An enormous run by Hard Style Rico has seen him qualify for next weekend’s Group 1 TAB Australian Cup final.

After missing the start from Box 2, the Luckie Karabitsakos-trained youngster proved too powerful for a field that included series favourite Shima Shine and dual Group 1 winner Barooga Brett.

Earlier, Scatterbox (pictured above) won the first Australian Cup heat of the night for trainer Jeff Galea.

Catch all the exciting action from tonight’s heats at The Meadows by downloading The Watchdog app or going to watchdog.grv.org.au

WATCH: Hard Style Rico (2) storms to victory after missing the start in his TAB Australian Cup heat.

Hard Style Rico cools down after his big win.