FASCINATE Samuel, who was a gift to Central Coast owner-trainer Noelene Holloway, will be an odds-on favourite for Tuesday night's Gosford regional final of the Ladbrokes Million Dollar Chase.
After beginning smartly from box three and crossing sharply to the rails in his heat, Fascinate Samuel won clearly from Lady Llorona in 29.56, fastest time of the night.
Therefore, it will be a major surprise if the dog is not lining up for the Chase semi-finals at Wentworth Park on October 9.
Fascinate Samuel has clocked a near record 29.09 at Gosford and with a sizzling personal best Wentworth Park 520m time of 29.28, Holloway has declared him the fastest dog she has raced.
That's high praise indeed as Holloway took out the group one National Derby at Wentworth Park in 2016 with Magic Spring, her biggest success as a trainer, and a winner of 25 and nearly $200,000.
Holloway was also the owner-trainer of Queen Marina, who represented NSW in the National Distance Championship final in Perth in 2014.
Fascinate Samuel has won three of his five starts wearing the red rug and Holloway is thrilled to see him coming out of box one on Tuesday.
She explained, "Fascinate Samuel is a son of Deep Dive, who was a daughter of my bitch Fascinate Mary, who won 22 races and produced by Fascinate Marina, the mother of Magic Spring.''
Fascinate Marina was Holloway's first greyhound, and was presented to her as a three-month-old puppy by her sister Lorraine Atchison.
That was in August 2006, and when Holloway took a liking to the tiny puppy her knowledge of greyhounds was so minimal she chose it without knowing if it was a dog or a bitch.
Fascinate Marina won a dozen races and $48,000 and became an outstanding brood bitch.
When her daughter Fascinate Mary whelped a litter Noelene arranged to give a Victorian breeder puppies to raise on a "one for one" deal, meaning they would share the litter.
Deep Dive was among the puppies the breeder received, and she is the dam of Fascinate Samuel.
Holloway had owned some youngsters on the Victorian breeder's property but when two perished from smoke inhalation after a fire on farm, the breeder generously offered to replace them with two of his puppies by Feral Franky from Deep Dive.
"Luckily for me, Fascinate Samuel was one of those puppies.” Holloway said.
