Otago conquered the world when Field Marshal brilliantly won the Miracle Mile in Sydney on Saturday night.
Well, half of it.
The pacer, bred and raced by Syd and Shona Brown of Mosgiel, races in their blue and gold silks. He won in the scorching time of 1.46.9, the fastest mile ever paced in the southern hemisphere.
Perhaps even more impressively, Field Marshal ran the seventh-fastest mile time by a standardbred in world harness racing history.
Trainer Tim Butt and the Browns bypassed title shots at the Interdominions and Hunter Cup to specifically target the $A750,000 ($NZ806,850) Miracle Mile.
"We made our decision and stuck with it, even though we knew we would have to beat Lazarus," trainer Tim Butt told NZME.
Field Marshal has overcome significant problems in getting to the Miracle Mile.
"He has had two wind operations, the second of them only 12 months ago, so the sprint races suit him far better," Butt said.
"He obviously hasn’t been an easy horse to train so this is very satisfying."
Field Marshal slotted into a handy spot in the running line while leader Jilliby Kung Fu and parked horse Soho Tribeca set the race’s sizzling early sectional.
Driver Anthony Butt angled Field Marshal into the clear in the straight but waited patiently until asking his horse for his supreme effort.
Butt timed his run to perfection as Field Marshal claimed the runner-up, Jilliby Kung Fu, and a hard-fighting Soho Tribeca.
The chances of an Otago-bred quinella in the race were slim. Champion pacer Lazarus was simply never a factor. He was trapped wide from his draw on the outside of the mobile and never got within three horse-widths of the markers.
Settling wide was part of a pre-race plan by driver Natalie Rasmussen, but the hectic speed worked against that.
"We wanted to be clear of any traffic early so he could make his bid in the middle stages but they just never let up and it was an impossible task. It doesn’t diminish him as a horse — it was just too much to ask," Rasmussen said on her stable’s website.
The stable reported after the race Lazarus was likely to head to New Zealand and into the spelling paddock.
"He was up against it and his preparation had not been ideal, but we are not making excuses," Mark Purdon, who co-trains Lazarus with Rasmussen, said.
"It was just too tough a measure on the night."
