Mark Gatt will carry favourite backers' hopes in Thursday night's At Stud - powerandglory.com.au top-grade 520m event, as he is bringing the outstanding sprinter Jungle Johnny back to the track.
Jungle Johnny has not raced since finishing fourth in a group one race at The Meadows on November 8 and will exit box four in Thursday's six-dog field.
"He got a bit crook when he came back from Melbourne but is going as well again as he has ever gone,'' Gatt said.
"Jungle Johnny wasn't quite ready for last Saturday's heats of the Group One Ladbrokes Paul Wheeler but he flew when I gave him a box-to-box trial at Wenty recently.
"He clocked the fastest time of the night, quicker than any of the dogs who trialled in preparation for the Paul Wheeler.''
Jungle Johnny's fastest Wentworth Park 520m time of 29.16 is much quicker than the figures posted by any of his rivals on Thursday, with his kennelmate Sammy Ethan's 29.41 the next best.
Sammy Ethan will be chasing his 20th Wentworth Park win for Gatt and owner Johnny Fitzgerald when he takes on his more illustrious kennelmate Jungle Johnny on Thursday night.
Giveaway greyhound Prim And Pretty has been placed in each of her past five Wentworth Park starts but her owner-trainer believes she gets a golden opportunity to break through for a win there on Thursday night.
Prim And Pretty has box four in the We Stand With Tasmania 520m fifth grade and will have just five rivals.
Her owner-trainer Chris Fallshaw said: "The small field should be a big help for Prim And Pretty because she doesn't have any early pace.
"On top of that she is in the first race on the card, and because she plays up something dreadful in the kennels, the earlier she can race the better it is for her.''
Fallshaw made a return to training greyhounds after a lengthy break from the sport due to suffering from kidney failure.
"I am undertgoing dialysis treatment and because I got bored sitting around waiting for news of a transplant, I took up training greyhounds again,'' Fallshaw said.
"David Smith was training Prim And Pretty and while he won a race with her she tested his patience, mainly because she was such a bad kennel dog.
"The lady who owned Prim And Pretty agreed to give her to me, simply saying that if she won a race at Wentworth Park I could give her $1,000.''
Prim and Pretty
Prim And Pretty has a vacant box on her left on Thursday night and while Fallshaw considers the Mark Gatt-trained Ritza Ringer, who won on debut at Wentworth Park last Thursday in 29.98 will be hard to beat, his bitch has recorded personal best Wenty figures of only slightly slower at 30.08.
The lightly-raced Spring Drop was an encouraging third at his first Wentworth Park race last Thursday night, and trainer Greg Board gives the 22-month-old youngster a good chance in this week's Ladbrokes Blackbook 1 win 520m fifth grade.
Spring Drop came from fourth early to win a heat of the Bill & Peg Miller Memorial at Dubbo on November 15 and finished second, two-and-a-half lengths behind the winner Wyndra All Heart, at his Wentworth Park debut last week.
Tracey Taro looks well positioned out wide as she clocked a fast 29.55 from box six at Wentworth Park on October 2 and came from box eight when she scored an impressive last-to-first win in quick time at Dubbo on October 18.
In the Dubbo 516m event Tracey Taro was last away but showed brilliant speed to sweep around the field and lead rounding the first turn before winning by six lengths in 29.37, fastest time of the meeting.
She then made the pace when second to boom dog Gold Force in a heat of the group two East Maitland Bowling Club Cup on November 30 before a tiring sixth in the much tougher Maitland Cup final won by Black Myth Wave on December 5.
