Vencedor makes it four on the trot with Gardens victory
Track record holder Vencedor notched up a fourth straight win, saluting at The Gardens on Wednesday, strengthening his record at the track and trip.
Trained by Chrystal Hensing, Vencedor was sent to the boxes in the 400m race as short-priced favourite, paying $1.40 with the top greyhound bookmakers.
Jumping from box two, Vencedor got out quickly, dropping the hammer soon after box rise in his trademark way to hit the lead.
He then broke away from the pack running into the final corner, beating home Likeable Rogue by four-and-a-half lengths in 22.61.
Vencedor relishes the 400m trip at The Gardens, with 16 wins from 25 starts at the journey and holds the track record there of 22.29, recorded on May 13 last year.
It was also the third consecutive race in which Vencedor has beaten home Likeable Rogue by a similar margin, with the John Edwards-trained dog finishing runner-up in five of six starts. Likeable Rogue saluted by three-quarters-of-a-length over him on February 11.
From a 2020 litter of nine comprising of four dogs and five bitches, two of which are yet to be named, by Fernando Bale and out of Iona Champion, Vencedor is the highest earner having banked $61,360 in prize money for connections.
With a career that kicked off in August 2021 with a runner-up finish, he would run to the top of the podium in his third career start at the Maitland 400m, thumping the field and beating home Rona’s Rocket by close to eight lengths (7.75).
With a career of 61 starts, he has saluted 25 times with a further 22 minor placings, to hold an impressive 77% strike rate of landing on the podium.