The Australian Million team

Due to a few injuries and a withdrawal, the Australian team for the upcoming Derby Lane Million has been revised. As of today, here is the latest list:

Hot To Rumble

(Where's Pedro x Vintage Rumble) RBD M 15 Jan 2005; 75 lbs.

1st - 2007 Young Guns feature at Albion Park over 569 yards in 29.90.
3rd - Group 1 2007 Sky Channel Brisbane Cup over 569 yards at Albion Park.

He appears to be well-suited to Derby Lane as he has won at distances up to 656 yards. Unlike the remainder of the Aussie contingent who will reside in the International Kennel, this Steve Kavanaugh owned dog will be racing out of the Darcy Kennel. He is 19-12-7 in 54 career starts.

His dam is very closely related to Maryville Rumble*. If he shows well in the Million he might be a dog to consider for Maryville Rumble* daughters. Steve Kavanaugh is the owner-breeder of the great Smooth Rumble* and owned super sire Brother Fox.

Train a Journey

(Primo Uno x Currency Tears) BK M 2 April 2004; 71 lbs.

1st - Group 1 Maturity Classic at The Meadows in 30.11 over 574 yards.
1st - Group 2 Rookie Rebel Stake over 656 yards at The Meadows in 34.44.
1st - Group 2 2007 Overflo Bob Payne final at Wentworth Park over 569 yards in 30.13.
2nd - Group 1 Coca Cola Australian Cup at The Meadows.

He has amassed a 30-9-5 record in 63 career starts, mostly in stakes or feature events.

His sire Primo Uno is another fine descendant of the Eaglehawk Star sireline that has outstanding representatives on three continents including Maryville Rumble*, Smooth Rumble*, Toms The Best, Frightful Flash*, Westmead Hawk, and many others. His damsire Golden Currency is bred similarly to Star Chariot*, sire of the fabulous litter that included Jimbo Scotty, Jimbo Okie and Jimbo's Chelsea.

Uno Joel

(Primo Uno x Stumbler's Lass) BK M 29 October 2004; 79 lbs.

1st - Group 1 2007 Sky Channel Brisbane Cup over 569 yards at Albion Park in 30.39.
Fnl - Group 1 2007 Melbourne Cup at Sandown Park.

13-13-6 in 40 starts to date.

Another fine Primo Uno son, his damsire is Awesome Assassin, familiar to many American race fans as the sire of Orange Park star Deco Deano.

Slater

(Surf Lorian x Wipe Out) BD M 1 December 2004; 78 lbs.

Slater has been one of Australia's top dogs over the past year:

1st - Group 1 2007 Golden Easter Egg Final over 569 yards at Wentworth Park in 30.09.
1st - Group 1 2007 National Derby Final over 569 yards at Wentworth Park in 29.99.
1st - Group 2 2007 The Temlee at The Meadows over 574 yards in a sensational 29.63.
1st - Group 2 2006 Great Chase final at Shepparton over 492 yards in 24.82.

2nd - Group 1 2007 Melbourne Cup at Sandown Park.

Overall, he is 24-6-2 in 42 starts against the best Australia has to offer.

Slater's damsire is none other than our own Fortress* who crossed well with Australian blood here, especially in the pedigree of All American Gable Vermilion and her terrific siblings.

Coulta Bomber

(Bombastic Shiraz x Coulta Tess) BK M 25 December 2004; 74 lbs.

1st - 2007 Dave Hodgson Memorial feature over 563 yards at Sandown Park in 29.73.
2nd - 2007 Group 2 Geelong Cup over 500 yards at Geelong.

Coulta Bomber is 11-11-4 in 40 starts.

Bombastic Shiraz is yet another in a long list of fine sires descending from Eaglehawk Star. American pedigree aficionados will recognize the double cross of Shining Chariot, sire of Star Chariot*; and World Acclaim, sire of World Classic*, second damsire of Kiowa Shawnee So.

