Bonita Springs, Florida: Great Distance Rivalry Now at Naples-Ft. Myers Greyhound Park

One of the best rivalries in the sport of greyhound racing is taking place on a pretty regular basis down in Bonita Springs, Florida at the Naples-Ft. Myers Greyhound Park. Greys Swing Gate and Kelsos Hifalutin have been going at it now over the routes and marathon distances at Naples-Ft. Myers, each taking turns beating the other. Hifalutin seems to have had the best of it lately, winning the last three meetings between this talented pair of distance stars after taking her medicine the previous four times they dueled. In the last race that these two squared off, a 770 yard Naples-Ft. Myers marathon on August 9th, it was Hifalutin doing what seemed impossible a few weeks back, cleanly beat Swing Gate all the way around the track.

Greys Swing Gate is a red brindle female out of Craigie Whistler that ventured to Naples from Tampa last winter. At Tampa she was a late speed demon over the 660 yard routes, but Tampa did not run marathons, a distance that Swing Gate figured to excel in. Once at Naples, she was able to dominate right off the bat, taking seven of her first eight 3/8ths of a mile events with little trouble. Swing Gate then was moved to the even longer 2,310 foot marathon distance, where she was untouchable in six consecutive races before finally losing one in late February of this year. After that loss, Swing Gate competed in and won the Naples Hurricane Derby, run over the 660 yard course, where she first met up with Kelsos Hifalutin in a contest right before the eliminations began.

Hifalutin had been at such tough tracks as Raynham in Massachusetts, Wheeling Island in West Virginia, and Orange Park in Jacksonville before coming to Naples-Ft. Myers Greyhound Park in late January. The wide running black bitch ran 3/8ths until April, competing in the same stakes as Swing Gate and first hooking up with her in a race won by Pat C She's Right. During the stakes the two were in the same field, but neither one was able to win the tilt. The rivalry wasn't really born until the two both were in the same marathon bunch, which occurred on April 11th. Swing Gate won that match up, which was Hifalutin's first time going that far. She went way wide late and ran third, then came in second to Swing Gate the next two times out, each race running a 43.24 for a time.

A rivalry isn't really a rivalry if one side always wins, unless it is a classic such as Affirmed and Alydar in horse racing's Triple Crown. For this to become worth watching, Hifalutin had to find a way to beat Swing Gate, which she finally did in their fourth 770 yard get-together. Breaking from the eight hole, Hifalutin zoomed to the lead right out of the box and although Swing Gate gnawed away at the lead, she couldn't overcome the early deficit. The next start, Swing Gate left no doubt who the faster of the two was when she won by ten in 42.80, while Hifalutin could only grab third. The two then were drawn into the May Night of Stars marathon together, where Swing Gate's 42.44 was good for a five length win over her chief antagonist.

That outcome was reversed just five days later when Hifalutin broke on top from the one and secured her second victory over Swing Gate. But Swing Gate would go out and take the next four races in the series, threatening to make it a lopsided rivalry. Three were marathons, won by no fewer than seven and a half lengths, and one was a 660 yard race that Hifalutin ran fourth in while Swing Gate romped away. However, on July 27th, Hifalutin bolted to the lead in a marathon and clung to victory by a nose over her nemesis. This seemed to give the rivalry new life, and when Hifalutin took the next meeting, a 3/8ths by nine full lengths, it began to take shape as a seesaw affair that was becoming more unpredictable.

In the latest chapter of this competition between these distance stars, Hifalutin drew the two box and Swing Gate had the six. It was their August 9th marathon, run as the tenth race of the performance. Hifalutin was sent off at 2-1, while Swing Gate at 3-5 was the choice of the crowd. On the break, both dogs vied for the lead as they rushed down into the turn from the starting box, but it was Hifalutin that came away with it. She took the wide road while Swing Gate stayed on the rail, and the two steadily pulled away from the rest of this overmatched field. Into the far turn Swing Gate still had not dented the two length margin that Hifalutin had established over her, but in the stretch she would make her move. As Hifalutin drifted wide, Swing Gate came to the middle of the track and tried to pull even, but on this night Hifalutin would not give in and she crossed the line in 42.95 seconds, a length in front. The 2-6 quiniela paid just three bucks, as this was perhaps the coldest race run anywhere in the country this year.

These two will undoubtedly continue to hook up in the marathons, and they may have some others joining them in the coming months that can spice things up. Pat C Shes Right and Pat C Get It will probably head south to Naples when the current Dubuque Greyhound Park meet in Iowa closes this fall, and they are an accomplished set of late speedsters that have won marathons up in the corn belt. For now though, Hifalutin and Swing Gate will go at it, knocking heads to attempt to decide which the better greyhound at Naples-Ft. Myers is.