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The Spring Racing Carnival is now behind us for 2016. It left racing fans across Australia and the world with many great memories of fantastic racing on the track and many great performances by highly gifted and, in some cases, some very expensive thoroughbreds.Some will go on to even greater heights, such as Winx, whom we are all hoping can stretch her Cox Plate streak to a record-equaling three wins next October. Similarly, Guineas and Derby-winning colts and fillies will be looking to see their stock prices reach new peaks with even richer successes.But for some horses, their racing careers might be coming to an end. What happens then? An event in Melbourne this week -- Equitana -- showcases just how horses, successful or unsuccessful on the track, can continue their competitive prospects in some very positive ways.Beginning on Thursday, Equitana is a four-day competition and exhibition with shows and events for everything equine; from stock horses to brumbies and thoroughbreds in show jumping to barrel racing. If you like horses of all sorts, and can get to Melbourne, then ESPN may now have sorted your weekend for you.A key part of Equitana will be participation of thoroughbreds in the off the track showjumping and showing showcases -- a program spearheaded by Racing Victoria, the governing body of thoroughbred racing in that state.One competitor who will garner a lot interest is Sirmione, formerly trained by 12-time Melbourne Cup-winning trainer and racing legend, the late Bart Cummings.Twice a Group 1 winner, Sirmione won the 2007 Mackinnon Stakes in an upset result at 60-1 and the 2008 Australian Cup, both over 2000 metres at Flemington. A life at stud was never an option for the gelding but a career in other competitive sport was; and he has become comparatively successful.He was a very well put together animal, Peter Mertens, who rode Sirmione to both Group 1 wins, told ESPN. He always had show stamped on him.Ive seen some of them coming through racing and they dont do too well as a winning prospect on the track but theyve been very good at showjumping, added the seven-time Group 1-winning jockey who now enjoys his own retirement from race riding.He used to get around the mounting yard and carry himself really well. He had that look about him. He was always on his toes and had that really good look about him. It is no surprise at all that hes gone on to do well there.Mertens said he rated Sirmione one of the best horses that he had achieved such high levels of success aboard.From his racing days spent at Cummings stable at Flemington, Sirmione is now under the care of Off The Track trainer Fiona McIntyre; he calls Inverleigh home, west of Melbourne.McIntyre is a trainer of show horses who has also now turned her attention to re-training thoroughbreds towards new horizons.Not all ex-racehorses have the temperament to go onto these [different] disciplines, McIntyre said. Sirmione took to showing incredibly well. His transition from being a racehorse to was one of the easiest that I have been involved in.He behaves and doesnt bat an eye lid on the big stages; he goes out and performs every time.Sirmione enjoyed a second placing at last years Adelaide Show.There has some very negative press over time on the treatment of horses in their post-racing days, and historically there were few options for thoroughbreds to continue in a competitive environment. Racing Victorias manager of equine welfare Raelene Harrison says there has been significant progress made in the past few years to bring about positive change.Harrison said that 40 re-trainers had been accredited under Off The Track since the program commenced in 2012, and Racing Victoria hoped to see 20 more in the next 18 months.A challenge for racings authorities has been to pave a way for the growing number of horses retiring and steering them towards other positive opportunities. Many more thoroughbreds are now going into new stables and mixing it with other breeds. Some take to it, others dont.Success on the track isnt necessarily a pre-requisite for success off of it, but Sirmione is leading the charge on the for retired racehorses on the equestrian stage while another blue-riband performer, 2006 Group 1 Australian Derby winner Headturner, is leading a sedate life as a pleasure-riding horse for a 75-year-old lady on the Victoria beachside suburb of Leongatha.The competitive circuit is expanding. These horses have had the opportunity to return to the races in their current pursuits at demonstration events held during racemeetings at Caulfield and Mornington. Spectators have been able to get up close to showjumping events with temporary, but attractive, courses set up on the public lawns.Precedence is another Cummings-trained successful galloper who is destined to perform off the track under McIntyres care. The gelding notched two wins in the Group 2 Moonee Valley Cup (2500m) and ran in four Melbourne Cups, with his best result a sixth placing in 2014. A year after retiring from racing, McIntyre is about to embark on the geldings retraining towards a showjumping career.The expansion and willingness of thoroughbred racing participants to progress their retired chargers to showing or dressage has been a boost for the competitive equine industries, too.To be fair, we only used to get the slow ones who didnt make it into our stables but now there are top-line performers like Sirmione coming through, McIntyre said.Equitana Melbourne is being held at the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds until Sunday. The thoroughbreds will take centre stage on Friday and Sunday.Wholesale Air Max 97 . Jeff Green scored 13 points and Kris Humphries 12 for the Celtics, who nearly blew an 18-point, second-half lead. Sullingers 20-20 was the first by a Celtics player since Kevin Garnetts first game in Boston in 2007. 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Just as Montreal was settling into the first full working week of a new year, the Impact announced the appointment of their new head coach.True story: Soccer superstar Carli Lloyd once went to Whole Foods after practice in her U.S. womens national team gear, and a man asked her if she was a big Lionel Messi fan -- because she was wearing No. 10. Lloyd had to tell him it was, in fact, her number as well.Its hard to think that could ever happen to Lloyd today -- not after scoring the game-winning goals in both the 2008 and 2012 Olympic gold-medal games, as well as three goals in the 2015 World Cup final.After a disapppointing Olympics in Rio, the U.ddddddddddddS. women are regrouping, and to Lloyd, that means heading back and working harder than ever, with her resolve already set on helping defend the World Cup title in 2019.She shared her workout playlist, including her go-to song of the moment, Still Falling for You by Ellie Goulding: Get more athlete playlists. ' ' '