Jessica Living The Dream Ahead Of Futurity Tilt

JESSICA Savage will make the four hour trip to Wentworth Park on Saturday for the National Futurity with only the fourth greyhound she has trained.

JESSICA Savage will make the almost four hour trip from Taree to Wentworth Park on Saturday night on a Group 1 National Futurity mission with only the fourth greyhound she has trained.

And Jessica, 29, is quietly confident She's Savage (Aston Dee Bee-Wicked This Way) is boxed to perfection, can improve on her first Wenty race start, and be in with a chance of winning the bitches classic.

She's Savage comes into the final off a second to Group 1 Dapto Megastar winner Ritza Donna, beaten a length and three-quarters in 29.72 to make her the third fastest from the heats of the Futurity.

“Yes, she is indeed very promising,” said Jessica of the winner of five races, three at The Gardens and two at Richmond.

“I bought her as a pup at three months for $1500 as the replacement for a dog I'd reared to 12 months but lost through a brown snake bite.

“She is fawn and I have an obsession with fawns. In fact, She's Savage looks identical to the pup I lost.”

She's Savage was an instant hit when first put into training.

“I got her privately educated and at her second trial around Kempsey she ran quicker than FFA times,” said Jessica. “I brought her home and tried to get field trials for her around Taree but no one would trial maidens with her.

“She had to go into field trials against performed dogs and she was still running top grade times. At her first 392 metre trial at Taree she went 22.75 but the next week she went 22.35.”

Jessica took her to The Gardens and promptly won two in a row.

At her fourth start she had a bad fall and instantly lost confidence.

“I sent her to Jason Mackay to try to fix her and he won a race at The Gardens with her in September,” said Jessica.

“But her form tapered off and I got her back home.”

That's when Jessica decided to spell her and let her build her confidence, running with a few pups she had on her Taree property.

It worked.

She came back to win two at Richmond and then went into the heats of the Futurity against Group 1 star Ritza Donna.

“Getting into a Group 1 is every trainer's dream,” said Jessica.

“She will strip fitter in the final and she is a bitch who always goes much better at her second start on a racetrack. The eight box is absolutely perfect for her.”

Jessica believes Ritza Donna is the one to beat again in Saturday night's final.

But she is also adamant she has no immediate plans for her Group 1 class bitch after the Futurity. “I don't ever like to get too far ahead of myself with plans for dogs,” she said.

Jessica has only one other dog in training, the seven-times winner Guided By Soul who was due to race at Taree on Tuesday afternoon.

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