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Panhandle Sprint stake kicks off

The Darren Henry Kennel stole the spotlight in the opening round of the $10,000 Panhandle Sprint Championship at Wheeling Island this week.

Three Donna Wilcox-trained greyhounds – littermates BD’s Flip and BD’s Farrell as well as Braska Omni – all posted first round victories for the Darren Henry Kennel. C and C Kennel’s Large Lee also won his qualifier.

The second round is set for Saturday afternoon with the semifinals scheduled for Wednesday afternoon, Aug. 27. The championship final will be held Monday afternoon, Sept. 1 (Labor Day).

The stake features 32 of the track’s top sprinters.

Following are capsule looks at the first round qualifiers:

BD’s Flip, fresh off his victory in the Winner’s Challenge, rushed out to a 4-length lead in his qualifying race before holding off Silver Jones by a half length at the wire in 30.06. Tommy Commander was third.

Braska Omni, fourth in the Winner’s Challenge, closed in the stretch to win his qualifier by a head in 30.16 over BD’s Grayson. Pacesetter RK’s Alex Trebec settled for third.

BD’s Farrell took an early length lead before holding off Kiowa WW Brother by a head at the wire in 30.22. Croce rounded out the trifecta ticket.

Large Lee, victorious in the Firecracker Sprint in July, powered his way to an early 4-length advantage before holding off Ugo Lonesome Boy by a length in 30.20. Unclouded got up for third with a powerful midtrack rush.

Point totals after the first round follow:

BD’s Flip, Braska Omni, BD’s Farrell and Large Lee, 15 points; Silver Jones, BD’s Grayson, Kiowa WW Brother and Ugo Lonesome Boy, 10 points each; Tommy Commander, RK’s Alex Trebec, Croce and Unclouded, 8 points each;

Flying Westover, Flying Tanadak, WW’s Family Guy and Primco Mayes, 6 points each; Pal WW Walker, Kiowa WW Dot, Flying Fabian and Flying Big Jim, 5 points each; JJ’s Make Me Rip, Van Do, Kiowa Juliet Kat and USS Race By, 3 points each;

Super C King, Silver Cobra, Kansas Buzzer and WW Gale Irish, 1 point each; Grateful Dead, Kiowa Estate Law, Super C Scotty and PTL Bedazzle, 0 points.

Pawloski can be reached at sjpawloski@yahoo.com

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