Father Rick, the greyhound who was blessed by a Catholic priest before he began racing and went on to earn over $326,000 on the track, has been retired.
The dog's owner-trainers Sharron and Ray Webster made the surprise announcement after the dog was unplaced behind Canya Love Me at WP last Thursday night.
It was Father Rick's third straight unplaced run, prompting Ray Webster to say: "We didn't want him to suffer the indignity of going around running seventh or eighth.
"Sharron and I bred, reared and trained him and the only time he has been off our property was when we sent him to Melbourne trainer Terry Reid for a fortnight to contest the Sir John Dillon Memorial, which he won.
"We named the dog after a dear friend, Father Rick McCann, and he not only blessed the greyhound but gave us a bottle of holy water to sprinkle on him every now and then.
"What made Father Rick's career on the track extra special was that we bred his mother Lagoon Prissy, and his dam line goes all the way back to our first dog, Magic Grove, 25 years ago.''
Surprisingly the Websters don't intend registering Father Rick for stud duties, with Ray commenting: "Being realistic that as good as he was, I doubt he would attract much interest from breeders.
"Father Rick is a very quiet, affable dog who won't create a problem on our property so he will live out his years here.
"His 35 wins included a lot of big races but I would rate his victory in the 600m Dapto Middle Distance Championship, along with his victory in the 603m Gosford Six Hundred, as his best performances.''
Father Rick (centre) after taking out the 2024 Summer Six-Hundy at Gosford
Garry Block didn't let his run of bad luck with his initial ventures into greyhound racing deter him from being an owner so it was fitting that his latest acquisition, Unleash In Miami, should win so impressively at his Wentworth Park last Thursday night.
There have not been many more impressive first-up WP winners than Unleash In Miami's all-the-way victory over 520m in a sizzling 29.53.
Although the dog's run home time was a mediocre 11.94, his earlier splits of 5.35, 13.55 and 17.59 had racegoers gob-smacked.
Unleash In Miami is trained at Illabo, near Wagga, by Peter Sims for Block, a retired accountant and farmer from Temora.
Block became a farmer following 25 years as an accountant, but after quitting life on the land sought an interesting hobby and found greyhound racing.
"I didn't have much luck early on because the first half dozen dogs I bought broke down so then I decided only to buy performed greyhounds,'' Block said.
"A couple of years ago I phoned around seeking a recommendation for a trainer and found Peter Sims.
"I asked Peter to get me a decent greyhound and he came up with Unleash In Miami.
"I saw the dog win a race at Bendigo in October and have never seen an animal with so much turn of foot and a couple of months later we were able to buy him from his owners Greg Sprod and Tyrone Whittington.
"As far as placing the dog goes I leave everything to Peter, and while he does run some ideas by me he is the trainer and what he ultimately decides goes.
"When he first got Unleash In Miami he told me the dog needed time to get used to his different surroundings and to the new people around him and it seems to be paying off.''
Garry Block, who also owns pacers, is a hands-on owner insofar as he travels with Peter Sims when Unleash In Miami is racing.
"I'm about 30 or 40 minutes from Peter's place so I usually go to the races to keep him company,'' he said.
Although Unleash In Miami did most of his racing in Victoria on that state's horseshoe-shaped tracks, Peter Sims remained confident the dog could be even better suited on two turn courses like Wentworth Park.
"Unleash In Miami drew the wrong side of the track last Thursday because I knew he would get wide early,'' Sims said.
"And while he got a bit tired, that was only to be expected as Thursday's race was the first time the dog had been tried over 520m. He had never raced beyond 450m in Victoria, was coming off a couple of 457m races at Temora and a short hand-slip at Wentworth Park, so he will get stronger.
"It's just a pity he was too old for Saturday night's National Derby heats.''
