As the industry prepares to celebrate the feats of another A G Hunter Cup winner in Melton on Saturday night, it’s timely to recall the anniversary one of the most important dates in the feature’s history!
Named in honour of Alexander George Hunter, the inaugural Cup was run on January 1, 1949, with New South Wales champion Silver Peak capturing the 2000 pounds event for Frank Culbert, beating Amorous and Miraculous by two yards as a 5/4 favourite.
Quickly becoming one of the southern hemisphere’s most sought-after races, the Cup has been won by superstars such as Amorous, Ribands, Mineral Spring, Avian Derby, Sheffield Globe, Minuteman, Monara, Royal Gaze, Pure Steel, Popular Alm, Koala King, Gammalite, Preux Chevalier, Village Kid and Blacks A Fake.
Despite its prestigious status, however, the Cup fell victim to commercialism in 1986 when Winfield Cigarettes offered the Victorian Harness Racing Board enough sponsorship money to double the stake from $125,000 to $250,000.
As a result of the three-year agreement, the Winfield Gold Cup replaced the Hunter Cup as Victoria’s pinnacle race and as a leg of the Australian Grand Circuit, with the latter demoted to a Group Two mobile start and renamed the A G Hunter Memorial.
Prizemoney was slashed from $125,000 to a disappointing $25,000 in 1987 and naturally attracted inferior fields.
The Hunter Memorial was not run in 1992, but the following year it was renamed the A G Hunter Cup and became a standing start discretionary handicap over 2840 metres, with the stakes increased from $25,000 to $40,000.
New Zealand star Master Musician overcame a 40-metre handicap to beat Blossom Lady and Bowral Boy in a track record 2:02.8, a week after beating Jack Morris and Blossom Lady in the $200,000 Victoria Cup.
The Victoria Cup had replaced the Winfield Gold Cup following the Federal and State Governments’ ban on cigarette advertising after Sinbad Bay’s 1989 Winfield Gold Cup success.
Enter the Victoria Harness Racing Club.
Thanks to the club’s vision and the sponsorship, the Hunter Cup was reborn as a powerhouse event in 1994, with prizemoney catapulted to $150,000, returning the fallen idol to some of its former glory.
Unfortunately for locals, the trophy headed across the Tasman as Blossom Lady, driven by Anthony Butt, overcame a 20-metre mark to beat Christopher Vance and The Unicorn, in a track record 2:01.2.
Regardless of the fact the money was shipped to New Zealand, 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 Cup’s history.
For the record, Blossom Lady returned to successfully defend her title the following year, which also saw the Cup rejoin the Grand Circuit.
Racing for a record $200,000 stake, the daughter of Farm Timer beat Master Musician and Golden Reign, with the three placegetters sharing the 30-metre backmark.
Blossom Lady rated a sensational 2:00.6 for the 3280 metres, shaving six-tenths of a second off the track record she set a year earlier
Prizemoney jumped to $400,000 by 1997, where it remained until a further injection of funds saw the Group One peak at $500,000 in 2006 and 2007.
Dropping back to $400,000 in 2008, the Cup was once again lifted to $500,000 in 2016, where it has sadly remained.
