21 February 2022 | Club Menangle
VICTORIAN Mach Dan became the first pacer to seal a berth in the prestigious Miracle Mile thanks to his impressive display of speed in the Newcastle Mile.
By capturing the Newcastle Mile the Emma Stewart-trained gelding earned a ‘golden ticket’ in to Australasia’s premier sprint.The $1 million Miracle Mile is scheduled to be run at Club Menangle on March 5.
Thrilled to have the Australian Pacing Gold purchase in the Garrards-sponsored event, Stewart stated Mach Dan “will just be kept ticking along quietly” during the lead-up to the Grand Circuit gem.
“Winning the Newcastle Mile and knowing you’re going straight into the Miracle Mile is ideal,” Stewart said.
“Now we don’t have to worry about putting him around in one of the other qualifiers next week.
“It certainly helps you to plan his schedule, and with two weeks between runs, he can even have a couple of light days.
“We won’t do anything different with him to his usual routine and he will just be kept ticking along quietly.
“The main thing is he is in the Miracle Mile, and all things being equal, will be at his peak on the night.”
With comeback reinsman Nathan Jack in the cart, Mach Dan was pushed forward to find the lead from barrier two as recent Inter Dominion winner, Boncel Benjamin, worked hard at his wheel.
Casting aside the initial challenge turning for home, Mach Dan staved off a late charge from Balraj to score by a head.
After trailing the pacemaker Max Delight was a metre-and-a-half away third.
“The other one got close, but thankfully he held on,” Stewart said. “Once he got to the front he was always going to be hard to run down.
“After that early burn to find and hold the lead Nathan was able to get a breather for the next quarter, which made the difference. “Nathan rated him perfectly.”
Covering the mile in 1:52.7, the son of Mach Three took his record to 17 wins and 12 placings from 40 starts for earnings of $467,422.
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