The battle for the Warrnambool Cup begins on Wednesday night when 45 dogs hit the track across six heats before the final of the feature runs a week later on May 1^st.

"There are certainly top-end talent coming down, which is fantastic," Monigatti said.

"It's a main race and one of the first races of May so it encourages top-end talent to converge on Warrnambool."

Multiple country cup winner Orson Allen, who is trained by Corey Grenfell and has already won the Perth, Cranbourne and Horsham cups this year, is Monigatti's favourite and headlines a stacked fourth heat.

Group one winner Barooga, who is trained by Brooke Ennis, is in heat three. The Anthony Azzopardi-trained Whiskey Riot, who won the Warrnambool Seaside Festival's feature event - the Summer Sizzle, tops heat two.

Race four (heat two) also holds two of the stronger south-west hopes in the Norm McCullagh-trained Cromson Vixen, Mathew Wright's hopeful Auggie, who is owned by the same syndicate as Lightning Frank, and Ray Drew's Ashton Ninja.

Wright also has Black Kruger running in heat four alongside south-west owned and bred Lektra Spring.

Koroit's Kevin Mugavin has Nitro Value in heat five, while Joy and Ash McDowall's hopes of a finalist lie with Kinloch Moss in heat six.

The club will also host a race meet next Monday night. Monigatti said it will be the first time in nearly five years the Warrnambool May Racing Carnival week will kick-start with greyhound racing at Wannon Park.

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