ROOKIE trainer Adam Oliver is definitely not banking on Avion giving him a breakthrough racetrack victory at the special Wagga Greyhound Racing Club meeting at the weekend.
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Three months after branching out as a trainer in his own right, Oliver is patiently waiting for his first winner.
Heading into an historic WGRC TAB meeting on Saturday night, Oliver knows the odds are stacked against Avion ending the frustration.
"It'd a pretty hard race and she's probably outclassed a bit," Oliver said yesterday.
"One way or the other, she'll have a go, and you can always hope."
A winner of three of her 33 starts, Avion faces a sizeable challenge from box six in the Trent Delaney Painting Stake (320m), particularly with Cosmic Prince sitting in box one.
One of Wagga's smartest sprinters, Cosmic Prince has won 10 of his 25 starts, including a slick victory over 320m at Wagga Showground at his last start on August 22.
Showing his customary early dash, Cosmic Prince led virtually all the way from box three, steaming home by 5¾ lengths in 18.47 seconds.
In contrast, Avion has failed at Canberra and Wagga at her past two starts, but did win at Wagga in 18.60 in May.
For Oliver, training Avion has continued his growing involvement with greyhound racing.
Oliver yesterday recalled his introduction to a sport that is thriving in Wagga.
"I've been in the game for two years," Oliver remembered yesterday.
"A mate of mine, Mitch Williams, asked me whether I wanted to buy a dog and we gave it to his father, Bruce, to train.
"I used to help Bruce out a bit, but I started training for myself three months.
"I do the majority, but my wife Jody gives me a hand."
Working together at their business Appliance Man in the city, Jodie and Adam are a formidable team.
As Jody mans the phone in the officer, Adam repairs and upgrades white goods.
Significantly, Adam has just taken his interest in greyhound racing to a new level, jumping on board as a sponsor of WGRC.
"We wanted to back the club," he said.
"We've got some signage along the home straight and we sponsor the odd race or two."
WGRC, meantime, is breaking new ground by staging a TAB meeting in prime time on Saturday night, with predictions of substantial turnover.
Although Saturday's meeting does not have a feature race, two lucrative events are scheduled for the Wagga card on Wednesday afternoon.
The midweek meeting will include a $1000 low grade final, while heats of a $5000 525m fifth grade sprint are also on the program.
TOUGH ASSIGNMENT
Who: Avion
Where: Wagga Showground
When: 9.49pm Saturday
