Ominous warning issued

HIGH class pacer Captains Knock issued an ominous warning ahead of the Country Cup Circuit last night.

Contesting the Italian Cup at Club Menangle, Captains Knock upstaged a strong field in a personal best 1:48.2 over a mile.

A fortnight earlier the Brad Hewitt-trained son of Captaintreacherous beat his open class rivals in 1:52.3 over 2300 metres at the world class venue.

Rapt with the five-year-old's performance, Hewitt is confident Captains Knock can play a key role chasing provincial features and a possible bonus.

Any pacer which wins five cups will earn a $1million bonus, with $500,000 the reward for four wins and $250,000 for winning three.

Wagga will host the opening leg on Friday night, with fields to be released at 4pm on Tuesday.

"He went really well and that run will wind him up perfectly for next Friday," Hewitt said. "He always thrives on a bit of racing...he loves the week-to-week stuff, so going around on Friday won't be an issue."

With Hewitt in the cart, Captains Knock led throughout from barrier five to score by two metres from Don Hugo. Ripp was three metres away third.

"He had a bit of a tricky draw so I thought if didn't come out quickly he'd cop the chair or be back in the running line," Hewitt said. "After finding the front he was always travelling nicely and hit the line well."