Dean Swain's change of heart about the immediate race schedule for Runway Bono is set to pay dividends with the greyhound boxed to win Saturday night's Evans & Sons Jewellers Stakes at Wentworth Park (race five, 520m).
Runway Bono has finished down the course from boxes four and seven at his past two Wentworth Park starts following a fast 29.81 win at the track on October 15.
"I entered him for the Ladbrokes Vic Peters Classic heats on October 22 and he finished last while he was then sixth from box seven in a fourth grade last Saturday,'' gun western Sydney trainer Swain said.
"After that I intended switching Runway Bono to middle distance racing because while he is absolutely flying in solo trials he just hasn't got the early pace to win strong 520m races from wide draws. Then I realised that if I entered him for this week he would drop back to fifth grade so I threw him in again in the hope that he would finally draw inside.
"He has come up with box two which is great.''
Lochinvar Klein (box eight) has not raced since August but trainer Robert Smith believes his greyhound can win first-up at Wentworth Park on Saturday night in the opening event, the 520m wentworthpark.com.au Stakes.
"He is trialling well so providing he can get across from his outside draw he should be hard to beat,'' Smith said.
While Lochinvar Klein's three wins from just seven starts have been from boxes one and two. the dog did get wide on the back straight before landing his sole Wentworth Park victory on March 9.
Cosmic Rhino stunned punters with an all-the-way heat win at $16 in WP's Ladbrokes Odds Boost Series on October 26, posting a blistering 29.97.
She is fastest qualifier for Saturday night's final and trainer Dave Duncan believes there is no reason why she cannot reproduce that form.
"Cosmic Rhino is well drawn in box two and although her fastest Wenty time before last week had been 30.32 I thought she was capable of going quicker than that,'' Duncan said.
"She had won a 516m final at the Dubbo carnival in 29.87 and Brad Hill Billy's record there is 29.30 so Cosmic Rhino can run.
"She pulled up well after her heat win so is raring to go for Saturday's final. My only reservation being that she can be a bit moody.''
Mr Shire (pictured), unbeaten in two Wentworth Park 720m races and holder of the 600m record at The Gardens, faces his toughest task to date in the $10,800 to the winner Ladbrokes Monthly Medal Stakes, 720m.
Mr Shire, who has won four of his six races from boxes one and two, is nicely positioned in box two as slow beginner Madliena Girl has drawn three.
Experienced stayers Cardiology (four), Whittaker (five) and Miss Foxy Lee (six) along with Apatite (eight), the Queenslander who won the Sydney Cup on October 8, will keep Mr Shire on his toes.
Best value bet on Saturday night is Struggle Street (box four, race seven) who staged a remarkable performance to win at Wentworth Park on October 26.
Struggle Street was resuming from a spell and after being seventh away was badly hampered on two occasions before rocketing home to win in 30.52.
The Kristy Sultana-trained greyhound had previously clocked 30.07 at Wentworth Park so with a clear run should reproduce that time this week.
For Wentworth Park Saturday fields, form and expert picks, click here.
Jeff Collerson's Wentworth Park Saturday picks:
Best Bet: Runway Bono (Race 5)
Best Value: Struggle Street (Race 7)
Quaddie: Race 5 - 2, 6, 5
Race 6 - 2, 1, 8
Race 7 - 4, 3
Race 8 - 2. 5. 1
$20 for 37.03%
