HEALESVILLE, RACE 8 BOX 5, 1:11PM

Interstate rivalry hits Healesville today when combatants from Victoria, Queensland and South Australia match strides in the Listed SEN National Straight Track Championship over 350 metres.

Yes, there’ll be plenty of pride at stake in greyhound racing’s own version of ‘State of Origin’.

And in a touch of Victorian parochialism, GRV’s form analyst The Watchdog has selected hometown hero Peter Galo (box five) to collect a $35,000 winner’s cheque in the ‘battle of the states’.

In fairness, The Watchdog has more probably let his head rule his heart as Peter Galo is indeed a Healesville track specialist with 14 wins from 20 starts.

Trained at Devon Meadows by Garry Selkrig, Peter Galo was simply sensational in last week’s Victorian Straight Track Championship final, defeating Myrniong And All in 19.09sec.

The Watchdog is also suggesting the best chances from interstate are Fantastic Axel (box eight) and Certification (box seven). Surprisingly, both finished second in their respective state finals.

Fantastic Axel went down narrowly to Panhandle Slim in the SA final at Murray Bridge, while Certification experienced a similar fate when Hollow Words took out the Qld final at Capalaba. Panhandle Slim (box one) and Hollow Words (box two) also qualified for the national final.

The other finalists are Hot Chevy (box four, SA) and Dusty’s Charlie (box six, Qld).

You can catch some ‘straight line fever’ today at 1.11pm.

Check out Peter Galo’s stunning victory in last week’s Victorian Straight Track Championship final at Healesville: