Lewis Lakin, breeder of Pure Clan, said Monday night that he has bought back a majority interest in the millionaire filly from IEAH Stable and Pegasus Holding Group in a private deal that closed over the weekend, making him the sole owner. Lakin originally sold majority interest in Pure Clan to IEAH last February.

Lakin is very active in breeding, while IEAH has a strong focus on racing.

“I wanted her back for my family’s broodmare band, and they agreed,” Lakin said of IEAH. “They were very pleased with the situation. They were very nice to deal with. I think basically, they’re interested more in 3-year-old racing. I plan to race her this year and then we’ll go from there.”

IEAH, which won the Kentucky Derby last year with Big Brown and recently purchased 2-year-old filly champion Stardom Bound, bought into Pure Clan last winter when she was considered a top prospect for the Kentucky Oaks. She was undefeated, and her biggest win at that point had come in the Grade 2 Golden Rod at Churchill Downs. Pure Clan went on to run third in the Kentucky Oaks for IEAH, Pegasus, and Lakin, and later in the year captured the Grade 1 American Oaks at Hollywood Park.

Pure Clan has just returned to trainer Bob Holthus’s barn at Oaklawn following a freshening, and Holthus expects her to be ready to run this spring. Lakin said turf would be the focus of the filly’s campaign this year, with her first possible stakes start in 2009 coming in the Grade 2 Churchill Downs Distaff Turf Mile in May.

Lakin’s broodmare band includes Gather the Clan, who is the dam of both Pure Clan, a winner of 6 of 11 starts and $1,052,416, and Greater Good, a retired Grade 2 winner of $546,720. Running Clan, a 3-year-old half-sister to Pure Clan, is at Oaklawn with Holthus and could make her career debut before the meet ends, Lakin said. Running Clan is by Cherokee Run.

Hobby horses fire away at Oaklawn

Trainer Steve Hobby is sitting atop the Oaklawn standings heading into the third week of the meet after a highly productive weekend, and he jokingly used just two words to sum up his fast start this season: “Chindi’s coaching!”

Chindi, the popular retired millionaire sprinter, now works as a stable pony for Hobby.

The trainer has 40 horses on the grounds at Oaklawn. He had a double last Friday, and among his wins was the featured eighth race with Grand Sensation. He came back with a fast-closing maiden winner, Golden Chapel, on Sunday to move to the lead in the standings, with 5 wins from 18 starts so far at Oaklawn.

“It’s been a good start,” Hobby said. “I have a lot of clients that live in Arkansas. They come to the races every day. It’s important to do well at home.”

Hobby has a balanced stable, thanks in part to the different areas of focus of some of his largest clients. Alex and JoAnn Lieblong tend to buy high-end prospects at auction. Carol Ricks breeds her racing prospects, and Joe Hardin is active in the claiming ranks.

One of Hobby’s top runners last year was Telling, who is being pointed for the $100,000 Essex Handicap at 1 1/16 miles at Oaklawn on Feb. 7. The Lieblong-owned horse last raced in November at Churchill Downs and was third in the Grade 3 River City Handicap with a Beyer Speed Figure of 99. Telling is 3 for 3 at Oaklawn, having won all of his starts at the track in 2008.

Another top older horse in the Hobby barn is Shim’s Pride, who won the allowance prep for the Essex over opening weekend. He defeated a strong group that included past Essex winners Jonesboro and Spotsgone, and for the effort earned a career-best 93 Beyer. Hobby said Shim’s Pride has been nominated to the Essex, but he is not sure if the horse will start in the race.

“He ran so hard the other day,” Hobby said.

Better consult with Chindi.

Tiger’s Song eyes Martha Washington

Tiger’s Song, a recent private purchase, was scratched from the $50,000 Dixie Belle at Oaklawn on Saturday because she suffered a foot bruise the day before the race, trainer Chris Richard said.

“It was a minor setback,” he said. “She’s already back to the track.”

Richard said Tiger’s Song could run next in the one-mile, $50,000 Martha Washington for 3-year-old fillies at Oaklawn on Feb. 15. He said the other option would be an allowance race.

Darrell and Evelyn Yates bought the stakes-placed Tiger’s Song out of Florida recently, with an eye toward some of the 3-year-old filly stakes at Oaklawn.

There is a $6,568 pick-six carryover for Thursday.

January 26, 1991 Covert Action wins the Presidential Series final. In 1:52.4 at the Meadowlands Racetrack in New Jersey.

January 27, 1979 Keith Linton wins six consecutive races at Cloverdale Raceway in Surrey, British Columbia, falling one win shy of Augustine Ratchfords record for most dash victories on a card.

January 28, 1989 Hug A Bear wins the Presidential Series final in 1:54.1 at the Meadowlands.

