Explicit delights in a million dollar triumph

In what was to be his swansong to racing, Explicit went out with the loudest of bangs, delivering a complete all round performance to land the $1 million-to-the-winner showpiece in comprehensive fashion for trainer Jason Thompson and slot holder Awesome Lodge. The triumph saw Explicit, winner at 27 of his 37 starts and $1.9m in stakes, enter the stud ranks as a three-time Group 1 winner with his victory in The Phoenix 2024 following his Melbourne Cup heroics a fortnight ago and his Temlee success earlier in the year.

And it also capped off a remarkable 2024 for premier trainer Jason Thompson who has annexed 12 Group events including the grand slam of the Victorian sprint races, the Australian Cup (Tim Zoo), Topgun (Excavation) and Melbourne Cup-The Phoenix double with sprint king Explicit. The Phoenix triumph also saw Thompson scale to $4.4m in prize money earnings in 2024 which sets a new Australasian record.

Race Results

DATE: Saturday December 16 2023
TOTAL PRIZE MONEY: $1,6500,000
FIRST PLACE PRIZE MONEY: $1,000,000
SLOT HOLDER WINNER: Awesome Lodge 
GREYHOUND WINNER: Explicit (29.87 sec)
TRAINER WINNER: Jason Thompson

Reviewing the 4th edition of the world’s richest greyhound race, with an eye watering total prize pool of $1.65 million, it was a glorious ride into second place for Australian Blood Stock selection Smooth Plane. A selection, that was questioned at the time, proved the critics wrongs as the Thomas Dailly trained flying machine grabbed a big share of the prize pool and elevated his career winnings to close to half a million dollars.

In another sensational performance, Daysea’s Rory (Queensland Flame Winner) ran out of his skin for slot holder Racing Queensland. Holding onto third gave trainer Tom Tzouvelis and connections plenty to smile about (READ MORE). Sent out by punters as a $31 outsider, the Queensland chargers performance evoked memories of the inaugural Phoenix when Spotted Elk represented Queensland and finished a gallant second at bolters odds behind Wow She’s Fast. Behind Daysea’s Rory was last years Phoenix winner Schillaci. The Jihad Talgi trained dog was again Ladbrokes Racing Clubs’ choice, and did his team proud.