Don Hugo winning the 2025 Miracle Mile
DON Hugo’s rampaging feature race run has been an integral part of a real domination for Australian-bred pacers and trotters across the sport’s mega races in Australasia.
Luke McCarthy’s latest star started his romp with the TAB Eureka last September, added the Inter Dominion pacing final in December and capped it with last Saturday night’s $1mil Miracle Mile.
The other major contributor to the Aussie-bred onslaught has been the great Swayzee, who has won the Victoria Cup, New Zealand Cup and Hunter Cup over the past six months.
On the pacing front, you can all also throw in Catch A Wave’s wins in last year’s huge Nullarbor and Fremantle Cup double, along with the Jess Tubbs-trained Better Eclipse beating the Kiwis in the Group 1 Auckland Cup last May.
And, of course, Leap To Fame did his bit winning the Group 1 Blacks A Fake last July.
So, Aussie-bred pacers are the current title holders in the Hunter Cup, Miracle Mile, NZ Cup, Inter Dominion pacing final, Victoria Cup, Blacks A Fake, Nullarbor, Fremantle Cup, Auckland Cup and TAB Eureka.
The only exception as far as a current Grand Circuit race title holder goes is Team Bond’s Minstrel, who won the WA Pacing Cup. He also ran second to Don Hugo in the Inter Dominion final.
As far as mega pacing races, the other exception is Merlin’s win in last year’s Race by Grins at Cambridge.
Just as remarkable is the Aussie dominance in major open class trotting races and that’s despite the retirement of the great Just Believe earlier this year.
Just Believe contributed late last year by winning the Group 1 Dominion Trot at Addington.
Since then, The Locomotive won the Inter Dominion trotting final, Watts Up Partytime caused a boilover in the Great Southern Star and Keayang Chucky won last Saturday night’s Group 1 Hammerhead Trotters’ Mile.
PHOTO: Club Menangle/Pacepix
