Tommy Brislane was always head and shoulders above the rest of his litter; and they turned out to be no slouches, with Blinder, Tautology, Wayfarer and Typo all city winners.
He had his performance trial at Bulli on February 26—at just 17 months, and finished second to another stable star, Paua To Roar, after Tommy had been slowly into stride.
He was hardly ever to be slowly into stride again, winning 12 of his 16 starts, with two seconds—in the heat and final of the NSW edition of the National Sprint Championship. He won nine of his 13 starts (with two seconds) at Wentworth Park, all in a period between April and September 2014.
Tommy was unbeaten in Group heats at Wentworth Park, winning heat and semi of the Magic Maiden (before drawing box six in the final), and heat and semi of the Vic Peters (before drawing box five in the final).
He was never beaten once in front, and his superior box manners, and dashing first section made him all but unbeatable.
In the G1 Dapto Megastar, he dashed through from box three and outmuscled G1 winner (2014 Albion Park Winter Cup) Flash Reality on the first turn, and held off a powerful finish from Ritza Hattie; two weeks later, in the G2 Bob Payne, he was brilliant from the boxes, and killed a strong field to win by five lengths from the G1 winner (2014 National Futurity) Rue De Kahn.
Amazingly, he had done all this before his second birthday was over (the night of the Bob Payne); winning two OPEN Group races at such a young age is all but unprecedented in the modern era. Not even Brother Fox or Brett Lee could claim such honours. As veteran commentator Ron Arnold wrote: "His 12 victories put him on the pedestal of becoming one of the best young pups produced in this sport for quite a long time."
Tommy Brislane was an official invitee to the 2014 Topgun at The Meadows in September, but while trialling before the event, he crashed into the lure and chipped a stopper bone, causing his retirement. In January, 2015, he was one of three greyhounds nominated as 2014 Greyhound Of The Year in NSW. Remarkably, after 13 months of recuperation, he returned to racing in October 2015, winning at Warragul in fast time. He would then win at his first start at The Meadows, and returned to Group racing with a win in a heat of the G2 2016 Cranbourne Cup. He was retired in January 2016, with 15 wins and three placings ($175,095), after breaking a hock in a trial. An immediate operation saved him for a career at stud.
Tommy Brislane is an imposing individual, with great strength across his chest and shoulders. He comes from the great Fletcher line, with a great tradition of Group winning stars, including Bond, Prince Diablo, Tuiaki, and many high-class racers. Of all those, Tommy Brislane's early speed, great power and consistency set him apart.
