Wunderkind Wow She’s Fast holds the ‘wow factor’ in the Group 2 SENTrack Warragul Cup heats (460m) on Friday night.
Winner of a mind-boggling $750,000 first prize in the inaugural TAB Phoenix, Wow She’s Fast headlines the six heats, which kick off the second leg of the 2021/22 ‘Gippsland Festival of Racing’.
Dubbed the sport’s ‘wonder woman’, Wow She’s Fast has notched five wins from only seven starts including a scintillating 29.09sec success (by 27.5 lengths!) on race debut – the fastest ever Maiden (515m) victory at Sandown Park.
The 23-month-old prodigy has drawn Box 3 in Heat 6 for her Warragul Cup preliminary.
An A-list cast will support Wow She’s Fast – including Group stars Qwara Bale, Aussie Secret and Lala Kiwi, along with track specialists Paua Of Oscar, Invictus Rising and Hennessey.
Here’s a heats synopsis:
Heat 1 (Race 3 – 7.27pm) TAB Fixed Odds
Invictus Rising (Box 3) is undefeated from four starts here and boasts a smart 25.57sec PB. The slight query is a return to sprinting after recently claiming the Sale Distance Championship (650m).
He’s sure to be tested by G3 Cup Night Sprint and G3 Easter Gift winner Barooga Smoke (Box 6), triple G2 finalist Dream Wizard (Box 7), which has a 25.67sec PB here, and dual G3 finalist Hebridean Black (Box 2).
Heat 2 (Race 4 – 7.49pm) TAB Fixed Odds
Highly underrated Hennessey (Box 2) has won five from seven here with a 25.67sec PB. And he’s in hot form, winning eight of his past nine including the G3 Provincial Plate.
But this heat also comprises sprinters the calibre of Kinson Bale (Box 3), which finished third in both the G1 Melbourne Cup and G3 Silver Bullet, and Typhoon Sammy (Box 6), which has won 20 from 30 and finished third in the G2 Bendigo Cup.
‘Sprint Siren’ Qwara Bale is ultimately chasing a fourth Group race victory.
Heat 3 (Race 5 – 8.12pm) TAB Fixed Odds
A pick-it-with-a-pin affair but if Qwara Bale (Box 8) returns to her dual G1-winning best, she’s likely to get the chocolates.
Expect bold showings from Brother Bearing (Box 6), which is chasing his sixth win in a row and has a 25.53sec PB here, Robbie Rotten (Box 4), an ex-NSW country star now in the Kayla Cottrell camp, and On The Bit (Box 5), a winner of 10 from 16 which has clocked a 25.62sec PB here and is part-owned by G1-winning jockeys Jye McNeil (Melbourne Cup) and John Allen (Cox Plate).
Heat 4 (Race 6 – 8.27pm) TAB Fixed Odds
Lala Kiwi (Box 5) is quickly ascending to the sprint queen throne, having finished runner-up in the G1 Melbourne Cup and fourth in the G1 Topgun.
But she may not have everything her own way, given she’s pitted against G1 Silver Chief finalist Xavien Bale (Box 4) and impressive winners here in Ultimate Avenger (Box 1) and Mr. Neo (Box 7) – 25.62sec and 25.66sec respectively.
‘Fabulous femme’ Wow She’s Fast (4) takes out the inaugural TAB Phoenix at The Meadows on December 18.
Heat 5 (Race 7 – 8.53pm) TAB Fixed Odds
Aussie Secret (Box 3) has won a G1 Hobart Thousand and was fifth in both a G1 Melbourne Cup and G1 Silver Chief.
But this heat is arguably the most even on paper with speedsters the ilk of G3 Healesville Cup runner-up Paua Of Oscar (Box 5), which has won four from six here including a slick 25.47sec PB, Paddy Wants Pats (Box 6), who posted a stunning 25.39sec (Best) here last Sunday, Titan Blazer (Box 8), which finished third in the G1 Silver Chief, and Loxton Bale (Box 7), which was third in the G2 Laurels.
Heat 6 (Race 8 – 9.12pm) TAB Fixed Odds
It’s Wow She’s Fast (Box 3) by name, wow she’s fast by nature. Who knows what time she’ll put on the semaphore board if she obtains a clear passage in transit?
But emerging star Zara’s Ivan (Box 2), which has won five from nine, and G3 Great Chase runner-up Hamillson (Box 8), a winner of 12 from 21, must be respected.
Click HERE for TAB’s ‘All In’ Warragul Cup market.
Pawnote: The G2 SENTrack Warragul Cup final, which carries a $47,000 winner’s cheque, will be decided on January 14.
