DUBUQUE, Ia.

Surprising both the patrons at the Iowa Greyhound Park and her
own trainer, KC Devious put on a terrific late run to nip Slatex Elvis by a neck in winning
the $30,000 King & Queen Stakes Saturday, July 4.
I am just amazed, said Stidham Racing trainer Alicia Bushey. I am impressed
with this field and felt we were just lucky to get into it. I didnt think we had too good a
chance (at winning the race).
KC Devious, a 65-pound female, born March 14, 2012 out of Dragon Fire KC Who
Do, had to get lucky to make the final. Three of the Queens tied for the third and fourth
final berths on the ladies side and the trainers had to pluck balls out of a jar to see which
two would make the final.
We were able to pick the right balls out, Bushey said with a small laugh.
Once in the final, there was a bit of a worry about drawing the six box.
I thought she ran better with an inside box, her trainer admitted, but now she
looks like she can run from any box.
Still, KC Devious came into the final with a 7-1-2-0 record, the lone win coming in
the first round of the three of the King & Queen qualifiers.
She ran two good races in the first two rounds, Bushey said, then we had a bad
one in the third round. We had an outside box (eight) and she got hit by an inside
greyhound.
The patrons werent impressed with KC Devious, sending her to the boxes as the
longshot in the field at 13-1.
But KC Devious broke second behind O Ya Cindra, the Superior Kennel entry out of
the five box, and just ahead of Slatex Elvis (Jackson Greyhound), who came from the
four box.
Slatex Elvis, who led the King qualifiers with a perfect three wins in three rounds,
bolted to the lead as the field worked around the first turn. He tried to run away with the
race as the field moved into the backstretch, his lead pushing upwards of five lengths.
At that point, said Bushey with KC Devious running third behind O Ya Cindra, I
thought she had a chance to finish second and I would have been happy with that.
But KC Devious started slicing into the deficit and moved into the homestretch with
a hard midtrack run.
I didnt think she could run this hard, Bushey said. When she hit the middle of the
track, I was thinking oh my god, weve got a chance to win.
KC Devious passed O Ya Cindra and closed quickly to win at the wire by a neck.
Her first race in the stakes (the win) was a good one, said Bushey, but this is the
best race she has ever run.
Slatex Elvis, 10-6-1-1, saw his three-race win streak snapped and gave the Kings
their best finisher.
The Queens finished third, fourth and fifth to win the battle of the sexes.
O Ya Cindra, 9-4-2-2, lost the three-way battle for the title, finishing three-quarters
of a length off the pace in taking third.
BS Rebel (Copper Kettle), 10-3-2-1, was fourth, four lengths off the pace and just
ahead of Jax Pop The Tab (Jackson), 9-3-4-1. Jax Pop The Tab had been the Queens top
qualifier and went to the boxes as the favorite in the final.
Sixth was Fantastico (Jackson), 9-3-2-0, who finished five and a half lengths back.
Ln The Mayor (Hardison), 8-3-0-1, was seventh, eighth lengths back.
Pat C Unplugged (Collins-Schmidt), 8-5-1-0, rounded out the field, 11 lengths back.
It was his second straight bad outing, following a seventh in the third round of the
qualifiers.

Handing out the paychecks, KC Devious won $12,000; Slatex Elvis $6,000; O Ya
Cindra $3,000; BS Rebel $2,400; Jax Pop The Tab $2,100; Fantastico $1,800; Ln The
Mayor $1,500 and Pat C Unplugged $1,200.
On the tote board, KC Devious paid $26.40, $8.40 and $10.00; Slatex Elvis paid
$4.80 and $4.20 and O Ya Cindra paid $4.60. The 4-6 quiniela paid $68.60; the 6-4-A
trifecta box paid $167.40; the 6-4-5-8 10 cent superfecta paid $637.20 and the 2-A-6 $1
pick 3 paid $67.50.
- Steve Sigafoose
http://ngagreyhounds.com/author/steve-sig