Veteran pacer Smoken Up finally scored the glory they deserve, the Lance Justice-trained and driven eight-year-old breaking the Australasian mile record to win the 2010 Miracle Mile on Saturday night at Tabcorp Park Menangle.
Tinted Cloud gelding Smoken Up ($6.40) put in a career best performance to hold off Australia’s richest pacer Blacks A Fake ($3.90) and take out the $500,000 Group 1 Miracle Mile (1609m) by a half head, with Villagem ($10.10) just over three metres away for third.
American import Mr Feelgood finished a gallant fourth while defending champion and clear favourite Monkey King ($2.60) came in a disappointing sixth nine lengths away from the winner.
Smoken Up ran the mile in a record breaking 1:50.3, shaving .3 off the current track record in a gallant run after racing without cover the entire mile.
Saturday’s win was Smoken Up’s 41st victory from 83 career starts, the prize money boosting their total career earnings to over $1.6 million, and gave Justice his third Miracle Mile success after previously taking out the event with Sokyola in 2003 and 2004.
The Victoria Cup on December 18 is next on the agenda for Smoken Up.
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2010 SEW Eurodrive Miracle Mile Results
| Place | Horse | Trainer | Driver | Margin | SP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SMOKEN UP (NZ) | L J Justice | L J Justice | 1:50.3 | $6.40 |
| 2 | BLACKS A FAKE | N C Rasmussen | N C Rasmussen | HFHD | $3.90 |
| 3 | VILLAGEM | L Miles | L Miles | 3.20 | $10.10 |
| 4 | MR FEELGOOD (USA) | L A McCarthy | L A McCarthy | 3.60 | $5.80 |
| 5 | MAKE MINE CULLEN | G F Douglas | D K Douglas | 8.90 | $29.10 |
| 6 | MONKEY KING (NZ) | B R Hill | R T May | 9.00 | $2.60F |
| 7 | ROHAN HOME | P R J Fitzpatrick | G J Fitzpatrick | 15.20 | $36.80 |
| 8 | WASHAKIE (NZ) | J P McCarthy | J P McCarthy | 16.90 | $16.90 |
| SCRATCHED | KARLOO MICK | - | - | - | - |
| SCRATCHED | LADY LEXUS | - | - | - | - |
