Silver Charm to Start ’99 in Donn Handicap

Silver Charm, who just missed winning the 1997 Triple Crown and finished second last month in the Breeders’ Cup Classic, will open his 1999 schedule Jan. 30 in the $500,000 Donn Handicap at Gulfstream Park in Hallandale, Fla.

Robert Umphrey, Gulfstream’s director of racing, said he received a commitment Christmas week from trainer Bob Baffert to run Silver Charm in the nationally televised race.

“Naturally, we’re thrilled to have him,” Umphrey said. “This will be Silver Charm’s first appearance in Florida, and he’s the biggest name in racing now.”

This year, Silver Charm won the Dubai World Cup and was a leading candidate for Horse of the Year before being sidelined following a last-place finish in the San Diego Handicap at Del Mar on July 25.

Silver Charm rebounded with wins in the Kentucky Cup Classic and Goodwood Handicap before the Nov. 7 Breeders’ Cup Classic and an expected showdown against Skip Away. Awesome Again defeated both horses, beating Silver Charm by three-quarters of a length.

Other probable Donn entrants include Victory Gallop, Concerto and Best Of The Rest.

Yachting

Sayonara of the United States was locked in a three-way battle with Brindabella and Marchioness for the lead in the Sydney-to-Hobart yacht race.

All three maxi yachts were at the same latitude during Saturday night’s positioning report.

The three leaders covered 105 nautical miles in the first 7 1/2 hours of the 630-mile race between the Australian cities, and were sailing at an average speed of 14 knots.

About 300,000 people were on hand for the start of the annual event that attracted 115 boats this year.

Miscellany

Structural defects in Utah Jazz forward Karl Malone’s home in Salt Lake City have been largely remedied, though Malone’s attorney says a lawsuit could be in the works. Five months ago, a wall of Malone’s 26,000-square-foot home cracked and began pulling away from the rest of the rock and log structure. It took 30 metal piers anchored up to 70 feet deep to secure the foundation.

Fire that apparently began with a chimney problem destroyed the Laveen, Ariz., home of former Philadelphia Eagle linebacker Byron Evans on Christmas Day. Evans, his wife and their two children were unharmed. Damage was estimated at $500,000.

Names in the News

Track and field star Jackie Joyner-Kersee will become the sixth person to be named an honorary Harlem Globetrotter during the team’s annual tour stop at St. Louis on Jan. 8. Joyner-Kersee, 36, has represented the United States in the last four summer Olympics, winning three gold medals, one silver and two bronzes in the long jump and heptathlon. She also has won four gold medals in the world championships and was selected the International Amateur Athletic Federation female athlete of the year in 1994. Joyner-Kersee joins Henry Kissinger, comedian Bob Hope, actress-comedian Whoopi Goldberg, basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and South Africa President Nelson Mandela as honorary Globetrotters.