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SATURDAY night’s Group 1 Topgun at The Meadows will serve as the start of a farewell tour to racing for superstar sprinter Explicit.

With retirement more likely than unlikely at the end of the year, it is conceivable that racing fans will only see the freakishly gifted son of Bernardo in action on as few as four more occasions.

“All going to plan he might only have four more starts in the Topgun, the Melbourne Cup series and then The Phoenix,” champion trainer Jason Thompson said.

“As excited as we are about the next six weeks and the big races, we also can’t wait to get him underway at stud, the interest in him has been huge.”

With four Topgun titles already on the mantelpiece, the first with No Intent in 2001 and the most recent last year with Transponder, Thompson knows what it takes to annex the race dubbed the ‘Cox Plate of greyhound racing’. And the Pearcedale mentor doesn’t lack for numbers in this year’s edition, with the sport’s number 1 sprinter Explicit (box 8) joined by Excavation (box 2) and Flying Zulu (box 3), the latter pairing cementing their spots with respective wins in the Group 1 Adelaide and Brisbane Cups.

On Wednesday, Thompson’s Topgun stocks soared further, with Australian Cup hero Tim Zoo gaining a start from box seven following the scratching of Morton.

“I couldn’t be happier with the way they are all drawn except for Tim Zoo, seven’s not great,” Thompson said.

“Their preparations have been perfect but Explicit is clearly our number one chance.

 

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“His record at The Meadows is almost faultless and he hasn’t been beaten out of box eight there either.

 

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“From box two Excavation will get his chance to find the rail and Flying Zulu will really appreciate getting back to The Meadows and has drawn well.

“He’s run 4.97 early at The Meadows and if he produces that then he will make his presence felt as well.

“As for Tim Zoo, the draw isn’t great but he’s going really well and has won an Australian Cup at the track and as we saw with Knight’s Choice on Tuesday, anything can happen in a race.”

Explicit, a last start 28.97 winner at Sandown, heads betting for the $150,000-to-the-winner showpiece at $2.70 ahead of Excavation at $3.80.

NSW star Zipping Megatron, drawn box one, and Flying Zulu are on the next line at $6.50. And while Thompson is hoping – and confident – Explicit can cap off a stellar career over the next six weeks in winning fashion, he says it won’t define him. With four group wins already on the resume, Explicit has won 24 of his 33 starts, his crowning glory in the Group 1 Temlee earlier this year.

“He’s already a group 1 winner, broken track records and ran sensational times at all the metropolitan venues he’s raced at,” Thompson said.

“I’ve gone on the record and said as an all round package, he’s the best dog I’ve trained and I don’t step away from that statement.

“If he could add another group 1 on Saturday night he would only add to that. He’s the one they all have to beat.”

With $442,500 already banked in stake earnings, a perfect end to 2024 in the Topgun ($150k), Melbourne Cup ($500k) and The Phoenix ($1m) could see Explicit’s prize money tally surpass an eye-watering $2m.

Original article written by Adam Dobbin for the Greyhound recorder