Superstar Wow She’s Fast qualified for the Group 1 Adelaide Cup Final in spectacular fashion on Thursday night, smashing Angle Park’s 530m track record in the SA vs All Stars Match Race Challenge.
Trained by Kel and Jackie Greenough, Wow She’s Fast won the last of four match races in a scintillating 29.86sec, erasing Aston Rupee’s previous record of 29.95sec, established in the same event 12 months earlier.
In addition to the $7,500 winner’s purse, Wow She’s Fast receives direct entry into the $100,000 to-the-winner Adelaide Cup Final on Friday, October 7, bypassing the heats.
“It probably surprised me, knowing the track wasn’t hard and fast.”
Wow She’s Fast had trialled one week earlier at Angle Park, clocking 30.19sec.
The daughter of My Bro Fabio and Fair Of Face stifled betting on the Match Race series, starting $1.40 to win the overall event and $1.04 in her head-to-head clash against 2021 SA Derby winner Mallee Magic.
The previous match races had been won by local Giant’s Flash (30.15sec) and Victorians Stout Monelli (30.20sec) and Amron Boy (30.29sec).
In her first race start since winning the G1 Maturity Classic at The Meadows on July 23, Wow She’s Fast came out running and all eyes were on the clock a long way from home as she careered to a six-length victory over Mallee Magic.
WATCH: WOW SHE’S FAST (B7) smashed the Angle Park 530m track record in Thursday night’s Match Race Challenge, clocking 29.86sec to erase Aston Rupee’s former benchmark of 29.95sec.
“It probably surprised me, knowing the track wasn’t hard and fast,” Kel Greenough said.
“Watching the first few races, the track looked a bit wet and when David’s (Geall) dog (Stout Monelli) ran 30.20sec in the first match race, I thought that’s a pretty good run.
“We do rate her pretty highly. She’s run some track records in her trials and run fast times at Sandown (28.82sec PB) and The Meadows (29.56sec PB).
“She wasn’t far away from Aston Rupee’s record at Sandown.
“Breaking a track record probably creates a bit of hysteria, but ideally, we just want to bring our dogs home safe and sound.
“It’s definitely the sort of track where you need to trial. Not so much the track, but the quiet lure.
“I thought her trial was below par, but then she was at her best last night. Trials aren’t always a great guide because she is a competitor, she gets a bit more excited about a contest. She wants to win.”
After guaranteeing her spot in the Adelaide Cup Final, Wow She’s Fast, which has now won 15 of her 20 starts and $1,175,870 in prizemoney, is $1.50 favourite in ‘All In’ betting.
Greenough is eyeing his second Adelaide Cup, with Hotline Hero having given the astute Pearcedale mentor his first G1 victory in the 2004 Cup.
“It’s nice to be there again,” he said.
“I think the last Adelaide Cup finalist I had was Zara’s Entity (2017), but she drew wide (Box 7).
“We had a shorter period to get Wow She’s Fast ready for the Maturity, because we’d been on holidays, but she’s in a better position this time, looking forward to some of the big races we’ve got coming up in Victoria.
“I’ll just have to keep her ticking over for the Adelaide Cup Final. She had a ‘500’ trial before going to Adelaide and now the two 500s over there, so I don’t need to do a lot with her.”
