Trending
It was a magical night for the Haber Kennel racing family.
Magic Penny Ante made sure of that.
The much-traveled Penny Ante finally won the big one as the Wheeling invader shot to the front early and never looked back in capturing the $115,000 American Derby at Twin River (formerly Lincoln) last weekend. She raced out of the Kerry Hills Kennel.
No More Loving (DQ Williams Kennel) took runnerup honors while favorite Lovely Sonia (DQ Williams Kennel) recovered from a slow start to grab third.
Completing the final field were Bad Influencecat (Pat Dalton Kennel), fourth; Flying Mancini (EP’s Kennel), fifth; Rossmore Althia (Kerry Hills Kennel), sixth; BWG Tax Audit (Kerry Hills Kennel), seventh; and Chasen Tail (DQ Williams Kennel), eighth.
Mitchell Haber of Florida was ecstatic with Penny Ante’s stake victory.
“I have to be the happiest guy in the world. We are so proud of her,” Haber said. “We sent her up to Wheeling from Tri-state in July to prep her for the American Derby. Everything worked out perfect.”
Haber said Penny Ante, an August 2005 greyhound out of Ben Awhile-Snookered and races out of the Mike Fynmore Kennel at Wheeling, will be returning to West Virginia soon. She also has competed in stake races at Derby Lane, Naples and Mardi Gras during her career.
In the consolation final, Flying Eagles-Miner Kennel’s Starz Supreme was third by a nose as Bern John and WW’s Atlantic finished in a dead heat for first. Completing the field were BNS Bea, fourth; Speed Sign, fifth; U Rocky My World, sixth; Flying Northport, seventh; and KUP’s Carlysimon, eighth.
The post positions for the championship final follow: 1-Bad Influencecat, 2-Rossmore Althia, 3-BWG Tax Audit, 4-Lovely Sonia, 5-No More Loving, 6-Flying Mancini, 7-Magic Penny Ante, 8-Chasen Tail.
“We were hoping for an inside box because she loves the rail,” Haber noted. “It seemed like the inside dogs were doing well that night and the top three finishers in the consolation race had the three inside holes.”
Penny Ante got a clean start from the seven hole along with No More Loving, Bad Influencecat and Chasen Tail. At the top of the stretch the first time around, Penny Ante was second to No More Loving but quickly rushed by him to the front.
“Penny had to get out of the box to have any chance,” Haber said. “I was just hoping she wouldn’t get bumped around the first turn.”
Ahead by a length at the escape, Penny Ante opened up a 3-length cushion down the backstretch.
Lovely Sonia, the top qualifier after winning three of her four early rounds, was sixth at the escape after a sluggish start from the four hole.
“I kept looking for Sonia but she was pretty far back,” Haber said. “She was the one dog who really concerned me.”
Penny Ante never wavered in the stretch as she finished two lengths in front of No More Loving in 37.68. Lovely Sonia, who made up tons of ground, was another length behind the champion.
Sent to post at nearly 6-1 odds, Penny Ante returned $13.60 on a $2 win wager. The 5-7 quiniela paid $83, the 7-5-4 trifecta $336 and the 7-5-4-1 superfecta $1,636.
“The competition was steep but I thought she had a chance of making the final,” Haber said. “She made it to the semifinals of the American Derby last year as a 2-year-old.”
Penny Ante was consistent throughout the qualifying rounds with a pair of wins, a second and a third.
Haber said Penny Ante almost didn’t make the trip to Twin River for the rich stake event.
“We had no way to transport Penny and Bigfootsbust to Rhode Island. When Dominic Luce heard this, he dropped everything and made the trip to West Virginia from Florida to pick them up,” Haber said. “Then he drove 15 hours to Rhode Island. He deserves a big heartfelt thanks.”
Haber also thanked the Kerry Hills Kennel and trainer Steve Haenel for handling Penny Ante during the stake race.
“Steve did a great job with her,” Haber said.
The Haber family hopes Penny Ante’s stake victory enhances her chances for the Flashy Sir Award which is given annually to the nation’s top distance greyhound. Earlier this year she was third in the 3/8 Naples Classic.
Pawloski can be reached at sjpawloski@yahoo.com