One Record Broken; Another Awaits Miata
Miata's victory in her heat of the Sandown Cup on 17 May took her sequence of successive victories to an incredible 15. Yes, we all know she is an amazing racer, but her achievement truly puts her in a class of her own.
The win now means Miata ‘owns' the record for the most consecutive victories ever recorded by an all-distance racer.
The previous mark was held jointly by the Western Australian star Afro Freeway (1983) and the great New South Wales all-distance bitch National Lass, both of whom won 14 successive races in 1985.
National Lass was a dual NSW Greyhound of the Year, in 1984 and 1985.
You might imagine a stayer would have an easier time accumulating a long string of victories. After all, the ‘quality' of the opposition is usually not of the standard of the sprinters.
Yet, apart from National Lass' 14 straight, the next nearest run of successive wins by either a dedicated stayer or an all-distance greyhound is Tasmanian Oak Queen's 10 in a row in 1959. NSW stayer Equability won nine on end in 1991-1992, the ill-fated National Lee did the same in 1982 and Victorian Totally Ablaze scored nine straight in 1998.
Think about this simple fact. Since the commencement of greyhound racing behind a mechanical lure in Australia exactly 85 years ago this month, Miata is only the sixth greyhound to reach 15 or more successive victories.
The only other greyhounds to have notched 15 consecutive wins in Australian history are South Australian star Kate's A Scandal in 1981 and Tasmanian sprinter True Vintage in 1988.
Miata will now attempt to equal the record for the most successive TAB-class victories when she competes in the Sandown Cup final on 24 May.
That record was set in early 2009 by the brilliant NSW sprinter Miss Elly Mint.
Of course, the overall record for the most wins in a row is still some way off. In 2004 the Queensland sprinter Tropical One made it 24 on end, eclipsing the previous mark held by fellow Queenslander Sophocles, and set at 21 in a row in 1987.
It would be a brave person who could suggest Miata cannot surpass either Sophocles' or Tropical Ones' record.