The world’s – not only Australia’s – undisputed sprint queen has abdicated her throne… Long live the queen!

Yes, there has been no greater greyhound monarch than Wow She’s Fast – last racing season’s Australian GOTY and Victorian GOTY. She was also anointed as the Victorian Sprinter of the Year.

And co-trained by two of the finest – and most humble – participants in the sport. Take a bow, Kel and Jackie Greenough (aka “Team Greenough”).

They didn’t receive the Ned Bryant ‘Silver Fox’ Award – for outstanding achievement in the training, breeding or promotion of greyhound racing in the racing year – at the 2023 Victorian Greyhound Awards for nothing! Wow…

It has become a hackneyed phrase in racing parlance, but when it comes to Wow She’s Fast – it’s also a case of “and the champion becomes a legend” in chronicling her brilliant career.

To continue with the equine analogy, she’s a canine version of three-time Melbourne Cup winner Makybe Diva – the juxtaposition being Wow She’s Fast was a sprinter. But who cares? You know where I’m coming from.

Wow’s She’s Fast ‘farewelled’ her fans chasing a third straight victory in the $1.65m The Phoenix at The Meadows on Saturday night.

It wasn’t to be a fairytale farewell… She didn’t win the $1,000,000 first prize but she won the hearts and imaginations of all and sundry in the sport!

Wow She’s Fast has departed the racing scene as the world’s highest earning greyhound – amassing a staggering $2,491,995. Wow, you’re not seeing things!

Lexicographers would fail to come up with enough superlatives to describe Australia’s ‘Greatest Showgirl’. She’s been an amazing PR machine for the sport.

Owned in NSW by Greg Sprod and Tyrone Whittington, Wow She’s Fast (Feb ’20 My Bro Fabio x Fair Of Face) won 20 races – including three Group 1 finals – with three seconds from 35 starts.

“We’ll miss the good times… I think she enjoyed it, and we enjoyed it.”

She was bred by National Coursing Association of Victoria president, Peter Craig. A proud man he must be!

Wow She’s Fast’s racing exploits will be preserved for posterity. But another thing contributing to her certain immortality is that items of her racing memorabilia are featured in a glass-enclosed cabinet as one of four themed showcases, at the Australian Sports Museum at the MCG, commemorating the 150^th anniversary of Victorian greyhound racing.

It’s an amazing honour and definitely not taken for granted by the Greenoughs.

Paradoxically, Kel Greenough finds it difficult to depict what Wow She’s Fast – such is her aura – means to him and Jackie.

“She means to us, plenty… She has a personality and is intelligent and loving.

“I’ve been in greyhound racing for over 50 years and to think back then a dog would eventually win $2.5m, you’d be dreaming.

“I never envisaged it possible to get a dog like her in terms of prizemoney.

“And you very rarely see a female greyhound compete at the highest level against the males. Further, you very rarely see them win against them in the elite category.”

Greenough added: “We’ll look after her until she comes on season… We may even look after her for the rest of her life.

“We’re trying to wind up in the sport, but we still have two very smart unraced dogs here at the moment.”

Greenough hinted that either Fernando Bale, KC And All or Aston Rupee could be the ‘beau’ for Wow She’s Fast when she takes the next step towards motherhood.

WATCH: ‘Sprint queen’ WOW SHE’S FAST (B6) goes back-to-back winning last year’s The Phoenix.

WATCH: ‘Wonder woman’ WOW SHE’S FAST (B4) lives up to her racing moniker in the inaugural 2021 The Phoenix.

And he says life without Wow She’s Fast not racing is “awkward” – albeit he natural concedes clearing retirement plans with her owners the day prior to The Phoenix was the “perfect end point”.

“She’s jumping out of her skin,” Greenough said. “I can tell she still wants to race, but my biggest fear in the twilight of her career was that something would go wrong.”

Wow She’s Fast missed six months of 2023 due to injury.

“We’ll miss the good times,” he added. “I think she enjoyed it, and we enjoyed it.”

Wow She’s Fast initially established a world prizemoney record ($2,258,570) claiming her second successive The Phoenix – during the $4.1m inaugural Dream Chasers Festival – at The Meadows on December 17, 2022.

She claimed a mind-boggling $1,000,000 winner’s cheque to become the first greyhound to break the magical $2 million prizemoney barrier – and, naturally, also assume the mantle of Australia’s highest stakes earner.

At the time, it was her 18^th win from 26 starts and prompted a delighted response from Jackie Greenough: “I can’t believe it. That’s a million-dollar race… I’m speechless. Unbelievable.”

A year earlier, Wow She’s Fast snared the inaugural $750,000 to-the-winner Phoenix as the ‘baby’ of the field at only her seventh start.

“Winning the inaugural Phoenix, it was actually a bit surreal because it was such a new race – and it was a little bit overwhelming,” Jackie said.

“We took it in our stride; we just went on and did what we do, and it just kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger. She loves it, the dog absolutely loves it.

“It’s never about the money… If somebody had told me that a dog could win two million dollars when I first started in greyhounds, I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have believed them.”

But the ‘sun gods’ haven’t always been shining on Wow She’s Fast.

“When she first trialled at Sandown, she ran 5.76sec to the first marker and we went oh, oh, what have we got here,” Jackie added.

“We get so many names from Greg (Sprod) and Tyrone (Whittington) that Wow She’s Fast was just another one on the list and it was like, whatever will be, will be. But she certainly has grown into her name Wow She’s Fast.”

Ol’ Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’ resonates as we already reminisce on Wow She’s Fast’s stellar racing career.

“I did it my ‘Wow’… And not in a shy way.”

And as she faced the ‘final curtain’ in her Phoenix three-peat attempt the ‘record shows’ she finished fourth.

But that didn’t phase Greenough, who simply said: “Okay, she didn’t win. But The Phoenix was a perfect send off.”

“Sharni”, as she’s known at home, was later brought out on to the track for her adoring legion of Sportsbet fans. She has taken them on a ‘magic carpet ride’ as their ‘slot’ in the first three years of The Phoenix’s existence.

What a wonderful encore to her swansong!