Jason Thompson is targeting the Group 1 Brisbane Cup with Postman Pat after the Kiwi import made it two from two in Australia with an electrifying near-record victory at Shepparton on Monday afternoon.
Postman Pat ‘delivered’ a scintillating 24.66sec performance at his Shepparton debut, just one length outside the 450m record held by Rejuvenate (24.59sec).
The eight-length romp followed a flying 25.35sec Best Of Night effort at Geelong over 460m at his first Australian appearance.
A December ’20 son of dual Group 1 winner and former Sandown 515m record holder Hooked On Scotch, which was also trained by Thompson, Postman Pat has now won 12 of his 16 starts, with three seconds.
“We got him through Darren Puleio, who has Hooked On Scotch at stud,” Jason Thompson explained.
“The dog set up a pretty solid record in New Zealand; he broke a track record over there (Ascot Park – 457m).
“His owners decided it would be worth a throw at the stumps to see how he lined up over here.
“When we started trialling him, we knew we had a pretty special dog. He’s very quick. What he’s done so far has been no great surprise to us.
“The two races he’s won have been pretty solid. The Geelong race was the equivalent of a city FFA and there were some pretty smart dogs in the race at Shepparton too.
“He’s generally pretty good out of the boxes, although he missed the start today (Monday), and he has unbelievable speed when he hits the ground.
“I think it’s exciting and is great for the industry. It might also open a few doors for other dogs to do the same thing in the future.”
WATCH: “Postman Pat is annihilating the field!” Ex-NZ sprinter POSTMAN PAT (B3) made it two from two in Australia at Shepparton on Monday afternoon, clocking a near-record 24.66sec.
Thompson’s sights are now set on the G1 Brisbane Cup, this year elevated to $1million total prizemoney and $650,000 to-the-winner, which the champion Pearcedale mentor has won five times, including two of the past three.
“Postman Pat raced over ‘500’ at Addington and his runs were very good, so there’s no fears about him going around four corners.”
Thompson is also targeting Brisbane with boom youngster Alpha Zulu to line up in the heats of the G2 Flying Amy Classic at Albion Park next Thursday (June 1), followed by the Brisbane Cup.
Alpha Zulu claimed his fifth win from seven starts with a blistering victory at The Meadows on Saturday night, clocking 29.66sec in a Grade 5 Final, having won his heat in 29.71sec.
Thompson is unable to hide his enthusiasm about the September ’21 son of Orson Allen, which is part-owned by former Brisbane Lions champion Jonathan Brown.
“He’s a star,” Thompson offered succinctly.
“He’s a very serious dog. He’s as good as anything we’ve had at the same age.
“He’s run 4.95sec from box five on Saturday night at his second ever ‘500’. I don’t know where he’ll end up.
“He’s not two until September and I know it’s a long way away, but if he stays sound, we’re really looking forward to next year with him.”
Alpha Zulu’s litter brother Zulu Blast will be strongly fancied to maintain his unbeaten record in the lucrative $22,000 Vic Bred Maiden Final at Friday night’s Sandown Cup meeting after emphatic heat (29.77sec) and semi-final (29.47sec) victories.
“He’s a nice dog too,” Thompson said.
“He’s a different dog to Alpha Zulu. Alpha Zulu is a high speed dog, while Zulu Blast is stronger. He’ll definitely be going over 600m in the future and potentially further.”
