NATHAN Evans has ridden over 400 winners in Queensland, mostly at TOOWOOMBA and on the country circuit, but he gets his chance to land his first group race as a greyhound trainer on Saturday night.
Evans and fellow jockey Emma Ljung own Femme Folle who sprang a surprise by leading throughout to win her heat of the group 3 Ladbrokes Christmas Gift last Saturday in a slick 29.97sec and she has box three in Saturday night's Wentworth Park final.
"I would have preferred to see Femme Folle drawn wide but she went so well in her heat she is in with a chance,'' Evans said.
"She had never seen Wentworth Park before last Saturday's heat and I was surprised at how quick she got out of box five and the pace she showed to lead all the way.
"Femme Folle was a bit wild and stupid as a pup so she got her name for the French translation of 'crazy woman.'
"I had owned a greyhound with Queensland trainer Tom Tzouvelis and when he bred Femme Folle he sold her to me as a puppy for $4,000.
"Training greyhounds has always interested me.''
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EXTREME Chance must surely lay claim to being NSW's "winningest'' greyhound after notching her 47th victory at Temora on Saturday.
Extreme Chance, who had box one, "came out running'' as she normally does and won easily, covering the 330m in 18.93sec, best time of the meeting.
"She was four lengths in front after the field had gone a couple of metres,'' Jack Roy, whose wife Lorraine trains Extreme Chance, said.
"The longest race she has won was over 440m at Canberra and she could possibly 'pinch' a weak 520m race at Wentworth Park.
"But I don't think she could go any quicker than 30.40sec there so she would need to find the right race.''
Extreme Chance, who turns five next month, has now earned over $47,000 on bush tracks where she has faced the starter 131 times for 47 wins, 38 seconds and 20 thirds, a truly remarkable achievement.
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Ebby Ripper's 100th racetrack appearance has had to be put on hold with the long-distance marvel sustaining a minor injury in Saturday night's Group 3 Summer Cup final at Wentworth Park.
Ebby Ripper, who went into Saturday's 99th start boasting a record of 25 wins, 22 seconds and 19 thirds, finished unplaced to Poco Dorado in race record time.
She had been set to ring up race number 100 in the Newcastle Cup at LADBROKES GARDENS on Friday but that milestone has had to be put on the back-burner.
"Ebby Ripper should be back in action by February but will have only a few more starts before motherhood calls,'' her breeder and trainer Michael Eberand said.
"I am planning to select an American sire to be her first mating as the best USA stud dogs tend to infuse their offspring with soundness and strength.
"At this stage I am considering a son of the great American sire KC And All.''
