Easter Egg winner does it again ... but faster

By Jeff Collerson

Zipping Bailey, who had come from last to win the group 1 Ladbrokes Golden Easter Egg a week earlier, staged an identical thrilling performance to take out Saturday night's Free-For-All at Wentworth Park.

The Jason MACKAY-trained Zipping Bailey took her record to 16 wins from 32 starts, stopping the clock for the 520m at 29.70s, best time of the night and .22s faster than she took to land the Easter Egg.

Tap Out Dusty made the pace from Catch Me Curly to the home bend where Zipping Bailey had surged along the rails to be third.

The Easter Egg winner powered along the inside to score by a half head from Tap Out Dusty, with Catch Me Curly less than a length away third in an old-fashioned "blanket'' finish.

Ken Peddie, who caught Zipping Bailey on behalf of the MACKAY kennel, said later: "I was in the catching pen and at the first turn she was nailed to the rails.

"I was thinking 'this might get ugly' because there wasn't much room for her but Zipping Bailey kept driving up along the inside and stayed out of trouble.''

Having two vacant boxes on her left helped the consistently fast beginner Good Odds Meghan lead throughout in a 520m fifth grade, recording a brilliant 29.86sec, easily her best WP time.

Owner Tracey Hurst, who handled Good Odds Meghan for her husband Frank, the greyhound's trainer, said: "Our bitch moved slightly to the left when she jumped so having room to move with those empty boxes definitely helped her get a clear run.''

Another consistent greyhound, Miley Nismo, notched her eighth win in a dozen outings for owner-trainer Nichole Mason with an all-the-way effort in another 520m fifth grade.

Miley Nismo won easily in 29.80, second quickest time of the meeting.

Flying Ella, who broke down at her only previous Wentworth Park race, showed she was well and truly on the way back by leading throughout in a 520m fifth grade, recording a slick 29.96.

Vic Sultana, whose son Darren trains Flying Ella, said: "She was a $1.35 favourite in a race at Wentworth Park in November but went poorly, finishing fourth in a field of four.

"After the race she was found to have partially 'dropped' a hind leg muscle, which explained her disappointing performance.

"So it was good to see her back in form again tonight.''

Little Jebrynah posted her personal best Wentworth Park figures of 29.81 when she led throughout in a 520m masters' event for trainer Ruth Matic, after being backed in from $2.10 to $1.75.

Little Jebrynah, who turned four in February, has had only 40 starts but now boasts a 50 per cent winning strike rate.

The other greyhound to land a betting plunge on Saturday was the Leanne Grimwood-trained Princess Zesta, who was in front from start to finish in a 520m fifth grade, clocking 30.03.

"We thought she could win at her previous WP start on April 17 but she finished third,'' Grimwood's husband Geoff said.

"I'm not sure what happened but think she must have got onto another dog's heels at the first turn because she ran off, something she never does, as Princess Zesta is such a good railer.''

After going straight to the lead on Saturday, Princess Zesta railed perfectly to win comfortably.