Midnight Joyce has not won in five starts from box one but the Mark Swift-trained stayer looks poised to break her "duck'' from the rails alley in Saturday night's $10,000 to the winner Ladbrokes Monthly Medal final.
Midnight Joyce came from box four to win her 720m heat last Saturday by 10 lengths in 42.73, while the other heats were taken out by Double Sweetness in 42.53 and Zipping Enid in 42.79.
It seems astonishing that Midnight Joyce has not won from box one because the greyhound has thrown away several races through her enthusiastic attempts to reach the rails.
"She has been placed in four of her five starts from box one but for some reason has not won one,'' trainer Swift said.
"But I'm happy to see her wearing the red rug on Saturday because all she ever wants to do is get to the fence.
"On Sunday, the day after her heat win, she was jumping out of her skin so much I was wishing I had her in a 618m race at Bathurst the next day.
"Now she has to make use of her good inside draw on Saturday because I have a high regard for Zipping Irene, who was a fast finishing second in Zipping Enid's heat.
"On her night Zipping Irene can be something pretty special so I will be hoping she is not too close to Midnight Joyce coming to the home turn, because she can flash home.''
Swift, a Lithgow coal-miner, knows what it takes to train a stayer as he won the 2013 National Distance Championship with Smart Valentino.
Zipping Potter, back in town after a fast finishing second in Monday night's group 1 Hume Cup final over 600m at The Meadows, will exit box one for the first time in his career in Saturday's Family Fun Night Stakes, a 520m fourth grade.
"It's incredible that Zipping Potter will be having his 40th start and this will be his first race from box one,'' trainer Jason Magri said.
"He might wonder what he is doing on the rails but he does have a good record from box two, he has won four of six starts from that alley.
"Saturday's draw looks okay because Poacher and Jet Jackson, who have boxes two and three, usually show good early pace so hopefully they will get out of his way early.
"If Zipping Potter is within a few lengths of the leaders on the back straight he will be hard to hold off because he pulled up well after his Melbourne trip, where he won a heat of the Hume Cup before being runner-up in the final.''
Fire On Ice, who won first-up at WP on September 18, was a brilliant all-the-way winner over 515m at Gosford on Tuesday night and will back up in Saturday's second heat of the Beast Unleashed At Stud series, a 520m fifth grade.
Fire On Ice led throughout in her Gosford race debut, scoring easily in the smart time of 29.62sec.
"I trialled her there on the previous Thursday and she only recorded 29.93 so she found plenty with the run on the track,'' trainer Mark Moroney said.
"I had been a bit worried because she had box six and the handler of the dog in box seven told me his dog crashes left at the start.
"But I need not have been concerned because Fire On Ice came out running, just like she did when she won her first race at Wenty.
"She pulled up well after Tuesday's Gosford win and is spot on for Saturday night.''
Best Bet Fire On Ice (race 3)
Best Value Midnight Joyce (race 5)
Quaddie race 5 - 1, 6, 7
Race 6 - 2, 5
Race 7 - 1, 2, 3
Race 8 - 8, 1, 4
$20 for 37.03%
