Vale Sokyola

4 March 2026

WITH the Miracle Mile just days away, the race lost one of its most iconic champions with today’s passing of Sokyola at the age of 29.

The Lance Justice-trained superstar won a remarkable 78 races and earned almost $1.9 million, but was most famous for landing back-to-back Miracle Mile wins at the old Harold Park track in 2003 and ’04.
Renowned for his blazing gate speed, the Lance Justice trained-and-driven Sokyola also won the Group 1 Victoria Cup and Group 2 Sunshine Sprint in 2024 and earned the Australian Harness Horse of the Year crown. 
He spent his retirement at Justice’s Melton farm and was euthanized today (Wednesday) after a 12-month battle with Sidewinders Syndrome, which increasingly impacts a horse’s gait and movement.
“It’s a sad day, but such great times to look back on. He changed my life,” Justice said.
Sokyola’s career spanned almost eight years from his first start at Roxburgh in NZ’s deep south on January 4, 2000 to an emotional farewell win at Moonee Valley on June 22, 2007.
He won nine of his first 11 starts and was a driving force behind Justice’s huge move from dominating in South Australia to making a hugely successful move to Victoria in late 2000.
“I couldn’t have dreamt for a better horse to come along at that time. Most of my horses were struggling to keep up when moved to Victoria and then I unleashed my secret weapon in Sokyola,” Justice said.
“Those Miracle Mile wins were amazing, as was the Victoria Cup, but growing up as a kid the Mildura Cup was a race we all wanted to win. He won three in a row and sat three-wide most of the race around that little in the third of them.”
Jodi Quinlan, who replaced the suspended Justice to win the 2004 Miracle Mile, said it was the highlight of her long and successful career.
“It’s still the pinnacle, always will be,” she said. “The atmosphere at Harold Park that night, the great that it was and what it did for my career.
“He was just an amazing horse. It was one thing to get to Sokyola, but another thing to go past him.”
Just months before Sokyola retired, Justice had a passing of the baton of sorts when Smoken Up took over as his stable start.
Smoken Up, who also won two Miracle Miles (2010 and ’11), won 74 races, including 14 at Group 1 level, and banked over $3.6 million.
Sokyola and Smoken Up are two of just seven pacers to win multiple Miracle Miles.
“Sokyola helped get the best out of Smoken Up because it was freakish how similar they were in racing styles, just so brave and tough,” Justice said.
“Smoken Up coming along so quickly was a bit unfair because it meant Sokyola didn’t get the recognition he deserved for long enough.
“How lucky am I to have had them both.”
· Adam Hamilton is a paid contributor writing on harness racing for News Corp