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For the third time in five years, the Gable Kennel has captured the win championship at the Wheeling Island racetrack.
The Gable Kennel sprinted to the lead early in the 2007 racing season and never looked back as they notched 555 victories. Charter Kennel captured runnerup honors for the second consecutive year with 529 wins while 2006 champion Flying Eagles-Miner Kennel finished third with 486 victories.
"We are extremely happy. At the beginning of the year we set a goal of 500 wins and if we accomplished that we knew we'd be in the hunt," Gable Kennel trainer Wayne Piquette said. "It's a total team effort and we all work together. Everything we do is for the dogs -- it's all about the dogs."
Gable shared the win championship with the Wayne Ward Kennel in 2003 before winning the crown outright in 2004. The Harlyn and Janna Goebel-operated kennel finished third in both 2005 and 2006.
Harlyn Goebel was pleased with the 2007 season.
"Being able to finish as top kennel at a track like Wheeling makes me very happy. It's a very tough place to run at," Goebel said. "We've been very fortunate to have a lot of nice dogs. I also have great help on the farm and at the tracks and it makes a big difference."
Piquette also was quick to credit the operation and Wheeling assistants who include Kim Hawkins, Cheryle Piquette, Dinna Otto, Donnie Finsley and Donald Corey. Also helping during the 2007 season were Cheryl Warrender and Judy Loring.
"I have never seen an operation comparable to Gable. It starts out from day one on the farm and continues when the dogs reach the track," Piquette noted. "Most of our dogs break in at the Gulf because it's an easier track and then they are moved to Wheeling. We didn't have a single Maiden start here (Wheeling) in 2007."
Fueling Gable's 2007 championship season was track co-win leader Gable Pimiento with 30 victories. At one point, she won 12 straight races.
"One dog like Pimiento can make a difference when the standings are tight," Piquette said. "A dog with 30 wins can move a kennel from third to first."
A number of other greyhounds also contributed to Gable's banner season.
Following Pimiento were Gable Indonesia with 18 victories and Gable Hannah with 17 wins. Nine other greyhounds also reached double figures in victories -- Gable Burn (14), Gable Burma (12), Gable Thailand, Gable Teletubbie and Gable Bob (11 each) and Gable Hoodoo, Gable Lassie, Gable Scoop and Gable Nextel (10 each).
"We had a lot of dogs with good years in 2007," Piquette said. "Another 15 dogs had eight or nine wins."
The low point of the season came in April when Gable Nextel, one of the top marathon runners in the country, tragically died from cardiac complications on the sprint path. Nextel won 10 out of his 14 races last year.
"Every morning I'd look at Nextel's picture," Piquette said. "We wanted to win this championship for him."
The complete kennel standings follow: Gable, 555; Charter, 529; Flying Eagles-Miner, 486; Douglas, 461; C And C, 451; Arivada-Plum Creek, 419; Ryan Farms, 414; Darren Henry, 400; Steubenville, 381; A Ray, 371; Lester Raines and Wayne Ward, 361 each; Majestic, 332; Michael Fynmore, 318; Keota, 316; Cardinal, 304; Thorne-Abrahamson, 285; Michael Green, 179; Koerner, 168 (partial year); and Steve Sarras, 38 (partial year).
While the Gable Kennel topped the win leaderboard, the Flying Eagles-Miner Kennel posted the highest winning percentage of 16 percent. Charter was second at 15 percent and Gable third at 14 percent.
Flying Eagles-Miner Kennel also led all kennels in trifecta percentage with 43 percent. Next in line were Gable, 42 percent; Charter and Ryan Farms, 41 percent; and Darren Henry and Steubenville, 40 percent.
The Douglas Kennel topped the chart with 3,777 starts followed by Gable (3,708) and Arivada-Plum Creek (3,477).
IN THE HOMESTRETCH:
HOT DOGS: Mike Fynmore Kennel's Escrow Officer has raced to five straight Grade AA wins for trainer Jimmy Stewart.
Darren Henry Kennel's Pacer Of Ruckus has four straight victories (A, AA) for trainer Donna Wilcox.
Charter Kennel's Silver Jones has three Grade AA wins in a row for trainer Rodney Cooley. Kennel-mate Power Trend has won three out of his last four starts (M, C, B).
A Ray Kennel's AMF Well Armed has three straight victories (C, B, A) for trainer Joe Palmer. Kennel-mates AMF Runaway (C, B, A) and AMF Far Far Away (M, C, B) have won three out of his last four outings.
Ryan Farms Kennel's Witch Hazel has won four out of her last five Grade AA distance starts for trainer Terry Green.
Steubenville Kennel's Kiowa Apple Lyde has two wins and two seconds in his last four Grade AA distance races for trainer Debbie Schweizer. Kennel-mate Kiowa Rock Vince has won three out of his last four trips (D, C, B).
Lester Raines Kennel's USS Atmosphere has three wins and a second in his last five trips for trainer Joel Roden.
Flying Eagles-Miner Kennel's Kiowa In Side has back-to-back victories (B, A) for trainer Ashley McMillen.
Pawloski can be reached at sjpawloski@yahoo.com