Roman Conquest

(Most Awesome x Super Sophie) BK F 10 October 2005, 62 lbs.

A lightly-raced female, Roman Conquest recorded a very respectable 29.88 en route to winning a heat of the ongoing Country Winnebago Classic at Dapto. She is 9-4-2 in 20 career starts including wins at The Meadows over 656 yards and at Ballarat over 711 yards. Her third damsire Best Of Blue figures strongly in the damline of Gable Vermilion.

Fawn Hustler

(Typhoon Tide x China Cruise) F M 27 May 2005; 77 lbs.

Fawn Hustler is a dog who has attracted some attention. He's 5-3-1 in just 14 career starts, including three of his last four. He has raced at distances from 474 to 575 yards and features a closing style. His sire Typhoon Tide is a Brett Lee son whose damsire is the Irish import Balligari*.

One Tree Hill

(Gable Lafourche* x Mockingbird Hill) RF F 1 November 2004; 60 lbs.

1st - Group 2 2007 Black Top final over 563 yards at The Gardens in 29.44.
Fnl - Group 1 2007 Nova 96.9 Paws of Thunder over 569 yards at Wentworth Park.
Fnl - Group 1 2007 Topgun over 574 yards at The Meadows.

Fnl - Group 1 2006 Schweppes VIC Peters Classic Final over 569 yards at Wentworth Park.

One Tree Hill is 14-15-6 in 51 starts.

Gable Lafourche*, of course, is the litter-brother of 2002 All American Gable Vermilion. He suffered an injury in training and was retired to stud in Australia. One Tree Hill carries a double cross of Nation Parade through both her sire and dam.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

It's pretty clear that the Aussies' learning curve has taken a sharp turn upward since their exploratory effort in 2006. Most of these dogs don't look like they'll be short over Derby Lane's 550 yard course. If they can acclimate rapidly to their new surroundings they have a real shot at putting a dog through to the final.

Predicting the Sire Standings

The Sire Standings are largely a numbers game. Variations in Strike Rate, the ratio of pups to top-grade wins, can overcome numbers to some extent, but overall, the Standings reflect how popular studs are with breeders.

I think the year-end 2009 Sire Standings will look like this:

1. Dodgem By Design
2. Kiowa Sweet Trey
3. Lonesome Cry
4. Flying Penske
5. Maryville Rumble*

Puppies under two are in the process of climbing the grading ladder, and except for some early flyers, don't contribute too many wins to the total. Likewise, 3½ year-olds are starting to retire and/or slow down. The bulk of grade A winners are 2-3½ years of age.

Pups whelped from January 2008 on will have a minimal impact on the Sire Standings. If you look at the "American Stud Dog Trends" thread on Global Greyhounds, you'll see that 2 to 3½ years prior to December 2009, Dodgem By Design was bred the most:

Breedings since June 2006:

Dodgem By Design - 701
Kiowa Sweet Trey - 590
Lonesome Cry - 531
Flying Penske - 359
Maryville Rumble* - 246

Allowing for late reporting of breedings and the inevitable misses, the differences are significant enough that only vastly different strike rates can change things much. There are your year-end 2009 Sire Standings. You saw them here first.

Mick D’Arcy knows how to win “The Big One”

As the 2008 Derby Lane Million looms, owners, nominators and trainers are trying to put themselves in a position to win what figures to be the biggest race in Greyhound racing history. More than ever, it will take the right combination of a great dog and a great trainer to win, because for the first time the best Greyhounds from the United States, Australia, and Ireland will be competing head-to-head.

Though it’s too early to establish a betting line, one man you might not want to bet against is Mick D’Arcy. In 2006 he won the Derby Lane Million with the fabulous bitch Greys Calibrator. Her dominance in the Stake was indisputable; she won four of the five qualifying rounds, establishing a track record in the process, before dominating her seven male counterparts in the richest final in history. Prior to that, Mick won four editions of the $100,000 Derby Lane Distance Classic, three $85,000 Derby Lane Sprint Classics, and the 1989 Wonderland Derby. To put that last one in perspective, the$175,000 prize fund would be worth $290,000 today. Most recently, he won the 2007 $120,000 Palm Beach Grand Classic with Dreamy Blossom. It’s clear Mick knows how to win "The Big One."

