A display of pure strength and determination won Saquon his Maturity heat on Saturday night and if we didn’t know that he was something special before, we well and truly know now.

“He did it tough and answered a lot of questions – he showed us that he is a race dog and doesn’t back down from a challenge,” trainer Brad Greenough said on Sky Racing’s The Morning Line.

“When he pushed the dog (Paw Yanelle) out of the way and made his own luck – it was a big tick.”

“That’s what makes a good dog. You can have fast dogs, and you can get lucky with dogs, and you might pick off a nice race here and there, but those sorts of dogs make their own luck.”

Saquon (4) wins his Maturity heat in a time of 30.09 seconds over the 525 metres.

Saquon is bred for strength – his mum, Freaky Tears, is a full sister to Robert Britton’s staying sensation Here’s Tears. A line that has produced the likes of Tornado Tears and Rippin’ Sam. But Brad Greenough confirmed that the sprint is where Saquon is likely to stay.

“If he can stack up against the good dogs and continue to put in good performances – there is no real reason to step him up,” Greenough said.

“At the start of his career, he was actually a bad box dog, but we put a lot of work into him, and he proved that he does have early speed.”

“He has certainly proved it at Sandown, but we haven’t seen it at The Meadows yet because he hasn’t really been around The Meadows too many times.”

Brad Greenough also lines up Fastened in Saturday’s Maturity Classic after a similar display of chase in his heat.

“He’s not incapable of running a first section – he has done in trials,” Greenough said.

“Fastened is another dog who hasn’t really been around The Meadows too many times.”

Fastened (2) wins his Maturity heat in a time of 30.13 seconds.

Greenough admits the team had a few questions around the strength of Fastened which was why he started his career around the country circuits compared to Saquon who went straight to the city.

“If you have a look at his run home time in the Maturity heat – he has really improved.”

“To be completely honest, I think Slick Splits is the dog to beat… The hype around Saquon is what has put him to $2.70,” Greenough said.