Racing: Christen Me in a battle for Aussie glory

Dexter Dunn drives Christen Me (5) to victory in the New Zealand Free-For-All this month. Photo / Getty Images

Trainer optimistic but whether he can beat Beautide is $800k question

What Christen Me did during New Zealand Cup Week proved to trainer Cran Dalgety he can win tonight's A$750,000 ($813,000) Miracle Mile.

And that was off the track, well before he won the New Zealand Free-For-All 15 days ago.

Christen Me goes into tonight's great Sydney sprint a heavily backed second favourite to Beautide, the pair having run the quinella in the Mile last season.

Christen Me was grabbed late by Beautide after having the hardest run in the race, reaffirming his love of Menangle and its punishing mile racing.

Beautide has gone on to bigger and even better things since, whereas Christen Me was consistent without being able to dominate last season.

But that year at the open-class coal-face has provided him with the toughness to turn last year's result around.

"He is definitely stronger than last season," says Dalgety.

"And the best evidence of that I have seen was during Cup week.

"Last year he was buggered for two days after the New Zealand Cup, but this year he had a much harder run in a faster time and was back to normal the next day.

"He is handling all that stuff so much better now, so I think we have a huge show this week."

Also aiding Christen Me is the fact he has drawn alongside Beautide, giving driver Dexter Dunn the option of stalking the favourite.

With the early section of the race certain to be frenetic, Christen Me should be able to balance up and then get the right cart into the race, which is how he races best.

Whether that is good enough to beat Beautide is the question for punters.

The former Tasmanian pacer can do freakish things when screwed right down, his Inter Dominion win last March one of the great pacing performances ever in this part of the world.

His legs and lungs are expertly conditioned to the 1:50 miles at Menangle and with the right run he could one day give Smoken Up's Australasian mile record of 1:48.5 a scare.

Tonight, he is almost certain to be sitting in the running line before launching before the home bend. It will take a very, very good pacer to run him down.

The Kiwi second-string in the race Terror To Love must have done something to upset the Menangle racing gods as he has drawn the outside of the eight-horse field again and has got out to an incredible $41 in some markets.

He would need a perfect trip and things to go wrong for about four of his rivals to win.

For A Reason, who was so brave in the New Zealand Cup last start, and to a lesser extent Guaranteed look the only other winning hopes but again they face coming from behind Beautide and Christen Me.

Waikato-owned trotter Flying Isa will start favourite in tonight's A$50,000 group one trot, with driver Luke McCarthy suggesting Our Overanova is his only real threat in the race.

Miracle Mile
• Beautide
• Christen Me
• For A Reason