Unlike many great dogmen, Mick did not come from a generations-old Greyhound family. Growing up in Cashel, County Tipperary in the 1950s, however, he was surrounded by Greyhounds. As a youngster he helped out his neighbors, walking dogs and cleaning kennels. His labor earned him nothing more than a ride with the dogs to the local track twice a week. In those days going to the Greyhounds was a big night out in Ireland and Mick found himself in the thick of it. There were only two meetings a week, typically on Tuesdays and Saturdays, and Greyhounds often raced and coursed.

As his involvement deepened, he found training opportunities scarce in Ireland. Only a handful of top trainers got the best dogs. By the early 1970s, he and his partner Steven Corcoran co-owned dogs in England to get started in the business, graduating from dog ownership to training. In 1977 he returned to Ireland.

In 1985, with training opportunities still limited, Mick took the big step of moving his young family to the United States where he eventually settled in with Pat Dalton’s kennel at Wonderland, then America’s premier track. Success soon followed. In 1986 he won the Grady Memorial Sprint with Planet Boy*, then added the Wonderland Juvenile and Inaugural with Tipp Lad*, and the American Juvenile at Raynham with Whisper Wit*. In 1989 he moved to the Samia Kennel and won the 1989 Wonderland Derby with Rapido Gal, beating Bartie and Allegis in just her 13th start. She made the final again in 1990.

By the early 1990s, the center of gravity of American Greyhound racing had shifted to The Woodlands in Kansas City, Kansas. Mick moved there at its very peak—his dogs raced against the likes of Blendway, Bartie, HB’s Prince Red and other Woodlands stars. Most importantly, he established a long-term relationship with Kansas breeders Jack and Mary Butler, whose dogs were just starting to establish a national reputation.

The partnership resulted in a third move, this time to Derby Lane, which would really be the beginning of a racing dynasty that continues to the present day. Training for the Greymeadow Kennel, Mick amassed 20 major stake wins and four All-Americans: Greys Betsy Ross (1998), Greys Outbound (1999), Greys Free Bird (2000), and Greys Calibrator (2006). There is sure to be a fifth in 2007 with Dreamy Blossom, Mick’s own breeding raised by Jack and Mary.

What will it take to win the 2008 Million? According to Mick, Derby Lane’s legendary oval, perhaps like no other track in the world, exposes any weakness in a dog. For a Greyhound to win there, it must have a good enough rush to the turn to stay close to the front, yet have the stamina to not fade in the stretch. The success he has had with the Greymeadow dogs has often been due to their ability to win when within striking distance of the lead entering the stretch as much as winning from the front. Mick figures to have a half-dozen serious contenders when "The Big One" gets underway February 9th. If you are betting against them, you might have your money on the wrong dog, and the wrong trainer.

What's in a name?

Imagine if a dog won the Derby Lane Distance Classic, the Wheeling WVGOBA Distance Stake, the Hecht Marathon, and the American Derby—all in the same year, while at the same time setting track records at three different tracks. If an American Greyhound did that, he or she would be the captain of the All America team, the Flashy Sir award winner, and would be a candidate for the Hall of Fame.

There is such a dog racing in England, but few American fans have heard of Spiridon Louis. In 2006 he won the Group 1 Peterborough Cesarwitch, and in 2007 he won the Group 1 Coral Regency at Hove & Brighton over 760 yards, the Group 1 TV Trophy over 922 yards at Yarmouth, the Group 2 Betfred Select Stakes over 798 yards at Nottingham, and the Group 1 William Hill St. Leger over 731 yards at Wimbledon. He also set track records over 954 yards at Wimbledon, 922 yards at Yarmouth, and 700 yards at Walthamstow.

