‘Veteran’ can make the Cash Flow at Menangle

He’s regarded as one of our veteran harness racing drivers these days.

Yet there’s plenty of life – and feature wins left in 64-year-old trainer-driver John McCarthy.

The former Bathurst butcher, whose list of feature wins includes two Miracle Miles, a Hunter Cup, a Victoria Cup, a WA Cup and many other major wins is ready to jump back into the spotlight at Menangle tonight eyeing two feature wins

With his eldest son Luke campaigning in Queensland and their No 2 stable driver Jack Callaghan unavailable, John is ready to handle two of tonight’s shortest-priced favourites at Tabcorp Park Menangle.

Both are trained by McCarthy’s daughter-in-law Belinda McCarthy and John will be hoping he can set a record, of sorts, with another ‘veteran’ in gun pacer Cash N Flow (Mach Three).

This remarkable 10-year-old pacer has an incredible 40 wins on his resume . . . and 26 of those successes have been at Menangle.

At one stage the old fellow landed 12 wins in a row at the south-western Sydney circuit before going south to contest the 2020 Victoria Cup, where he finished well back behind Lochinvar Art (Modern Art).

He might not be the horse he was, yet Cash N Flow gets the chance to create history of sorts when he contests tonight’s Pryde’s Racing Cube Pace, Race 5 with John McCarthy in the sulky.

A win tonight would see Cash N Flow join mighty square-gaiter Tough Monarch as joint record holder of the most wins at Menangle.

He’s been racing the best horses in training most of his career yet none of them will be in sight when Cash N Flow takes to the track tonight over his pet distance of 1609m and the TAB has installed him a $2.

It should make for a stellar night for McCarthy, who then takes the reins behind one of Belinda’s stable stars in Spirit Of St Louis, who is the $1.80 favourite in Race 6, the night’s feature, the $30,600 Club Menangle Golden Mile.

Spirit Of St Louis resumed from a short let-up when a first-up close second to the classy South Coast Arden at Menangle on June 3.

Since then, the six-year-old has scored an easy trial win at Menangle, beating My Ultimate Ronnie and Delightful Angel and has the perfect draw in gate three tonight to bring home another feature for Team McCarthy.

Yet with three successive wins this preparation, South Coast Arden (Gavin Fitzpatrick) shapes as the one to beat.

For complete race entries, click here.

by Michael Court for HRNSW