Blue Sky Riot gave Victorian trainer Anthony Azzopardi his second Group 1 Wentworth Park win in a fortnight when she took out Saturday night's Ladbrokes National Futurity while Out Of Range landed the Group 1 Ladbrokes National Derby.
Trained in Victoria by Seona Thompson but handled during his Derby campaign by top NSW trainer Jason Mackay, Out Of Range scored his second Group 1 victory in a month.
He had won the Silver Chief Classic at The Meadows early in January while Azzopardi's greyhound Raw Ability had annexed the Group 1 Ladbrokes Paws Of Thunder at Wentworth Park on January 20.
Blue Sky Riot, who had chased home the Robert Britton-trained Slingshot Gypsy in the fastest Futurity heat on January 27, reversed the decision in the final.
Slingshot Gypsy made the pace again but this time Blue Sky Riot, who had "made a meal'' of getting around the winner in the heat, overtook the leader more carefully on Saturday night and hit the front approaching the home turn.
She won by just over two lengths from Slingshot Gypsy, with the consistent Sheez My Chicki five lengths away third.
The winner covered the 520m in 30.04, well outside the race record set last year by Victoria's Striker Light, who won in 29.74.
Out Of Range overcame a check to win the Derby, coming from third on the home turn with a powerful rails run and winning by nearly two lengths from Rostered On, with Little Digger a strong finishing third, a head away.
Out Of Range clocked 30.20, which was wide of Big Daddy Bee's race record of 29.74, established in 2017.
Fernando Bale, the sport's all time great stakes winner, took out the Derby in 2015 and had five of his sons in Saturday night's final, including the winner.
After the race Out Of Range's part-owner Michael Puleio explained: "We bred this dog from Nicki Fields, who had a lot of ability but got to the stage where she just did not want to run.
"She could trial brilliantly on her own but was not performing well in races so we retired her, bred from her, and have got Out Of Range and his equally talented brother Poke The Bear from her litter to Fernando Bale.''
Ritza Lenny broke down in a heat of the 2017 Golden Easter Egg but will get another crack at Wentworth Park's biggest race this year following his impressive win in Saturday night's Free-For-All at Wentworth Park.
Ritza Lenny, who had to have a toe amputated after his Easter Egg setback, came from third early to win by five lengths in a sizzling 29.78, fastest time of Saturday's meeting.
"After he broke down in his Egg heat last year Ritza Lenny had nine months on the sidelines so he can get another shot in this year's heats on March 17,'' trainer Mark Gatt said.
"He is just the sort of dog who needs a bit of luck in his races, because he is not a brilliant beginner.''
The Barbara Spackman-trained duo, litter brother and sister Poppa Ogg and My Little Mate, are also Easter Egg bound after their dazzling Wentworth Park wins on Saturday night.
Poppa Ogg relished box eight and led throughout to score his 13th win in 27 starts in 29.84 while My Little Mate made the pace, was headed, but came again to win in 30.23.
"Although they are siblings their temperaments are like chalk and cheese,'' Spackman said of her pair.
"Where Poppa Ogg is over-the-top and tenacious in everything he does, his sister My Little Mate is timid and shy.''
Two Jay, trained at Grafton by Darryl Chapman, enhanced her strike rate to an imposing 23 wins from 46 races with her 29.83 success in a 520m fifth grade on Saturday.
That victory gave Chapman consolation for the injury to Two Jay's litter sister Marilena Franco, who had to be scratched on Saturday night and whose future is in doubt.
