HE was the horse many spectators at Bathurst Paceway had come to see on Wednesday night, and King Of Swing got the job done as expected... but only just.
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Miracle Mile champion King Of Swing ($1.45, Luke McCarthy) was sent out at short odds befitting a horse of his calibre when he lined up for the last of the Inter Dominion Pacing Championship heats at Bathurst.
However, the Jason Grimson-trained Boncel Benjamin ($4.40, Jack Trainor) ensured that King Of Swing would have to dig very deep to claim his second success in this year's Inter Dominion series.
King Of Swing's wide draw saw him caught three wide for half a lap before he eventually worked forward to sit in the death seat, outside Boncel Benjamin.
A wall of horses loomed up to challenge them in the run for home but no-one was going to interrupt a cracking duel to the finish line.
King Of Swing got himself in front inside the last 50 metres to win by just a head over his gallant rival.
The winning mile rate was a blistering 1:51.4 - the second fastest ever seen at the track, only behind stablemate Expensive Ego's effort exactly one hour earlier in the meeting.
Max Delight ($14, Chris Alford) finished well to be just 2.8m off the winner.
"That was nerve-wracking to watch but he's tough and he's got no bottom. He really worked hard over all the sectionals tonight so for him to be there at the finish is a real credit to him," winning trainer Belinda McCarthy said.
"It did play out as expected. We were envisioning that we would have to put him in the race at some point - most likely the death seat, which he did find. They ran some time, which we expected."
The win was the 39th for King Of Swing in his 76th start, and it takes him a step closer to cracking the $2.5 million mark in career prizemoney.
"We're so proud of him and all of our team. We have a great team of horses and a great staff and wonderful owners. You get up early for long hours, seven days a week, for the moments like this," McCarthy said.
Fifth place finishes for Amanda Turnbull's Bundoran and Chris Frisby's Our Uncle Sam in their respective heats would be the best results for the Bathurst-trained contingent on their home track.
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