Postman Pat will make his Australian two-turn debut at Sandown on Sunday
Come this Sunday afternoon, Sandown Park is set to witness a thrilling spectacle as the celebrated Kiwi-import greyhound, Postman Pat, steps on the loam for what will be his debut race at the venue, and first race around two-turns in Australia.
Postman Pat will be a long odds-on favourite in greyhound betting odds with online bookmakers after drawing box one in the last of 11 races on Sunday, against a depleted field of just six greyhounds.
In attendance, lending their fervent support, will be his former trainer from New Zealand (NZ), Tony Hart, along with Dylan Voyce and Cameron Thomassen.
Spectators will watch with bated breath as Postman Pat, progeny of Hooked On Scotch and Birdie Tee, demonstrates his athletic prowess in the 515m event.
This Sunday's contest marks Postman Pat's fifth Victorian race since his transition to the kennels of acclaimed Victorian greyhound trainer, Jason Thompson.
His previous four triumphant races in Australia have left an indelible mark in the minds of spectators, consistently clocking the best times in each of his race assignments, much to the delight of his owner and breeder, Jose Arthur.
Eager to reconnect with their former kennel champion, Hart, Voyce, and Thomassen boarded a flight to Melbourne early Wednesday morning.
Voyce has already declared that Postman Pat “is the quickest he has seen”.
Jason Thompson shared with Hart that Postman Pat had performed impressively during a Sandown trial on Tuesday, demonstrating an exceptional pace of 29.24, with splits of 5.02 and 18.61.
He expressed his utmost satisfaction with Pat's performance, stating, “Pat has done everything 100 percent right so far.”
Bendigo 5th Grade 425m June 2 2023 – Postman Pat (23.44) T:Jason Thompson
Thompson's plan is to direct Postman Pat towards the 2023 Group 1 Brisbane Cup with the import set to trial at Albion Park on 18 June, with his first win Queensland race scheduled for a Brisbane Cup Prelude on June 22.
Leading Queensland greyhound trainer Tony Brett will take over the training of Postman Pat in Queensland as a ‘caretaker trainer'.
The Brisbane Cup, boasting total prizemoney of $1 million, will hold its 520m heats on June 29, leading up to the eagerly anticipated final on July 7.
As the hallmark event of the Queensland Winter Carnival, the Brisbane Cup is the crowning glory of seven race meetings, inclusive of 18 Group and Listed races, offering a staggering $3.3 million in feature stakes money.
The NZ “tourists”, will be in attendance at The Meadows greyhound racing meeting on Saturday night.
However, their itinerary before the event includes some important stops.
Hart elucidated, “We will visit Darren Puleio, the studmaster of Hooked On Scotch, on Saturday morning, followed by a trip to Jason's kennels.
Sunday morning will find us at Anthony Azzopardi's kennels.”
Anthony Azzopardi currently guides another of Hart's former star chasers, Big Daddy, who, despite experiencing difficulties, managed a commendable third place in his recent Australian debut at Sandown Park over 515m.
Hart relayed Azzopardi's assurance that Big Daddy's progress would be managed prudently.
Given the packed schedule of kennel visits and racing plans on Sunday, Hart anticipates that his Dunsandel kennel foreman, Dylan Voyce, may miss his planned attendance at the Melbourne Storm versus Cronulla Sharks NRL match.
However, Hart amusingly shared that this information had not yet been passed onto Voyce, a staunch Storm supporter.
Postman Pat arrived on Australian shores and quickly set to work posting a swift 25.35-second win during his inaugural Australian race at Geelong over 460m.
‘Pat' was then sent to Shepparton clocking a time of 24.66 seconds, just shy of Rejuvenate's 450m record of 24.59 seconds.
Postman Pat then returned to Geelong winning in 25.28 just outside Black Magic Opal's longstanding 25.10 track record, before his recent Bendigo win.
The Jose Arthur-owned greyhound has won on $48,925 in career earnings from 18 race starts that have produced 14 wins.