Orson Thunders To Record Warragul Win

ORSON Thunder became the fastest maiden winner over Warragul's 400m trip following his breathtaking debut on Tuesday night.

Trained by Darren Archer in Korumburra, the striking red fawn son of Orson Allen stepped fairly from box one but quickly mustered to assume an early lead and take control of the race.

He hit the turn a length clear of his nearest rival and the margin only grew in the run to the line, scoring by 8 ¼ lengths in 22.16.

His winning time was just over two lengths outside of Paua Of Buddy's 21.999 track record, and a staggering 0.86 seconds – 14 lengths – faster than the average winning time for a maiden.

For trainer Darren Archer, the performance came as little surprise.

"He's always shown he can run time, ever since he came here from the breakers," he said.

"He just always had that presence about him. He was trialling well before the run, and we were super confident last night, especially after he drew the red."

That confidence was well placed. Orson Thunder opened a $3 chance with TAB before being crunched into $1.70.

? MUST WATCH FROM TUESDAY

ORSON THUNDER (1) impressed on debut winning by over eight lengths in a sensational 22.157 seconds at Warragul over 400m.

Group 2 #BendigoCup winner PAUA OF BUDDY went 21.999 in September.

Result ? https://t.co/ZDwE21poXC#GreyhoundRacing @tabcomau pic.twitter.com/2qSFzRHdbP

— WatchDog Racing (@WatchDogRacing) November 23, 2021

"We knew what we had and he delivered the goods which was great,” Archer added.

"He probably missed the start a touch but he's got good muster which is a good thing to have.

"He's got a lot of good habits and he's a beautiful kennel dog. He has all the right attributes so we'll just keep plugging away with him and hopefully he can transition into a real nice dog."

As for plans going forward, Archer was non-committal though he is confident a 500m campaign lays ahead.

"No plans yet, I just wanted to get the maiden out of the way and then we'll have a look.

"He's had a couple of looks at Sandown, a couple of box-to-boxes and post-to-posts. He can run real good time to the back, but just wasn't quite finishing it off enough.

"He's probably more of a sprinting type at the moment but I've got no doubt in my mind he'll get 500m no worries. I'll probably look to step him up soon, but we won't rush him, he'll tell me."