Mali’s Red Hot sizzles in QGOLD Final upset at Townsville
Mali's Red Hot served up a wide run to take out the QGOLD Final at Townsville on Tuesday night as a long-odds chance.
The Heath Ardle-trained chaser lined up in the 380m open final paying $14 with greyhound bookmakers, with Plum Tuckered pegged as a +140 favourite.
From the pink box, Mali's Red Hot jumped out in last place before speeding out wide to be at the front of the pack on the turn.
From there, he kicked away to beat Plum Tuckered by three lengths in 21.72.
Townsville QGOLD Final – Mali's Red Hot (21.72) – T: Heath Ardle
The winning time improved on his previous best of 21.93, clocked in his career debut on September 12 when saluting by six lengths in front of Bodhi.
Owner-trainer Ardle was ecstatic about the win.
“He started off slow as usual but just found a clear run,” he told Australian Racing Greyhound.
“Because he's a slow beginner, a lot of the time he finds trouble trying to get through.
“But (I) couldn't be happier with his run last night.”
Mali's Red Hot has raced exclusively at the track and trip, with the son of Orson Allen and Petria Monelli posting four wins and one minor placing from eight starts.
The win was the second in the QGOLD series for Ardle, after Mali's Gonzales won the 498m final in February.