Superstars Rinsed The Lot and Power And Glory treated racegoers to a thrilling duel at Wentworth Park last week and on Saturday night two of the sport's champion veterans are set to provide a similarly exciting clash in the 520m Dylan's Birthday Bash Masters.
Father Rick, who took the lead at the first turn and bolted away for a six-length win at his most recent Wentworth Park appearance, has box one.
Yachi Bale, trained in Victoria by Mark Delbridge, has box eight and is seeking to enhance his astonishing earnings of $838,510.
When Father Rick won at Wentworth Park on September 14, he covered the 520m in 29.63, just .01sec outside the rising five year old's personal best time at the track.
"After his last start win Father Rick pulled up a bit scratchy, he had a touch of water diabetes,'' trainer Ray Webster said.
"But he is over that completely now and showed me he was raring to go with a smart trial up the straight at Appin on Tuesday.
"His run home time was as fast as he has gone in his life so he is ready for Saturday.
"I've done the form and Cumbria Mal, who has box two, seems to use a bit of the track so might give Father Rick room to move in the run to the first turn.
"Obviously Yachi Bale is going to be hard to beat but if we can get up inside him going through the catching pen I don't think he can run Father Rick down.''
Yachi Bale's trainer Mark Delbridge said: "I would have preferred my dog to be drawn closer to the rails but he is such an old professional he knows what to do no matter where he draws.
"Yachi Bale is certainly going great because at his last start he came from last to win over 515m at Sandown, beating Tim Zoo.''
Father Rick has posted 12 wins from 34 starts at Wentworth Park while Yachi Bale, a winner of 19 races, has had a win and three seconds from six Sydney outings.
His personal best figures are 29.68, recorded in April, 2023, while Father Rick's quickest are .06sec superior.
Mark Delbridge plans to bring five greyhounds to Wentworth Park in a bid to make the $25,000 to the winner Young Star final on October 18, and will give four of them a look at the track on Saturday.
Delbridge has Paw Ike in box two and Paw Petrov in seven in the NSW GBOTA Welcome Stakes, Paw Earnest in box four in the Ladbrokes Sports Bar Stakes and Paw Oswald in box three in the Ladbrokes Racing Club Stakes.
"Paw Gunner, who has won three from seven starts, is probably the quickest and he will also be in the Young Star, but of the quartet I have entered on Saturday Paw Earnest is the fastest,'' Delbridge said.
"He won in 30.42 at Angle Park earlier this month when having his first look at the track.
"He is a bit tardy early but like the other four, is as strong as an ox at the finish of his races.
"Best drawn of my runners on Saturday is Paw Ike, because he likes an inside box.
"But really there is no more than two lengths separating the ability of my five Young Star hopes.''
Victoria's Canya Amy, runner-up to the mighty Palawa King in the Group 1 Association Cup over 720m at Wentworth Park, returns to Sydney to contest Saturday night's Ladbrokes Own Spring Stakes, a fourth and fifth grade long-distance event.
"She re-joined my kennels about a fortnight ago,'' top Sydney trainer David Smith said.
"I don't know if she is quite as good as when she got within two lengths of Palawa King in the Association Cup final in April and she might need a run or two to have her ready for the Sydney Cup heats at Wenty on October 12."
"Unfortunately Canya Amy has drawn box seven on Saturday as she is better suited from an inside alley.
"She drew box one when she finished second to Nangar Lucy at her first Wentworth Park start but drew four and six when runner-up at her only two subsequent races there.''
Saturday's best bet should be Darren Sultana's brilliant front-runner Fernando Vella, who led throughout from an unsuitable box eight draw to win his heat of the Ladbrokes Odds Surge fifth grade in a slick 29.68.
Fernando Vella has box four in Saturday's final but surprisingly seems to have a liking for wearing the blue rug, as he has won four of his five races from the so-called "squeeze" position.
Good value on Saturday is the Anthony Azzopardi-trained Inconspicuous, who has box two in the Equalizer @ Stud Stakes, a 520m fourth and fifth grade.
Inconspicuous ran a mighty second behind Power And Glory in track record time over 472m at Bulli on September 17 and a recent fast 29.38 win over 515m at Melbourne's Sandown suggests he will have no problem handling Wentworth Park.
