Grimson’s powerful line-up of open-class pacers will ensure he has at least five entries in the four qualifying races for Australasia’s premier speed test, starting with Rakero Rocket in Friday night’s $100,000 Group 2 Newcastle Mile.
His Hunter Cup winner Swayzee, Group 1 winning mare Captains Mistress, star speedster Hi Managirlff and exciting recent stable addition Chase A Dream are also set for the Miracle Mile.
Captains Mistress will get a golden ticket to the Miracle Mile if she wins the $250,000 Group 1 Chariots Of Fire at Menangle on Saturday. She costs $1.60 in pre-post markets but should qualify for the Chariots with a top three finish at Paleface Adios on Saturday night.
Swayzee, who defeated Australasia’s top pacers to win the Hunter Cup last Saturday, will be joined by Hi Managirlff and Chase A Dream in Saturday’s qualifying sprints at Menangle.
“I’ve now gone from eight working horses to 26 horses. I want these good horses, I chase them, I want to win all the big races,” Grimson said.
Rakero Rocket has been a revelation since joining Grimson, with two wins and a second from his three starts. Two starts ago he completed a blistering mile of 1:47.3 seconds, just 0.4 seconds off the Australasian record.
But it is former star Kiwi mare Captains Mistress who excites Grimson the most. She has won all four starts under his tutelage with a total of almost 80 meters.
Last start she beat Australia’s best mares by 25 meters in the Group 1 Queen of the Pacific at Melton, on the same night Swayzee won the Hunter Cup.
“I have a great bunch of horses right now, but Captains Mistress is the best of them all,” Grimson said.
Let that sink in, especially when you consider that Swayzee has won 33 races, including two Hunter Cups and two NZ Cups, and has raked in almost $2.5 million.
Grimson said Swayzee came through his successful Hunter Cup title defense in grand fashion.
“He’s in such a great place right now,” he said. “The day after the (Hunter) Cup, when I loaded my horses into the wagon to go back to Sydney, it took me 25 minutes to catch Swayzee in his paddock.”
Swayzee finished an unlucky fourth place during the Miracle Mile last year.
Grimson is also excited about former enigmatic Kiwi pacer Chase A Dream, who looked sharp in beating an average field in his first start for the Melton stable last Saturday week.
“I only had him for a little over a week. We will both learn a lot from that race and he will only continue to improve. I like him,” he said.
Chase A Dream ran some great races in top company for champion Kiwi trainer Mark Purdon before losing form.
“I’ve wanted him for a while. I asked Mark (Purdon) about a year ago and he said no, but I asked again and got him,” Grimson said.
Through Adam Hamiltonfor Harness Racing Australia
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