Dangerous primed for Miracle Mile shot

A smart trial, followed by an impressive exhibition workout has Victoria’s Sanderson harness racing team in the Goulburn Valley looking with high hopes toward the $1M Garrards Miracle Mile on tomorrow night week (Mar 8).

Their star pacer Dangerous (Sweet Lou) is first up from a spell after his Inter Dominion campaign in December (an unlucky fifth) to compete in the $100,000 G2 Cordina Chicken Farms Sprint at Menangle tomorrow night (March 1).

It’s an automatic qualification for the Miracle Mile for the first and second Sprtin placegetters, and, from barrier five, trainer Shane Sanderson is quietly confident.

“As you would expect, there’s some top liners going around in the race, but we really couldn’t be happier with Dangerous at this stage,” Sanderson said.

Undoubtedly Dangerous faces a tough task, with Captains Knock, Catch A Wave, Aardies Express, Don Hugo and Max Delight all vying for qualification.

But Sanderson’s daughter Abby, who does most of the work with the five-year-old entire at the family’s Murchison property “Willowood”, believes Dangerous, who has been a little headstrong at times, is now a more mature racehorse.

“He had two weeks off after the Interdominion and Abby says he seems a different horse this time around,” Sanderson said.

“Abby drove him at the trials eight days ago and he went really well.  He beat another of our horses Catalpa Rescue (last half 55.2) and was pretty comfortable,” he said.

“We topped him off with an exhibition workout at the Shepparton meeting on Tuesday between races and we did a mile in 1.53 and a bit.

“I was driving a galloping pacemaker New Yorker and Dangerous went to the line strong.”

Nineteen-year-old Abby regularly travels with Dangerous on interstate campaigns and plans to be on the road early today (Friday) for the seven-hour float trip to Menangle.

Her brother Ryan will take the reins tomorrow night at 8.59pm.

The pair won an Interdominion heat before a luckless fifth, finishing just 14 metres from the winner, in the $500,000 final, won by Don Hugo (Art Major), for Luke McCarthy.

After racing four back buried away on the pegs for most of the trip, Ryan forced a passage, ending up with a 10-day suspension from stewards for pushing another runner wide.

Dangerous, raced by passionate owners Paul and Danny Lowry and a group of mates, has won 10 races and 14 placings from 36 starts for over $222K.

For complete race entries, click here.

by Terry Gange, for Harnesslink