While he is now based at Cobbitty, McCarthy grew up driving at the Bathurst Paceway and will have plenty of relatives in the city cheering him on tonight.

His father John McCarthy, who worked as a butcher in Bathurst while Luke grew up, is a two-times Miracle Mile winner with Be Good Johnny in the 2005-2006 editions. 

Then, in 2013, Bathurst product Matt Rue, driving for Team McCarthy, got the job done with Baby Bling as he clocked a flying 1:50.5 mile rate.

And those victories are not where Bathurst’s impressive record in one of Australian Harness Racing’s most prestigious races ends.

In 2008, Cindy Rixon, the daughter of Tony ‘AD’ Turnbull, watched on as the horse she trained, Divisive, was driven to success by her husband Peter.

It meant she joined her father (1974, Hondo Grattan) and brother Steve (2001, Smooth Satin) as a Miracle Mile winner.

While Luke McCarthy has driven a host of Group 1 winners, he is yet to win the Harness Racing NSW feature.

He is hoping that wait will end tonight given a gruelling year on the Grand Circuit has seen his chance For A Reason develop into one of Australia’s best pacers.

In the last 12 months, the son of Art Major has competed in a Miracle Mile, Victoria Cup, Inter Dominion, Queensland Pacing Champ-ionship and New Zealand Cup, winning two and placing in the other three.

One of those placings was a third in last November’s Miracle Mile.

“The last 12 months has been a good learning curve for him and it has made him a much more rounded horse,” McCarthy said.

“It has toughened him up and it certainly has developed his gate speed, although I don’t think his gate speed is going to be a factor this Saturday night in the Miracle Mile because there is so much speed underneath him.”

For A Reason will begin from barrier five and McCarthy was reasonably happy with the draw.

However, he knows success will not be easy given the field includes James Rattray’s star seven-year-old Beautide – a gelding whose earnings are nearing $1.5 million.

“Before the draw I was hoping for somewhere between one and four, so even from five he should be close enough after they settle down,” he said of the eight-year-old his wife Belinda trains.

“Beautide is the horse to beat. He was the horse to beat before the barrier draw and he is even harder to beat after drawing in gate three.”

Stablemate Bling It On will compete in the Four Year Mount Eden Championship tonight at the same Menangle meeting after running down the track in last weekend’s Cordina Sprint.

“He was probably three or four lengths off his best, but he learned a lot from the experience. He may have been a bit too fresh, but we have learned from it as well,” McCarthy said.

“Being in the retention barn was a good experience for Bling It On, because although he got a little bit too worked up this time, if he is going to compete in the big races at Menangle going forward he needs to learn to cope with a change in scenery.”

The Miracle Mile is set to go at 9.40pm tonight.