By Droopys Vieri out of Early Flight, he is from an accomplished litter that includes a sister, Dilemmas Flight, winner of the 2006 British Produce Stakes at Hall Green, and the 2007 English Oaks at Wimbledon in the sizzling time of 28.29 for 525 yards. Their brother Westmead Alec won the 2006 Sussex Puppy Derby.

Louis’s racing style features one of the most breathtaking backstretch moves you’ll see from any Greyhound. An average breaker at best, he stalks the field until he finds the seam he wants. From that point on it appears that every dog on the track except him has been set into slow motion. It’s a shame American fans don’t get to see this superstar race. Check out his replays on Greyhound-data.com.

His name is an apt one—he is named after Greek marathon champion Spiridon Louis who won the gold medal in the Marathon in the first revival of the Olympic Games in Athens in 1896. Louis remains a Greek national hero to this day. For those who have seen him, the canine Spiridon Louis will be remembered by his fans for as long as they talk about racing.

Flying Penske

20 Sept 1997 - 25 Feb 2007

It was reported by owner Hal Gill that Flying Penske passed away unexpectedly of an apparent heart attack. He would have been 10 in September.

Flying Penske set the 660 yard track record at the Woodlands and made the final of the 2000 Hollywood World Classic where he encountered traffic and ran fourth as the betting favorite. He currently stands fifth in the U.S. Sire Standings. He is the sire of 2005 All America Nimby TP Jan, 2002 Hollywood World Classic winner Flying Earnhardt, and Texas Gold, the fastest stayer in Australia in many years.

Flying Penske continues a long tradition that traces up his sireline to the great Tell You Why*. His sire Oshkosh Racey was captain of the 1988 All America team and won the Rural Rube Award as the nation’s best sprinter. He won the 1988 Mile High Sprint Countdown by 14 lengths, the Strohs All-American Invitational at Mile High, and the Tampa Sprint and Distance Classics. He went on to a fine career at stud, finishing in the top-five in the Sire Standings from 1994 through 1998, peaking in second position in 1997. He was enshrined in the Hall of Fame in 2001. Racey’s sire, Unruly, was one of the finest greyhounds to ever grace a track. He was the 1981 Flashy Sir Award winner, won the Timberline at Denver’s Mile High, two editions of the $120,000 Hollywoodian, and ran second in the Rhode Island Derby, the Biscayne Derby; and the Flagler International. He had 83 career wins, mostly in stakes races, and $190,000 in career earnings. He was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1988.

Penske’s damline descends from the superb brood Dia’s Stormy Day, dam of the outstanding sprinters Rooster’s Spur and Grit N Steel. She exerts her biggest influence on American pedigrees through Oswald Cobblepot, but her daughters by All American brothers Rooster Cogburn and Highway Robber continue to breed on as well. Two Brett Lee sensations, Dragon Fire and Super Lee trace directly back to Dia’s Stormy Day.

Successful offspring of Flying Penske would be too long to list. In addition to Nimby TP Jan, Flying Earnhardt and Texas Gold, he produced 2005 American Derby winner Inspecda Deck, 2005 Bluffs Run Survivor Series champ Thisbee’s Gotyou, Bluffs Run Spring Futurity winner I’m Already Gone, 2004 Southland Juvenile winner and track champion Dave The Dog, 2003 Southland Razorback champ Happy Ruckus, 2006 Tampa Derby winner Turbo Penske, 2006 Orange Park track champion Kay V Tatoo Tony, and many, many others. In the 2007 Derby Lane Million final, two of the pups are his and he is the damsire of another.

The final chapters of the Flying Penske story remain to be written. Despite the fact that he has 2200 pups registered through 2004, the bulk of his breedings occurred in 2005 and 2006 which should ensure even more Penske champions for the foreseeable future.

Gable Dodge

2 December 1995 - 9 January 2007

The great Gable Dodge has passed into history. He was the U.S. number one sire from 2004 through 2006 and produced five All Americans, Gable Oscar, Gable Vermilion, Dodgem By Design, Jawa Leonas Best, and Ethereal Force.

