Fire Legend has been left to "fly the flag'' for NSW in Friday night's group 1 Harrison Dawson final at Sandown with the Mark Moroney-trained warrior coming up with box one.
Fire Legend is the sole NSW-trained greyhound to reach the final although we reserve bragging rights if Tiggerlong Tonk, trained in Victoria but owned and bred by Wagga's Michael Finn, snares the $100,000 winner's cheque.
Moroney concedes Fire Legend has the job ahead, with Shima Shine (box two) qualifying in 29sec and Tiggerlong Tonk (eight) winning his heat in 29.10.
"We probably needed box one to have any chance in this hot field,'' Fire Legend's trainer Moroney said.
"Fire Legend can probably run around 29.40 so I just hope he can be in front at the first turn and they jam up behind him.
"Box one gives him a chance and it was a pleasant surprise to draw the rails, because my dogs Fire Legend and his sister Fire On Ice have usually drawn box five in big races.''
Jungle Deuce did not break any records but trainer Jack Smith was satisfied with his greyhound's 520m trial at Albion Park on Thursday in preparation for the forthcoming Brisbane Winter Carnival.
"He clocked 29.85, well outside Sennachie's 29.38 track record, but that was still a good effort because his first split was very slow and he seemed to be feeling his way around the course,'' Smith said.
Local trainer Alan Proctor didn't have much time to celebrate training a track record holder when his greyhound Fab Two Times set a new Richmond 324m straight course standard of 17.62 on Saturday morning.
"Two races later Robert Howard's greyhound Zipper By Two won in 17.51, so Fab Two Times has to be one of the briefest record holders in history,'' Proctor said.
Punters were on the right track but got the result wrong when they sent Cumbria Dreaming out as a $2 favourite ahead of litter brother and kennelmate Cumbria Jim at $6 in Saturday night's seventh race at Wentworth Park.
Cumbria Jim led throughout from box three to win in 30.13 while Cumbria Dreaming clipped the heels of Sizzle Fly at the first turn, speared off and collided with eventual runner-up Angry Blizzard, and wound up third.
"Cumbria Dreaming is much faster than Cumbria Jim, there is no comparison,'' the dogs' owner-trainer-breeder Steve Fitch said later.
"In a trial at Nowra a few days before Saturday's race Cumbria Dreaming almost broke the second section record, but the fastest dog doesn't always win, does he?
"But Cumbria Jim deserved to win a race at Wenty because he had been placed in nine of 18 races there and has never run poorly.
"When he led early tonight I knew he would go close to winning because he is very determined once he gets onto the lure.''
