Leading Queensland trainer Tony Brett is racing the clock to have his Brisbane Cup winner Fast Times ready to contest the heats of the world's richest race, the Melbourne Cup at Sandown, on November 17.
"Fast Times got hurt during a heat of the Lismore Cup on October 17 so a Melbourne Cup run is now up in the air,'' owner Terry Hill said.
"Although Fast Times has won a group 1 race and broken the Lismore 420m record, he has been unlucky with injuries as he had to be scratched on the eve of the Group 1 Maturity Classic at The Meadows in July, when he was favourite.''
Hill owned the 2000 National Sprint Championship winner Placard, but revealed he came within an ace of racing Flying Amy, the 1995 Championship winner and one of the sport's all time greats.
The former Australian Test and NSW State Of Origin star said: "The legendary Jimmy Coleman was training a couple of dogs for me in the mid 1990s when he heard of an unraced youngster with the potential to be a world beater.
"I went to Frank Stanton, the CEO of Manly Sea Eagles, for whom I was playing, and asked for a $20,000 advance on my season's match payments.
"When he asked me what I needed it for he was horrified when I said it was to buy a greyhound.
"He finally let me have the money but Flying Amy's breeders baulked at the offer and bumped the price up to $25,000 and then $30,000.
"I kept going back to Frank Stanton asking for more cash but finally Jimmy Coleman decided to pull out of the deal because the price kept going up.
"It's history now that Flying Amy went on to win three group ones and earned $355,000 at a time when prizemoney was nothing like it is now.
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Flying Amy got her name after her breeder Eric Tedford witnessed UK aviator Amy Johnson land at Darwin Airport in 1930 after flying a single engine plane from England.
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Sutton Forest trainer Michael Clayton ended an exasperating run of outs when Mister Maker opened his account in a 520m maiden at Dapto on Thursday.
"Mister Maker is raced by the K9 Racers Syndicate, for whom I also train Slick Simzy and Hear The Drums,'' Clayton said.
"But Slick Simzy, who is a Wentworth Park top grader and who has won 20 races, is only returning to training this week after an injury.
"Hear The Drums has won five of just nine races and I took him to Wentworth Park last week for a trial and he pulled up sore.
"He has a big motor but I'm still not sure if he will make the grade in the city.''
