Ritza Lenny has produced his best ever trial at Wentworth Park on the eve of contesting the strongest of 10 heats of the Group 1 Ladbrokes Vic Peters Classic at Wentworth Park.
The exciting talent, who has box seven in heat eight, trialled brilliantly in a solo box-to-box hit-out at Wentworth Park on Tuesday night.
"His first split was 5.45sec while he recorded 17.81sec to the end of the back straight, and those times are the quickest he has gone,'' trainer Mark Gatt said.
Ritza Lenny, winner of six of 11 Wentworth Park races, will need to begin cleanly on Saturday as he is up against crack Victorian-trained duo Benteke and Reckoning along with the highly talented Breaking Bad.
"Ritza Lenny has drawn box seven and while the wide alley isn't necessarily a problem I am a bit concerned that the greyhound in box six, Mainline Osti, might shift to the right when the boxes open,'' Gatt added.
Gatt also has Centrico">Centrico, unbeaten in two starts, in heat one of the Classic.
"I am still getting to know him but he seems to be a real little race dog, he wants to win,'' Gatt said.
"Centrico has had a couple of trials at Wentworth Park and I think he will handle box seven as I expect him to run straight from the boxes to the first corner.
"Obviously he is conceding a lot in experience but as he will be too old for this race next year I had no choice but to throw him in at the deep end.''
Springcreek Bill (box two) and Wicked Warrior, box four, are tipped to stage a keenly contested duel in heat four.
Springcreek Bill gave noted strong finisher Winsome Amanda a start and a beating at Wentworth Park last Saturday but while he drew box eight in that race trainer Bill Bates prefers him drawn inside.
"I am happy he has box two on Saturday and he is jumping out of his skin,'' Bates said. "I have kept him on the lead since his win last week but he has been kept fit with swims in my local lake on Tuesday and Wednesday.''
Wicked Warrior, winner of this year's Group 3 Magic Maiden, was unplaced at Bulli at his only race since a spell but trainer Jason Magri has advised punters to ignore that flop.
"The dog is flying in trials as I put him up the Appin straight track on Tuesday and he recorded 20.55 for the 366m, which is absolutely airborne,'' Magri said.
Magri could land a double as his in-form dog Clock's Ticking has box five in heat two and looks hard to beat.
"The draw is okay but he just needs to begin cleanly,'' Magri said.
"Clock's Ticking has got into the habit of playing up in the starting boxes and that has brought him unstuck in two Wentworth Park races since he won there on September 24.''
Reefton Treasure, widely regarded by keen judges as among NSW's fastest greyhounds, resumes from a short break in heat five of the Classic.
"He hurt his toe in the Canberra Cup final on September 11,'' trainer Margaret Bannerman said.
"Reefton Treasure is fine now but while he might be a fraction under-done because he has not raced for a month, he is a naturally strong greyhound so being first-up should not be a problem.
"I am very happy to see him in box two, I love seeing Reefton Treasure drawn close to the rails.''
No wonder, as Bannerman's greyhound has won four of his five races from boxes one and two.
Saturday's safest bet should be Ando">Ando's Mac (box three, heat seven) who has won four of six Wentworth Park races and is well positioned in a quiet-looking heat.
For value I'm tipping Ando-kahn">Ando-kahn">HernAndo">Ando Kahn, who has box one in heat six of the Classic.
Ando-kahn">HernAndo">Ando Kahn has found trouble when unplaced from poor draws at his past two Wentworth Park starts but has won four of his seven assignments from box one.
For Wentworth Park Saturday fields, form and expert picks, click here.
Jeff Collerson's Wentworth Park Saturday picks:
Best Bet: Ando's Mac (Race 7)
Best Value: Ando-kahn">HernAndo Kahn (Race 6)
Quaddie: Race 5 - 2, 8
Race 6 - 1, 5, 7
Race 7 - 3, 1, 7
Race 8 - 7, 4, 8
$20 for 37.03%
