King swings into Miracle success

7 March 2021

By MICHAEL GUERIN

KING Of Swing turned the $1million Garrards Miracle Mile into a procession last night and gave himself a shot at becoming the greatest pacer in the history of the iconic sprint.

The magnificent pacer went back to back in the Mile at Menangle last night, the punters who took as short as $1.35 never threatening a finger nail as he strode to an effortless lead after 300m.

That race was over as a contest from that point as the Maestro of Menangle driver Luke McCarthy controlled the tempo and then allowed King Of Swing to stroll down his home track straight in 25.8 to win untouched.

Brave stablemate Expensive Ego announced his arrival on the Grand Circuit finishing second after racing parked while Wolf Stride did the same racing into third.

But King Of Swing was in a different class and became the seventh pacer to win Australia’s richest harness race back to back but it would be a brave punter who bet against him becoming the first to ever win the Miracle Mile three times next year.

He is the perfect horse for pacing’s glamour race, with blazing gate acceleration, a high cruising speed and faultless manners who knows every inch of Menangle.

“He is world class and just a pleasure to drive,” said McCarthy, whose wife Belinda trains King Of Swing.

With no soreness issues and his love of mile racing on his huge home track, maybe the greatest danger to King Of Swing becoming our first three-time winner of the Mile is the temptation of a stud career or even a North American campaign.

Of course the one horse he didn’t beat last night was injured arch rival Lochinvar Art and his trainer-driver David Moran got some group one consolation earlier in the night when he captured the $200,000 NSW Derby with Patsbeachstorm.

The Victorian produced the perfect drive to secure first the one-one then a cart into the race at the top of the straight and he blew his rivals away, Moran producing the prolonged whip salute after the frustrations Lochinvar Art’s hoof issue that cost him his Mile spot.

Whether he would have beaten King Of Swing, who downed him in the Mile last year, may be a question we have to wait a year to find out.

The other two group ones for the older horses had a Kiwi flavour, with Majestic Man leading and jogging home in the $50,000 Trotters Mile while Mach Shard won the $100,000 pacing free-for-all at just his Sydney second start for new trainer Belinda McCarthy, having been sent to them by champion trainer and Miracle Mile legend Barry Purdon.