EGLINTON trainer-driver Nathan Hurst might not be a member of tomorrow night’s Miracle Mile field, but he will still get to soak up the atmosphere of one of the biggest annual meetings on the Menangle Park calendar when he climbs into the gig.
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Hurst will drive in one of the support races, The Beautide Championship Final, but it is still one that carries plenty of prestige given it holds Group 2 status.
His chances will rest with his Art Major x Abercrombie Dancer gelding Major Gambler.
“It will be good to drive there on mile night. I don’t think I’ve done that before,” Hurst said.
Major Gambler qualified for the final thanks to a tough third placing in his heat at Menangle on November 22.
He worked three wide in the middle stages and continued to do it tough as he then sat outside the leader for most of the final 400 metres. In the end, Major Gambler finished 5.6m behind winner Millwood Liberty, but given the 1:54.8 mile rate and 56.9 seconds run home, the effort had plenty of merit.
“It’s good to get in that final; he just scraped in,” Hurst said.
“He ran third in that heat and that was good enough to get him in. It was a good run – he went and sat outside them. It’s hard to do it from there and really hard to do it at Menangle.”
Tomorrow night’s final will be Major Gambler’s third appearance in a Group race. He placed sixth in the Group 2 Mount Eden Four Year Old Classic last April and two months later ran third in the Group 1 NSW Breeders Challenge Four Year Old Entires and Geldings Final.
Major Gambler’s victories this year include success in the Listed Classic Country Series Final – another indication he will not be out of his depth tomorrow night.
The six-year-old also has plenty of experience, with tomorrow night’s final set to be his 100th race start. His record thus far stands at 18 victories and 32 placings.
That the final is being run at the Menangle track and over 2,300 metres are two factors Hurst said will work in Major Gambler’s favour.
“His form at Menangle is not too bad. He races well there,” Hurst said.
“I think he should do well – it’s over more distance too which should help him. He likes the longer trip down there.”
One of Hurst’s major rivals in the final will be driven by Bath-urst product Luke McCarthy.
He will steer Our High Jinx for his trainer-wife Belinda McCarthy, the Christian Cullen gelding having placed in each of his five runs so far this season, including a third place in the Group 1 Queensland Pacing Championship at Albion Park.
Hurst has drawn barrier seven, but he said that is of little concern.
“He’s drawn seven but he doesn’t have a lot of gate speed, so the draw is not that critical,” the trainer-driver said.
“We just need a bit of luck. If they run hard that will help him.”
The Beautide Champion-ship Final is set to run at 8pm tomorrow night.
