When Darren Beadman looks back on his glittering career in the saddle, Octagonal stands tall as a true champion.Beadman rode Octagonal to five of his 10 Group One wins and said he was shocked and saddened to hear the horse had been euthanised on Saturday morning at the age of 24..Four of their Group One wins together came in the autumn of 1996 when Octagonal claimed the Canterbury Guineas, Rosehill Guineas, Mercedes Classic and Australian Derby, racing four Saturdays out of five.He was up against what is still hailed as a benchmark group of three-year-olds including Saintly, Nothin Leica Dane and Filante.He was a back marker so he was always vulnerable and never won by big margins, Beadman said.So he was always vulnerable but he went to war for you. Beadman said their four-win sequence in the autumn of 1996 by bare margins showed Octagonals true standing.Sometimes youd have your heart in your mouth but I always had faith in him and he delivered, Beadman said.He was a champion. In the breeding barn, Octagonal sired his own champion Lonhro who in turn produced one of his own, Pierrro. Octagonal was raced by Jack and Bob Ingham and was part of the package when the latter sold his Woodlands racing and breeding operation to Sheikh Mohamamed.The Big O as he was affectionately known, was still bright and alert mentally but was struggling physically, Darley said on Saturday.From the first crop by Cambridge Stud stallion Zabeel, Octagonal was prepared throughout his career by the Inghams private trainer John Hawkes.It is a sad day as Octagonal is an old favourite of everyone and he will be sorely missed. He was such a lovely horse to deal with and such a big part of Woodlands, John Sunderland, Woodlands general manager said.Octagonal will be buried at Woodlands, where he has spent the majority of the past 16 years, alongside Canny Lad. Nike Basketball Shoes Cheap . Just not the game. 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The medical staff initially thought hed torn the ligament, and the test a day later in Cincinnati confirmed it.ARDMORE, Pa. -- He was the smiling kid with his dad on the bag in his first U.S. Open, eager to be himself and not the guy he was following. Matt Kuchar never expected to be the next Tiger Woods, mostly because even then he knew it wasnt possible. Winning the U.S. Amateur a year after Woods recorded his third straight amateur title got him into the 1998 Open, but it would be a long time before the two were in the same conversation again. TSNs live coverage of the U.S. Open begins with the first round, Thursday morning at 9am et/6am pt. You can also watch bonus coverage on TSN.ca Thursday at 9am et/6am pt and catch a recap of the days action at Midnight et/9pm pt. "I was never thinking because I won the amateur the year after Tiger that I was the next Tiger Woods," Kuchar said. "That was never something that I thought about or thought I was going to follow the same path as Tiger. I knew I had a different path that was for me." That path was rocky at times, but Kuchar never lost faith in his talent. He rebuilt his swing, found his way back on the PGA Tour after a brief hiccup, and started contending in tournaments. Now hes in another conversation this week at Merion Golf Club. Hes joined a select few as perhaps the best player who hasnt won a major championship. "I dont know that Im quite in that talk yet," Kuchar said Wednesday. "I know that a lot of people have been yelling out that they have got me in their pools and theyre picking me this week. But we hear a lot of that talk every week." Perhaps Kuchar should start listening more. Coming off a win two weeks ago at Memorial -- where his young son got a high five from host Jack Nicklaus when Kuchar won -- hes high on a lot of lists as a possible winner at this Open. That hes not shying away from the talk says something about how confident he is about his game. "I feel like Im playing some good golf," Kuchar said. "Im looking to continue to play good golf. Certainly a major championship, a U.S. Open, is one Im geared up for. Im looking forward to competing and trying to put my name on this trophy." Kuchar was still an amateur when he played his first U.S. Open at Olympic Club in San Francisco in 1998.dddddddddddd His father -- who drew some criticism for his exuberance -- was carrying his bag and on Sunday it was both Fathers Day and the golfers 20th birthday Fans sang Happy Birthday to him and yelled "Happy Fathers Day" to his father as they walked to tees, but the real highlight was a 14th place finish. It paid no money but showed Kuchar that he could compete with players a level above him. Three years later he was a regular on the PGA Tour, making $500,000 in his rookie year. The next year he won the Honda Classic, giving him a two-year exemption on tour and marking him as one of the rising stars of the game. Then it all started to fall apart. Kuchar began missing cuts with regularity, finally ending up in golfs minor leagues -- what was then the Nationwide Tour -- while he retooled his game and tried to find a swing that worked as well as the swings of players who were on the big circuit. "I think that out here there was a definite learning curve on the PGA Tour of just being comfortable standing on the range, hitting balls next to Ernie Els or Tiger Woods or Phil Mickelson and not just being in awe," Kuchar said. "And trying to say, Well, I cant hit it like that, what do I need to do to hit it like that? " He was a tennis player who took up golf when his mother upgraded their membership at a country club as a Christmas present. Playing better was never an issue since he quickly became one of the top -- and finally THE top -- amateur in the country. Coming back on tour in 2007 he played well enough to keep his card, though barely. The next year he won $1.5 million, and the next year cracked the top 25. Kuchar has already won twice this year, at the Match Play Championship and the Memorial, his sixth career win. Hes moved to No. 4 in the world golf rankings, and hasnt missed a cut all year while averaging 69.84 strokes a round. Hes a ball striker who rarely makes mistakes, and a putter who excels on fast greens, a combination that has oddsmakers and fans lining the fairways at Merion thinking he has a good shot to win his first major this week. "I think (the) great thing about the game of golf is theres no clear-cut favourites," Kuchar said. 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