Racing: Driver feels good before mile

International pacer and former Interdominion winner Mr Feelgood has already broken 1:50 for the mile. Photo / Gary Wild

While his rival drivers think they have the horsepower to break the 1:50 mark in Saturday's SEW Eurodrive Miracle Mile, Luke McCarthy knows it.

And that is keeping hope alive for the Queensland horseman after his Mile rep Mr Feelgood drew the dreaded outside of the front-line starting position.

McCarthy realises that means Mr Feelgood is almost certainly going to have to cover the most ground in the Mile at Menangle and leaves him facing a huge decision at the start of the glamour sprint.

The former United States and New Zealand-trained Mr Feelgood has been in startling form since joining McCarthy's stable and his newest weapon is his very high gate speed.

McCarthy says if he really asks Mr Feelgood to fly off the gate he has a chance of crossing his rivals and leading. But it is a huge risk.

"If I can make a real flier and get across horses like Blackie [Blacks A Fake] and Smoken Up inside 200m then great," McCarthy told the Herald.

"But if they even get a leg up inside me before the first bend what would have been a 200m burn becomes a 400m burn and that would be the end of us - we would be left sitting ducks."

So McCarthy faces the daunting prospect of restrained at the start and hoping for a suicidal early pace and the right cart into the race.

Under that scenario he would hope all the hype about the Mile being paced in sub 1:50 for the first time ever outside North America comes true.

And while for most such times are just speculation, McCarthy has ample proof Mr Feelgood can do it.

For starters, the former Little Brown Jug winner paced a 1:48.4 mile when racing in the United States, admittedly using the wider, and therefore faster, speed sulkies but at least he has proved he can pace well under 1:50.

And last week's McCarthy drove Washakie when he broke the Australasian mile record in pacing 1:50.5 at Menangle.

"And without being disrespectful to Washakie, Mr Feelgood is a better horse than him," says McCarthy.

"Washakie came from the outside of the gate last week, sat three wide for 800m and went 1:50.5 so I have no doubts under the right circumstances Mr Feelgood can break 1:50 on Saturday night."

Victory in a Miracle Mile would be the icing on a remarkable career for Mr Feelgood, who has made the quantum leap from being a leading US pacer as a 3-year-old to winning a standing-start Hunter Cup and being the only horse to beat Blacks A Fake in an Interdominion Final.

Punters have remembered those feature race wins, backed up by his winter form, and have stayed loyal, with Mr Feelgood hardly budging from his $7 opening quote with bookmakers throughout Australasian.

The biggest mover in the market has been Monkey King, who is around $2.60 to $2.80 with bookmakers, although betting exchanges had him trading at $3.30 last night.