The driver piloted his trainee Don Hugo to victory on Saturday in the $2.1 million TAB Eureka slot race at Menangle near Sydney.

by Adam Hamilton

That name McCarthy is everywhere.

With his younger brothers Todd and Andy carving out hugely-successful careers in the U.S., it has been left to oldest brother, Luke, to fly the flag Down Under.

And boy he’s done a great job.

Luke kept his perfect record intact in the world’s richest harness race when he won the $2.1-million TAB Eureka for the second successive year at Menangle, outside of Sydney, Saturday night (Sept. 7).

A year earlier, he won the inaugural running of the race when he teamed with champion Victorian trainer Emma Stewart and her star mare Encipher.

But this time Luke did it all himself as trainer and driver of the emerging 4-year-old son of Art Major, Don Hugo.

“I said last year was one of the biggest thrills I’ve had in the game, but this is next level,” he said. “To train and drive the winner is pretty awesome.

“It’s such a special and important race. Look at the crowd here, feel the atmosphere… and to have this place in history [winning the first two editions] is pretty special.”

Luke said he started to believe Don Hugo could win the TAB Eureka back in June when he was campaigning in Queensland.

“Each campaign, he’s just come back and gone to another level,” he said. “He stepped into some really good races up there [Queensland] and did so well. 

“He really felt like he’d taken the next step. I said to everyone, the horse was in the zone.

“I kept hoping someone would take him in their slot and when I got the call I was absolutely thrilled.

“I knew all I needed to do was look after him in the six or seven weeks between Queensland and the Eureka and get him there in the same sort of form.

“That’s why I didn’t race him. It was better to give him a couple of trials where I could control what sort of [performance] he had.”

Despite his bullishness with Don Hugo, Luke admitted it was a “very tough call” between him and stablemate, 4-year-old mare Eye Keep Smiling, as to which pacer he drove. Eye Keep Smiling ultimately finished fifth.

“I really couldn’t split them and you saw how well the mare went tonight,” he said.

Luke went a long way towards winning the race when he pushed forward from a wide draw and took the lead from Queensland pacer Wisper A Secret.

“That wasn’t a plan, but I saw the opportunity,” he said. “Once he led and I got away with such a comfortable run, I knew they’d be flat out beating him.”

It was yet another golden moment for 41-year-old Luke, who has driven almost 3,000 winners, including 79 at Group 1 level.

The eye-catching performance of the race came from the only 3-year-old in it, Bay Of Biscay, He rocketed home when clear from a pocket to finish second, beaten just 2.2 meters.

Ironically, the two pacers Luke beat — Bay Of Biscay and High Above (third) — are both trained by Stewart, who he teamed with to win last year’s Eureka.

High Above, the least experienced horse in the race, was making just his 10^th race start. He ran a booming third after making a mid-race move from the rear to sit outside the leader.

CATCH A WAVE WINS LEN SMITH MILE

On the same card, brilliant pacer Catch A Wave added to his terrific Menangle record when he comfortably won the $150,000 Group 1 Len Smith Mile.

It was a remarkable eighth Group 1 win for the striking son of Captaintreacherous. It took his earnings well past $2 million.

Previously the 5-year-old had won the huge Group 1 Miracle Mile and Chariots Of Fire double at Menangle early last year.

Although, in between, Catch A Wave had returned to Menangle for one of the rare feature race flops of his career when he finished a tiring eighth after leading in last year’s inaugural TAB Eureka.

Trainer Andy Gath revealed he and wife, Kate, who co-trains and drives Catch A Wave, were divided on whether Catch A Wave was ready to win last night.

“Kate didn’t think he’d done enough in his two runs back, but I was adamant,” Gath said. “It’s just clear no matter what we do with him at home, he takes a couple of runs to get that race fitness back and get back to his best.

“I said after he was beaten at his first two runs that we had all seen this movie before and he would bounce back. It’s still great to see him do it.”

When asked about her confidence levels, Kate laughed and said: “Well, Andy was confident. Let’s put it that way.

“But when he got the cover off Speak The Truth and travelled so well, I grew in confidence in the run.

“He felt terrific when I pulled him out at the top of the straight and really finished it off well.”

Catch A Wave has now won 23 of his 41 starts with eight placings. He has banked exactly $2,057,678.

“It’s great to have him back firing with some other big targets just around the corner,” Andy said.

They are the $300,000 Group 1 Victoria Cup at Melton on Oct. 12 and the $450,000 Group 1 WA Pacing Cup at Gloucester Park in Perth a month later.