Norm Secia painted the picture.

Large Lee did the rest.

Going into the Firecracker Sprint final at Wheeling Island July 4, the C And C Kennel manager knew exactly what Large Lee needed to do after drawing the five box.

“He doesn’t have the greatest hole, but he’s fast enough to go to the front,” Secia said before the final. “His whole race will be if he can outbreak Sol Reign. He has to hit it.”

Large Lee not only out broke favorite Sol Reign, but outrushed the entire field to the first turn before holding on at the wire to capture the holiday stake in a photo finish. Charter Kennel’s Silver Maverick took runnerup honors by a neck while Wayne Strong Kennel’s Kansas Buzzer rounded out the trifecta ticket.

Completing the final field were Kiowa Estate Law (Cardinal Kennel), fourth; Sol Reign (Lester Raines Kennel), fifth; Kiowa WW Dot (Wayne Ward Kennel), sixth; Bella Alexander (Wayne Strong Kennel), seventh; and Flat Out Uma (Thorne-Abrahamson Kennel), eighth.

“It was very nerve-wracking, but what a great feeling when the photo went up. The whole kennel was ecstatic,” C And C Kennel trainer Patrick Bever said. “Earlier this year, Van Do was the favorite when he won the Superstar Challenge. With Large Lee being so young and the calibre of dogs in the Firecracker final, he was a definite underdog.”

From the rail out, the post positions for the final were: 1-Silver Maverick, 2-Bella Alexander, 3-Kiowa WW Dot, 4-Sol Reign, 5-Large Lee, 6-Flat Out Uma, 7-Kiowa Estate Law, 8-Kansas Buzzer.

While Large Lee, a July 2006 greyhound out of Brett Lee-Looks Special, was up for the challenge, Secia said track conditions also played a role in the youngster’s victory.

“One of the biggest factors was the track started to dry out after a couple days of rain and Large Lee prefers a faster track. A day earlier, Silver Maverick and Kansas Buzzer were the dogs to beat,” Secia noted. “Large Lee did what he needed to do. He broke good and then had a big rush to the turn.”

The final shaped up as a speed battle to the turn with at least six of the finalists capable of sprinting to an early lead.

“Large Lee fired in the first two rounds (a win and a second) before getting bumped around a bit in the semifinals where he ran fourth,” Bever said. “I knew he had a chance if he got out of the box. Sometimes he’s hard to run down when he gets the lead.”

At the break, Kiowa WW Dot got the jump with Silver Maverick, Sol Reign, Large Lee and Kansas Buzzer next in line. Heading to the turn, it appeared Kiowa WW Dot would take charge on the rail, but Large Lee had other ideas.

“Kiowa WW Dot scared me when she hit the lid, but within a second or two Large Lee was right behind her. He turned up the heat real quick,” Bever said. “Large Lee had a big, big rush and then he cut down on Dot in the turn which caused a little jam inside. He barely got in front of her and that made the difference in the race.”

Secia also was impressed with Large Lee’s move to the turn.

“Large Lee is pretty gutsy going to the turn,” Secia said. “He will drive through the turn even in traffic.”

Hitting the backstretch clean, Large Lee started to open up on the field. Kansas Buzzer gave chase from second on the outside while Silver Maverick, after experiencing a slight bump around the first turn, was third.

“Large Lee opened up a four or five-length lead down the backside but I was very nervous. Kansas Buzzer and Silver Maverick were the two dogs I did not want to see chasing him,” Bever said. “Both of them have a lot of experience and both of them have bottom.”

Around the far turn and heading home, Large Lee maintained his 5-length cushion but the fireworks were only beginning. The grand finale would be one to remember.

“I still was not comfortable in the homestretch because Large Lee can be a little short,” Bever said. “I remember saying over and over – hold on, hold on, hold on.”

As Large Lee slowly began to lose steam in the stretch, Silver Maverick and Kansas Buzzer were rolling like runaway freight trains. The only question – would they have enough track to overtake the frontrunner?

“They sure were gunning for him,” Bever said.

As the three hit the wire, it appeared Large Lee had held off the challenge but only by the slightest of margins.

“I was about 90 percent sure Large Lee had it, but you never know when you have a photo finish,” Bever said. “It was too close for comfort.”

