Harada ready for the opening MDC final

By Jeff Collerson

Good Odds Harada pulled up well after his near track record performance winning his heat of the Million Dollar Chase at Bathurst on Monday and will exit the same draw, box six, in Saturday's regional final at Kennerson Park.

On Monday the Frank Hurst-trained Good Odds Harada led throughout in 29.30, just .06sec outside Paul and Pam Braddon's Falcon's Fury's course record for the 520m journey.

And while Good Odds Harada defeated the Braddons' Double Up Dee by 10 lengths in his heat, Hurst rates that dog the one to beat on Saturday night.

"Double Up Dee is a talented greyhound and he will get a good run from box one,'' Hurst said.

"Obviously I want Good Odds Harada to win again but as long as finishes in the first four and moves through to the next round of the Chase I'll be happy.''

Hurst was unlucky not to land a double at Bathurst last Monday with Good Odds Meghan, a litter sister to his Million Dollar Chase heat winner, a certainty beaten in a 450m race.

"Good Odds Meghan is going well and will have a crack at the Dapto heats of the Million Dollar Chase on Thursday night,'' Hurst said.

"She can't draw a box though and has drawn four at Dapto.''

                                                                                     xxxx

Solar Sky, who took out the other Bathurst Chase heat, has drawn box five in Saturday night's regional final.

Feral Franky's trainer Jack Smith set Solar Sky for the Bathurst race saying "she loves the Bathurst track.''

Smith was spot on yet again with Solar Sky coming from third going through the catching pen and second on the back straight to lead for home before scoring comfortably in 29.77sec.

Unlucky in her race was runner-up Buck's Future, who bungled the start from box six and was skittled when making up ground on the back straight.

"Buck's Future has drawn box seven in Saturday's final but although he won the group 1 Paws Of Thunder in January at Wentworth Park from that draw, he badly wants an inside alley, especially at Bathurst,'' trainer Syd Swain said.

"I had been giving him box practice before the heats last Monday so I won't be doing that again as he came out worse than ever.

"He is going better now than when he won the Paws Of Thunder and his run was super last Monday because when he got checked on the back straight I thought he was going to fall.

"I am looking forward to seeing him jump cleanly one night to find out how quick he can go.

"If he doesn't finish in the first four on Saturday night, I will take him to LADBROKES GARDENS for the heats there on September 21.''

                                                                                    xxxx

Dapto will stage three heats of the Million Dollar Chase tomorrow (Thursday) night with Good Odds Buddy, another sibling of Harada and Meghan, representing the Frank Hurst kennel in heat three.

Good Odds Buddy has box six while the most fascinating heat is the opening affair where Lavish Pedro has box one, Show Business two, Zombie three and Furious Not Fast in box four.

Lavish Pedro won brilliantly at WP last Saturday night for trainer Jeff Alaban and he has that dog and his equally talented What Time Smoko contesting the Dapto heats.

If Alaban is disappointed at Dapto he plans to take his talented duo to Nowra for the Chase qualifiers on September 16.