Easter Egg Glory Awaits Presutto's Australian Idol

TRAINER Peter Presutto admits he's "pinching himself" after Victorian ‘Golden Girl' Idolize continued her love affair with Wentworth Park in the semi-finals of the Group 1 Golden Easter Egg (520m) on Saturday night.

Idolize, winner of the G1 National Futurity in Sydney in January, improved her undefeated record at Wentworth Park to four from four with another flawless front-running exhibition, clocking a flying 29.63sec, her 14th win from 24 starts.

A January '20 daughter of My Redeemer and Hightan, Idolize started $2.70 favourite in her all-the-way victory over fellow Victorians Zara's Ivan and Lala Kiwi, both trained by Andrea Dailly, comfortably eclipsing her previous personal best of 29.80sec.

The performance was highlighted by a blistering 5.30sec first section, just over one length outside the 5.22sec split record.

"You just keep pinching yourself," said Peter Presutto.

"It's a surprise but it's not a surprise. I know she's very capable but maybe I'm too much of a pessimist.

"That was probably her best win. Against that quality of the field, to fight off ‘the red' (Zara's Ivan) and then you had the Australian Cup winner (Lala Kiwi) running third!

"The Golden Easter Egg is a special race and Wentworth Park is a fantastic place as well. Being in a race like the Easter Egg makes all the hard work and sacrifices over the years worth it and having a winning chance is even better!"

Idolize continues her love affair with Wentworth Park Greyhounds and wins the opening Ladbrokes #GoldenEasterEgg Semi Final in 29.63 from Zara's Ivan!

Results: https://t.co/Mstwh61Qis#thedogs #WentworthPark #GreyhoundRacing #LGEE #GEE @WatchDogRacing pic.twitter.com/NDe92Mu6Xq

— The Dogs (@Thedogs_com_au) April 2, 2022

Idolize was the second fastest of the four semi-final winners, with She's A Pearl, prepared by leading NSW mentor Jodie Lord, clocking the quickest time of 29.46sec, her eighth straight win and 18th from 29 overall.

Idolize and She's A Pearl have drawn alongside each other for the $250,000 to-the-winner Easter Egg finale, in boxes four and five respectively, with She's A Pearl a dominant $1.95 favourite with TAB.

Despite her obvious affinity with Wentworth Park, Idolize shares the second line of betting with another local female in Good Odds Cash (Box 7) at $5. 

"She's drawn okay, I think," Presutto said.

"What a love affair" – Peter Presutto AND Idolize just love #WentworthPark and why wouldn't they when Idolize is 4 from 4 and on track for G1 glory in the @ladbrokescomau #GoldenEasterEgg next week!

Here's what Peter had to say after the win…#thedogs #LGEE #GEE pic.twitter.com/JFwNrNiBac

— The Dogs (@Thedogs_com_au) April 2, 2022

"The five (She's A Pearl) is going to be very hard to beat. But if Idolize can do exactly what she's been doing and nail the start, then she's in with a really good show,"

"It gets harder each week, so you've got to get better each week and I really think she is.

"Coming into the heats, she'd had a few issues with her blood, and I knew if she qualified for the semi-finals she would improve and she did. I think she'll improve again this week.

"She's probably still two or three runs off being at her peak, but I can really see the change in her over the last two weeks and she's nearly back to where we want to have her.

"It might sound ridiculous, after she went 5.30sec on Saturday, but it wouldn't surprise me if she could go a bit quicker early because she's still not right up the front of the boxes.

"I think whoever is in front coming off the back will probably win the race. Hopefully, that's Idolize!"