Master distance trainer Robert Britton is adopting a strength in numbers approach to Friday night’s heats of the lucrative ‘The 715m’ at The Gardens in Newcastle.

Britton and son Tim will have eight runners in the five heats of the second running of The 715m, the world’s richest staying event, with next Saturday’s final (May 6) carrying a $500,000 winner’s purse.

The Brittons’ contenders are Play Nice (heat 1, box 4), First Picked (heat 1, box 8), Fast Milkman (heat 2, box 8), On The Off (heat 3, box 1), Dirt Farmer (heat 4, box 1), Wheel And Go (heat 4, box 2), Couch Surfer (heat 4, box 8), and Cash It In (heat 5, box 2).

“We’ve got the quantity, but I’m not sure about the quality. We’ll find out on Friday.”

“I haven’t got the quality I’ve usually got,” Robert Britton said from Kansas in the United States, where he’s attending – and competing in – the NGA Spring Meet.

“The plan is to throw everything we’ve got at the race. We’ve got the quantity, but I’m not sure about the quality. We’ll find out on Friday.

“But over the distance at the moment I don’t think there’s a stayer that would scare you away. They’re very even.”

The shortest of the Brittons’ runners in Sportsbet’s ‘All In’ market is WA import Couch Surfer at $18.

Click HERE for Sportsbet’s ‘The 715’ heat markets

Couch Surfer is making his first appearance in the eastern states, having won 11 of his 21 starts in the west for Chris Halse, partner of Britton’s sister Linda.

Couch Surfer is a $4 chance in the fourth heat, where he’ll clash with ‘kennelmates’ Dirt Farmer ($12) and Wheel And Go ($3.60F).

A son of Fernando Bale and Deluxe Model, Couch Surfer reeled off nine straight wins at Cannington and Mandurah, before being beaten at his past two starts, when third in the G1 Galaxy (715m), beaten only three-quarters of a length, and sixth in another half-million dollar race, The Sandgroper, over an unsuitable 520m.

Surprise Galaxy winner First Picked has also returned to Victoria after running third in the G3 The Miata at Cannington last Friday.

WATCH: FIRST PICKED (B7) was an upset all-the-way winner of the G1 Galaxy at Cannington on March 18, with favourite COUCH SURFER (B4) running third. Both are contesting Friday’s ‘The 715’ heats.

“I’m hoping Couch Surfer might step up,” Britton said.

“He’s been going very well in Perth and while he didn’t trial that well at The Gardens last week, he’d had a really rough four days.

“He raced in Perth on the Friday, flew over to Victoria on Sunday, on Monday he went up to Newcastle and then he trialled on Tuesday.”

The most fancied Victorian contender is Ariarne Bale, trained by Daniel Gibbons, which is on the third line of ‘All In’ betting at $7, behind Andy Lord kennelmates Cawbourne Magic and Punter’s Bandit at $5 and $5.50.

Ariarne Bale, which stormed home to win the Cup Night Distance special event (680m) at Geelong last Friday, is the $2.50 second elect from box one in Friday’s opening heat (race 4, 8.19pm).

Other Vics lining up in the heats are G1 winner Moraine Suzie (heat 2), trained by Brendan Pursell, and Jeff Britton‘s duo Mepunga Tess (heat 2) and Korda (heat 3).

A long-time proponent of internationalising greyhound racing, Britton has enjoyed success earlier this week in the US, with Booker Dano (Konomi x Liz Cambage) scoring in Best Of Day time in a heat of the Sunflower Stakes.

“We’ve got a couple of dogs running in the Sunflower, which is a slot race for maiden dogs,” Britton explained.

“These are the last dogs that we’ve raised in America, so hopefully we can go out with a bang.”