You would be forgiven if you thought Almost Black was the only starter in Monday’s Kennards Hire Bathurst Stakes at Kennerson Park.
The four-year-old black dog began the quickest from the jump and built a dominant lead in the back straight to wrap up the race well before the final section.
He slowed down in the home straight, with Bathurst Cup’s third-placed finisher Kilkee May picking up speed over the back straight to finish 3.75 margins behind the winner.
Lidsdale trainer John Chapman was ecstatic with his dog’s performance.
“He’s been a marvel of a dog. From day dot he’s always put in 100 percent,” he said.
“He’s just really been an exceptional dog because he always puts himself in the frame to win the race. He's ended up in race-winning positions around 50 times. He’s just a good, little, honest, consistent chasing dog.”
Almost Black has snagged 17 placings in his last 19 starts, which date back to April 2017. In those past 19 starts, he’s amassed seven wins.
“His whole attitude towards racing has been solid because he's been allowed to free gallop,” Chapman said.
“He’s a highly strung dog, so if you didn’t allow him to free gallop, he would play up worse than he did in the boxes on Monday.”
Chapman said Almost Black’s owners have been extremely lucky.
“He’s owned by Jed Martin. It was his first ever purchase as a greyhound owner. He’s only a 25-year-old fella with a wife and baby, and he can’t believe his luck,” he said.
Almost Black will next take to the track at Bulli on Saturday, March 3rd.
* this article originally appeared in the Western Advocate - photo credit: Chris Seabrook
