'The Captain' aiming at the $1million Carnival of Cups Bonus

30 October 2025

Goulburn trainer Brad Hewitt confirmed this week that all things being in order with his stable star Captains Knock he will be aimed at the rich Carnival of Cups series set to kick off on November 14 at Wagga’s Riverina Paceway with the running of the $60,000  ‘The Bidgee’.

Adopting the same concept as last season’s Carnival of Cups, Harness Racing New South Wales recently announced that the series will again see a $1million dollar bonus up for grabs should the same horse win all five Cup races across the chosen venues of Wagga, Bathurst, Newcastle, Albury and Penrith.

Hewitt’s entire dominated a strong field of open class pacers last Saturday night at Tabcorp Park Menangle to capture the Battle of Beersheba Free-For-All.

Sent to the lead after five hundred metres from release point, the ultra-consistent five-year-old cruised through the opening sectionals before scorching home in a 54.1seconds half at the end of the 2300 metre trip and defeated inform Bathurst pacer Ripp by just over four metres.

In a post-race interview, Hewitt expressed his satisfaction over the way Captains Knock performed and that his immediate plan is to aim the $645,000 earner at the Carnival of Cups circuit.

“He was super at Menangle on Saturday night, and it was satisfying to see him go out and win after a slight hiccup the week before,” he said. 

“We will now look at getting him ready for Wagga in a few weeks’ time.

“It is a series that I think he will really thrive in.

“He has performed well on four of the five tracks chosen in the past and the longer distances will not be an issue for him, so I am looking forward to it.

“Obviously we know things will not be dished up to us on a platter with some nice horses heading that way including Don Hugo and Catch A Wave, but I do think our fella has to be rated right up amongst them.”

Catch A Wave lost no admirers on Saturday night when he was off the track late in a fast last lap when running third to Queensland champion Leap To Fame at Melton, while strong performances in recent trials at Menangle have impressed Don Hugo’s trainer Luke McCarthy.