When a friend called Luke McCarthy last weekend and asked if he was available to drive superstar trotter Muscle Hill in the World Trotting Derby at the Du Quoin State Fair in Illinois, he thought it was a joke

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“Definitely,” the 26-year-old McCarthy said. “I thought he was playing a trick on me. But then he sounded quite serious. The next thing, Greg Peck called me.”

Peck is the trainer of Muscle Hill, who earlier this year won the Hambletonian and is on a 15-race win streak. Peck needed a driver because Brian Sears, who regularly pilots Muscle Hill, was unavailable following a lengthy weather delay at Du Quoin. So at the suggestion of Joe Hanney, Peck turned to McCarthy, whose brother Andrew drove Muscle Hill several times last season.

McCarthy drove four hours from Lexington to get to Du Quoin.

“If they had asked me to just qualify Muscle Hill, I would have driven to Du Quoin,” McCarthy said. “To sit behind a world champion, I don’t know if it will ever happen again. To drive Muscle Hill, that’s something else. I’m just lucky I had the chance. I’m grateful to everyone involved for the chance.”

McCarthy is a native of Australia who has won several of his country’s biggest harness racing stakes. He arrived in the U.S. earlier this year and has made 153 starts as a driver. His most lucrative purse victory in the States prior to the World Trotting Derby was $15,000.

He guided Muscle Hill to a one-length victory over Southern Rocketop in 1:52.3 at Du Quoin.

“I just wanted to make sure I got the job done and got him around safely,” McCarthy said. “I was nervous, but I never doubted my ability. As soon as we got on the track, all my nerves were gone and you just do your job. (Muscle Hill) gives you confidence. He trots perfectly. He’s just like driving a motor car.”

The win with Muscle Hill was McCarthy’s second of the week with a Hambletonian finalist. Two days earlier, McCarthy drove Hot Shot Blue Chip, who went off stride in the Hambletonian and finished last, to victory in a race at the Red Mile.

(HRC)