Sport
28 November, 2025
Stawell Harness Racing Club geared up for the Cup
The Stawell Harness Racing Club is putting the final preparations on for their biggest meet of the year, held this Sunday, featuring the Stawell Pacing Cup and Trotters Cup finals.
Stawell Harness Racing Club manager, Mark Percival, said with the support of a lot of locals, they are ready to host a memorable day.
“We are very much looking forward to it, and we have created some very valuable partnerships with Stawell Little Athletics, Stawell Riding for the Disabled, and the Stawell Agricultural Society, who are taking part in the race day,” he said.
“Little Aths are running a range of kids activities, with the ‘Fashion with Attitude’, a fashion on the fields with kids from 10-16 year olds. There are also great prizes with support from House and Party in Stawell.
There are also two pony trots racing, with a prelude and a Pet Stock Stawell Pony trot cup, with the Agricultural society running that.”
Dave Nicholson will be playing music out front, and Percival is happy that their exciting race draw is back.
“Patrons can scan a QR code in the race book and have a chance to share in $500 cash with five draws during the course of the day, worth $500 each, and you have to be at the track to win,” he said.
The Stawell Harness Racing Club launched a new menu on Thursday after bringing on a new head chef, and Percival is urging people to try the menu, which he describes as ‘spectacular’.
“The menu that is now brought in is spectacular, and I encourage people to try it out on Sunday,” he said.
“Bookings are filling up fast in the bistro, and if you are planning to come, please ring the club and book.
“There will be space out on the deck, and it’s a great place to watch the races, hanging over the fence in the home straight.”
It is the second year that the club has run the Pacing Cup with heats leading into the finals, having previously held it as a one-off race, and Percival thanked the neighbouring clubs, Ararat, Maryborough and Horsham for running the heats.
“The heats were very well supported by local participants, and we are very pleased and grateful to have the support of neighbouring clubs holding the heats,” he said.
“It’s pitched to a class of horse that don’t usually get the opportunity to run for $20,000, so I am sure it will be well valued.”
As for the race itself, there are four main fancies: Sir Nippa, Bizzness Class, Hez all Rock, and Priortise.
Sir Nippa is trained by Gerald Jamieson out of Bowenvale, and has drawn gate one, and his form is sensational, with five wins, four seconds, and one third in his last ten starts.
He ran second in the heat at Maryborough on November 17 behind Big Boy Mal, who won’t be suiting up for the cup.
His run before that, a second at St Arnaud, was the run of the meet, coming from near last, so he will be hard to beat.
Hez All Rock won the heat at Ararat on November 10 and ran second to Bizzness Class in the Horsham Heat on November 24. Trained by Rebecca East out of Heywood, and ridden by Hamilton’s Jackie Barker, who won last year’s race aboard Kendys Butterfly, it has a tough draw in gate 11, but should be fighting for victory.
Priortise, trained by Naomi Kerr out of Birdwoodton, near Mildura, and driven by Ryan Backhouse, won a race in Adelaide at Globe Derby in early November, and ran second to Hez All Rock in the Ararat heat, and was third behind Bizzness Class at Horsham, and has drawn barrier 12, and like Hez All Rock and Bizzness Class, has to come from the back to win.
Bizzness Class is the sentimental favourite out of the contenders. Trained by Michael Gadsden out of Charlton, and ridden by Luke Dunne and drawn barrier 10, he is the one the locals will be behind.
Gadsden used to live and train in Great Western and Ararat, since he got his licence in 2014, before he moved to Charlton in 2019.
He is the on-course farrier at Stawell, so he has many local connections, and his run in the Horsham Heat on Monday was fantastic.
Gadsden said he won’t be too far away on Sunday.
“He started favourite in the second heat at Maryborough, but didn’t get any luck in the run. He drew nicer in the last heat in Horsham, and got the job done, so I am confident in his chances,” he said.
“He came through the run well on a hot day and ran a good time. He is a good doer, and is a relaxed horse who takes it all in his stride and doesn’t exert himself, so the six-day backup won’t be an issue.”
Bizzness Class has 11 wins and has run five or six placings in town, and is yet to crack a metro win, but a Cup win would be huge.
“The 2600m race is a big positive for him, and it’s one he is aiming for,” Gadsden said.
“He is a versatile horse, so we can use him anyway we can. Hopefully, the pace is on early, and he can come at the leaders late and take victory.”
This is the first time Gadsden has had a runner in the Stawell Pacing Cup.
Gadsden has had victories in trotters cups at Gunbower and Swan Hill in 2018, and Terang in 2017, so adding Stawell to that list will be a massive achievement.
Of other local connections in the cup, Kerryn Manning rides and trains The Sportz Star, who has drawn gate five. He ran seventh in Horsham in the heat, and his last win was back in July at Charlton.
The other feature race of the day, the Stawell Trotters cup, El Resamo, trained by David Barbetti, and ridden by Michael Stanley, is the horse to beat, winning his last two races back from a spell.
A standing start race, he starts from a 20m handicap, so he will need to be at his best to win, but on recent form, that shouldn’t be an issue.
The local connections in the race are Peter Manning and Kerryn Manning from Great Western. His horse, Mystery Fred, will be ridden by Kerryn and has drawn position four.
Phillip Giles, also a trainer from Salt Creek out of Great Western, has Double Helix. Ridden by Jackie Barker, it has drawn position two.
Read More: Stawell, Great Western