Clever Tactics for Wenty Winners

08:00 10 October 2025
GRNSW News
Forged Iron (pictured) and Santino Kade have won a combined 13 races at Wentworth Park, but judicious nominating by their trainers sees them in separate fifth grades there on Saturday night.

The Mark Gatt-trained Forged Iron has box eight in the 520m The Lids Fly on Ladbrokes Live Channels while Santino Kade, trained by Jason Magri, has drawn four in the Ladbrokes Quick Multi Stakes over the same distance.

Santino Kade has won seven races at headquarters where Forged Iron has saluted the judge on six occasions.

Forged Iron won in a nippy 29.80 from box eight at Wentworth Park in July but clocked a scorching 29.50, with a 5.38 first split, in his all-the-way grade five win on October 2.

Despite that scorching time, Mark Gatt has no regrets about leaving Forged Iron out of the Million Dollar Chase.

"He wouldn't be good enough, he would have been making up the numbers,'' Gatt said.

"Although Forged Iron ran 29.50 last week, the track was on fire and dogs like his kennelmate Jungle Johnny and other top-notchers like Power And Glory and Cumbria Jack would have got down to 29 flat on that surface.

"I have planned Forged Iron's Wentworth Park campaign to maximise the number of low grades he could win.

"That's why I don't take dogs to Wenty on Saturday nights until they have won half a dozen races there.

"But having said that, Forged Iron keeps improving all the time.''

Jason Magri has adopted a similar programme for Santino Kade, pointing out: "If a dog wins two fifth grades on a Saturday night at Wentworth Park, it is ineligible for fifth grades everywhere.

"So once one of my dogs win a grade five at Wentworth Park on a Saturday, I take him or her away from there for a while.

"It's all about trying to allow a dog to win all its grades.''

Santino Kade defeated a fourth and fifth grade lineup at his most recent Wentworth Park appearance on October 2, recording a best of the night 29.49, .01sec quicker than Forged Iron's figures at that meeting.

His six previous Wentworth Park victories had all been in fifth-grade company, except for a fourth-and-fifth-grade success on July 10.

Magri looked set to land a winning double on Saturday but Canya Sapphire, who seemed hard to beat in heat five of the Young Star, won't be starting as she has secured a draw from first reserve status in a semi-final of the Friday's Million Dollar Chase. 

Trainer Jason Mackay, who won the group two Black Top at The Gardens with Tracker in race record time late last month, will bring two promising litter brothers to Wentworth Park for the first time in Saturday night's heats of the Young Star.

Prince Of Persia, who has box four in heat two, has won five of 11 races at the provincials while King Of Gods will exit box one in heat six after having two wins and three placings from five starts, all at Maitland.

Mackay said: "Prince Of Persia is a talented greyhound but I think his real future is over middle distances.

"King Of Gods is a bit quicker and although each of his races has been on the roomy Maitland track, I have no doubt he will handle the tighter Wentworth Park track capably.''

Minnie Finn rates Winsome Jet as the most exciting young prospect she has trained and admits she "threw him in the deep end" by taking on more experienced rivals in last Saturday's Million Dollar Chase qualifiers.

Winsome Jet went into that race unbeaten in five starts at Richmond and ran a mighty race to finish third, beaten one-and-a-half lengths, in Coast Rig's heat.

Winsome Jet railed well from box four so does appear to have drawn the wrong side of the track in box eight in Saturday's first heat of the Young Star.

Finn's best Young Star chance looms as Winsome Josie, who has box two in heat three.

Winsome Josie has had a win and three placings from four Wentworth Park appearances and was unlucky when posting her best 520m time of 29.82 in finishing second, from box five, behind Eureka Mac on October 2.


Best Bet Forged Iron (race 1)
Best Value Santino Kade (race 2)

Quaddie
Race 5 - 7, 6, 4
Race 6 - 2, 5
Race 7 - 1, 4, 6
Race 8 - 3, 1, 7
$20 for 37.03%