Victorian star trainer Jeff Britton expects Weblec Jet to have learned a lot from his first run at Murray Bridge – a respectable second in last week’s heat – ahead of Sunday night.
Then he will start as one of the favorites in the $35,000 Daish Irrigation and Fodder Murray Bridge Cup.
The three year old is $4 to win with greyhound betting sites.
But he will have to cut his work against Fantastic Victor at $3.50 for Oswald Chegia and She’s A Hotshot, who ran a stunning 25.11 seconds for Troy Murray at Murray Bridge on January 21st.
Britton is confident his versatile runner has taken enough from last week’s run to be competitive from pit two on Sunday night.
“He ran home well last week having never been on the track before so hopefully he’ll make better decisions after taking a look,” he told australianracinggreyhound.com.
“He was going to run around a dog on the home straight, but if he had gone under it he probably would have won the race.
“And the race before that wasn’t ideal for a preparation at the Murray Bridge. He had 600m and won really well at Sandown.
“He’s sort of a 600 meter hound now, but he runs very well at shorter distances.”
Britton said a good start is crucial for his runner, who loves to finish well in enduring events.
“He’s a really good dog, but he may not have the pace of the others,” he said.
“I hope he can run a little bit clean because in the end he will go on.
“I wish there were another 100 meters.”
Weblec Jet will have no shortage of followers Sunday night.
“It (a win) would be really good because it goes all the way to a Group 3 race,” said Britton.
“And the dog’s owner, Neville (Loechel), he’s the president of the club.
“So he’s going to have his whole family down there. It was going to be a great night for him.
“After all the times of the last week it should be very tight. There isn’t much between the fields.”
While the steadfast Britton is currently third in the Victoria coach race with 240 wins in the state over the last 12 months, he was modest when asked about his current running runners.
His bitch Mepunga Ruby is indeed in top form.
She celebrated her third birthday by finishing second to Steve Withers’ Mambo Monelli in the $142,500 Group 1 Sky Racing Galaxy at Cannington on Saturday night.
“Hopefully she can live up to what she did in the eastern states,” Britton said before the race.
“I have a lot of puppies with quite a big changeover in the kennel.
“So it’s been a little thin (getting wins) lately, but Mepunga Ruby is a dog that has kept me going until the next batch comes through.
“Hopefully I’ll have a few more in a few months.”