DLT White Knight Shines in Texas Round Up Final
-Lingle Kennel’s seasoned veteran sprinter takes home the big money-

DLT White Knight: Result:   (view/download) 2008 Round-Up Point Standings: Round #1:   (view/download) Round #2:   (view/download) Round #3:   (view/download) Final:   (view/download)

Just hours after Big Brown won the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Kentucky, “Big White,” DLT White Knight, took home Texas’ richest stakes race title, the $20,000 Texas Round Up at Gulf Greyhound Park in La Marque, Texas. The three year-old white male out of Gable Dodge and Tafe Phobia, earned the money and title in a big way Saturday night. Although he had to win his last round of the semi-finals to just make the field of eight by one point, White Knight took advantage of sneaking into that last spot with a huge win. “He’s been one of the hottest sprinters at GGP since late in 2007,” stated Ron Godfroy, GGP Racing Secretary. “When he followed (CL) Skip A Bid to the first turn and cleared second, it was all but over.” DLT White Knight’s kennel owner, David Lingle, picked last in the post-position drawing on Wednesday, but broke first from the five-hole on Saturday night. The great break was all he needed because the front running CL Skip A Bid from the High Star Kennel slashed in from the seven-post and rushed to the first-turn on top, taking the White Knight with him. As the group passed the toteboard, White Knight made his move and left not only Skip A Bid behind, but the whole field would have a backseat view of the DLT White Knight show. He drew to a three-length advantage by the time he hit the stretch call and extended to a four-length victory to take home the coveted $20,000 Texas Round Up championship, the third and biggest stakes race win of his career. The David Tate owned three-year old ran an impressive 29.94 to completely dominate a very good field of greyhounds. A very happy David Lingle and the rest of the crew from Lingle Kennel accepted the trophy and $10,000 check presented by Sally Briggs, GGP’s General Manager and Rod Neal and Gayle McElhinny, representatives of the Texas Greyhound Association in the Winner’s Circle. “This is the main event that a whole lot of Texas breeders and fans of the sport look forward to every year, and this year’s race lived up to the hype,” said Briggs. “DLT White Knight and the Lingle Kennel are a class act and deserve the accolades.” A large crowd was on tap to see White Knight become the fifteenth annual Round Up Champion. The Texas bred champ paid $9.40 to win, and made the majority of the crowd happy for the second time on Saturday. Earlier in the afternoon, the same large crowd watched and wagered as Big Brown won the Kentucky Derby, simulcast from Churchill downs. Behind DLT White Knight, the rest of the field finished as follows: 2nd – Bob’s Wal (4-lengths, 30.20), 3rd – Portius Wheeler (6- lengths, 30.38), 4th – CL Skip A Bid (8-lengths, 30.51), 5th – Tara Jackdaniels (12 1/2-lengths, 30.81), 6th – DLT Beethoven (18-lengths, 31.19), 7th – C Ya Hells Fire (19 1/2-lengths, 31.30), and 8th – WWW The Stalker (19 1/2-lengths, 31.31).

For more information on this, or any greyhound news, contact Gulf Greyhound Park at 1-800-275-2946 or log on to the track's website at http://www.gulfgreyhound.com.