It is nothing short of a miracle that Royal Emgrand is racing, let alone lining up in Saturday night's first semi-final of the Ladbrokes Golden Easter Egg at Wentworth Park.
"Royal Emgrand was going to be a superstar but he broke a stopper bone as a young dog,'' owner-trainer Luke Azzopardi said.
"Because the injury was so severe two veterinary surgeons told me he would never race again.
"So I just put him in a paddock for nine months and let him do his own thing, but after he got a bit better he started frolicking around and gradually recovered.
"He was sidelined for nine months and while he is never going to be the dog he was destined to be, he is pretty handy and has won six races at Wenty.
"I'm a realist and Royal Emgrand is not up to the class of the top dogs in the Easter Egg but his second in his heat was a good effort and he is not badly drawn in box six on Saturday.
"Fernando Bluey goes fast early so should get out of his way and Vicki's Queen, drawn outside him in box seven, usually tracks wide.
"No matter what happens on Saturday I'm just over the moon to see him racing so well again after suffering a setback that ends the careers of 99 per cent of greyhounds.''
Because greyhounds can lose form when spelled for no reason trainer Michael Clayton took a gamble when he gave Bit Flash a break after the dog ran down Redshift Seven to win in a smart 29.84 at Wentworth Park on March 6.
"I didn't nominate him again because I figured another win would make him a fourth grader at Wenty and if that happened he would be ineligible for the Ausure Regional Ultra Sense series.
"The heats of that race are on Saturday night and Bit Flash has come up with his favourite draw, box eight.
"Having said that, he will need to begin cleanly because there is plenty of early pace among the dogs drawn inside him.
"I didn't intend to have Bit Flash off the scene quite so long because the Ultra Sense heats had been programmed for March 27 but had to be put back a week because of the rain.
"Thankfully I've been able to keep Bit Flash fit and last week when I trialled him over 520m at Nowra he clocked 29.60, just outside the track record.''
Sizzle Fly is the intriguing starter in Saturday night's heats of the 520m Ultra Sense as the dog has not won beyond 440m.
The former Victorian, now with local trainer Andrew Bell, has box one in heat four and Bell believes the dog can set up a big early lead.
"This is a very quick greyhound and although he is not likely to run a strong 520m just yet, I am confident he will give a big sight on Saturday and if he qualifies for the April 10 final, will be an even better proposition.
"I think Sizzle Fly is not only capable of seeing out 520m but reckon he will eventually get down to around the 29.70 mark at Wentworth Park.''
