Captains Knock
STAR NSW pacer Captains Knock is racing for the biggest payday in Australian harness history at Penrith on Friday night.
Having won the first four legs of the NSW Carnival of Cups, another win in the $60,000 Group 3 Renshaw Cup at Penrith will bank a $1 million bonus.
Combined with first prize in the Renshaw Cup, Captains Knock will pocket $1,032,700 for his connections, including former Canberra Raiders superstar Jarrod Croker.
That will surpass Encipher, Don Hugo and Bay of Biscay, who banked $1 million each as first prize for winning the three runnings of the world’s richest harness race, the $2.1mil TAB Eureka.
Former champion Blacks A Fake earned $900,000 back in 2006 for winning the Hobart Inter Dominion final.
Under Harness Racing NSW’s bonus structure, Captains Knock is already guaranteed $500,000 for winning the first four legs.
Champion stayer Swayzee went close to snaring the $1 million bonus last year when he won four of the five races and finished second in the other (at Albury). He banked $500,000.
Captains Knock will have to overcome a back row draw (gate nine) around the tight and tricky Penrith circuit to win, but he’s raced at the track twice before for a win and a second.
His main dangers are star veteran Max Delight (gate 10), talented Queensland raider Regazzo Di Tilly (three) and the consistent Ubetcha Tigerpie (11).
“It’ll be a challenge,” Hewitt said. “He seems well, but he is getting towards the end of a long campaign and it hasn’t been without its challenges.
“He’s had a few little (injury) niggles between some of the Cup races.
“That’s why we were so thrilled after Albury when he won he guaranteed himself the $500,000. We thought he might have been vulnerable in that one.
“I’ll be off my head excited if he wins again this week, especially with the challenges we had to work through.”
Captains Knock’s romp started at Wagga on November 14, moved to Newcastle (December 6) and Bathurst (January 30) before leg four at Albury on February 13.
The $1 million chase at Penrith continues a hectic time for Hewitt, who will have runners in heats of the Bathurst Gold series earlier the same day.
“It’s so frustrating they’ve got those two big meetings on the same day, it makes it really hard for so many of us,” he said.
“I’ll be at both, but the logistics aren’t easy and it’ll be a very, very long day when we get home (to Goulburn) from Penrith.”
On Monday, Hewitt will take his unbeaten three-year-old Hollywood Strip and star filly Sparkling Sea (trained by his father, David) to Bathurst for a heat of the Gold Chalice (colts and geldings) and Gold Bracelet (fillies).
Hollywood Strip stamped himself as Australia’s benchmark three-year-old with his eighth win from as many starts, and his best so far, in last Saturday night’s Group 1 NSW Derby.
“He even went up in my estimations the other night, doing the work he did in such a quick time and still winning so easily,” he said.
“I’ve also got a huge opinion of the filly (Sparking Sea). She won the other night (at Menangle), but I think she’s even better than what she showed there.”
PHOTOS: Captains Knock - HRNSW/Brett Atkins
