Sandave Sapphire emulated her sire Miagi, the 2008 Wentworth Park Gold Cup winner, by taking out Saturday night's Group 3 final in the second fastest time in the 720m event's history.
Assisted by a brilliant getaway, Sandave Sapphire led throughout to ended the unbeaten Wentworth Park run of hot favourite Lioness Lulu, clocking 41.84, a mere .10 outside the race record set by Dyna Willow in 2014.
Sandave Sapphire gave Newcastle trainer Dave Richardson, a retired plasterer, his biggest win in the sport and bettered her previous best Wentworth Park 720m time by .43.
"She felt really well in the week leading up to tonight's race and I thought she was nicely boxed in six because the greyhounds drawn in five and seven are usually slow early,'' Richardson said after the Cup.
Lioness Lulu was far from disgraced in chasing the winner all the way, as in finishing second she clocked almost identical time to the figures she posted in her all-the-way heat win.
Easily the most impressive 520m performance on Saturday night came from the DEAN Swain-trained Miss Foxy Lee, who led throughout in a fifth grade in 29.60, .48 faster than
Husvinu recorded in the top grade Free For All.
Miss Foxy Lee took a moderate 5.58sec for her first split but ran home in near record time of 11.53.
After winning her first four starts at Maitland Miss Foxy Lee had been unplaced in four Wentworth Park outings but Swain said he expected her to go well on Saturday night.
"In each of her previous Wenty races she has been dragged down when in a prominent position going to the first turn,'' Swain said.
"Although she had box four tonight Miss Foxy Lee was well drawn because after studying the video replays of her rivals, I realised the greyhound in box three tended to veer left at the start while the dog in box five was usually a slow beginner.
"My other runner, Whispering Soul, who had box six, is a wide runner, so Miss Foxy Lee only had to come out cleanly to be the pacemaker and that's how it worked out.''
The winner was bred by Lorraine Atchison and is raced by her 32-year-old daughter Kerryn.
"Once Miss Foxy Lee reached the lead I knew they couldn't beat her because she always gets better as the race progresses,'' Kerryn said after the event.
Slick Simzy took his record for new trainer Michael Clayton to five wins and three seconds from eight starts when he ran down New Direction to win a fifth grade on Saturday night in 30.05.
Slick Simzy, who has 20 owners, had led all the way at his only previous Wentworth Park outing.
"What pleased me especially tonight is that he proved he did not have to lead to win,'' Clayton said. "Slick Simzy has had box eight in each of his Wenty wins but will go even better when he draws inside.''
Dawn Mini scored her second Wentworth Park win in 72 hours when she came from third early to win a fifth grade on Saturday night in 30.06
.
Remarkably Dawn Mini, who had won at Wentworth Park on Wednesday night, is just 25 months old yet was having her 52nd race start.
"I race her instead of trialling her, it's as simple as that,'' trainer Keith Pedrana said later. "Dawn Mini usually leads in her races but she surprised me by the way she won tonight.
"She generally wants to rail but leaving the back straight she was running third and was going better than the two leaders.
"So instead of looking for a rails run she used her brain by pulling to the outside and going around the pacemakers to hit the front on the home turn.''
Body And Soul gave part-owner Jason Lymbery a birthday gift when he overcame a slow start to notch his fourth Wentworth Park win in 30.02 on Saturday night.
After the race trainer Ruth Matic said: "Jason rang me this morning and informed me it was his birthday so he was particularly hoping Body And Soul could win.
"Body And Soul can be awkward in a field but he had room to move out in box eight and at his last trial before tonight's race he clocked 20.59 over 365m at Nowra, the fastest time he has recorded there.''
See you next week!
