She's A Pearl has drawn box one just once in 31 starts but despite drawing in the middle again on Friday night trainer Jodie Lord is confident her Ladbrokes Golden Easter Egg winner will win her way through to the final of the TAB Million Dollar Chase.
She's A Pearl will exit box four in the fifth "sudden death" semi-final with only the winners advancing through to the $1 million to the winner final on May 7 at Wentworth Park.
After winning the Easter Egg from box five at Wentworth Park on April 9 She's A Pearl started from box four when she defeated Good Odds Cash in a WP Free-For-All on April 20.
"Even though she has box four the draw looks good to me,'' Jodie Lord said.
"But then again, all box draws are good for this bitch.''
She's A Pearl's near flawless box manners and dazzling early speed have rendered the draw, usually so crucial in greyhound racing, almost incidental and she has got well under a 5.40 first split in four of her past five Wentworth Park wins.
Only noted front-runner opposed to She's A Pearl on Friday is the Mark Wilcox-trained Castle Warrior in box five, but he tends to run in a straight line from the boxes to the first turn and is unlikely to worry Lord's greyhound.
Wow She's Fast looked gallant in defeat when run down and second to Perth Cup winner Vice Grip at her Wentworth Park debut in last week's Million Dollar Chase heat but trainer Kel Greenough has labelled it "the worst run of her career.''
Because Wow She's Fast had won nine of a dozen races going into last week's race she had set the bar high but she was crowded in the run to the first turn and showed great determination to surge to the lead on the corner.
Greenough said: "Wow She's Fast had a few issues going into that race and the travelling up from Victoria and being in strange surroundings and a different kennel might have upset her a little.
"She came through the race okay so hopefully Wenty fans will see the real Wow She's Fast on Friday.''
Trainer Steve Kavanagh was hoping Louis Rumble would draw in the first line to be boxed - one, three, five or seven - in Friday's seventh semi-final and he got his wish with his brilliant front-runner drawing five.
"He is boxed okay so now all Louis Rumble has to do is to come out clean and get to the front,'' Kavanagh said.
"His mid-race section is usually his best so I'm hoping he can shoot away at that point.
"My main concern on Friday is the presence of Boston Garden in box six, because he has pace and goes hard left when the boxes open.''
Big Opal Rocks led quickly in his 29.64 Wentworth Park heat win from box two last week but trainer Mario Briganti is concerned about his dog getting box six on Friday.
"It is a sticky draw but this dog is as good as any I have trained, and I won the 2007 Topgun in Melbourne with Meticulous,'' Briganti said.
"Big Opal Rocks seems to like Wentworth Park because he trialled very fast at his first look there and then came out and ran 29.64 last week.
"I'm looking for a change of luck in big races here because Meticulous was unlucky in a Paws Of Thunder final at Wenty.
"He seemed as if he was about to win on the back straight when he was almost knocked to the ground by another dog.''
"I took him back to Wentworth Park on Tuesday night to give Connections a post-to-post slip and he clocked 24 seconds flat which is very quick,'' trainer Michelle Sultana said.
The other enticing clash on Friday comes in the third semi-final where Zippy Tesla (box one) meets Easter Egg runner-up Good Odds Cash (box three).
Good Odds Cash's superior early pace could prove the deciding factor although she will need to begin smartly to dodge wide runner Handsome Rhino in box two.
Friday's card also features two heats of the Wentworth Park Gold Cup with Zipping Kansas, who has box six in heat two, trialling sensationally on the eve of this race.
Trainer Jason Magri took Zipping Kansas to LADBROKES GARDENS last week for a 600m trial and the dog clocked 34.10, .08sec inside the track record.
