The Key To Seaton: Don't Tell Him He Shouldn't Be Winning

Seaton Key looked harshly graded in Saturday night's Ladbrokes Bet Ticker top grade race at Wentworth Park but somebody forgot to tell the dog and he bolted away in a sizzling 29.57.

Seaton Key went into the 520m race with three Wentworth Park wins while his five rivals had amassed 32 victories between them at headquarters.

But Seaton Key, who has been a revelation since joining Justin King's Londonderry kennels after beginning his career in Townsville, led throughout and slashed his previous best Wentworth Park figures by .15sec, reeling off early splits of 5.39 and 13.71 before coming home in 17.86 and 11.71.

Lochinvar Hawk broke in at Cudal educational kennels displaying dazzling early pace and the Ruth King-trained greyhound reproduced that dash from the boxes with an all-the-way win in 30.02 at Wentworth Park on Saturday night.

His first split was a slick 5.46 and Lochinvar Hawk has now had two wins and a third from three Wentworth Park outings.

"When he was broken in at Cudal the report at the end of his course was that he was one of the fastest early section dogs to have been educated there,'' trainer Ruth King said.

"Lochinvar Hawk and his sister Lochinvar Pearl who won at Wentworth Park last week, are both good beginners but Pearl does her best work at the finish while Hawk possesses that early brilliance.''

Trainer Greg Hore raised some eyebrows when he produced siblings Cassie Cool and Goulburn Girl at less than 23 months of age for Saturday night's 720m Ladbrokes Sports Bar Stakes but they justified their nomination by filling first and third placings.

Cassie Cool came from sixth at the first turn to run down pacemaker Lady Exit and win running away in a handy 42.37, while Goulburn Girl faded from second early to finish third.

After the race Hore said: "From day one these bitches and their sister Monster Mel have shown plenty of ability but have had absolutely no early pace.

"Cassie Cool and Monster Mel can clock 30sec over 520m at Wentworth Park in trials but because they are so slow early they can't reproduce those times in short races.

"The previous litter of their dam Soaring Hawke were the same but I gave them time to mature before becoming stayers.

"Then, when they went over 720m, they had been bashed around so much in sprints they didn't race keenly.

"So this time I vowed to step this litter up in distance before they suffered too much interference in sprints and that's why at less than two years old they are going over 720 metres.''

"Heartbreak" dog Leg Speed finally broke through for his first Wentworth Park win on Saturday night, clocking 30.00 for a powerful win in a 520m fifth grade.

The dog had twice won in near record times at Dapto but in nine Wentworth Park appearances had registered only three placings.

"I always said his poor Wentworth Park record wasn't that he disliked the track because he has trialled sensationally for me there,'' trainer Mark Gatt said.

"He is just a clumsy sort of dog but who knows, now he has won at Wenty he might go bang, bang, bang and win a stack.

"Several years ago I trained a dog called Smoking Road who got beaten at his first few Wentworth Park races but finished up winning several there and wound up with 22 wins to his credit.''

Trainer Harry Sarkis has always held a huge opinion of Loose Zeus and the dog, raced by his son Matthew and nine of his friends, upset odds-on favourite Tulsa King to win a 520m fifth grade on Saturday in a slick 30.03.

After being third early Loose Zeus railed underneath pacemaker Missy Banner going through the catching pen and held off a late challenge by Tulsa King to score by a half length.

Sarkis said: "I bred Loose Zeus from my bitch Entreaty, who won a dozen races, although Loose Zeus' litter brother King Nito broke in better than Saturday night's winner.

"But King Nito has won only three races because he has had a couple of setbacks and Loose Zeus has now won seven from 26 starts.''