‘Batman’ – a hero for the ages

Tornado Tears will go down as one of greyhound racing’s greatest stayers.

He won 11 of the of 26 group finals for which he qualified for – including six of 14 at group 1 level – across a career that spanned more than three years. Fanta Bale – the highest stake money earner in history – is the only other stayer to have won as many at the highest level of the sport. His $1,003,835 in prize money places him seventh all time, and he holds three metropolitan track records (as well as the second fastest time at The Meadows and third fastest at Sandown Park). He won a group race from every box but box 1 – the best he most sought after.

His distinctive markings earned him the moniker ‘Batman’, his effortless stride and blinding speed making him as popular as any greyhound of his generation. A berth in both the Victorian and Australian Halls of Fame seems assured.

Bred to stay
Tornado Tears hails from one of the greatest staying lines in the country so it was no surprise that he’d find his niche over the ‘half-mile’. By the time he arrived in Robert Britton’s kennels in January 2018, Tornado Tears’ litter brother Rippin’ Sam had already embarked on his own staying career that saw him make eight group 1 finals, highlighted by a win in the 2018 Galaxy.

Tornado Tears won his first four career starts in New South Wales before stepping up to the middle distance where he was beaten in his next three outings. After running seventh to Raw Ability in a heat of the National Derby, he came to Victoria to begin his career with one of the sport’s most astute trainers of staying greyhounds, Robert Britton.

His first start in Victoria was a winning one, a fast-finishing last stride victory in 34.28 that gave little indication of what lay ahead. He was drawn over 715m days later however a niggling injury – the first of many that marred his career – delayed his distance debut and instead was set for the Launching Pad sweepstakes series a month later.

Tornado Tears made the final of the three week series after finishing fourth in his heat and second in his semi-final (won by Dyna Patty with My Redeemer third).

His fifth place in the final would be his final start over the sprint – it was time to step it up.

Batman begins
Greyhound trainers are generally pretty conservative by nature. They know that even the strongest 600m dogs aren’t guaranteed stay – that last 50m in particular has found out many greyhounds that had promised to be quality stayers.

Britton has a well-earned reputation as one of the country’s premier conditioners especially when it comes to stayers, a reputation that has grown over the last few years. During the Launching Pad series he had told me that he was looking forward to stepping ‘Batman’ up over the distance so it was with some anticipation that Tornado Tears would step out over 715m on a mild April night at Sandown Park.

The punters didn’t miss – he started $1.60 – and he didn’t disappoint. He jumped from box 1 for the first – and until his final start – the only time over 715m in his career. He landed in front, extended his margin at every post and stopped the clock in 41.204, at the time the second fastest time ever recorded and just half a length outside of Miata’s track record. His winning margin of 11.25 lengths the biggest at a Sandown city meeting in almost five years.

The win set the greyhound racing world abuzz. Less that two weeks after Britton’s staying queen Fanta Bale retired, a new staying king had assumed the throne.

Staying domination
Over the next six months Tornado Tears dominated staying racing across the country.

It took some time to recover from his stunning 715m debut, ruling out a trip Perth for the Galaxy (leaving his brother Rippin’ Sam to claim victory). Resuming with a win over 595m at Sandown Park, he won 12 of his next 14 starts including three group 1s (the RSN Sandown Cup, the Brisbane Gold Cup and National Distance Championship), two group 3s and two Speed Stars. He broke the Albion Park track record and ran the second fastest 595m at Sandown Park. He also won the ‘Battle Of The Brothers’ match race between Tornado Tears and Rippin’ Sam, his eighth victory over his sibling.

At two and a half years of age and with over half a million dollars in prize money to his name, Tornado Tears was the undisputed champion of Australian greyhound racing.

Then injury struck.

A comeback for the ages
Entering the prime of his career, Tornado Tears had proven himself fast, strong and versatile, traversing the country and sweeping all before him. He was as popular as he was brilliant, one of the rare greyhounds that transcended the code. Not only were his deeds on track energising greyhound racing fans across Australasia, he was now attracting new fans to the sport. Social media lit up whenever ‘Batman’ made an appearance. It was almost expected he would become the next million dollar greyhound.

When it was revealed Tornado Tears had cracked a hock it sent shockwaves through the sport. Injuries of that nature can be fickle, and even if he were to recover, could he recapture his former brilliance?

After five long months on the sidelines, Tornado Tears returned to the track in the group 1 Zoom Top at The Meadows, an invitational group 1 that featured a stunning line up of group race winners. Britton had said he was happy with where his charge was at heading into the race but had some concern about his fitness in the latter stages. The punters had few concerns however and sent him to boxes the short favourite despite drawing box 8.

To the delight of the massive crowd, he showed he was still the country’s premier stayer by railing through late to claim his fourth group 1 title.

The flawed genius
Tornado Tears’ Zoom Top victory gave the first hint of a racing trait that would frustrate and confound fans for the remained of this career.

From the time he stepped up in distance, ‘Batman’ was simply faster than his rivals. His early pace would put him in a good place early in his races and his strength and smarts would allow him to navigate his slowing rivals. He had always been a keen railer but until then had shown a willingness to go around greyhounds when the inside run didn’t present. Now, for reasons unknown to all, he only wanted the fence. And worse, he’d tend to hit on his own.

