Mick Harvey fires back at Grimson as Kingman locks in Miracle Mile start

Kingman (Always B Miki) will take his place in the $1 million Miracle Mile — and owner Mick Harvey says the horse will answer his critics on the track.

Speaking with Gareth Hall on the Giddy Up podcast for SENTrack, Harvey confirmed the star pacer had pulled up perfectly after his latest run and would definitely line up in the feature harness racing event despite recent criticism from leading trainer Jason Grimson.

“100 percent he’s going around,” Harvey said.

“He ate up overnight, worked this morning and his heart rate was good. He’s ready to rock and roll.”

The comments come after Grimson questioned whether Kingman deserved his invitation to the prestigious race ahead of Rakero Rocket — remarks that Harvey believes crossed the line.

“Look, Jason got a little bit personal there and some of those comments were a bit silly,” Harvey said.

“I think it’s great to talk things up and have banter for the sport, but you promote your own horses — you don’t take shots at someone else’s horse or trainer.”

Harvey also came to the defence of Kingman’s trainer Luke McCarthy, one of the most successful standardbred conditioners in the modern era.

“I think everyone in the harness world respects Luke McCarthy’s status in the game,” he said.

“He’s been there, done that and won four Miracle Miles himself. Bagging someone like Luke would be like saying Ciaron Maher or Chris Waller can’t train — it’s pretty silly.”

Despite the controversy, Harvey insisted the focus remains on the horse.

“It’s all a bit of banter. We’re in the race and we’ll let the horse do the talking.”

Kingman heads into the Miracle Mile after an unlucky effort in the Hunter Cup where Harvey believes the result did not reflect the horse’s true performance.

“He was 40 or 50 metres off them and still only got beaten eight metres,” he said.

“That’s why he was the pre-post favourite for the race.”

With a strong field assembling for the Miracle Mile, tactics remain undecided, particularly whether Kingman will press forward early or take a sit in the race.

“We haven’t 100 percent decided yet,” Harvey said.

“There’s been a couple of times when using him out of the gate hasn’t worked, but there were excuses.”

Another key decision still looming is who will take the reins in the big race.

McCarthy — who trains the horse — may not drive Kingman due to existing commitments, leaving the camp weighing up their options.

“It’s a tough decision,” Harvey said.

“I respect loyalty and everything, so Luke’s got a decision to make there.”

While the driver remains undecided for now, Harvey made it clear the team is confident Kingman can deliver on the sport’s biggest stage.

And if he does, there would be extra satisfaction.

“You’d love to stick it up Grimo on Saturday night,” Hall joked.

Harvey simply laughed.

“We’ll let the horse do the talking.”

From Harnesslink Media