Flying Ricciardo's Racing Career Over

By Michael Cowley
Flying Ricciardo, the super speedster who thrilled greyhound fans with some of the most dazzling displays of 2020, has been officially retired to stud.

While the Kristy Sultana-trained dog has been off the racing scene since injuring a hock in the semi-finals of the Ladbrokes Golden Easter Egg at Wentworth Park on April 3 - and during his break has been on stud duties - there was still hope that he may return to racing when the injury healed.

But after weighing up the difficult decision, Sultana who also owns the superstar, has made the announcement today that the Group 1 Dapto Megastar winner, the winner at 22 of his 27 starts and prize money of $236,000, will not return to the racetrack.
  
“It wasn’t an easy decision to make whether to bring him back to racing, or continue with a career at stud,” Sultana said.

“We held back making a decision while he was recuperating, to see what response was from breeders, and it has been very positive. He has served nearly 20 bitches so far and we have sold a few straws on the side as well.

“Actually his first litter - to Andrew Bell’s bitch Irinka Leanne - is due today.

“And look in the back of my mind too was that if I brought him back to the track, I would never forgive myself if he wasn’t 100 per cent and racing at the level he had been.

“He has nothing else to prove on the track. His record speaks for itself, 22 wins and three placings from 27 starts. That’s an 81 per cent winning strike rate … you don’t see that very often in any racing code.

“It has been an amazing ride and I am so lucky to have had a dog like Ricci to take me on that ride. Before him I had never really won a feature race, and it has been good to be able to share that with all the fans, and also to raise funds for the Kids’ Cancer Project through the T-shirt promotion we ran.”

Bought for just $7,500 at the 2019 Gold Muzzle Auction, Flying Ricciardo’s career spanned just 11 months, beginning in May last year when it was soon evident that the still 17 month old pup, had something special with a dazzling win over the 340m at Bulli in track record time of 18.91s.


Among his big successes where victory in the Group 2 Black Top at LADBROKES GARDENS last August, then the heat and regional final of the TAB Million Dollar Chase series at Bathurst, before winning a thrilling semi-final of the Million Dollar Chase at Wentworth Park in October.

He qualified for the final but in a four dog charge to the first turn he was unable to lead, was squeezed,  and would eventually finish sixth. That, plus the fourth placing when injured in his last run in the Easter Egg semi-final, were his only unplaced runs during his career.


Flying Ricciardo’s big career moment came at Dapto in December when he stunned the greyhound world by giving superstar Victorian dog Simon Told Helen, a start and a beating in Group 1 Sportsbet Megastar in a race record time of 29.48s.
  
 “I still get shivers every time I watch a replay of that race,” Sultana said.


He was injured when trialling in Melbourne for the Silver Chief, and there were concerns about his racing future, but they were soon dispelled when he returned with a stunning win at Maitland in 24.63s, just a length outside the track record, then he headed to Wentworth Park for the Easter Egg heats and produced one of the greatest runs at the track, an incredible 29.22s performance. Only track record holder Shakey Jakey has gone quicker.

With so many highlights over an 11 month period, finding one specific highlight proved too much of a task for Sultana.

“It’s a tie between the Megastar I think because I wasn’t expecting it, and the way he won that race running down a dog like Simoon Told Helen, and the 29.22s run at Wentworth Park. I still remember looking at the clock after that race and shaking my head in disbelief.”