on Oct. 11.

“It’s an invitational race, so we’ve got to get invited,” Calhoun said. “But that’s our plan.”

Storm Mesa won five straight races between March and July, including three stakes. Her first one was the $100,000 Cinemine at Lone Star Park for which she earned a Beyer Speed Figure of 108. Storm Mesa also won the Grade 3 Iowa Oaks at Prairie Meadows and the Grade 2 San Clemente at Del Mar. Her streak ended Aug. 16, when she finished fifth, beaten four lengths, in the Grade 1 Del Mar Oaks.

“I think she had too many hard, fast races,” said Calhoun. “I think she was just empty, just tired. She’d come back in three weeks that day, and she’d been coming back in four and been running fast numbers on all the sheets, and I think it just finally caught up with her.”

Storm Mesa is based in Kentucky.

Benny the Bull racing career is over.

The top sprinter in the country, Benny the Bull was found to have a chip in his right front ankle Wednesday morning, two days after he worked six furlongs in 1:14.29 at Aqueduct in preparation for Saturday’s Grade 1 Forego at Saratoga. X-rays taken Wednesday morning at trainer Richard Dutrow Jr.’s Aqueduct barn revealed the chip.

Benny the Bull would have to undergo surgery to remove the chip, and thus he would miss the remainder of the year, including the Breeders’ Cup Sprint. Since his connections were going to retire him at the end of the year anyway, the decision was made to retire him now.

“He’s given us so much,” said Michael Iavarone, co-president of the International Equine Acquisitions Holdings Stable, which owns majority interest in the colt. “He’s a horse that hasn’t missed a beat the last 15 or 16 months. It’s time to retire him.”

Iavarone said stallion plans are pending for Benny the Bull, a 5-year-old Florida-bred son of Lucky Lionel who won 9 of 17 starts and earned $2,221,630. International Equine purchased Benny the Bull from owner Greg James last summer. In eight starts for IEAH and Dutrow, Benny the Bull won five stakes, including the Grade 1 De Francis at Laurel Park last year, the Sunshine Millions Sprint, Grade 1 Dubai Golden Shaheen, Grade 2 True North, and Grade 2 Smile Sprint Handicap this year.

“I think what got us all excited was the Sunshine Millions race when he freaked,” Dutrow said Tuesday, before knowing of Benny the Bull’s injury. “It looked like he could have beaten any sprinter that day. His other races he’s just been grinding it out, but that day he looked like a special sprinter.”

“There’s ups and downs in this game, but I don’t even view this as a down,” Iavarone said. “The horse has retired without something terrible happening and hopefully he’ll live a happy and healthy life.”

The defection of Benny the Bull from the Forego could leave Lucky Island the favorite. His challengers are expected to include Eternal Star, Ferocious Fires, First Defence, Premium Wine, Real Estate, and possibly Bold Start, Forefathers, and Tasteyville.

Mambo in Seattle headed to Super Derby

Mambo in Seattle, a hard-luck second to Colonel John in last weekend’s Travers Stakes, will be pointed to the $500,000 Super Derby at Louisiana Downs on Sept. 20, trainer Neil Howard said Wednesday.

“It’s a mile and an eighth, the timing is pretty decent, it’s a nice race, good purse, still with 3-year-olds,” Howard said. “That’s probably what we’re going to do right now.”

Mambo in Seattle returned to the track Wednesday for the first time since the Travers. He jogged 1 5/8 miles the wrong way around the main track.

Though Mambo in Seattle has been beaten twice on synthetic surfaces, Howard said the Breeders’ Cup Classic, being run on the synthetic surface at Santa Anita, remains an option for Mambo in Seattle, though he is not letting himself think that far ahead.

“The first time he ever ran, he was a good second on Polytrack,” Howard said. “In his first race this year, he wasn’t overly cranked up, so he figured to get tired. I wouldn’t be overly concerned if he did run on a synthetic track, but [the Breeders' Cup] is not something we’re thinking too much about right now.”

Past the Point, Desert Party are Harty’s next

Trainer Eoin Harty would love this weekend to be a repeat of last weekend, when he won one Grade 1 race and finished a close second in another.

