Bob Payne Sprint and Ladies Bracelet Heats Highlight Wenty
By Jeff Collerson
Frank Hurst trained the 2019 Bob Payne Sprint winner Good Odds Harada and it seems only bad luck can prevent the Londonderry trainer's latest star Good Odds Cobber being in the 2024 final of the Group 3 Wentworth Park race.
Five years ago, Good Odds Harada established the race record of 29.58 when he came from box seven and second early to defeat favourite Jamella Jet.
Good Odds Cobber's credentials are even more imposing as he clocked 29.43 winning the Group 2 Simply Limelight New Sensation final at Wentworth Park on April 13, taking his tally at headquarters to a remarkably consistent seven wins from nine appearances.
Good Odds Cobber looks to have a perfect draw on Saturday as Zipping Caleb and Copious, the greyhounds drawn in boxes one and two, are not renowned for their brilliance to the first turn.
Hurst's wife Tracey, who owned their 2019 Bob Payne winner Good Odds Harada, said: "People were surprised when we by-passed the Golden Easter Egg to contest the New Sensation but we weren't ducking the good ones, we just wanted to do what we thought was best for our dog.
"There are so many good races on these days, you can't be in them all.''
Saturday night's card features two heats of the Bob Payne along with three heats of the Group 3 Ladies Bracelet, in which consistent front runner My Hepburn looks the stand-out bet in what appears to be the weakest second heat.
My Hepburn has box eight and although she has had two wins and six placings from eight starts wearing the pink rug, trainer Sue Smith said she would have preferred an inside draw.
"I'd be far more confident if she had box one'' Smith said.
"But she is fit and well and although she got a whack on the back straight at her last start, in a semi-final of the Golden Easter Egg, she is 100 per cent now.''
Named after Audrey Hepburn, the first actress to win both an Oscar and a Golden Globe, My Hepburn is among the most reliable beginners in training and boasts a personal best Wentworth Park time of 29.69.
Chris Nutt, who owned the 2011 Australian Cup winner St Pierre, is back at Wentworth Park on Saturday after a long absence with the promising speedster Run Like Bolt, who has box one in the 520m fifth grade Happy 30th Birthday Matt Purse Stakes.
"I think the last dog I brought to Wenty was Rockstar Beav, in October 2020, but Run Like Bolt is a promising youngster,'' Nutt said.
"While his form at Dapto has been terrific, he has a lot more improvement in him.
"He has had a couple of trials at Wentworth Park and while he has not gone as quick as I had hoped, he went well enough to have a chance on Saturday.
"Box one certainly suits him perfectly as he is a good railer who has early speed and is a tenacious chaser.
"I expect him to make the pace and if he gets beaten it will probably be because he gets run down.
"He has won over 472m at Bulli in 26.40 and in his past two races he has won over 520m at Dapto in 30.02 and 29.89.''
Trainer Bailey Dickinson elected to miss the Bob Payne heats with his smart sprinter Cawbourne Apollo, who will exit box three in Saturday night's fourth and fifth grade Ladbrokes Sports Bar Stakes.
In three recent Wentworth Park wins Cawbourne Apollo has clocked 29.67, 29.96, and 29.73 but he had no luck when sixth to Au Contraire in the listed Ausure Ultra Sense final there last Saturday.
After being slowly away from box eight, Cawbourne Apollo was badly hampered attempting to reach the rails.
"I decided to give the Bob Payne a miss and put him in this fourth and fifth grade and I'm glad I did because it looks a winnable race,'' Dickinson said.
"Cawbourne Apollo is a lot better off in box three than he was when he drew eight in the Ultra Sense.''
That assessment is not surprising as Cawbourne Apollo has won two of his three starts wearing the white jacket.
