Ritza Rossi lived up to his nickname "Warrior'' when he scored his 17th win at his 84th Wentworth Park appearance last Wednesday night.
Although owned in partnership by successful trainers Shaun Evans and Chris Nutt, Ritza Rossi is prepared by Mark Gatt, a rival trainer but at the same time a close friend.
"We gave Ritza Rossi to Mark to train because his father, Frank Gatt, had given us the dog's dam, Midnight Quest,'' Nutt explained.
"At the time Frank found he had too many brood bitches so he presented Shaun and I with Midnight Quest.
"Considering she was a superbly bred litter sister to the National Futurity winner Midnight Capers, it was an extremely generous gesture.
"So Shaun and I vowed we would give Frank and his sons Mark and Daniel, who share training duties, a puppy from each of Midnight Quest's litters.
"Ritza Rossi is from Midnight Quest's first litter to Where's Pedro and is doing a great job considering he turned four in July and lost four months of racing earlier this year with the only injury he has suffered.
"He has been a fantastic greyhound and while the Gatt family has faster greyhounds in their kennels, he is their favourite, hence his nickname Warrior.''
Ritza Rossi has now had a total of 109 starts for 26 wins and 40 placings, earning $137,341.
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Ebby Chance's fast 35.78 win over 618m at Richmond on Wednesday continued the remarkable run of success by the progeny of trainer Michael Eberand's brood bitch Ebby Miss.
Seven of Ebby Miss' pups, Suffragette, Barking Bad, Ebby Ripper, Aussie Infrared, Reichenbach, Ebby Chance and Lord Golec, have now won 98 races between them.
Their earnings have amounted to $631,525, not bad for the offspring of a greyhound who was bought by her owner eight years ago for just $1500!
And with Barking Bad about to tackle the $75,000 to the winner Dapto Megastar series beginning on Thursday, Ebby Miss' puppy prizemoney bonanza could be about to soar.
