.JPG)
Patrick Lavis is no stranger to winning the Casino Beef Week Cup Final and he will be looking to do it again on Friday afternoon at the Northern Rivers track.
Lavis won the 2013 Beef Week Cup Final with his greyhound Bogan Miss and now has Mincin' Machine and How Much engaged in this year's final.
How Much took out the Don Waldren Anniversary Final two weeks ago and backed up that performance last Friday with an impressive 28.09 heat win over Arctic Star.
Lavis is hoping that How Much's preferred track can give him the edge this week.
"He is young dog and he absolutely loves Casino," the trainer said.
"After he had his first trial at the track, I told the owners that Casino was going to be his track and I was going to keep him there as much as possible.
"He's really fast and can get out of the boxes quickly so should have a good chance in the final."
Mincin' Machine has been a consistent performer throughout the Northern Rivers for the past six months but will now have to face one of his hardest tasks yet in Friday afternoon's final.
The young greyhound was a short-priced favourite in the third heat and proved too strong for Miner's Moss, winning by 2 3/4 lengths in a time of 27.99.
"He's a cracker dog but can be a bit tardy at the start," admits Lavis.
"If he can start well he is tough to run down, but he usually needs some luck at the start."
Mincin' Machine and How Much have drawn boxes one and two respectively in the final but the trainer had hoped for a much different scenario.
"I would love for them to have drawn boxes seven and eight," Lavis said.
"I prefer them drawn out wide because they love to get off the track a bit."
While the draw is not ideal for Lavis, both greyhounds do have solid records from inside boxes.
Mincin' Machine has one win and two placings from three starts out of box one, while How Much has two wins from four starts out of boxes one, two and three.
Other heat winners from Friday include Lady Spring ($8.10) trained by Annette Castles and the Robert Cooke-trained Master Jackpot ($3.10).
Lavis considers Master Jackpot as one of the biggest threats in the final.
"They are all competition in the end but Robert Cooke's dog is going to be very difficult to run down if he gets to the front," he said.
"I'm quietly confident though that one of my two will get the win."