Harty, who last Saturday won the Grade 1 Travers by the slimmest of margins and on Sunday finished second in the Pacific Classic with Well Armed, will send out Past the Point against Curlin in this Saturday’s Grade 1 Woodward and potential favorite Desert Party in Monday’s Grade 1 Hopeful.

“If I could knock off the Travers and the Hopeful, I just don’t really think I could top that,” Harty said Wednesday from Southern California. “That would be something else.”

On Wednesday, Desert Party worked a strong five furlongs in 59.26 seconds over the main track under exercise rider Anna Hollander. The work, in which Desert Party got his last three furlongs in 35.52 seconds, was the fastest of 12 at the distance.

“I talked to Anna and she was full of enthusiasm,” Harty said. “I think he’s fit and he’s ready. If he’s good enough, he’ll be right there.”

Meanwhile, Past the Point is coming off a sharp 1 1/2-length victory in a second-level allowance race here on Aug. 3. He earned a career-best Beyer Speed Figure of 103 in that race. His second-best Beyer Figure was a 93, also achieved over this track in a restricted stakes last August.

Harty understands it will be a tall order to beat Curlin, but he would consider the race a success if Past the Point could get a top-three finish.

“Hopefully he’s got a long career ahead of him,” Harty said. “If there’s a chance to pick up some graded money along the way, I hate to shun such an opportunity.”

A field of five is expected for the Woodward: A. P. Arrow, Curlin, Divine Park, Past the Point, and Wanderin Boy. Out of Control is possible.

Cagey Girl wires Wilmot for Duggan

Trainer David Duggan’s unbelievable summer continued Wednesday when Cagey Girl, the longest price in the nine-horse field, went gate to wire under Mike Luzzi to win the $83,250 Mollie Wilmot Stakes by 1 1/4 lengths over Nedjma.

It was a neck back to Nehantic Cat in third.

It was the sixth victory from 15 starts for Duggan at this meet and his third stakes win.

Cagey Girl, a daughter of Crowd Pleaser owned by North Shore Racing, covered the mile in 1:36.01 and returned $47.

Castellano to become a U.S. citizen

Javier Castellano will not be riding here Friday, but for a very good reason.

On Friday, Castellano will be in Miami, where he will be sworn in as a U.S. citizen. Castellano, 30, moved to the United States from his native Venezuela in 1997 and began riding in south Florida.

“It’s so exciting for me,” Castellano said between races Wednesday. “I’ve been waiting for this for so many years. I’ve been here 11 years.”

Castellano has ridden 14 winners at the meet.

* Jackie Davis, the 21-year-old daughter of retired jockey Robbie Davis, is named to ride Shifty Guy in Friday’s fifth race. It will be her first career mount. Shifty Guy is trained by Allen Jerkens, for whom Davis has worked since January as part of her educational requirements through Chris McCarron’s North America Riding Academy.

Joe Crawford, the Los Angeles Lakers only selection in the NBA draft last June. Signed a contract with the Western Conference champions on Wednesday.

Crawford, the 58th overall pick, averaged 11.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists in four years at Kentucky, where he played in 127 games, 76 of them starts.

The 22-year-old 6-foot-5 guard ranked fourth in the SEC in scoring as a senior with a team-leading 17.9-point average, and then averaged 11.3 points, 2.7 rebounds and 1.3 assists in six Summer League games for the Lakers last month.

Terms of the deal were not announced.

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Officials say Duckworth died of heart disease.

Oregon officials say an autopsy shows former Portland Trail Blazers center Kevin Duckworth died when his enlarged heart failed.

Duckworth died Monday at 44 on the Oregon coast, where he was on a goodwill tour for the team.

The Oregon State Police said Wednesday the autopsy was done by Dr. Larry Lewman, a state medical examiner who concluded that Duckworth died of “hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with congestive heart failure.”

The police statement says the heart disease had combined with high blood pressure to result in “marked enlargement of his heart which had been failing for some time.”

Oklahoma City new NBA franchise has finally set a date to announce its name and team colors.

The team said Wednesday that it would unveil the name and colors simultaneously on its Web site and at a downtown event Sept. 3.

Clay Bennett’s ownership group has applied for trademarks for six names: Thunder, Energy, Wind, Marshalls, Barons and Bison.

