Tahlia's Way will be nominated for Saturday night's heats of the Group 3 Chairman's Cup at Wentworth Park following her impressive all-the-way win over the 720m Cup course last Wednesday night.
Tahlia's Way went "cold'' into her first 720m test at Wentworth Park on August 12, without having a previous long-distance trial or race, and led throughout in 42.62.
She reduced these figures to 42.55 at her second long-distance hit-out last Wednesday, beginning brilliantly and never being a danger of defeat.
Dart trains Tahlia's Way for Grafton owner-breeder John McGrory, who created this dam line when he bought his latest star's grand-dam, Silent Melody, for only $800.
"Although Tahlia's Way can stay, Silent Melody was a flying sprinter who had the distinction of having never been led early in 51 successive races,'' McGrory said.
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Missing from Saturday's Chairman's Cup heats will be Whittaker, winner of the 2016 final.
"At his last trial he went ordinary but when he cooled down I discovered he had strained a stomach muscle,'' trainer Julie Fletcher said.
"He has recovered fully now but won't be ready in time to run out a strong 720 metres by next Saturday night.
"However I wll have El Magnifico in the heats of the Group 2 Bob Payne Spring Sprint on Saturday.
"He is going as well as ever and had no luck when he chased home Where Art Thou in a Free For All at WP on August 19 because he was taken out at the first turn by a wide runner.''
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Marty Hallinan, whose bitch Zipping Maggie won the Chairman's Cup in 2014 and again the following year, will be represented in Saturday night's heats by Simon Keeping.
Zipping Maggie's 41.78 performance in 2014 is the fastest recorded in Cup history, with Tasmanian great Chinatown Lad, who clocked 41.91 in 2008, the only other winner to break the 42 second barrier.
The Chairman's Cup was held over 732m at Harold Park from 1984 to 1991, was conducted on Wentworth Park's grass track from 1988 to 1991, and has been held on the current sand surface at Wentworth Park since Siso's win in 1992.
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Jodie Lord has trained the winners of three Canberra Cup finals and the Gunning conditioner expects to have a massive nomination of 10 greyhounds for this year's heats on September 10.
Lord won last year with Let It Develop and had previously taken out the biggest event on the national capital's calendar with Shuttle Train in 2002 and Uno Suzie in 2015.
"At this stage I will be nominating Old Bailey, Zambora Cross, Bad Hombre, Asa Barboza, Zipping Spring, Champion Model, My Boy Rilen, Rohan Hill, Lucky Chap and Bombshell Bandit,'' Lord said.
Zambora Cross and Old Bailey have become established Wentworth Park stars for Lord while Champion Model is an up-and-comer with eight wins from 16 starts.
Rohan Hill, who has recently re-joined Lord's kennels after a stint with Anthony Azzopardi in Melbourne, has won 10 from 22 races and has won in 29.76 at Wentworth Park.
Bombshell Bandit and Lucky Chap have been campaigning with Azzopardi in Melbourne and will be back in Lord's care with the Canberra Cup in mind.
Bombshell Bandit has won five of 14 starts while Lucky Chap, who is a sizzling 29.68 Wentworth Park winner, has won 15 of his 28 racetrack appearances.
