The trainer, who bases himself out of Seymour, 700m from the racing club, is thrilled to have the cup back on home soil.
He says preparations are going as planned for the big day.
“It’s excellent (to have the race back in Seymour). It’s just going forward in leaps and bounds,” Hope said.
“It’s looking perfect at the moment. The whole staff have got the place looking excellent and the track’s coming up A-one.
“We’re (Hope Racing) only in with a rough chance (for having a horse in the Seymour Cup). We could have an old horse, Big Brew, in the Seymour Cup.
“It’ll be nominated, but it usually comes up a pretty strong race, the Seymour Cup, because it’s worth such good money.
“I’d love to say, ‘yes, he’s running’, because it drops in weight, great prize money and there’s nothing better than winning your home-town cup.
“There’s a chance we might have a couple of maidens go around, but I’ll probably make the decision as the week comes.”
Training horses is a family affair for Shannon, who started working alongside his father and fellow trainer, Lee Hope.
However, Hope says not everyone is cut out to be a horse trainer.
“It’s a good lifestyle, but it’s hard going,” he said
“You’ve got to be very dedicated, very passionate. The alarms go off and we’re up.
“There are other jobs out there that are a bit easier. Our biggest challenge at the moment would be staff because, I think it’s in every industry, people don’t want to work, and if you do want to work, why would you get up at 4am if it’s just a job?
“You’ve really got to love it.”
And he does.
“In all fairness, my father and I have been very fortunate. Racing has been very good to us,” Hope said.
“We’ve been successful at the highest level, but we’re in the middle of rebuilding at the moment after the disqualification.
“We’re going forward — regrouping horses, getting better, younger stock. I would have thought the autumn is probably going to be more our go rather than the spring.”
No matter if his horses finish first or last, Hope is keen to see the cup back at Seymour and credited new Seymour Racing Club chief executive Chris Martin with getting things back on track.
“He seems to be making sure he’s there at the crack of dawn,” Hope said.
“I don’t know what time he finishes, but he’s working trainer’s hours.
“Now we’re racing. He’s rebuilt it himself.”
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