JaxKennel.com -- For Friday evening May 27th at the Orange Park Kennel Club, we will be looking at the 7th, 10th, 11th, and 12th races on the card. The field has been cut down to 4 races for the quarterfinals and we all know the shorter the fields, the more excitement will be had on the racetrack. Every greyhound left in the stakes is just a win away from the overall lead, so points will be at a premium once again in this round. Whoever can get the wins here will put them in a good spot to move on and possibly find a spot in the finals.
So let's look closer at the remaining races in the 2011 JGR Puppy Stakes.
Gs Emma clearly looks like the one to beat in the 7th race. She is the only grade A greyhound in the field and has lived up to her hype so far in the stakes rounds. With a close third, and huge 6 length win in round 2, she is showing her stuff and gets another chance over a weaker field. Tonight she starts out from a familiar post positions, as she comes out running from the 3 box for the third straight time in the stakes. All she has to do is run her race, and the 16 points will easily be added to her total. Rs Bailys Best has surprised so far in the stakes and has closed well in both of her efforts. She was 4th in the first round and just missed winning in the second round. Once again from an outside post position, she should be able to get around without much trouble and find a way to battle up into contention at the finish line. Al E Danny ran a strong second in the first round, but encountered trouble in round two and finish out of the money in 5th. He has proven so far in his career to be a closer and will return to that late driving style once again in this effort. Midtrack is no problem for him as he likes to run on the mid to outside part of the racetrack. If he can stay away from the trouble man, he will contend in the money once again at the wire. Cruel To Be Kind has stepped up her game in the qualifying rounds with a pair of strong 2nd place finishes, including a career best time of 30.95 seconds in her last effort. In both she was positioned nicely on the rail, tonight, no such luck. She will have to overcome the 5 box in order to contend and that will have to be at the start. If she has a shot to keep the hot streak alive tonight, she is going to have to beat the box and come out running in this effort. (3-7-4-5)
Race 10 on the card is way, way, way tougher than the 7th to pick. We have 4 grade A greyhounds and 5 round winners amongst the 8 contestants. So who do you go with? Not only class, but hot running, post position, and overall experience come greatly into play. With that being said, I like the greyhound that hasn't even won yet. LOL! Gs Uncle Harry has just missed in both of his efforts in the stakes and had the unluck of running against the quickest greyhound on each card. His times have been faster than several of the other winning times, but tonight he will make amends. He likes this outside post and do just what he has been doing early on, breaking. From that point on he will be a force throughout and find a way this time around to get up for the win at the finish line. Locall Torino is the veteran of this entire field and showed it in round 1 with an impressive win of the aforementioned Uncle Harry. In round 2 her got into early trouble, but still rallied to finish in the money in 4th. Here he is not in the best box, but he can overcome that with a good break. If he can make the lead and steal enough early on, he has the opportunity to take down Harry for a second time in the stakes tonight. Penrose Samantha is a good closer that likes to race wide and gets stuck inside once again. The only good news about that is that Samantha breaks so much better when she starts from these posts, and in turn, she runs better too. In her last effort from the 2 box she posted up a win before the stakes started. With a 5th and a 3rd place finish in two rounds, she needs all the points she can muster in this effort. Lk's Mystifier is just a green pup that has been holding his own against much more veteran competition in the stakes so far. He has a pair of third place finishes and has shown great closing power in all of his starts. He won his first couple of races before the stakes in impressive fashion, but if he wants to get back there, he is going to have to come out of the box way better than he has been. If he can hit the lid, he might just show the grade A's just what a talented grade C pup can do, upset and win! (8-6-2-5)
