We have a new Ballarat 450m track record holder and it's swashbuckling speedster Pirate Pete.
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Trained at Pearcedale by Jason Thompson, Pirate Pete stole superstar Shima Shine's mark on Wednesday night.
Pirate Pete ($1.30fav) defeated the Andrea Dailly-trained Tiberia Bale ($11.20) by 6.8 lengths and clocked a staggering 24.70sec. This lowered the 24.75sec time standard, set on August 28 last year, by almost one length.
Thompson said the record didn't come out of the blue, but conceded it was one of those nights where the stars aligned.
"It was quite mild, actually beautiful conditions and the track was in top order," he said. "He was also drawn to perfection and everything came together for him."
But he did add the new track record had to be put into context.
"It's a feather in his cap, but there's no way he's a faster dog than Shima Shine."
Pirate Pete's performance was also a perfect Ballarat Cup trial, with the group two feature commencing with heats on December 5.
"That run shows he'll be competitive in the series," Thompson said.
Pirate Pete has won eight races from 18 starts but has only been in Thompson's kennels for the past nine, of which he's won six.
"He came to me in great condition and has really settled in well," Thompson said.
