A Success Story of Patience, Persistence, and Perserverance

It was only 472m around the Bulli track, but the real journey for Phantom Owl and his trainer Craig Pollard, was so much more substantial.

While he finished sixth at Bulli on May 30, this wasn’t about placings or prizemoney, yet there was no mistaking the real winners here were Craig and Phantom Owl.

The dog was having his first race start since Boxing Day 2018. An injury that night – a bad break to his offside hock - should have ended his career.

“It was one of the most extreme hock injuries you can get. I thought the chances were low to none of the dog racing again. And I explained that to the owner at the time, that when it was stable, he would be able run around the yard, but that was all I expected,” said Dr David Larratt of Wallsend Vet in Newcastle, who operated on Phantom Owl.

“This was an extreme hock injury that most vets would have considered you couldn’t do anything about. Most of the time there is a little bone on the inside of the hock called the central tarsal bone. It easily pops out and sometimes it will crack and sometimes crush. If they had only popped out, you could mobilise the hock and pop the bone back in, and the dog had a good chance, even with a single screw, of returning to racing.

“But here not only had that bone popped out but the outside of the hock, the fourth tarsal, the major column in the hock, had crushed and collapsed, which meant the bone couldn’t be popped back in, so I had to put a plate on the outside of the hock, to stretch it open again, so the bone could be popped back in and screwed in.

“It was fairly radical but it was obvious that was what was needed to be done.”

For Craig Pollard, this was the dog he had waited 30 years for. Already in his brief career he had posted some fast times at Bulli, Richmond and Wentworth Park. But that night 18 months ago, his only concern was caring for his dog.

“It wasn’t about getting him back to racing, it was just about getting the hock fixed,” Craig explained. “I have been seeing (Dr) John Newell for 30 years so I took him there. John doesn’t do surgery now so he sent me up to David Larratt.”

It required numerous trips up and down the freeway from his western Sydney home, but Craig couldn’t speak highly enough of the job David and his team.

“He did a brilliant job. Then when it healed after about six months the screws came out. The owners were great, they all stuck by him, and I can’t thank GRNSW enough for their help through the Racetrack Injury Rebate Scheme (RIRS).”

The RIRS was introduced specifically for cases such as Craig’s, and he was one of the pioneers of the scheme.

Its introduction was an important part of GRNSW’s ongoing commitment to improving welfare outcomes for racing greyhounds. The scheme recognises the treatment of some of the more serious injuries can be expensive, and provides the owner with the financial support needed to ensure greyhounds that can be treated including detailed surgery where this is required.

GRNSW pays all reasonable off-track veterinary costs for treatment of a greyhound admitted into the scheme, up to a maximum of $2,500, and in exceptional cases, a greater amount.

“It was a big operation, and honestly, Tony (Mestrov, GRNSW CEO) and GRNSW have been great through this. Very good to me along the way,” Craig said.

Adds David: “We are seeing so many more of these injuries being treated now since the introduction of the scheme.”

Craig took Phantom Owl to Wentworth Park to trial around two months ago, and he went dreadfully.

“I took him to Charlie Gatt who checks my dogs, and Charlie said he hasn’t broken it, but he’s damaged his fibula. I just said I’ve had it Charlie. But Charlie said you’ve come this far, keep going. We did and we made it to the races again.

“It was a very emotional night, and he went so well. He was always going to need the race fitness, but I was so pleased. It wouldn’t have mattered if he didn’t get back to the races, but he’s keen and he’s enjoying it, and I’m so happy for him and thankful for everyone who has played a part in this amazing comeback.”