Race 11 should be another heated competition as a pair of solid grade A greyhounds could battle it out not only for the early lead, but the win in this effort. This duo clearly has the class edge over the rest of this field, but as we have seen in the first two rounds, that has not meant much. If they both show up, it will be a two way battle for the win tonight. With a bit of an edge is Gs Uncle Henry. In round 1 Henry left no doubt as he dominated a field and won by almost 7 lengths. What makes him tough is that he can come from just off the pace and get it done at the wire if needed late in a race. He likes the rail, but can break and run from almost any post at the racetrack. If he wants to win this one, he needs to show up early, especially if Jl's Dutch Jem gets loose early on. Jem was on fire before the stakes round started with 3 wins in a row, but in the rounds she has cooled of dramatically. She has not come out of the box at all and has finished 3rd twice in distance show efforts. She has failed to show the form that recorded her wins against much tougher fields of greyhounds. Tonight might be the breakout effort we have been waiting for, and trust me when I say, she needs each and every one of those 16 points if she wants to move on. Al E Conner gets a notice here simply because of his closing ability and the fact that he is starting out in the 1 box. All 6 of his comment in the program have one thing in common, they all say that he likes to run on the RAIL, and tonight he gets start from his most beloved place. He has looked good in the stakes too with a pair of in the money finishes, a 3rd and a 4th, and in each his closing speed and shown thru in the stretch. Here he has no excuse not to put up another strong appearance. Penrose Taylor is another strong grade A greyhound in this effort, but he is a bit more streaky than the others top talents in this field. Taylor is hot and cold and as long as he is close early on, he has the heat to burn the competition. If he gets too far behind early on, the polar bears are always welcome to win with him. Just look at the stakes, round 1 he breaks and wins, round 2 no break and a 7th place finish. If he wants a shot to contend, he MUST find his break again, especially from a tough middle post position. (6-8-1-4)
Post should play a major role in the outcome of the 12th and final qualifying race on the card. Penrose Jovial loves to race on the wide side of the racetrack and there is no better starting box than the 8 for him. His inner TIGER comes out and that allows him to break close and give a fierce late effort and post up some wins. He had won back to back efforts before the stakes, but has only managed to secure a 3rd and 4th place finish so far in the stakes. He needs to break thru with a win in this race if he has a chance to move on in the competition. No Moamy is the total surprise in this stakes event. She has really decided that she wants to be taken seriously and has left nothing to chance. She has flow from the starting box and has started to look a bit stronger in the stretch too. Granted she has not faced the toughest in the stakes so far, but a lead is a powerful thing because everyone has to catch you before the finish line. Clearly she will be in the early lead in this race and she will take it to the far turn, but the question is how far does she make it up the stretch before surrendering in this effort? We will have to wait and see. I know bigger things were expected of Jl's Wildchild in the stakes, but so far all he has run is a pair of 4th place efforts. He has had a distinct class edge over each and every field he has faced, but he has yet to show just what he can do against them. Here he gets back to the inside part of the racetrack, and that might just be enough for him to change his luck. He has all the tools to take this race and get back to winning, but will he? Can he? Does he have the need for speed again? Time will only tell. Rocken Rally gets a look here too after a strong win last time out. In round 1 he was out of it early on and finished 7th, but the one box proved to be his savior in round 2. From there he broke close, rushed to the lead, stole an easy lead, and held on at the wire for the win. Repeating that effort against this field, might be tough, but it is possible. The 3 is close to the rail, but he will still have to work to get there tonight. If he can break, he has a chance to get into the mix early and often again in this race. (8-6-2-3)
The semi-finals of the 2011 JGR Puppy Stakes will run on Monday May 30th AFTERNOON, as we only have a matinee performance on Memorial Day. The finalist will be chosen and the posts will be drawn on Wednesday and the finals will run on Saturday June 4th at the Orange Park Kennel Club. Remember we are giving away 1000 hats too, so join us for a stakes and take home a hat to remind you of the great time you had here at the racetrack.
In early Arabian culture, the birth of a greyhound ranked second only in importance to the birth of a son. So admired was the greyhound that it was the only dog they permitted to share their tents and ride atop their camels.
