Up Hill Jill qualified for her fifth group race final in NSW when she scored her sixth win in nine Wentworth Park starts in a heat of the Group 2 Bob Payne Spring Sprint (520m).
Up Hill Hill took the lead from Royal Turbo at the half-way mark and drew away to defeat the strong finishing Bekin Street, NSW's representative in last week's National Sprint Championship final in Brisbane, by four lengths.
"Up Hill Jill was unplaced in this year's Golden Easter Egg final at Wentworth Park and was runner-up in the National Futurity and Peter Mosman Classic at this track as well as finishing second in the Richmond Oaks,'' the greyhound’s trainer David Geall said later.
The winner covered the 520m in 30.10, with NSW's number one sprinter Mister Twister setting the time standard with an all-the-way heat win in 30.02.
Up Hill Jill drew box one for Saturday’s Group 2 final, with Mister Twister to exit from box three.
“(Up Hill Jill) has won more races from box six than any other box but I did not want her drawn wide against a class field like this,” Geall said.
“I was hoping for box one because that would mean Mister Twister, who is going to be awful hard to beat anyway, could not get it.”
Trainer Jason MACKAY is happy with Mister Twister's box three final draw.
“The dogs in boxes two and four do not usually show brilliant early speed so my dog should be up near the lead early. He has been nailing the start so he might get the sit behind Up Hill Jill or even be the leader,” MACKAY said.
The DEAN Swain-trained Watch The Wasp made full use of box eight to win his heat in 30.03, while Little Nangar, prepared by Dennis Barnes, led throughout to win the remaining heat in 30.09.
Box draw for the Group 2 Bob Payne Spring Sprint is: 1. Up Hill Jill 2. Watch The Wasp 3. Mister Twister 4. Bekin Street 5. Flying Mikayla 6. Techno 7. Little Nangar 8. Chevy King. Reserves: 9. Big Butters 10. Smoking Road.
