Brians Greyhound Racing

Ibrox

Champion Victorian trainer Graeme Bate has been a part of the greyhound racing furniture for so long and put the 'polish' on so many good dogs, but one that he handled in the embryonic stage of his career propelled him into the spotlight.

The greyhound was an unfashionably bred brindle bitch by Tidiss out of Royal's Dream. She raced under the name Ibrox and was to prove one of the best front-running stayers of her era.

Ibrox's career began badly with a sequence of four unplaced efforts in sprint events at Geelong over a period of nine months from January to September 1976 before she finally broke through over 451 metres at Ballarat on January 22 1977.

Her next five country starts saw her notch two wins, two seconds and one third, all at either Ballarat or Geelong, before Bate decided to give her a crack at city class racing.

Ibrox came from box five over 511 metres at Olympic Park on March 7 and scored an impressive four lengths victory.

She finished fourth at each of her next four outings at both Olympic and Sandown Park's.

Thinking she might prove to be a reasonable stayer, Bate put her over the tough 732 metres at Olympic Park on April 18. Ibrox led clearly but by the home straight she had begun to tire and was overwhelmed in the latter stages by Darling Panda, going under by a neck.

In a strange twist, just eight days after her gruelling first staying test, Ibrox contested the shortest race of her career, a 347-metre scramble at Geelong. She ran home well to finish second.

Bate now set her for the Olympic Park Distance Championship. In her heat she came up against 1976 New South Wales Greyhound of the Year Mandarin Girl. Ibrox showed blistering early speed and went to the line full of running to down Mandarin Girl by three lengths.

Unfortunately, the final was run on a heavy track and Ibrox floundered, coming home fifth behind Oakwood Moss, the first of what proved to be only two unplaced efforts in distance races.

After running second over 710 metres at Horsham and then a second at Olympic Park over 511 metres, Ibrox scored over 592 metres at Geelong on July 5.

After running second over the same trip at Geelong the following week, Ibrox won her next three starts in a row over 732 metres at Olympic Park before running a one and a half length fourth to Delbairn Babe.

Her next start, on August 29 saw Ibrox bolt home at Olympic Park by 12 lengths in a new track record time of 43.63.

The brindle flyer was then taken north to Sydney to race over 722 metres at Wentworth Park in a heat of the Metropolitan Cup. Starting an odds-on favourite, Ibrox bounced straight to the lead and careered away to score by seven lengths in a fast 43.13.

The Metropolitan Cup final proved even easier as she cruised home in a sizzling 42.69, again winning by seven lengths.

A couple of weeks later, Ibrox came back to Wentworth Park and won her heat of the Sydney Cup by six lengths in 42.82, but she was scratched from the final due to a toe injury.

After winning again at Olympic Park on October 24, Ibrox came back to Sydney and had what proved to be her last start in the city, narrowly defeating champion NSW stayer Kawati Boy by a half length in a fast 42.73 at Wentworth Park. It was her sixth consecutive win.

Just a week later Ibrox was run down by Husky Fran at Olympic Park, but then she put together a sequence of seven successive victories, six of them in the space of just 20 days.

After winning at Olympic Park (defeating Husky Fran), Ibrox went to Angle Park in South Australia and won by 10 lengths, then won by five lengths at Olympic Park and again at Angle Park, this time by six lengths.

Ibrox then notched three straight wins at Olympic Park, by 10, seven and a half and eight lengths respectively.

After running fourth in an unsuitable sprint race at Olympic Park, Ibrox scored at her first attempt over 718 metres at Sandown Park.

Then, on December 26, Ibrox was narrowly defeated by King's Domain at Olympic Park, but the brindle flyer gained her revenge just three days later when she downed that greyhound by six lengths at Sandown Park. That race ended Ibrox's career.

She had raced 45 times for 24 wins, nine seconds and one third. As a stayer, she had recorded 19 wins and four seconds from just 25 outings and was unbeaten at Angle Park (two), Sandown Park (two) and Wentworth Park (four).

-Duncan Stearn