TAB has teamed up with one of Australia’s greatest greyhound trainers, Jason Thompson, as it ramps up its effort to win the inaugural edition of the TAB Phoenix.
A greyhound trained by Thompson will run in TAB’s slot in the $1,145,000 race, which carries a $750,000 winner’s purse.
But, in an exciting initiative, precisely which greyhound will carry TAB’s hopes will not be known until closer to the race, which will be held at The Meadows on December 18.
TAB will have exclusive rights to the greyhound of their choice that is prepared out of Thompson’s Pearcedale kennel.
“We’re excited to be a part of the first ever running of the TAB Phoenix and being the naming rights holder, we would dearly love to win it,” TAB Executive General Manager Customer, Product & Marketing – WM, Luke Waldren, said.
“We figure the best way to go about achieving that is to team with the best trainer and with Jason’s strike-rate up there among the best in the country and a number of greyhounds at his disposal who would be worthy contestants, he was an obvious choice.
“We’re looking forward to see how the team performs over the coming weeks before arriving at a decision on who will represent TAB on what is sure to be an exciting night.”
The 525-metre TAB Phoenix is a new event that sees the places in the race taken up by slot holders who each paid $75,000 for their position with the right to choose their own greyhound.
Thompson considers himself fortunate to be in the position to have numerous greyhounds he considers worthy of a place in the race and is looking forward to seeing them audition for the spot.
“The Phoenix is one of the most exciting initiatives we’ve seen in greyhound racing in years and it’s brilliant to not only know that we will be involved but will be teaming up with TAB, an organisation that contributes so much to greyhound racing,” he said.
“We’ve got a number of dogs who wouldn’t be out of place in The Phoenix and I’m looking forward to working with TAB to ensure we select the right one to give us our best shot at becoming the inaugural winner.”
Thompson has three greyhounds at $12 or shorter in TAB’s Pre-Nominations market on The Phoenix, headed by rising star Typhoon Sammy, a winner of 17 of his 25 starts who occupies a place on the $8 second line of betting.
Warragul St Leger winner Aston Fastnet and Rebellious, who last Thursday won at Sandown in a sizzling 29.11 seconds, are both on the $12 third line of betting, while Immunity ($21) and Brisbane Cup winner Equalizer ($31) are among the others who will come under consideration for the slot.
