Just as a quick draw was the difference between life and death in the "old west" a fast jump can determine success over failure in greyhound racing.
By that reckoning Sveta Monelli is a gunslinger on par with the likes of Wyatt Earp or Billy The Kid.
The talented David Hobby-trained chaser proved the value of a blistering launch out of the traps when she out-gunned fellow speedster Zelemar Fever in their 530m Free To All clash last weekend.
The pair will repeat their shoot-out when they line up side-by-side in the Perth Cup Prelude (530m) at Cannington on Saturday night.
Zelemar Fever has the red, Sveta Monelli has box two and once again they’ll be vying for the all-important early lead.
As good as Zelemar Fever is from an inside draw, Sveta Monelli, a greyhound who reliably clocks her first section around the 5.60 mark is favoured to capture the initial advantage.
Whoever finds the bunny first, they’ll both need to set a cracking pace out in front to keep Dyna Nalin at bay.
Sveta Monelli did just that last week with run of 30.27 and a similar effort this time around will see her go close again.
A trio of eastern states raiders has ventured west to compete at Cannington this Saturday ahead of the Perth Cup series which commences next weekend.
While they don’t carry the big name status of the dogs who will arrive next week, the three early birds look to be handy types nonetheless.
The Jeff Britton pair of Mepunga Fearon (race five) and Ozzie Bullet (race eight) will contest 530m grade five races while the Angela Langton-trained Infinite Wish takes on a 715m (race seven) in preparation for the Galaxy.
Mepunga Fearon and Ozzie Bullet both have similar records with seven wins from 20-odd races apiece and both have received the visitor’s draw for their debut in Perth.
Mepunga Fearon will jump in green, and although he goes well from wide draws he won’t find it easy to win here.
He meets High Recall, the highly promising Linda Britton youngster who has reeled off wins in 30.68, 30.48 and 30.32 from her past three attempts and will be hard to topple.
Ozzie Bullet faces an easier field in his race and if he can handle the lemon he should be prominent.
Infinite Wish hasn’t won in 14 starts and is looking for a confidence boost but she’ll need to overcome the in-form Em Three.
Em Three has been a revelation for trainer Colin Bainbridge with wins across all three main distances at Cannington.
He’s won two of three over the 715m and may prove hard to budge if he happens to finds the lead.
Best Bet: Fancy Dreamer (Race 2)
Best Value: Jackson Tyne (Race 8)
Quaddie: Race 5 - 3, 6
Race 6 - 1, 4, 6
Race 7 - 2, 4
Race 8 - 1, 5
$20 for 83.33%
