Coast Model set for uninterrupted start in the Golden Easter Egg
Coast Model is set to have a largely uninterrupted start in the fourth Ladbrokes Golden Easter Egg semi-final at Wentworth Park on Saturday night – it's just not from where her handlers were hoping.
The three-year-old has drawn box eight for the $14,300 feature, after running second in her heat in a good time of 29.87 seconds last Saturday night.
She is a bitch with no shortage of talent, as she showed with her one-length win in a scorching time of 29.58 seconds in the $9200 Ladbrokes Switch (520m) on January 8.
That is the second-best time achieved over 520m in her semi-final field, behind kennelmate and two-year-old She's A Pearl's phenomenal effort of 29.47 seconds in the seventh Golden Easter Egg heat last Saturday night.
But Coast Model's effort was carried out from her favoured number-one box – not from the outside lane where she will start this weekend.
“She wants the inside – she's only a little bitch,” her kennel foreman Andy Lord told AustralianRacingGreyhound.com.
“But on her night she can run what they all run.”
Rain, hail or shine, Coast Model has the ability to qualify for next Saturday night's $250,000 Group 1 Golden Easter Egg Final.
She ran an excellent time of 34.27 seconds in the rain to be a 3.75-length winner in the $7600 GRNSW Middle Distance Series over 600m in Dapto on February 10.
“It (whether it rains or not) doesn't worry her – she's a good chaser. She just needs to be left alone in the first 50m,” Lord said.
With She's A Pearl ($1.35 favourite with Bet365) and Coast Model ($6.50) two fancies for the semi-final on Saturday night, it is no wonder Andy and his wife and trainer Jodie are such hard workers.
Jodie also leads the 2022 Wentworth Park trainers' premiership race with 22 wins this season.
“We all work hard. This is all we do. We've done it for 30 years now,” Andy Lord said.
“It's a seven-day a week job. You really need to get results, but that's what drives you.
“You're always looking to do a bit better and be as professional as you can.”