The photo revealed Large Lee edged Silver Maverick by a neck with Kansas Buzzer just a half length back. It was quite a stretch run as the top seven dogs were within 4 lengths of the champion.

Sent to post at 7-1 odds, Large Lee paid $16 on a $2 win wager. The 5-1-8 trifecta returned $309.

Large Lee’s owner, Larry Birnbaum of Everytime Enterprises, is thrilled with the pup’s progress early in his career.

“I’m extremely happy. With nine wins out of his first 16 starts, he’s run about as good as any young pup can at Wheeling,” Birnbaum said. “On the farm Large Lee wasn’t the best in the litter, but at the track he’s turned into the best. He’s also one of the top young pups at Wheeling.”

Along with Large Lee’s early speed and rush, Birnbaum has been impressed with the youngster’s fearless attitude going to the first turn.

In addition to Large Lee’s 9 wins, he also has 2 seconds, 1 third and 2 fourths in his first 16 career trips.

Bever said Large Lee’s future looks extremely bright.

“I am very pleased with his performance at this track and think he can only get better. He had a lot of potential when he shipped in and he’s starting to show it,” Bever said. “He seems to be getting more comfortable with the track as time goes on.”

Bever also was quick to pass the credit around for Large Lee’s stake victory.

“Winning a stake race is always a good moral booster for a kennel. It was a team effort. Norm Secia, Sarah Kettlewell, Christine Brown and Brandon Grizzel all had a hand in the victory,” Bever said. “I’d also like to thank Larry Birnbaum and Everytime Enterprises for sending in dogs like Large Lee. They are a joy to watch and work with.”

Sol Reign topped all qualifiers for the final with 35 points. He was followed by Silver Maverick and Large Lee, 31 points each; Kansas Buzzer, 30 points; Kiowa WW Dot, 29 points; Flat Out Uma and Kiowa Estate Law, 26 points each; and Bella Alexander, 24 points.

IN THE HOMESTRETCH:

TWIN RIVERS SPRINT: Darren Henry Kennel’s BD’s Flip has been scratched from the $75,000 Twin Rivers Sprint (Lincoln).

Flip finished seventh in the first round of the stake after experiencing trouble coming home. He was scratched from Wednesday’s second round and will be heading back to Wheeling.

HOT DOGS: Flying Eagles-Miner Kennel’s Flying Westover has three straight Grade AA wins for trainer Ricardo Pacheco. Kennel-mate Flying Tanadak has back-to-back victories (A, AA).

Wayne Ward Kennel’s JJ’s Make Me Rip has three wins in a row (A, AA) for trainer Ron Otto.

Steubenville Kennel’s Kiowa Juliet Kat has three wins and a second in her last four starts for trainer Debbie Schweizer. Kennel-mates Kiowa Rock Cindy has two wins and two seconds in her last four Grade AA trips while Kiowa Maui has back-to-back victories (B, A).

Thorne-Abrahamson Kennel’s Flying Wheeling has two wins and a second in his last three Grade AA 3/8 races for trainer Tom Engle.

Mike Fynmore Kennel’s C’s Be On Top has two wins and a second in his last three marathon starts for trainer Robert Britton.

Arivada-Plum Creek Kennel’s O Jays has won three out of her last four 3/8 races (C, B, A) for trainer Joe Otto.

Gable Kennel’s Cry Starsky has two wins and a second in his last three outings for trainer Wayne Piquette.

DNC PICK 4: Delaware North will bring back its National Pick 4 contest on Saturday evening, July 12, with a $10,000 guaranteed gross pool. It will be held every Saturday night.

Dubbed the “Fastest Pick 4 in America,” the contest will be hosted by Wheeling Island and broadcast through the local signal. Other tracks participating are Daytona, Southland and Phoenix.

Officials note 100 percent of the net DNC Pick 4 pool will be paid out. They takeout rate has been reduced from 25 percent to 17 percent.

The approximate post time schedule for the Pick 4 follows:

Leg 1: Wheeling (Race 15), 10:38 p.m. EDT

Leg 2: Daytona (Race 14), 10:48 p.m. EDT

Leg 3: Southland (Race 11), 11 p.m. EDT

Leg 4: Phoenix (Race 4), 11:12 p.m. EDT

Pawloski can be reached at sjpawloski@yahoo.com