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Greyhounds like Kay V Prince Joe are few and far between.
With nearly 170 starts on his resume at the Wheeling Island racetrack, Prince Joe is an absolute warrior. Even more impressive is the fact Prince Joe is still competing against the track's top sprinters.
Since Prince Joe turned 4 years old in October, he has discovered a Fountain of Youth. In his last six Grade AA trips, Prince Joe has 3 wins, 2 seconds and 1 fourth.
"Joe seemed to be slowing down a little in the summer so we gave him a break. At that time and with the number of starts he had, I didn't know how long he'd race," Flying Eagles-Miner Kennel trainer Jay Hawkins said. "Right now he's acting like a pup again. You think they're not going to get back and then they look like a million bucks."
An October 2003 greyhound out of Aztec Fortress-Kiowa Princess, Prince Joe has won has last three Grade AA starts by a combined 17 lengths -- a 10-length victory and a pair of 3 1/2-length wins.
Two of Prince Joe's recent wins were box-to-wire efforts from his favorite one hole. In the other victory from the six box, Prince Joe closed from third in the stretch to win handily.
Prince Joe has faced some top notch sprinters in his last three victories. In his last race, he knocked off early speed merchants Makin Bakin and Quick Trent while in an earlier win he topped Legend Of Zorro.
"I really can't explain it. To do what Joe's doing against the competition at Wheeling is amazing," Hawkins said. "Sometimes old dogs have a last hurrah and then fall off, but the way he's feeling right now he could go on for awhile."
In 48 starts this year, Prince Joe has 13 wins, 8 seconds, 7 thirds and 6 fourths -- a 70 percent mark on the pay sheet.
Lance Berland of the Flying Eagles Kennel -- whose father Vince owns Prince Joe -- couldn't be any happier with the veteran racer's career.
"Prince Joe was a nice dog from day one, but we never expected this. He's been phenomenal," Lance Berland said. "Longevity is an awesome thing at any track. To do it at Wheeling is as good as it gets."
In 167 career starts at Wheeling, Prince Joe has 39 wins, 21 seconds, 21 thirds and 21 fourths. A total of 103 of his lifetime starts are in Grade AA.
"He's been a very durable and hard trying dog," Berland noted. "He's been an iron man and we love him."
Besides the month rest this past summer, Prince Joe has only been off one other time since he broke in at Wheeling in March 2005 as a 16-month-old pup. In mid-November 2005, he was idled for six weeks.
Dean Miner, co-operator of the Flying Eagles-Miner Kennel at Wheeling, also is amazed by Prince Joe's remarkable career.
"The shocking thing for me was how young he was when he started," Miner said. "I remember thinking what the heck is he here for at this age. Quickly he proved me wrong."
Miner also pointed out Prince Joe's father, Aztec Fortress, was racing in Grade AA at Wheeling when Joe launched his career.
According to Berland, the Aztec Fortress-Kiowa Princess breeding which produced Prince Joe is another story.
"Aztec Fortress was a great dog with pure speed but was injury-prone because he gave 200 percent every race. We paid $27,500 for him at the nationals one year but he never reached his potential," Berland said. "Kiowa Princess wasn't much of a racer. She was a low grade marathoner at Flagler and Naples with no speed."
Berland said "off the wall" breedings can produce outstanding greyhounds.
"This litter was not that good other than Prince Joe," Berland said. "A brother, Red Prince, had 180 starts at Calienta."
Four months after Prince Joe broke in at Wheeling in 2005, he was racing in Grade AA. In 47 starts his first year, he had 8 wins, 9 seconds, 5 thirds and 6 fourths.
In 72 starts in 2006, Prince Joe had 18 wins, 4 seconds, 9 thirds and 9 fourths. Joe topped the Flying Eagles-Miner Kennel in victories in 2006 and was tenth overall in wins at Wheeling.
"Joe's one of those lucky things that happen in this business," Berland added.
Prince Joe has had three-race win streaks three times during his career -- November 2005 and February and November of this year. He dipped under the 30-second plateau twice -- 29.75 in October 2005 and 29.97 in July 2006.
Of Prince Joe's 39 career victories, 20 are against Grade AA company and 13 against Grade A fields.
Miner pointed to the operation's breeding program as well as the kennel's personnel as contributing factors to Prince Joe's success.
"Prince Joe has had the good fortune to have been handled by two of the finest trainers in the country in Peter Barnhorn and Jay Hawkins. I'm very impressed by the number of older Grade AA dogs our kennel has had," Miner said. "It's a testament to the training staff, the Flying Eagles bloodlines, which in my opinion produce a very durable greyhound, and ultimately to the greyhounds themselves. Luck doesn't just happen. I firmly believe it is the residue of hard work."
IN THE HOMESTRETCH:
HOT DOGS: Majestic Kennel's Blackbear Pinner has won three out of her last four Grade AA 3/8 races for trainer Joe Otto. Kennel-mate Swamp Root has two wins and a second in his last three starts.
Gable Kennel's Gable Pimiento has two wins and a second in her last three Grade AA trips for trainer Wayne Piquette.
Steubenville Kennel's TD's Flawless has back-to-back Grade AA victories for trainer Debbie Schweizer.
Ryan Farms Kennel's Super C Simon has won three out of his last four starts (M, C, B) for trainer Terry Green.
Cardinal Kennel's TNJ Bet Me has two wins and a second in her last three outings for trainer Jerrod Varner. Kennel-mate TNJ Nikki has back-to-back victories (B, A).
A Ray Kennel's AMF Dodge Lite has two straight wins (B, A) for trainer Joe Palmer.
Charter Kennel's Silver Geico has back-to-back victories (B, A) for trainer Rodney Cooley.
Wayne Ward Kennel's WW Out Spongebob has two wins in a row (C, B) for trainer Ron Otto.
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