Captains Knock winning the Steel City Cup in Newcastle. Photo by Brett Atkins
Captains Knock can become the first horse to land the $1 million Carnival of Cups bonus by winning the final round of the 2025-26 series at Penrith on Friday night.
The Brad Hewitt trained and driven stallion has already secured a $500,000 payout for connections by winning the first four legs but can double that prize by securing a clean sweep of the series in the Group 3 Renshaw Cup.
Early betting suggests he will do just that with Captains Knock opening a hot $1.30 favourite with the TAB.
Hewitt's decision to target the Carnival of Cups has proven to be a master stroke with a huge payday in store regardless of the Renshaw Cup result.
Captains Knock set the tone by beating multiple Group 1 winner Don Hugo in the series opener at Wagga in November and has dominated each race since, easily overcoming the wide or second row barriers he has received under the preferential draw system.
That form sees him as clearly the one to beat at Penrith but the race does look to have more depth than what he has faced since that first round.
Ubetcha Tigerpie presents as new challenger having missed the earlier Carnival of Cups races.
He has been taking on the big guns over the Menangle carnival and performing well, highlighted by a fourth in a Miracle Mile qualifier where he was only 2.3m behind subsequent Miracle Mile runner-up The Janitor.
He had gone into that race with seconds in three of his previous four Menangle starts behind the likes of Swayzee and Rakero Rocket.
He usually races over shorter than the 2525m distance of the Renshaw Cup but his form is good enough to see him make a race of it.
Former WA pacer Magnus Victor will strip fitter having finished midfield when resuming at Menangle last week. He goes well at this distance, winning three of seven attempts, so can improve.
Max Delight chased Captains Knock when placed in the first three Carnival of Cups races so it won't be easy for him to turn the tables but he does come off a good effort for a 4.6m fourth in the Group 2 Light Horse Free For All at Menangle last week where he beat Ubetcha Tigerpie home.
Ima Boxa is a dominant favourite in the night's other feature, the Metropolitan Final of the TAB Regional Championships.
The lightly-raced but highly progressive six-year-old made it six wins and a second from just seven starts when cruising home in his heat at the circuit and distance last week.
On that occasion he started on the back row – as he does on Friday - but worked to the front and drew away to cruise home by 13m.
That performance suggests he is a class above his rivals and with the powerful Jason Grimson/Cameron Hart combination behind him he looks the standout.
Ideal In Dreams could the main challenger. She produced a series of solid efforts in higher-graded city races before winning her heat last week, taking her strike rate over the 2125m at Penrith to 50 per cent.
She draws on the back row but should enjoy a nice trail so can be in the finish if she gets the gaps.
Withdistinction drew wider and had to work so was brave in winning his heat last week. A low draw should see him involved again.
