Greyhound racing royalty was at Kennerson Park on Monday and boy, he didn't disappoint.
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Good Odds Harada was backed as the overwhelming favourite at $1.15 for the first heat of the Bathurst Gold Cup (520 metres) and there's no surprise why the two-year-old dog was given such favourable betting figures.
Good Odds Harada won the Million Dollar Chase Grand Final back in October at Wentworth Park, so a heat race at Bathurst - a track which he has cruised to victory in both previous starts back in September - would've been a stroll in the park for him.
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But according to Londonderry trainer Frank Hurst, that was never going to be the case.
"I don't know about a stroll in the park," he said on whether he thought it was going to be an easy race for Good Odds Harade.
"It's tough competition wherever you go. No one wants to lose, no one wants to get beat.
"He's a class dog, a million dollar megastar, but he missed the kick and he was forced to work hard.
"That's what other dogs do, they push other dogs out of the way when they're ferocious chasers."
Good Odds Harade drew box one and, like Hurst said, missed the early jump as box two starter Athletic Lee ($9.50) raced out to an early lead.
But being a Million Dollar Chase winner, the two-year-old was not going to have any dog in front of him and he showed his class, pushing out to the front in the back straight.
He powered home to finish ahead of Djay Holden and Winlock Ramirez, who ran second and third respectively.
Good Odds Harade and Djay Holden both qualified for the Bathurst Gold Cup final on Friday night.
They will be joined by first and second in the other two heats - Solar Sky and Nangar Diva (heat two) and Shima Breeze and Awesome Fusion (third).
The rest of the field was made up by the two quickest dogs that didn't finish in the top two of their heats - Fernando Porche and Slingshot Hammer.
The Bathurst Gold Cup final will be held at Kennerson Park from 8.44pm on Friday.
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