Ahead of tomorrow night’s A.G. Hunter Cup at Melton, it’s timely to recall one of the most important dates in the feature’s history.
Named in honour of the inaugural Cup was run on January 1, 1949, with New South Wales champion Silver Peak capturing the 2000-pound event.
Quickly becoming one of Australasia’s most sought-after races, the Cup has been won by superstars such as Ribands, Minuteman, Pure Steel, Popular Alm, Preux Chevalier, Village Kid, Blacks A Fake and King Of Swing.
Even though the Cup was already held in high regard, the prizemoney was doubled in 1986 when Winfield Cigarettes entered into a sponsorship arrangement with the then Trotting Control Board.
As a result of the three-year agreement, however, the Winfield Gold Cup replaced the Hunter Cup as Victoria’s pinnacle race, with the latter de moted to a Group 2 and re named the A.G. Hunter Memorial.
Prizemoney was slashed from $125,000 to $25,000 in 1987 and naturally attracted inferior fields. By 1990, the Winfield Gold Cup became the Victoria Cup following the Federal and State Government ban on cigarette advertising. But the Hunter Cup remained a shadow of itself for several more years.
Enter the Victoria Harness Racing Club, working in conjunction with the sport’s regulator, Harness Racing Victoria.
Together, their vision and backing saw the Hunter Cup reborn in 1994 as a powerhouse, with prize money catapulted to $150,000 and the fallen idol restored to something approaching its former glory.
Regardless of the money being shipped to New Zealand as Blossom Lady overcame a 20-metre mark in a track record 2:01.2, the Hunter Cup was back as a major event on the calendar, making the 1994 edition as one of the most – if not the most – significant in the race’s history.
