Vale Sokyola

With the Miracle Mile just days away, the race lost one of its most iconic champions with the passing of Sokyola today at the age of 29.

The Lance Justice-trained superstar won an impressive 78 races and earned nearly $1.9 million, but was best known for scoring back-to-back Miracle Mile victories at the old Harold Park track in 2003 and ’04.

The Lance Justice-trained and ridden Sokyola is known for his lightning-fast gate speed and also won the Group 1 Victoria Cup and Group 2 Sunshine Sprint in 2024 and earned the crown of Australian Harness Horse of the Year.

He spent his retirement at Justice’s Melton farm and was euthanized today (Wednesday) after a 12-month battle with Sidewinders Syndrome, which increasingly affects a horse’s gait and movement.

“It’s a sad day, but it’s great times to look back on. He changed my life,” Justice said.

Sokyola’s career lasted almost eight years, from his first start at Roxburgh in New Zealand’s deep south on January 4, 2000 to an emotional farewell victory at Moonee Valley on June 22, 2007.

He won nine of his first 11 starts and was a driving force behind Justice’s huge move from dominating in South Australia to a hugely successful move to Victoria in late 2000.

“I couldn’t have imagined at that moment that a better horse would come along. Most of my horses struggled to keep up when they moved to Victoria and that’s when I unleashed my secret weapon in Sokyola,” Justice said.

“Those Miracle Mile wins were great, as was the Victoria Cup, but growing up as a kid the Mildura Cup was a race we all wanted to win. He won three in a row and was three wide for most of the race around that little bit in the third.”

Jodi Quinlan, who replaced the suspended judge to win the 2004 Miracle Mile, said it was the highlight of her long and successful career.

“It’s still the pinnacle, and it always will be,” she said. “The atmosphere in Harold Park that night, how great it was and what it did for my career.

“He was just a great horse. It was one thing to reach Sokyola, but another to pass him.”

Just months before Sokyola’s retirement, Justice was handed the baton when Smoken Up took over as his starting stable.

Smoken Up, who also won two Miracle Miles (2010 and ’11), won 74 races, including 14 at the Group 1 level, and earned more than $3.6 million.

Sokyola and Smoken Up are two of only seven pacers to win multiple Miracle Miles.

“Sokyola helped bring the best out of Smoken Up because it was uncanny how similar they were in racing style, just so brave and tough,” Justice said.

“Smoking Up’s rise so quickly was a bit unfair because it meant Sokyola didn’t get the recognition he deserved for long enough.

“How lucky I am to have had both.”

Through Adam Hamiltonfor Harness Racing Victoria