15 January 2018 | Trots Media - Michael Howard
A new bumper night of feature racing will bring to a close the Trots Country Cups Championship with the Shepparton Cup rescheduled to form the season finale.
The $50,000 Group 2 Neatline Homes Shepparton Gold Cup will be staged on Saturday, April 28, sharing the card with the club’s trotting cup, trotting oaks and two-year-old trotters’ classic in what presents as a brilliant night’s racing.
Shepparton Harness Racing Club manager Ian McDonald said it was “going to be a fantastic night”.
“Having the Mildura, Horsham and Shepparton cups all in the month of April is a huge boost to harness racing in the regions and a great way to finish off the Trots Country Cups Championship,” he said.
The championship, led by Bendigo Cup winner Messini, carries a $25,000 prize for the trainer and owner of the triumphant horse, a monster carrot that will help fuel a worthy edition of the great race.
The cup was rescheduled after Saturday night’s meeting had to be postponed, and later abandoned, after race six due to a power outage.
“There was a fire in the base of one of the light towers, most likely caused by a burnt-out capacitor that set fire to the wiring in the pole,” Mr McDonald said. “The damage is significant and there was no scope to repair it in time.”
Mr McDonald said it was a shattering blow given a crowd of about 1600 people had turned out for the cup meeting, but he said all in attendance were very understanding and he was confident they’d be back on April 28.
“We are blessed to have very loyal trots supporters in Shepparton who love their sport and a great night out and we look forward to having them back for the April cup.”
