‘King’ ready for stud

It will be hard for Belinda and Luke McCarthy to hang up the bridle of King Of Swing after connections decided to retire the champion pacer following his third successive win in harness racing’s Miracle Mile on Saturday night.

King Of Swing became the first horse to win three editions of the great race but it also marked the end of an illustrious career after connections announced that the stallion would be retired to stud.

While Luke and Belinda will be sorry to see their stable star retire, they totally understand why the owners want King Of Swing to go to stud.

It is likely that the rich $3.4 million earner will stand his first season at the McCarthy’s Cobbitty Stud farm, which is a boon for the New South Wales breeding industry.

“He will be very much in demand from broodmare owners right across Australasia,” said Luke.

“He proved on Saturday night what a tough horse he is, calling on his reserves to hold on and win after working so hard out of the gate.

“Belinda and I are grateful that his owners sent King to us after Gary Hall purchased him for them from New Zealand.

“He is such a lovely animal with a great temperament, and I have no doubt that he will pass all those attributes on to his progeny.”

Apart from winning yet another Group 1, Team McCarthy had plenty to take out of Saturday night’s feature with their rising star Spirit Of St Louis storming home from near last to get close to King Of Swing on the line and no doubt he will take the mantle of being the stable’s best performer.

Driver Jack Callaghan showed a cool head and plenty of patience after Spirit of St Louis ended up being shuffled out of what was a frantic start to the race.

“The rise of Louis over the past few months has been amazing,” said McCarthy.

“He joined our stable midway through last year and done such a great job to qualify for the Inter Dominion.

“Then he and Jack had a wonderful run in Victoria, winning the Shepparton and Ballarat Cups and finishing a strong second in the AG Hunter Cup.”

“It is mouth-watering to look forward to what the next 12 months will bring with so many talented pacers on the rise.”

By Michael Dumesny for HRNSW