Victor Harbour’s cup meeting continues a proud tradition in South Australia

The picturesque coastal tourist centre of Victor Harbour will be staging their Cup meeting this Easter Sunday and by all accounts it should be a cracking day for the South Australian harness racing community.

Victor Harbour is one of South Australia’s oldest clubs, it was started in 1947 with the formation of a committee.

The old track was behind the local hospital close to the sea with land purchased in the 1940s.

Cut to the late 1990s and the club was offered a million dollars for the old circuit and they moved out to Morgan Park in the Hindmarsh Valley eight kilometres to the east of the City in the early 2000s.

Spending up to $2 million on stabling, facilities, grounds, and the carving out of the best 1000-metre tracks in South Australia, has resulted in the building of a raceway facility equal to the best in the country tracks.

​Today Victor Harbour races on a spacious 1000 metre track with a 230 metre home straight giving a chance for all runners. The track is surfaced with dolomite sand but needs topdressing and a lot of water to balance out the dust especially during the heat.

As is the case with many minor venues, the club is operated by a team of volunteers all dedicated and committed harness racing enthusiasts.

President Lynton Bishop explained.

We have two meetings per year however our first meeting in December is generally too hot. But we get the Easter Sunday date because its such a popular time.

We have four permanent stables on the track that were built five years ago but there’s only two trained locally. The facilities keep improving and the place currently looks magnificent.

Bishop added that the TAB will operate on the day but how much they contribute depends on the crowd and how much they’ll bet on the day.

If there’s a lot of betting we’ll make a small contribution but if there’s little interest then we have to pay an amount.

We also top up the stake money to make racing competitive.

This Sunday’s meeting is comprised of a seven event program starting at 1.20pm. The highlight is the $11,000 Strathalbyn Small Engines Pacing Cup to be run over 2160 metres. Of particular interest will be the appearance of Heza Punk Rocker now in the stables of Peter Bain.

Formerly trained by Emma Stewart, Heza Punk Rocker won the Vicbred Super Series for four year olds back in September 2024. Last start he finished fourth in the Gawler Pacing Cup and should be all the better for that run.

However he’ll be tested by Dhaulagiri who is racing in great heart with four wins from his last five starts.

The $11,000 Skyvalley NZ Aldebaran Park Trotters Cup has only drawn six runners and trainer Ryan Hryhorec looks to dominate the event with Is That A Bid and Aldebaran Dexta likely to figure in the finish. Hayoak is racing in good form having won his last two appearances.

By Tony Milanese for Harnesslink