The hulking son of Iraklis, who ran the $1.90 favourite, suffered a heart fibrillation and was stood down by Harness Racing Victoria vets pending an electrocardiograph test. He also must trial before being allowed to race again.

That rules out the gelding renewing hostilities with Smoken Up in the Group 2 Shire Of Melton Sprint at Tabcorp Park on opening day next Sunday, but a clearly concerned Tubbs said that was the least of his worries.

"There's nothing I can do now other than go about my business and try and get him back in order," the Bacchus Marsh trainer said.

Melpark Major's condition took away some of the gloss of Smoken Up's dominant win, but the ultra-consistent gelding's trainer-driver Lance Justice couldn't have been prouder of his star charge.

"It leaves a bit of a sour taste in your mouth that the other horse didn't compete like we thought he would, but the fact is my bloke was just so strong," the Melton horseman said.

Smoken Up had to be driven hard to wrestle the lead from Melpark Major and it wasn't until they'd zipped through the lead time in a slick 34.2 seconds that Justice found his way to the pegs.

They backed off slightly to a 30.8-second first quarter, but it wasn't long after that Melpark Major started to feel the pinch.

He dropped out sharply, taking $6 chance Decorated Jasper back through the field in the process, which enabled Smoken Up to amble through the second quarter in 33.7 seconds.

He followed that with a 30.9-second third split and while Bold Cruiser challenged rounding the home bend, Smoken Up still had plenty up his sleeve and pulled away in a 27.4-second final split for a 2:00.3 win.

At the finish the $2.30 second favourite had three metres to spare over Bold Cruiser ($15), while the roughie of the six-horse field, Im Mark Antony ($43), snared third placing in advance of Karlsruhe ($40) and the unlucky Decorated Jasper.

Justice said it was just the performance he wanted to see from Smoken Up ahead of next Sunday's $50,000 feature, in which he is determined to run quick time on the state-of-the-art 1040-metre Melton circuit.

"That was an ideal hit-out for next week," he said. "I didn't have to put the whip on him, but he was really strong and he pulled up like he didn't even have a run."

Sophie passes another test

Sophie Pass's winter winning spree continued last night when the under-rated mare took out the VSB&SA Silver Chalice at Moonee Valley.

Just seven days after she accounted for the open-class males in one of Victoria's most gruelling tests, the SEW-Eurodrive Enduro, she backed up with victory in the $25,000 event for four-year-old mares.

Kerryn Manning said it was a pleasant surprise to see the daughter of Davids Pass taking all before her in what is likely to be her final season before being retired to stud.

"She had a good patch there about a month or so ago, but after that I thought she was probably at her mark," she said.

"I was always confident she would earn prizemoney most times she went out, but I just thought she was going to find it hard to win anywhere, then she ran a second, won the Enduro and then again last night.

"She's an amazing thing who just makes me smile. She's not the best horse in the race, but she's got the right attitude, is strong and tries really hard. I wish I had more like her."

It's easy to understand why. After sitting three-deep into the first turn of the 2100-metre event, it wasn't until about 1500m from home that Sophie Pass found the spot outside the leader.

Manning sat there during a 30.3-second first quarter before letting Sophie Pass assume the lead from $1.90 favourite Kept For Pleasure heading out of the home straight the final time.

That was the last her rivals saw of her. Despite following up a 29.6-second second quarter with a sizzling 28.2-second third split, she was still able to produce a 29.5-second final section for an impressive 1:57.2 victory.

One the line the $5.30 second elect had six metres to spare over Kept For Pleasure with Lady Octavia ($14) finishing hard from the second half of the field to grab third placing.

"When we turned I was actually just waiting for Kept For Pleasure to go past me, but she got tired and a few of the swoopers got held up," Manning said.

"Once she gets rolling she's a hard horse to catch and that's what happened last night."

The Silver Chalice success was Sophie Pass's 12th of the season and took her career record to 20 wins from 63 starts for $158,000 in stakes.

More cups on the rise

The news just keeps getting better in regional and country Victoria.

Fresh from last week's announcement regarding record prizemoney for next season's Country Cups Circuit, two more clubs have announced stake increases.

Stawell have increased their pacing cup from $25,000 to $30,000, whilst Cranbourne have done likewise with their trotting cup.

The Stawell Pacing Cup, which will be run for the first time on a Sunday twilight on November 15, hasbeen liftedto Group 3 status.

It will be sponsored by Stawell Toyworld who was last weekplucked out as thenaming rights sponsorin amajor clubraffle.

"With theboost in funding from HRV, we thought we would match it and make the Pacing Cup $30,000. We're pleased to provide such a great stake for the industry," Stawell HRC president Geoff Sanderson said.

The club has also increased the stake forits trotting cup, which will feature on the same program,to $10,000 on the back of HRV's funding increase.

The honour of the state's richest regional trotting cup rests with Cranbourne who will conduct their2009 feature for a record $30,000.

The club made the announcement this week after signing a sponsorship deal with leading breeding establishment Stallion Station.

Under the deal, the now Group 2 feature, whichwill be run alongside their pacing cup on Saturday night, November 29,will be known as the Majestic Son Cranbourne Trotters Cup.

Aformer Canadian Horse of the Year and now boom trotting sire, Majestic Son ($1.99m, tr1:52.4) will stand his debut Australasian stud season at Stallion Station's New Zealand base with his semen availableto Australian breeders.

"We're delighted to welcome Stallion Station on board as sponsor of our trotters' cup which doubles as the final lead-up race to the Australian Trotting Grand Prix," Cranbourne HRC chief executive David Scott said.

"We pride ourselves onour commitment to the trotter and thisincrease in prizemoney to $30,000 underpins our support ofwhat is arapidly growing market.

"In addition to the Majestic Son Cranbourne Trotters Cup, we also host the Bruce Skeggs Trotters Cup and a heat of the Victoria Trotters Derby each year amongst a busy schedule of trotting races at Cranbourne."

Brad BISHOP