New season swings into Hatrick

It's straight into Group racing as feature racing as the new 2017-18 season gets underway at Hatrick this evening.

Three 520m heats for the $26,500 Wanganui Cup (Group 1) will be held and the stayers will contest two heats for the $15,000 Wanganui Stayers (Group 2) over the extreme 755m race distance.

It will be the stayers who will attract a fair amount of attention, as included in their heats is the presence of the formidable stayer Ring The Bell (Race 7).

The Ray Adcock-trained superstar has ripped apart the Kiwi stayers since he crossed the Tasman.

Two Group 1 victories, plus an astounding Forbury Park 770m track record, sees Ring The Bell arriving at Hatrick this evening as the emphatic winner of all six of his New Zealand races.

The first stayers heat (Race 6) will also see a real short priced favourite being loaded away into the one trap.

Tranquil Blossom won the Wanganui Distance at Group 1 level here last season for her conditioner Angela Turnwald.

She showed she's right on track for another competitive effort after delivering a strong Manawatu 660m win on Monday.

Also contesting this heat is last year's Wanganui Stayers winner - the evergreen staying star Shandell.

Amazingly, the Arch Lawrence trained stayer won her third consecutive NZ Stayer of the Year last season and despite now being officially classified as a veteran greyhound, she still maintains a strong zest for racing.

Competition will be fierce in the race for field positions for next Friday's Wanganui Cup, with greyhounds from all around the country seeking to book their return for the decider.

The first heat (Race 8) sees the proven chasers Opawa Brad and Thrilling Flo taking on talented types like Ride Ain't Over, Spring Allegro and Bigtime Paddy.

Heat two (Race 9) sees the in-form Allegro Gun clashing with the current Auckland Cup title holder He's All Power, along with the trap two specialist Letron James.

Qualifying claims owned by Bigtime Jason and Gold Class in this heat cannot be lightly dismissed either.

The third heat features the return of the classy chaser Opawa Shackley to this venue.

The presence of the in-form northern chaser Lochinvar Brogue adds interest, as does the recent Hatrick Group 1 520m winner Spare Some Time.

Epic Dream owns the ability to set a torrid early pace here.