Miss Foxy Lee is the fastest qualifier for Thursday's Brodie Wells Electrical Future Stars at Maitland but trainer Dean Swain warns that his greyhound is "not really a 400 metre greyhound".
Despite being hampered by a wide runner soon after the start, Miss Foxy Lee railed to the lead rounding the first turn and came away to win her 400m heat last Thursday in 22.48.
"Her heat time was clearly the best but it was her run home time which really impressed me,'' Swain said.
"I had originally intended preparing Miss Foxy Lee for the Globe Memorial Maiden heats at Richmond on November 4 but she suffered a minor toe injury and would not have been ready for a hard 535 metres.
"I switched plans and nominated for the Future Stars and in a way I'm glad I did because I have always wanted to have a starter in this Maitland race but have never been able to get one to the final.''
Swain trains Miss Foxy Lee for central coast breeder Lorraine Atchison, and the 22-month-old greyhound is a daughter of Atchison's greyhound Cristalle.
"I had been pestering Lorraine for a while to give me one or two to train for her," Swain said. "Miss Foxy Lee is my first acquisition from her property."
Cristalle's offspring include Atchison's Wentworth Park top grader Spacecraft along with Evidence, Flamin' Go and Lachy Balboa.
Spacecraft recently had a change of kennels and is now with Northern Rivers mentor Dennis Robinson.
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"She thinks she is a two year old,'' was how trainer Simon Rhodes summed up the sparkling form of veteran Vivian Bale, who landed her 12th win on Thursday night at Dapto at start number 117.
The rising five year old had also won at her previous outing making October a special month for Rhodes and Chloe, his 10-year-old daughter.
"Chloe loves Vivian Bale to bits,'' Rhodes said yesterday. "She feeds her every night and I often find Chloe in the kennels sitting alongside Vivian Bale on the greyhound's bedding.
"Vivian Bale is definitely getting better with age and I put her improved form down to her recovering from a seasonal spell.
"After she had come in season I moved house and the change in routine upset some of my greyhounds.
"Since we have settled in on six acres at Bargo, Vivian Bale has taken to working with a few up-and-coming young greyhounds I have. That seems to have given her a new lease of life because when she works with these juveniles she goes two to their one.''
Rhodes has taken over former trainer Andrew Bayliss' property where he is about to begin constructing a 310m straight track.
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Go Ginger Go, who made a successful return to the racetrack this year after whelping a litter of pups, is headed back to the breeding barn.
After producing her first litter, Go Ginger Go ran a string of WP placings for trainer Michael Clayton before winning over 520m at that track on September 5.
"Go Ginger Go was unplaced at Wenty on October 14 and when she came in season the following day her owners made the wise decision to put her back to stud,'' Clayton said.
"She is to be mated with El Grand Senor.''
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Sydney owner Amanda Stollery's large team are solely the offspring of Dusty Retreat and Magic Capers, but she managed to win three races on three tracks in two states last Thursday night.
Stollery's exciting newcomer, the Anthony Azzopardi-trained France Soir, won at heat of the Maitland Future Stars on a wet track in 22.59 after earlier recording a blistering 22.23 in a 400m performance trial there.
Soft Shiraz, trained by Christine Oldfield, led virtually all the way to win over 600m at Dapto in 34.55, just .36 outside the track record, while Il Bacaro scored at Warrnambool for Victorian trainer Dustin Drew.
Il Bacaro and France Soir were produced by Magic Capers while Soft Shiraz is a daughter of Dusty Retreat.
Stollery believes Le Sands, a litter brother to Soft Shiraz, who has raced only once for a short course win at Albion Park, could be the fastest of them all.
