Tight at the top of 2023 APG Grand Circuit series.

Things are getting tight at the top after four legs of the 2023 Australian Pacing Gold Grand Circuit harness racing series.

Catch A Wave (Captaintreacherous) became the fourth individual winner from as many Grand Circuit races so far this season when he upstaged his older rivals to win last Saturday night’s $1mil Garrards Miracle Mile at Menangle.

It was the first Grand Circuit race Catch A Wave has contested and the victory earned him 100 points and took him to third spot on the Grand Circuit points table.

Honolua Bay’s third in the Miracle Mile gained him 40 points and, combined with his 100 points for winning last month’s Hunter Cup, the Emma Stewart-trained star is now the equal Grand Circuit leader.

Sharing top of the points table are Western Australian pair Diego and Mighty Ronaldo, courtesy of their performances in the Fremantle and WA Pacing Cups in January.

Spirit Of St Louis, who finished second in the Miracle Mile for the second successive year, picked-up 60 points and moved to outright fourth on the points table with 65, just ahead of WA pair Jumpingjackmac and Minstrel on 64.

Honolua Bay looks best placed to win the title if he can hold his form given his plans include running in the three remaining legs of the 2023 Grand Circuit: $400,000 Blacks A Fake (Albion Park, July 22); Victoria Cup (Melton, October 14) and Inter Dominion Pacing Grand Final (Albion Park, December 16).

At most, Catch A Wave will run in two of those with trainer Andy Gath ruling-out a Queensland winter campaign.

Catch A Wave continued the fantastic strike of Chariots Of Fire winners in the Miracle Mile when he won Australasia’s premier speed test.

Although he is the first Chariots winner to complete the double since former Kiwi star Have Faith In Me in 2016, every Chariots winner since has finished top-three in the Miracle Mile.

“It’s part of the reason we ran him,” trainer Andy Gath said. “He’s the best pacer I’ve trained, he beat the prepost Miracle Mile favourite (Captain Ravishing) in the Chariots, he’s right in the zone and Chariots winners have such a terrific record in the Miracle Mile.”

Catch A Wave’s chances soared when driver Kate Gath was able to buzz him off the gate and wrest the lead from pole marker Spirit Of St Louis. Although the first quarter was a blistering 25.5sec. Gath was able to “pinch” a cosy 29.2sec second quarter, making it hard for anything to run her down.

Catch A Wave won comfortably by 3.1m from Spirit Of St Louis with Honolua Bay another 0.3m away in third spot.

The 1min48.8sec mile was the fifth fastest in Miracle Mile history.

Catch A Wave will now have a break before aiming at the world’s richest race, the inaugural $2.1 million TAB Eureka at Menangle on September 2

by Adam Hamilton for Harness Racing Australia