Three from three: Kelsey Bale blitzes field to clinch Warrnambool Cup on Wednesday night

The raging favourite dazzled the crowd on Wednesday night to clinch the group two $50,000 Warrnambool Cup, backing up wins at Ballarat and Geelong to take the crown for a third time in 2023 with a time of 24.95.

Kelsey Bale also won an additional $50,000 bonus for winning three country cups.

Stealth, trained by Jason Thompson and Crackerjack Bull, trained by Jordan Cooper, rounded out the top three after impressive runs.

Local hope Aston Kalkara, trained by Dennington's Dustin Drew, finished in sixth position out of box one.

Kelsey Bale, widely regarded as one of Australia's leading greyhounds, was never headed in an impressive run, continuing a staggering run of form leading into the highly-anticipated cup in the middle of Warrnambool's famous May Racing Carnival.

Gibbons told The Standard in the aftermath of Kelsey Bale's win he was in awe of her ability to rise to the occasion on the big stage.

"It's an honour to train her, it helps me wake up every single day to go out to all the dogs," he said.

"It's amazing and I've gone on a good ride with her recently so it's a privilege.

"I'm speechless to be honest, I think she might be the first dog to do this (win three country cups in a row) and certainly the first bitch to do it. It's incredible, really."

The Geelong-based trainer said Kelsey Bale had a unique ability to sense the moment within a race.

"She's just got such a smart brain for racing. She knows where she needs to be, where she's got to go and when she needs to run harder or go slower," he said.

He added after Kelsey Bale broke the Warrnambool track record at last Thursday's heats, as well as recent country cup wins in Ballarat and his home town, there was an element of pressure to deal with this week.

"I've definitely felt the pressure since she won the Ballarat Cup, that's for sure," he said.

"People were starting to say she could be the Queen of the Cups and then when she backed it up with the Geelong Cup and then made this I felt the world on my shoulders to be honest.

"I'm glad she doesn't feel it (the pressure), when she goes in the box she thinks it's just another race but my heart was going a million miles an hour before the start of that."

Gibbons said Kelsey Bale will now head to the coveted Sapphie Crown at Sandown Park next week.

It capped off a strong night of racing at the Warrnambool track as racegoers enjoyed 12 races, with AFL legend Dermott Brereton a special guest on the evening.

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