When I started this greyhound blog about 15 months ago i mentioned there would be 5 greyhounds that had global influence and would shape the future with their pizazz and the adoration of the public , and i would dedicate a piece to them , well today its dog 5 the only Australian a female who was synonymous with the code and if you surveyed anybody over 50 the name Zoom Top would quickly leave the lips , so for the younger fans lets recap a little on the dog they called “sweetie”.
These eerie coincidences along the way are not going anywhere it’s like a sign saying you should be writing , Zoom Top was born in August 1966 the same year as me bred owned and trained by Hec and Leah Watt .
The two striking things that made her different when people reminisce is her versatility and her heart ,although many speedsters came along after it’s her accomplishments on the track , Hec would say she’s the people’s dog , she matured fast and her 1st race she won at Goulburn over the 500 yrds at 14 months , prize money 10$ ironically the Goulburn maiden ZoomTop final in her honour is on this Friday another coincidence and it’s a crack field worth 25k to the winner , anyway the fawn flash rattled off 4 wins but racing against the older more seasoned dogs her 1st stint resulted in 7 from 20 .
Then on March 16 1969 my 3rd birthday (crazy I know I never stood a chance)she announced herself winning at Harold park over 800 yds by 15 lengths and the legend began often she would race over 730 mtrs then back up over 500 a few days later but she travelled everywhere and loved racing .
Wentworth park the next week then back to Harold park Association cup length off record , Muswellbrook 550 win back to HP 2nd in winter cup 457m then track record at Beenleigh 795m then Grafton 402m then Grafton again 675 then Harold park 457m won them all bar one 2nd in the space of 3 weeks unbelievable! Then Hec sent her up the straight at Richmond 292 mtre win 3length off record then won Dapto Silver collar 507 , Sydney cup 722 mtre at wenty track record then the st ledger 530 at wenty in front of 14000 people then obviously announced 1968 greyhound of year !
Hec was questioned sometimes by probably jealous people about the racing schedule and amount of races he’s answer was she thrives on racing and being a champion she can use the versatility to suit the training methods and that she would fret at home when not at the track .
1969 wasn’t much different any track any time she would travel and defend her titles , breaking track records at Newcastle and in her 100th start she cracked the record at Maitland then at Beenleigh defending her title she broke her own record and made it 11 distance victories in a row ,in 1970 she broke her record at Temora over 457 then won a top grade sprint at Olympic park then a length outside record at Orange over 494 metres then the Singleton cup over 640 metres ,after 68 wins the machine that was Zoom Top was retired after pulling a muscle in her back leg , I can’t believe what I’ve just written she was immortal.
Her father was Black Top mum Busy Beaver 59k Zoom Top earnt an Australian record at the time .
136 Starts 68 wins 25 2nds 14 3rds
27 different tracks winning on 24 set or equaled 15 track records win from 292m -795m won from every box even 9 and 10 . I’ll come back to that !
A real racer who’s trainer wasn’t worried about challenges or defeats, he knew the dog backwards and when a race club came calling he obliged and the people would turn up in mass that’s what made her special the rigorous career didn’t hurt her Hec was right she lived a great life and passed away at 13 buried under the family tree at their Ballina property on the Northern Rivers .
Hall of famer Jeff Collerson rates her the most Versatile champion and Neil Brown who I thank so much for he’s passion and library of information ,as a teenager in Melbourne he got to pat the champ while selling race books in the car park a career highlight he said , these two men are the history of our sport .
We hadn’t had an Australian 🇦🇺 in our 5 and it’s not that she’s number 5 they are not in order I thought I’d save the Australian till last , but on reflection I will write about some more along the way while doing the blog , but before we go i mentioned she won off box 9 and 10 well back in the day up straight at Richmond they raced 10 , everything old will be new again as the Q in Queensland will race 10 up that beautiful wide straight which has legs and is growing on me imagine having 5 down one side 5 down the other Flemington straight six style and NSW will be following soon ,the exotic pools will flourish , I ventured to the Q what a beautiful drive the facility is 1st class when the tracks settle down it will be best in Country and what a great getaway weekend!
So good to be back publishing a piece until next time Hounfrenz 🙏🏻lots of love 💙
My Houndbound life 