Oklahoma City television station KOCO has reported that the choice will be Thunder, but Bennett has refused to comment on what the name will be.

The former Seattle SuperSonics announced on July 2 that they would be moving to Oklahoma City.

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NBA to play 2 games in China in October.

The Milwaukee Bucks and the Golden State Warriors will travel to China in October to play two exhibition games, the NBA and Chinese Basketball Association said on Wednesday.

The NBA China Games tips off with the Bucks and Warriors meeting on Oct. 15 in Guangzhou and Oct. 18 at the Beijing Olympic Basketball Arena.

The NBA will host events in the cities as part of its Sichuan Province earthquake relief efforts.

The games will be televised live in the United States.

Guard Kyle Weaver, a second-round draft pick, signed a multiyear contract Wednesday with Oklahoma City.

Weaver was selected 38th in June by Charlotte but didn’t sign with the Bobcats before being traded to Oklahoma City earlier this month for a second-round choice in next year’s draft.

Weaver averaged 12.2 points last season as a senior at Washington State.

No other terms were released.

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Warriors G Ellis out 3 months with ankle sprain.

Golden State guard Monta Ellis will be sidelined for at least three months after severely spraining his ankle during an offseason workout, forcing the Warriors to start the season without the player expected to lead their revamped roster this fall.

Ellis, who got a six-year contract extension worth $66 million on July 24, sprained his ankle and tore a deltoid ligament while working out in his hometown of Jackson, Miss., last Thursday, said Chris Mullin, the Warriors’ top basketball executive.

Ellis underwent surgery Wednesday in Birmingham, Ala., to repair the ligament, and returned home later in the day. Ellis’ ankle will be immobilized for six weeks, followed by at least six weeks of off-court rehabilitation before the guard can return to basketball workouts.

“He’s one of our main guys, but we don’t think it’s a season-ending injury,” Mullin said. “The time frame, it fluctuates, but hopefully with his youth - and he’s been pretty durable and resilient to injury - hopefully he does get back (soon).

“With the offseason moves we made, hopefully we can still play at a high level this year. To me, it’s more something that you look at as a challenge, and you don’t let it defeat you, you deal with it.”

Ellis averaged 20.2 points, 5.0 rebounds and 3.4 assists last season, all career bests, while emerging as a dependable shooter for the league’s highest-scoring club.

He will miss training camp and the Warriors’ preseason schedule, which includes a trip to China, along with at least the first month of the regular season.

“Training camp was going to be an important part of his development,” Mullin said. “That’s going to be postponed, obviously, but he’s got a lot of development on and off the court that he’s going to continue to do. I’ve got a lot of confidence in him, and now his job is to get healthy.”

Golden State’s training camp opens Sept. 27.

Ellis, the winner of the NBA’s most improved player award in 2006-07, is expected to play a major role this season for the Warriors after Baron Davis’ abrupt departure for the Los Angeles Clippers as a free agent. Golden State showed its commitment with a huge contract extension for Ellis, who is likely to assume Davis’ role as the point guard and catalyst of coach Don Nelson’s uptempo offense.

In Ellis’ absence, new point guard Marcus Williams is likely to get the first chance to run Nelson’s show - although Mullin also will travel to Chicago on Thursday to take a look at former Clippers guard Shaun Livingston, the unrestricted free agent who hasn’t played since injuring his left knee in a game on Feb. 26, 2007.

Golden State acquired Williams in a trade with New Jersey last month to be Ellis’ backup. Williams, the former UConn star entering his third NBA campaign, averaged 5.9 points and 2.6 assists in 53 games with the Nets last season.

“Just in talking to Nellie today, (we’re) talking about maybe spreading that ball around and getting scoring from different areas,” Mullin said, mentioning more shots for Stephen Jackson, Al Harrington and newcomer Corey Maggette. “Marcus is more of a pass-first point guard. If at some point he thought he didn’t get a chance (in New Jersey), he’s going to get a chance now.”

Guard Kelenna Azubuike also is likely to get more playing time with the Warriors, who missed the playoffs last season despite winning 48 games. Golden State shuffled much of its roster in the wake of Davis’ departure, signing Maggette and forward Ronny Turiaf while losing forwards Mickael Pietrus and Matt Barnes.

