Captains Mistress winning the 2026 Chariots Of Fire
YOUNG gun driver Cam Hart won’t be rushed into one of the biggest decisions of his career.
Hart qualified champion stayer Swayzee and brilliant young mare Captains Mistress for Saturday night’s $1 million Miracle Mile, but is taking his time to pick which he drives.
Adding to the complexity is the fact Swayzee has been the horse of Hart’s career so far and the Miracle Mile is the race he grew up dreaming about winning.
“It’s not as easy a decision and some people think it’s obvious I’ll drive the mare (Captains Mistress),” he said. “Swayzee has been a great horse to me and his run the other night was enormous. I think he’s right back to his very best form.
“I need to really study the draw. I think there’s a real chance he can muster enough speed to hold the lead (from gate one). I know he was crossed from the same draw in this race last year, but that was by absolute flyer (Tact McLeod). I’m not sure there’s a flyer in this race.
“Leap To Fame and The Janitor can trouble him early and Kingman can’t either, being drawn right next to him.
“Captains Mistress could be the one, but is it in her best interest at her first go in the big league like this to really burn her out at the start?
“They are all the things I’m weighing and I’ll be guided by Jase (Grimson, trainer), too. How he thinks they’ve come through last week will be part of my decision, too.”
The 27-year-old Hart, who boasts almost 1500 wins and 21 at Group 1 level, wants to make the most of his opportunity to win a Miracle Mile.
“Being from NSW (Junee) and moving to Sydney eight or nine years ago, the Miracle Mile is probably THE race to me,” he said.
“I desperately want to tick it off. It’s also one of the few really big races I haven’t won yet.”
The betting has Captains Mistress much shorter odds at $2.80 compared to Swayzee at $10.
“They shouldn’t be that far apart,” Hart said. “As stunning as Captains Mistress has been, she’s got the ultimate step-up now into the big league.
“You can win by big margins and run great times, but doing it under pressure in these biggest races against the tough, seasoned horse it’s the biggest challenge.
“I think she’ll handle it because she’s very special, but I think she’ll need to stalk them, rather than go toe-to-toe with them, to beat them.
“Drive her to use that speed of hers, which is such a weapon.”
Hart didn’t hesitate to label champion Leap To Fame as the hardest to beat.
“He’s the one. He was huge winning again the other night. I thought he looked even more switched on and sharp than usual, which is a great sign for sprint racing,” he said.
“Like Swayzee, he’s been at the top for so long. For a couple of years it was basically just those two, but now there’s so much more depth.
“This is definitely the strongest racing and most incredible depth we’ve had in the big races in my time in the game, at least for the past decade.”
PHOTO: Captains Mistress - Club Menangle/Pacepix
