The Enquirer and wire reports

Undefeated Lunarpal, ridden by Shane Sellers, edged Storm Surge by a neck to win the $163,200 Grade III Bashford Manor Stakes for 2-year-olds Monday, closing day, at Churchill Downs.

Lunarpal became only the second horse to sweep Churchill Downs' trio of stakes for 2-year-olds, which also includes the Three Chimneys Juvenile and the Kentucky Breeders' Cup.

In 1997, Cincinnati-owned Favorite Trick accomplished the feat on his way to being named 2-year-old champion and Horse of the Year.

Lunarpal earned $101,184 for owner Heiligbrodt Racing Stable.

"Every time he steps up to the plate, he answers the call," Sellers said.

Lunarpal's trainer, Steve Asmussen, won the spring meet training title, with 35 victories. Rafael Bejarano won his first Churchill jockey title, riding 81 winners.

RD extends racing to evening

For the final two months of its summer meet, River Downs will extend live racing into the early evening and offer $1 beer to their patrons every Friday. The 7&7 racing format with Thistledown will still start at 1:15 p.m., but the live racing portion of the River Downs program will extend until almost 7 p.m.

SMARTY'S PLAN: Kentucky Derby and Preakness Stakes winner Smarty Jones will probably skip the Haskell Invitational Handicap at Monmouth Park on Aug. 8 and instead return in the Pennsylvania Derby at Philadelphia Park on Sept. 6, trainer John Servis said.

Amateur golf

JUNIOR ACHIEVERS: Five area golfers finished in the top 12 in the American Junior Golf Association's Subaru Open last Thursday at Andover Golf and Country Club in Lexington, Ky.

Hamilton's Kyle Hodges finished tied for fourth, Middletown's Alex Martin tied for sixth and Alex Volpenhein of Edgewood, Ky., tied for ninth in the boys division. West Chester's Kelsey Lindenschmidt and Middletown's Carling Coffing tied for sixth and 12th, respectively, in the girls division.

Hodges, Martin and Volpenhein are entered in today's U.S. Junior Amateur sectional at the TPC at River's Bend.

Hodges, the 2002, and Martin, the defending champ, are also entered in next week's Greater Cincinnati Golf Association Junior Met Amateur at Fairfield Greens South Trace.

Hockey

THN HONORS BOYLE: The Hockey News named former Miami University All-America defenseman Dan Boyle to its NHL playoff all-star team along with Stanley Cup-winning Tampa Bay Lightning teammates Brad Richards and Martin St. Louis.

Runner-up Calgary rounded out the team with goalie Mikka Kiprusoff, defenseman Robyn Regehr and forward Jarome Iginla. Of Boyle, THN said: "His speed and courage were critical to the Lightning cause."

Boyle and three teammates appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno last month with the Stanley Cup.

AHL RULES CHANGES: The AHL, including the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks, has implemented a shootout to decide regular-season games which are tied after a five-minute overtime period.

Teams will receive two points for a win, one point for a loss in overtime or in a shootout and zero points for a loss in regulation time.

Among the rule changes adopted for next season are instituting no-touch icing and tag-up offsides; increasing the size of the neutral zone by moving the goal line and widening the blue lines and center red line; and restricting the maximum width of the goaltenders' pads.

Pro basketball

MARTIN COVETED: New Jersey Nets free agent Kenyon Martin, the former UC Bearcats All-American, remains Nuggets general manager Kiki Vandeweghe's No. 1 priority, according to the Denver Post. Vandeweghe is a mentor for Martin, having worked him out twice in summers past. Martin approached the Nets' front office a few years ago to get permission to work with Vandeweghe, at the time a member of the Dallas Mavericks' front office.