When Alfies Prince lines up in A2 this evening it will be the culmination of a 148 race career which began back on the 6th May 2016 in A4 company at Perry Barr – writes Mark Pierrepont.
Since then ‘Alfies’ has become a household name and has gained a legion of loyal followers. Renowned for his come from behind performances that have seen him notch up a total of 38 victories and 49 second place finishes , the Barry Denby bred , owned and trained white and black dog will be seeking to make it 39 all out.
Barry Denby said: “He’s been a once in a lifetime dog; a real privilege to be associated with a greyhound of his calibre. He has given both ourselves and the whole country some great memories with his strong running finishes. At his best, he was capable of giving some of the best dogs in training a start and a beating.
“So he’s dropped to A2 now and I always said I’d not let him drop too far before retiring him. It’s been on my mind for a little while really but I guess now is as good a time as any. Hopefully he can go out a winner but the main thing as always is that he comes off safe and sound.It’s one last chance for him to do what he really loves doing before seeing out his retirement with me.
“He might see a bitch or two along the way so if anybody wanted to give him a chance they can always give me a call. Going into tonight he’s not had a run for a few weeks which though might help from a freshness point of view he’s always been a dog who thrives on his racing so that does concern me a little. As usual Richard Genders will be parading Alfie. He’s the apple of his eye and I know Rich will be a little sad that the time has come to hang up his lead but retirement comes to the best of us in the end”.
Readers can catch Alfie’s final career race live on Racing Post TV this evening and there will be some video and photo from tonight available on this website tomorrow.
