Tornado Tears has been installed a $1.65 favourite despite drawing poorly in box six in Friday night's final of the $250,000 Sandown Cup, the world's richest long-distance race.
Tornado Tears won his 715m heat last Thursday in 41.35, ninth fastest Time recorded, while Ella Enchanted won in 41.54 with Queensland's Bago Bye Bye successful in 41.84.
Ella Enchanted, trained in Victoria by Brooke Ennis for Sydney's Mark Alati, is at $3.80 after drawing box three while Bago Bye Bye (box two) is a $4.40 chance.
Cranebrook trainer John Finn has qualified his champion stayer Poco Dorado in box eight and with her littermates Two Times Twice and Blue Moon Rising in boxes four and five.
Finn's wife Minnie said: "Poco Dorado upset Tornado Tears at The Meadows and at Wentworth Park and she could do it again now that she has drawn her favourite box.''
Connections of Poco Dorado, who clocked the fastest first split and set up a big early lead before weakening to finish second to Ella Enchanted in her heat, are confident she will be a much fitter greyhound in the final.
Ella Enchanted is a relative newcomer to long-distance racing and keen judges consider her the one to beat in the Cup final.
Tornado Tears won last year's Cup from box seven and trainer Robert Britton reckons his champ, also NSW-owned, is going just as well now.
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TRAINER Michael Clayton deemed his dashing youngster Bit Flash not ready to tackle the 525m of Friday's Graeme Hull Memorial Wagga Cup but the dog was the talk of the track after posting near record Time in a 400m event.
Bit Flash began only fairly from box eight but worked his way across to the rails and ran away with a heat of the Butch Pertzel Memorial 22.76, clearly fastest qualifying Time and just .11sec outside Cosmic Prince's course record.
Bit Flash gave Clayton, on the road to recovery from a serious illness, a winning double.
Ella The Weapon, a greyhound he trains for Tahmoor owner-breeder Neville Brown, won a heat of the Men Of League Challenge over 320m in 18.47, again in quickest qualifying figures.
"Bit Flash's owners had a ticket for the Sandown Launching Pad series in April but I got very sick on the eve of that race,'' Clayton said.
"We had to send the dog to Melbourne with another trainer and Bit Flash was unplaced in three starts there.
"When he came home I was back out of hospital but gave the dog a freshen-up.
"The Wagga Cup had been an option but because of the let-up Bit Flash was not ready to go over 525m, so I instead entered him for the 400m Butch Pertzel heats.
"I expected him to win last Friday because I trialled him at Wagga before the heats and he clocked 22.92.
"Bit Flash is a dog which needs a look at a track before he races, so I thought he could improve in Friday's heat and he certainly did.
"Time is on my side with him because he is just 23 months of age, so I plan to give him a couple more 400m starts before getting him over 520 metres.''
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LONDONDERRY trainer Frank Hurst looks to have a stranglehold on the Graeme Hull Memorial Gold Cup at Wagga with this two entries, siblings Good Odds Meghan and Good Odds Buddy, clocking fastest heat Times.
Good Odds Meghan led throughout to win cover the 525m in 30.10 while Good Odds Buddy, after being near the back of the field approaching the first turn, swept around his rivals to win in 30.14.
While Good Odds Meghan, a brilliant beginner, had box five in her heat and Good Odds Buddy drew eight, Hurst said: "If one of them happens to draw box one in the final I think I'll be taking home the winner.''