January 29, 1988 Nadia Lobell wins the Cape & Cutter Series final for pacing mares in 1:55.2 at the Meadowlands Racetrack in New Jersey.

January 30, 1999 Eddie Davis becomes the 10th driver in North American harness racing history to win 7,000 races, driving Telamon to victory at Dover Downs in Delaware.

January 31, 1990 Master Scoot wins the Trendsetter Series final for 3-and-4-year-old male pacers in 1:55.3 at the Meadowlands.

February 1, 1940 Herve Filion, the winningest driver in North American harness racing history, is born in Quebec.

February 1, 1992 Excited wins the Pretty Direct for female pacers in 1:55.4 at Hawthorne Race Course in Illinois.

With Big Browns chase for a Triple Crown ending in disappointment, Curlin was able to double.

Curlin became the first repeat winner of Horse of the Year in 12 years at the 38th annual Eclipse Awards on Monday.

The highest money winner in North America with career earnings over $10 million, Curlin won five of seven races last year, including a triumph in the Dubai World Cup.

Behind that, Curlin became the first back-to-back winner since Cigar in 1995-96.

Curlin captured 153 of the 240 first-place votes, while unbeaten Zenyatta garnered 69. Big Brown ended up a distant third with 13 votes.

Besides winning Horse of the Year again, Curlin also took home the award for the older male horse, getting 239 of 242 votes.

The performance of Curlin also figured into his trainer Steve Asmussen capturing Trainer of the Year. He finished with a single-season record of 622 winners in 2008.

The Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner, Big Brown also picked up some hardware, receiving the award for the top 3-year-old male horse to put the cap on a career that had a disappointing finish.

After his scintillating wins in the Derby and Preakness, Big Brown was slowed by a quarter crack on his left front hoof, then finished last in the Belmont Stakes in June as he attempted to become horse racings first Triple Crown winner since 1978.

Big Brown returned over the summer to win the Haskell Invitational and Monmouth Stakes but was retired in October after injuring himself in training. He finished his career with seven wins in eight starts.

Big Brown dominated the polling, getting 219 of the 242 first-place votes.

Zenyatta, who is 9-for-9 in her career, also did not go home empty-handed, taking the award for the older female with all but two of the 242 votes.

Zenyatta put an exclamation point on her 2008 campaign by winning the Breeders Cup Ladies Classic. The 5-year-old ended up winning all seven of her races last year.

The award for the top owner went to Stronach Stables while Garrett Gomez was named Jockey of the Year and Adena Springs was selected as the top breeder.

Barbaros brother is near the starting gate.

Nicanor, a full brother of the 2006 Kentucky Derby winner whose story captivated the racing world for months, will race for the first time either this weekend or next, trainer Michael Matz said Monday.

Nicanor had a solid five-furlong work Sunday at the Palm Meadows Training Center in Boynton Beach, Fla., and if all goes as planned, the 3-year-old colt will either race on dirt at Gulfstream Park this weekend or in a turf race the weekend of Feb. 7.

Hes getting there. Either one of the two, said Matz, who also was Barbaros trainer. Im not sure yet. When we get him back to the track, well see how he is.

A decision will likely come Wednesday, when entries are made for the Saturday card at Gulfstream.

Hall of Fame jockey Edgar Pradowho also rode Barbaro and called his time aboard the horse the best trip of my lifewill be aboard Nicanor for the colts debut, Matz said. Prado rode Nicanor during a workout two weeks ago at Palm Meadows.

The first three races of Barbaros career were on turf before he switched to the dirt for the Holy Bull Stakes at Gulfstream and won, pointing him toward the 2006 Derby.

Barbaro won the Run for the Roses by 6 1/2 lengthsthe largest victory margin for a Derby winner in 60 yearsbut saw his racing career come to a dramatic end at the Preakness, when he shattered three bones in his right hind leg in the opening strides of that race.

He defied the odds by surviving for eight months and enduring close to two dozen surgeries before being euthanized because of complications related to laminitis, an often life-threatening problem in horses who shift their weight to one leg in order to keep pressure off another injured limb.

The second anniversary of Barbaros death is Thursday, and theres a certain irony that Nicanors debut could come on what will be a bittersweet weekend for Barbaros connectionsMatz and owners Roy and Gretchen Jackson.

He has worked like a nice horse, Matz said. We just have to see. But yes, Im excited to have him in the barn right now.

Manchester United is trying to decide whether 35 million pounds ($48,3 million; ?37,1 million) is too much to spend for Carlos Tevez, Liverpool is wondering whether almost half that sum for Robbie Keane was a waste of money.

With English football’s two most successful clubs neck-and-neck in the Premier League title race, United has a talent it doesn’t want to lose. The Reds are considering how much they might get for a striker who loves the team but has been a major flop.

