The Mighty Have Fallen

In the third round of the 2017 Battle of the Sexes, two favorites won their races, but neither of them were the undefeated greyhounds that headed into battle. Both of the mighty have fallen, and now with the points fanning out, it is going to be interesting to see just who moves on the semi-finals on this race.

Showing the rest how things should be done was the surprise winner Bang Ludwig in the 11^th race on the card. This greyhound out of the promising sire, Sh Avatar, loves the outside post positions and runs his best when he can start on the wide side. Here the 8 box was his best friend as he ran a monster race, the fastest of all in qualifying, and took down the undefeated 6 race in a row winner Watch Me in the process. Early it was all Watch Me. As expected he went straight to the lead from the starting box, but that was going to be short lived. By the backside, the stalking threat Bang Ludwig had already made a move and at the far turn he was easily in front of the streaking champ by 2 lengths. Down the stretch he found his crescendo as he padded his margin to 5 at the wire in 30.48 seconds. Watch Me finished a distance place as Gs Humongous won the long show battle over Jack’s War Hero at the finish line.

Putting up back to back wins on the evening and solidifying herself as one of the greyhound to beat in this stake was Hey Hey Daddy. Finding her break again in the 10^th race on the card, Daddy was stalking the leader from the break, outrushed the rest, and took over command at the first turn. From that moment on, this race just got UGLY! Padding her 3.5 length lead to 7 full lengths by the far turn, she was in complete control and maintained that huge margin all the way to the finish line. Stopping the clock in a blistering 30.55 second, Daddy is back! Chasing the pace all the way around the racetrack was Ironhound champ, Boc’s Queen Lady. Gradually gaining to the wire was Ln Lola in third and She’s A Mystery in fourth.

Another big name and another big effort came your way in the 7^th as puppy stakes winner, WW Next Bigthing did what he needed to do to get the W at the finish line. Normally a front running winner, Next Bigthing showed some good versatility in this effort as he had to come from a big off the pace to get things done. Early it was Ln Michaels who found his break and took over early command of this one. Setting the pace to the stretch, he held tough a half a length ahead of Bigthing, but in the end, he would not have enough in the stretch to hold on for the win. Next Bigthing found another gear and surge by late, but it was not an easy victory. Huge closer, and mostly distance racer, Atascocita Danty came from off the pace to challenge at the wire as well. When the smoke cleared, Ww Next Bigthing was a neck better than Danty at the wire. Michaels settled for show as Pat C Hash Tag gave an even effort in 4^th.

The other upset came in the 9^th race on the card as Lorine of Ruckus was outbroke and outlasted for the win. Popping the box was the former puppy stakes champion, Pullanallnighter. Channeling her old self, she exploded to the front end and stole away 2.5 lengths early on the rest of the field. Right in her hip pocket was the copycat Ww’s Lost Girl. Another early speeder who has been off her game for a long time, she too found her break and was going to make it interesting all the way to the wire. This dynamic duo battled it out up front and in the end, Pullanallnighter would need every inch she got at the start of this effort. By the far turn the lead had dwindled down to a length and a half, and down the stretch, it shrank even more. At the wire Pullanallnighter managed to stay off her challengers and hold on for the length win. Ww’s Lost Girl gave all she had but came up just short in this effort. Undefeated Lorine Of Ruckus making up ground throughout and was right in the mix at the finish line, along with Pitch Perfect, who came from even further back to throw her hat into the ring in the deep stretch.

The semi-finals of the Battle of the Sexes race will take place on Saturday evening June 24^th at bestbet Jacksonville. Two races will be on the card, one with the top 8 females remaining, and one with the top 8 males remaining. The points don’t matter anymore as the top 4 finishers in each race will move on to the finals on Saturday evening July 1^st in the 11^th race on the card. A true battle of the sexes will take place as the girls vs the boys will be on the big stage. So, make you plans, grab some friends, and come out for greyhound bingo, 2^nd chance drawings, and stay for the best greyhounds around in the finals of the 2017 Battle of the Sexes Stakes. I’ll see you at the races!