Race caller Dan Hibberd dives into Monday night’s heats of the Group 2 CKH Painting Shepparton Cup.

With just four heats to be run, the winners and fastest placegetters will progress to next Saturday night’s final.

HEAT 1

A strong opening heat to kick off the Cup, headlined by Typhoon Baylee (1) and Sharapova Star (6).

Typhoon Baylee hasn’t been seen for a month but had excellent form prior to the break, including finishing second to Slick Splits in a Warragul Cup heat.

Sharapova Star has been breathtaking in recent months, regularly matching motors with the sport’s elite. Last week she was beaten to the punch early in the Ballarat Cup by Off The Chart, but was enormous in defeat and never stopped chasing.

Early verdict: Sharapova Star gets a narrow nod over Typhoon Baylee. Runners from boxes 2, 3 and 4 could sneak into the final if they find the right luck.

Typhoon Baylee wins last start at Warragul over the 400 metres in a time of 22.05 seconds from box 2.

HEAT 2

A mouthwatering contest and arguably the most intriguing heat of the night.

On face value it’s hard to go past Australian Cup winner, Dramatical (3), who has been outstanding throughout 2026. Team Thompson’s heir apparent to Explicit’s throne continues to produce elite performances and deserves his place at the head of the market.

Blessed Rain (4), drawn outside Dramatical, could make things interesting. She has gone within a whisker of the 390m track record here at her past two starts and nearly broke the long-standing first split record last time out. If she explodes early, she’ll give them something to chase but she will need a big lead to hang on.

Dewana Star (1), winner of the Northern Districts Cup at Shepparton can’t be discounted. Tribeca (8) is another consistent performer who may stay clear of trouble early from the pink.

Early verdict: The depth is real. Dramatical deserves favouritism, but Blessed Rain has the early pace to test him.

Blessed Rain’s last start win at Shepparton over the 390 metres from box four in a time of 21.59 seconds.

HEAT 3

Last start Ballarat Cup winner Off The Chart (5) stands out here. He’s drawn a favourable heat and if he produces a similar first split to last week’s performance, he’ll take plenty of catching.

Robinson (1), Above Them All (3), Fear The Beer (4) and Wreck James (7) look the main hopes to grab the second qualifying spot, and there’s very little separating them.

Early verdict: Off The Chart goes bang.

Off The Chart wins the Sportsbet Ballarat Cup from box five last start. 

HEAT 4

The heat of the night. Class across the board and several genuine winning chances make this a fascinating contest.

Dear Carla Lou (1) and Barooga Jim (2) both made the Ballarat Cup final last week, with Barooga Jim producing a terrific run to finish third. Dear Carla Lou’s draw in the red and her previous sub-25 second run at Shepparton are major positives.

Intrepidus (4) has the early pace to put the race to bed if he nails the start.

Gold Force (5) can be forgiven for his Ballarat Cup heat run, as his form prior in New South Wales has been excellent.

Caly Jet (6) has been winning for fun recently, while Boracay Storm (7) returns from Western Australia and now finds himself in the Azzopardi kennel, which means he’ll be primed.

Early verdict: Barooga Jim is racing well and can give this a serious shake, but the quality here is enormous. Whoever qualifies from this heat will have earned it.

Barooga Jim wins a Ballarat Cup heat from box seven.