Master trainer Kel Greenough says Wow She’s Fast, the world’s highest earning greyhound, is “pretty close” to where he wants her ahead of Saturday night’s $160,500 Group 1 Sportsbet Temlee invitational (525m).
The last time Wow She’s Fast graced The Meadows, the champion Victorian sprinter claimed back-to-back victories in The Phoenix, sending her prizemoney tally spiralling past $2 million, the first greyhound to ever achieve the feat.
Wow She’s Fast is Sportsbet’s joint favourite to boost her earnings of $2,261,370 by $100,000 in the Temlee – race 10 at 9.43pm – the headline event on the opening night of the ‘Unmissable’ Australian Cup Carnival.
“Having watched the race for a long time and been in it a few times, this is as good a field as I’ve seen.”
Wow She’s Fast heads betting with arch-rival Amron Boy at $3.60 in a tantalising Phoenix rematch, where only a head separated the superstar duo.
A daughter of 2015 Temlee victor My Bro Fabio, Wow She’s Fast hasn’t had an ideal build-up to the Australian Cup Carnival.
After running second at $1.70 in a G2 Warragul Cup heat, she was an injury enforced scratching from the Cup Night Match Race on January 13.
“It wasn’t so much an injury, she had a really bad scrape right her down her leg, which slowed us up a bit,” explained Greenough, who trains Wow She’s Fast in partnership with wife Jackie.
“She’s all good now, but by the time it healed, we didn’t get quite as much running into her as I would’ve liked.
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“She’s pretty close. I’d probably like a little bit more fitness, but it is what it is. When you have to back off them, you have to back off them.
“I gave her a run over 460m at Warragul last Friday and she went really good.
“The track was down a fair bit because they’d rotary-hoed it the week before and they were running into a hurricane in the home straight. I was told she went half a second quicker than the next quickest dog (25.59sec).”
For one of the few occasions in her stellar 18 from 27 career, Wow She’s Fast has drawn to advantage in a feature event; she’ll exit box two in the Temlee.
In the superstar’s four previous G1 appearances, she’s drawn box five three times, winning the Sapphire Crown, and failing to beat a runner home in both the Topgun and Adelaide Cup, while her two victories in The Phoenix have come from boxes four (2021) and six (2022).
WATCH: WOW SHE’S FAST (B6) became the greyhound racing world’s first $2 million earner with an historic victory over AMRON BOY (B4) in The Phoenix at The Meadows on December 17.
She won the G1 Maturity at The Meadows from box one, with her record from inside alleys almost faultless.
Wow She’s Fast is unbeaten in two starts from box two, has the same record from ‘the red’, and she’s won four from five from box three.
She has also won four from five at The Meadows.
However, the always reserved Greenough is under no illusions as to the calibre of opposition confronting Wow She’s Fast as he chases a third Temlee title, having won the showpiece with Hotline Hero in 2004 and High Earner in 2011.
“It’s an invitation race, so you always get a hot field,” he said.
“But having watched the race for a long time and been in it a few times, I think this is as good a field as I’ve seen.
“I’m happy with the draw. I wouldn’t have wanted to be drawn out wide. It would’ve been very difficult trying to get across dogs like the five (McInerney), six (Mobile Legend) and seven (Fernando Mick), but it’s still no easy task.
“I certainly wouldn’t discount Amron Boy. I reckon he’s a freak and his runs at Wentworth Park weren’t him. He’d be my pick as far as the hardest to beat.
“She’s A Pearl has the speed to lead, which puts her right in the race. But you’ve really got to respect them all.”
This will be Wow She’s Fast’s first crack at the Australian Cup Carnival, after the Greenoughs last year elected to focus on the G3 Launching Pad, a decision that ultimately paid a $150,000 reward.
“We had to wait for the Launching Pad because she had too many wins,” Greenough explained.
“It was a very tough decision at the time and even though the Launching Pad looked easier than taking on open company while she was still learning, it could easily have backfired. Fortunately for us, it didn’t!”
