ANTHONY Azzopardi claimed an historic double at Wannon Park on Saturday night.
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The Myrniong trainer’s greyhounds finished first and second in the inaugural Warrnambool Summer Sizzle.
Whiskey Riot ran a time of 25.126 to win the race, with his stable mate My Bro Kade in second place.
Whiskey Riot won from box eight while My Bro Kade was runner-up from box three. First place brought with it prize money of $25,000 while second place was $7000.
The Jeffrey Britton trained He’s For Me won a purse of $3500 for finishing third.
Azzopardi said Whiskey Riot’s win was made even more exciting with owners Colin and Sandra Bermingham driving down from Sydney to watch the race.
“It was a big thrill to win the race, to have Sandra and Colin here was fantastic,” Azzopardi said.
“I trained Whiskey Riot’s mother, Ready to Riot, so I have been involved with this dog since he was born. He’s a good dog, I think he will win a lot of races.
“He didn’t have it all his own way in this one, he got out of the box alright but not perfect.
“He had to bussle his way through, he did a lot of hard work so he deserved the win.
“I was also really proud of My Bro Kade, who is more suited to the outside box but ran a mighty race to finish second.”
The Warrnambool Summer Sizzle was the feature race in the Warrnambool Greyhounds Seaside Carnival that began on December 27. The sizzle replaced the Warrnambool Classic as the feature race of the carnival.
Azzopardi was lavish in his praise of the Warrnambool Greyhound Racing Club.
“I love coming to Warrnambool, it is one of my favourite places in Victoria,” he said.
“And the club down here do a great job.
“It is the people and the hard work they put in that makes it such a great club.”
Race six at Wannon Park on Saturday night was won by Chips and Trains, a greyhound named in honour of late Warrnambool girl Pippa Rea.
The win topped off a busy week for Chips and Trains, which ran in the group one Silver Chief final last Saturday at The Meadows in Melbourne. Chips and Trains has also been nominated for the West Australian Greyhound of the Year.