The King has his crown! And he’s got his title, too – Grand Circuit champion.
The transformation of King Of Swing is now complete following his dominant victory in the $1 million Ainsworth Miracle Mile at TABCORP Park, Menangle tonight (Saturday) when defeating a brave Lochinvar Art and A Gs White Socks in 1:48.
Facing an uncertain future at the end of 2019, connections rolled the dice and elected to switch their star pacer from the stables of Gary Hall to Craig Cross and the trip across the Nullarbor has worked wonders with the results now speaking for themselves.
Under the care of Cross, King Of Swing has won four of his five starts including three straight Gr. 1 victories -- the Hunter Cup, Allied Express Sprint and now the Miracle Mile.
Those triumphs now complete his CV following on from his two-year-old Breeders Crown and WA Derby victories.
Starting favourite, King Of Swing couldn’t match Majordan and Alta Orlando early but a fierce front-end challenge nearing the end of the opening quarter soon changed the dynamic of the event.
The opening quarter was timed in :25.9.
Entering the backstraight, driver Luke McCarthy immediately backed off the tempo as Code Bailey moved up on his outside before Lochinvar Art charged forward three wide.
King Of Swing led the way from Lochinvar Art as they passed the half in :54.7 following a second quarter split of :28.8.
Heading towards the home turn, King Of Swing led Lochinvar Art while Majordan started to give ground behind the leader which forced Alta Orlando and A Gs White Socks to look for more racing room.
Code Bailey couldn’t hold the back of Lochinvar Art leaving My Field Marshal to take off deeper with Bettors Heart in tow.
The third quarter was covered in :26.3.
In the straight, King Of Swing just led Lochinvar Art while Alta Orlando and A Gs White Socks made some late ground.
At the line, King Of Swing ($3.40) held Lochinvar Art ($4.80) by 2.5 metres with Alta Orlando ($6) only a head away in third placing.
The final split was timed in :27.
The winning time of 1:48 ranks as the fourth fastest time in Miracle Mile history behind My Field Marshal (1:46.9), Have Faith In Me (1:47.5) and Spankem (1:47.7).
It’s the sixth straight year where the winner has broken 1:50.
The victory provided both Cross and McCarthy with their maiden victory in the famed sprint feature.
“I’m just so proud; I’m proud of the horse, Craig, the owners and everyone involved with the horse. It’s quite a surreal feeling.” McCarthy said.
McCarthy was lining up for his 11th drive in the event following previous efforts with Slipnslide (2nd & 5th), Mr Feelgood (4th), Franco Jamar (6th), Excel Stride (4th), For A Reason (3rd & 5th), Bling It On (4th & 6th) and Chase Auckland (4th) last year.
The victory for McCarthy sees him join his father John (Be Good Johnny – 2005/06) as a winning Miracle Mile driver while they join Tony (Hondo Grattan – 1974) and Steve Turnbull (Smooth Satin – 2001) as the only other father/son winners.
Entering the night, Cruz Bromac led the way in the 2019/20 Australian Pacing Gold Grand Circuit from Thefixer and Bling It On but the victory of King Of Swing now propels him to the outright lead and he becomes the first pacer to record dual victories this season.
With only the $250,000 Blacks A Fake Queensland Championship (July 25) at Albion Park remaining for the current term, King Of Swing has now amassed 200 points, 30 clear from Cruz Bromac (170), Thefixer (110) and Bling It On (105).
And the Sunshine State feature appears as a distinct possibility for King Of Swing to underline his season of redemption.
(HRNSW)