Green Blazer, who makes his race debut at Sandown on Sunday, has the blueblood pedigree any trainer would welcome into their kennel.
Owned by the ‘Team TAB’ syndicate, managed by greyhound media identity George Farrugia, Green Blazer was ‘Pick 2’ in last year’s National Greyhound Draft.
Bred in the purple, Green Blazer (Box 8) – engaged in a GRV Vic Bred Maiden Series heat (515m) – oozes black type ancestry.
His sire, Mepunga Blazer, won the 2017 G1 Maturity Classic and was a G1 Winter Cup finalist. And his dam, Shima Song, was runner-up in the 2016 Maturity Classic and a finalist in the G1 Adelaide Cup and G1 Peter Mosman Classic.
Green Blazer is also a younger half-brother of superstar Shima Shine, who won the G1 Topgun prior to finishing second in the G3 Shootout.
His Avalon trainer, Jason Sharp, says he hopes Green Blazer is “half as good as his big brother”.
“He’s not setting the house on fire but will develop into a nice type. I’ve had quicker dogs than him, but he’s got the attitude to be a very good dog. And he might do better with competition; I reckon he’ll work it out quick.”
Sharp added that Green Blazer, who is only 19 months old, has been trialling well but would face his first full field.
“I think it’s going to be a hot race… Angela Langton has a debutant whose dam produced Western Envoy and Jason Thompson also has a first starter who is a brother of McCooly’s Lad.”
Green Blazer lines up in Race 1 at 1.51pm on Sunday.
Green Blazer, also known as David, as a puppy.
Pawnote: Farrugia said the National Greyhound Draft has been highly successful. “There were 30 pups in the inaugural draft in 2018 and 24 have won. They can’t all be champions, but most owners don’t really care – they just love watching them race. There were 24 pups in the 2019 draft and already three have won, so it’s going to be an exciting 2021.”
