Ritza Hattie made owner/trainer Mark Gatt a proud man with her strong performance in the Group 1 Sportingbet Megastar but there’s no time to rest easy.
The high-quality sprinter (pictured, green rug), who narrowly missed out on a memorable win in last Friday’s race at Dapto, is among the excellent nominations for this Saturday’s Group 2 Bob Payne Spring Sprint (520m) Heats at Wentworth Park.
A quartet of top-quality Heats are on offer, with the fourth featuring another intriguing match-up between Megastar winner Tommy Brislane and recent National Sprint Championship victor Chica Destacada.
The Megastar was Ritza Hattie’s first race after more than four months on the sidelines and Gatt is delighted his charge has returned so strongly.
“I’ve never been prouder of a dog after a race,” he said.
“She was not going well in trials (so) to race that impressively was excellent.
“Two-thirds of the way round I was thinking, ‘just hold on for a place, girl’, but then she came past me and I thought, ‘hang on – she’s doing better than that’.
“I think a lack of conditioning let her down but it was still a wonderful race.”
Ritza Hattie faces some classy rivals in this Saturday’s third Heat but should be buoyed by her excellent showing in the Megastar.
This year’s Group 3 Ambrosoli winner and Group 3 Ladies Bracelet runner-up lost out by a neck to Tommy Brislane in a breathtaking final.
Ritza Hattie has drawn box six in a class Heat this Saturday, with this year’s Group 1 Futurity winner Rue De Kahn, 2014 Peter Mosman Classic winner Bessy Boo and the always-handy Queen Esther among the opposition.
“She’s got a good record at Wentworth Park,” Gatt said. “She’s pulled up excellently but you could tell she was tired on Saturday.
“She is so competitive out there (and) is one of those greyhounds who doesn’t leave anything in the tank.
“The draw hasn’t helped but if she can get in good position early, she has a chance.”
The first Heat will feature Shoulders, who was highly fancied for the Megastar but started slowly and couldn’t recover.
His opposition will include last Sunday’s Group 3 Canberra Cup runner-up Cawbourne Whip and Zambora Magic, who went 29.49 over 520m at Wentworth Park last month.
Heat two boasts a head-to-head encounter between the flying Silent Effective and the always-dangerous Stilton Blue.
Tommy Brislane headlines the final Heat fresh from recording his first Group victory, with Chica Destacada – who finished fifth in the Megastar – among the opposition.
The Bob Payne final is next Saturday night.
Ten races are on the card and action starts at 7.28pm.
For Wentworth Park forms and fields, CLICK here.
