Miracle mile

Some great racing coming up on the weekend. First up we have The Newcastle Mile and the winner goes straight into the MM. It appears to be a very open race and they should run some serious time if the weathers okay. Beautide appears to be good odds at $7.50 in the early market, His run was super last week. In Victoria we have The Legends Mile and the clash between Smoken Up, Restrepo and Bitobliss should be a cracker. I truly believe that Bitobliss had an off day in the Kilmore Cup and expect him to be back at his best this week. Once again, We should see a great time as they have been flying at Melton recently.

Yes great racing this weekend. Anything on over the ditch?
I'm Victorious has been given an invite.

Not sure where you got $7.50 from re Beautide. I'll take that all day.

Should be some pretty fine racing over the next month or so. Second MM spot up for grabs this weekend in the Newcastle Mile so it should be a ripper of a race. Beautide is my pick although i still think Mach Beauty can be in the finish if driven a little quieter.
Im thinking
Beautide
Field Officer
Gold Ace or Mach Beauty

In the National Trotguide Breno but it's all over the shop with the Odds and selections, It would be nice to get those odds. Haven't had a look at NZ's racing tomorrow night but the Big Guns appear to be racing on Tuesday in the Cup. Christen Me, Carribean Blaster and Terror to Love went around in a trial yesterday and CM bolted in. Not to sure how Carribean Blaster is coming along but he had trouble sticking with CM when the pace went on, Terror to Love just poked around for a bit of exercise and wasn't really pushed. Great to see I'm Victorious get an Invite, He's been going great guns over in the west.

I know it was a method that created much controversy and was quite often condemned, but it is nearly an occasion where the entire field could be handpicked by the directors and we would get one almighty race. I realise that theoretically, all the top stars will line up but as I said, nearly a year where the best of the best pick themselves.....Thoughts?

No matter how it is chosen Fred, those that miss out will still complain.

I think it is a year where quite a few deserving horses will miss out due to the sheer depth at the top rung at the moment, so saying that Fred, I reckon the current inclusion/qualifying rules ( even though I don't agree with them ENTIRELY) will stop a few arguements.

The horses I'd like to see in MM : For a Reason, Bitobliss, Smoken Up, Christen Me, Terror To Love, I'm Victorious, Bettors Fire and Suave Stuey Lombo. Other horse worthy of an invite - Chancellor Cullen. Beautide is a question mark, hasn't really raced the likes of the above mentioned but gets his chance in Newcastle Mile although Field Officer is my pick.

Was reading the Trotguide this morning & on Page 3 I noted some of the terrific horses on Newcastle Mile's Honour Role such as Westburn Grant, Our Sir Vancelot, Courage Under Fire, Jofess, The Falcon Strike & so on. It would've been nice if they could have got the name of 3-time winner Sabilize ('94,'95 & '96) right. Her name has a 'Z' in it...not an 'S'.

Rod, Really like your 1st 6 selections and it would appear like there's only a couple of spots up for grabs and a couple of reserves. Correct about Beautide and he really needs to stand up tomorrow night,but he does have more than his share of ability. Field Officer has been exceptional since coming across the ditch and he's really in the mix for an invite as well.

Better bet black will run a good race tonight drawn behind the leader definate ew chance at 100-1 and also get the in ire to the Miracle Mile when he wins! ;)

Beautide mighty impressive breaking the track record and going through to the MM.

Beautide SUPER! impressive Rich, broke Pay Me Christian's track record running into a very stiff wind after working very hard out of the gate, then facing the breeze!!!! If he improves on that run like he has from his previous six, the others oughta start thinking about how they can beat him!

SUPER,SUPER!!!

Told you all, he's a very serious horse.

Now watched the replay 3 or 4 times and Beautide was Ultra impressive and won with something up his sleeve. Take away the cold southerly that blew up the coast last night and the time would have been even quicker. Abettorpunt was a real nice run also after being posted 3 wide the trip.

As Fred touched on earlier, The directors have a golden opportunity to justify the rules concerning the qualifying criteria with the depth of talent available this year and it's really shaping up to be a crackerjack Miracle Mile. I have no doubt that Christen Me & Terror to Love have been given the nod and fingers crossed they both perform well on Tuesday in the Cup. It's still not clear cut who will make up the balance of the field but For a Reason certainly deserves a spot on his last couple of runs. Restrepo was pretty impressive winning The Legends Mile last night but Bitobliss is still waiting for a clear run and Smoken Up appears to be coming back to the field but is still as tough as old boots.

