When the horses crossed the line in the Shepparton Gold Cup it appeared the KerryAnn Morris-trained Kanena Provlima had been narrowly beaten by a David Moran-driven pacer for the second year in a row.

However, intervention by the stewards deemed that history would not repeat itself.

Morris walked away with the cup and Kanena Provlima declared the winner after the first horse past the post Captain Hammerhead was disqualified from the event.

Peter Chadwick, Chairman of Stewards for HRV, explained the post-race scenario when stewards delayed the all-clear on the race.

“Following the running of the race, the Shepparton Cup, stewards did delay all clear. The reason being that the driver of the first past the post David Moran, his right leg became detached from the sulky and appeared to be there for quite a significant point of time,” Chadwick said.

“The film was quite evident that the foot did become detached and there was contact with the horse’s hind leg on a couple of occasions. We also believe Mr Moran’s foot stayed in that vicinity of the horse’s legs…

“The stewards believed the rule 170 part five should be invoked and as such the horse was disqualified. There’s no part in that rule that actually says the horse can be relegated, it talks about the horse may be disqualified.

“It is a big race, we understand the impact it has upon those involved and the connections of that horse that was first past the post, but equally we have to be fair to all the other participants and administer the rules as they are.”

The drama surrounding the cup began early when the $2.15 favorite Tact Mcleod galloped shortly after the start, enabling James Herbertson to send Kanena Provlima - a noted front-runner - to the lead.

Moran elected to vacate the one-one trail mid-race to sit outside the leader, and the pair eventually cleared out from their rivals around the home turn.

The NSW-trained Kanena Provlima ($4.80) fought back tenaciously in the home straight, however Captain Hammerhead ($11) was superb first-up from a spell and managed to find the line in a photo finish.

Herbertson said the likely pre-race scenario didn’t eventuate when Tact Mcleod galloped while contesting the lead.

“The main plan went out the window and we had to take the bull by the horns and run our own race. The horse was massive in defeat (on the track),” Herbertson said.

“He had to buzz up two or three times in the run when there were moves and it was great to see. That’s what you like in a real country cup.”

Herbertson was philosophical about being upgraded following the disqualification of Captain Hammerhead.

“When the stewards take control of things, sometimes you come out on the wrong end of it and sometimes the right end of it,” he said.

Morris said the nine-year-old has an affinity with racing south of the border after taking out last year’s Group 2 Ballarat Cup.

“He’s a lovely old horse and really thrives on the tracks down here in Melbourne, and that’s why we thought we’d bring him back again after he had such a good campaign last year,” Morris said.

“We plan to go to the Ballarat Cup next week and see how he pulls up after that. Last year we went on to the Hunter Cup and this year probably the same.”