She's A Pearl won the 2022 Golden Easter Egg and now her son He's A Pearl, a member of the first litter whelped by that winner of more than $1.7 million, has become fastest qualifier for next Saturday's Wheeler Kennels Golden Easter Egg, the GBOTA's biggest Wentworth Park race.
She's A Pearl followed her 29.73 Golden Easter Egg win with victory in the Million Dollar Chase, and He's A Pearl is likely to be given the same target following his blistering 29.27 Golden Easter Egg semi-final win on Saturday night.
He's A Pearl, like She's A Pearl is trained by Jodie and Andy Lord, and the Temora Cup winner began brilliantly from box seven on Saturday to win the fourth semi-final by over three lengths, powering home in 11.58, strongest of the four semis.
Hard luck story of He's A Pearl's race was Cumbria Jack's third placing, with the pre-post Easter Egg favourite missing the start from box six and finding trouble before rattling home to be third, seven lengths from the winner.
From 2010 to 2018 Victorian-trained greyhounds had an unbeaten sequence of Easter Egg final victories, beginning with Cosmic Rumble and going through to Up Hill Jill.
And Victoria will again hold a strong hand in next Saturday's $300,000 to the winner Golden Easter Egg final after the all-the-way win by Off The Chart in 29.32 and the barnstorming come-from-behind success of Slick Splits in 29.45.
Slick Splits had been fastest heat winner with a 29.25 performance but after a slow start on Saturday the Tom Dailly-trained dog had to come from fourth on the back straight to hit the front just before the finish and defeat pacemaker Canya Handle It by a length.
In last week's heats Off The Chart, trained in Victoria by Peter Presutto, showed dazzling early pace to lead throughout in 29.48 but he trimmed those figures down to 29.32 in his semi-final, despite a moderate getaway.
Off The Chart's second and third sectional times of 13.54 and 17.55 were indeed "off the chart" and at the finish Presutto's dog had one-and-a-half lengths to spare over the Jodie Lord trained Classy Bandit.
Consigliere, another from the Jodie and Andy Lord kennel, gave his trainers a third Easter Egg finalist when he was run down and beaten a half length by the Andrew Rowe-trained Taw Galaxy in his semi in 29.48.
A dropped back muscle can often spell the end of a greyhound's career but Overflow Beau bounced back from that setback last year to win a heat of Saturday night's GRNSW Masters Series at WP.
Trained by Craig Chappelow, Overflow Beau disputed the lead all the way with Both Bowers Ace but gained the upper hand on the line to win by a nose in 29.77.
After the race his owner Johnny Fizgerald said: "Sammy Ethan has been a wonderful dog to me and when he retires he already has a lounge in my home reserved for him.''
Forbes trainer Jack Smith won the 2024 Association Cup with Palawa King and has the fastest qualifier for next Saturday's $75,000 group one Wests Group Macarthur Association Cup final with his top class stayer Magpie Hector.
In Saturday's second 720m heat Magpie Hector had box seven and after being third early and second on the back straight, pounced on the lead on the home turn to win by over four lengths in 41.75.
Magpie Hector has had boxes seven or eight in five of his past six races and after he drew box eight in next Saturday's Cup final Smith quipped: "Gee, he can find an outside box can't he?
"Still, Hector is used to it now so he will be all right.''
The other Cup heat on Saturday night was taken out by the Caroline Hughes-trained Vodka And Ice, who came from third on the home bend to score by just over a length from pacemaker Urbanity in 41.93.
Hughes was hoping for box one in next Saturday's final but had to be content with box four, with the WA stayer Urbanity drawing the rails box.
