Mister Twister delivered an impressive NSW Sprint Championship trial with a 29.83 win at Wentworth Park on Saturday night.
The Jason MacKAY-trained greyhound was beaten for early pace by Royal Turbo in the night’s free-for-all but took over approaching the home bend to win in 29.83, storming home in an outstanding 11.77.
Mister Twister will be aiming for his third race feature for the year in this year's Nationals, having won the Richmond Riches and the Group 1 Peter Mosman Classic.
Heats of the NSW Sprint and Distance Championships will be held at Wentworth Park this Saturday with the NSW run-offs a week later and the grand finals at Brisbane's Albion Park on Friday, August 25.
In other action on Saturday night, Six Sense maintained her unbeaten record over 720m at Wentworth Park with a 42.73 victory.
Despite leaving NSW Distance Championship contenders Fire And Smoke, Midnight Treat and Big Daddy Bee behind, Six Sense will not be competing in the heats on Saturday night.
“When the nominations closed I felt Six Sense had not had sufficient staying work to compete in a race like that,” Six Sense’s trainer Loretta Rice said on Saturday night.
Six Sense has now won each of her three Wentworth Park 720m tests.
Six Sense's win completed a winning double for Rice as she also won with Natahli Dedee, Six Sense’s litter sister.
Six Sense and Natahli Dedee have now won just on $106,000 between them, a remarkable achievement for two greyhounds whelped by a gift greyhound.
“Their mother Smooth Nitro, who was a good racer, was given to my family when she was a puppy,” Rice said.
Mister Twister's trainer Jason Mackay">Mac">MacKAY also won a double on Saturday with Wentworth Park newcomer Aston Selena, who led throughout for an eight length romp in a 520m fifth grade.
Aston Selena has now had three wins from four starts since joining Mackay">Mac">MacKAY's kennels, and the Richmond Vale trainer predicts a big future for her.
“When I was training Ando's Mac and he was at his top, he hand-slipped at LADBROKES GARDENS in 11.29,” Mackay">MacKAY said.
“After that trial he broke 29.70 at Wentworth Park, but Aston Selena has slipped 11.09 there, time which astounded me. She should get better because before tonight she had not been out of the boxes at Wentworth Park, she had only a couple of slips there.”
The JODIE Lord-trained Old Bailey, meanwhile, began brilliantly from box four to win his 520m fourth grade in 29.79, which was fastest time of the night. Old Bailey posted fast initial splits of 5.47 and 13.82 before running home in 11.88.
Shy Gambler rewarded trainer Jason Magri's patience with an all-the-way win in Saturday's opening event - a 520m fifth grade.
Having her first Wentworth Park start, Shy Gambler won by nearly three lengths in 30.35.
“She was sidelined for over six months with a cracked hock and then a seasonal condition so it has been a long hard road getting back to the track,” Magri said.
“When she began so well tonight I expected her to run faster time but a win's a win.”
See you next week!
