The Swan Hill Trotting Club is all geared up for its biggest night on the racing calendar with the running of this year’s Swan Hill Pacing Cup on Friday.
The 10-race meeting is the Club’s marquee night on the racing calendar, with the Cup holding Group 3 status and a $35,000 prize pool and will feature a number of the best pacers in the state.
The Swan Hill Pacing Cup won’t be the only big race on the night, with the club also hosting the Simply Roses Swan Hill Mile worth $14,000 and the Kiel Tiling Pace Final, worth over $10,000 for four-year-olds and older.
When speaking with The Guardian this week, Swan Hill Trotting Club President Gerard Moloney was ecstatic at the prospect of some high-class racing taking place on our region’s very own track.
“It’s going to be an amazing night of racing, with a 10-race meeting and some terrific fields all night – we’ve got some of the best trainers and drivers in the state coming to race, it will be a sensational night of racing,” Moloney said.
“It’s such a good field for the Cup that it’s almost impossible to give a tip for the night – when you’ve got the calibre of Emma Stewart who has a couple of horses entered, David Aiken also has a couple in and Glenn and Julie Douglas with a couple, as well as a few good horses from Mildura, it just promises to be a great race.”
Among the favourites for the Cup will be the David Aiken-trained Malcolm’s Rhythm, who was unplaced at his last two starts in the Group 3 Maryborough Gold Cup and the Group 1 Victoria Cup and the Emma Stewart trained, Greg Sugars-driven Fourbigmen, who finished sixth in last Saturday night’s Group 2 Geelong Cup.
Bernie Winkle, Somewhere Secret and the Russell Jack-trained Perfect Stride are also not without a chance, however will need some luck off the second row. While the connections of last start winner Sirletic, who will have master reinsman Chris Alford in the sulky, will also fancy their chances of a win.
While the Swan Hill Pacing Cup will undoubtedly be the highlight of the meeting, Moloney was quick to note that the on-track action will be red hot for more than just the feature race.
“We have another final worth $10,000 for a C0 race, which is pretty good money for basically maiden horses, which is the Kiel Tiling Pace Final and it should be a really good race,” Moloney said.
“The heats were tightly contested, so it should be a really tight final – and then we’ve also got the Swan Hill Mile, which we only ever run on our race meetings so it doesn’t happen very often and the club itself has put forward a $5000 bonus if the track record is broken, which is 1:52.4 and was set by The Storm Inside a couple of years ago.”
After last year’s Swan Hill Pacing Cup was cancelled by the pandemic, it was hoped that this year’s edition would return with a vengeance. Unfortunately, while the racing has returned, crowds won’t be allowed on course to enjoy the fun and atmosphere of the best night on the racing calendar, according to Moloney.
“When I heard on Monday that restrictions were starting to open up, I spoke with HRV (Harness Racing Victoria) very early in the morning about the issue of crowds – but unfortunately, we aren’t governed by the same rules as the gallopers,” Moloney said.
“We are administered by government bodies so we have to stick by what they say – so until the 26th of November, when everybody’s close to double vaccinated, that’s when things will open up for us, unfortunately.”
The racing won’t end for the club with tonight’s racing though, with the next meeting at Swan Hill to be held on November 25, followed by a Christmas meeting on December 13.
The Swan Hill Pacing Cup will be run at 9.02pm on Friday and can be seen on Sky Racing or online at thetrots.com.au.
