Camden Gossip will be set for the Group 2 Richmond Oaks after scoring her 10th win in just 23 starts at Wentworth Park on Saturday night.
The Doug Rogers owned and trained greyound led throughout to win a 520m fifth grade in 30.27, running home strongly in 11.99.
Camden Gossip broke 31 seconds in each of her two Richmond wins last month and Rogers believes the Oaks, open to the best 32 female nominations and programmed for February 26 and March 4, is the ideal race for his greyhound.
"I have always had a high opinion of her but despite the win tonight she is not yet running the sort of times at Wentworth Park that equate to the fast wins she has recorded at tracks like Gosford and Nowra," Rogers said.
"I like to keep her fresh and usually don't even like to back her up from Tuesday to Saturday but she won at Gosford last Tuesday so that obviously didn't worry her tonight."
The Richmond Oaks and Derby series are hotting up with Eva Diva, one of the early Oaks favourites, continuing her good form on Saturday night when she ran down Natahli Dedee in a fourth and fifth grade 520m event.
Eva Diva took her Wentworth Park tally to four wins and two seconds from nine appearances when she came away to win by just on three lengths in 30.29, running home in 11.96.
"The Oaks has always been Eva Diva's mission," trainer Mario Abela said after the race.
"But I believe she will get a middle distance so when she gets up in grade in 520m races I will step her up to longer journeys."
Trainer David Griffiths has ambitious plans for Lion Of Lyon who led throughout in a 520m fifth grade on Saturday in 30.41.
"He goes well at Richmond so I am going to nominate him for the Richmond Derby heats on February 26 and after that series I intend taking him to Brisbane for the heats of the group two Queensland Derby at Albion Park on April 14," he said.
"Lion Of Lyon is the perfect age for the Brisbane race because he will be among the oldest greyhounds in the series.
"The Richmond Derby may be beyond him but he is capable of clocking around 30.45 or 30.50 for the 535m there so he can be competitive.
"I bred Lion Of Lyon from Wild Inferno who was trained for me by Siddy Swain.
"She won three races at Wentworth Park and was a finalist in the Magic Maiden there and also a finalist in a Richmond Oaks.
"Lion Of Lyon gets his name because he has a line of hair down the back of his neck which resembles a lion's mane and of course Lyon is a major city in France which boasts a top football team."
No decision has been made on whether Good Odds Angel, whose 30.17 performance was the fastest time of the night on Saturday, will contest the Richmond Oaks.
Good Odds Angel began brilliantly from box one and posted a blistering first split of 5.35 before hanging on solidly to defeat Second Line, a veteran of 67 races, in a fourth and fifth grade Golden Easter Egg Prelude.
Willy Do had not trialled or raced at Wentworth Park or been tested beyond 400m before leading throughout in Saturday night's final event, a 520m fifth grade.
But trainer John Callaughan was quietly confident before the race.
"Willy Do is perfectly drawn out wide in seven, especially with a vacant box on his outside," he said.
"He has good early speed and while all his form has been in races up to 400m, I have no doubt he will out a solid 520m."
Willy Do hung on to defeat Winsome Magic by a neck in 30.58, with the runner-up having a chequered passage through the field in the middle stages.
See you next week!
