Hope Racing-trained Camp Cable edges ahead at the post during members’ day at Seymour Racing Club last Friday. Photos: Brett Holburt/Racing Photos.
Photo by
Brett Holburt
Seymour Racing Club kicked off the 2026-27 racing season in style last Friday, August 7, hosting a successful members’ day as its first meet of the new campaign, with a pair of local trainers notching home track victories.
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Both Linc Sullivan and the Hope Racing duo of Lee and Shannon Hope saluted winners to kick-start their campaigns. And both in exciting fashion too, with their respective horses delivering barnstorming finishes to edge ahead by the post.
It was Sullivan who celebrated first with four-year-old gelding Misty Whisper in the second race of the day, The Brewer’s Table Maiden Plate, flying down the home straight to claim victory over 1200m.
Despite rounding the bend five-wide and in near enough to last, Misty Whisper just continued to wind up over the final 400m, swamping the field to eventually win comfortably by more than a length, much to the delight of Sullivan, who himself thought his charge had left itself too much to do.
Misty Whisper delivered a brilliant victory for trainer Linc Sullivan at Seymour Racing Club’s Members’ Day last Friday.
Photo by
Brett Holburt
“I thought we were a long way back, and I thought we would run a good fourth here,” he told Racing.com post-race.
“When he started to close off I thought he might get to second, but I didn’t honestly think he would win from there, but a big effort.”
The win was a superb maiden victory for Misty Whisper, and continues the promise he has shown in his three career starts to date.
In its first start over 1125m at Geelong in April, Misty Whisper finished fourth, before being freshened for four weeks and placing second over 1100m in May, again at Geelong, both times making up ground quickly nearing the finish.
“He’s got a really good turn of foot,” Sullivan said.
“He took a long time to get going, as you can see, he’s a big horse, but he has got a really explosive turn of foot.
“When he gets it back, he can finish off, and he showed that today.”
Trainer Linc Sullivan after his horse Misty Whisper won the The Brewer’s Table Maiden Plate. Photo: Brett Holburt/Racing Photos.
Photo by
Brett Holburt
The final race of the day saw Hope Racing also salute a winner to make it a local double, with five-year-old gelding Camp Cable storming down the front straight to clinch victory by less than half a length in the Observer @ Darley BM66 Handicap over 1400m.
Making the turn towards the back of the pack, jockey Cory Parish steered his ride to the outside, where Camp Cable unleashed a powerful finish to see off a trio of other contenders to nab the win on home turf, with three of his four career wins now coming at Seymour.
“He seems to have taken a liking to it. He works here every day,” Shannon Hope told Racing.com after the victory.
“He’s a good track worker and things just fell into place today.”
The win comes after Camp Cable showed good form at Sandown Hillside a week earlier on a very heavy track, giving Hope plenty of confidence that a good result was possible at Seymour.
“He ran very (well) the other day, he just lost his position in the run,” he said.
“He made up good ground on a very heavy track, so we didn’t do much with him all week and just sent him around today.”
There is plenty of action at Seymour Racing Club in the coming weeks, with racing set to return in just over a fortnight for Thursday Gallops on Thursday, August 27, while the club has been named as a finalist in the bet365 Country Racing Victoria Club of the Year award for a third consecutive season, with the winner set to be announced at CRV’s night of nights on Saturday, August 22.
