Don Hugo. Photo by Club Menangle - Pacepix
The lure of a $1million bonus has attracted a star-studded field including five Group 1 winners to Wagga for the opening round of the 2025/26 Carnival of Cups on Friday night.
Miracle Mile, Inter Dominion and Eureka winner Don Hugo heads betting for the $60,000 The Bidgee, the first of five races that make up the Carnival of Cups.
The Luke McCarthy-trained stallion will be chasing the $1 million on offer for any horse that can win all five legs of the series, a bonus that Swayzee fell narrowly short of securing last year and instead picked up $500,000 for winning four legs.
Don Hugo was beaten into second as favourite when resuming in last week's Italian Cup at Menangle but owns a strong second-up record so will be better for the outing.
He showed in last year's Inter Dominion series how quickly he can improve, running fifth when resuming in the opening heat before winning the next three rounds including the final.
The step up to the 2800m distance may suit him better than some of his main rivals and gives him time to work forward from his draw wide on the back row.
Captains Knock must rate as a danger after making it back-to-back Menangle wins when proving too speedy for Don Hugo last week.
The big jump up in distance from the mile makes this a different prospect but he was runner up in an Inter Dominion heat over 2680m in July so can perform well at the longer trips and is three from three at Wagga.
Oliver Dan hails from the powerhouse Emma Stewart yard and looks an each-way player after he led and stuck on for second at Melton last time out. He can push forward from his front row draw and should get his chance.
Max Delight is tough and is one that will run the distance right out. He goes well at Wagga with two wins and two placings from four visits while the progressive Horn Player is some query at the distance but has taken big strides this time in.
The Bidgee is supported by the $75,000 Riverina Regional Championship final that has drawn together a highly-competitive field.
View The Art was terrific in the heats when she settled back from a tough draw but hit the line hard to place. She had missed narrowly when off the back line prior but won at Wagga the last three times she started on the front row, coming from wider than Friday's barrier each time. She should get her chance from the low draw.
Thalassophobia only missed narrowly when off the back row in his heat. He owns a good record at this circuit and distance and should be at peak fitness now.
Cortez was very brave in winning his heat, working forward from the back row to find the front and clinging on. He can take advantage of the good draw.
La Cavalletta draws wide but was tough in winning his heat so could overcome the barrier while Dove Lake is progressing strongly and got close to Cortez last week so looks an each-way hope.
