Hart buzzing after Mistress' return

16 September 2026

ADAM HAMILTON  

INTER Dominion champion Captains Mistress got a big nod of approval from driver Cam Hart after her return at the Menangle trials today (Wednesday).

The brilliant mare was given a quiet time for most of the blistering 1609m trial before Hart let her slip over the last 100m.

She coasted into second spot, 16.1m behind stablemate Dangerous, in a scorching 1min49.8sec mile.

“She was super impressive today. We just sat on the back of Swayzee then Dangerous kicked away up the straight, but she finished off that last 100m really well when I tipped her out. She felt as good as ever and it’s great to have her back,” Hart told Club Menangle.

Captains Mistress will have a couple of lead-up races before chasing her next “major”, the Group 1 Victoria Cup at Melton on October 17.

She will then head to NZ for a string of races, starting with the Kaikoura Cup on November 2.

Superstar stablemate Swayzee, who is also NZ-bound to chase a record third NZ Cup win on November 10, was driven out to finish a well-held third, beaten 19.4m in the trial.

But stand-in driver Will Rixon wasn’t fazed.

“He felt really good,” he said. “He didn’t have the racing through winter the other two did and probably takes a lot more to come up.

“He’ll probably trial again, but he felt really good in himself, sound and happy, and hopefully he’s got a good preparation ahead.”

Trainer Jason Grimson, who drove Dangerous himself in the trial, said the former Victorian pacer did well to post such a quick time in the conditions.

“Felt quite good and he ran good time,” he said. “It was quite windy out there and it was probably even faster than you’d think. He’s probably ready to go to the races now.”

The big watch is on how many runners Grimson will have in the Victoria Cup.

Captains Mistress is the top seed and his rejuvenated star Captains Knock is also being set for the race.

Swayzee won’t go there, but judging by today’s trial, Dangerous will be primed at the right time.

It could be whether he goes to Victoria or focuses on the rich NSW Carnival of Cups series.

Star speedster Hi Manameisjeff, who returns from a spell on Saturday night at Melton and Inter Dominion heat winner Minos are other possibles.