Interstate greyhounds feature prominently in Group 2 Black Top betting
Former NSW greyhound trainer Anthony Azzopardi is optimistic about his chances in Friday's heats of the Group 2 Black Top (515m) at The Gardens in Newcastle.
Azzopardi is leading the interstate assault on the Group 2 race heats, which this year will double as a 2023 Million Dollar Chase (MDC) regional qualifying final.
Azzopardi will start three greyhounds in the heats, while Jason Thompson will start both his 2023 Group 1 Dapto Megastar finalists Umberto and Stealth in the heats, and Queensland will be represented by the Tom Tzouvelis-trained Ayrton.
Azzopardi nominates his greyhound, Head The Charge, as his strongest contender of the three for victory.
Azzopardi is no stranger to Black Top success, having won the race in 2015 with Uno Suzie when training out of NSW.
Azzopardi has had plenty of success with the progeny of his 2019 Melbourne Cup winner Whiskey Riot, and Head The Charge is no different.
Head The Charge has won 10 of his 19 career races, with a further six placings, but his class is underlined by the fact that five of those 10 wins have been in best of night or near best of night times.
Eight of his 10 wins have come from winning the start of the race, which will be a huge asset around The Gardens track.
Speaking of Head The Charge's chances in Friday heats, Azzopardi was understated, saying, “Head The Charge is well-boxed and off his trial; if he can find the front early, he could really put a show on!”
Punters will be happy to know that all three of Azzopardi's runners have seen the track and will be better for the look at the track.
“I trialed the three of them at The Gardens last Friday, and they all went terrific. I gave them a post-to-post, and they went phenomenally,” said Azzopardi.
Head The Charge has been assessed by greyhound bookmakers as a +200 second favourite to win his Black Top heat on Friday behind Jason Thompson's Stealth, who is a +170 favourite.
Fellow Victorian Jason Thompson will be very confident with both his charges Umberto and Stealth after they both made the Group 1 Dapto Megastar final last week, with Umberto leading all the way to claim the final and win through to the Million Dollar Chase semi-finals.
Stealth had no luck in Dapto's Group 1 final last week but was impressive enough winning a heat of the same race a week prior, leading all the way from box five.
Greyhound betting apps have installed Megastar winner Umberto as a long odds-on favourite to win his race at -555.56 from box one, the same box he won the Dapto final from.
Lone Queenslander Ayrton might look out of his depth on form, having no black-type final racing experience to his name, but the Tom Tzouvelis-trained chaser has drawn box eight in his Black Top heat.
Ayrton has won nine of his 20 races, but has won four of five races from box eight.
Greyhound betting sites have priced the Queenslander as a +380 third favourite to win his heat.
For the first time, the three Group 2 Black Top placegetters will all gain direct entry to the MDC semi finals on October 6.
You can read the full Million Dollar Chase series schedule here: 2023 Million Dollar Chase Schedule