This became apparent in the final of the group 1 Super Stayers. A week after lighting up the clock at The Meadows and two weeks after his Zoom Top victory, he endured a difficult run in the final which was amplified by his own poor habits. It was a pattern that repeated through 2019.

He was dominant in group 1 heats at Cannington before creating his own trouble when beaten in the final. He set the track record in the group 1 Association heat at Wentworth Park and controversially tore a pad in the run before being unplaced in the final. He was brilliant in a heat of the Sandown Cup, but was unplaced after looking for a rails run that wasn’t there.

He’d make seven more group races over the next six months, but despite still being the fastest stayer in the country, had only a win at Listed level and a Speed Star victory to show for it.

Things would get worse for ‘Batman’. His return to Wentworth Park in October, his first since his failed Association Cup campaign, was perhaps the most controversial moment of Tornado Tears career. Connections were hauled before the stewards for what was judged to be an unsatisfactory performance, a call some pundits believed was overdue. It was the lowest moment, injury aside, of his career.

Form is temporary, class is permanent
He returned to Victoria with two unconvincing performances, a third at Geelong and fourth at The Meadows in the Topgun Stayers. He did win a heat of the group 1 Bold Trease, however the manner of the victory left more questions than answers. Tornado Tears had become an enigma.

Many punters had lost confidence in ‘Batman’ and despite late support, started the final a $4.60 chance. It was the first time in 39 starts and the first time ever over 600m+ that he didn’t start favourite.

Britton had long said that Sandown Park was Tornado Tears’ best track. The Bold Trease was his 12th group final at the View Road circuit and had won 9 of his 10 appearances over 715m. Now three months shy of his fourth birthday and no longer possessing the early dash of his younger days, Tornado Tears would need to call on every ounce of his champion qualities to add to his feature race resume.

And that’s precisely what he did.

Jumping from box 4, Tornado Tears began well but was checked back worse than midfield through the first turn. He improved to third with a lap to go and continued to close on the leaders down the back straight. Swinging for home he railed beneath Blue Moon Rising and Sandown Cup winner Rajasthan to charge to the lead and claim a famous victory – his third group 1 title at Sandown Park – much to the delight of a drenched Sandown Park crowd.

Perseverance rewarded
Tornado Tears would race just 10 times in 2020, a combination of niggling injuries and limited racing opportunities restricting his race track appearances. While competitive in each outing, he won just one of those starts – a far cry from his domination of the 2018 season. The form led some to question trainer Rob Britton why he kept him in work. The answer was simple – he was still trialling fast and was still capable of competing with the best stayers in the land. And besides, he loved racing. One of the benefits of my role at the club is that I get to see the dogs outside of what the Sky cameras pick up. I get to see how they behave before and after the race and really get a feel for which greyhounds thrive one the race night experience.

I watched Tornado Tears closely in his final outings at Sandown Park, and if you saw how excited he was to be at the track you’d be left in no doubt where he wanted to be and what he wanted to be doing. You’d never have picked him as a four and half year old greyhound with three years of top grade racing under his belt. He was jumping out of his skin and an as enthusiastic as a pup having his first trip to the track.

He was beaten in his second to final start at Sandown Park, but still stopped by the winning post for a photo and led his loyal handler and long-time companion Peter Riley to the dais looking for the adulation of a big crowd, a routine he’d perfected through is career. Try telling this tail-wagging veteran he should be retired!

So it would only be fitting that there would be a final on track triumph in the storied career of Tornado Tears.

First up after a five week break, he claimed his 12th group race title by holding off emerging star Houdini Boy. Two weeks later he returned to Wentworth Park to claim victory at the track that had caused him the most trouble throughout his career. And then, despite many pundits writing him off as a group 1 contender, Tornado Tears did it again, taking out a hand selected field of the country’s top stayers to claim the group 1 Topgun stayers – the 6th and final group 1 of his career.

The fastest stayer ever
Fanta Bale is the benchmark for all modern stayers and is the greatest all-distance greyhound of all time being the only greyhound to win at the top level over all distances. However Tornado Tears was the superior stayer. Both won six group 1s over the staying trip but there is no question Tornado Tears is was the faster of the two. Tornado Tears owns three metropolitan track records, the second fastest time at the Meadows, and the third fastest time at Sandown Park (in fact, he owns five of the 13 fastest ever at Sandown). Here’s a comparison of the two champion’s best times over the staying journey.

Tornado Tears’ best time at each track is, on average, nine lengths faster than Fanta Bale’s! And while Tornado Tears didn’t win over 515m at Sandown, he did exhibition trial over the sprint trip running 29.262. His combined best times over each distance of 104.136 is the fastest of any greyhound in history, and some 15 lengths faster than Fanta Bale’s 105.043!

Over 700m+, Tornado Tears raced 46 times for 26 wins and eight placings. Remarkably, his only graded race over the trip was on his staying debut – every other start was in open class. And one can’t help but wonder what he could have achieved had he not missed five months of his prime due to injury, had some luck with box draws, or could have had a jockey steering him.

His achievements on the track were extraordinary, and few have the created the buzz off it as Tornado Tears did.

Enjoy retirement ‘Batman’, we’ll see you in the Hall Of Fame.