BOOM Bam Ranger will be seeking to emulate his close relative Super Estrella when he contests the National Distance Championship final at Melbourne's Sandown on August 29.
Super Estrella, still the Wentworth Park 720m record holder after clocking 41.21 on September 3, 2022, had won the National final at the same track at her previous start, recording 41.59.
Boom Bam Ranger was produced by Prim And Proper, a daughter of Kinloch Brae and Esparza, while her younger half-sister Super Estrella was also whelped by Esparza but sired by Fernando Bale.
Boom Bam Ranger was five days short of his second birthday and the youngest in the field when he clocked 41.66 to win Thursday night's NSW qualifying final of the National Distance title.
The dog won his first five races over 516m at Dubbo and 457m and 520m at The Q, but trainer Charmaine Roberts said: "He looked like being a stayer from day one.
"Although there is a perception that greyhounds should not tackle long-distance racing until they are two-and-a-half or three, that has been proved wrong time and again".
"The late legendary trainer John Finn always insisted that if they are good enough and can stay, they are never too young."
Boom Bam Ranger is raced by Laura Camilleri, the niece of Sydney solicitor Glenn Walters, who has been an enthusiastic greyhound racing owner and supporter for over a decade.
Meanwhile, Gold Force will not be contesting the 2026 Million Dollar Chase series, which culminates at the final Wentworth Park meeting on October 16.
Goulburn trainer Denice Warren, who prepares the champion sprinter for harness racing identity Mick Boots, said: "The dog is still in Queensland with his caretaker trainers Michelle Sultana and Darryl Thomas.
"He is suited by the big The Q Lakeside track, where he won the Ipswich Cup final, and there is a $100,000-to-the-winner Lakeside Cup programmed for there, with heats on October 30.
"Gold Force is a rocket up the straight, so he will also tackle the Capalaba Cup, a $75,000 race over 366m shortly before the Lakeside event.
"His next mission in NSW will be the Group 2 $50,000-to-the-winner Maitland Gold Cup on December 4.
"While he has clocked 29.42 at Wentworth Park, I prefer keeping him on big, roomy tracks like Lakeside and Maitland."
Gold Force broke the Maitland 450m record in November 2025, when he clocked 24.55, after smashing the Goulburn 440m record earlier in the year.
.jpg?height=304&resize=fill&width=540)
