Punter's Bandit, a daughter of Good Odds Harada, will be all the rage for Saturday night's $13,000 to the winner final of the race named after her sire following her dazzling heat win at Wentworth Park on Saturday.
The Andy Lord-trained bitch led throughout from box eight to clock a sensational 29.49 in her nine lengths winning romp.
Those figures were well inside Punter's Bandit's quickest of her previous five Wentworth Park wins when she recorded 29.68, from box seven, on October 5.
Punter's Bandit has drawn box seven in Saturday night's final and is entitled to be an odds-on favourite considering her two fastest Wentworth Park times have been from outside draws.
Saturday's heat win came nine days after she finished only third in her middle-distance debut over 600m at Dapto.
But trainer Andy Lord said: "Punter's Bandit had never seen the Dapto track before that race and even though she was beaten, I'm still convinced her real future is going to be over middle and long distances.
"Punter's Bandit is only two years old and until she went to Dapto, the only tracks she had seen were Goulburn and Wentworth Park.''
Lord has three finalists in the Good Odds Harada Cup as he also won heats with Canya Smoke Them in 29.86 and Grim Madara in 29.92.
It was Canya Smoke Them's fifth successive Wentworth Park win while Grim Madara broke through after being placed in seven of his previous 10 Wentworth Park appearances.
Lord said: "Grim Madara is a`strange dog because sometimes he looks as if he will run 720m, he can come from last and run a place, and then other times he is up there early and still only finishes in the placings.
Funky Girl's trainer Joe Comito believes his bitch can improve on the 30.08 she posted in her all the way heat win.
"The track got a bit slower as the night progressed because a wind picked up and the dogs were going into a headwind on the back straight,'' Comito said.
"But having said that, I reckon 29.80 is as fast as Funky Girl can go.''
Wingham trainer Sharon Grey was happy when her bitch Tickle Me Elsie drew box two in the final after winning her heat from box four in 30.07.
"I made the effort of bringing Tickle Me Elsie down to Wenty to give her a drag around on the lure on trial night and that paid dividends,'' Grey said.
Trainer Rodney O'Brien wanted box two or three for his Cup finalist He's Grand and was disappointed when his dog drew four.
In his heat He's Grand scored his first Wentworth Park win in 10 outings when he exited box eight and ran down pacemaker Ultimate Coat in 29.90.
The other heat winner was Queenslander Jimmy The Singer, who won in 29.97.
Close behind Punter's Bandit on times on Saturday was the Ruth King-trained Lochinvar Lona, who led throughout in a personal best 29.51 to take out a third and fourth grade by six lengths.
After the race King said: "This dog just loves Wentworth Park.
"When I get here with him Lochinvar Lona can't wait to jump out of the car and get into the kennels, its uncanny just how he has taken such a liking for the place.''
