It certainly wasn’t as easy as expected, nor were the figures on the clock or the margin as stunning as seven days’ earlier, but a final is about winning not breaking records, and Wow did just that in collecting the Group 2 Woy Woy Poultry Gosford Gold Cup on Sunday night.
Following his staggering 28.88s track record performance in the heats, the Karina Britton-trained greyhound was at unbackable odds in the final jumping from the one box, and while those who still decided to take the short odds might have been a little concerned when he stepped moderately, when Wow powered through to be on the back of the leader Casual Glance around the first turn, they would have been calculating their collects.
But as he went to go inside the leader entering the back straight, Wow had to check off the heels of Casual Glance, losing some momentum and allowing the leader to slip away slightly.
But again, there was no reason for concern. He skirted wide and swinging for home had the leader in his sights, hitting the front swinging for home and racing away for a 2½ length win in 29.15s.
Second went to the Justin King-trained Incapacitated who ran home stoutly as expected after being last at the post the first time, with Casual Glance hanging on well for third.
The win - his sixth in succession – takes Wow’s record to 14 wins and six placings from 23 starts, and the $40,000 first prize takes his earning over the $100,000 mark. What the Gosford performances also do is enhance his reputation as a serious challenger for the likes of Flying Ricciardo, and TAB Million Dollar Chase winner and runner-up Handsome Prince and Xerri, as the State’s number one dog.
“It truly am overwhelmed,” Karina said after the win. “When I saw him get into second I thought he had a massive chance, but you still have to do everything right to win big races.
“A lot of people thought when we got the one (box) that he wasn’t suited to it and he was better off out wide, but I thought if he misses it - and he hasn’t been coming out lately - and if he is drawn wide and misses it like he did a bit, he wouldn’t get over. But he was suited to the one box and hunted up and he’s railing really well, and he did the rest.”
Karina and Wow - who is a litter brother to his flying kennemate Ad Astra, and also of Xerri and fellow MDC semi-finalist Whitfield – won the Goulburn Cup back in October, and the trainer said she “can’t put it into words” what winning another feature race means. What she can say though is how much the dogs mean to her.
“The Goulburn Cup was great. Winning any race is a bonus, but when you get into these kind of races, they are so special to win,” Karina said.
“But yes these dogs are so special, both Wow and his brother are so special to me.
“My stepdad - Ron Field - bred this litter and unfortunately he was diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer, and passed away when they were just four months old.
“So every time these dogs go around it is emotional for me and I think of him, and I’m sure he’d be looking down with a smile.”
Wow and Ad Astra are just too old to contest the upcoming age classic the Group 1 National Derby at Wentworth Park but Karina will be looking at the Group 1 Paws Of Thunder where he is set to clash with those other contenders for NSW’s leading greyhound.
And she would be right to be confident after Wow clocked a stunning 29.48s at Wentworth Park four runs back.
“On the night I was probably a bit surprised, but I always thought he could get down to that sort of time,” she admitted. “I just didn’t think the was going to be running those times yet, I thought maybe another three months.
“But he seems to have hit a spot in his career where he has stepped up a bit and he hasn’t looked back at the moment.”