Tevez is three quarters through a two-year loan deal with Manchester United which is pondering an asking price it considers excessive, bearing in mind the club still doesn’t really know where the money would go anyway.

Although Tevez joined the Red Devils from West Ham, his contract is owned by a third party and United doesn’t want to run the risk of the sort of disciplinary action that hit the Hammers.

The United fans want the club to take that risk and pay the money.

Watching the Argentina striker hit the Tottenham crossbar with a thunderbolt left foot shot, charge at defenders with his fast, determined runs and harrying Spurs players to try and win the ball, they pleaded with Ferguson to turn the loan deal into a full-time one, despite the cost.

If his phenomenal workrate is a judge, Tevez wants to stay. But reports of his apparent frustration have emerged in his homeland and that might alert other clubs who want to sign him if United continues to dither.

Ferguson has handed the matter over to chief executive David Gill.

“It doesn’t frustrate me,” the United manager said the last time he was asked about the Tevez situation. “I have been used to it over the years. You just have to be patient. It is not as if we have been short of negotiations, but I think we all know they can take a long time, and this one is just going along.

“David has been talking to his agent, so it is best left to him.”

United is in painstaking negotiations with the people who handle Tevez’ contract and financial issues.

The Argentina striker arrived in English football along with countryman Javier Mascherano from Brazilian club Corinthians in a deal brokered by a third party. West Ham signed them and wound up in big trouble with the Premier League for breaking its transfer rules.

That trouble won’t go away because the Hammers, who avoided relegation because Tevez scored a last minute winner in the last game of the season, face a 35 million pound damages suit from one of the teams that did go down, Sheffield United.

Clearly United wants to get all the legalities sorted out even it if it is prepared to write a big check to sign the striker. But the Scot clearly likes what Tevez brings to the team.

“He’s got great enthusiasm,” Ferguson said. “He’s a tiger. He fights for every ball and it’s great to have someone with that attitude in your team.”

Even defeated Spurs manager Harry Redknapp praised Tevez for a performance that helped knock his team out of the FA Cup on Saturday.

“If you looked for endeavor and fantastic effort we’d all like to have Tevez in our team,” the veteran Spurs manager said. “He was an example to everyone the way he ran and chased, how the crowd responded to him. But there are very few of those people around and that’s why he’s 35 million pound or whatever it is.”

How Keane would love to hear such praise right now.

A Liverpool fan as a teenager, Keane finally arrived at the club this summer in a 19 million pound ($26.2 million; ?20 million) move from Tottenham, having already had spells with Wolves, Coventry, Inter Milan and Leeds.

A little like Tevez, who didn’t score for West Ham for 20 games after his arrival in English football, Keane didn’t hit the target until his 11th game for the Reds this season. By contrast, the Argentina star has netted nine times in 31 games, many of them coming off the bench.

A day after the United fans cheered Tevez’ name at Old Trafford and rival managers praised his performances, Keane was nowhere to be seen at Anfield on Sunday. The only time his name got mentioned was when manager Rafa Benitez was asked why he wasn’t playing.

“I decided not to select him (in the 1-1 FA Cup draw with Everton),” said Benitez, who also didn’t use him in the 0-0 draw with Stoke and took him off in the 1-1 Premier League draw against Everton last Monday.

“That was all. He is not injured. I have not seen Robbie but I know that all the players want to be involved with the squad and they may not be happy at being left out.”

Now there is strong speculation that Keane’s spell at Liverpool may not last until the end of the transfer window, which has a week to go.

The Irishman, who failed to score in six games for Inter Milan, has not provided the goals Benitez expected when he paid all that money.

While Tevez is the popular star United wants to keep, Keane is the lonely striker Liverpool may no longer want.

Tottenham signed backup Chelsea goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini on a free transfer Monday, and Pascal Chimbonda returned to Spurs from Sunderland.

Spurs manager Harry Redknapp has been looking for a goalkeeper because first-choice Heurelho Gomes has a thigh strain and is in erratic form.

Signed by Gianluca Vialli in 2000, the 35-year-old Cudicini has played under five different managers at Chelsea and was the Blues’ player of the year in 2002. Although the Italian made 210 starts, he lost his place when Chelsea signed Petr Cech in 2004. But he has been a reliable replacement since, usually in cup games.

Cudicini’s father, Fabio, played for AC Milan and won the European Cup title in 1969.

Chimbonda left Spurs after two seasons to join the Black Cats, who were then managed by Roy Keane. He failed to make an impact, however, and Redknapp decided to bring him back to Tottenham.

“I’ve signed him and he’s coming here,” Redknapp said on Monday. “The deal should have been done in the morning but it’s over-run the deadline for him to play against Stoke. It was done 15 minutes too late which was disappointing. Otherwise he would have been available.”

AC Milan midfielder Ronaldinho is back on Brazil’s national team after missing three consecutive matches.

