The ideally boxed pair Zipping Bruiser and Ritza Lenny shape up as the best local chances of thwarting a Victorian clean sweep of Saturday night's 10 heats of the Group 1 Peter Mosman Classic at Wentworth Park.
Zipping Bruiser will jump from box eight in the night’s second heat (race three) the same draw the greyhound had when he clocked 29.77 at Wentworth Park on April 13.
Zipping Bruiser's toughest opponent in his heat is likely to be Zambora Beau, box six, who is trained by the now Victorian based trainer Anthony Azzopardi.
“Zambora Beau will handle box six all right and he has terrific early pace although he is not overly strong at the finish of 520m,” Azzopardi said.
NSW's other big chance on Saturday night, Ritza Lenny, has box one in heat three (race four) and trainer Mark Gatt is up-beat about his greyhound's chances.
“Ritza Lenny ran the fastest time in the Richmond Riches Puppy Classic heats when he drew box three but found terrible trouble from box seven in his semi-final, where he finished second, and again in last week's final,” Gatt said.
“One minute he was about to be sitting behind the leader and next thing he was taken out by a wide runner but he pulled up perfectly after the final and having box one on Saturday is ideal.
“Ritza Lenny can be hit or miss at the jump but from the rails, if he happens to dwell at the start, he will drive hard along the fence in the run to the first corner.”
There is a powerful contingent of 22 greyhounds from Victoria contesting the heats, with Andrea Dailly, who has trained two of the past four Peter Mosman final winners, bringing a team of eight to Wentworth Park.
Dailly's champion FernAndo Bale won in race record time of 29.27 last year while Garrick Bale gave her kennel victory in 2012.
Andrea's husband Tom rates Dyna Maddie (race five), Dyna Juggler (race nine) and Shimatron">Shimatron (race 10) as the kennel's top prospects on Saturday night.
“Dyna Maddie has won at Wentworth Park and while she needs room to move box six is okay because she will run in a straight line from the start to the first turn,” Tom said.
“Dyna Juggler is perfectly drawn on the rails and is a really smart youngster. And Shimatron, who is just hitting his straps, rails surprisingly well for such a big dog, he is 35kg.”
Another Victorian trainer, Brett Bravo, has strong chances with four of his five entries, Andrea-doria">Andrea Doria (race four), Unlawful Entry (race five), Ando's Mac (race six) and Cactus Jack (race 10)
.
Bravo is especially enthusiastic about Ando's Mac, who overcame severe interference to win at his Wentworth Park debut on May 25.
“Ando's Mac is capable of coming out under the lids and has enormous early speed,” Bravo said.
“He is all greyhound and has a big future but I also have a big opinion of Cactus Jack, a big lump of a dog who, while he needs more experience, is learning all the time.”
Dundee Osprey, trained at Pakenham by Geoff Scott-Smith, recorded a slashing 29.84 in a solo trial at Wentworth Park last week and has come up with box one in heat six (race seven) of the Peter Mosman series.
“Dundee Osprey only clocked 5.55 for his first split in his trial and that is in keeping with his SAndown form because this dog does his best work over the final 200m,” Scott-Smith said.
“Box one is good because he had that draw in his trial and ran in a direct line to the corner. He should rail around the first turn but is likely to get about three dogs off the fence on the back straight.”
Victoria's Jason Thompson, who won this year's Golden Easter Egg with Moreira, also has four solid prospects in the Peter Mosman heats.
Best drawn of his quartet is Aqua Cheetah who is well positioned in heat one (race two) in box eight.
For Wentworth Park Saturday fields, form and expert picks, click here.
Jeff Collerson's Wentworth Park Saturday picks:
Best Bet: Ritza Lenny (Race 4)
Best Value: Aqua Cheetah (Race 2)
Quaddie:
Race 5 - 6, 3, 2
Race 6 - 5, 2
Race 7 - 1, 5, 2
Race 8 - 7, 4, 5
$20 for 37.03%
