The last time NSW chasing fans were treated to an eight-win streak to open a greyhound’s career, the uber-talented Zipping Orlando was claiming victory in the 2023 Young Star final.
Fast forward a couple of years and the John Grief-trained Flash Jet has built a picket fence of his own with eight wins on the bounce as well.
The rising star preparing to put his unblemished record on the line in Thursday’s $25,000 Richmond Straight Cup final.
“He’s raring to go and he doesn’t know how to run a bad race this dog. The win streak is nice because everyone knows how rare it is for a dog to do this…but I’m just proud of him and can’t wait to see him run on Thursday” Grief said.
“Mum [owner Jo Zammit] is just rapt but she has been pretty stressed every start thinking “this is the race he’s going to get beaten”. She won’t be disappointed if the run ends here though because this is a quality final.”
Flash Jet goes into the biggest test of his career as the least experienced in the field, but Grief believes the all-important box draw has thrown a cat amongst the pigeons with a host of wide runners drawn to the inside.
“I think Typhoon Nev (Box 1), Sheezel (Box 2), Calla Axel (Box 3) and Canya Untamed (Box 5) all want to get out wide and they can’t all do that,” Grief explained.
“Sheezel is most likely to cause some drama because he is one of the fastest early and he heads wide hard so that could trouble Canya Untamed. They might get in each other’s way and that means we could fly around them.”
“If there’s one dog in the race who won’t get touched, it’ll be Man Of Zeal (Box 8). He’s the only fifth grader in the race but I know he can run the time. Just A Monarch will miss the kick as well so he might get the run of the race from Box 3 too.”
Grief's son of Sennachie x Pick It Up enjoying a meteoric rise over the shorts after kicking off his career with a maiden win at Richmond back in October.
In start number two he ran 18.04, before breaking the 18 second barrier (17.93) in a third straight triumph on October 23.
He’s since rattled off five more victories, lowered his PB over the Richmond 320m to 17.88, and advanced to the Straight Cup final after claiming his heat last Thursday in 17.54, nosing out History's Coming in a thrilling finish.
He's also asserted himself as a major hopeful for the 2025 Thunderbolt in the process, a race which Grief knows well after Running Reds appeared in back-to-back finals in 2023/24.
“He’s definitely a Thunderbolt dog. He ran half a length outside the track record at Richmond over 300 [currently 17.83 and held by Sicario Beast] in his sixth start so you’d think he could improve some more,” Grief added.
“The Thunderbolt is in June and if he’s right, we’ll go for it. Running Reds was heading to the lead in last year’s final before he got run off the track so I’d like to have another crack at it if we’ve got one good enough.”
But Flash Jet isn't the only dog from the Grief kennel that punters should keep their eye on 2025.
Littermates Dance With Stars and Our Mumma Jo have already won nine of 16 starts, with two more from the litter set to debut on Wednesday night on the Richmond circle.
“Our Mumma Jo is the next best after Flash Jet and she’ll be back soon and will definitely run 500. I think she’s group calibre greyhound at her best,” Grief said.
“Unfortunately Dance With Stars broke down in the fifth grade final last week so we’ll look after him and hopefully get him back. And Flash Liza and Anjo Topaz are the other sisters debuting on Wednesday night. The whole group have had a few metacarpal issues but they’re right to go now and Flash Liza and Anjo Topaz are both good chances.”
The Richmond Straight Cup final will be run in Race 11 on Thursday, January 30. The winner will walk away with $25,000 in prizemoney.
