Bent Poppy will be chasing his fifth win in six starts wearing the red rug when he exits box one in tonight's second heat of the Ladbrokes Odds Boost Sprint (race five, 520m) at Wentworth Park.
The Frank Cini-trained greyhound clocked his personal best Wentworth Park figures of 30.11 from box one on April 9 and his trainer believes he can go faster.
“When he ran 30.11 there he had never seen the track and he is a better dog now,” Cini said.
“I think Bent Poppy is definitely capable of breaking 30 seconds, he can probably get down to around the 29.80 mark if he got on the lure on a good track.
“I was really pleased with his second placing at Wenty last Wednesday night because he had box seven and in the past he has never really gone well from wide draws.”
Punters need look no further than Brad Hill Billy in seeking Wednesday night's safest wager with the Ray Smith-trained former Tasmanian set to notch his ninth Wentworth Park win in heat three of the Ladbrokes Odds Boost Sprint (race six, 520m).
Being unplaced at his past three starts in free for all races has pushed Brad Hill Billy (pictured, black and white rug) down to fourth and fifth grade company on Wednesday night and while he has drawn awkwardly in box seven he should win comfortably.
Brad Hill Billy's fourth to Lochinvar Holly at Wentworth Park on May 4 was a much better performance than it looked on paper as the greyhound was badly checked at the first turn, losing all winning chance.
At his only subsequent Wentworth Park outing Brad Hill Billy again found trouble through no fault of his own, finishing fifth to Knight Sprite in a free for all on May 21.
In that race he was severely hampered from box six, when Bessy Boo, box seven, veered left at the start, colliding with Brad Hill Billy and forcing him to the rear of the field.
Although Brad Hill Billy's best form is from inside boxes it is worth noting the dog has won twice from box seven. And one of those victories was at Wentworth Park last July, when he defeated Billysoar in a fifth grade 520m event.
Lee Secret has never seen Wentworth Park but trainer Keith Pedrana does not believe that impediment will stop his greyhound upsetting favourite Rubelly Magic in tonight’s Sky Racing Stakes (race 10, 280m).
Lee Secret is a litter brother to Pedrana's recent Wentworth Park 520m winners Dawn Mini and Ricky Boy but the trainer considers the rookie far superior.
“Lee Secret has been lightly raced because he is injury prone but he is sound again now and he is a lot quicker than Ricky Boy and Dawn Mini,” Pedrana said.
“Not having trialled at Wentworth Park should not worry him, especially now that he has drawn ideally in box one.
“Lee Secret has not raced since March but he has terrific early speed and trialled really well over 330m at Richmond on Monday morning.”
As a winner of six Wentworth Park races, Funky Punk looks nicely placed in the 4/5th grade gbota.com.au Stakes (race four, 520m) but trainer Jimmy Coyle warns that his greyhound may not be quite as good she was once.
“Funky Punk had a seasonal condition and then hurt her tendon and she has had only one race since a spell,” Coyle said.
“That was in a 400m event at Gosford last Tuesday and while she finished down the course she found plenty of trouble so I'm not too concerned about that. However while she has been trialling fairly well I'm not sure if she is a good as she was in her previous campaign.”
Coyle rates Funky Punk's litter brother Tanks Punk, who has box two in the 5th grade wentworthpark.com.au Stakes (race three, 520m) as his better prospect tonight.
“Tanks Punk does not have much early pace but he is well drawn near the rails and is going well,” Coyle said.
“If he gets a clear run going around the first turn he should be hard to beat.”
Jeff Collerson's Selections
Best Bet: Brad Hill Billy (Race 6)
Best Value: Lee Secret (Race 10)
Quaddie
Race 5 - 1, 3, 8
Race 6 - 7, 8
Race 7 - 4, 5, 8
Race 8 - 8, 1, 2
$20 for 37.03%
