Bomber collects the ‘mainland metro set’ with Winter Cup heat win

WHEN Victorian speedster Blazin' Bomber ( x Absolute Stunna) took out his heat of the Group 1 Winter Cup over 520m at last Thursday night, the Darren Pattinson-trained black dog etched his name into a fairly rare record book.

Blazin' Bomber has now scored race victories at all six of the major metropolitan tracks in mainland Australia, a feat which puts him in quite rarified company.

With wins over 525m at the Meadows, 515m at Sandown, 520m at , 515m at Angle Park, 520m at Cannington and now 520m at Albion Park, Blazin' Bomber joins recently retired champion Dyna Double One, El Galo, Suellen Bale, Kantarn Bale and Trew Millions as the only six sprinters to have achieved this feat.

Dyna Double One also holds the distinction of being the only sprinter to have also won over 461m at Hobart, thereby scoring in all six Australian state capital cities.

As for the stayers, , Miata and Miss Grub hold the honour of winning on all six mainland tracks, with Miata joining Dyna Double One as having also won in Hobart, over 709m, when she annexed the Distance Championship.

It must be noted that it has only been possible to win races in all five of the mainland capital cities since the end of 1974, when Cannington first opened. It should also be made clear that for many years after 1974, and arguably up until the advent of Group racing in 1995, there wasn't a lot of incentive for many people to make the trek across to Western Australia, and even to South Australia, for their major races as the prize money levels were not comparable to what was available in the eastern states.

In fact, the first greyhound to come close to collecting the mainland set was the 1979 NSW , Acclaim Star. The brilliant sprinter won at both Harold Park (457m) and Wentworth Park (530m), as well as over 558m at the Gabba, 513m at Sandown and 511m at Park.

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Acclaim Star won the final of the in 1979, the first time the race was held on the Cannington circuit in Perth. He never raced at Angle Park.

Another who came close to collecting the set was the great NSW sprinter . He certainly won in Sydney, Brisbane, Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne, but in the latter city he only competed at Sandown Park and never set paw on The Meadows.

Former champion stayer Northern Legend is another who won everywhere, but never travelled to Cannington and therefore failed to take the set.

Perhaps it's no surprise the eight greyhounds who have won across the country have all raced since the turn of the century when prize money has skyrocketed and there is a real incentive for trainers to traverse the continent in search of the big paydays.

Blazin' Bomber will return to Albion Park this Thursday night for the Winter Cup final.

Group 1 Winter Cup – market

Box 1 – Cyndie's Magic – $15
Box 2 – Vegas Bound – $51
Box 3 – Outside Pass – $8.50
Box 4 – Zambora Brockie – $1.75
Box 5 – Master Jackpot – $12
Box 6 – Thirty Talks – $6
Box 7 – Split Image – $21
Box 8 – Blazin' Bomber – $5 with Sportsbet
1st Res – Abby's Magic – $51
2nd Res – Cheeky Chance – $51

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