Robert Britton’s Unreal Speed set for The 715 challenge
Renowned distance trainer Robert Britton is gearing up for a move as he prepares to enter his young stayer, Unreal Speed, in the prestigious The 715 event at The Gardens.
With a prize of $500,000 up for grabs, the heats for this anticipated race will kick off on Friday, April 26.
Unreal Speed, an offspring of Britton's former star-stayer Space Star, has been showcasing talent in his short career.
Despite being two years old, he made his debut in city-stay races at The Meadows last Saturday night, clinching a dominant victory with a time of 42.39.
6/4/24 The Meadows Race 6 Race Replay – Unreal Speed (1st)
This win marked his sixth triumph out of eight starts, highlighting his impressive performance.
Although Unreal Speeds best of the night effort didn't quite break Space Stars nine-year track record over 730m by nearly seven lengths, Britton remains positive about the potential of his young prodigy.
Britton remarked about his excitement for the pup's stamina and expressed satisfaction with the performance on Saturday night, though he had hoped for a better start out of the gates.
Unreal Speed has been consistently setting times throughout his journey.
When Unreal Speed was 14 months old, he impressed with a time of 29.40 at Sandown and followed it up with a 29.87 run at The Meadows when he turned 15 months old.
Despite these achievements, Britton admits that there have been performances leading to doubts about the Greyhounds readiness for top-level competition.
Despite these setbacks, Britton remains resolute in his decision to evaluate Unreal Speed's abilities.
He intends to take him for a trial in Newcastle this week before finalising his entry into The 715 event.
Unreal Speeds father, Space Star, was a greyhound who won three Group 1 races and set multiple track records.
Coming from the esteemed ‘Tears lineage known for producing stayers like Tornado Tears and Heres Tears, Britton holds Space Star in high esteem as one of the best dogs he has ever trained.
Describing Space Star as an athlete, Britton remarked that the greyhound was on track for victory in the 2015 Sandown Cup when an unfortunate injury ended his career prematurely after earning $450,000 in winnings.
Britton took an approach to breeding Space Star by aiming to blend endurance with speed.
Unreal Speed, who embodies both qualities in his performances, is the embodiment of this vision.
Aside from The 715 challenge, Britton's team has another contender in Trooper Tears, a narrowly beaten bookmaker favourite at the G1 Perth Cup.
Trooper Tears is gearing up to compete at Cannington in The Sandgroper, worth $600,000, on Thursday, representing Total Container Solutions/Team Britton.
Britton expresses confidence in Trooper Tears abilities and looks forward to an outside box draw to enhance his chances of success.
2024 The Sandgroper Odds
Odds as of April 10, 2024 – Courtesy of Neds
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Explicit Win $3.00 Place $1.50
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Big Energy Win $4.80 Place $1.95
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Trooper Tears Win $6.00 Place $2.25
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Fernando Phil Win $11 Place $3.50
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Sunset Frazier Win $11 Place $3.50