Postman Pat races into Brisbane Cup favouritism with Prelude win
At his Albion Park debut, New Zealand (NZ) import greyhound, Postman Pat, has left greyhound fans amazed after winning on Thursday night in a time just under a length off the prevailing 520m track record.
With the run, a new greyhound betting favourite for the $1 million Group 1 Brisbane Cup on July 7 was crowned.
Postman Pat headed north for his first look at the track and he delivered dominantly, firming in from greyhound odds of +700 to become the +250 favourite to win the 2023 Group 1 Brisbane Cup Final, moments after the win.
The ex-Kiwi superstar, trained by Jason Thompson, jumped in the prelude as short as -250, after opening as short as -285.71 with greyhound betting sites immediately after this week's box draw.
Having run a near record solo trial over 395m last Sunday, Postman Pat was expected to be very hard to beat, coming off his latest race start Sandown Park 515m win in 29.12..
On public debut at Albion Park, and starting from box three, he flew out of the boxes, to establish a dominant lead, and kept going to salute by a massive 11.25 lengths in a time of 29.39.
The winning time is under a length off Jay Is Jay's 29.35 second track record, set in March 2023.
2023 Brisbane Cup Prelude (Albion Park, 520m) – Postman Pat (29.39) T: Jason Thompson
Postman Pat (Hooked On Scotch x Birdie Tee) has now recorded 16 wins, and three placings, from 20 career starts.
Handler Luke Thompson said that Postman Pat just keeps giving his all, and the team were impressed again with the performance.
“Unbelievable performance, he's the complete package,” Thompson said.
“He's got the early box speed, the acceleration, and sustains it all until the finish line.
“To produce that before the heats next week was superb.”
Owned by Jose Arthur, Postman Pat posted near track record wins at Shepparton, Bendigo and Geelong after arriving on Australian shores to join Jason Thompson's Victorian kennels.
After winning at Sandown in 29.12 at his first attempt around two-turns in Australia, Postman Pat was sent to Queensland greyhound trainer Tony Brett to look after the talented greyhound for his Queensland Winter Carnival campaign.
The victory on Thursday night made it six consecutive Australian wins and is sure to give his competition something to be wary of heading into the Group 1 Brisbane Cup heats next week.