Jodie and Andy Lord won the 2023 final with She's A Pearl and are confident they can notch another success in the group one Ladbrokes Paul Wheeler with second fastest heat winner Taormina at Wentworth Park on Saturday night.
Taormina bounced back to form by running down Laura Keeping to win her heat last Saturday in 29.57, .02sec outside the fastest qualifying time posted by Victoria's Croydon.
Taormina will be chasing her 16th win in 32 Wentworth Park appearances on Saturday and trainer Andy Lord is happy with her box two draw.
"She likes to move slightly to the right in the run to the first turn but in a hot race like this we wanted her drawn near the fence so box two looks good,'' Andy Lord said.
"I think Taormina can outpace Sooty Keeping, who has box one, in the run to the first turn and I don't think that greyhound can run down our bitch.
"Fastest qualifier Croydon has won each of his three starts from box eight, his draw on Saturday, but the outside alley at Wenty is a different kettle of fish to roomy tracks Hobart, Maitland and Warragul where he has won his three races.''
Victorian-trained greyhounds have won an astonishing 11 of the past 20 Paul Wheeler finals - previously known as the NSW St Leger and the Paws Of Thunder - and Croydon gives them a chance again.
But his trainer Mark Delbridge said: "I didn't realise he was unbeaten from box eight because two of those wins were before he joined my kennels.
"He did get wide on the first turn when he won his heat but I believe that was because he had not previously seen Wentworth Park and got a blt lost.
"In this race I would have preferred to see him drawn near the rails.''
Dubbo trainer Charmaine Roberts has qualified for the Paul Wheeler with Sooty Keeping in box one and Laura Keeping in four.
Her partner Shayne Stiff believes Sooty Keeping, who narrowly missed qualifying for this race in 2024, can win.
"Because Sooty Keeping took 29.81 to win her heat people are writing her off but there was a bit of rain before her heat and she is going as well as ever,'' Stiff said.
"Sooty Keeping equalled the track on our straight track at home during the week so she is at her best.
"She is just a great race bitch while Laura Keeping is a terrific second string for us.
"Because of a couple of niggling problems we had not been able to work Laura Keeping hard before the heats and she will improve on her second placing, when she led before being beaten by Taormina.
"All I know is we would not swap our two runners for any others in this final.''
Sooty Keeping won last year's The Collerson, the consolation final for the Paul Wheeler, for the Charmaine Roberts-Shayne Stiff kennel and they have Tank Keeping in box one in Saturday night's equivalent.
Tank Keeping got wide on the back straight when third in Taw Galaxy's Paul Wheeler heat but Shayne Stiff is delighted at seeing him in box one this week.
"Tank Keeping is an ordinary beginner and for a dog like him he is better off being in box one because that gives him a better chance of positioning himself at the first turn,'' Stiff said.
Jodie and Andy Lord have Destroying (box three) and He's A Pearl (box six) in this race with Andy leaning to He's A Pearl as their better chance.
"He's A Pearl has won 29.57 at Wentworth Park and is only a tick away from clocking 29.30 or 29.40 there,'' Andy Lord said.
"He only turned two in October and has it all ahead of him.''
Paw Oswald is the class runner in The Collerson but has drawn awkwardly in box five.
Trainer Mark Delbridge said: "He is going as good as ever but came out of the boxes flat-footed when he finished second to Zipping Ariel in his Paul Wheeler heat last week.''
The surprise packet in the consolation final could be Trunkey Chief, well placed in box two after coming from fourth early and third on the back straight to beat all but Sooty Keeping in heat five of the Paul Wheeler.
The Tony Godden-owned and trained is in the best form of his career and should get room to move early courtesy of Destroying, who has box three and is not a tight railer.
