King Cratos maintained his undefeated record at Wentworth Park on Saturday night and while he did not break the 30sec barrier for the first time his win was arguably the most determined of his brief career.
The Jason Magri-trained speedster dwelt at the start from box one, but charged along the rails to be disputing the lead at the first turn with Kiarni Velvet.
When that greyhound veered towards the rails she collided with King Cratos, but while both were put off balance, Magri's greyhound recovered quickly to lead clearly entering the back straight.
King Cratos held off a late burst My Bro Connor to win by a half-length, covering the 520m in 30.02sec.
King Cratos has now won each of six starts, at Bulli and WP, with his personal best time at headquarters being 29.85, recorded on February 6.
"I was pleased with the way King Cratos held his ground when he collided with Kiarni Velvet at the first turn,'' Jason Magri said later.
"When King Cratos dwelt at the start he was fortunate that the dog in box two, Athletic Lee, who began fast, did not cross sharply to the rails and crowd my greyhound.''
Time honours for Saturday night rested with the CHRIS Carl-trained Rostered On, who led throughout to defeat Eye Rock in a smart 29.91sec.
Eye Rock had relegated Rostered On to third place at Wentworth Park on February 9 but Carl's dog began brilliantly on Saturday to notch his 11th Wentworth Park win.
"Coming out running like he did won the race for Rostered On tonight,'' Carl said.
Outstanding 23 months old youngster Armatree On Fire took her record to five wins from seven starts by scoring in 30.27 for trainer CHRIStine Proctor, with husband Alan Proctor's greyhound Seaside Shuffle a strong finishing second.
"Armatree On Fire had to work to reach the lead and while her time wasn't flash tonight she was having her first start for 10 days so she should be improved by the run,'' Alan Proctor said later.
"I was pleased with Seaside Shuffle's effort because that was his first start since coming to us from Melbourne and while he had box seven tonight, he will do better from an inside draw.''
Cowra trainer Paul Braddon must have watched race three on Saturday with mixed feelings, as his greyhound Double Up Dee was beaten into second place by Ancient Secret, a Braddon-bred dog.
Braddon sold Ancient Secret to Sydney hobby owner-trainer Paul Bigeni after the dog had won two Bathurst races and Ancient Secret has now won four city races and filled 16 Wentworth Park placings for his new kennel.
