Fletcher Sharpe, the Newcastle Knights' brilliant young five-eighth, has a great chance of securing a Wentworth Park winner as a greyhound owner when the talented Cessnock Curtain steps out in Thursday night's 520m fourth and fifth grade Book Your Next Function Stakes.
Cessnock Curtain is trained for a syndicate headed by Sharpe by Luke Sweeney, and the dog will be the trainer's first starter at Wentworth Park.
"I have been a trainer of three or four years but have not had a runner at WP until now,'' Sweeney said.
Cessnock Curtain with Fletcher Sharpe and connections
"Cessnock Curtain has drawn six but box positions don't seem to worry him. (Cessnock Curtain has won from boxes one, two, three, six, seven and eight).
"I took him down to Wenty for a trial recently and put him out of the 520m boxes.
"It was a wet night but he went well enough so he knows his way around the place.''
Cessnock Curtain has won over 515m at The Gardens in a smart 29.52 and has posted fast times on other tracks, winning in 29.35 over 515m at Gosford and 25.06 over 450m Maitland.
He has a vacant box on his left on Thursday while outside him in box seven is Reborn Hostility, who is renowned for his tendency to drop out to last in the early stages before flashing home at the finish.
Other strong opposition could come from Weffalee Lee Lee, who has good early pace and could lead around the first turn from box four, along with Billy Ray's Girl, who has won three races at WP and is ideally positioned in box one.
Thursday's best bet should be Ritza Ringer, who has box four in the gapnsw.com.au 520m fifth grade.
Ritza Ringer, with four wins and five placings from 10 WP appearances, is by far the best performed entry in this event.
And none of his rivals has come close to his personal best Wenty 520m time of 29.60, recorded from box eight on December 18.
Ritza Ringer has been placed in three of five races since posting those 29.60 figures and trainer Mark Gatt admits to being disappointed with the dog's fading fourth over 622m at Richmond on March 6.
"Because Ritza Ringer has run home in a fast 11.50 at Wenty I thought the middle distance trip at Richmond might suit him,'' Gatt said.
"But he died badly on his run in the straight.
"However because I do all my pre-training at Wentworth Park, and race there almost exclusively, my dogs tend to go better there than they do at Richmond.
"So I'm hoping Ritza Ringer will bounce back to his best on Thursday, because at his peak, this certainly looks a winnable race for a dog with his ability.''
Two months ago trainer Joe McFadyen was concerned Canya Handle It might not be able to run a strong 520m but the dog has had two wins and a close second in three races over that trip at WP since February 12.
As a result McFadyen is not ruling out a tilt at the group one Wheeler Kennels Golden Easter Egg heats at WP on March 28.
McFadyen will learn more after Canya Handle It tackles Thursday night's Wheeler Kennels 520m fifth grade, where the dog will exit box one.
Canya Handle It clocked 29.70 winning at WP on February 17 and recorded a personal best 29.69 when beaten in a photo finish by Take A Break there last Thursday.
Canya Handle It clocked a smart first split of 5.43 last week and while McFadyen concedes the dog still has to "find" a length or two, he does not believe an Easter Egg nomination is out of the question.
"This dog used to be hyper-active but now he has settled down better in the kennels on race night and that is showing in the way he has been getting to the line lately,'' McFadyen said.
Canya Handle It looks ideally positioned on Thursday as he will wear the red rug, while Cawbourne Cali, who has box two, ran wide on the first turn after coming from box one when a tiring third at WP last Saturday night.
She's Mayhem was backed from $11 to $1.80 favouritism on debut at WP last Thursday but had no luck when a distant fifth, from box eight.
After missing the jump the Tom Rees-trained bitch showed good pace to be prominent at the first turn, where she was badly checked and dropped out, winding up over 14 lengths from the winner.
She looks far better drawn in box two in Thursday's WP Sports Bar Maiden heat over 520m.