Gable Dodge was one of 12 pups in a litter by Wigwam Wag out of CJ Ima Bahama, many of whom went on to win top grade races at Gulf Greyhound Park. Wigwam Wag was the top U.S. sire of 1998. His grandsire Understood was a true "Sire of sires" as his line is still viable through a number of sons and grandsons. CJ Ima Bahama was a daughter of Hall of Fame and U.S. #1 sire Dutch Bahama. Her dam, SP’s Glitz, was third in the U.S. Dam Standings in 1996. Gable Dodge descends from the productive Transpat damline that numbers among its descendants Mar Dilly, Katy Did, Wise Katy, Wise Liz, Jock’s Warrior, He’s My Man, Ethereal Force, and many others.

He broke in at Corpus Christi, but soon moved up the coast to Gulf Greyhound Park near Houston, then one of the five most competitive tracks in the country. There he won 11-straight on one occasion and ran a record six races under 30 seconds, including four in succession. His only stake win was the 1997 Gulf Au Revoir. He ran third after much trouble in the 1997 Ye Royal Race at Gulf and made the final of the Wood Memorial, his only stake opportunities at Gulf before he and his brother were shipped to Hollywood, Florida for the 1998 World Classic, the premier open sprint race in the country. He was seriously injured in a grade A race in preparation for the race and had to be withdrawn. His brother Gable Chevy went on to win the World Classic Consolation and set the fastest time of the meet in the process. After a five-month lay-off, Gable Dodge returned to action at Gulf and ran under 30 seconds in his last start. Unfortunately, he sustained a career-ending injury in that race and was retired to stud.

He was an average breaker, but possessed a good rush to the turn and tremendous pace from the top of the backstretch to the line, traits he passed on to a number of his progeny. He was especially complemented by damlines that provided early speed, and he crossed well with a vast array of domestic and foreign bloodlines, especially Australian.

Gable Dodge leaves behind a tremendous legacy that will impact the breed for generations to come. Already more than twenty sons stand at stud in the U.S. and Australia. Dodgem By Design is currently fourth in the U.S. Sire Standings. Stan’s Boy Flyer is eighth and sired All American team captain Ozzie The Man. Gable Oscar, Jawa Leonas Best, Lonesome Cry, and in Australia, Gable LaFourche have increased his influence with winning offspring. Only time will reveal the future direction of the breed, but there can be little doubt that Gable Dodge will be a major force in determining where it goes from here.

Decisions

Greyhound breeders make them every day. Which female does one breed? What sire will work best with her? What track best suits their pups? Most of these decisions are carefully thought out, but sometimes a whim or a hunch changes everything.

In Australia in January 1937, Joe Kelly was eager to get started in greyhound racing. He wanted a female he could race and eventually breed, and made the sensible decision to inquire by phone about a litter bred by H. L. "Tony" Taylor, by Pride Of The Valley, one of the top sires of the day, out of Maudie Francis, a granddaughter of the coursing great Frances Colleen. When Taylor agreed to sell a bitch puppy, Kelly asked about their colors and chose the lone brindle.

When he arrived at Taylor's kennel to take the pup home, it turned out that she was the least attractive of the lot, "the weed of the litter" as Taylor described her. He offered another pup instead, but Kelly picked up the brindle female with the intention of keeping her. He had made a decision and was going to stick to it. As he was leaving it was mentioned that around the kennel she had a name, "Weedy Valley." Kelly kept the name and with it she raced into the annals of New South Wales racing history. Her litter, which included Nicotine, Capertee Valley, Dolly Francis, Little Valley and Francis Pride raced from success to success. A second litter of Pride of the Valley and Maudie Francis produced Drindell, another pup purchased by Kelly, who became one of the great stayers of her day.

