Christmas will come early for the connections of one greyhound at Cannington on Saturday night.
The eight best stayers in the state will compete in the listed Christmas Gift (715m) with a first prize of just under $20,000 on offer.
The race could be determined by the contest between the two greyhounds that are currently vying for the unofficial mantle of ‘top dog’ in our distance ranks: Moment To Jive and Reidy’s Runner.
It’s a classic battle between an established star and an up-and-coming challenger.
Trained out of Sarah Appleton’s Canning Vale kennels Moment To Jive represented WA in the National Distance final in September, was runner-up in the Galaxy and has racked up a heap of wins this year but her ascendancy is under threat from Reidy’s Runner.
After working up to the 715m journey after some success in 600m racing Reidy’s Runner has now saluted in three of her past four starts.
The Christine Bennett-trained racedog has defeated Moment To Jive in two of their past three encounters and the strong running powerful is racing with great confidence.
Christmas Gift is more than a two dog affair with former Victorian racedog Dyna Dean leading the list of potential spoilers.
The veteran chaser, now under the guidance of Enzo Crudeli, has been a brilliant money-spinner since mid-Oct.
Dyna Dean has won five races and hasn’t missed a spot on the podium in his last ten attempts.
Rockstar Patriot has his first start in WA for trainer James Jefferies and was in good form prior to his arrival while West On Hawkeye is a last start winner over 600m.
The Christmas Gift Race is scheduled for race seven and will jump at 8.57pm WA time on Saturday.