Victoria’s pride is on the line at Menangle on Saturday night.
Our stocks across the major races are thin, probably as thin as they’ve ever been.
Except the first year Miracle Mile moved to the February/March timeslot in 2016, Victorian raiders have won at least one of the three Group 1 feature races – Miracle Mile, NSW Derby or Trotters’ Mile – slated for Saturday night.
Back in 2016 we had to be content with two seconds from Lennytheshark in the Miracle Mile and Cant Refuse in the NSW Derby.
In the nine years since, we have been key players. In five of those years, Victorians won two of the three, most recently last year with Always Hot in the Derby and Keayang Chucky in the Trotters’ Mile.
Ultimately, our hopes really look to sit with the amazing Keayang Zahara.
Yes, there will be other Victorians in the Trotters’s Mile (now called Hammerhead), but she’s the standout and will be a clear favourite.
But Keayang Zahara is no lock given she will have Queensland star Gus to contend with for the first time.
With Gus out of the draw, it gives Keayang Zahara a huge advantage and a big chance to begin well, press forward and take the lead.
If that happens, she should win.
But Gus’ two Group 1 NZ wins last November and the way he’s returned to arrogantly win both starts this campaign make him a worthy and lethal opponent.
It is amazing to think our lone Miracle Mile runner is an 11-year-old, who will be having his 228th start and his first in Australasia’s premier speed test.
But that’s the marvel that Bulletproof Boy is.
It looks a huge task, but he ran an unthinkable 52.5sec last half to win the Newcastle Mile and has beaten Leap To Fame, Kingman and Rakero Rocket – all in unexpected upsets – over the past five months.
You can just never discount him despite this being the strongest Miracle Mile field in 20 years.
Outside the old boy, we never really stood a chance in this Miracle Mile. War Dan Buddy was the only Victoria amongst the 20 runners in the two qualifying sprints last Saturday night.
That’s a worry.
Just as remarkable is the fact we had just two runners across the three heats of the NSW Derby, which was controversially changed from 2400m to 1609m.
What stood out was no presence from Victoria’s dominant stable, Emma Stewart and Clayton Tonkin, despite their abundance of juvenile stars, headed by Loucasso, last season.
It’s a race they have previously targeted with great success, winning four of the past 12 with Always Hot (last year), Poster Boy (2018), Ideal For Real (2015) and Major Secret (2014).
Insiders say Stewart and Tonkin didn’t like the distance switch, believing a blistering mile at this stage of the three-year-old season wasn’t in the best interests of their young stars.
It’s almost beyond belief Victoria does not have a Derby finalist.
And that follows only having two runners in last Saturday night’s Chariots Of Fire with Miki B finishing sixth and My Ultimate Barney last (albeit after galloping and losing all chance at the start).
So, as we head into one of the best Miracle Mile cards of the modern era, it’s a case of ‘in Keayang Zahara and Bulletproof Boy we trust’.
