From HarnessLink (Tony Milanese, 18 October 2026)
Brilliant four year old Captains Mistress (Captaintreacherous) became the first harness racing mare to win the Group 1 $250,000 SEN Victoria Cup at Melton on Saturday night.
As expected Captains Mistress went to the lead but momentarily gave away the front when Nyack charged around the field to take up the running.
But as Nyack was only just looking for a trail, Captains Mistress was able to go straight to the front again. Stablemate Dangerous moved three wide around the field to face the breeze.
Rival Kingman was snookered four back on the rails However once Captains Mistress retook the lead Cameron Hart was able to dominate the race by allowing sectional times that would make it almost impossible for those behind to catch her as evidenced by the fact that she ran her last two quarters in 27.2 and 26.7 seconds.
It was clear on the final bend that she had her rivals off the bit but Nyack stuck to his task as he went for an inside run. Nyack kept going and although he got within just over a metre to Captains Mistress he was never likely to run her down.
However it was a great run and trainer James Rattray will now take Nyack back to Sydney to work out his next move. Our Sunset Delight battled on for third just ahead of Kingman who kept running into a dead end as he tried to look for a run.
Winning driver Cameron Hart whose made no secret of his high regard for Captains Mistress stated after the race.
I’m just super excited, and to have a mare that is this good and to take on the boys the way she is at the moment, it’s pretty special.
I was pretty confident the whole way. I was just settled one off there when Nyack got across, and then I was able to control that first half as I liked.
She felt really nice down the back. And she has been in season the last couple of days, so I was a little bit worried. She had a little bit more attitude than normal, but she still seemed to race pretty well.
Hart commented on his association with winning trainer Jason Grimson.
It means a lot. We’ve been mates for a long time, and obviously grew up in a similar partin country New South Wales. So yes it’s always great to be able to win big races with Jason. You know, one thing I know every time I go out on the track on these big nights, I’m one of Jason’s there ready to go, so it makes my job a lot easier.
Its great that my parents are here. They obviously live in Junee. It’s a long way from the metropolitan tracks, so it’s always special when they can come on these big nights and we can get the job done.
Captains Mistress is now headed immediately for the Kaikoura Cup on 2 November and the race is worth $60,000. Although not running in the New Zealand Cup at Christchurch she may yet front up against Leap To Fame and the locals Marketplace and The Lazarus Effect in the New Zealand Free For All.
