Moreira to target Perth Cup after Golden Easter Egg triumph

JASON Thompson has his sights set on winning the Perth Cup at Cannington on April 23 after Moreira's stunning victory in Saturday night's Group 1 Golden Easter Egg at .

Jumping fairly from box one, the brindle dog was able to push up along the fence and produced a powerful finish to defeat Brad Hill Billy by a neck in a fast 29.77.

Thompson went into the race quietly confident and said his charge was helped massively from the ideal draw.

“He is a very good railer and to draw box one at Wentworth Park in any race is a good advantage. On top of that he had two slow beginners drawn directly outside him which obviously helped him as well,” Thompson told Australian Racing Greyhound.

“He isn't a brilliant beginner, but he was able to begin safely and he was able to get himself into a nice spot early in the race.

“He was able to on the inside of Dawkins Bale and get into third spot through the catching pen – not long after that he went around which took him up the track a little bit.

“While all that was happening Brad Hill Billy was able to trail him through and get himself into a nice spot.

“When they got to the third corner I knew it was probably just a matter of getting past Anthony's dog (Asa Kill Queen).

“I was just hoping he would take the right option and stick to the fence because if he had tried to go around him I think he might have got held up a bit and Brad Hill Billy probably would have been able to capitalise on it.

“When you have two strong dogs in a forward position like they were it was always going to be a good finish.

“Brad Hill Billy was probably close enough if good enough to run him down, but our bloke was in front and was good enough to hold on.”

The win completed a massive 48 hours for Thompson who also won two features at Park on Thursday night – the Pad with and the Easter Gift with Dalgetty.

“I am very grateful to have some nice dogs which are good enough to go in these types of races,” Thompson said.

“I try to make the most of it and enjoy it all while it happens because they are not easy to win – there is a lot of bad luck in racing – fortunately we have had a fair bit of good luck over the past few days.”

Thompson said Moreira and Group 1 Temlee winner Dalgetty will both head to Perth, with the Perth Cup worth a massive $140,000 to the winner, while Buck Forty will head to the Sunshine State for a crack at winning further riches.

“Moreira has pulled up really well, I might put him in at on Saturday night to give him one more run because if he doesn't have a run before the Perth Cup heats it will be three weeks between races which is probably a bit too long for him,” he said.

“I'm going to take Dalgetty to Perth as well, I'll probably be sending Buck Forty to Queensland for the Derby with the heats coming up on the 14th of April.

“It will be a better race series for him – he is still a bit too inexperienced to take on the top grade group dogs – so we'll poke around and try and find a few more suitable races for him.”

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