Caption: Anthony Azzopardi with last year’s Shepparton Cup winner Substantial.

IT may be competing with a growing number of Group events, but this month’s $67,000 G2 Shepparton Cup (450m) is still a much sought-after Victorian country feature.

So much so, that some of the best young sprinters are heading to the Goulburn Valley city for this month’s Cup heats on Monday, March 20, with the $47,000-to-the-winner final later in the week (Saturday, March 25).

Club manager Carl McGrath said Paul Brown’s hot youngsters Rejuvenate and litter brother Hot Scotch and the Paul Abela-trained Panadero Warrior, winner of last month’s Group 2 Ladbrokes Cyril Rowe Bulli Cup, were being aimed at the feature.

“Panadero Warrior is owned in the district by Jordan Baker, who is travelling around Australia, while Rejuvenate is one of the boom pups racing at the moment,” he said.

Rejuvenate claimed his first feature in the $37,000 G3 Northern Districts Cup (450m) at Shepparton in November before finishing fifth to Amron Boy in the G1 Silver Chief (525m) at The Meadows a month later.

McGrath said he was expecting the best 450m sprinters for the series as well as leading trainers, including Jason Thompson, who will be hoping to building on his Cup record.

The Shepparton  feature, once an important lead-up race for the Melbourne Cup, has been won by some of the greats of the sport, including hall of famer and ‘local’ superstar Highly Blessed, while Thompson’s record stands at four victories.

His most recent win came in September 2016 (the only year the race was run twice) when Aston Bolero scored a brilliant victory over American Monster and Shima Song.

At the first running that year, in February, Aston Bolero made the final and, although sent out the popular elect, was unplaced behind winner Gotta Get Back.

On the second occasion, Aston Bolero showed brilliant speed from the six alley to notch win number 35, almost double the career victories achieved by Thompson’s first Shepparton Cup winner, the brilliant Head Honcho in 1993.

The sprinter had already collected the South Australian Champion Puppy Classic (aka Colin Viney Memorial) and South Australian St Leger.

He had raced just 20 times for 18 wins when his career was cut short before going on to an amazing stud career.

Thompson had to wait another 11 years for his next cup success, winning with the smart Whisky Assassin in 2004, in what was the last time the event was run over the 440 metres distance.

His other victory came in 2008 with Hanify’s Impact.

In a unique twist, the 2004 Shepparton Cup completed an amazing treble of winners with the Ballarat Cup.

In 2002, Knockabout Wok won both the Shepparton and Ballarat Cups; Puzzle Prize achieved the feat the following year and Whisky Assassin landed the double in 2004.

Other brilliant sprinters to collect the Shepparton feature include El Grand Senor, Paw Licking, Zinzan Brooke, Hard Style Rico, Master Giant, Kantarn Bale and Bahama Image.

McGrath said cup night (March 25) would also feature two major support races, the $14,250 Tony McGrath Memorial (450m) and the $10,000 match race.

Shepparton Cup honour roll:

1973 Garner Bin, 1974 Morning Glow, 1975 Tivashley, 1976 Marungi Boy, 1977 Near History, 1978 Relle Louise, 1979 Mannerism, 1980 Proven Bold, 1981 First Question, 1982 Golden Impulse, 1983 Blue Echo, 1984 Blitzem Bill, 1985 Thorgil Magic, 1986 Thorgil Magic, 1987 Nan’s Pal, 1988 Fantasy Boy, 1989 Pure Talent, 1990 Highly Blessed, 1991 Bomber Gleeson, 1992 Master Giant, 1993 Head Honcho, 1994 Thorgil Tex, 1995 Hanson Diamond, 1996 Bahama Image, 1997 World Title, 1998 Ashigga, 1999 Star Of Mine, 2000 Kantarn Bale, 2001 Salong Bale, 2002 Knockabout Wok, 2003 Puzzle Prize, 2004 Whisky Assassin, 2005 not run, 2006 Slater, 2007 Overflow Breaker, 2008 Hanify’s Impact, 2009 Gardam Prince, 2010 Din’s Son, 2011 El Grand Senor, 2012, Blackall’s Boss, 2013 Paw Licking, 2014 not held, 2015 Azza Azza Azza, 2016 Gotta Get Back (February), 2016 Aston Bolero (September) 2017 Zinzan Brooke, 2018 Peter Galo, 2019 not held, 2020 Hard Style Rico, 2021 Ferdinand Boy, 2022 Substantial.