Masters Meteor winner Angry Blizzard will be scratched from his engagement at Wentworth Park on Saturday night but trainer Nathan Goodwin believes that the $100,000 winner's kennelmate Zipping Brady can win the same race.
Angry Blizzard was set to be a warm favourite for the Ladbrokes Same Race Multi Masters Stakes after his narrow win over Crazy Old Goat in last Saturday night's Masters Meteor but Goodwin said the dog has torn chest muscles.
"I think he might have got cleaned up in the catching pen after the race because there is quite a bit of bruising around his chest and the muscles are torn,'' Goodwin said.
"He won't be starting on Saturday night but I think I can win with Zipping Brady, who had no luck when down the course in his heat of the Masters Meteor on April 27.
"Zipping Brady got flattened twice in that race but is going as well as Angry Blizzard was before he won the final.
"If I trialled them against each other it would be a toss-up who would win.
"Zipping Brady has box six but Rebecca Gay, another of my team, is the reserve and if she goes into box five she will help her kennelmate because she will veer left when the boxes open.''
Zipping Brady is likely to get a good run as Due West, who has box four, also heads sharply towards the rails when the lids lift.
Crazy Old Goat, beaten by Angry Blizzard in a tight finish in last week's Masters Meteor when a $51 outsider, has strong claims but has again drawn poorly in box seven.
Federal Aussie had been runner-up to Simply Limelight in his Magic Maiden heat but failed to beat one home from an "impossible" box eight draw in the final.
Simply Limelight, his main rival on Saturday night, also contested the Magic Maiden, finishing fifth after bungling the start.
On Saturday Simply Limelight, a luckless third in last week's Bob Payne Sprint after drawing poorly in box eight, will be favourite despite again coming up with another unsuitable draw, box six.
Federal Aussie's trainer Steve Fairbairn said: "I'm not confident of beating Simply Limelight because that greyhound is a class animal but my bloke is ready to run a big race.
"At his latest start at Goulburn on May 6 Federal Aussie missed the jump but still won easily, and he trialled well at Wenty on Tuesday night.
"Federal Aussie had a box-to-box trial and recorded a good first split of 5.47 before getting under 14sec for his second section.
"I'm convinced Wenty is his favourite track and because he is such a big dog, Federal Aussie is very hard to get past once he reaches the lead.''
Zipping Novak is unbeaten in three Wentworth Park appearances and despite drawing box six looks a class above his rivals in Saturday night's NSW GBOTA Welcome Stakes, a 520m fifth grade.
Zipping Novak's best Wentworth Park time of 29.65 is .34sec faster than the figures posted by his nearest rival We Don't Share, who has box five.
Best value on Saturday looks to be We Don't Share's kennelmate Panorama, who should make full use of his box two draw in the fifth grade 520m Where Else But Wenty? Stakes.
Panorama was desperately unlucky when third from box six at Wentworth Park last Saturday but relished his inside box three slot when he won by four lengths in a nippy 30.02 at Wentworth Park on April 16.
