Hi Manameisjeff NZ Photo by Club Menangle
AUSTRALIA'S top young driver Cam Hart has put his faith in sprint specialist Hi Manameisjeff in his quest for a "dream" first Miracle Mile win on Saturday night.
Hart has jumped off last week's sparkling Group 1 Chariots Of Fire winner Frankie Ferocious to drive Hi Manameisjeff, largely because of a much better barrier draw.
Hi Manameisjeff, who blazed his way to a qualifying sprint win last week, will start from gate five, has blistering early speed and is widely regarded as the leader.
In contrast, Frankie Ferocious will start from the outside (eight) where no horse has been able to win the Miracle Mile from.
"It wasn't easy, even with the different draws. They are both absolutely flying," he said. "Jeff is drawn better; he absolutely loves mile racing, and I'll be surprised if he doesn't find the front quickly and pretty easily. That's a big advantage."
"He drew much wider last week, and I only had to click him up for 50m, and he was across them. He's so fast."
Hi Manameisjeff, who has been plagued by tendon injuries, is unbeaten in nine starts at Menangle since joining Grimson's stable. Six of those have been mile races.
Some say he's the best "pure miler" Menangle has seen since three-time Miracle Mile winner King Of Swing.
"He certainly loves the mile, but he loves the big Menangle track, too," Hart said. "He's always had loads of talent but issues as well. He's comfortable around the big track. He just scoots around the bends here."
"He went a tick over 1min48sec last week and did it pretty easily. He can go quicker and he'll be very hard to beat if he gets the front without spending too much."
The Junee-born Hart has taken Aussie harness by storm. Just 25, he already boasts over 1000 wins and 12 at Group 1 level.
His meteoric rise has been driven in part by his role as a stable driver for Jason Grimson.
Together, the Riverina boys have won an Inter Dominion final (I Cast No Shadow in 2022), NZ Cup (Swayzee, last year), the past two Blacks A Fakes (Majestic Cruiser 2022 and Swayzee last year), and so many more mega races.
Hart said winning his first Miracle Mile would be right up with anything he's achieved so far.
"It would be huge. I've made Sydney home and it's by far our biggest race with so much history behind it," he said.
"Look at the honour roll for the race; it takes a real champ to win it. There are no easy Miracle Mile wins."
· Adam Hamilton is a paid contributor writing on harness racing for News Corp.
