SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. - It wasnt as close as the final margin of victory might suggest.While horseplayers may have had their heart in their throat watching the Grade 2 Bowling Green unfold, Javier Castellano, the rider of heavily favored Flintshire, had it under control the whole time.Waiting as long as he could to ask his mount to run, Castellano pushed the button outside of the eighth pole and Flintshire responded with an electric turn of foot that carried him to a three-quarter length victory over Grand Tito in the $250,000 Bowling Green at Saratoga.Grand Tito, who set pedestrian fractions up front under Jose Ortiz, finished second by a length over Twilight Eclipse, who was a half-length ahead of Canthelpbelieving. Danish Dynaformer scratched.The victory was the second straight for Flintshire since coming to the U.S. and trainer Chad Brown and sets him for a repeat bid in the Grade 1, $1 million Sword Dancer Invitational on Aug. 27. Flintshire, a 6-year-old Juddmonte Farms homebred son of Dansili, won that race last year when in the barn of Andre Fabre.Flintshire showed a similar explosive turn of foot Saturday as he did last year.Castellano believe the key to unlocking Flintshires turn of foot is to keep him covered up as long as possible. He thought that could be more difficult in a four-horse field.But Castellano had Flintshire in third and on the inside of Canthelpbelieving while Grand Tito, under Jose Ortiz, set harness-like fractions of 26.53 seconds for the quarter-mile, 53.14 for the half, 1:19.44, and 1:44.20 for the mile. Leaving the three-furlong marker, Twilight Eclipse went around Flintshire, who was now relegated to fourth.Turning into the lane, Castellano was still content to wait while gradually swinging Flintshire into the clear. Once there, Castellano moved his hands ever so slightly and Flintshire took off, overtaking Grand Tito inside the sixteenth pole while remaining in hand.Flintshire covered 1-3/8 miles over a firm inner turf course in 2:18.24.As long as you cover up he gives you that powerful kick, Castellano said. Im kind of concerned a little bit, not too many horses in the race and being in the clear all the way and then when you ask him he doesnt kick. You could see me at the top of the stretch, I never hit him, I never doBrown admitted to being a little bit concerned as he knew the other riders were race-riding Castellano, which he acknowledged is well within their right.Javier showed a lot of poise. He didnt panic. The horse ran terrific. Hes a true champion, Brown said. Theyre a great team.Flintshire, the 1-10 favorite, returned $2.20. Justin Reid Jersey . 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MADISON, Wis. -- Vitto Brown hadnt even broken a sweat when Wisconsin coach Greg Gard pulled the forward and fellow starter Ethan Happ just more than a minute into Thursday nights game with Chicago State.But the move sent a message.Brown ending up scoring 12 points to lead No. 9 Wisconsin as the Badgers shook off some uneven play from their starters to beat the Cougars 69-51.Its always important to send a message with your leaders like us because they know if we mess up and can be taken out, the other guys will be held to the same standard, Brown said.Gard said he figured some of his starters would be sluggish two days after a 79-67 loss to No. 22 Creighton. But after seeing a couple of careless turnovers to start the game and a quick 8-0 deficit, he had enough.Gards move paid off. Khalil Iverson came off the bench to add 11 points, and freshman guard DMitrik Trice dished out seven assists in 23 minutes. Meanwhile, Bronson Koenig added 10 points, though he was 1 of 6 from 3-point range.Thats the nice thing about having guys on the bench who will go in and play as hard as you can, as smart as you can, for as long as you can, Gard said.The Badgers (2-1) were just 11 of 39 from beyond the 3-point line against Creighton. They again struggled from deep Thursday, hitting 5 of 19. But they had little trouble with the Cougars (1-1) inside as they pulled away. They hit almost 54 percent of their two-point attempts, outscoring Chicago State 34-10 in the paint.Fred Sims scored 26 points to lead Chicago State, which came out in a zone and pressed Wisconsin early.Coach Tracy Dildy said his staff saw Wisconsins shooting troubles in Tuesdays game and decided to go with a zone to see where it can take us. With the Badgers struggles continuing, he added, it likely made the Cougars zone look better than it was.But they stoppped settling for 3s and really were able to have their way pounding it inside, he said.ddddddddddddBIG PICTUREChicago State: Hey, its a paycheck. The Panthers went 4-28 last season, including 0-14 in the Western Athletic Conference. They were a tune up for a bigger, deeper and more talented team.Wisconsin: It wasnt always pretty but Wisconsin played better inside than it did in Tuesdays loss and now moves onto bigger challenges.TOUGH NIGHT AT THE OFFICEWisconsins Nigel Hayes, who scored 16 points in Tuesdays loss, was a non-factor. He was 1 for 8 from the field, including 1 for 4 from 3-point range, and 0 for 2 from the free throw line. He finished with three points. He wasnt the only one who struggled. Fellow starter Zak Showalter missed all five shots he took, including four from behind the 3-point line.PROTEST CONTINUESHayes and and fellow Badger Jordan Hill continued their protest during the national anthem. Both stood a step behind the rest of their teammates while it was played. Hayes stood with his hands clasped behind his back, head down with the collar of his warm-up shirt pulled up over the bottom half of his face.POLL IMPLICATIONSIts not going to make up for Tuesdays loss to Creighton. But the Badgers largely took care of business and have a chance to redeem themselves in the eyes of pollsters when they head to Maui next week.UP NEXTChicago State: The Cougars travel to Oakland on Saturday as they play 14 of their 16 pre-conference games on the road. That includes two games next month in Nevada as part of the Continental Tire Las Vegas Classic.Wisconsin: The Badgers will get some stiffer competition against No. 21 Tennessee on Monday in the Maui Jim Maui Invitational. 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