Mick The Miller (English)

You’ll not get much argument from any knowledgeable Englishman as to which was England’s greatest greyhound ever. Even a 1980 poll by The Greyhound Magazine produced the same near-unanimous choice: Mick The Miller. To him goes much credit for making greyhound racing a fashionable sport in that country.

Reputedly, he was named after Mick Miller, groundskeeper to Mick’s breeder, Father Brophy. Legend has it that the Good Father was once called upon to summon up all his forgiveness and forbearance when the pup was caught sacrilegiously slurping water from the holy font.

Mick The Miller changed hands several times before winding up with Arundel Kempton, one of the officials at Wimbledon, who allegedly bought Mick for 2,000 pounds as a New Year’s gift to his wife. Several trainers handled Mick before he wound up with Sidney Orton in 1930, who handled him for the remainder of his career.

Mick won several stakes and set numerous records, but two of his accomplishments stood above all others. The first was his 19 consecutive victories in 1930, a record that would last for more than 40 years. The second was his incredible record in the English Derby, which he won in 1929 and 1930. Before a crowd of 80,000 people, Mick won the Derby again in 1931, only to have it nullified because of another dog’s interference. In the re-run, Mick ran fourth.

At the age of 5 years, 4 months, Mick The Miller swept through the St. Leger at Wembley undefeated, and captured the stake in the final race of his career. His record: 46 wins in 61 starts, including five classics and five track records. He won at five different distances.

Mick was the first idol of the sport in England, and was so much loved by the public that his body was preserved and still stands in the British Natural History Museum in London. He was also billed as the star of a film called “Wild Boy,” released in 1934.