There is not a better drawn runner at Wentworth Park on Saturday night than Okeechobee Road who will spring out of box one in the feature event, the Ladbrokes Road To The Egg final.
Okeechobee Road's heat winning time of 30.08 was bettered by three of his rivals, Numb, Energizer Miss and Double Baroque, but his ideal draw gives him a tremendous chance of taking out the $10,000 to the winner event.
The Sam Sultana-trained Okeechobee Road is desperate for an inside alley and has won three of his four starts from boxes one and two.
Fastest qualifier Numb, who made full use of her box eight draw to win her hear in 29.90, uses a bit of the track while Double Baroque, who clocked 29.95 from his near perfect box seven slot to land his heat, has drawn three.
Double Baroque is a "screaming" wide runner while Energizer Miss, who flashed home along the rails to win her heat in 29.93, has box eight and is on the "wrong" side of the track.
Numb winning Road to the Egg Heat 4 in 29.90s.
Trainer Sam Sultana's daughter Michelle has won five Masters races since mid-December with Aston Ulysses and should maintain her great record in those races by taking out Saturday night's Ladbrokes Mates Mode Stakes with Connections, who has box one.
Connections led to the home turn when second to Aston Ulysses at Wentworth Park on January 25 and has since gone to Goulburn and won a similar class race over 440m.
"When Connections was run down by Aston Ulysses he was having his first race for a month and was almost certainly under-done,'' Sultana said.
"Connections will probably want to move up the track from box one but I'm happy seeing him drawn in the cherry.
"His kennelmate Fernando Hunter obviously has a lot of ability too but he has drawn box four.''
Connections is lightly raced but goes into Saturday's event boasting the outstanding strike rate of 16 wins from just 25 appearances.
Connections at Wentworth Park on 25th January 2023
Lil Miss Trouble had box one when she won at Wentworth Park on February 8 but trainer Justin King remains confident about her prospects in Saturday night's Ladbrokes Bet Ticker Stakes despite his bitch coming up with box six.
"She wants to run in the centre of the track so I actually think she is more suitably drawn on Saturday than she was when she won at her last start,'' King said.
"Lil Miss Trouble is still very green and she wobbled up the straight when she won but I have always had a bit of an opinion of her.
"Although she only clocked 30.31 when she won, the track was not real good that night because the fastest time of the meeting was only 30.02.''
Saturday night's best "match race" should be the clash between Massimo To Excel (box one) and Lochinvar Kewell (box two) in the 520m Ladbroke It! Stakes.
Lochinvar Kewell led until near the finish when second, beaten a half length, by Jai Cool Guy in 30.18 at Wentworth Park last Saturday night.
While that run seemed disappointing Jai Cool Guy did prove the form by coming out and comfortably defeating a stonger lineup at Wentworth Park on Wednesday night.
But the draw favours the Allen Williams-trained Massimo To Excel, who hit the front entering the back straight before posting a 14 lengths victory from box one at Gosford on Tuesday night.
