Trainer Anthony Azzopardi called a day on the racing career of the “country cups king” after he finished third in an Australian Cup heat at The Meadows on Saturday night.

Zambora Brockie had 31 wins from 53 starts for earnings of more than $500,000.

Last year’s Ballarat Cup win was one of the highlights of his racing career.

The hometown victory also landed Zambora Brockie a $50,000 bonus as the winner of three country cups for the calendar year, with other feature wins at Warrnambool and Horsham.

“He is three-and-a-half now and he has done more than his owner Charlie (Azzopardi) and myself could have asked for,” Azzopardi told the Greyhound Racing Victoria website.

“Zambora Brockie is a lovely dog and was absolutely awesome to train.

“Everything was easy with him in training. He was just perfect in every way.”

Azzopardi said breeders had already shown keen interest in the services of Zambora Brockie.