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Originally Posted by Richard prior

As Fred touched on earlier, The directors have a golden opportunity to justify the rules concerning the qualifying criteria with the depth of talent available this year and it's really shaping up to be a crackerjack Miracle Mile. I have no doubt that Christen Me & Terror to Love have been given the nod and fingers crossed they both perform well on Tuesday in the Cup. It's still not clear cut who will make up the balance of the field but For a Reason certainly deserves a spot on his last couple of runs. Restrepo was pretty impressive winning The Legends Mile last night but Bitobliss is still waiting for a clear run and Smoken Up appears to be coming back to the field but is still as tough as old boots.

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Richard, I agree with most of your post but having watched the relay a couple of times, I'm not sure Bitofbliss was as sharp as we think. He could of got off the fence a couple of times and he didn't use the sprint lane as I thought he would.....would value other opinions.

On Smoken Up, how brave is he, 2nd row draw, 3wide in lead time of 7.1, still 3 wide in 27.7 first quarter. A monster effort.

The Menangle setup of all off the front would certainly benefit both these horses over the short trip.

[QUOTE=p plater;28723]Richard, I agree with most of your post but having watched the relay a couple of times, I'm not sure Bitofbliss was as sharp as we think. He could of got off the fence a couple of times and he didn't use the sprint lane as I thought he would.....would value other opinions.

Bailey, I am a huge BOB fan, and I think you are right, he may not be as sharp as we think. But I could not see anywhere he could have got of the fence and definately couldn't use the sprint lane. When Melpark Major straightened up he faded into the lane blocking it for BOB. I don't think he was going good enough to use it anyways.
Rest repo on the other hand may be the next big thing!

My Beautide query answered - Brilliant. Watched the horse race from the beginning and never thought he would challenge the established stars in a race like the Miracle Mile but this horse and For a Reason are huge threats in the MM, never mind Christen Me.

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Originally Posted by The German

Better bet black will run a good race tonight drawn behind the leader definate ew chance at 100-1 and also get the in ire to the Miracle Mile when he wins! ;)

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Quite right Marty, gone at the 500, last place, 45m from winner...
U might need to reassess your form guide reading skills, plus with your assessment of For A Reason, and his uncanny ability to join in at the 400, you could do with a re-education.

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Originally Posted by Mighty Atom

My Beautide query answered - Brilliant. Watched the horse race from the beginning and never thought he would challenge the established stars in a race like the Miracle Mile but this horse and For a Reason are huge threats in the MM, never mind Christen Me.

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Yep, Beautide is gonna be a scary unit in the next year or so, will b very interesting to see what he develops into, could grow into anything at this point. Restrepo awesome, 1:52.8 Gavin never touched him with the whip at all...
Bitobliss never got out, fully held by driver never released reins at all.
Smoken Up of course awesome, 3 wide fought as he does, however, can't see him winning at this level unless he leads and still probably will nowadays be outsprinted by the 3horses mentioned above plus For A Reason, Christen Me, Terror To Love.

Bailey & Dean, Have to agree with you that Bitobliss didn't look as sharp as he's been, although he didn't have a lot of racing room and still has a bit of work to do before being considered for the MM. Restrepo is certainly a horse on the way up and after watching the replay a couple more times, Smoken Up's run looks very good after doing it tough but he will struggle against the onslaught of these horses coming through. It's really shaping as the best MM ever and a race of many chances.

Bitobliss had no luck at all, was hard held as he crossed the line. It would be a travesty if he wasn't selected and I really think the powers that be should look at his two phenomenal wins a couple of runs back and include him in the field ( no taking the horse to Sydney to run in the preludes). I'm a real fan of Bitobliss but he does seem to run into more than his share of bad luck in races. Deserved as he is I don't think you can select Smoken Up over Bitobliss. Restrepo was very good but had a great run throughout the race, taking nothing away from Restrepo but had Bitobliss lobbed in that position he would have blitzed them. I was really surprised that For a Reason didn't receive the first invite because he has virtually picked himself on his past two wins.

Beautide really stepped up to the mark last night i always expected him to win but not in the manner he did that was really impressive. Restrepo good to see him starting to make his mark he is definetly a grand circuit player, Bitobliss very hard to measure up his run as he never really took part in the race, maybe we will get to see him in one of the MM qualifiers at Menangle. The old war horse Smoken Up was again super just had to do too much work and his old sparing partner Melpark Major tried but hes clearly not up to this level anymore.

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Originally Posted by Mighty Atom

Bitobliss had no luck at all, was hard held as he crossed the line. It would be a travesty if he wasn't selected and I really think the powers that be should look at his two phenomenal wins a couple of runs back and include him in the field ( no taking the horse to Sydney to run in the preludes). I'm a real fan of Bitobliss but he does seem to run into more than his share of bad luck in races. Deserved as he is I don't think you can select Smoken Up over Bitobliss. Restrepo was very good but had a great run throughout the race, taking nothing away from Restrepo but had Bitobliss lobbed in that position he would have blitzed them. I was really surprised that For a Reason didn't receive the first invite because he has virtually picked himself on his past two wins.

