Elsey Gregg hits purple patch of form at Hobart

Tasmanian sprinter Elsey Gregg (Fabregas x Ethel Horner Mar '15) will be shooting for four wins from her past five starts when she heads to Hobart this Thursday night to take on the top grade event over 461m.

Elsey Gregg is likely to start favourite, going into the race having run a blistering 25.89 over the track and trip last week. The time was just outside her 25.75 personal best which was recorded from box five on February 8.

Ted Medhurst, who trains the black bitch for the Esplanade Syndicate, said he is thrilled by Elsey Gregg's most recent form, having now had eight runs back from a spell yielding four wins and two placings.

“I really can't fault her – she is running time and she is doing it consistently,” Medhurst told Australian Racing Greyhound.

“A lot of the time a dog will come out and run fast time, but it will be a one off. But she seems to be able to keep performing which is great.”

Elsey Gregg is starting to build an imposing record. The Breeders Classic winner has won 12 races from 26 starts with eight placings, her prize money closing in on $25,000.

Having had just 11 starts in the past 13 months, Medhurst is hopeful Elsey Gregg is now ready to put her best paws forward and string together some more wins.

“She has been sidelined a fair bit during her career. It was never anything major – just a series of little things and every time she got over one thing she'd do something else.

“It added up to a lot of time, but it probably a bit of a blessing in disguise – she has always been able to run but she seems to have really matured now and she is going really well.”

Elsey Gregg will face a tough mission this week, coming up against the in-form Jake Sully and kennel mate Chief Jetpilot, however Medhurst rates his runner as being hard to beat.

“It's a tough field this week, but she generally has good early pace so hopefully she can get out and put a gap on them.

“If she can kick away from them early they will find her hard to catch running quick out front.”

And despite being one of the fastest and most consistent greyhounds in Tassie, Medhurst says he isn't tempted to venture interstate to test his speedster on the mainland.

“She is a bit of a scatter brain – she is a funny bitch,” he said.

“I think we'll just settle for watching her keep winning at Hobart – she likes the track there so that's what we'll stick with.”

Elsey Gregg will jump from box six in race six at Hobart this Thursday night, with the race set to be run at 9.07pm AEDT.