Moreira">Moreira's trainer Jason Thompson has declared his finalist in Saturday night's Group 1 Ladbrokes Golden Easter Egg to be "at least'' the equal of his 2012 winner Don't Knocka Him.
Thompson trained Don't Knocka Him to victory in the 2012 Golden Easter Egg when the greyhound exited box one to defeat the Andrea Dailly-trained Dyna Bert in race record time of 29.60.
Moreira has also drawn box one on Saturday and Thompson said the draw should suit his greyhound perfectly.
"He is every bit as good as Don't Knocka Him was - he might even be a bit quicker,"' Thompson said.
"Moreira is not a lid-pinger but he never blows the start completely.
"Even though he has never led around the first turn in any of his 14 wins he has still managed to come off the pace and clock a flying 29.67 around The Meadows.
"I am hoping box one will drag him out better than how he jumped from box eight when he won his semi-final.
"He has a great draw, in fact if I had been able to select the boxes for the dogs in one, two and three, this is about how I would have done it.''
Thompson was referring to slow beginners Brad Hill Billy and Rare Pearl being drawn alongside Moreira in boxes two and three.
Andrea Dailly, whose greyhound Dyna Bert chased Thompson's Don't Knocka Him home in 2012, will be represented by last year's Easter Egg runner-up Dawkins Bale.
Dawkins Bale began brilliantly from box four and led throughout to win his semi-final in 29.71, fastest qualifying time and well inside the 29.93 posted by Moreira.
Andrea Dailly's husband Tom says Dawkins Bale is going "every bit as good'' as he was when he finished second to his mighty kennelmate Fernando Bale in the 2015 final.
"I don't know if Dawkins Bale can come out under the lids like he did in his semi-final but he is not badly drawn because there is not a lot of pace inside him,'' Tom Dailly said.
"I was disappointed with his third in Nangar Flash's Easter Egg heat but Dawkins Bale was acting out of character just before that race.
"He is usually barking his head off in the kennels and on the way to the races but he was strangely quiet before the heats. He was barking non-stop before his semi-final and has been doing exactly the same thing this week, so he is back to his old self.''
Mitch">Mitcharlie Mia (pictured), who chased home Dawkins Bale in the semi-finals, appears to be the best NSW-trained chance of ending the six years' winning streak of Victorian-trained greyhounds.
The Mitch Northfield-trained greyhound has box eight, the same draw she had when second all the way behind Dawkins Bale.
"She pulled up well and while I would have preferred box one or two, the eight is the next best draw I could have wished for,'' Northfield said.
"I'm hoping for third time lucky as I owned Kooringa Title who made the Easter Egg semi-finals several years ago while Go Wild Bean, another dog I owned, finished third to Edie Beauchamp in the 2006 Golden Easter Egg final.''
Nangar Flash was the unluckiest Easter Egg semi-finalist, finishing fourth to Moreira, and he only needs a reasonably clear run to win The Ambrosoli, Saturday night's Group 3 Egg consolation final.
Nangar Flash missed the jump and was badly checked at the first turn before coming from last to beat all but the placegetters in his Easter Egg semi, after winning his heat in a blistering 29.66.
Benteke">Benteke, bought for $4000 as a three months old puppy by coal miners Greg Remfrey and Craig Ralphs, is expected to retain his unbeaten record by taking out Saturday night's Ladbrokes Magic Maiden final.
Benteke won his heat in 29.83 and his semi-final in 29.73 while among his rivals on Saturday night only Wicked Warrior, who won his semi in 29.96, has broken the 30 second barrier at Wentworth Park.
"Box seven is just about the worst draw he could have got but he can still win,'' Benteke's trainer Ruth King said. "This dog has no vices and he will run straight from the boxes to the first corner.
"I am a bit worried about Very Choosy, in box six, holding him up but if they all hold their line Benteke should be in front when the first bend looms up.
"He only needs to begin cleanly and he usually does that.''
Saturday night's stand-out bet should be Victoria's Come On Fantasy in the Group 1 GBOTA Association Cup final over 720m.
Victorian-trained Space Star won last year in 42.09 while Sweet It Is, another Victorian, established the race record when she won in 41.78 in 20.14.
Come On Fantasy, trained by Joe Borg, began brilliantly from box two to win her Cup heat in 41.92 while the other heats were taken out by fellow Victorians Lioness Lulu in 42.09 and by Dublin Bull in 42.26.
Lioness Lulu's trainer Mark Giddings wanted an inside draw for his greyhound and was disappointed when she drew box eight in the final.
Dublin Bull raced wide winning his heat from box three so is tipped to give Come On Fantasy, who has box two again, a clear run to the vital first turn.
Jason Mackay saw his pre-post Easter Egg favourite Duna Runa bundled out of the series in the semi-finals but he can collect a consolation double on Saturday night with Zipping Lilly in The New Sensation final and Berzerk in the Ultra Sense.
Each has drawn ideally in box one and both should be improved by their second placings in their heats, when they exited boxes four and three respectively.
For Wentworth Park fields, form and expert picks, click here.
For Sportsbet's market on Wentworth Park Saturday, click here.
Jeff Collerson's Wentworth Park Saturday picks:
Best Bet: Come On Fantasy (Race 5)
Best Value: Nangar Flash (Race 2)
Quaddie: Race 5 - 2, 3, 4
Race 6 - 1, 2, 3
Race 7 - 1, 8, 4
Race 8 - 2, 6
$20 for 37.03%
