Club Double won his heat from box seven but trainer Neil Staines is "perfectly happy'' with his greyhound's box three draw in Wednesday night's Taylor Family & Clarence Valley Sheds Maiden Classic at Grafton.
In his nine lengths heat romp Club Double (pictured) clocked 23.04sec, equivalent to four lengths faster than the figures posted by second quickest qualifier Nangar Phantom, who covered the 407m in 23.32sec.
"Club Double pulled up well after last Monday's heat and I am perfectly happy with box three in the final,'' trainer Staines said.
"I sent some of my team on the 12 hours trip from my kennels at Yass to trial at Grafton before the July carnival began but Club Double was not among them.
"He had been trialling the house down at home but pulled up sore after a hit-out so could not make the trip to trial and familiarise himself with the Grafton track.
"That being the case it was a great effort for him to lead all the way and run such quick time in his heat.''
Nangar Phantom is badly positioned in box six because trainer Dennis Barnes said the dog tends to veer left when the lids lift.
Nangar Phantom could cause problems for Nangar Fever, trained by Barnes' son-in-law Chris Spratt, as that greyhound has drawn five after winning his heat from box one in 23.36sec.
"Nangar Fever goes quick early so maybe he can jump in front of Nangar Phantom to avoid them colliding,'' Barnes said.
"However you look at this race though, Club Double looks extremely hard to beat.''
The Maiden Classic is worth $15,000 to the winner while Wednesday night's Grafton card also features finals of the $7000 for first Village Green Hotel Sprinters Cup (407m) and the $6000 Ladbrokes Distance (610m).
There is little between the three fastest Cup heat winners, with Cosmic Bonus and Bogan Bomber winning in 23.09 and Spookie Dynamic recording 23.10.
Bogan Bomber is a kennelmate of Club Double and trainer Neil Staines will also be represented in the Cup by Bogan Way.
"My pair are quick once they get going but have sometimes led me down at the start,'' Staines said.
"Although Bogan Bomber's form is better he is only a fraction quicker than Bogan Way.
"I am hoping for an inside box for Bogan Bomber and a wide alley for his brother when the draw is made tomorrow.''
Cosmic Bonus, who took out this year's group 2 Woy Woy Poultry Gold Cup at Gosford, will be chasing his 31st win in 66 races when he tackles Wednesday's Village Green Cup final.
Cosmic Bonus is owned and trained by Evelyn Harris, who bred the greyhound from her bitch Dark And Stormy.
Harris and husband Len won a 610m Grafton Cup with Dark And Stormy's mother All Display, who was a daughter of Another Bonus, who produced the winners of a remarkable 400 races from two litters.
"Cosmic Bonus is no champion but is a handy dog,'' Len Harris said in a classic under-statement.
"He had not raced over the 407m trip until he won his Village Green Cup heat but Evelyn and I educated him from those boxes at Grafton.
"Before he began racing Cosmic Bonus clocked 23.18, 22.87 and then 22.62 in 407m trials there so we always knew he could run fast time.''
The Harrises, who bought their first greyhound 50 years ago, train out of Whitemans Creek, a 12 minutes drive from the Grafton track.
"It's a nice change from where we usually race, at Albion Park, Queensland, or Wentworth Park in Sydney, as they are just under five hours and nine hours respectively from our place,'' Evelyn Harris said.
Evelyn Harris also has BETTY BOO Bonus, a younger half-sister to Cosmic Bonus, in box two in Wednesday's Maiden Classic.
BETTY BOO Bonus took 23.56sec to win her heat so needs to improve sharply if she is to trouble hot favourite Club Double in the final.
Box draw for the Maiden Classic is 1 Bugatti Reign 2 BETTY BOO Bonus 3 Club Double 4 Shake My World 5 Nangar Fever 6 Nangar Phantom 7 Hip Hop Hope 8 Bugatti Speed with reserves Walkaway Plastic and Kiarni Digger.
