Nobody is more adept at turning a stayer into a winning sprinter than trainer John Finn and he is poised to notch a rare trifecta with Veloce Nero at Wentworth Park on Saturday night.
Last Saturday Finn won the feature Wentworth Park 520m event with his group 1 long-distance star Blue Moon Rising, and followed that up on Wednesday by taking out a Wenty 520m fifth grade with Blue Summer Sky, a dual 720m winner at headquarters.
Veloce Nero, winner of the Group 1 Association Cup in April, has just returned from Perth where she represented NSW in the National Distance Championship final, finishing fourth to Reidy's Runner.
Veloce Nero reverts to sprinting in Saturday night's fourth heat of the fifth grade Ladbrokes Monthly Medal series, and has a near perfect box draw.
"Paul Stuart, who was her caretaker trainer in Perth, worked Veloce Nero on Monday and she arrived back in my kennels on Wednesday,'' trainer John Finn said.
"She will be nice and fresh on Saturday night and is well drawn, she likes to be near the rails.''
Finn's greyhound should get a clear run to the first turn as Shady Max and Worby Music, the greyhounds drawn outside her in boxes three and four, are wide Runners.
It's worth noting that Veloce Nero is capable of sprinting well as in February and March last year she won three from four Wentworth Park 520m races, posting slick times of 30.16, 30.07 and a scorcing 29.87.
A drop in grade could put the luckless Mark Gatt-trained greyhound Vouchers back in the winner's circle after Saturday night's sixth heat of the Ladbrokes Monthly Medal.
Vouchers has found trouble in her recent Wentworth Park races, particularly when third, beaten four lengths, to Wynburn Lily and Benkennie Chic in a fourth and fifth class event last Saturday.
After beginning well from box four she was second going into the first turn but was badly checked and relegated to a distant fourth on the back straight.
At her previous start Vouchers had beaten all but the placegetters in a top grade Wentworth Park sprint won by Black Forge, so she plummets in class on Saturday.
"Her problem is she has been beginning well but she doesn't have the early pace to capitalise on that,'' trainer Mark Gatt said.
"Vouchers finds trouble when she gets outpaced in the run to the first turn so she makes her own bad luck.
"But she looks well drawn in box three on Saturday night and should be hard to beat if she can be sitting behind Gina Spaghetti, who could lead from box four, around the first turn.''
Rebel Sunrise was a long odds-on favourite when he won by seven lengths in a fast 29.91 at Wentworth Park on Wednesday night but Brad Field, whose wife Charmaine trains the greyhounds, warns their greyhound is not well drawn on Saturday.
Rebel Sunrise, who had box one on Wednesday, has box eight in heat two of the Ladbrokes Monthly Medal.
"We are happy with the way he is going because in four races since returning from a shoulder injury, Rebel Sunrise has not missed a place,'' Brad Field said.
"But he is not real fast early and needs to find the fence.
"When he won on Wednesday night he missed the jump badly from box one but was lucky enough to get a good rails run to go to the lead coming out of the first turn.''
Former Victorian Telegraph Road, who has had two wins and 16 placings at Wentworth Park since joining the Londonderry kennels of trainer Chris Carl, gets his chance in Saturday's third Monthly Medal heat.
After Telegraph Road finished third to Zipping Clive and Aston Duke in Wednesday's top grade 520m race, Carl said: "That was his best run since I've had him.
"He began well and got checked approaching the first corner but while he was outpaced I'm not sure how determined he was to hold his position.
"But on Saturday he drops from top to fifth grade.''
Best Bet Veloce Nero (race 4)
Best Vaue Vouchers (race 6)
Quaddie race 5 - 3, 4
Race 6 - 3, 6, 4
Race 7 - 2, 4, 3
Race 8 - 5, 1, 4
$20 for 37.03%
