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Steve Withers admits that the hard statistics are against Free Candy triumphing at Saturday’s Cannington meeting but he also thinks she has the class to win.
Last year’s Group 2 Solo WA Oaks winner jumps from box eight in the second of four Solo Summer Chase (642m) heats aiming to maintain her handy record over this distance.
Impressive chaser Free Candy, a daughter of notable sire Collision, has won three out of three over the 642m and boasts a formidable strike rate too.
Withers said the pink rug can be cruel to a greyhound’s hopes of winning at the Perth track but thinks his charge cannot be discounted in the night's seventh race.
“Box eight over the 642m is a horrific draw at Cannington,” the trainer said. “I think the strike rate of winners-to-runners is something like seven or eight per cent.
“It definitely evens the competition out (and) there’s a couple of nice dogs in the field.
“(But) she is capable of winning if she gets a clear run and I think the fact there’s six in the field will help.
“She is a great 600m greyhound and this is the ideal distance for her.”
Free Candy could only finish sixth in last week’s Group 3 Sky Racing Perth Cup Consolation but she is a much better greyhound than that performance suggests.
She has 19 wins and 12 placings from 37 starts to her name and has been a WA standout since debuting competitively in late 2013.
The opposition here includes dangerous Coconut Grove but Free Candy is the fastest in the race and Withers believes that as long as she jumps cleanly, she can get the win.
Former NSW chaser Xtreme Knocka (pictured) looks a class above the rest in race one here.
Perth Cup placegetter Quartz Bale should benefit from a draw near the rail to win the fourth.
All Strung Out has been solid for Chris Halse since transferring to WA from Victoria and with the red rug should be a great bet in race six.
Free Candy is among a nine-strong team for hobby trainer Withers, who has been training for about eight years.
The 37-year-old was a keen punter and grew up around race horses before taking the plunge into greyhound training.
“It’s very much a hobby situation for me but I really enjoy it,” he said.
“I like seeing a young dog coming through as a break-in, watching them grow and keep improving into a genuine city-class chaser.
“We’ll always be a small team for lifestyle reasons and we’ll never be doing cartwheels of celebration (but) I find working with greyhounds a rewarding and humbling experience.”
For Cannington Saturday fields, form and expert picks, click here.
