Sure it was Angle Park on a Wednesday and yes it was a very low graded race but when a greyhound is so far back that the race caller goes for the Hubble Telescope to spot him, you think you’d be safe in tearing up your ticket into confetti! I mean I have heard of race callers making the "can't win" call too early but you couldn't have argued with anyone had they made that call about the greyhound Empty Shell during race five on the Angle park card yesterday. The dog with the well documented hurdle riddled history in Empty Shell somehow put in one of the biggest Rapt In Racing runs ever to score a ridiculous and highly unlikely victory which even had the owners calling for it to be swabbed. Who does this greyhound think he is.... Nellie Noodles?

 

Empty Shell, or Freddy as he is known to connections, came from off the pace to score at his run two starts back but when they were turning for home yesterday and he was barely in the picture we were hoping he’d scoot home for a face saving 4th or 5th and even that was a serious case of straw clutching.

 

I can’t explain what happened next and or how it occurred but you won’t believe it if you don’t see it. So watch the replay and keep your eyes on the dog in box seven and then tell me how it did it. As I said we know it was a Wednesday Angle Park meeting and we know it was a very low class race but dogs just aren’t allowed to do what Freddy did.

 

 

The only explanation I can offer is that it was divine intervention. I mean really we are racing in the city of churches and the Empty Shell syndicate members had dropped to their knees after he had gone 100 metres. Sure they dropped to their knees in despair and not necessarily to pray but at the end of the race there was a collective cry of “Jesus Christ!”

 

The problems with this Empty Shell of a dog have been well documented but it seems now after a very long time and a great deal of patience from all connections and especially trainer Kim Johnson, we might be starting to see the light and if he never puts in another decent run, at least Freddy has left the Empty Shell Syndicate members with one hell of a memory.