Mullin wasn’t certain whether Ellis hurt himself in a 5-on-5 scrimmage or a smaller pickup game. Although Mullin still is the same inveterate gym rat he was during his All-Star playing career, he shares most NBA executives’ wariness about their players’ offseason health in such risky workouts.

“I’m all for guys training and getting better,” Mullin said. “Ideally, I’d like everybody here (in Oakland) all the time, but that’s not realistic. I think one thing Monta has done each and every year is improve, and I do believe most improvement is made during the summer. That’s when guys do get better, so I can’t debate that.”

There more than a few Miami players who’ll freely acknowledge not knowing many specifics about Charleston Southern. Including where the school is located or the names of some key Buccaneers.

Think that means Miami is overlooking its opening night foe?

The Hurricanes insist that couldn’t be further from the truth.

Miami’s season begins Thursday night in their new Dolphin Stadium home against Charleston Southern, a Football Championship Subdivision member. It seems like a mismatch of colossal proportions - Miami has five national championships, Charleston Southern has two winning seasons - but the rebuilding Hurricanes know the Buccaneers will arrive believing they have nothing to lose.

“Everyone that we play, for some reason, always has a countdown clock to when they’ll play the University of Miami,” Miami coach Randy Shannon said. “Everyone. It’s part of being at Miami. You have a target on you. But you know what? These guys understand on this football team that we went through a lot last year. We understand what losing is and we understand not to take opponents lightly.”

Sure enough, on the Charleston Southern athletic Web site, there’s a clock ticking down the seconds until Thursday night’s kickoff.

The Buccaneers are touting this game as one of the biggest in their school’s history, a chance to shock the college football establishment and earn a piece of spotlight on the national stage. After learning that North Texas - Miami’s originally scheduled Week 1 opponent - bought its way out of the game for a chance to visit LSU, Charleston Southern quickly began pleading for the chance to be the replacement.

“We’re very grateful to coach Shannon and the University of Miami for giving us this opportunity,” said Charleston Southern coach Jay Mills. “Since the moment I arrived on this campus, we’ve talked about Miami’s football program and what they’ve done in the last 25 years with five national championships and how we hope to emulate that on the FCS level, being another small, private institution that wants to be nationally recognized.”

The game isn’t on television (the only Miami game on TV Thursday night will be when Vanderbilt faces Miami of Ohio, which just happens to be Charleston Southern’s Week 3 opponent). The TV snub may be proof of how far Miami fell off the national radar a year ago, as it bumbled along to a 5-7 season - the program’s worst result in three decades.

So this year, the Hurricanes are starting over.

None of the quarterbacks have any college experience, and when Thursday’s game ends, Miami’s starter for the 2008 season still won’t have any passes on his record.

Redshirt freshman Robert Marve - who will start at No. 5 Florida next weekend - is one of seven Hurricanes who’ll serve one-game suspensions for a variety of reasons; Marve’s stems from an arrest last Oct. 31 on a misdemeanor charge that was later dropped. Still, Shannon has his rules: Get in trouble after midnight, you sit out the next game you’re slated to play.

That means freshman Jacory Harris gets the start.

“Big-time players step up in big-time situations,” said defensive tackle Marcus Forston, another true freshman who was Harris’ teammate at Miami Northwestern High last year, when the Bulls won their second straight Florida Class 6A title. “And Thursday, we’re going to see what he’s going to do.”

The Hurricanes will see what a lot of freshmen will do Thursday. There’s 14 on the team’s two-deep for the matchup.

“If we didn’t have all these freshmen on this football team, we’d probably have a one-deep,” Shannon said. “It’s called recruiting.”

If there’s one edge Charleston Southern has, it’s experience. The Buccaneers (5-6 last year) have 19 starters back from last year, many of whom got a taste of what it was like to face a big-time opponent when Charleston Southern visited Hawaii last season.

Plus, 41 players on the Bucs’ roster hail from Florida, so they’ll certainly know plenty about the Hurricanes.

“It’s going to be the biggest crowd Charleston Southern athletics has ever played in front of,” said Charleston Southern senior transfer quarterback Tribble Smith - who was part of a Clemson team that won at Miami in 2004, albeit in a game in which he didn’t play. “It’s a huge opportunity and we’re all looking forward to it.”