When Barefoot Dave's owner Jason Carrozza was impressed by the dog's win and minor placing in the Vince Curry Memorial series at Ipswich in January he asked trainer Joe McFadyen to take a look at the replays of the races.
McFadyen liked what he saw and after being forced to increase his bids a couple of times Carrozza bought Barefoot Dave and transferred him to the NSW trainer.
Now, after just four races, Barefoot Dave is set to tackle the heats of the Group 3 Simply Limelight New Sensation at Wentworth Park on April 3.
The clincher was when Barefoot Dave led all the way from box eight to win a 520m fifth grade at Wentworth Park on Friday night in a flying 29.72, with a handy second split of 13.88 and healthy run home figures of 11.72.
After the race McFadyen said: "He had finished fourth at his only previous race for me at Wentworth Park on March 8 but it has taken the dog a while to get used to my training methods.
"They are quite different to what Barefoot Dave was used to in Queensland so I was confident he would go better on Friday than he did at his first start for me.
"I was hopeful he might run around the low 29.90s or even get down near 29.80, so to see him clock 29.72 was a pleasant surprise.''
Barefoot Dave does not turn two until July so with the New Sensation open to greyhounds whelped on or after December 1, 2021, the former Queenslander will be among the youngest contestants.
Ferness beat all but the placegetters in the Richmond Derby final on March 1 but trainer Ron Evans has always rated that dog's litter brother Ando Prince "every bit as good.''
The lightly-raced Ando Prince finished third at his sole Wentworth Park appearance on February 19, but trialled brilliantly there on Saturday and is ready to resume racing at headquarters.
On Saturday Ando Prince led all way the way to win a 520m clearance trial by over 10 lengths in a flying 29.67, running home in a smart 11.70.
Trainer Ron Evans said: "For his first run back from the break I gave Ando Prince a 520m trial at Wentworth Park on March 19 and he clocked 30.16 so I was rapt to see him go so much faster over the same course four nights later.''
Aston Costello, who had not been tried over a long distance prior to his impressive all-the-way 720m win at Wentworth Park last Saturday night, has the Ladbrokes 715 at The Gardens as his goal.
Trainer Shayne Stiff said: "The only time he had seen Wenty before last Saturday was for a box-to-box trial on the previous Tuesday night.
"I have nominated him for another 720m at Wentworth Park on Saturday, then he will contest the Group 1 Farrell's Association Cup series there next month before being prepared for the heats of the Ladbrokes 715 on April 26.
