St. Petersburg, Florida: Don't Ignore Derby Lane's Kaias Sequoyah!

One of the most overlooked greyhounds in the entire country runs at one of the most prominent venues in the United States, Derby Lane in St. Pete, Florida. Kaias Sequoyah is one fast greyhound, yet because the 74 pound red male out of WW Time Warp and Flying Anne has failed to win a stakes race, he is often not mentioned along with dogs such as Brady Thomas, Phenomenal Dream, and Flyin Bridgeport, some of Derby Lane's biggest stars. However, Kaias Sequoyah is as talented as any greyhound down at the Derby Lane oval, and of the nine fastest sprint times run there this calendar year, Kaias Sequoyah has been the author of five of them.

Born in September of 2004, Kaias Sequoyah made his racing debut at Derby Lane on April 26th, 2006, winning his Maiden by six lengths. He quickly rose up the grading ladder and found himself in grade A with the big boys and girls before shipping across the bridge to neighboring Tampa Greyhound Park, where he proceeded to take ten top level heats before heading to Mardi Gras Racetrack and Entertainment Center to compete in the $140,000 Challenge Sprint. Sequoyah did not fare well at Mardi Gras, leaving there after failing to win any of the eliminations, and going to Derby Lane, where he right away returned to his winning ways.

Winning three of his first half dozen Derby Lane outings upon his return, Sequoyah was entered into the Sprint Championship. One of his wins prior to the stakes had been a rout of Hometown Boy, the brother of Brady Thomas. Hometown Boy had been dominant at St. Pete up through that point and he went through the stakes undefeated and took the title, but Sequoyah ran three of the year's quickest 5/16ths of a mile times in the eliminations. Going off as the second choice in the finals, Sequoyah encountered trouble on the rush to the turn and ran a disappointing seventh.

Sequoyah's handlers decided to stretch him and enter him in the 3/8ths of a mile St. Pete Derby eliminations, but the speedy greyhound could not go the added yardage and did not make the finals. However, since then, he has been on a tear in the sprints, winning nine of thirteen starts, with only one time out of the money; that one was a trouble filled effort on June 28th. On July 6th, Kaias Sequoyah went to post and won from the six box by seven and a half lengths, running the fastest time of the year, a 30.22. That clocking gave him five of the nine best, with only Brady Thomas having his name on that list more than once.

Currently, Kaias Sequoyah is on a three race winning streak, with two of the triumphs from behind and the other a box-to-wire effort. For this meet Sequoyah has come out on top in five of the six times he ran, making him the wins leader along with Brady Thomas, who just won his fifth on the last day of July. Thomas still remains the standard by which the current crop of Derby Lane sprinters are measured, as he has won fifty-two times on the Tampa-Derby Lane circuit and owns his share of stakes titles. What many followers of Derby Lane may be surprised to learn is that in races where Sequoyah and Brady Thomas have been matched up and run one-two, Sequoyah owns a four to two edge over the All-American in wins. Until he wins a stakes race, Sequoyah will probably have to battle to stay in the headlines, but all of the dogmen and railbirds at Derby Lane realize just how fast this greyhound is.