The first night of the Sportsbet Sandown Cup Carnival commences this evening at Sandown Park with three heats of the Group 1 Sportsbet Sapphire Crown (515m) and four heats of the Group 1 Sportsbet Harrison-Dawson (515m).
The highlight of the first Sapphire Crown heat (Race 1 at 6:12pm) is the return of three-time Group 1 winner and dual Phoenix (525m) champion Wow She’s Fast.
One of her three Group 1 victories was in last year’s Sapphire Crown Final when she recorded her Sandown Park personal best of 28.82 seconds.
WOW SHE’S FAST (5) SIZZLED IN LAST YEAR’S GROUP 1 SAPPHIRE CROWN FINAL:
“She’s still in good nick, but probably not in quite the same condition last year,” co-trainer Kel Greenough advised GRV’s Peter Quilty as Wow She’s Fast runs for the first time since an unplaced effort in The Sandgroper (520m) at Cannington on April 14.
The second heat of the Sapphire Crown (Race 2 at 6:34pm) should be a great clash between the up-and-coming Magic Muffin – triumphant in seven of her 16 races – and multiple Group 1 runner-up Baby Jaycee.
The third heat of the Sapphire Crown (Race 3 at 6:52pm) is headlined by the country cups queen Kelsey Bale.
The Daniel Gibbons-trained chaser claimed a $50,000 bonus on May 3 for winning three country cups in a calendar year with the Group 2 Warrnambool Cup (450m) triumph following her victories in the Ballarat (450m) and Geelong (520m) Cup finals.
KELSEY BALE (5) CONTINUED HER HOT FORM IN THE GROUP 2 WARRNAMBOOL CUP FINAL:
After the female greyhounds shine in the Sportsbet Sapphire Crown heats, their male counterparts go around in the Sportsbet Harrison-Dawson heats.
The third heat of the Harrison-Dawson (Race 8 at 8:40pm) features Group 1 Perth Cup (520m) champion Elite Machine going up against the in-form Fred Rose – won four of his past five races – and Launching Pad Consolation (515m) winner Make No Promise.
Group 1 Silver Chief (525m) winner Amron Boy has a top record of six wins and two minor placings from eight starts in Box 1 and he faces Group 3 Launching Pad (515m) winner Trooper Tears in the fourth heat of the Harrison-Dawson (Race 9 at 9:01pm).
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SANDOWN PARK MAY 11 FORM GUIDE:
https://watchdog.grv.org.au/meeting/793733323/race/all
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