Ubiquitous goes into Tuesday night's 388m Gosford heats of the Ladbrokes Thunderbolt as the fastest winner at the track and, despite returning from a break of nearly four months, is close to his peak.
"He could be one or two runs below his absolute best but he is going well enough to win on Tuesday night,'' trainer Peter Akers said.
"He has box six in heat two and while the draw is not ideal, if he jumps cleanly he will be hard to beat.''
Ubiquitous, who set a 17.08sec 300m record at Taree on September 25, boasts a personal best Gosford 388m time of 21.88 but is capable of running further, and has trialled a slick 29.40 over 515m at The Gardens.
The dog is a son of Agnetha, a daughter of Sue Smith and John Miles' champion short course bitch Blue Thunda, who won 18 of 23 races and has become an outstanding producer.
Agnetha was trained by the late Troy Donaldson and when he passed away, she was returned to her owner Sue Smith.
Agnetha's first litter, to Hooked On Scotch, included prolific winners Johnny Red, Whisky Cobbler and Hooked On Rum, while Ubiquitous is a result of her second mating, to Aston Rupee.
"I chose the red dog pup from that litter, Ubiquitous, and paid $4500 for him,'' Akers said.
"I retained a small share in him with the other owners, my best mate, Peter Passfield, and a lady named Karen O'Neill, who has not previously owned a greyhound previously.
Ubiquitous
"Ubiquitous will be among the last dogs I train because I intend to wind down and spend some time travelling around Australia with Linda, my wife of 45 years.
"I'm 66 and have had greyhounds since I was 17 without much of a break.
"I learned the ropes assisting the former top trainer and studmaster Noel Pickett, when he trained the champion dog Little Blade, the sire of Brother Fox.''
Wagga hobby trainer Peter Dooner is already making plans to take his exciting speedster Got A Depart to Grafton for a trial following her near record win in a heat of the Ladbrokes Thunderbolt at Wagga on Friday.
Got A Depart took her tally to seven wins from eight starts with her 18.07 win, which was .34sec quicker than the figures posted by Kostecki, the other Wagga 320m heat winner.
"The semi-finals of the Thunderbolt are over 350m at Grafton on June 15 but while it is a heck of a long way for me to travel from my home at Wagga, it is essential that she has a look at the track before the semis,'' Dooner said.
"And she will need to show me she is up to this class by running decent time when she trials.
"Got A Depart is by Beast Unleashed from the first litter whelped by Gotta Bounce, a bitch who won nine of 36 starts for me.
"Her second litter, now 12 months old, are by Gotta Get Back, who won 28 races and $109,000 for me and trainer John McClelland.
"I own a tile shop at Wagga and also run a cattle farm in the district so the greyhounds have only ever been a hobby for me.''
Despite being a hobby trainer, Dooner has had a succession of fast greyhounds, including Got To Casino, who won 10 of 18 races, among them a heat of the Goulburn Cup.
