Monkey King won today's Miracle Mile at Menangle, Australia in a record 1:50.7. Finishing second was Smoken Up with Karloo Mick finishing third. Marquee horses Auckland Reactor finished sixth (8.4m back) with Blacks A Fake finishing seventh (18.1m). American bred Lonestar Legend finished last (18.2m). The fractions for the mile were 1/4 - :26.2; 1/2 - :56.1; 3/4 - 1:24.6; mile - 1:50.7 (The final time has been reported differently in several reports; the time I am reporting comes from the interim results published by Harness Racing Australia which may be seen here).
While a complete video is not yet available of the race (the replay provided by Harness Racing Australia show only the second half of the race), it was a dull race for Auckland Reactor. With four horses inside of Auckland Reactor and Blacks A Fake vying for the lead going into the first turn, these two wisely took back. With the racing style down under (they don't race single file like we do) making it hard for a driver to make a move mid-race, the Reactor and Blacks A Fake had no choice but to sit. However, considering the blistering fractions (by Australiasia standards), the fact Auckland Reactor was only able to pass Lonestar Legend in the stretch is troubling to me. The Reactor had the ability to launch a bid down the stretch off those fractions but did not fire. I would have thought a horse with the reputation of the Reactor would have been able to make a better showing in the stretch than he did.
Perhaps it was a case of a new driver who wasn't comfortable with the Reactor. Maybe it was just not his day. Time will tell, but I am beginning to wonder if Auckland Reactor will be more like San Simeon than Cardigan Bay when he arrives in North America. Hopefully, I am wrong as Auckland Reactor could be our key to getting the attention of the non-racing media.
A recap of the race may be found here.
Speaking of Cardigan Bay, I found this video of him at Yonkers Raceway.
1 comment:
Thank you for posting that priceless and memorable video. It is astonishing that a horse of the stature of Cardigan Bay would race in 2:05.3. Even allowing for muddy track conditions that night, better equipment today, and likely a shorter mile due to the absence of the hub rail, it shows you how the standardbred has evolved over the decades.
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