Metro Man finds a new lease of racing life in Townsville

FORMER Northern Rivers speed merchant Metro Man, a member of the x Kingsbrae Di litter whelped in February 2013, is carving a new career for himself in the northern Queensland city of Townsville.

Metro Man, now trained by Tom Jackson, has raced four times at Townsville for four victories. Competing over the 380m trip, Metro Man, a white and black dog, scored his most recent victory on December 13, winning by almost five lengths.

All told he has won his four starts at the track by a collective 16 and a half lengths, an average of just over four lengths a start, which is pretty dominating in races over just 380m.

The rising four year old has now raced 79 times in his career for 22 wins, 19 seconds and 14 thirds and earned $33,602 in prize money. So, he's been a good little performer for a greyhound who has never won a race beyond 484m.

Metro Man is part of the second litter of six pups by Elite State out of that wonderful performer Kingsbrae Di. The first litter, whelped in March 2011, produced the champion sprinter Paw Licking.

The star of the second litter was undoubtedly Allkel To Excel. He won the 2015 , set a track record of 18.80 at Healesville and set a track record over 390m at the new Warrnambool track.

Kingsbrae Lavina was another from the same litter who made a Group final, failing to finish in the 2015 Queensland Futurity.

Metro Man was originally part of the Northfield clan, a racing family who have been a dominant part of the racing scene around the , and area for decades.

Metro Man started his career during the October 2014 Coonamble carnival, being placed in two maiden races. He didn't break his maiden status until his sixth start, scoring by 10.5 lengths over 411 metres at Casino in March 2015. He then put four wins in a row together, the same sequence he has now achieved in Townsville.

Like most good greyhounds, Metro Man does well out of box one, having won five of his 10 starts out of that alley and being placed in the other five.

Crimson Sally and Worth Backing's weird set of stats

It is said of cricket that it throws up statistics the way dogs throw up fleas, or something like that. Certainly greyhound racing is a lot like cricket, there are a myriad of statistics and unusual occurrences that are worthy of mention.

On Sunday December 11 at Sandown the -trained Crimson Sally came into what would be her 12th race start having finished fourth at her five previous outings.

She also entered the race as having started five times in her short career from box two, and finishing fourth in all five of those outings.

The odds of her having a record are quite . Crimson Sally exited box one in her Sandown race but could only run fifth; although I'm sure she was trying to take fourth place.

After the dead-heat in the final of the between Melissa's Pride and Ring The Bell, I was asked how many greyhounds had been involved in more than one dead-heat across their careers.

Sadly, I don't have that information, but one greyhound who figured in no less than three dead-heats in his 129-start career was the former star sprinter Worth Backing. His first dead-heat came when he split the prize money for third in a Free For All behind Lively Monarch at Sandown in July 1992.

Worth Backing made the final of the in September 1992 and from box eight dead-heated with Tough As Tears for first place.

Then, in November 1993 Worth Backing (box one) dead-heated the inaugural running of the Topgun at Sandown. No other greyhound has ever figured in two dead-heat finishes for first in two major races. Now the odds of that happening are also astronomical I would think.

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