Houston, Texas: SP's Rags Comes from Behind to Win Gulf Greyhound Park's Texas Shootout

Sp's Rags let a potential stakes title slip from his grasp on May 5th when he lost a late lead in the Texas Round-Up, but it was he who ran another greyhound down to capture the Texas Shootout on Memorial Day at Gulf Greyhound Park outside of Houston. Rags, a March 2005 white ticked black male out of Kiowa Sweet Trey and SP's May Day, put it in gear late and caught Tipp Kurt to erase the memory of his coming up short three weeks earlier. The race became a battle of the early speedsters when the two favorites got caught in traffic, and Rags was up to the challenge in the stretch as he won by a length in 30.84 over the 5/16ths of a mile distance in a driving Texas downpour.

The Texas Shootout Stakes looked to be Eli Skinner's for the taking, as the red male was in his finest form through the pair of elimination rounds leading up to the event and had drawn an eight hole for the finals. Eli had trounced the field in his first heat, a six length decision in a rapid 30.17, and then had come from behind to score another win in the second qualifying race, by a length in 30.27. Bob's Wal, the three and a half year old veteran campaigner, was making his 101st Gulf Greyhound Park start in this stakes race, breaking from the six box. Bob's Wal had closed well to run second and third in the qualifying, and he was coming into the competition off his strong second place effort in Gulf's Night of Stars 3/8ths of a mile contest.

These two late threats however were derailed early in the Texas Shootout, running into much trouble at the first corner. Eli Skinner, Bob's Wal, and the seven dog, U Too Graceland, all got tangled up in the turn, leaving the dogs that cleared in good shape to determine the outcome. Skinner lost the race when Bob's Wal bumped him slightly, but enough to make him lose his momentum. Tipp Kurt, a 75 pound son of Kiowa Sweet Trey, blew out of the four box and established a slight lead over Rags as they headed into the bend, and he was able to maintain the length advantage as the pair went down the Gulf Greyhound Park backstretch over the 1,650 foot course. DLT White Knight was following close behind in third place, with Bob's Diva and Gable Sting on the fringe of making it a five way affair.

SP's Rags was trying to go undefeated through the Texas Shootout, but he had some work to do as the race entered its latter stages. Tipp Kurt was still clinging to his length lead into the far turn, and when the duo came out of it and was poised to head to the wire, Kurt was still on the front. Rags, who has been in twenty-two quinielas out of forty-four Gulf starts, doesn't often catch another dog, but he had done it just two races before when he got around in third place and won by a length. White Knight found himself unable to cut into the lead of either greyhound in front of him as they went down the stretch; on this day he would have to settle for third. SP's Rags finally overtook Tipp Kurt yards from the finish line. With Kurt running midtrack, Rags stayed on the inside and crossed the line a full body length on top to atone for his loss earlier in the month.

Going off at 5-1 odds, SP's Rags paid $12.00 to win and combined with Tipp Kurt in a $31.00 quiniela. The trifecta of 2-4-1 returned $407, with the 2-4-1-3 superfecta worth a neat $2,304.00. SP's Rags runs out of the Pevehouse Kennel, is owned by Sheryl Ann Watt, and trained by Susan Jones.