The King of Menangle Luke McCarthy is now also the proud winner of the two richest harness races ever run in the world.
McCarthy recorded a magnificent victory with Don Hugo in Saturday night’s $2.1m TAB Eureka at Tabcorp Park Menangle.
As so often happens in these big races, nothing went to plan for many of the runners and it was again McCarthy who took the initiative, making an early dash and finding the front and defying all attempts to run him down in the straight.
And as McCarthy savored his victory, he knew that a middle half of just 59.5 seconds (splits of 29.2 and 30.3) was where the race was won.
“I knew they’d be coming so I took the chance for a bit of a breather while I had the chance,” said the champion reinsman.
“After I was able to get those fractions I knew we’d be hard to hold out.”
McCarthy won last year’s inaugural running of the Eureka with Encipher, trained by Emma Stewart.
This time around he trained and drove the winner, which only added to the pressure, which has been at fever pitch all week.
It began at the barrier draw on Monday when McCarthy was mulling over which of his two runners he would drive, Don Hugo or star mare Eye Keep Smiling.
And, as usual, McCarthy pulled the right rein, sticking with Don Hugo for slot holder John Singleton.
“It’s a heck of a thrill to just be taking part in big races like this – let alone the richest race in the world,” he said.
“To win it not once but twice is just fantastic.”
Typically, the modest McCarthy wanted to share the spotlight: “My daughter Maddison won her netball grand final this afternoon and I told her I hoped to now go out and win my grand final,” he said.
“To be honest, I really wasn’t too sure how I was going to drive him. I knew he’d be hard to beat but gee, things just worked out perfectly.
“To win like this is a dream.”
While Don Hugo deserved all the plaudits, the effort by three-year-old Bay Of Biscay to finish second was also a sterling effort with the next generation’s superstar driver Camerron Hart in the bike.
The lightly raced High Above (Kerryn Manning) was also an eye-catching third, just ahead of Wisper A Secret (Pete McMullen) with the winner’s mile rate 1:53.7 over the 2300m journey.
