Drawn perfectly in Miracle Mile qualifier

AN IDEAL draw has placed highly-rated pacer Bondi Lockdown in a strong position to make his second Miracle Mile appearance.

Leaving onlookers in awe with his scintillating performance during last season’s Chariots Of Fire when runner-up in quick time after racing in the ‘death seat’, Bondi Lockdown earned a berth into Australasia’s premier sprint.

To owner-trainer Aaron Dunn’s disappointment, Bondi Lockdown was unable to replicate the effort in the Grand Circuit event, finishing at the tail of the field after doing all the work in the breeze.

After the son of Somebeachsomewhere raced below his best during three subsequent outings, Dunn transferred him to leading New South Wales horsewoman, Belinda McCarthy, in January.

Second at his first outing for McCarthy, Bondi Lockdown then scored in 1:50.5 at Club Menangle a fortnight ago.

Set to return to the world-class venue on Saturday night, the Australian Pacing Gold purchase will contest the Schweppes Sprint, with the $100,000 feature doubling as a Miracle Mile qualifier.

The first two across the line will gain entry into the $1million Garrards-sponsored Group One, which is scheduled to be run at Club Menangle on March 4.

As for his prospects of progressing to the ultimate speed test, Bondi Lockdown has drawn to lead throughout from the pole.

“It’s been a while since he has drawn to show his gate speed as he has been coming from wide or the outside of the front row or even the back line for so long,” McCarthy said.

“In fact, he hasn’t drawn the pole since July 2021 and even then it was only the second time he had!

“For almost two years, other than the pole once, four is the closest he has drawn to the pegs and he led both times from that draw.

“He’s had a couple of runs back from a spell, his work has improved and we plan to use the draw to advantage.”