There does not appear to be too many surprises in the Canning Trophy Heats (530m) at Cannington on Saturday with clear favourites in most instances.
In-form chaser Takahashi rightfully dominates the market for the first Heat.
I love the story behind this greyhound.
A youngster with plenty of ability Takahashi (pictured with connections) received a potentially career ending injury in only her third start but after a patient and careful rehabilitation by trainer Ben Abercrombie she was able to return to racing after nearly a year’s absence.
She’s been in sparkling touch since she hit the track again in January and she is currently enjoying a five race winning streak.
Abercrombie gave an indication to where he believes the greyhound’s future is when he debuted her over the 642m last weekend and the strong finishing chaser did not disappoint.
She boasts a personal best of 30.26 over the 530m journey but for me her best run to date was two starts back where her effort to overcome a heap of trouble to score was nothing short of heroic.
Unless Fun Princess gets away from the pole Takahashi should romp this home.
Heat two (race 5) shapes as a three way clash between Get Around Him, Rapido Kid and Dannie Bale.
Dannie Bale is the fastest and most experienced of the trio but even though he clocked 30.52 to finish runner-up last start he might find this tricky from the pink where his record is not great.
There is nothing wrong with the form of Get Around Him and despite being up in class from an inside alley he looks set for a forward showing.
Rapido Kid ran 30.42 three starts back and was a nice winner at Mandurah last weekend.
Astronomic has won three of his past four starts and the talented red fawn looks to be finally cashing in on his notable talent.
His past two wins at headquarters have been in 30.35 and 30.23.
From an inside draw Astronomic will be very tough to beat in Heat three (race 6) although Kova Monelli and You Can Dream aren’t completely without hope.
Prepared out of veteran trainer Dennis Calleja’s kennels, You Can Dream comes into this with a hat-trick of wins under her belt following her victory on Wednesday.
Kennelmates Star Recall and High Recall should have no trouble qualifying for the final in Heats 4 and 5 respectively.
The Linda Britton-trained pair are both Perth Cup finalists and even though they both have wide draws they have the advantage of a vacant box on their inside.
The sixth and final Heat (race 9) is the most open of the night.
If Black Dymas can re-produce the sort of form that he showed early in his career he is a big chance here but he is not racing up to that standard at the moment.
Pamela Monelli won over 642m three starts back and will be running on strongly.
Zipping Josh has been knocking on the door since arriving from Victoria into Terry Erenshaw’s kennels and could be ready to win while Perfect Poison and Born Lightning have claims despite their wide draws.
Best Bet: Takahashi (Race 4)
Best Value: Get Around Him (Race 5)
Quaddie: Race 5 – 2, 5, 8
Race 6 – 2, 4
Race 7 – 6
Race 8 – 6
$20 for 333.33%
