In Brief
- Box draw telling factor for Hooked on Scotch.
- Winner almost snatches track record.
- Connections looking at other Group 1 events around the country.
Hooked on Scotch confirmed his status as Australia’s most promising young greyhound when he blitzed a star-studded line-up to win the Group 1 Ladbrokes Hobart Thousand over 461 metres in Hobart Thursday.
The Jason Thompson-trained dog began brilliantly from box two to share the lead with Atley Quick (1) but when Hooked on Scotch slipped into overdrive he forged clear and went on to defeat Atley Quick by almost six lengths with Leica Prayer almost two lengths astern.
Hooked on Scotch stopped the clock at 25.49 to be only five one-hundredths of a second outside the track record (25.44).
Thompson was thrilled with the victory and said the Hobart Thousand was a race he had longed to win.
Hooked on Scotch has only just turned two, but has already won multiple Group events with this his first at Group 1 level.
Managing owner Darren Pulelo said there are no immediate plans to send the dog to stud as the aim is to keep targeting feature races.
“We are looking at mapping out a program for him in the coming weeks as we’ve got races such as the Paws of Thunder in NSW and the Cranbourne Cup to consider and we are looking forward to getting the dog back to The Meadows,” Pulelo said.
Watch Hooked on Scotch score an emphatic win in the Goup 1 Hobart Thousand.