South Coast Arden's journey to the Miracle Mile

By Michael Guerin

Cambridge could be the surprise winner for the next race night appearance of New Zealand Free-For-All winner South Coast Arden.

Trainer Brent Mangos has started plotting his path toward the A$1million Miracle Mile at Menangle on March 5, the race he declared he wanted to win most next season straight after the giant pacer led throughout to win the Free-For-All at Addington three weeks ago.

South Coast Arden has had an easy time since but he is now back in work and with races like the Franklin Cup set to be handicaps with some talented types in Krug, B D Joe and Shan Noble to get big advantages, Mangos says that will not be South Coast Arden’s target.

“I don’t want to start him in that grade off a 30m handicap so we will miss those and he can go back to the workouts in January,” says Mangos.

“But it looks like there is a race at Cambridge at the end of January that looks a good kick off point for him and then he can go to Sydney.”

That means definitely no Hunter Cup for South Coast Arden so New Zealand’s three best pacers at this stage look to be heading in different directions, with Copy That heading to Victoria and Self Assured likely to stay home all together.

Mangos has the option of trying to qualify South Coast Arden for the Miracle Mile either through the Newcastle Mile on February 18 or the two preludes at Menangle eight days later.

He would need to run top two in one of those preludes to be guaranteed a run in the million-dollar dash for cash a week later.

Through the Sydney carnival Mangos has his eyes firmly set on the autumn riches at home which could include the proposed $500,000 slot race at Cambridge on April 14 before the Auckland Cup carnival culminating in the $400,000 Cup on May 27.

“He has a lot of exciting options so I am happy to give him an easy December so we can really target those races in the first half of next season.”