When Rachel's Revenge broke the 30s barrier for the first time at Wentworth Park on Saturday night, it was a classic case of de ja vu for her owner-trainer Joe Sciberras.
After she came from fourth at box rise and second on the back straight, Rachel's Revenge hit the front at the top of the straight and came away to win easily, covering the 520m in a personal best 29.95s.
An excited Sciberras later pointed out: "My mate Billy Grech handled Rachel's Revenge for me tonight and he also handled her grandmother Our Layla when she got under 30s for the first time.
"I owned and trained Our Layla but Billy was her handler when she clocked 29.95s on Christmas Eve, 2011, in one of her eight wins.
"It's uncanny how both Our Layla and her grand-daughter clocked identical times and this has given me a tremendous thrill, especially as Billy has been involved on each occasion.''
The Dennis Barnes-trained Nangar Gold smashed the Lithgow 506m record in taking out her heat of the Golden Muzzle at the re-opening of the famous western districts track on Saturday.
Nangar Gold covered the trip in 29.06, well inside the old record shared by Nimble Lee and Viva Lalee at 29.26.
Nangar Gold won on debut at Wentworth Park in a slick 30.03 in June and her Lithgow success took her recent record to five wins from her past six starts.
Other Golden Muzzle heats were won by the Paul Roach-trained Fernando Porche in 29.30 and the speedy Cheeky Lass, prepared by Tony Messina, in 29.53.
It was fitting that veteran trainer Syd Swain, who has been among the staunchest and most vocal supporters of a return of Lithgow as a racing facility, won a race on Saturday.
Swain's bitch Flaming Lady won the Harry Hampson Memorial, named in honour of the former Sydney, and more recently Lithgow trainer, who won the 1998 group 1 Paws Of Thunder at WP with NZ bitch Waiwera Marika.
Lilly Banner (pictured), winner of this year's Group 1 Peter Mosman Opal at Wentworth Park, had to be scratched from Saturday night's Wentworth Park fixture due to coming in season and has been retired.
"She will be mated immediately with Fernando Bale,'' owner-trainer Barry Gibbons said.
"Although she only turned two in March my father, also Barry, runs our greyhound business with me and he is against over-racing bitches if they are good enough for breeding.
"We gave early retirement to Galaxy Banner, who is still not quite four years old, and she has a litter by Fernando Bale which are six months old and are the most impressive puppies I have seen.
"They look as if they are almost ready to race so when we were deciding who to mate Lilly Banner with, it was a no-brainer for Fernando Bale.''
Galaxy Banner had 20 wins and 22 placings from 62 starts while Lilly Banner retires with 18 wins and 13 placings from 43 racetrack appearances.
Gibbons and his father, who raced the 2003 Group 1 Association Cup winner Big Sam Banner, breed, whelp, raise, educate and train their greyhounds on their property at Cranebrook in western Sydney.
