Crack Victorian trainer David Geall rates his 2019 Ladbrokes Golden Easter Egg candidate Miss Splendamiro "a length faster overall" than his 2018 final winner Up Hill Jill but considers her "a length or two slower to the first marker'' than his recently retired superstar.
Miss Splendamiro (pictured winning her Easter Egg heat this year) finished fifth from box two in Up Hill Jill's Easter Egg last year and joined Geall's kennels late last year.
She will exit box eight in Saturday night's Group 1 Easter Egg final, worth $250,000 to the winner, at Wentworth Park.
"Miss Splendamiro is stronger at the finish but Up Hill Jill's early speed won the big races for her,'' Geall said.
"Although Miss Splendamiro has won five of 11 starts from box eight, I would have preferred her drawn anywhere from boxes one to five on Saturday.
"It is always a battle at Group 1 level to win from box eight, especially as Federal Lilly, who has box five this week, seems to be bullet-proof at the start.
"In their semi-finals Miss Splendamiro recorded .01sec faster than Federal Lilly to the first marker, but that greyhound has the advantage of being drawn inside us in the final.
"I would much rather have box five as Federal Lilly seems well drawn.
"At the first turn Miss Splendamiro will need to be three-quarters of a length in front of either Federal Lilly or Black Opium, who has box one, if she is to win.
"Miss Splendamiro is good enough to take out a Group 1 and she certainly deserves one as she has been a finalist in the Brisbane Cup, Australian Cup, Paws Of Thunder and last year's Easter Egg as well as qualifying as first reserve for a Melbourne Cup.''
Rank outsider for the Easter Egg is Banjo Tifia, who is raced by the 11-strong Pale Ale Syndicate and is in the kennels of Nowra hobby trainer CHRIS O'Brien, proprietor of a bobcat and tipper company.
"Just being in an Easter Egg final is fantastic, whatever happens on Saturday night will be a bonus,'' O'Brien said.
"The second dog I trained, Chappo, won races between 2006 and 2008 and attracted the attention of a group of mates who asked me to buy them a greyhound.
"Their pup, which raced as Tifi, won several races and became the dam of Tifia">Tifia, who ran a race record winning the group 3 Magic Maiden at Wentworth Park in 2012.
"Now Tifia's daughter Tifia">Banjo Tifia is in a Group 1 final and the thrill is still sinking in with me.
"Banjo Tifia obviously has the job ahead to win, especially from box four, but anything can happen once they leave the boxes and I'll be hoping our greyhound can pinch a break through some scrimmaging at the first turn.''
Fast beginner Irinka Lizzy is another Easter Egg outsider but well positioned in box two after making the early pace before finishing second in her heat and semi-final.
"She is a really honest little toiler,'' said her trainer "Jack'' Smith.
Smith from FORBES, has the distinction of having starters in three of Saturday night's major finals, the Group 1 Easter Egg and Association Cup, and the Group 3 New Sensation.
Smith has qualified with Little Digger (box two) in the Cup and with Feral Franky (box one) in the New Sensation.
While he has been highly successful with greyhounds for the past 15 years, his ambition was to become a horse trainer until his father Ronnie died when Smith was 12 years old.
"My family was into horses but when dad died we could no longer afford to keep them so switched to dogs,'' Smith recalled.
"When my uncle, John Finn, a greyhound enthusiast, came to live with us, we reared and educated History Lesson, who won 30 from 71 races with John as trainer.
"Then we borrowed a bitch called Jackie Rooster, mated her to History Lesson, and bred Irinka Barbie, who was also trained by John Finn and won the 2004 Group 1 Association Cup before being named 2004 Greyhound of the Year.''
