GREYHOUND racing’s Queen, Wow She’s Fast, won’t be relinquishing her (Sapphire) crown anytime soon.
That was the clear message on Thursday night when the sport’s record prizemoney earner ($2,389,495) made a sensational return in the heats of the Group 1 Sportsbet Sapphire Crown (515m) at Sandown Park.
Wow She’s Fast’s master co-trainer Kel Greenough expressed some concern in the lead-up to Wow She’s Fast’s defence of the Sapphire Crown – the champion broke the $1 million barrier when winning last year’s final in a near-record 28.82sec.
But Greenough needn’t have worried as Wow She’s Fast ($1.30F) romped home in a Best Of Night 29.30sec, her 20th win from 31 starts and 13th from 16 appearances at Sandown Park.
Box draw for next Thursday night’s Group 1 @sportsbetcomau #SapphireCrown Final at @sandowndogs 👇🏼
1️⃣ MAGIC MUFFIN
2️⃣ PEPITA
3️⃣ LET’S WIN COIN
4️⃣ KELSEY BALE
5️⃣ PLAGIARISE
6️⃣ BABY JAYCEE
7️⃣ WOW SHE’S FAST
8️⃣ LAKEVIEW BUFFReserves
9️⃣ VAYDA BALE
🔟 JACKPOT JOAN pic.twitter.com/hcjWQEY4ej— WatchDog Racing (@WatchDogRacing) May 11, 2023
Wow She’s Fast will be striving to send her prizemoney tally spiralling further into the stratosphere and become only the second dual Sapphire winner after the great Paua To Burn (2004/05) when she exits box seven in next Thursday night’s female feature.
Baby Jaycee, trained by Bob Douglas, runner-up in the Australian Cup, Golden Easter Egg and National Futurity, will be striving to break her Group 1 hoodoo after a 29.45sec success in the second heat.
There was an upset in the third and final run-off, where Brooke Ennis’ Plagiarise brought $1.50 favourite Kelsey Bale’s six-race winning streak to an end when leading all-the-way in 29.43sec at her first start since October 5.
2022 Sapphire runner-up Let’s Win Coin, prepared by Jessica Sharp, edged Kelsey Bale out of second place, but Daniel Gibbons’ Ballarat, Geelong and Warrnambool Cup heroine snuck through to the decider, where she’ll attempt to dethrone Wow She’s Fast in what could be a showdown for the ages.
Thursday night’s meeting also featured four heats of the G1 Sportsbet Harrison-Dawson (515m) for the male sprinters, with Robert Britton claiming a winning double courtesy of litter brothers Trooper Tears and Trapper Tears, which ran the quinella in the G3 Launching Pad at Sandown last month.
Another outstanding field!
Who wins next week’s Harrison-Dawson Final? pic.twitter.com/wlvQUbgVnr
— Sandown Greyhounds (@sandowndogs) May 11, 2023
Trooper Tears improved his imposing record to 10 from 15 when upstaging $1.50 favourite Amron Boy in the final heat, clocking 29.39sec, while Trapper Tears ran 29.49sec.
Qualifying honours went to Dundee Smokey, which was victorious in 29.34sec for Geoff Scott-Smith, who won the 2016 Harrison-Dawson with Dundee Osprey.
Dual Harrison-Dawson victor Correy Grenfell (Orson Allen in 2019 and Tiggerlong Tonk 2021) won the remaining heat with Kai Bale posting 29.47sec.
Next Thursday’s bumper Sandown meeting will feature the finals of the Sapphire Crown and Harrison-Dawson, both carrying a $100,000 winner’s purse, as well as heats of the G1 Sportsbet Sandown Cup (715m).