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Rod
I believe Bitobliss is heading north this week for the qualifiers. As for For A Reason, I think the race conditions are preventing him having an invite already. But he will need to at least race in a qualifying race to gain an entry. He will be the one to beat though.

I don't ever recall seeing 'Maoris' ever being a smartarse but you can hardly blame him lol. I too needed a bit of convincing about the Tasmanian but last night stamped his class and depth and is in it up to his ears. Dumesny made it patently clear on In The Gig that there are races there ($100K) available to qualify with and he fully expects the prospects to use this path, I mean for goodness sakes the defending champ isn't even in the mix at this stage. I have always admired BOB but he needs everything to go right in a mile like this...and that isn't going to happen. It just wouldn't be the same without SU there, you know he would keep them honest...but for me still it is FAR by a length from Christen Me and Beautide a courageous third in an astronomical time. Have left out TTL he has not quite established himself in Oz and in The Mile that we are looking at, well I cannot see him measuring up (and he was my pick in the last ID)!!!

Coca Cola Amatil Sprint
The new upgraded Restrepo vs the new very upgraded For A Reason and poor old Bitobliss drawn out at 10!
Seems a 2horse race to me...FAR wins Restrepo 2nd. Will be a very interesting race to see how it unfolds

Dredlock Rockstar going over next week for the Cordina Sprint. Going super over here,see how he measures up.

Also noticed Im Victorious winning the Village Kid Sprint a couple of nights ago on the little track at Northam in 1.55 under a strangle hold.

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Originally Posted by Alcyone

We will see how good the WA form is. Will be a race with depth:

SMOKEN UP
IDEAL SCOTT
BABY BLING
ABETTORPUNT (assuming he goes again)
FLY LIKE AN EAGLE (rumoured to be coming on his way to USA)
THE GOLD ACE

DEPENDING ON WHO WINS THE COCA COLA:
FOR A REASON
RESTREPO
MACH BEAUTY
FIELD OFFICER
GAIUS CAESAR
PURE POWER
PUB BLITZ
MISTER PRESLEY
BRAVE WIGGY

POSSIBLES BACK FROM NZ:
CARIBBEAN BLASTER
SUAVE STUEY LOMBO

OTHER:
AMAJORJO (EMERG Sat)

There's 19 possibles listed including DREDLOCK ROCKSTAR, there could be others too!

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Amazing depth at the moment, all this with ITMQ out and Excel Stride out as well. Top three from Inter 6 months ago and majority field from Mile 6 months ago might not be there! But the Chariots of Fire could provide a few runners.

Bit of rain hanging around Sydney and hopefully just enough to freshen things up. Real good program at Menangle and should be a great nights racing. Disappointed to hear that Philadelphia Man has been scratched but really looking forward to the main race with the clash between FAR, Restrepo and BOB etc and seeing Yankee Rockstar running around on the big track.

The lucky horse at the moment has to be Christen Me. His last three runs have cast real doubt on the ability of the horse to handle the pressure of the Grand Circut. A wild gallop at Ashburton followed by a just passable run on Cup day followed by another wild gallop on Show day badly checking four horses and just about unseating K Gath. Mentally the horse had serious issues when first produced at trials and seems to be returning to his old habits now. If thing get tight at Menangle, whats the chance he will blow to bits again.?

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Originally Posted by Alcyone

We will see how good the WA form is. Will be a race with phenomenal depth:

SMOKEN UP
IDEAL SCOTT
BABY BLING
TERRORWAY
ABETTORPUNT (assuming he goes again)
FLY LIKE AN EAGLE (rumoured to be coming on his way to USA)
THE GOLD ACE

DEPENDING ON WHO WINS THE COCA COLA:
FOR A REASON
RESTREPO
MACH BEAUTY
FIELD OFFICER
GAIUS CAESAR
PURE POWER
PUB BLITZ
MISTER PRESLEY
BRAVE WIGGY

POSSIBLES BACK FROM NZ:
CARIBBEAN BLASTER
SUAVE STUEY LOMBO

OTHER:
AMAJORJO (EMERG Sat)

There's 20 possibles listed including DREDLOCK ROCKSTAR, there could be others too!

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Yes, but realistically you could eliminate about ten of those as being major players.

As far as the Cordina Sprint goes next week these horses should not be in it : Mach Beauty, Suave Stuey Lombo ( Shane Tritton stated he hoped SSL did Australia proud in NZ. - yeah right), Brave Wiggy, Mister Presley, Pure Power, Pub Blitz, Gaius Caesar, Carribean Blaster ( borderline) Baby Bling (borderline) The Gold Ace. Will have a lot of owners off side but all of these horses performances of late have been below par.

