NZ Superstars Signed, Sealed And Delivered To Oz

FREAKISH New Zealand sprinter Postman Pat and his gifted kennelmate Big Daddy have been moved to Australian shores to further their racing careers.

The hugely talented duo arrived in Melbourne on Tuesday where Jason Thompson will assume the training of Postman Pat while Big Daddy will be prepared by Anthony Azzopardi.

Postman Pat, a son of budding sire sensation Hooked On Scotch, boasts 10 electrifying wins and three seconds from his 14 career starts.

In December, the prodigious talent broke the longstanding Ascot Park track record with a mesmerising 25.49 display in a heat of the Group 2 Far South Challenge Series.

A week later he blitzed a strong field in the decider.

Big Daddy, a son of the great Fernando Bale, heads to Australia with a glowing record also, winning nine of his 14 appearances, almost all in best of meeting times.

NZ trainer Tony Hart, who has guided the prolific winning pairing to launch their glittering careers, said he's excited to see what they can do across the Tasman.

"It wasn't easy putting them on that plane but at the same time it's all very exciting," Hart said.

"Postman Pat is just a freak but there's not as much between the two as some might think. I consider Postman Pat more a one-turn dog and Big Daddy a two-turn dog, but they're that good both are more than capable at the other.

"Their race records show you that. Just special dogs."

Just recently, Postman Pat's connections knocked back a significant six-figure offer for the dog, the idea of letting go of arguably NZ's most exciting ever export to hard to fathom.

"We are all just enjoying him racing – and I still don't think we've seen the best of him," Hart added.

"What they do and where they go will be entirely up to Jason and Anthony after they settle in. The first stop though will be to get them used to a catching pen.

"It will be new to them but they are both sensational chasers. They'll get the hang of it pretty quickly. Very intelligent dogs."

Adding to Hart's excitement is the interest both dogs racing in Australia will do for greyhound racing in New Zealand.

"Both dogs have big followings so it'll create a lot of interest both in Australia and back here in New Zealand," Hart added.

"And I just want to say a big thanks to Darren Puleio, Hooked On Scotch's studmaster, for helping us pull all this together.

"I'm sure they'll both do us proud over there. It's an exciting time.”