The AG Hunter Cup is one of the highlights of the Harness Racing season, and the 2025 edition will take place on Saturday night.
The AG Hunter Cup is contested under mobile start conditions and will be raced over 2,760 metres at Melton Entertainment Park in Melbourne.
First raced in 1949, the The AG Hunter Cup has a long and proud history, and an other chapter will be written on Saturday night.
Let’s take a look at the main contenders and outright odds for the The AG Hunter Cup.
Leap To Fame won the 2024 edition of the AG Hunter Cup and is the hot fancy to go back-to-back, by winning it again.
Trained and driven by Grant Dixon, Leap To Fame is the one to beat, however the barrier draw has not been kind.
Leap To Fame has been drawn in gate eight, inside the back row, and will now need a big slice of luck to get the job done.
Dixon has admitted the job has ‘got very hard all of a sudden’ following the nightmare draw, but believes the fact it is a staying race will give them hope.
Leap To Fame can be backed at 2.40 to win the AG Hunter Cup.
Swayzee can be backed at 3.80 to win the AG Hunter Cup and is seen as the main threat to Leap To Fame.
Swayzee is an excellent stayer and has already shown he can beat Leap To Fame, when coming out on top in the 2023 Blacks A Fake in Brisbane.
Once again the draw has not been kind, landing gate 11 on the back row, but it is a better spot than Leap To Fame.
Leap To Fame has easily beaten Swayzee in the last three meetings, but the draw could make a big difference on Saturday night.
Don Hugo is next in the betting at 6.00 and could be in the mix following a favourable barrier draw.
Don Hugo showed his class when winning the Inter Dominion last month and will be hoping to go well once again after being drawn in barrier four.
Republican Party has the perfect draw after landing barrier one and could be a real threat at 9.00.
The Kiwi stayer impressed when finishing third behind Leap To Fame last week, and with the better draw, is expected to go well.
Another Kiwi, Tact Mcleod has also drawn well with barrier two and is 10.00 to cause an upset by winning the AG Hunter Cup.
Connections have suggested they will look to take the lead early and attempt to dictate matters from there.
Any odds displayed were correct at the time of writing and are subject to fluctuation.