Ronaldinho was among 22 players picked by coach Dunga for the Feb. 10 friendly against Italy at Arsenal’s Emirates Stadium in London.

Milan teammates Kaka and Alexandre Pato also were included in the roster for Brazil’s first match of the year, as were Inter Milan’s Adriano and Manchester City’s Robinho.

Ronaldinho was not summoned by Dunga for Brazil’s last three matches - a friendly against Portugal and World Cup qualifiers against Colombia and Venezuela. Dunga had said the player still needed to improve his form.

“We knew we would be able to count with him after he got to play more matches with Milan,” Dunga said.

Dunga only called players from European teams because the Brazilian regional tournaments will be under way in February.

Left off the list were Inter Milan midfielder Mancini, Werder Bremen playmaker Diego and Juventus striker Amaury, who also has Italian citizenship and recently has been linked to Italy’s national team.

“Amaury is a great player, but everyone has to wait for the right moment,” Dunga said. “He did not perform well in his last two matches and we think that the match against Italy would add too much pressure on him.”

The biggest surprise on Dunga’s squad was Fiorentina midfielder Felipe Melo, who is earning his first call for the national team.

“It’s a player we have been observing for quite some time,” Dunga said. “It’s an opportunity to look at him from up close.”

Brazil and Italy have faced each other 12 times, with each nation winning five matches and drawing twice.

“Italy is an opponent which deserves respect because of its tradition and the quality of its players,” Dunga said. “Any match against them is like a final.”

—

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Julio Cesar (Inter Milan), Doni (AS Roma)

Defenders: Maicon (Inter Milan), Daniel Alves (FC Barcelona), Adriano Correa (Sevilla), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Lucio (Bayern Munich), Luisao (Benfica), Juan (AS Roma), Thiago Silva (AC Milan)

Midfielders: Elano (Manchester City), Gilberto Silva (Panathinaikos), Josue (Wolfsburg), Anderson (Manchester United), Felipe Melo (Fiorentina), Julio Baptista (AS Roma), Kaka (AC Milan), Ronaldinho (AC Milan)

Forwards: Luis Fabiano (Sevilla), Alexandre Pato (AC Milan), Robinho (Manchester City), Adriano (Inter Milan)

Bundesliga leader Hoffenheim is bringing back a fourth-division striker, but says he is not a replacement for the injured Vedad Ibisevic, the league’s leading scorer.

Kai Herdling, from the neighboring team SV Waldhof Mannheim, is slated to sign a contract Tuesday.

Herdling played for Hoffenheim when it was still in the lower leagues and left the club after last season, when Hoffenheim was promoted to the top division. He usually played for Hoffenheim’s reserves.

Hoffenheim said the striker was coming back to add depth to Hoffenheim’s bench and was not considered as a replacement for Ibisevic, who scored 18 goals in the first half of the season. Ibisevic is out for the rest of the season after tearing ligaments in his right knee during a training game.

The Bundesliga season resumes this weekend. Hoffenheim, which leads defending champion Bayern Munich on goal difference, plays Energie Cottbus.

True Quality drew off to a 3 3/4 -length victory over Place Your Bet in the $69,330 Paumonok Handicap Saturday at Aqueduct.

The even-money favorite was severely tested before securing his fourth win in nine starts. True Quality, with Chuckie Lopez aboard, grabbed the early lead as expected, but quickly faced challenges from Accredit and Place Your Bet. The 4-year-old colt trained by John Campo, Jr. fended off the pressure, eventually pulling clear in deep stretch. The time was 1:10.92 for the six furlongs on a fast track.

True Quality paid $4.20, $3.40 and $2.10. Place Your Bet returned $4.90 and $2.90. Ravalo paid $2.30 to show.

Seven horses have been euthanized after racing or training incidents since Santa Anitas winter meeting opened Dec 26 on the synthetic track.

The most recent injury occurred Saturday, when Spenditallbaby hurt her right front ankle at the seven-eighths pole in the $500,000 Sunshine Millions Distaff.

She was taken off the track by van and was to be examined by a veterinarian.

Last weekend, two horses were euthanized.

The hard freeze and rain really wreaked havoc, track spokesman Mike Willman said Saturday. They were problems none of us anticipated.

Most of the fatalities occurred during the first week of the meeting, Willman said, when the changing weather conditions caused the tracks synthetic surface to separate.

The first week aside, things have been good, he said.

One of the deaths last weekend involved a horse that was on the veterinarians list, which includes horses that have been deemed unfit to race and must prove physical soundness before being allowed to return.

The other euthanized horse was on the stewards list, which includes horses ineligible to start because of poor or inconsistent performances.

Santa Anita has had problems with its synthetic surface since it was introduced two years ago after the California Horse Racing Board mandated a change from dirt at the states major tracks.