Caption: Trainer Paul Stuart with Serong after the chaser had held on to win the recent Wescha$e at Cannington.

West Australian news By JAMES BROADHURST

Unlike his namesake, classy young racedog Serong hasn’t been an instant success but his victory in the recent Westcha$e (520m) at Cannington should be a sign of things to come.

Serong shares his handle with star Fremantle Dockers player Caleb Serong, who has the AFL’s Rising Star award winner in his first season last year.

Now the greyhound version, under the guidance of trainer Paul Stuart, is looking to match the deeds of the ace footballer.

In the Westcha$e series Serong followed up an eye-catching heat performance with an equally impressive run in the trophy decider.

Jumping from box two Serong began well and had the time and space to muster with Got The Sugar clearing a path for him in the next lane over.

He edged ahead of Got The Sugar as they rounded the turn and established a handy break in the back straight.

Serong couldn’t fully shake Got The Sugar, however, and the pair battled it out for the remainder of the race.

Got The Sugar pressed the leader but Serong was good enough to hold on and claim victory by a length in a personal best time of 29.59.

“He got a lovely run,” Stuart said.

“The three dog (Got The Sugar) stayed off the track and gave him that little bit of room in the first 50m which was what he needed.

“Got The Sugar kept coming and coming and I was a little concerned but he held his margin, which was great.”

The result provided Serong with his fourth win from his tenth start and suggests that the chaser is ready to cash in on his rich potential following a frustrating start to his career.

“In his first few starts I was disappointed in what he was turning up with on raceday,” Stuart explained.

“The times he was running during his trials were pretty slick but he wasn’t producing those in his early races.

“He’s a dog that has taken some time to mature but now he’s starting to put it all together.

“Hopefully he can blaze through the grades and in six months be one of those dogs that’s always contesting feature races and open class races.”