Her name might be Wow She’s Fast, but co-trainer Kel Greenough says the secret to his Group 1 Sportsbet Topgun favourite isn’t her record-breaking speed or talent.
He puts it down to brains and good looks.
A canine femme fatale.
However, there’s also a good deal of Amazonian warrior in the manner Wow She’s Fast has despatched her rivals – both male and female – in brilliantly winning 15 of her 21 starts, banking $1,176,370 prizemoney in the process.
Intellect is a trait Wow She’s Fast shares with Greenough’s 2009 Topgun heroine and Australian Greyhound of the Year Cindeen Shelby.
“The last really intelligent dog I had was Cindeen Shelby.”
“She is extremely intelligent; it’s quite staggering,” said Greenough, who trains Wow She’s Fast in partnership with wife Jackie.
“It’s a real rarity but every now and then you get a greyhound that knows exactly what they’ve got to do. She doesn’t do anything wrong; she’s just a princess.
“The last really intelligent dog I had was actually Cindeen Shelby.
“I had another dog years earlier called Welcome Stranger. He won 19 out of 24 and knew if he didn’t come first. If he didn’t win, he’d get the sulks!
“That was the case when Wow She’s Fast lost in the Adelaide Cup.
“The other factor with her is that she’s basically a glamour. She has nice long legs, a beautiful head and strong chest. She’s perfectly proportioned and at 32 kilograms, she’s as big as a male dog.”
WATCH: WOW SHE’S FAST (4) demolished her rivals in a heat of the G1 Maturity Classic at The Meadows on July 16, scoring by a dozen lengths in a scorching personal best of 29.56sec.
While Wow She’s Fast has the intelligence and physique, she also possesses a huge motor that’s taken her to Group 1 victories in the Maturity Classic and Sapphire Crown, the inaugural The Phoenix, and an Angle Park track record.
Owners Tyrone Whittington and Greg Sprod were on the ‘money’ in more ways than one when burdening Wow She’s Fast with the most optimistic of racing monikers, raising the normally reserved Greenough’s eyebrows.
“I get no say in it and I was a bit shocked when her name came back,” Greenough admitted.
“It’s one of those crazy names that has turned out okay, but it does put a target on your back.”
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Wow She’s Fast comes into the Topgun off a shock last start defeat in the G1 Adelaide Cup Final, where she started $1.60, but failed to beat a runner home.
The meticulous Greenough says all the signs since that luckless outing have been extremely positive, however a Box 5 draw has seen Wow She’s Fast, which has been clear favourite since markets first opened, joined by perfectly drawn NSW raider French Martini (Box 1) at $3.
“The draw means we can’t make a mistake and brings French Martini right into the race,” Greenough said.
“We can’t have any bad luck.
“Her trials since Adelaide have been good. I gave her a post-to-post hit out at Sandown on Saturday morning and she ran 22.70sec, which is what she usually runs – to the hundredth of a second.
“That’s a pretty fair run and she doesn’t really let go in trials because there’s no competition.
“I’ve been trying to keep her as fresh as I can, because the fresher she is, the more early speed she shows. The more work you give her, the stronger she gets, but she loses a bit early and that’s her vulnerability.”
