Zipping Chaplin, who hasn't raced since finishing fifth to final winner Power And Glory in a Golden Easter Egg semi-final on April 5, returns to Wentworth Park in a star-studded top grade race on Saturday night.
Zipping Chaplin boasts the fastest Wentworth Park figures of 29.25 in the 520m Ladbrokes Mates Mode Pots Stakes and has come up with box one, from where he has notched two wins and two placings from four appearances.
But Saturday's race is chockful of early speed with Ferrero Girl (box two), My Pharaoh (three), Mark To Market (six) and Speedy Pie (eight) capable of sizzling sectional times.
Zipping Chaplin's best opening split at Wentworth Park is 5.55, the tardiest of the seven runners in Saturday's race, so he is likely to need a reasonably clear passage through the field if he is to land his 10th Wentworth Park success.
Trainer Courtney Barnes said: "Zipping Chaplin is fit and well and while he hasn't been back to Wentworth Park since his last race, he did trial nicely at Richmond on Monday, clocking 22.60 over 400m.''
Most trainers love to see their greyhounds drawn in box one but Luke Azzopardi is not happy at seeing his son Peter's bitch Freydis set to wear the red rug in Saturday's NSW GBOTA Welcome Masters Stakes, 520m.
Freydis has won two of her past four Wentworth Park starts, from boxes five and eight, and Azzopardi said: "It might sound crazy but I would have preferred her in box four or five.
"I'm not saying she can't win on Saturday because she is going as well as ever.
"But she has a poor record from box one, winning just once in 10 starts.
"Her problem is that when she draws inside Freydis wants to get off the track at the first turn but when she draws in the middle she runs straight.
"Johnny Smart's dog (Snowman) looks awfully hard to beat in this race.''
Andy Lord, whose wife Jodie trains Cawbourne Slick, in box one in Saturday's #getyourgreyhoundon Stakes, a 520m fifth grade, describes their greyhound as "just a dog.''
But while Cawbourne Slick has been unplaced in each of two Wentworth Park races and like his rivals on Saturday, has not broken 30sec at headquarters, he was impressive winning over 440m at Goulburn at his latest outing.
Cawbourne Slick was third early but grabbed the lead at the half-way mark before coming away to win in the handy time of 24.86.
Andy Lord said: "We have only been training Cawbourne Slick for a month but while he is no world-beater, and is just a dog, he is well suited on the rails.
Betty Keene won 10 races with Liberty Pearl, including success at Wentworth Park in August, 2020, and on Saturday night she has a great chance of taking out the 520m fifth grade Mark Hughes Foundation Stakes with Jasper Darke, a son of that greyhound.
Jasper Darke was impressive in a powerful 29.69 win over 515m at The Gardens on May 9 and was far from disgraced when a luckless fourth to Allan Keeping in a much tougher event at his Wentworth Park debut on May 17.
After being moderately away from box four, Jasper Darke showed great dash to the first turn but then found plenty of trouble before beating all but the placegetters.
While he would probably be better suited drawn wide, Jasper Darke should only need a clean getaway to go close to taking his record to eight wins from just 20 races on Saturday night.
Zipping Marquez missed the start by three lengths when a fast finishing second to kennelmate Zipping Mayer at Wentworth Park last Saturday and can make amends in Saturday's Ladbrokes Same Race Multi Stakes, a 520m fifth grade.
This appears to be an easier grade five than last week's race and with six wins and 13 placings from 24 Wentworth Park appearances, Zipping Marquez goes into the event with an outstanding record at headquarters.
