The Hot Box Event Last Saturday Night at Mardi Gras Racetrack matched the undefeated Packin the Heat against a powerful group of greyhounds which included Dairylands Dream and Ls Lafave. And Saturday Night "the Heat" was no longer undefeated.
Hot Box - January 29th Replay
The Forums were quick to respond - here are just a few thoughts we found on this amazing greyhound - we look forward to his next race.
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In my lifetime I have seen millions of greyhound races.
This greyhound is a really nice one..
My only concern would be to over hype the hound, as I do not yet now how he will navigate traffic when not on the lead coming out of the first turn. He is 82 lbs and hounds this size are not always the most nimble in traffic.
I would predict he make a nice high grade hound. I do not believe at this time he has track record speed like many of the past greats.
NOTE: While his length of victory in some of his races was impressive, in a two dog race against this countries best he would be competitive but not dominant.
I would not match race this greyhound until he reaches maturity.
Those whom have stated he is a puppy are correct. Moving forward it is most important this pup not lose his confidence. Many talented pups struggle as they move up in grade after winning easy there entire life. It is at the point of competitive struggle when you find out whether you have a NICE greyhound or a SPECIAL one.
Let's all hope this one is special and reaches his ultimate potential..
For sure, he is a greyhound that anyone would love to own and can add a great deal of hype to the sport.
Best of Luck to the owner and the connections..
Quik
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When you're judging talent in a green pup, as Quik knows, you have to look for flaws. Holes in their game, so to speak. There are some of these "holes" that dogs can learn to cover up or to compensate for, or to even correct-----and there are others which they can't, or generally won't.
Though he beat the box a race or 2 back, I think this dog is likely to be a moderate or maybe even better than average breaker, once he comes up against dogs of high caliber. However, being attentive and learning to relax and to time the box is something some dogs learn as they gain experience.
This pup has a long stride, and good leg speed for his scope. But because he is so large, and his stride long, he needs a few jumps to establish his rhythm, and there he will be vulnerable to break traffic, as dogs with less stride and greater leg speed vie to seize their preferred line. He should be able to take the turn in a representative sampling of races if he has a clear line. He seems run the turn fluently enough when clear, and to like the 3 lane (or thereabouts) on the turn----which might make him vulnerable to inside pressure in traffic. His best sectional move, to my eye, is from the 2nd turn, onto and down the backstretch. In his race on 1-15, he made what I thought was an eye-opening move there, just sucking the will out of the competition.
He runs the 3rd and 4th turn without lead change problems and without losing too much velocity, and he changes back to his right lead on cue entering the homestretch. From top to midstretch, his action is good. From there on, he begins to lose a little velocity and form, and to shorten stride a bit----not critically, but enough to make him vulnerable to strong closers, or tweeners, who might have run under cover most of the way, and kept within striking distance. This tendency will be exacerbated if and when he has a dog on his shoulder or flank, or looking him in the eye, pressing him for the lead on the backside----the faster you are forced to go early, the slower you will go late.
If he can learn to bring his first section up to the level of his second section, he'll be a tough cookie even in top grade----because he's an 80-plus pounder who appears to have turn stability, with a longer than average stride and better than average leg speed for a dog of his size and scope.
RockingShip
HL’S TOD N TYER
