She’s A Pearl, one of the greatest greyhounds of a generation, has run her final race.
Trainer Andy Lord confirmed on Tuesday night that She’s A Pearl has come on season, and true to his word, he instantly decided that she will be retired to become a mum.
Andy knew that with each day, this day was getting nearer, and had said that even if Pearl was in a $1 million final, the day she came on season, she would be retired.
“It was actually a sense of excitement not sadness when I realised she had ‘come on’,” he said.
“For a moment, I stood there looking at her and just started shaking my head when I thought back about what she had achieved on the track.
“But I’m so excited about the prospect of her becoming a mother.
“She has a beautiful temperament and I have no doubt she’ll be a fantastic mum.”
The curtain falls on a truly amazing career where during most of it, her rivals simply chased her. She retires having started 64 times, won 39 of those races, and was placed in another 13. She’s A Pearl amassed a remarkable $1,769,900 in prizemoney.
She's A Pearl was looking to add to her imposing career tally this weekend and was entered to run in the heats of the NSW National Sprint Championships on Saturday night, but after coming on season late this afternoon, Andy will now scratch her from that event tomorrow morning.
While the focus now swings from the track to the breeding barn, no firm decision has been made on Pearl’s first mating and Andy admits he is contemplating a ‘left field’ selection.
“We recently purchased One Time Only, who won both the Group 1 Irish Laurels and Group 1 Champion Stakes during his career, and at present he is still in quarantine in Ireland waiting to be exported here,” Andy explained.
“We have done all his DNA tests and completed his registrations but it’s just a matter of whether or not we can get some frozen semen here in time to be able to serve her.”
When pressed as to who heads the list as far as a ‘first reserve’ potential sire is concerned, Andy said there was only one other dog in contention.
“Her sire line is heavily infiltrated with Barcia Bale, Go Wild Teddy and Head Honcho so our options are somewhat limited but at this stage, the reserve list is limited to just one dog and that is Fernando Bale.
“Not only was he one of the greatest chasers I have ever seen but you have to marvel at the impact he has had on the stud scene.
“He’s produced winner after winner, champion after champion, and although there are no guarantees when it comes to breeding, it’s scary to think of what these pups could turn out to be, if we decide to go that way.”
She’s A Pearl was in the peak of her powers in 2022. At one point between February and May, she won 12 in a row, the nearest any rival got to her was two lengths, and she clocked the ninth fastest time ever run at Wentworth Park, a stunning 29.30s.
During that run she captured the Temora Cup, then the Group 1 Ladbrokes Golden Easter Egg in April, and a few weeks later demolished the best sprinters in the land winning the TAB Million Dollar Chase by the largest margin in the race’s history - 5½ lengths.
During 2022 She's A Pearl became the greatest prizemoney earner the sport had produced, surpassing the previous benchmark of Victorian star Fanta Bale.
Fittingly she was crowned 2022 NSW Greyhound Of The Year, adding to her win in the Australian Greyhound Of The Year for 2021-22.
Andy is adamant the Golden Easter Egg is one of the toughest races to win in the world and it was the one race he’d aspired to claim since its inception and as such Pearl’s dominant victory is top of the list of the most memorable victories for Andy.
“It’s a three-week series featuring the best dogs in the nation and history has proven that out and out champions win the Egg,” he said.
“We had a perfect week with her leading into that race and that was the night I thought that she earnt the tag as a champion – she was the meat in the sandwich at the first turn but she was just so gutsy and literally within 50 metres we had gone from holding our breath to basically having one hand on the trophy.
“Without a doubt, that was the race that gave me the most satisfaction both for her and her standing in the greyhound world and also for me as a trainer.”
Any thoughts of being past her best were erased in early January this year when she defeated a class field to win the Group 1 Paws Of Thunder, and Pearl would add another Temora Cup, a Ladies Bracelet, then the Brother Fox at Dubbo to her bulging resume in 2023.
“I know it’s a cliché but she never took a backward step and it didn’t matter where she was, she always tried – it’s the combination we all hope to get when training a dog, and Pearl had it in spades,” Andy explained.
“Two things made her different and that was her amazing early pace and her heart.
“She was fearless in her races but I was never worried about her getting injured, she just had that knack of finding the gap to escape trouble or she came out running.
“We bought her with no real expectations other than I knew she had plenty of ability as was evidenced by the fact she set a track record at her first ever run, but no, we never knew how good she was at that stage.
‘She cut her foot at Wenty when she was beaten first-up for us but we then gave her a month off and from there she basically went from a 4th Grade bitch to being the best in Australia when she won her next 13 straight.
“And yes, she was treated a little bit different to the other dogs in the kennel. Mind you, she did as much if not more work than the rest of the team, but when it came to meal time, I’ll admit, I always made sure she got an extra chicken leg.
“And, I’ve had thousands and thousands of dogs in my life and never once, have any of them slept in our home, but Pearl is the exception.
“Jodie and I went shopping a few weeks back and we spent $10,000 on a big round lounge suite for her. It was the best of the best that we could get for her and we actually moved it into our lounge room this afternoon.”
And while a sire is yet to be determined, already the requests for pups has begun. In fact it began long ago Andy says.
“I started getting phone calls about 12 months ago and we have had multiple offers of $40,000 irrespective of who the sire was going to be, the sex or their colour,” he said.
“You never say that they are not for sale because she may have a big number of pups but at this stage, they’ll all be staying here at Gunning.”
