Jungle Johnny, runner-up in race record time to Power And Glory in last Saturday night's Group One Ladbrokes Golden Easter Egg final at Wentworth Park, trialled well on Wednesday morning when having his first look at the Nowra track.
Trainer Mark Gatt gave Jungle Johnny a box-to-box hit-out in preparation for Sunday's heats of the group two Ladbrokes Nowra Puppy Classic.
Jungle Johnny
"I'm glad I did because the lure at Nowra is so silent that the dogs don't hear it coming in the run-up to the start,'' Gatt said.
"As a result, Jungle Johnny's first section on Wednesday was pretty ordinary because he came out slowly.
"But he really zoomed down the back straight and I was very happy with his trial.
"And to top it off, he has drawn really well in box two in heat three on Sunday.
My Machine, who notched his second win in as many starts at Gosford on Tuesday, comes from one of the greatest dam lines in the history of greyhound racing.
My Machine and his well performed litter sister My Cupcake, who will return after a minor setback at Gosford on Tuesday, are by Shima Shine from Sue Smith and her partner John Milers' phenomenal brood bitch My Sapphire.
Two previous litters whelped by My Sapphire include My Pharaoh, winner of the Wentworth Park Young Star Classic, My Monroe, whose fast 29.68 Wentworth Park win on April 12 was her 10th in 32 appearances, and My Hepburn, successful in two dozen races for $130,000.
"My Sapphire won 14 races but broke down and had to be retired when she was just two-and-a-half years old,'' Susan Smith recalled.
"She has had three litters and we are hoping to get one more from her before she is retired and replaced in the breeding barn by My Hepburn.
"We have just retired My Hepburn so we hope she will be the new My Sapphire.
"My Machine clocked 22.13 when he won over 388m at Gosford on Tuesday while My Cupcake has won two from three races there, including a 22.19 effort.
"She is pretty smart, though not quite as quick as My Machine, while the third member of the Shima Shine-My Sapphire litter, named My Harley, is unraced but is as good as his siblings.''
Sue Smith comes from a thoroughbred racing background, with her father Keith Bell a former successful jockey and trainer in the NSW western districts.
"As a 12 and 13-year-old I used to ride trackwork at Wellington for my dad,'' Smith recalled.
John Miles came into greyhound racing as a 15-year-old when he began "tagging along" to races and trials with central coast hobby trainer Fred Carey, an employee of the plumbing business owned by Miles' family.
Meanwhile My Pharaoh is back in work and set to return to the track shortly.
My Pharaoh
Remarkably, every greyhound on Sue Smith and John Miles' greyhound property is related, tracing back to the outstanding short course speedster Tommie's Placard, a winner of 15 races and runner-up to Tasmania's Lilli Pilli Power in the 2005 Tweed Heads Galaxy.
John Miles said: "Tommie's Placard produced a track record holder in four of her five litters.
"Her offspring included Black Warhorse, who won 30 races, Newcastle Silver Bullet winner Tominate, Dubbo record holder Miss Sugar Land, Gosford record holder All Tommie and Laurie's Placard, who won four in a row at Wentworth Park.''
Whinging Wrench, a daughter of Tommie's Placard, won 20 of 37 races and produced Blue Thunda, who won her first nine starts and retired as a winner of 18 from 23 appearances.
At stud, she became the dam of My Sapphire, mother of Miles and Smith's current crop of speedsters.
