Box four is usually unwanted by trainers but Shaun Evans, who prepares Rockstar Apollo, is happy to see his brilliant youngster wearing the blue rug in Saturday night's third heat of the Sires On Ice Bob Payne Sprint at Wentworth Park.
Rockstar Apollo boasts the marvellous Wentworth Park strike rate of five wins and three placings from 11 appearances and none of his rivals on Saturday has matched his best 520m of 29.58 at the track.
After winning his heat of the Nowra Puppy Classic from box one in a sizzling 29.55, Rockstar Apollo came up with a horror box eight draw in the final and was never out of trouble before finishing fifth.
"Having only five opponents on Saturday, with a vacant box in three and Street Of Dreams, who has a massive finish but lacks early pace in box five, I think Apollo has drawn nicely,'' trainer Shaun Evans said.
"He pulled up well after his Nowra Puppy Classic run last Saturday and is jumping out of his skin, he is ready to go on Saturday.
"Rockstar Apollo's biggest problem is himself, a lot depends on whether he gets away cleanly or not.''
Doonan, trained by Andy Lord, could be the danger from box two.
Doonan had his first start for 2023 when last, from box five, at Wentworth Park on April 19, but Andy Lord said the dog is "flying" in private.
"He had no luck in his comeback race, he went for a run at the first turn and just as he was going through the gap closed and he got flattened,'' Lord said.
"I don't know whether he was still going to win but the same thing happened to him again on the back straight.''
Lord's champion She's A Pearl faces a serious test when she exits box four in Saturday's first heat of the Evans & Son Jewellers Ladies Bracelet.
There is early pace galore around the champ, with Red Hot Frankie (box three), Remember This (six), Oro Rojo (seven) and Such A Shame (eight) possessing plenty of zip to the first bend.
But Lord isn't perturbed, commenting: "Don't forget, She's A Pearl is something extra special.''
Lord is keen on the chances of Tommy Kade, who has box four in heat two of the Bob Payne, advising punters to forget the dog's failure in last Saturday's Nowra Puppy Classic.
"Tommy Kade goes better at Wentworth Park than anywhere else and having a vacant box on his outside is a big plus because he gets so wide,'' Lord said.
Tommy Kade's Wentworth Park record stands at an impressive seven wins and five placings from 13 starts.
Nowra trainer CHRIS O'Brien has talented litter sisters Mortified (box two) and Quantifiable (box five) in heats two and three of the Ladies Bracelet and is upbeat after the pair trialled brilliantly at Sandown on January 20.
"Mortified clocked 29.40 for the 515m while Quantifiable recorded 29.54,'' O'Brien said.
"Surprisingly Mortified's first split let her down but that was probably due to her coming out of a different starting box set-up,'' O'Brien said.
"I was more than happy with Quantifiable's time because she needed the run, she had not been over 500m or more in three months.''
Saturday's best bet should be Fernando Quality, who is unbeaten in two Wentworth Park starts and meets moderate opposition in race 11, a 520m fifth grade.
