Tonight's red hot Rezzie Betta Home Living Free-For-All at Maitland marks the comeback of outstanding sprinter My Mate Clarrie, who has returns after being sidelined with a heart-breaking run of bad luck.
My Mate Clarrie, who has won 11 of 19 starts, was formerly trained by the late Troy Donaldson and is now in the care of his partner Chrystal Hensing.
John Clout, My Mate Clarrie's owner, said: "He was out for five months with a stopper problem and after returning and having two runs in early August he tore a chest muscle.
"Thankfully he seems to be is as good as ever now and Chrystal is very happy with how he has been trialling.
"He has box one at Maitland but will need to be on his game because he is up against fast dogs like Aston Tatum, Finefeuiaki and Haas.''
My Mate Clarrie is a litter brother to Jet Jackson, with whom the late Troy Donaldson won the 2019 Young Star Classic at Wentworth Park.
Tony Messina has been taking his greyhounds to Lithgow for nearly 50 years so was over the moon when his home-bred bitch Cheeky Lass won Saturday's Golden Muzzle final.
Cheeky Lass, raced by Messina's wife Wilma, is a daughter of the family's former smart Wentworth Park bitch Magic Moves, who won a dozen races.
Magic Moves's dam Kristen Alyssa is also a Messina-trained greyhound and was a winner of eight races.
"I started attending Lithgow race meetings in the late 1970s with Joe Power, who was a highly successful trainer and a long-time National Coursing Association committeeman,'' Messina said.
"But Cheeky Lass is the first starter I have had in the Golden Muzzle, Lithgow's best known race,''
Cheeky Lass won Saturday's 506m final in 29.18, while runner-up, the Dennis Barnes-trained Nangar Gold, had clocked track record figures of 29.06 in her heat win.
Thursday night's heats of the Sportsbet Middle Distance Championship at Dapto are set to attract outstanding fields.
Trainer Mark Gatt plans to nominate Stanley Road and Ritza Coen for the heats, which carry over to a $25,000 to the winner final a week later.
"The 600m at Dapto is ideally for Stanley Road and Ritza Coen and while I believe Stanley Road might be capable of winning over 720m, I reckon Ritza Coen is unlikely to become a stayer,'' Gatt said.
Trainer Michael Hooper had no joy at Wentworth Park on Saturday night when his bitch Sniffy finished fifth in race six, but he did lead in a winner - the aptly-named Hooper.
"Jodie Lord had four starters in race two, Jax Kade, Chrome, Sovereign King and Hooper, so she thought it might be fitting if I handled my namesake,'' Hooper said.
"It gave me a real buzz when Hooper edged out his kennelmate and litter brother Jax Kade by a nose in a tight finish.''
