Mark Purdon confident Lazarus can rise in the 2017 Miracle Mile
BOOM pacer Lazarus will be aiming to become the first horse to win the Miracle Mile from outside barrier five since the group 1 feature was moved to Menangle in 2009.
Trained in NZ by Mark Purdon and Natalie Rasmussen, Lazarus comes into the $750,000 feature following its sensational victory in the Group 1 Chariots of Fire on February 11 – a triumph which took its career record to 23 wins and four minor placings from 27 starts.
Lazarus has drawn barrier eight for the assignment but is likely to move into the six with the scratchings of the two emergencies, Major Crocker (2) and Aztec Bromac (7).
The son of Bettors Delight is one of three runners for Purdon and Rasmussen, with the leading Kiwi conditioner rating him as the pick of his stable.
“You would have to say Lazarus would be rated our number one pick for the team, not because of the draw, but because he is just a great horse,” Purdon told HorseBetting.com.au.
“It will be a tactical battle early in the race and a lot of it will depend on the first quarter – that will probably decide the end result.
“He has never shown blistering gate speed before, but he gets out nice – I am just hoping it works out nice and he can settle in a position not too far off the leaders.”
However, Purdon was wary of one of his other stable stars, Smolda, who has firmed into contention after drawing the inside gate.
Purdon says the Inter Dominion champion, which has more than $2.2m in prize money earnings to his name, is capable of running a big race on Saturday night.
“He has probably been a bit forgotten about since the draw came out – but barrier one is probably perfect for him over the mile and if anything happens he could hold them out and lead.
“He has been a great horse for us – he flies under the radar a lot, but he always seems to be able to rise to the occasion. He never runs a bad race.
“He was overlooked in the Inter Dom too – but the way the race was run it really played into the hands of those who didn’t do the early work.
“Of course that was over a longer distance, it was a real staying event as opposed to the mile, but you would still have to rate him a chance.”
Purdon’s trio is rounded out by Our Waikiki Beach, which finished a close second to stablemate Lazarus in the Chariots of Fire, showing a glimpse of his former best for the first time since resuming from a spell.
“We are happy with [Our Waikiki Beach] – he has had four runs now back from a spell and he has improved with each outing he has had to he goes into the race very well.”
They won’t just be handing the trophy to Purdon on Saturday night, with the best pacers in the land converging on Menangle Park for a slice of the riches.
Also looking leading chances are David Aiken’s pair Lennytheshark and Hectorjayjay – with Aiken rating the former his best chance from gate six after Hectorjayjay drew terribly in gate 10.
The Miracle Mile is the highlight of a cracking card of racing at Menangle this Saturday, which also features the NSW Derby, the NSW Mile and the Ladyship Mile.
The Miracle Mile is race seven on the card and is set to fly at 9:32pm.
1 – Smolda $6.50
2 – Major Crocker (1E) $71
3 – Bling It On $6.50
4 – Our Waikiki Beach $16
5 – Salty Robyn $31
6 – Lennytheshark $5.50
7 – Aztec Bromac (2E) $81
9 – Yayas Hot Spot $51
10 – Hectorjayjay $4