“I guess there will be a fair bit of yelling at the TV!” confirmed Jose, who added, “It is a very good field and Postman Pat must do everything right. Jason tells us that he is as good as he ever was.
“We will be a bundle of nerves and I guess not as much as the slot-holder will be. We would love to see him win the race – he deserves it after some unlucky races.”
Postman Pat had a 525m trial at The Meadows on Monday.
“Yes, I’m happy with the way he handled his hit out,” advised Thompson.
“I wanted him to draw close to the fence, so jumping from four isn’t the worst for him. He had some minor issues after the Million Dollar Chase, and they have all been sorted out. We have targeted this race and I consider him as a definite chance.
“Hopefully he gets the start right, as in some of the better races he’s been in he hasn’t got it (start) right. He has plenty of speed and I couldn’t be happier with him going into Saturday,” confirmed Thompson about the son of Hooked On Scotch and Birdie Tee.
The format of The Phoenix is exactly the same as the $20 million The Everest, which is a race that has quickly developed into one of Australia’s most hyped premier thoroughbred races.
Potential slot-holders apply for a slot in The Phoenix from where the eight successful bidders are selected by a panel composed by the Melbourne Greyhound Racing Club. Each slot-holder pays A$100,000 for their slot and then they search for and select a greyhound to fill their slot. Once identified, there are negotiations with the selected greyhounds’ owners as to how stake money won in the race will be split up.
Donald Arthur informs us on how the approach for Postman Pat was handled.
“There were around five enquiries about Postman Pat for the race going back a few months. We quickly settled on the first proposition put to us, which was from Greyhounds HQ (headed by a great supporter of NZ greyhound racing Joe Lannutti).
“They tried to buy Postman Pat from us before he went to Australia, so for us it was a natural synergy for us to accept their approach and an agreement with them was quickly reached.
“It’s a great buzz to have a greyhound racing in such a prestigious race,” advised Donald.
And Jason Thompson added, “I’ve known Joe for a few years now and I’m happy he has picked up Postman Pat. He’s a very genuine and easy guy to deal with and that’s what this race is all about.”
It is entirely appropriate that the slot for Postman Pat was taken up by Greyhounds HQ, as previously they were known as Punters HQ ,who raced numerous high-class greyhounds in New Zealand, mainly from the Dave and Jean Fahey kennels including the quality sprinter and now successful dam Sheza Rippa.
Greyhounds HQ has enjoyed considerable Australian feature race successes, including owning the Andy and Jodie Lord-trained 2022 Million Dollar Chase winner, the outstanding greyhound She’s A Pearl who won A$1,769,900 in career stake earnings.
Postman Pat is quoted on the fourth line of betting for The Phoenix at $5.50. Thompson also applies the finishing touches to the joint favourite Alpha Zulu ($4.40).
“He has drawn well in trap-three, as he wants the fence. Again, he must get the start right and yes, I’m happy with him,” said Thompson.
This is the third running of The Phoenix, with the winner of the previous two editions, the Jackie Greenough-trained Wow’s She Fast, returning for her third crack at the race. The kennel also has the talented chaser Big Energy engaged in the event.
Postman Pat, who is the current Ascot Park 25.49 457m track record holder, heads into Saturday’s mega rich race as the winner of 23 of his 34 races, with his career stake earnings currently sitting at $336,110.
