Victorian harness racing trainer Lance Justice joked on Sunday about the probability of drawing the one barrier position in next Saturday night's A$500,000 SEW Eurodrive Miracle Mile.
In an uncanny turn of events, Justice got his wish with his champion pacer Smoken Up grabbing the one alley at Sunday's functionand barrier draw.
"I had a few on about the likelihood that I would draw one, I was just sort of joking around with it but I'm thrilled and it gives him a really good winning chance from there, especially if we can hold the front," Justice said yesterday.
Smoken Up will vie for favouritism with arch rival and West Australian pacing star I'm Themightyquinn, who drew three, while the Luke McCarthy pairing of Mr Feelgood and Franco Jamar fared a little worse, drawing seven and 10 respectively. McCarthy has yet to decide which horse he will drive on Saturday night. The two other Kiwi horses in the field received no luck with the barrier draws either: New Zealand Cup winner Terror To Love drew nine, while Raglan comes into eight.
After the draw, bookmakers still rated Im Themightyquinn as the horse to beat in Saturday's Miracle Mile but the man preparing the West Australian flyer fears Menangle Park specialist Smoken Up.
"You would have to say that Smoken Up is the horse that we are most fearful of," Garry Hall snr said of the Menangle Park specialist, who boasts five wins from eight starts at the circuit.
Im Themightyquinn has met Smoken Up on four occasions and finished in front of him three times.
Their latest encounter was in the Interdominion Final in New Zealand, when Smoken Up crossed the line in front but lost the race after a positive swab. Hall feels Im Themightyquinn is now more lethal and is banking on the race to be run at a solid tempo that will allow his powerful pacer to finish over the top of his rivals.
"He is in good form, I can't fault him, he is going better than he was in the Inter Dominion series so he is probably worth a shot and that is why we are coming," he told the Herald Sun.
"Even though the horse has come back better than ever, the Miracle Mile is the least suitable race for him on the Grand Circuit. There is no doubt he is a better horse in longer races."
Dubbo pacer Karloo Mick clinched the final spot and trainer Barry Lew has indicated his 11-year-old will be in top shape after finishing well down the track behind Mr Feelgood.
Field and odds: Smoken Up (1) $2.80, Lisagain (2) $26, Im Themightyquinn (3) $2.60, Garnett River (1st emg) (4) $41, Karloo Mick (5) $51, Mega Alexander (6) (2nd emg) $51, Mr Feelgood (7) $6, Raglan (8) $17, Terror To Love (9) $9, Franco Jamar (10) $5.50.
