Many are expecting Sunday's $500,000 (Australian) Miracle Mile at the new Menangle Park Paceway near Sydney to produce the Country's fastest-ever race time. Leading up to the contest, John Curtin, spokesman for the syndicate that owns the highly-regarded Auckland Reactor

, has taken the opportunity to make a bold statement about the talented son of Mach Three.

Curtin's comments came when it was announced that Tony Herlihy would be taking over the driving duties on Auckland Reactor for trainer Mark Purdon.

In a recent item on stuff.co.nz, Curtin said that "he's (Auckland Reactor) the best in the world, and it takes a bit of pressure off Mark. We spoke to Tony a few days ago, it was Mark's idea to put Tony on."

New Zealand Cup and Free For All winner Monkey King, Blacks A Fake, Melpark Major and Smokin Up are others that will competing in the event.

With a talented field going postward, many are expecting the Menangle Park track record to fall. Smokin Up currently holds the mile-rated record of 1:51.9. It is expected that Sunday's race will produce a sub-1:50 clocking.

Click here to the read the stuff.co.nz article in its entirety.

(With files from stuff.co.nz)