WW Apple Jax ended Cayman Went's streak and made tonight's Sprint Classic final a race again.
By BOB PUTNAM
Published February 7, 2004
ST. PETERSBURG - Whenever Cayman Went is scheduled to run at Derby Lane, patrons and kennel owners generally know how the race is going to turn out: with the fawn brindle male crawling out of the pack and bursting into the lead.
An overwhelming favorite, often paying 20 cents on the dollar, Cayman Went had won 16 straight for owners Franchesca Field and Donna Marie Moore of the Bahama Mama Kennel.
So when the qualifying rounds of the $85,000 Sprint Classic began two weeks ago, it seemed the outcome already had been decided, at least among the bettors. Cayman Went was such a mortal lock that he was being widely touted as the next Keifer, Bomb Threat or Talentedmrripley.
But there's no guarantee, no matter what Cayman Went's star-struck followers might think, that he will be able to continue his dominating ways during the final of the Sprint Classic, which will be the 10th race tonight.
The race is no longer a foregone conclusion, especially after the final qualifying round on Wednesday when Cayman Went lost by a snout to snap his winning streak. That loss allowed WW Apple Jax, who was undefeated in qualifying rounds, to vault to the top in the point standings and make tonight's final more than a one-dog show.
"It's been one of the most exciting series that we've seen here in a long time just because of what these two dogs have done," Derby Lane's Vera Filipelli said.
This will be the first meeting between the dogs since Jan. 10 when Cayman Went beat WW Apple Jax by 6 lengths. Since then, the greyhounds have had the spotlight and spent the qualifying rounds trying to supplant each other in their quest for racing supremacy.
In the first round Jan. 24, WW Apple Jax ran his qualifying race in 30.15 seconds to set a track record.
That record lasted an hour.
In the other qualifying race that evening, Cayman Went ran 30.02.
"There's a good buzz between both dogs and there's a good chance both will be there in the end," Field said.
Cayman Went is accustomed to winning stake races. Two of his wins this season have come in the St. Petersburg Inaugural and the All-Star Kennel Preview.
Though WW Apple Jax has not won a stake race, his numbers have been impressive. The greyhound has won 9 of 11, including the final Sprint Classic round when he beat six qualifying dogs. In fact, WW Apple Jax has posted a better time in his past two races than Cayman Went.
"Cayman Went has been so hot that the dog had to cool off sometime," said Jay Graham, trainer for Wayne Ward Kennel, which owns WW Apple Jax. "I'm not saying Cayman Went has cooled off completely, but we're more encouraged that we have a chance. I think our dog is peaking at the right time."
But Graham has more to contend with than Cayman Went in tonight's five-sixteenths-mile final. Bahama Mama Kennel also has two other entries, Party Punch and Festive Event. It is the first time in more than a decade a kennel has had three entries.
