Be Good Johnny (horse)

Be Good Johnny
Breed	Standardbred
Sire	Fake Left (USA)
Grandsire	Cam Fella (USA)
Dam	Fleetwood Mandy
Maternal grandsire	The Southside (USA)
Sex	Gelding
Foaled	1 Sep 1999
Country	Australia
Colour	Brown
Breeder	PC Fiechtner
Trainer	John P McCarthy
Record
123 starts:48 wins-22-16
Earnings
A$1,671,405
Honours
5 Grand Circuit Wins
Last updated on: 2009-05-17.

Be Good Johnny is an Australian born Standardbred pacer trained, owned and driven by John McCarthy of Logan Village, Queensland. ^[1]

Racing career

He started his career later than most at age 5 coming second in a trial at Albion Park on 17 February 2004. His first win came in his next race 2 March 2004 in a C0 to C1 heat over 2,138 metres at Albion Park. The horse went on to win 24 of its first 27 starts, half of which were driven by John's son - Luke McCarthy.^{[ citation needed ]}

Be Good Johnny stepped up to higher class races in the middle of 2005 just as the Australian harness season was about to begin in Queensland. Wins including the Red October final and Seymour Charity Cup final as well as placings in the Albion Park Final (2nd to Home of Jack), Sunshine Sprint (2nd to Cobbity Classic), Gold Coast Cup (2nd to Double Identity in a track record 1:53.5) and the Queensland Pacing Championship (3rd after galloping at the start).^{[ citation needed ]}

Against quality fields Be Good Johnny had proven himself worthy of better things to come. Running a track record mile rate (1:56.2) at Albion Park for the 2680m gave him his first Australasian Pacers Grand Circuit win in the 2005 Trans-Tasman Cup. Be Good Johnny fought off the last-lap challenge of New South Wales pacer Dinki Di. Be Good Johnny made his first trip interstate for the Australasian Pacers Grand Circuit winning the 2005 Miracle Mile Pace and Victoria Cup. However, his tiredness from a season of rising through the ranks of Australian pacing showed by finishing 8th in the Interdominion held in Tasmania in April 2006.^{[ citation needed ]}

After a spell following the Interdominion, he returned to racing in October 2006 winning the Gold Coast Cup in a mile rate of 1:54.0 (the best by any pacer in Australia this year). He went on to defend the title of the Miracle Mile Pace, making him just the sixth horse to achieve the feat (the last being Sokyola). The horse failed to place in the Victoria Cup and the 2007 Inter Dominion Pacing Championship final held at Globe Derby.^{[ citation needed ]}

Be Good Johnny claimed his second Trans-Tasman in May 2008. Injury kept him out of the bulk of the 2008/09 season, but he returned to racing in July 2009. His last race was a distant 10th to Mr Feelgood in the Cordina Farms Sprint (Group 2) at Menangle in November 2011. Upon retirement he spent his days roaming a paddock of his former trainer John McCarthy. ^[2]

Notable races

Be Good Johnny contested the following during his racing career: ^[3]

Placing	Year	Race	1st	2nd	3rd
3rd	October 2005	Queensland Pacing Championship	Slipnside	Romeos Legend	Be Good Johnny
1st	October 2005	Trans-Tasman	Be Good Johnny	Sky Flyin	Dinki Di
1st	November 2005	Miracle Mile Pace [4]	Be Good Johnny	Slipnside	Robin Hood
1st	December 2005	Victoria Cup	Be Good Johnny	Dinki Di	Sting Lila Bee
8th	April 2006	Inter Dominion Pacing Championship	Blacks A Fake	Karloo Mick	Slipnside
1st	October 2006	Gold Coast Bulletin Cup (Group 2)	Be Good Johnny	Rollercoaster Road	Home of Jack
3rd	October 2006	Trans-Tasman	Sweet Fame	Sir Galvinator	Be Good Johnny
1st	November 2006	Miracle Mile Pace [5] [6]	Be Good Johnny	Blacks A Fake	Smooth Crusa
5th	January 2007	Inter Dominion Pacing Championship [7]	Blacks A Fake	Winforu	Foreal
1st	March 2008	Australasian Plate Final (Group 2)	Be Good Johnny	Larado	Bold Cruiser
1st	May 2008	Gold Coast Bulletin Cup (Group 2)	Be Good Johnny	Good Looking Girl	Fleur de Lil
3rd	October 2008	HR Queensland Trans-Tasman	Blacks A Fake	Iron Hudge	Be Good Johnny
8th	November 2009	New Zealand Trotting Cup [8]	Monkey King	Bettor’s Strike	Smoken Up

References

1. Collins, Anthony (4 October 2011). "'Be Good Johnny Sprint' will set track alight". Harnesslink . Retrieved 26 November 2020.
2. "Miracle Mile champions….where are they now?". 6 March 2020.
3. "Australian Harness Racing". www.harness.org.au.
4. "2005 Miracle Mile Winner Be Good Johnny". 15 February 2017 – via YouTube.
5. "2006 Miracle Mile Winner Be Good Johnny". 15 February 2017 – via YouTube.
6. "Be Good Johnny wins second Miracle Mile". The Sydney Morning Herald. 24 November 2006.
7. "2007 Inter Dominion - Adelaide, SA - Pacers Series". www.harness.org.au.
8. "Racing: Horror flight into Christchurch for Cup horses". NZ Herald. 2 May 2025.