Wednesday night's Wentworth Park card doesn't have the glamourous allure of Saturday's TAB Million Dollar Chase meeting which featured a swag of group and listed finals, but it does mark the keenly anticipated long-distance debut for exciting sprint and middle distance performer Tiger Jack.
A kennelmate of the mighty She's A Pearl, Tiger Jack has box two in Wednesday night's Ladbroke It! Stakes, a 720m fifth grade.
The dog is coming off four successive wins over 600m at Dapto and 520m at Wentworth Park and will be sent out a red hot favourite despite his lack of experience as a stayer.
Trainer Jodie Lord is confident Tiger Jack will "get" the tough Wentworth Park 720m trip, commenting: "I'm pretty sure he will run it out strongly.
"Anyone who has been watching his Dapto 600m wins would have to be convinced Tiger Jack is going to be a stayer.
"In all his races he pulls up like he has not had a run, and the next morning he seems as if he is ready to go around again.''
Tiger Jack is well positioned in box two, with his toughest opponent likely to be former Queenslander Oh Oh Range, who is in the kennels of veteran Grafton trainer Dave Irwin.
Oh Oh Range was having only his second start over a middle distance when a fast finishing winner over 630m at Ipswich on April 14.
After jumping cleanly from box one, Oh Oh Range was checked off the heels of pacemaker She's In Clover but after giving that greyhound several lengths start in the middle stages, rattled home along the rails to win running away.
Oh Oh Range covered the 630m in a handy 37.39, and looks well placed in box one on Wednesday.
Chris Arletos, who had the lightly raced Zambidis in Saturday's Million Dollar Chase, looks to have Wednesday's best bet with his big race finalist's litter sister Black Fox.
Usually a fast beginner, Black Fox had box four when she came from fourth early to beat all but Sharky's Wish in last Saturday night's opening race, 520m fifth grade.
Black Fox is drawn more suitably in box two in Wednesday's Congratulations French Martini Stakes, a similar class event, and trainer Chris Arletos expects her to run a big race.
"Black Fox went up with the lids and came down on her nose when she jumped on Saturday so her run was very good,'' Arletos said.
"In hindsight I pulled the wrong rein by giving her a stir-up before the race.
"I was undecided but I figured that because she had box four she might need a stir-up to help her begin fast.
"But the stir-up had the opposite effect, it got her too worked up and caused her to miss the kick.
"Naturally I won't be letting her watch the pre-race stir-up this time.''
Trainer Barry Gibbons concedes he was asking a lot of his bitch Miss Hilo when she made her WP debut in a heat of the group 3 Evans & Son Jewellers Ladies Bracelet on April 30 but was happy with her third placing to Ties That Bind.
Ties That Bind went into that event as a winner of seven races at Wentworth Park and led all the way before being runner-up to French Martini in a fast-run Bracelet final on Saturday.
In her Bracelet heat Miss Hilo showed good early zip by trailing Ties That Bind through the catching pen before finishing third, beaten just over six lengths.
"Miss Hilo had one look at Wenty before the Bracelet heat and she is capable of running quick sections there, but it was asking a lot to put her in a group race at her first race on the track,'' Barry Gibbons said.
"She was probably a bit short of a run too and even though she finished fifth over 324m up the Richmond straight on Saturday that run can be forgotten.
"The winner, Mr America, crashed towards the rails and put his shoulder into Miss Hilo and that was the end of her.''
