Let’s all walk 10 paces and draw a huge breath! Wow… This is going to be bigger than the Gunfight at the OK Corral.
Four of the sport’s slickest sharpshooters ‘ride into town’ for Night Two of the inaugural $4.1m world’s richest Sportsbet Dream Chasers Festival.
With ‘paws on holsters’, they’ll contest the $72,500 Group 3 Shootout (515m) – Race 9, 9.25pm – at Sandown Park on Saturday night.
The field comprises two Million Dollar Chase winners – including Australia’s highest stakes earner – a dual G1 winner who was the inaugural The Phoenix victor, and a G1 Topgun hero.
Between them, they’ve won a mind-boggling $4,136,615 in prizemoney. A shade more than the entire Dream Chasers Festival spoils!
Such is the level of anticipation and excitement, this four-greyhound face-off would leave Wyatt Earp and Doc Holliday with a ‘trigger finger’.
So, who will be ‘quickest to the draw’ and ‘shoot the lights out’ in the $50,000 to-the-winner Shootout – a race of True Grit.
Since its inception in 1998, the Shootout has been an intriguing contest and the 25th edition is a classic… Here are the ‘deadeyes’.
Box 1 – SHE’S A PEARL (NSW)
Breeding: Oct ’19 Aston Dee Bee x Shez Impetuous
Trainer: Jodie Lord (Gunning, NSW)
Overall starts: 38 (25-5-2)
Sandown Park 515m starts: Nil
Box 1 starts: 2 (1-0-0)
Best winning time: N/A
Stakes: $1,367,970
Career highlights: Winner: Million Dollar Chase; G1 Golden Easter Egg. Australia’s highest stakes earner.
Sportsbet Odds: $2.25
“She’s flying… Her 29.34sec run at Wentworth Park last start tells you that… I think she can win, but she needs to handle the track and she needs to lead… I would have liked her to have a look at the track… But she’s a chaser… She only knows one thing… She’ll go as hard as she can for as long as she can… It’s all about how she handles the track.” – Jodie Lord
Box 3 – WOW SHE’S FAST (VIC)
Breeding: Feb ’20 My Bro Fabio x Fair Of Face
Trainer: Jacqueline Greenough (Pearcedale, VIC)
Overall starts: 22 (15-1-0)
Sandown Park 515m starts: 12 (10-0-0)
Box 3 starts: 2 (2-0-0)
Best winning time: 28.82sec
Stakes: $1,178,370
Career highlights: Winner: The Phoenix; G1 Maturity Classic; G1 Sapphire Crown; G3 Launching Pad; G3 Bill Collins Speed Star; Finalist: G1 Adelaide Cup.
Sportsbet Odds: $1.70
“At her last two starts (G1 Adelaide Cup and G1 Topgun), she’s struck plenty of trouble after nearly leading early… But she’s fine in herself; she’s a tough ‘big girl’… Hopefully she gets a clear run and puts her best paw forward… I’m not worried about the ‘white’ trap (Box 3) as she’ll go straight from there.” – Jacqueline Greenough
Box 5 – PHOTO MAN (VIC)
Breeding: Dec ’19 Aston Dee Bee x Amlin Mystique
Trainer: Gavin Clifton (Tynong North, VIC)
Overall starts: 32 (13-7-7)
Sandown Park 515m starts: 11 (4-3-2)
Box 5 starts: 2 (1-1-0)
Best winning time: 29.36sec
Stakes: $425,005
Career highlights: Winner: G1 Topgun; G2 Flying Amy Classic. Finalist: G1 Brisbane Cup (3rd); G1 Adelaide Cup (3rd); G3 Super Sprinters (3rd)
Sportsbet Odds: $23
“He’s come through the Topgun super; he pulled up a treat… But you can’t be confident against three runners who have won more than a million dollars… However, it’s a real honour to be in the race… He’s a very fast greyhound who, at the moment, is getting faster… He’s going from strength to strength… I think he has to lead to win, without question… If he finds a length or two on them into the back straight, I might stop breathing for 20 seconds.” – Gavin Clifton
Box 7 – MCINERNEY (VIC)
Breeding: Sep ’19 Fernando Bale x Born Ali
Trainer: Brendan Pursell (Lara, VIC)
Overall starts: 55 (23-9-7)
Sandown Park 515m starts: 12 (3-2-4)
Box 7 starts: 7 (6-0-0)
Best winning time: 29.24sec
Stakes: $1,165,270
Career highlights: Winner: Million Dollar Chase; Runner-up: G1 Topgun; Finalist: G1 National Sprint Championship (3rd); G3 Bill Collins Speed Star.
Sportsbet Odds: $17
“He’s racing against the best two female sprinters in the land… He’ll have his work cut out against them, and Photo Man beat him last start… But he’s got his box (Box 7); he likes it out there… It’s just all about the start for him… It’s a big price ($13) in a four-dog field, but I reckon he can only run around 29.20sec at best… However, if it’s ‘all systems go’, Wow She’s Fast should win.” – Brendan Pursell
Pawnote: The ‘awesome foursome’ has amassed 76 wins from 147 starts (52% strike rate).
Reserves: 9 Amron Boy ($8.50) and 10 Deadly Class ($13)
WATCH: WOW SHE’S FAST (B5) clocks a staggering 28.82sec G1 Sapphire Crown win – the second-fastest time ever over 515m at Sandown Park – on May 19.
SHOOTOUT – HONOUR ROLL
1998 Reggemite; 1999 Great Wish; 2000 Go Wild Teddy; 2001 Junior Whisky; 2002 Silver Saul; 2003 Bombastic Shiraz; 2004 Whisky Assassin; 2005 Bond; 2006 Jaimandy Coops; 2007 Cool Effort; 2008 Mantra Lad; 2009 Velocette; 2010 Cosmic Chief; 2011 Bekim Bale; 2012 Proven Nitro; 2013 Xylia Allen; 2014 Iva Vision; 2015 Kayda Shae; 2016 Zambora Brockie; 2018 (Jan) Aston Dee Bee; 2018 (Nov) Orson Allen; 2019 Hooked On Scotch; 2020 Tiggerlong Tonk; 2021 Aston Rupee.