Little did he know at the time, but the end of Weedy Valley's racing career in August of 1941 was really the beginning of the story for Joe Kelly. She started her brood career with a litter by Pharminda in September of 1942 followed by a repeat breeding twelve months later. From these came a number of stars including Daisy Valley, Sparkling Comet, Alt Ayr, Flying Marvel, Pussy Willow, Minda Valley, Bronze Edge, Spearlight, Black Carpet, Pierre Boy, and Val Phar. Kelly bred Daisy Valley to the outstanding sire Roccabright, producing a litter that included Be Faithful who compiled a career record of 39 wins and 11 track records in 53 starts. Others included Be Truthful, Embrose, Valley Double, Miss Kelly, Cheeky Valley, Celtux, Daisy Bright, Lazy Boots, Tux and Daisy Rock.

Kelly's good fortune seemed limitless, but at the point where descendants of Weedy Valley seemed at their most prominent, disaster struck. A bout of distemper swept through his kennel and wiped out his entire breeding program with the exception of Daisy Rock who barely survived, though blinded by the sickness. Kelly was forced to start from scratch and he bred his blind brood to the great Chief Havoc. The resulting litter included Winsome Flash, Meropa, Flash Daisy, The Shelf, Chief Bearcaire, and Gorgeous Babe. The latter was retired early, and while most of her littermates were still racing, Gorgeous Babe would be rewriting greyhound history in the whelping barn instead of at the track. She was bred to Tumble Bug son Rocket Jet and her first litter produced Magic Babe, Sky Jet, Metal Jet, Magic Joe, Weedy Jet, Rocket Zoom, Roman Jet, Early Jet, Weedy Babe and Rocka Cashel. The litter soon gained national attention from the racing press while the second was nearing track age. When the second litter hit the track, led by Tell You Why, Light Jet, Glamorous Babe, Gleaming Jet, Cindy Jet, Jenny Ann and Jetalbet, it was rated by the experts as highly as the first.

More Rocket Jet and Gorgeous Babe pups followed including Gemdelina, Gay Glint, Boeing Jet, Rocky Ben, Junglet Jet, Black Omo, Whata Doll, and Tana Jet. Magic Babe went on to an outstanding career at stud. For succeeding generations, his most important contribution was the outstanding brood Elsie Moss whose sons and daughters produced on an almost unprecedented scale. Not surprisingly, Magic Babe is found twice in the pedigree of Temlee, arguably the greatest sire in Australian history. Gemdelina, bred to Irish import Which Chariot*, produced Takiri, Unique Sea, London Lad, Which Gem, Marr William, and Miss Which, while Gay Glint produced a terrific litter to Black Top. Gay Glint is the direct female line ancestor of contemporary greats Token Prince, Just The Best, Flying Amy and Tenthill Doll. Marr William, a champion stayer, was exported to the U.S. where he gained a reputation as an outstanding producer of females, including 1971 All America Shur Lilly and a number of outstanding broods.

In America, Harold Shugart, a great admirer of Australian pedigrees, imported Metal Jet, Sky Jet and Tell You Why. Metal Jet's early passing was a tragedy for the breed, but not before he produced Haiku, dam of All America Bahama Lure; and Kitty Hoss, foundation dam of Fred Scoggin's "S.S." dynasty. Tell You Why*, Shugart's most successful import, rewrote the record books. Westy Whizzer, Miss Gorgeous, Cactus Lonesome, Onie Jones, K's Flak, Oshkosh Racey, Downing, and many others owe their success directly to Tell You Why*. Indeed, his grandson Sand Man* was exported to Ireland where he changed the shape of the breed there just as descendants of Temlee would again two decades later.

Joe Kelly's decision, seemingly made on a whim, was one that affects everyone in greyhound racing today. It's inconceivable to think of this breed without the influence of Weedy Valley's progeny. And there are still some lessons for us all; he bought a puppy by a proven sire out of an outstanding damline from a reputable breeder. It seems like a simple recipe for success, but how many times does one see even experienced greyhound buyers forget one of its ingredients?