Freda's Journey: Incubator To WA Oaks Favourite

IF Flying Freda wins Saturday night's Group 2 WA Oaks (520m) the first phone call her breeder-owner Justin Warwick will be making is to Kelly Dorsona.

And for very good reason.

Veterinary assistant Dorsona whelped down the eight-strong Tommy Shelby x West On Violet litter for Warwick and is responsible for Flying Freda beating the odds early doors, let alone making it to the races.

FIELDS AND FORM CANNINGTON SATURDAY NIGHT

"She was so small, half the size of her brothers and sisters," Warwick recalled.

"To give you an idea how small, on average the pups were between 400-420 grams. At one stage Flying Freda was 180 grams.

"For the first week or so she lived in an incubator and was fed through a tube by Kelly. If it wasn't for her TLC she wouldn't have made it.

"No way in the world."

When Warwick brought the litter home to rear not much had changed with Flying Freda, dwarfed by her seven siblings.

"Half the size of the rest and that's being conservative," Warwick said.

"When she got through that first stage my mindset was just about rearing her through to the point that we could find a home for her as a pet. Racing in those early days wasn't even really a thought to be honest."

But there was a day that mindset changed.

"The first time I threw out the squeaker toy the pups were all over it and throwing their weight around," Warwick recalled.

"Then from nowhere she (Flying Freda) launched atop all of them to the top of the squeeker and refused to let go. It was that day I thought that despite her size she clearly wants to be a race dog.

“There's not much of her but plenty of heart.”

In seven starts, Flying Freda has been in the money on six occasions, her most recent appearance a slashing 29.76 heat victory of the WA Oaks at Cannington last Saturday night.

"It just shows you whether you're a footy player, horse, greyhound or anything else … it doesn't always matter the size you are," Warwick said.

FLYING FREDA into the Group 2 WA Oaks ??

What a run ? 29.76
What a bitch ?
What a stud ?

What a race call @PeterON68 ??

Two Group 2 finalists in 2 weeks, doesn't get any better❤️‍?@TheDogsWA @greyhounds_wa @GreyRecorder #tommyshelby #tommystackers #howgood #theyreflying pic.twitter.com/vDbOsdhgfj

— Tommy Shelby (@Thepeoplesdog) May 20, 2023

"In time she's caught up to her sisters in size but she's still only 24 kilos. But she's just a sensational chaser. When you're as small as she is there are pros and cons … thankfully she's got more pros."

Trained by Linda Britton and Chris Halse, Flying Freda will exit box four in Saturday night's Group 2 WA Oaks where $40,000 awaits winning connections.

And if successful it will deliver Warwick, who has enjoyed decorated careers in harness and thoroughbred racing, his first group victory as a greyhound breeder-owner, from just the second litter he's raced.

Remarkably, the first litter Warwick bred produced current staying star Couch Surfer, while this second litter from budding star of the siring ranks Tommy Shelby has unearthed a number of exciting youngsters.

On Wednesday night at Cannington, King Tommy, a litter brother To Flying Freda, debuted with a 8 ½ length trouncing in a flying 29.77.

And Warwick has warned there's more to come.

“The litter are showing a lot of promise,” Warwick said of the gifted Tommy Shelby's.

If Flying Freda can annex Saturday night's Oaks it will continue Tommy Shelby's sensational stud upstart.

Last weekend, Sneaky Peaky ran a cracking second to Crumble Monelli in the WA Derby while a number of his other offspring are producing slick times around the country.