Three weeks ago pastry chef Darren Rowe was in Melbourne collecting nine gold medals in the Australian Baking Championships but the hobby greyhound trainer from WA is hoping to cook up a win in Saturday night's Group 3 Ladbrokes Sydney Cup with Olivia Benson.
Owned and trained by Rowe, Olivia Benson made the pace when third in Whittaker's Group 3 Chairman's Cup victory at Wentworth Park on September 10 and led until near the finish when second in More In Store's fastest Sydney Cup heat last week.
Olivia Benson has box seven in Saturday night's Cup final but Rowe is not concerned.
"If she comes out as smartly as she normally does Olivia Benson should be able to scoot across to the fence and be in front at the first turn,'' Rowe, a hobby trainer for 22 years, said. "Olivia Benson just needs to hold out Miss Foxy Lee, who has box eight and won the other heat last week, in the run to the corner.
"I owned a greyhound named Nguartar who was runner-up in the 2000 Brisbane Cup, but a win by Olivia Benson on Saturday would give me my biggest success.''
Interstate greyhounds have won five of the past 10 Sydney Cups but there has not been a winner from WA since the race was first held in 1963.
Victorian-trained Ring The Bell, this year's National Distance Championship winner, has box five, the same draw he had when he chased Miss Foxy Lee all the way in last week's heat.
"I expect him to find three or four lengths on Saturday night because Ring The Bell had not seen Wentworth Park before the heats and as a result seemed to be 'feeling' his way around the track,'' O'Keefe said.
"Box five is okay because last week all the early pace was on Ring The Bell's inside, but in the final it appears to be on his right.''
Mark Gatt, trainer of fastest qualifier More In Store, concedes his greyhound "will need luck'' after drawing box six in the Cup.
"She has made four or five group finals without success so More In Store deserves a win,'' Gatt said. "She found the rails early from box seven in her heat but will need to do the same again in the final.
"I was encouraged to see her go around the pacemaker Olivia Benson in the straight in her heat because previously More In Store has tended to mark time on the rails waiting for an inside run.
"Miss Foxy Lee, the other heat winner, is drawn to get a good run from box eight. "My greyhound will go left at the start from box six and I think Olivia Benson in seven will come across so Miss Foxy Lee looks well positioned.''
Owner-trainer Julie Fletcher's Whittaker, the Chairman's Cup winner, has box three after scraping into the final by finishing fourth in More In Store's heat.
"I was a bit disappointed in his heat run but when I watched the replay he did find plenty of trouble in the early stages,'' Fletcher said.
"Whittaker has lost some of his early dash as he has got older. Box three is not great but it is not hopeless and given a clear run Whittaker should run a good race.''
Saturday night's best bet should be Nangar Thunder, whose 29.62 best of the night performance was easily quickest of the 520m #cantheban Sprint Series finalists.
Nangar Thunder is a risky beginner but the DAVE Irwin-trained dog was on his bet behaviour at box rise in last week's heat and led throughout.
The greyhound exited box three last Saturday but has drawn suitably in box seven in the final, as he uses a bit of the track and has won four of his five starts from boxes seven and eight.
Mack Tux's early zip makes him look good value in the 520m Racingtoarespectedfuture Stakes.
Mack Tux is a reliably quick beginner and with slow starter Young Gun drawn inside him in box three, Mack Tux should be first-out and first-home from box four.
For Wentworth Park Saturday fields, form and expert picks, click here.
Jeff Collerson's Wentworth Park Saturday picks:
Best Bet: Nangar Thunder (Race 8)
Best Value: Mack Tux (Race 7)
Quaddie: Race 5 - 7, 1, 3
Race 6 - 7, 5, 6
Race 7 - 4, 2
Race 8 - 7, 5, 4
$20 for 37.03%
