The past 24 hours have been huge for the Victoria Cup.

It will be awesome to see the untapped General Dodge take on the likes of Wolf Stride, Out To Play, Western Sonador and others in the new $100,000 Group 1 VHRC Caduceus Classic (1650m) at Bendigo on Saturday night.

His recent trial win over the likes of Out To Play and Wolf Stride was a stunning mix of brilliance and arrogance.

And when rival trainer Andy Gath says General Dodge may be the fastest horse he’s seen, you simply have to take notice.

In other great news, champion pacer King Of Swing is also a lock for the Victoria Cup after lengthy talks between his owners and co-trainer Luke McCarthy over the weekend.

The impact of Covid-19 border restrictions put the trip in doubt, but it’s now a goer.

It is no secret King Of Swing’s influential owners don’t like their champ going anywhere without Luke McCarthy.

But McCarthy will almost certainly be stranded at home when the Victoria Cup is run on October 9 at Melton.

“We’d always planned to go, but when it became obvious Luke wouldn’t be able to go with the horse or drive him, we had to rethink it all,” part-owner Glen Moore said.

“I spoke with Luke over the weekend and the other owners and we’re going to give it a go.

“Luke says the horse can do his last fast workout at their place, float down to Shepparton on the Friday, race the Saturday night and be back at their stables by Sunday night.”

The big question is ... who drives King Of Swing with McCarthy staying home?

“That’s something we’ll discuss closer to the race. There are some great options and I’m sure plenty of drivers would love to be aboard him,” Moore said.

King Of Swing hasn’t raced since everything went wrong early when he ran third in the Group 1 Blacks A Fake at Albion Park on July 24.

“He didn’t have that long out. Luke’s really happy with him,” Moore said. “He’ll just have the one lead-up race on October 2 (the week before the Victoria Cup) at Menangle.

“Luke thinks a trial on September 22 and the October 2 race will be enough to have him primed.”

King Of Swing’s three runs at Melton have netted a Hunter Cup win in 2020, a second in last year’s Victoria Cup and a third in the Hunter Cup back on February 6.

Not since Im Themightyquinn emerged 13 years ago has WA boasted such an exciting pacer.

Magnificent Storm’s win at Gloucester Park last Friday was his 16th from just 18 starts and had it all.

The race was rightly billed as the third showdown between WA’s two brightest young stars, Magnificent Storm and Minstrel.

The barrier draws fell Minstrel’s way and he was backed into a clear favourite.

Minstrel led as expected with Magnificent Storm’s driver, Aldo Cortopassi, intent on niggling at the leader on his outside.

Just when most expected Minstrel, who beat Magnificent Storm when they last met in the Group 1 Golden Nugget in February, to kick into another gear, Magnificent Storm roared straight past him and coasted to a 7.1m win.

He had the cheek to prick his ears nearing the line, suggesting there was plenty left in the tank.

Sadly, because of COVID-19 border hassles, Magnificent Storm will be staying home in the foreseeable future.

“There’s no point talking about Melbourne while things are the way they are,” trainer Ray Williams said.

“He’ll have another couple of runs, then a little break before coming back for the biggest races here (in January).”

Clearly the win meant a lot to Williams, the father of top thoroughbred trainer Grant Williams.

“It’s very exciting. He didn’t let us down,” he said. “He’s not just fast, he’s pretty tough, too. He showed that today.”

* picture by Hamilton Content Creators

The opinions expressed in The Forum are those of the author and may not be attributed to or represent policies of Harness Racing Victoria, which is the state authority and owner of thetrots.com.au.