On Thursday, the best female talent around the country will fight it out to see who is the queen over the Sandown Park 515m in the Sapphire Crown Final.
The script played out in the heats last week, but not the way that trainer Daniel Gibbons had hoped for his star Kelsey Bale.
“I’m hoping that her, Wow She’s Fast and Baby Jaycee all get through to the final and then we will see who’s the best,” he told Australian Racing Greyhound last week prior to the heats.
Off the back of taking out three Country Cups wrapped up with the Warrnambool Cup a fortnight ago, the Feral Franky x Ethla Allen bitch entered her heat as the heavily backed favourite.
Even with a fightback and eating through the margin with a rail ride she finished third (29.49) but did enough to stamp her ticket into the final.
Gibbons that his five-time Group winner is going to need the performance of a lifetime and a pile of luck to have her impact shown here.
“The draw is shocking she is going to have to pull out a miracle to win from the draw,” Gibbons said.
“Not only is she in box four but she is drawn in the middle of the two quickest beginners in the race (Pepita and Plagiarise) so she is just going to get jammed up straight away.
“I think Wow She’s Fast is drawn perfectly and Baby Jaycee will draw her into the race and she won’t have any pressure from the dog in 8 (Lakeview Buff) so she should get a very clear run.
“I think Magic Muffin from the red is also a threat and can split 5s early and if she does, she will be home at the first turn because she is just getting stronger.
“I think Kelsey is unders from where she is drawn.
“But she is full of confidence and in excellent form if she gets any gaps or ounce of luck, she will take it and do her best.”
The field is filled with class, led by reigning Crown champion and three-time Group 1 winner Wow She’s Fast ($3.20).
From 31 starts the My Bro Fabio x Fair of Face bitch has saluted 20 times with three second placings and smashing the $2.3 million mark in prize money for trainer Jackie Greenough.
Her heat performance was sublime run in 29.30, best time of heats, and sitting second on the turn kicked away to thump the field by 5.66 lengths.
2023 Sapphire Crown Heat 1 replay
1st – Wow She’s Fast (29.30s)
She has drawn the black box for the final having won from that box at the track and distance in the Group 3 Launching Pad Final last year.
She will also face off here against the runner-up in this race last year in Let’s Win Coin ($41) who has drawn the three box, the same as she did in last years edition.
The field is filled with classy stars of the track including types such as Baby Jaycee ($3.80), who will be looking to make it three victories on the trot and has only been unplaced twice in her last 21 starts (38: 21-4-6).
She won her heat in 29.45 and by 0.93 lengths fighting off a resurgent Magic Muffin, who kept throwing down a challenge in the final stages.
Plagiarise ($11) from the Brooke Ennis kennel will jump from the five box in her first start from the alley but won her heat in a respectable 29.43 giving backers a performance to take note of.
From the same kennel as star Amron Boy (44:17-12-4), who will line up in the Group 1 Harrison Dawson Final on the same night, she will surely give the leading two hopes a challenge for the Crown.
“It’s a tough draw and a very strong race,” said the kennel’s co-trainer Jamie Ennis.
“Just hoping for luck and if she ran into the placings we would be wrapped.”
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