Ames Plantation

• 2008 National
  • Winner
  • Brace by Brace Synopsis
  • Nominations
  • Sponsors
  • Joe Hurdle Award
• 2008 Hobart Ames Memorial
• 2007 Amateur Invitational Winners
• 2007 National
  • Winner
  • Brace by Brace Synopsis
  • Nominations
  • Sponsors
  • Joe Hurdle Award
• News and Notes
• Archives

Winner of the 2007 National Championship

Funseeker's Rebel
Owned by Frank & Mercy Fonseca
and Handled by Fred Dileo
 

Funseeker’s Rebel, owned by Frank and Mercy Fonseca of Miami, Florida and handled by Fred Dileo of Climax, Georgia, won the 2007 National Championship at Ames Plantation on February 23rd, after some very nice wins and placements earlier this season. Funseeker’s Rebel began the season with a third place win in the Southern Pines Classic last spring out of a field of 81 entries. His first win of the season was in September at the D.E. Hawthorne Border Classic where 74 starters tried for the title. January proved to be everything Frank, Mercy and Fred could hope for with the six-year-old son of Double Rebel Sonny and Funseeker’s Gem. Funseeker’s Rebel began the month by winning the Florida Championship where a record entry of 109 dogs vied for the title with the big paycheck. Rebel came close to another perfect performance when he garnered the Runner-up placement in the Continental Championship late in January where 100 dogs were entered.

Forty-one dogs entered the 2007 National Championship and Rebel was one of the elite few to make his bid for that elusive title. Funseeker’s Rebel was drawn in the 11th brace with last year’s National Champion Shell Creek Coin. Running on the first Saturday since the 1985 National, both dogs began the grueling 3 hours on frozen ground. Fred elected to boot his dog for the first 2 hours and let him run the last hours al`naturale. Rebel scored at 18 minutes and again at 30 before encountering an unproductive at 48 on a known covey of wild birds near Turner Ditch. Three separate unproductives occurred on this same covey of birds during the trial. Rebel completed his bid for the title with finds at 1:12, 1:21, 2:31 and 2:52. The last find was on a single deep in the pines on the east side of the course. Six letter perfect finds and a gutsy race on frozen ground with wind chills in the teens rounded out a winning performance for Fred Dileo and his proud owners from the sunshine state.