Shepparton Cup crucial for Hammerhead’s Hunter Cup bid

Talented pacer Captain Hammerhead will need to deliver a mighty harness racing performance in Saturday night’s Group 3 Neatline Homes Shepparton Gold Cup to keep hopes alive for a spot in the A.G. Hunter Cup, according to trainer-driver David Moran.

The five-year-old has been a shadow of his former self since suffering a heart fibrillation at Menangle in a last-ditch attempt to qualify for the 2024 edition of The Eureka on August 31.

“(The Hunter Cup) is where we would like to be, but he has got to prove himself and his last couple of starts were under par after he had his heart fibrillation,” David Moran said.

“He would have to prove himself in the Shepp cup, if we were to consider that, but he would need to perform extremely well in the (Shepparton)Cup to go ahead to the Hunter Cup.”

The winner of over $250,000 has been on a short break since his last run on October 26,2024.

“He has come back good and he didn’t have long off, so fingers crossed everything goes well on Saturday,” he said.

The sudden atrial issue caused a road bump in Hunter Cup plans after exciting at Melton on August 24 to win by over 17m.

“His run at Melton when he won was exceptional and when he won we thought we had him on target, but then he went to Menangle the following week and that’s when he had his heart fibrillation,” he said.

“That knocked him around a little bit and he didn’t have any dramas after that, but he wasn’t quite himself.”

Moran from Kialla on the outskirts of Shepparton is no stranger to winning the Goulburn Valley’s feature event. The 37-year-old won the Cup in 2021. following it up with Hunter Cup success three weeks later with Lochinvar Art.

“It is always good to win, It has always been one of those races that has been held in prestige and been a good lead-up to the Hunter Cup,” Moran said.

“Some great horses have won it over the past couple years. It has always been a good race for me to win being a local.”

Captain Hammerhead has drawn three for the $50,000 event with Moran set to resume driving after Nathan Jack steered the gelding for four out of the last five outings.

“Yes (I’ll be driving),” he said.

“It is a funny sort of draw. There is really good gate speed to our inside so we would be happy to take a trail.

“There is not a lot of death-seaters in the race and it’s not the position we want to be in. We don’t want to be in the breeze all the way first up.

“It is hard to know what is going to happen there.”

Early favourite and runner up in last week’s Bendigo Cup, Tact Mcleod has drawn three while NSW raider and last year’s second place getter, Kanena Provlima has drawn two with James Herbertson to steer.

The Group 3 Neatline Homes Shepparton Gold Cup is set to go at 8.37pm.

by Lachlan Mitchell, for Harness Racing Victoria