Arkansas: HDM Juana Edges Soprano Drive for Southland Greyhound Park Sprint Crown

The Arkansas bettors had some very tough choices to make Saturday night, August 4th, when Southland Greyhound Park in West Memphis held their $50,000 Sprint Derby Championship. The gamblers had to try to figure out a contest that contained five greyhounds with double-digit wins for the year, a variety of early speed and late closing ability that promised to be as exciting as it was difficult to handicap. However, credit the betting public for making the correct dog the favorite, as HDM Juana emerged with the victory after stalking and running down another Southland star.

Four elimination rounds over the 583 yard Southland Greyhound Park Sprint Course yielded a fine field, led by Juana in the two hole, Millenium Drive, and Soprano Drive. The punishing late foot of the formerly red-hot Greys Real Deal was on tap in this stakes final, as was the blistering speed of BF Get Over. He was in the one hole, with hopes of getting a clean run to the first turn at Southland, which would make things very tough on the rest, but Get Over was swallowed up early by the pacesetters and never got things going. Likewise, Silver Drive, who has made it into the top two over the line twenty times this year, encountered some traffic and did no better than sixth.

Mayday Malone in the four had shown being in the lead until the far turn in nine of his last ten outings, including each and every qualifying round, and indeed he was able to make the front here, if only for a cameo appearance. His advantage was a mere length over eighteen time winner Soprano Drive, and Juana was about a hair behind him. Needing a much bigger margin than that to be effective, Malone sent out a Mayday well before the toteboard and then faded right out of the race. Soprano Drive, who broke from the five and then refused to let Rodeo Lady in the seven shut him off on his rush to the turn, was motoring by on the wide part of the Southland Greyhound Park oval, with nineteen race victor HDM Juanaclinging to the rail in search of an even twenty.

Greys Real Deal was located out in the eight box for this stakes final, and even though the eighty pound red male rarely breaks, he had a halfway decent chance to circle this field if he got a clean run and there was trouble ahead. Unfortunately for the hard charger, the opposite came to fruition, as he absorbed a slight bump at the corner from Rodeo Lady, who seemed determined to spoil the party for someone. Real Deal would come on to grab third place, but with Soprano Drive and HDM Juan getting trouble-free lanes, he really had no chance to challenge them after his usual slow start.

The $50,000 Southland Sprint Derby title would come down to simple geometry, and it seemed that perhaps Soprano Drive had either skipped a few classes or had fallen asleep in one too many. In particular importance would have been the lesson involving the shortest distance between two points, as his wide running style allowed HDM Juana to gain precious steps in the latter portion of the race. While Soprano Drive went into the far turn with the lead, he came out of it too wide and was trailing Juana, who stuck to the rail like glue. An edge of one length became a deficit of a half length, and the pair ran to the wire separated by that much. HDM Juana, a February 2005 red female out of Stan's Boy Flyer and HDM Julie, crossed the Southland finish line in the night's quickest clocking, a 31.92. Going off a co-chalk with Real Deal at 5-2 odds, Juana returned $7.20 for the triumph.

LB Stroker, who had just arrived in the higher Southland grades after a quick trip up the grading ladder, failed to make the finals but won his first of what will be many AA events two days earlier. Millenium Drive, who came back to the sprints after some good work in the Southland routes, did make the cut with three wins and a narrow loss by a head, but the best he could muster was a fourth. If he returns to the 660 yard battles, he is sure to encounter My Sugar Drive at some point, not a pleasant prospect as that Southland stalwart is currently working on a seven race win streak, the latest an eight length destruction of her foes that has many of the dogmen and railbirds at Southland wondering what it will take to defeat her.