It’s a question which causes a recoil no matter who you ask, regardless of their racing code.
No trainer - dog or horse - ever wants to compare their stars, and Tom Dailly is no different.
Tom and his wife Andrea have Shima Shine in the TAB Million Dollar Chase on Friday night at Wentworth Park. He is the baby of the field and was less than a year old when Mystic Riot took out last year’s inaugural event. But he is full of talent and bulging with potential.
Asking the Daillys to compare Shima Shine to some of their other kennel stars from the past is a little like asking a parent which child they prefer the best. Even though While may know the answer, they usually won’t make it public.
The Daillys have not just had good dogs, they have had legitimate champions, superstars of the sport, and there are very few feature races they haven’t won on the racing calendar. The Million Dollar Chase is one, but that may change by the weekend.
Among their very best was the dog some consider the best of all time, Fernando Bale, the winner of 35 of his 44 starts, and a touch under $1.3 million in prizemoney. The dog was a freak.
They also trained Dyna Double One, one of only four million dollar winners in our sport, who won 31 of 54 races. Throw in Melbourne Cup winner Dyna Tron, and five Australian Cup winners - Dyna Lachlan (2010), Spud Regis (2013), Dyna Double One (2016) and Hecton Bale (2018), and this year Dyna Patty, and you get the point about hard to compare.
But how does this 23 month old sprinter, a veteran of just 11 starts, stack up against some of those greats – even at the same stage?
“I don’t like comparing dogs,” said Tom Dailly not surprisingly. “They are all different, so I don’t like to say what he’s like compared to any other dog but he’s just a super young pup.”
But, prod a little further and you get something else.
“The dog has got the biggest motor you have ever seen,” Tom said. “He’s not a complete race dog but what he is doing as a young pup, it’s just enormous. As I said I don’t like to compare … but he’s a super pup.
“He’s the best youngster we have had for a long time.”
Added Andrea: “He’s a very good young pup and he’s done a brilliant job.”
For someone usually subdued about her stars, that is high praise.
Shima Shine will exit box six on Friday, and he has never worn the green rug in a race. He was brilliant dressed in pink last Friday in the semi-final, and many good judges think that despite his age, he’s primed to win the biggest prize in greyhound racing.
The Daillys had Dyna Harpa in last year’s final and she was never in the contest finishing last.
While most consider this field even superior to last year’s, the Daillys qualifier in 2019, is also superior to their 2018 one.
Orginally quoted at $51 with tab.com.au to win the Million Dollar Chase, Shima Shine has continued to firm, moving to $12 before the semi-finals, into $8.50 after the final box draw, and now into $6.
We also have a new favourite for the race, with Victorian Black Opium now into $3.90 at the head of the markets.
Next is Get It Gizmo at $4, then the easing Good Odds Harada who is out to $4.60, then Shima Shine at $6, and Curt Lee at $6.50.
