Paycheck cashes in

• Paycheck wins

King Turkey Day race team members Jim Henning (left) and Chad Cummings head Paycheck to a fast victory during Saturday’s Great Gobbler Gallop in Worthington.

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• Victoria Advocate: The Texan take on the Great Gobbler Gallop
• King Turkey Day 2008

WORTHINGTON — There were wet feathers but no dampened spirits at this year’s Great Gobbler Gallop, where Paycheck raced Cuero’s Ruby Begonia after Saturday morning showers.

Gary Ling of Round Lake, who has watched the race for many years, wasn’t sure what the outcome would be.

“I don’t know, they’re going against the wind, so it’s got to be the Minnesota bird,” he said, “though Texas is coming with the hurricane, so that might give them some extra speed,” he said.

The Minnesota bird it was.

Paycheck, last year’s Traveling Trophy of Tumultuous Triumph winner, finished with a time of 37.74 seconds, nearly 28 seconds ahead of Ruby Begonia, who clocked in at 65.9 seconds.

Ruby Begonia gave it a valiant effort but was no match for Paycheck, who ran almost the entire race within arm’s reach of the sideline crowd.

“Did you see that hurdle over that stroller down there?” exclaimed Paycheck team member Chad Cummings after the race, as a teammate showered the bird with celebratory kisses.

Of course, Jodi Almberg, another member of the Paycheck racing team, already knew who would win.

“Paycheck is absolutely wild and ready to get out of that cage. Ruby is docile, tame, skinny,” she said.

“Scrawny” added her husband, Brian, a member of the KTD Board of Directors. He added, “I have another good adjective for Ruby. Rickety.”

There was plenty of good-natured razzing from the other side, too.

“It’s just going to be embarrassing how good we’re going to be this year,” said Jode Zavesky of team Ruby.

There’s still time, when the birds tackle the Texas heat during the second heat of the race in Cuero this October. Paycheck has been the overall winner for three of the past five races, but team Ruby isn’t giving up so easily.

“Today Paycheck was the better bird,” said team member Erik McCowan, “But with a difference of 20 seconds…. Ruby can make that up in no time at all.”

Tags: news, kingturkeyday, greatgobblergallop