Palm Beach Weekly Wrap-Up 4-17-2016

A new feature we are starting is the Palm Beach Weekly Wrap-Up.  In these posts, we'll spotlight all the action from the previous week and discuss the biggest stories going on in greyhound racing at "The Beach."  With the Puppy Stakes Tourney & Kb's Like A Fox going for career win #90, this week was full of things to look out for.

$20,000 Spring Puppy Stakes Rd 1-2

*Kinda Cruel Red*

One of the most anticipated Tournaments of the season got rolling this past week with the 50th running of the Bob Balfe Puppy Stakes.  Usually there is a clear cut favorite or two in this Tourney, but this time there were many.  Kinda Cruel Red, brothers Blu Too Ataree & Blu Too Tarmac, plus super pup Wiki Ray Donovan were on everybody's radar coming in and they didn't disappoint in the opening rounds.

"The Little Red Machine" Kinda Cruel Red from the Janie Carroll Kennel was the only one of the favorites to escape unscathed from the opening rounds, scoring a 29.42 secs victory Wednesday and an impressive win on Saturday over Ataree. Red from owner Edward Piziak looks to be the strongest greyhound in the Tourney, but may need a rail spot to score the grand prize in the Final.

Surprises From Rd 1-2

*Wiki Ray Donovan*

I think most of the betting public was stunned with Wiki Ray Donovan's defeat on Saturday against a sub par field. Ray took a bump from the field in the first turn and wasn't able to recover, finishing a disappointing 7th.  All that matters is the Final though and Donovan needs to run better in the next two rounds to have any chance of getting there.

After scorching the track on Wednesday with Round 1's fastest split (29.22 secs) JS Insta Gator from All-Star owner Shannon Henry followed up with a W in Round 2 taking Saturday's finale.  Gator didn't have any Grade A experience coming into this Tournament and it will be interesting to see if she can keep up with the stars coming up in the later rounds.

Gator, along with Cruel Red and Flying Russian from Rader Racing were the only greyhounds to stay undefeated.  Whoever has the most accumulated points through next Sunday's semi-finals will be selected to run in the Final on April 30th.

3rd Round excitement gets rolling this Wednesday.

Fox's Run At More History

He already did the impossible, besting the career victory mark here last month and now he's aiming for more.  Kb's Like A Fox from Rader Racing tried to become the first greyhound in Palm Beach history to achieve 90 career victories on Sunday but was stunningly upset by teammate Cet Quick Slick. What made this even more of shocker was Fox was given the prestigious 1 box to fire from, where he had been 76% career winner. Fox will attempt win #90 later again next week. It's really only a matter of time before the future Walk of Famer scores another historical feat.

Atascocita Camry Continues To Dominate

With Derby winner Ethel Is Here resting, there really has been no threat to multi Stakes Finalist Atascocita Camry from Suncoast Racing on the "Rhonda Course." With all that V6 power, Camry scored her third straight victory and 20th overall this season on Saturday.  Camry still trails Ethel by five in the Track Championship chase, but could make things interesting if she puts together a long winning streak going into May's racing.

LongShot

Who had 33-1 longshot #2 Tk Loreal in Thursday's Matinee? If you had this as a legit play, you are an amazing capper!

*Storm Control*

To celebrate 50 years of the Spring Puppy Stakes, TwinSpires will be coming out this week with the Top 5 greatest champs from this Tournament of all time.  Expect 2014 Champion & recently crowned All-American Storm Control to be on our list.

We'll see you next week for the weekly wrap-up!