Crack Victorian trainer David Geall has won multiple Group One finals with Up Hill Jill, My Redeemer and Fernando Mick, and on Wednesday night will be back at Wentworth Park with his star veterans Stout Monelli and Hill Top Jack for heats of the Masters Meteor.
Stout Monelli, a winner of an amazing 40 from 80 starts, has box two in heat three while Hill Top Jack, with 31 wins from 119 appearances, will exit the same draw in heat four.
First and second in Wednesday night's heats will qualify for the $100,000 to the winner final at Wentworth Park on October 13.
That event will celebrate the sixth running of the Meteor, with the 29.63 posted by Cosmic Bonus in taking out the inaugural 2018 final remaining the fastest for the 520m event, ahead of Fire Legend's 29.74 recorded last year.
Although Stout Monelli boasts a superior record, Geall leans to Hill Top Jack as his better chance on Wednesday night.
"Hill Top Jack is going better than his form looks on paper and he was terribly unlucky when fourth, beaten just over two lengths, in a Free-For-All at Sandown at his latest run on September 14.
"Box two will suit him because he loves the inside and he is an experienced old campaigner.
"I trialled him at Wentworth Park last week and he clocked 29.90 while Stout Monelli only recorded 30.18 when I gave him a look at Wenty.
"But Stout Monelli slipped on the mat in front of the boxes as he jumped.
"Dogs coming from Melbourne can do that and even Up Hill Jill, who won the Golden Easter Egg and was virtually bullet-proof around Wenty, stumbled on the mat one night.
"Like Hill Top Jack, Stout Monelli is well drawn near the fence in box two.''
Stout Monelli will tackle arguably the strongest heat, with his rivals including Aston Barak (box eight), a winner of 13 races at Wentworth Park, and Connections (box three), who has won an astonishing 21 of his 34 outings.
Connections
Michelle Sultana, trainer of Connections, holds a powerful hand in the Masters Meteor heats as she has Aston Ulysses chasing his sixth win in 10 Wentworth Park starts in box two in heat one and Fernando Hunter, winner of 11 from 27 at Wenty, in box eight in heat two.
Aston Ulysses has won six of 15 starts from box two and Sultana said: "He doesn't mind an inside draw and will just sit behind the leaders and wait for a run to come.
"I would have preferred to see Fernando Hunter boxed near the rails and because there is a lot of early pace in this field he will need a bit of luck.
"Fernando Hunter has not raced since winning at Maitland on August 28 but there has been nothing wrong with him, I have just been trialling him up and getting him ready for this series.
"Connections has not raced since late May so I am hoping he can get out with a good early lead and hold on in the straight.
"He is going well but because he has been off for so long he could be short of a run at the end of the 520m.''
Wednesday night's Wentworth Park card also features six heats of the Million Dollar Chase Maiden, won last year by the Andy Lord-trained Canya Smoke Them in a fast 29.67.
This year Lord's trainer daughter Hayley Moffitt will unveil a pair of unraced siblings, Rapid Ned and Great Rate, in heats three and four.
Moffitt's pair are offspring of El Rapido, who won 17 races and was a middle distance track record holder.
Highlight of the Maiden heats though looms as the clash of Michael Ivers' unraced boom puppy Fire L ighter (box four) and Superstar Ethics (box two) in heat three.
Superstar Ethics has been runner-up in each of two Wentworth Park races and trainer Peter Rodgers felt the dog was desperately unlucky when beaten nearly four lengths in slow time on September 20.
"Another dog stopped almost completely right in front of Superstar Ethics at the first turn and that cost him the race,'' the trainer said.
