There were some excuses for his failure at Capalaba mind you! Severely torn stomach muscles would see the 'breeding blueblood' disappear from the racetrack for 3 months before trainer Paul Felgate produced him in a Qualifying heat of the 1999 Vince Curry Memorial Series.
The son of champion sire Credibility immediately captured the attention of greyhound fans around Australia by winning his heat by a mere 17 lengths, clocking a sensational 29.88 in the process.
His quarter final win 8 days later was even more emphatic.
Displaying brilliant pace from the traps, JUST THE BEST eclipsed his victory in the heats by recording an 18 length win in the time of 29.76, just 7/100th's outside Captain Heirs' long standing track record, and in the process, left future Group 1 victor WINGED RUNNER in his wake.
Consistent rain on the day of the Semi-Finals may have dampened the track surface, but it proved to be no stumbling block for Just The Best, as he won this time by 191/2 lengths, and again was sent out at unbackable odds.
By now, the son of champion sprinter Flying Amy had everyone in the greyhound game talking.
He had won his Heat, 1/4 Final, and Semi-Final, by a combined aggregate of more than 54 lengths, when he stepped out in the final from Box 6. No sooner had they exploded from the boxes, than the question was being asked it wasn't a matter of would he win, it was now a matter of "would he break the track record"? The official winning margin was 14 lengths, as JUST THE BEST cruised to victory in the 1999 Vince Curry Memorial Final, again recording the sensational time of 29.76.
But it wasn't the last time that JUST THE BEST would hit the headlines.
After another injury-enforced lay-off of more than 3 months, he made his much awaited debut performance at Albion Park, in the process of breaking the magical 30 second barrier, recording 29.97. He again reduced that time to a breath-taking 29.78 just 7 days later, and then another sub 30 second run was to follow.
Journeying to Sandown Park, JUST THE BEST set the tongues wagging when he ran 29.62 to break Tenthill Doll's track record in a Stewards Trial, before clocking 29.80 under race conditions.
Returning to Albion Park in September, JUST THE BEST would take on some of the best sprinters in Australia in a heat of the Group 1 Coca Cola Cup. Again it was a touch of deja vu. Exiting from Box 2, JUST THE BEST scored by 4 lengths, and again smashed the 30 second mark, this time clocking 29.90. Victory would desert him in the Group 1 final, and injuries sustained in the run would end his brilliant racetrack career, once and for all.
But his performance statistics justify the headline tags bestowed upon him.
15 race starts for 9 wins and 3 placings.
His combined total winning margins equated to no less than 106 lengths, or an average of a staggering 113/4 lengths every time he greeted the judge in first place.
