Categories: SPORTS

Soprano Drive Wins Arkansas’ Southland Greyhound Park’s Superhound Championship

When Soprano Drive and HDM Juana were loaded into the 5/16ths-of-a-mile box on Saturday, Feb.2, 2008, at West Memphis, Arkansas’s Southland Greyhound Park, something was missing: six other dogs. You see, this was a match race, with the two best at Southland squaring off for the Southland Superhound Championship, a unique stakes format that is played out almost like the National Football League playoffs, to coincide with the Super Bowl. The difference here is that both these greyhounds were the equivalent of the New England Patriots, at least before their stunning loss to the Giants, with glowing resumes that made the outcome hard to predict.

The Southland Superhound Championship with these two going toe-to-toe was on a par with Yankees-Red Sox, Colts- Pats, and Celtics-Lakers (circa 1985 of course). The pair had a history and a great rivalry, with Soprano Drive looking to gain a measure of revenge for being beaten in two full field stakes finals by Juana in 2007. Although the couple had exchanged victories in their frequent hook-ups over the past months, Juana had won the 2007 Southland Derby and the ’07 Juvenile, within weeks of each other late last summer, each time leaving Soprano Drive to lament as the 3 year old red female out of Stan’s Boy Flyer skipped into the winner’s circle.

Soprano Drive however did not cry in his Purina. Rather, the April 2005 white and brindle son of TNT Star Wars went on an amazing 15 race win streak over the 583 yard sprint course, the longest in Southland’s illustrious history. Soprano Drive ended the year on absolute fire and came into this competition as the favorite. The format sent some of Southland’s top greyhounds to post one-on-one for the right to advance, with the very best dogs getting a bye, much like the NFL does with its teams with the best records every year. Juana and Soprano Drive waited for their challengers to emerge from the fray; and when they did they made short work of them.

Juana was matched with BF Get Over in the semi-finals, a runner who had beaten Wizard’s Diamond to garner the dubious honor of facing Juana. The outcome was never in doubt, as Juana opened up a 2 length lead that was almost 3 by the time the race was done. Soprano Drive blew out U Too Good Deal by 6 full lengths, a dog that had held on after grabbing a huge lead against the router Divulge. The expected final had indeed come to fruition then, as anticipated a race as Southland had seen in some time.

Juana drew the 1 box, with Soprano Drive positioned in the 3. The lure came flying around, a stuffed bone named “Rusty”, and the box was sprung. Juana had the best of it briefly, as she went to the rail and held a half-length advantage on the way to the first turn. However, her supporters’ joy was to be short-lived, as Soprano Drive, running mid-track and with nobody else around to impede his rush to the bend, came up and took the front away as the pair headed out of the turn and down the Southland backstretch.

There would be no catching this talented closer before the far turn, but Juana had one last chance if she was to pull the upset, as she had gone off at 1-2, with Soprano Drive at 2-5. Juana’s rail-running style meant that she could possibly draw even with the wider pacing Soprano Drive coming out of the far turn, and that is what nearly happened. Drive went out some and Juana was just about even with him, but when they straightened out for home, Soprano Drive was just too much and he pulled away for a length and a half triumph in 31.67 seconds, only .07 off the track record of 31.60 held by Big Monday. Soprano Drive had his vengeance, if only for the time being, as these 2 great greyhound superstars racing down in Arkansas are certain to meet up again in 2008!

Sources:

http://boards.globalgreyhounds.com/eve/forums/a/frm/f/263095324