Breeding: SIRE: Light Of Fire DAM: Tranquil Flame

Whelped : 23/09/1994

Trainer : Jason Thompson

Owners : Adbarave (Syndicate)

Career Race Record : 67 starts (33 wins, 21 placings)

Career Prizemoney : $150,000 (approx)

NOTABLE ACHIEVEMENTS:

• Winner 1996 Group 1 Silver Chief
• Winner 1998 Sale Cup
• 2nd 1997 Group 1 Topgun
• 3rd 1997 Group 2 Cranbourne Cup
• 3rd 1998 Group 2 Ballarat Cup
• Finalist 1998 Group 2 Warragul Cup
• Finalist 1998 Group 1 Golden Easter Egg
• Holder of eight track records across Victoria

AWESOME ALL-ROUND PACKAGE

The night of Thursday 23rd December, 1996 was perhaps the most pivotal in the life of now champion greyhound trainer Jason Thompson and partner Seona Hood.

That evening, Thompson’s promising young greyhound Awesome Assassin was one of the favourites for the Silver Chief Classic final at Sandown Park, Victoria’s premier race for young male sprinters.

Just three days earlier Jason and Seona experienced one of life’s greatest emotional roller-coasters as they became parents for the first time thanks to the arrival of a baby boy they named Ben.

Going into the race Thompson, then 27, a full-time trainer with a work-a-holic attitude, was feeling the weight of expectations on his shoulders.

Despite winning the Silver Chief, Traralgon Cup and Melbourne Cup with his first real good greyhound, Awesome Assassin’s sire Light Of Fire two years earlier, not having a 9-to-5 job that provided a stable wage was taking its toll.

They needed the win, and their young superstar Awesome Assassin didn’t let them down, scoring by nine lengths.

“Seona and I were fairly young when we became parents and you could say that at that time we were struggling for money.  We needed him to win [the Silver Chief] and we hoped that he’d go on to become the dog he did.  For him to win that race at the time when Ben was born was such a weight off our shoulders.  He was so dominant that night and it just set things up.  He got us going to where we are today,” Thompson said.

Adding to the emotion was that Thompson had a strong attachment to Awesome Assassin having followed him closely since he was a young pup.

“I trained his sire and I also trained his dam, Tranquil Flame.  He was the only male pup in a litter of six and I kept close tabs on him when he was breaking-in in the hope that the breeder Kevin Burns would one day ask me to train him.  Kevin and I had an association as I trained Tranquil Flame for him, and I’m obviously grateful that he also gave me the chance to train Awesome Assassin”, Thompson said.

Awesome Assassin went on to establish himself as the fastest greyhound of his era, with the versatile speedstar racing all over Victoria and breaking an incredible eight track records in the process.

The giant 37kg black superstar thrilled punters and fans alike with his extraordinary burst of power and strength for more than two years, during which time he accumulated 33 wins from 67 starts.

“It is an indescribable thrill when you’ve got a dog like him.  There’s no better feeling than walking on to a track with such a fast dog…a dog that could potentially break track records in any race he contested.  He had such an aura about him.  He was such a fast dog and people loved watching him race.”

The thought of one greyhound establishing eight track records is difficult enough to fathom in itself, but the fact he did so over distances ranging 424m to 630m speaks volumes of his abiity and versatility.

“When a dog holds eight track records it’s hard to determine his best distance, but I’d say around 550-600m.  If he was racing now he would have been very well suited because there are more middle distance races on offer now.  His first 200-300m were not his best, but his last 300m was so powerful.”

“Because of his lack of early speed I used to keep him on the provincial circuit a fair bit over various distances.  I wasn’t afraid to take him to different tracks and chop and change his distances.  His main asset was his strength.  He didn’t have a lot of early speed once he got into top grade.  He used to settle around midfield and was a very strong dog.  He used to like wide draws and liked being out of [box] 7 or 8″, Thompson recalled.

Once he retired, Awesome Assassin was in hot demand at stud, and the speed demon made the most of his opportunities, making his mark as one of the most successful stud dogs over the past two decades.

“As a stud dog he threw a lot of dogs that raced for a long time, which was a credit to him”, said Thompson, who was also Awesome Assassin’s studmaster.

“He also managed to throw his versatility into his pups.  He didn’t produce one or two real good dogs, it was more like 30, 40 or even 50 real good dogs.  He managed to throw sons that have turned out to be great stud dogs as well which is a real mark of how good a stud dog he’s been.”

“Some of his best progeny includes Collision, who was a fantastic race dog and an unbelievable sire; Whisky Assassin, who held many track records; and Floodfawn who has been a great producer.”

But race dog and stud dog achievements aside, Awesome Assassin also boasted a wonderful temperament.

“He’s probably the nicest dog we’ve ever had.  Our kids loved him and he was a big part of our family.  He had the best nature and was more of a pet to us than anything else. He was such a kind and gentle dog and was just like one of us.”

“He had such a positive influence on our lives that we have named our property in Pearcedale after him.  It is called Awesome Lodge”, Thompson said proudly.

Having such an honour bestowed on him by one of the most successful greyhound trainers and studmasters of the past 20 years is just about the ultimate compliment.