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 her Sapphire Crown defence – 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.
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 final.
WATCH: “Sharni, my darling, welcome home!” WOW SHE’S FAST (B3) returned with a bang in Thursday night’s G1 Sapphire Crown heats at Sandown Park, careering away to a BON 29.30sec victory.
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’s meeting also featured four heats of the G1 Sportsbet Harrison-Dawson (515m) for the males, 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.
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.
Heat 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 2019 and Tiggerlong Tonk 2021) won the remaining heat with Kai Bale posting 29.47sec.
Next Thursday’s bumper 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).
