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.