Chris Carl is only a hobby breeder but he went within a few centimetres of landing a triple dead-heat with three siblings he owns and bred at Wentworth Park on Wednesday night.
In a 520m fifth grade Let's All Chant, owned and trained by Carl, a Londonderry breeder, got up in the last stride to beat her litter brother Sly Dunbar by a half head with their litter sister Almost Famous, who set the pace, a nose away third.
Carl bred the trio by mating his former handy race bitch Rhythm Section with Moreira and while he owns each of the placegetters, he trains only the winner with his pal Sam Simonetta training the second and third greyhounds on his behalf.
"It was pretty exciting standing behind the boxes watching the three of them go down the straight head and head,'' Carl said.
"I didn't know where to look but it was a good result because I train the winner, although I wouldn't have complained if it had been a triple deat-heat, wouldn't that have been something else!"
Lisa Worthy has a double chance of cracking her biggest win in 35 years as a trainer when she takes litter brothers Apollo Speed and Special Star to Goulburn for Friday's Goulburn Workers Club Fireball final.
Worthy, who trains out of Kings Plains, a tiny village seven kilometres from Blayney and with a population of just 117, has a busy 24 hours ahead as her 2021 group 1 Vic Peters Classic finalist Barton has qualified for Saturday's Lithgow Golden Muzzle final.
In last week's Fireball heats, Apollo Speed led all the way from box three and covered the 350m in 19.86, fastest of the five qualifying races, while Special Star exited box two before storming home from midfield to score in 19.97.
Apollo Speed has the better draw in the $25,000 to the winner final, coming up with box two while Special Star has drawn four.
"Special Star is actually the faster of my pair but he doesn't possess the box pace of Apollo Speed,'' Worthy said.
"Apollo Speed is almost faultless as far as box manners and early speed goes.
"After winning four races Apollo Speed contested the 2021 heats of the Fireball but pulled up sore after his race and after he had a couple of months off I decided to set him for this year's Goulburn race.''
Going into tomorrow's final, Apollo Speed boasts the outstanding record of 21 wins and 12 placings from 36 starts while Special Star's record is 12 wins and a dozen placings from 31 appearances.
Worthy, whose late father Barry Curle was a successful and highly popular trainer over five decades, secured her Fireball finalists after borrowing a brood bitch from famous Cowra breeder and trainer Paul Braddon.
She explained: "In late 2019 Paul had three bitches due to be mated around the same time so he loaned one of them, Hope's A Chance, to me.
"He paid the service fee to Aston Dee Bee and I whelped the litter in December 2019 and reared them on my property.
"Hope's A Chance produced nine pups and Paul gave four of them to me.
"They included Apollo Speed and Special Star but the whole litter can run because one of the pups Paul received, Digger's Magic, broke the Bathurst 307m record in April.''
Digger's Magic has won 18 races while his siblings raced by Braddon include Clare A Chance, winner of 14 races, Sandy's Hope, who has won seven of 12 starts and Daniella Magic, winner of five from 12 races.
Bridie's Sugars, one of the four pups retained by Worthy, has recorded seven wins and will exit box four in race four at Goulburn tomorrow.
