Poke The Bear, widely considered Victoria's best sprinter, was unplaced at his only Wentworth Park start but is set to show his real form there on Saturday night and notch his 26th win in 46 races.
Poke The Bear, who has box three in heat two of the GRNSW + Ladbrokes Million Dollar Chase, has earned over $210,000 and is poised to add another $5800 to that tally at the weekend.
"His only Wentworth Park race was in a heat of the Golden Easter Egg on March 17 but that run can be forgotten as Poke The Bear was skittled when caught on the outside of a wide runner at the first turn,'' Jason Thompson, whose wife Seona trains the greyhound, said.
"Poke The Bear has won three of his past four outings at Sandown and The Meadows and since his last race on September 16 he has trialled at Warragul and gone as quick as he has ever recorded.''
Seona Thompson will also be represented in Saturday's Million Dollar Chase heats by Despacito, who has box one in heat one and Azkaban (box four, heat four) along with Panhandle Slim, who will exit box eight in the wentworthpark.com.au Stakes, a 520m fifth grade.
"Despacito wants box one so is well drawn and while he is not a flying machine to the first turn he has enough early pace to be able to make full use of his inside alley,'' Jason Thompson said.
"Azkaban is slow early so it doesn't make much difference what box he draws.
"His chances depend on what sort of run he gets through the field but he does not appear to be in a particularly tough heat so his strength at the finish gives him a chance.
"Panhandle Slim is perfectly positioned in his race because he is a dead set pink box greyhound.''
Western Australia's West On Augie, who won this year's National Sprint Championship at Melbourne's Sandown Park on August 24, makes his Wentworth Park debut in heat five of the Million Dollar Chase.
Crack Victorian trainer Robert Britton, who is training West On Augie, said: "I trialled him at Wentworth Park recently and his time was fairly disappointing.
"But West On Augie also was below his best at his first trial at Sandown but then came out and won the National Championship there,'' Britton said.
"He improved sharply at his second look at Sandown and he might be one of those dogs which needs to have a run on a track before showing his true ability.
"West On Augie should only need room to move from box four to be very competitive on Saturday.''
Britton also has Wentworth Park newcomers Slingshot Whippa in heat one of the Chase and that greyhound's litter brother Slingshot Hammer in heat four.
Britton rates Slingshot Whippa as by far the better chance of that duo.
"Slingshot Whippa is very quick early and when he comes out of the boxes cleanly he is very hard to beat for the lead at the first corner,'' Britton said.
"He is improving all the time too and in the past month he has gone from being a 29.60 dog at Sandown to being able to clock 29.34 there.
"Slingshot Hammer is a different type of dog because he can be tardy in the early stages and I'm not sure how he will handle box seven at his first Wentworth Park race.
"I would have preferred to see him drawn nearer the rails.''
Best prospect of a NSW victory in Saturday's Chase qualifiers comes in heat three where the JODIE Lagogiane-trained Set To Storm, in box six, and Sharron Webster's Lagoon Rhett, drawn in three, tackle champion Victorian bitch Up Hill Jill (pictured).
Up Hill Jill has box eight and has won only two of her seven starts wearing the pink rug, while Set To Storm runs her best races when drawn wide.
Set To Storm has not raced for a month but clocked near record time of 29.27sec winning at LADBROKES GARDENS on August 24 and has the speed to lead around the crucial first bend on Saturday night.
Lagoon Rhett made the pace but was surprisingly run down when a close third to Zipping Tayla and Benkennie Chic in the Group 1 Dapto Megastar over 520m on September 20.
"I really like the way Lagoon Rhett is drawn on Saturday and blame myself for him leading but getting tired in the big race at Dapto,'' Sharron Webster's husband Ray said.
"We kept him very fresh for that race to enhance his ability to be in front at the first turn but might have been too easy on him in the week leading up to the final and he went down by a length.''
Best Bet Miss Splendamiro (race 2)
Best Value Slingshot Whippa (race 4)
Quaddie race 5 - 3, 1, 5
Race 6 - 6, 2, 8
Race 7 - 4, 7, 3
Race 8 - 4, 3
$20 for 37.03%
