Lady Toy Claims Two Time Records In Successive Starts

THE unfashionably-bred stayer Lady Toy (Our Toyman x Railway Shiraz) has started this year as she finished 2014, with another record, this time at .

Lady Toy was the last greyhound to set a last year, narrowly eclipsing the 660-metre mark at on December 31.

Then, for good measure, she started 2015 with a tremendous victory in the Victoria Cup, run over 699 metres at Cranbourne on final night, scoring in a sizzling 41.34 to take 15/100ths off the previous best set in this race, by Tassie Star in 2002. It's rare a race record stays on the books for 13 years these days.

Both victories were efforts for the two-and-a-half-year-old black bitch, which has won 11 of her 47 starts (22 placings), and broke a run of 16 successive defeats to notch her back-to-back victories.

Last year a record may have been set for the number of track records eclipsed across Australia. By my count at least 66 track records were set and Lady Toy's Ballarat 660-metre run of 37.59, clipping just 1/100th off the mark set by Sisco Rage in February 2014, was the last of those.

The win was especially impressive as Lady Toy was a clear last away, but hugged the fence for most of the trip and scooted away to score by almost 10 lengths.

That victory was eclipsed by her Victoria Cup success. Again she was only fairly away and was in fifth place with a lap to go. In the back straight she unleashed a blinding turn of speed on the rails and took control at the top corner before racing away to score by almost eight lengths for trainer Norma Gost. Her time of 41.34 was 34/100ths outside the track record, set by Whodat Knockin' in February last year.

The Victoria Cup used to be a heats-and-final series, but has been a best-eight event since 2007, apart from a brief return to a knockout series in 2012. It has been run over the 699 metres trip since 1987.

The Victoria Cup, inaugurated in 1975, has been won by some good-quality greyhounds over the years, from Club Stroller (1984) and the great Pharaoh's Mask (1986) to La Dancer (1990), Village Stomper (1991), Tears Of Jupiter (2003), Flashing Floods (2007), Shimaguni (2011) and (2014).

Lady Toy's winning margin, officially 7.95 lengths, has been bettered by only Flashing Floods (which scored by 10.25 lengths) and former race record holder Tassie Star (9.75 lengths).

GRV Fixes Formguide Problem

My article complaining about errors which had crept into the GRV formguides has a happy ending in that the computer/coding glitch that caused it has been found, and fixed.

Andrew Gibson contacted me to explain they had found the cause, which was apparently something as simple as having a greyhound swabbed twice at the same meeting.

Additionally, the Dogs website has now been updated and corrected, removing those clearly incorrect track records at places such as , , and others.

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James Shaw
James Shaw
9 years ago

Who’s your source of that being a track record at cranbourne? Terrible piece of journalism. Someone with any knowledge of dogs would know its mentioned in the stewards report if its a track record. Ill give you a hint. Look up Whodat Knockin’…

David Todd
David Todd
9 years ago

James I think they are saying it’s a race record not track

James Shaw
James Shaw
9 years ago

Who’s your source of that being a track record at cranbourne? Terrible piece of journalism. Someone with any knowledge of dogs would know its mentioned in the stewards report if its a track record. Ill give you a hint. Look up Whodat Knockin’…

David Todd
David Todd
9 years ago

James I think they are saying it’s a race record not track