Electrified too strong in Young Stars Classic victory

Electrified wins WA Young Stars Classic
Delighted handler Callum Robson oversaw Electrified's stunning 11-length victory in the at Cannington on Saturday night.

Brute strength was the key for Electrified as he saluted by a stunning 11 lengths in the Greyhounds WA Young Stars Classic Final over 520m at Cannington on Saturday night.

The star two-year-old from the Shinners kennels continued his rapid emergence by winning the event worth $35,625 in an excellent time of 29.73 seconds.

From 18 starts, the sprinter now boasts 14 wins and three second-placings.

As has often been the case over his short career, Electrified thrived on some early contact back in age-restricted company, getting the better of some early tussles with and from his one box.

“He's one of those dogs where if something is there he'll bump it, like in football,” co-trainer Steve Shinners told Australian Racing Greyhound.

“He's that type of dog. It's almost like he watches the dogs in the parade area and he's figured out who the top competitors are.

“And if they're anywhere near him, he'll give them a whack.”

Electrified has the presence of mind to know how to use his body while in pressure moments on the track.

“He's pretty built, the dog. He's 35kg and he is a ball of muscle,” Shinners said of the $1.60 favourite going into Saturday night's final.

“There's not an ounce of fat on him. He's ripped and if he was a human you'd call him a model.

“He's a beautiful, great-natured dog too. He's very boisterous, but he's got a great nature.”

Shinners does not know the limits his developing star can reach, because he is still so young.

“Who knows how far he'll go. We don't know how far he'll go,” he said.

“Barring him getting skittled, he's always in the race. And you can see that in his record.”

For now, the age-restricted Silver Chief at The Meadows in Melbourne – with the heats on December 3 – is an ideal race to target.

Shinners will land in Melbourne from a short holiday in Bali with wife and co-trainer on .

Electrified will arrive in the Victorian capital on Sunday before he will be trialled on Monday morning.

“He's having a look at The Meadows for the Silver Chief, and I'll go back and race him when the heats are on in December,” Shinners said.

Shinners said he had no concerns at all about Electrified's second-placing in his Young Stars Classic heat after he received some criticism for his effort, despite running a respectable time of 29.93 seconds.

“He copped a bit of flak, like ‘he was disappointing in the heats',” he said.

“But the dog can be up for a long time. So I freshened him up for 10 days and he only had one gallop in those 10 days.

“I just wanted him to qualify from his heats. You can't just keep running dogs week after week after week.

“And he was probably a bit stiff – he probably wins any other heat.

“That dog is probably a 29.70 dog or better when it's chasing well. But I've never seen a slow time from him yet.”

Write off Shinners' still-underrated chaser at your peril.

“Everyone was saying ‘he's probably not at his best', but he was only one run short,” Shinners said.

“Because he's not an overly-strong 500m dog he probably needs that work.

“But you need a bit of a balance to keep them up and to keep them fresh, and have them peaking at the right time.

“And then he was back to his best again on Saturday night.”

Shinners said Electrified's fierce will to win and love of tough contact sets him apart from fellow kennel star, .

“He's incredible. From that first corner, for a big dog I don't think I've had a dog that goes through a first corner as good as him,” he said.

“Amplified was pretty good, but she had a bad fall when she was younger.

“So she probably didn't go as good as she should have. She's probably a 29.60 or better bitch.

“But she just doesn't drive as hard as he does. His turn of foot from there to the back mark is elite.

“And you've got to have that to be competing in those sorts of races because he's not brilliant early and he's not a great box dog.

“We'll have to do a bit of work on that. Not only that, the (at Cannington) has been changed the past 10 days and it's a lot quieter.

“That means a lot of dogs – especially when they draw wider – could miss the start in the next few weeks.”

Shinners said Electrified might have had some divine help from above during his victory on Saturday night.

Krystal lost her little Maltese poodle, Kai, last Tuesday, leaving the couple shattered.

She showed the same tenacity to survive as Electrified's will to win.

“We lost Krystal's little dog to kidney failure. She went downhill and we had to put her down last Tuesday,” Shinners said.

“She was probably as fit as the greyhounds.

“She hurt her hip and lower back. And we just thought ‘oh, she'll get over it. She might've just pinched a nerve'.

“She started going off her feeds. She was still bright and bubbly, but just not able to run.

“We checked and she was at Stage 3 kidney failure already. That's anything from two to eight weeks, and she lasted five.

“We could've kept her going, but we had to put drips into her and she wasn't drinking.”

Kai was the perfect companion to the Shinners and their greyhounds.

“It was hard for me, but devastating for Krystal because she hasn't got kids,” Shinners said.

“That was her baby, but even I got really attached to the dog. Because when you had a bad day with the greyhounds, she was always there.

“She'd come around and sit on your knee and she was smart – she'd know.

“She'd sit half a foot away from you and look at you.

“If you needed her to play ball she'd . Or if you needed a cuddle, she'd sit on your knee and give you a cuddle.

“It was really hard because 98 per cent of greyhounds we don't get to keep them.

“Most of them we adopt out. As much as we love them, you've got a bit of a wall up because it's only really the brood bitches who stay.”

Through Steve and Krystal's pain at Kai's passing came joy at the box draw for the Young Stars Classic Final.

“The day she passed away, the box draw came out for the Young Stars,” Shinners said.

“We've been drawing terribly in all the finals for two years, and we got the red.

“Krystal said ‘I reckon that was Kai's doing' and I said ‘you're probably not wrong'.”

Meanwhile, Shinners is pressing ahead with plans to have three-year-old Amplified contest the Melbourne Cup, with the heats at Sandown this Saturday night.

Despite her talent, he is not getting too carried away about her chances in elite company.

“Amplified – if we draw a horror wide draw, forget about it. We might scratch her to be truthful, because she's too valuable a brood bitch,” Shinners said.

“She's probably got to draw four or inside. She can be a good beginner.

“But unfortunately a few weeks ago in the All Stars when she had box seven, she actually hit her head on the lid.

“And she just hasn't come out well since.

“She's got a bad habit where she wants to go left (crash across the field), and you just can't afford to do that against those elite dogs and expect to win.”

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