The son of Elite State was bred by Garland, and was an impressive four-length heat winner, leading from start to finish.

"He has drawn extremely well in the red box. He likes to rail up in his races," Garland said.

"He is a handy little dog and we are hoping that he can win and go on to win better races," he said.

The Tina Womann-trained Special Daisy (box six) and David Burnett's Monasito (box two) appear the hardest to beat.

Garland's involvement in greyhound racing spans 20 years.

He also breeds and races dogs.

He is a part-time trainer, combining it with running a hairdressing business, which employs five staff.

Garland said his wife Jane and three children were the main helpers in the kennel when business commitments took priority.

It was Garland's grandfather Bill Garland, who was better known as a bookmaker, who got him into greyhound racing.

"I was always interested in the dogs and it just seemed a natural thing to race and train my own dogs," he said.

Garland has a good winning strike rate with his small team and has had some great dogs - including Trendy Lee and Shell Born Star.

Trendy Lee, which is a brother to Brett Lee, was the quickest dog he has raced and won a few races before being sold.

Shell Born Star won city class races and was a group two finalist before going to stud in Western Australia.

She is now at stud in Ireland.