Smart Missile, one of the fastest greyhounds to grace Sandown Park, has been retired.
The son of Nitro Burst and Oh Cee Ya suffered a career ending hock injury last Friday in preparation for the upcoming Australian Cup series at the Meadows.
Blessed with phenomenal mid race speed, Smart Missile will long be remembered as the inaugural winner of the Speed Star match race series in which he clocked 29.006 – the third fastest time ever recorded at the track. While his top speed of 72.7km/h was in the middle of the pack among the Speed Star competitors, he was able to maintain a speed above 70km/h longer than any of his rivals, highlighting his strength as well as raw speed.
“I remember seeing his first trial at Cranbourne and thinking we’ve got something special here. I actually thought the clock wasn’t right but we brought him back the next week and he went better the second time,” said co-owner and breeder David Hirst at the time.
Trained by Jason Mackay, Smart Missile contested three group finals and retires at 31 months of age with a career record of 12 wins – seven of which were in best of night time – from 26 career starts and over $64,000 in career prize money. His 29.006 run in the Speed Star is the third fastest time ever recorded at Sandown Park behind track record holder Bekim Bale (28.96) and eight time group 1 winner Fernando Bale (28.98).
Described by RSN race caller James van de Maat as ‘pure athletic perfection,’ ‘Billy’ has already attracted interest from breeders and will be registered for stud duties in coming weeks.
Click here to read more about Smart Missile’s Speed Star win.
Smart Missile scorches around Sandown Park to win the inaugural Speed Star
