By MICHAEL FLOYD
MAJOR Jackpot launched himself into favouritism for the $220,000 group two Launching Pad with a dazzling win in his semi-final on Thursday night.
Trained by Anthony Azzopardi, Major Jackpot speared out of box two to set a flying 4.97 to the first split before accelerating away to set 18.41 to the second split – just the second greyhound to break 18.50.
He then went on to win convincingly by 7 3/4 lengths in 29.12.
Pagan Midnight was a gallant second.
“It’s very exciting,” said Azzopardi after the run.
“The owners are such great people, they’ve been great family friends for some time and to train a greyhound like him is a real privilege.”
Major Impact showed a glimpse of his potential with a dazzling 13 length win in slick time at Lismore three starts prior.
Despite two poor runs in Victoria since, Azzopardi remained confident his charge would put his best foot forward.
In semi-final two Dream Edition set the early tempo however looked vulnerable when the powerful South Australian Hukanui settled behind him.
Hukanui wasn’t able to get past, however, and fell short to Dream Edition by a 1/4 length in 29.45.
Buck Forty produced an enormous run in his heat and repeated the performance in semi-final three.
Buck Forty was moderate to begin from his inside draw though gained a clear run through the first turn to settle a length off early leader Carjack Arrest.
Buck Forty railed under Carjack Arrest turning for home and accelerated clear to win by 2 lengths in 29.49.
The semi-final results set up an intriguing final on Thursday 24 March, with the eight talented chasers vying for the $155,000 first prize.
Later in the night, Unlawful Entry broke Bekim Bale’s four-and-a-half-year-old track record in one of the most impressive performances seen at the View Road circuit.
Beginning brilliantly from box one, Unlawful Entry extended his lead at every mark, stopping the clock at 28.95 seconds, shaving 0.009 seconds off the previous mark.
The Launching Pad final coincides with the club’s famous Easter Kids Fun Night, featuring a stack of free activities including the popular Owner For a Day, Easter Bunny races, Easter Egg hunt and loads more.
