Avondale Al has become hot property in more ways than one after his record-breaking performance at Gosford.
Beau Hedley’s exciting sprinter (pictured with Hedley and connections, picture courtesy Stephen Whalland) smashed the 515m record at the Central Coast track on Tuesday night, taking the Sprinter Gold Muscle Pro Stakes in a dazzling 29.14.
The stunning performance - a full 0.16 inside the previous best - has underlined the greyhound’s exciting potential, with thedogs.com.au contributor and long time greyhound racing expert Jeff Collerson proclaiming Hedley’s charge as “a star of the future".
Hedley said he was keeping his feet on the ground but admitted he was delighted with his greyhound’s success.
“It wasn’t so much a surprise that he broke the track record, but that time was a surprise,” Hedley said.
“He has trialled well at Wentworth Park and Maitland, so I knew he was promising.
“It was excellent but you’ve still got to get up and keep on doing the hard work.
“This may have increased his price tag, I’ll say that.”
Avondale Al had already served notice of his potential, going within 0.01 of the track record the previous week on debut at Gosford.
He flew out of the lids on Tuesday night to zip round the track, finishing more than 12 lengths clear of the opposition.
Check out a replay of Avondale Al’s run here.
Hedley, the 2013 NSW Young Person of the Year who is enjoying a fine training year, said the greyhound would now likely be aimed for the forthcoming Group 1 Sportingbet Vic Peters Classic (520m).
The $75,000-to-the-winner race starts with heats on Saturday, October 18.
Hedley said Avondale Al will likely enjoy a hit out in a fifth grade race at Wentworth Park on a Friday or Saturday night before the heats.
Another greyhound enjoying notable success at Gosford was Parisian Magic, who claimed his fifth win in six starts in the GAP @Playhouse Pet Motel Stakes (400m).
This was a first trip to Gosford for the promising sprinter, who has cut his teeth for owner/trainer Adam Wallace on southern NSW tracks and is one to watch.
Meanwhile, another of Hedley’s promising greyhounds, Avondale Storm, has his second competitive outing at Unibet Gardens this Saturday.
He won over 450m at Maitland last month but drops back in distance for the meeting’s third race, the Woy Woy Poultry Stakes (400m).
Ten races are on the card at Unibet Gardens this Saturday and action starts at 5.44pm.
For Unibet Gardens Saturday fields, form and expert tips, click here.
