Little more than 12 months after contemplating hanging up his collar and lead, Anthony Azzopardi is on the verge of claiming greyhound racing’s biggest prize.
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His kennel star Zambora Brockie recorded the fastest qualifying time in last week’s TAB Melbourne Cup heats and is the short favourite to claim the $420,000 first prize in tonight’s final.
The 36 year old from Londonderry, New South Wales, is no stranger to success at the highest levels of the sport having won several group races around the country during his 15 year training career. Despite his success in the sport, Azzopardi had reached a crossroad in his career.
“I needed a change, we all needed a change and I always wanted to move to Victoria,” he said.
“We had talked about moving for about three years but there was never the right time.
“In the middle of last year we (his partner Kylee and daughter Kaylah) had a good talk and decided that I was either going to get out of the game or move to Victoria. We decided to come here and it’s the best thing we’ve ever done.”
Over the ensuing months, Azzopardi set up a start of the art training facility on 10 acres in Myrniong, 70km west of Melbourne, before completing his move in February. Since moving south, his team of 27 racing greyhounds have won 144 races (at an outstanding strike rate of 31%) and almost $900,000 in prize money.
In Zambora Brockie, already a winner of two group 1 races and over $430,000 in prize money, Azzopardi knows he has the right dog to win the world’s richest greyhound race.
“He is the most professional greyhound I have ever trained. At home he is so friendly, but he loves to race and he switches into racing mode as soon as we get to the track.
“Greyhounds need to be at their best to win the big races and they need everything to go their way. He is at his absolute peak right now.”
While a huge cheque awaits the connections of the tonight’s winning greyhound, Azzopardi insists it’s the prestige and not the prize money that makes the race special.
“It is the race that I want to win more than any other, and I think it’s something all trainers want to experience. I’ve never had a Melbourne Cup finalist, it’s a buzz just being a part of the biggest race in the world.”
Gates open at 6pm, with free entry to Sandown Park.
One person on course to spin the Sandown Super Wheel for the chance to win a top prize of $600,000 cash, and there is a guaranteed $600,000 TAB quaddie pool, first leg race 5 at 8.08pm
This article first appeared in the Herald Sun.
Zambora Brockie runs the fastest TAB Melbourne Cup heat, stopping the clock in 29.055