In the MM so far are:
Im Victorious
Beautide
Terror to Love
Christen Me
Restrepo
Have the Directors invited any other horse or horses from last nights racing???

I'd have though FAR would have been close to an invite. I seen an article on Restrepo win but nothing on FAR.

Next weeks field would look something like this if they all are targeting.

Smoken Up
Baby Bling
Carribean Blaster
Suave Stuey Lombo
Bitobliss
For a Reason
Lous Lad
Abettorpunt


These are horses who are past winners, havent had a lead up as in NZ, or horses who ran places from one go in a lead up. Lous Lad prob only Sydney FFAer who hasnt had a crack yet either so he entitled to one. Hard to see horses who got two cracks at a lead up getting another go. Mach Beauty would be first in line.

But last two spots, Depends who coming. Ideal Scott a walk up. Fly Like an Eagle a walk up. That's a full field. But Terrorway surely deserves a crack if he is up and about. Mach Alert deserves a crack as well. Not sure Dreadlock Rockstar will get a gig with the numbers. Gold Ace might get a second crack if numbers fade away. Gaius Ceasar won Len Smith?

On closer inspection, maybe Lous Lad will miss. On form Baby Bling would miss but being defending champ maybe not? Maybe the ones coming back from NZ won't be up for it. Maybe Abettorpunt won't come back up. Who knows.

Well done NSWHRC. A superb format! Obviously helped by current depth and younger stars coming through this season, but now all trainers and the public know where they stand and decisions regarding invites are less grey and more clear.

Well said Breno, You could probably run another 2 heats with the depth of horses in the mix. I believe that FAR has well and truly done enough to warrant an invite and surely the directors aren't going to make him run around again next week. Not to sure if Mr Stewart is going to bring BOB back up next week as he has a heap of work to do back home. It will certainly be interesting to see the make up of the Cordina Sprint and it's going to be extremely tough for the Directors and their selections.

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Originally Posted by aussiebreno

I'd have though FAR would have been close to an invite. I seen an article on Restrepo win but nothing on FAR.

Next weeks field would look something like this if they all are targeting.

Smoken Up
Baby Bling
Carribean Blaster
Suave Stuey Lombo
Bitobliss
For a Reason
Lous Lad
Abettorpunt


These are horses who are past winners, havent had a lead up as in NZ, or horses who ran places from one go in a lead up. Lous Lad prob only Sydney FFAer who hasnt had a crack yet either so he entitled to one. Hard to see horses who got two cracks at a lead up getting another go. Mach Beauty would be first in line.

But last two spots, Depends who coming. Ideal Scott a walk up. Fly Like an Eagle a walk up. That's a full field. But Terrorway surely deserves a crack if he is up and about. Mach Alert deserves a crack as well. Not sure Dreadlock Rockstar will get a gig with the numbers. Gold Ace might get a second crack if numbers fade away. Gaius Ceasar won Len Smith?

On closer inspection, maybe Lous Lad will miss. On form Baby Bling would miss but being defending champ maybe not? Maybe the ones coming back from NZ won't be up for it. Maybe Abettorpunt won't come back up. Who knows.

Well done NSWHRC. A superb format! Obviously helped by current depth and younger stars coming through this season, but now all trainers and the public know where they stand and decisions regarding invites are less grey and more clear.

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Bitobliss is not coming back to Syd next week and Suave Stuey Lombo is having a freshen up.

Handicappers will generally look at form over the last 6 starts. Almost everyone of those mentioned has either won or been placed in Gr 1 company. The 1 exception is Smoken Up. I know it sounds crazy but he is no shoe in to get a start next week. Personally, i would but Im not a handicapper!

Ideal Scott, Fly Like an Eagle, Abettorpunt, Baby Bling, Gaius Caesar, Terrorway, Carribean Blaster. These are absolute definites IMO. The remaining 3 spots to come from Smoken Up, Mach Beauty, The Gold Ace, Pure Power, Field Office, Dredlock Rockstar. I think any others are struggling.

PS - im working on the basis For a Reason doesnt need to go round again

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Originally Posted by mightymo

Bitobliss is not coming back to Syd next week and Suave Stuey Lombo is having a freshen up.

Handicappers will generally look at form over the last 6 starts. Almost everyone of those mentioned has either won or been placed in Gr 1 company. The 1 exception is Smoken Up. I know it sounds crazy but he is no shoe in to get a start next week. Personally, i woud but Im not a handicapper!

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last 6 is a convenient number for your horse lol!!