Rising star Like Wildfire ignites Sandown 715m in debut win
Potential superstar Like Wildfire set the Sandown 715m alight with a win in his Victorian debut.
The Robert Britton-trained dog lined up as race favourite, paying $1.40 with top online greyhound bookmakers.
Jumping from box three, he shot out to hit the lead soon after the box rise and turned the first bend six lengths in front.
Into the back straight, Like Wildfire held the lead dominantly and ran on to win in a time of 41.41.
He beat home Sunnyside Jo ($3) and Misty Black ($18) by four and half lengths.
12/08/23 Sandown Race 7 (715m) – Like Wildfire (41.41) T: Robert Britton
This win came in his first start for the Robert Britton after moving from the Michael Ivers kennel, with who he has been with for his entire career.
His last start was on July 12 where he finished second last in a six-dog field, seven and a half lengths off the winner Zipping Vanessa.
Like Wildfire started his career with a 0.75 length win over the 520m at Wentworth Park and then went on to notch six straight wins.
He has built a race career since then known for putting dominant margins on his opponents, including a 16.25 length demolition over the 600m trip at The Gardens as well as a win over the Gosford 603m, by 14 lengths.
He also destroyed The Gardens 600m track record on June 3, winning in a time of 33.88.
The new record took almost five lengths off the previous record set by Tania Keeping at 34.14 in January this year.
The Goodesy x Freaky Tears dog has eight wins from ten starts and has banked $28,200 in prize money for connections.
In current ‘all-in' markets Like Wildfire favourite for several feature races including the Stayers Topgun ($4.50) over the 730m on November 11, the Bold Trease ($6) on December 2 and the Zoom Top ($4) on February 10 next year.