Benkennie Chic earned a nomination for this week's Group 1 Dapto Megastar heats with her blistering 29.50sec win over the South Coast track's 520m trip last Thursday.
The Peter Mantach-trained Benkennie Chic began cleanly from box one and led throughout, winning easily in time which was just .16sec wide of the course record.
Benkennie Chic has now won four of her six races wearing the red rug but trainer Mantach said she is "now using her brain more'' in handling all box draws.
"I wasn't surprised she was able to run such fast time on Thursday because she went straight to the front, that made all the difference,'' Mantach said.
"Earlier in her career Benkennie Chic would charge hard left from the starting boxes but now she tends to work her way across to the fence.
"Tackling the Megastar has always been the plan and that was why I took her back to Dapto last Thursday after she had won there in 29.75sec at the previous meeting there.''
xxxx
LAST Thursday night's other fast Dapto winner Sunburnt Highway will also be entered for the Group 1 Megastar and trainer Judith Richardson believes he can improve on his latest win.
Sunburnt Highway began smartly from box one to win in a fast 29.66sec on Thursday, after having scored in 29.93sec and 29.87sec at his previous Dapto outings.
When Sunburnt Highway scored last week it was the first time the dog had saluted the judge in six starts from the rails box and he could have gone slightly quicker had he not stepped right and collided slightly at the first turn.
"Even though he won from box one last week I don't want him on the rails in the Megastar heats, he is better suited drawn wide,'' Richardson said.
"If he misses the jump from an inside box Sunburnt Highway could find trouble at the first turn because he will want to move wide.
"At the same time he is pushing up better than he did when he was younger as previously he would ease off if he was crowded in trying to shift off at the first turn.
"A big factor in his improved form is that I have taken a fair bit of weight off him.
"Sunburnt Highway is such a good 'doer' it is hard to keep his weight down but I have been working on that and he was 31.4kg last Thursday, down from as much as 31.9kgs and 32.1kgs a few runs back.''
xxxx
Big Daddy Bee (pictured), the 2017 National Derby winner and one of the sport's most versatile campaigners, returns to racing at Bathurst this afternoon.
When the Raymond Smith-trained greyhound failed to finish in a 720m race at Wentworth Park on July 28 racegoers feared the worst.
But after the dog cooled down Smith said confidently: "Things aren't as bad as it looked and I expect him to make a full recovery.''
Big Daddy Bee's 18 wins underline his ability to handle a wide range of distances, as he has won over 400m, 520m, 535m, 605m, 610m, 700m and 720m.
Big Daddy Bee, who has box five, is one of Smith's three runners in today's 618m fourth and fifth grade race, with the dog's kennelmates Irinka Milo and Pixel Pak drawn in seven and eight.
The Lynne Aldous-trained Princess Nala, an impressive last start winner over 618m at Richmond, is expected to start favourite from her ideal box one draw.
