Back-to-back cups for champion Explicit

CHAMPION sprinter Explicit upped the ante in his remarkable comeback to racing by claiming back-to-back Group 2 Ballarat Cup victories last Friday night.

Second favourite at $4, the son of Bernardo put his seven rivals to the sword to win the feature race by two and three-quarter lengths ahead of the favourite Gold Force and Flying Zulu.

His 24.69 winning time was just .03 of a second outside the track record, set in January this year by Hotel Whiskey One.

It was the Jason Thompson-trained star’s first Group race win since his surprise comeback to racing in late-March, after being retired to stud only a few months earlier following his triumph in the Group 1 Phoenix.

His 30th win from 42 starts pushed Explicit beyond the $2-million mark in earnings, within reach of Wow She’s Fast’s all-time stakes record of $2.5 million.

Thompson, who also trains the third placegetter Flying Zulu, hailed a remarkable effort by Explicit.

“His resume shows what a superstar he is,” he said.

“Obviously we retired him at the end of last year, but decided to bring back him to racing.

“He’s had five starts back (for three wins) … so, to win a Ballarat Cup is probably one of the highlights of his career.

“He was going really well at stud, but he just wasn’t happy. He was kind of telling us that he didn’t want to be retired.

“Since he’s come back to racing, he’s a completely different dog.

“His stud work has picked up and he’s showing he is enjoying racing, going as good as he ever has.

“It’s been a win all-round.”

Thompson has no fixed timeline on when the end will come on phase two of his 2024 Melbourne Cup winner’s racing career.

“I probably prematurely retired him last time. I know the dog well – I think he will tell us when enough is enough,” he said.

“For the age he is (three-and-a-half), he certainly hasn’t been over raced. We’ll just take as it comes.”

The Ballarat Cup was Group win number seven for Explicit.

Adding to another big night for the kennel, Thompson could not have been happier with Flying Zulu’s third in the cup.

“I thought his run was really good – as good as Explicit’s,” he said.

“I think he came from fifth – he didn’t begin that well – but he certainly finished the race off really well.

“It’s good for us that if one of them can’t win, with a bit of luck, the other one can get the job done.

“We’re lucky to have two great dogs like these two at the one time. One’s won over $2 million and the other has won over a million.

“To have two greyhounds like that is a massive effort.”

With an eye to the future, Thompson was stoked with the win of Tarawi Therese two races later on cup night.

The daughter of Bernardo boosted her early career record to five wins from six starts and is already being spoken about as a future cups contender.