Where Art Thou got within .46 of Space Star's 618m record at Richmond on Friday and will now target the Group 3 event that greyhound won over 720m at Wentworth Park in 2015.
Space Star annexed the 2015 WP Gold Cup in 42.01 after establishing the Richmond middle distance time standard of 35.00.
Where Are Thou, a newcomer to middle distance racing, won over Londonderry's 618m on Friday in 35.46 and trainer Kayla COLEMAN is now eyeing the heats of the 2016 WP Cup, scheduled for April 9, with her greyhound.
"I think Where Art Thou will 'get' 720m but of course nobody will know for sure until she tackles it,'' COLEMAN said.
"I am trying to build her up to long-distance racing with more middle distance starts but the problem is getting draws with Where Art Thou.
"Many of the next month's middle distance races are for greyhounds with two wins or less so while Where Art Thou is still a fifth grader she is ineligible for those events.
"Where Art Thou's litter brother Cardiology is also having a middle distance campaign mapped out for him, but finding races for him is as difficult as it is for his sister.
"Even if I just have to trial them over middle distances the WP Gold Cup heats on April 9, with the $25,000 to the winner final a week later, are my long range plan for them.''
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Midnight Kate, who also won over 618m at Richmond on Friday, albeit in a slower 35.83, is also being groomed for long-distance racing.
Trainer Dave Pringle said Midnight Kate's next start would almost certainly be over 600m at Dubbo, followed by a Bathurst 618m assignment preceeding a move up to 720m events.
"I nominated Midnight Kate for a 600m race at Dubbo recently and when she did not get a draw I trialled her instead,'' Pringle said.
"Soviet Missile's track record is 34.70sec and I would have been pleased if Midnight Kate had run 35sec flat in the trial but she broke the record, clocking just over 34.50.
"Going by the way she got to the line in her 618m win at Richmond on Friday I'm sure she will get 720m, because she has not yet been trained and conditioned for long-distance racing.''
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Neal Gray landed a winning treble at The Gardens on Friday, scoring over 515m with Betty Barbun and New Direction and over 400m with Full Treatment.
Each of Gray's winners posted slick times, with Full Treatment stopping the clock at 22.86 and Betty Barbun and New Direction winning in 29.76 and 29.65 respectively.
Despite New Direction's slick figures, which compare reasonably well with Smart Missile's track record of 29.19, Gray is in no hurry to bring his greyhound to Wentworth Park.
"I never seem to have any luck at Wenty so while I will bring New Direction there eventually I plan to keep him going at the provincials for a while yet,'' Gray said.
Gray, who prepares a team at Allworth, 163km north-east of Sydney, is among the sport's "quiet achievers'' having previously raced the outstanding females Nova Surf and Ferly Gain.
Nova Surf won 23 of 45 races between 2008 and 2010 while Ferly Gain won 14 of her 23 starts in 2007 and 2008.
"Betty Barbun and New Direction are not in the same league as Nova Surf and Ferly Gain but they are handy,'' Gray said. "While New Direction went quicker than Betty Barbun on Friday, there is nothing between them, it all depends on the breaks they get on a particular day as to who goes better.''
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Tizza Nitro is set to be a surprise nomination for the Group 1 AAA Radiator Specialists Association Cup heats at WP on March 19 following her impressive first-up long-distance win at Richmond on Friday night.
The Rob Tyler-trained greyhound was destined for the breeding barn when she lost form after a promising start to her racing career in Melbourne.
Nitro">Tizza Nitro won five of her first 11 starts in Victoria but when her form tapered off Tyler had the greyhound returned to NSW, intending to breed from her.
"But then she started going well and even trialled nicely over 520m at Wentworth Park'' Tyler said.
After two unsuccessful short-distance races for Tyler, Nitro">Tizza Nitro won over 600m at Gosford and 618m at Richmond before comfortably stepping up to 717m at Richmond on Friday, clocking a tidy 42.19 in defeating a strong field.
