Simply Limelight achieved one of greyhound racing's most remarkable comebacks when he gave the great She's A Pearl a start and beating at Wentworth Park on Saturday night.
The Peter Rodgers trained dog trailed She's A Pearl and Len Me Dad around the first turn and after moving into second place on the back straight, got underneath the pacemaker to take a narrow lead at the top of the straight.
Simply Limelight, this year's Ladbrokes Golden Easter Egg winner, then drew away to win by just over two lengths from She's A Pearl, the 2022 Egg victor, with Len Me Dad a gallant third, just over three lengths away.
The winner covered the 520m in Saturday's Free-For-All in 29.60, fastest time of the night.
Nearly six weeks earlier Simply Limelight's career looked over when the dog failed to finish in a Wentworth Park Free-For-All won by She's A Pearl in 29.47.
Saturday's first-up win was a training triumph for Peter Rodgers, but the Freemans Reach conditioner deflected any praise, attributing all credit to his greyhound.
"Simply Limelight cracked a shoulder in that April 19 race and when I took him home that night I thought his career was over,'' Rodgers said.
"But this dog has so much courage, he is real alpha male greyhound.
"Early in his career he got bashed around from bad box draws but never once shirked his task, he is just a phenomenal chaser.
"Since he staged that amazing recovery from his setback in April, he has clocked 23.73 in a post-to-post slip at Wenty so I knew he was going as well as ever.
"My only concern before the race was whether his timing could have been astray after a lengthy absence from competing under race conditions.''
Len Me Dad battled for the early lead with She's A Pearl and his trainer Ruth Matic said later: "They went together into the corner but She's A Pearl just bumped our dog out of the way.
"Under the circumstances I couldn't be happier with Len Me Dad's run.''
She's A Pearl's defeat, the first time she has been run down at Wentworth Park, did not dampen her trainer Andy Lord's night as the Gunning conditioner landed a winning treble.
Lord's Saturday winners were One Hot Bandit in 30.02, Purring Along in a personal best 29.96 and Screaming Jet in 30.04.
Trainer Michelle Sultana took out the quinella in Saturday night's Glenn Stanton Memorial Masters Stakes, with Connections leading all the way to edge out his kennelmate Aston Ulysses in 29.73.
Connections won the race due to his dazzling early splits of 5.37 and 13.83, with the win taking his record to an outstanding 21 successes from 34 starts.
Aston Ulysses probably took the wrong option leaving the back straight when he tried to rail up underneath Angel Glow, who was chasing the winner, before pulling back and going to the outside of that greyhound.
Nando Banner, who had not bettered 30.10 in 17 previous Wentworth Park races, was an impressive all-the-way fifth grade winner in a flying 29.71 for Cranebrook trainer Barry Gibbons.
Outlaw Mcgraw, who joined Mick Hardman's Goulburn kennels just two weeks ago, scored a runaway first-up win for his new trainer in a 520m fifth grade, clocking 30.03.
Prominent owner Jason Carrozza recently bought Outlaw Mcgraw from the Spratt family, who had the dog with crack FORBES trainer Jack Smith.
A litter brother to the Ann Barnes-trained boom youngster Nangar Larry, Outlaw Mcgraw went into Saturday's race with a win and two placings from four country races.
After Saturday's event Mick Hardman said: "When Jason Carrozza approached me and asked me to take this dog it was lucky as I happened to have just one spare kennel.
"As Outlaw Mcgraw had been previously trained by Jack Smith I didn't have to do much with him, he was already very fit.
"All I did was give him a post-to-post slip at Wenty and he clocked 24.40, which I thought was good because he looked completely for much of the trial.
"I think it could also have even been his first time running under lights, rather than in daylight, so I told the owner I expected him to be able to improve enough to win tonight.''
