It took a champion to prevent star Tasmanian owned and bred greyhound Jethro from winning a Group race at Sandown last Thursday night.
Jethro, trained by Kel Greenough, led the field in the prestigious Bold Trease over 715 metres and at one stage had six-length break on the field but the mighty Miata somehow found a way to turn what looked like certain defeat into an amazing victory.
Jethro showed brilliant early speed, as he did in his heat win, to cross from box six and lead the field out of the straight the first time.
He had Miata in pursuit but when she copped a check heading down the back stretch the last time it looked as if the Tasmanian might cause an upset.
But the champion West Australian bitch knuckled down to her task and eventually ground the leader down and went on to score comfortably.
Jethro was prepared by Butch Deverell right up until the dog was placed in the National Distance Championship final in Hobart in August in which he was a fast-finishing third to Miata on the Hobart circuit.
It was no disgrace in again being run down by Miata and while connections of Jethro were contemplating what might have been, there also was plenty to like about the effort of another Tasmanian Bel Haven, prepared at Brighton by Ted Medhurst.
Bel Haven finished fourth in the Bold Trease and she was doing her best work over the concluding stages and will definitely be competitive in whatever Group distance races she contests in the coming months.