November 26, 2008 12:00am

SHE may not remember the first but Natalie Rasmussen will never forget the final Miracle Mile run at Harold Park this Friday.

The smiling blonde and her hulking pacer Blacks A Fake are set to create harness racing history if they can win the final running of the signature sprint at the 106-year-old Glebe circuit.

The Miracle Mile has been a Harold Park institution since it was first run in 1967 but the famous dash is to be moved to Menangle Park, the future home of harness racing in NSW, from next year.

It is a race that captures the imagination. The fastest eight horses from Australia and New Zealand bustling their way around the historic concrete cauldron.

A race that Rasmussen, during her teenage years, dreamed of one day attending. Now 31, the Queensland trainer-driver has control of the best pacer in the country and $1.75 favourite for the $500,000 event.

"I can not exactly remember the first Miracle Mile I watched but it has always been a race that has excited me," she said. "It is such a good spectacle because only the fastest horses make it.

"I never thought I would ever have a horse good enough to be involved in such a race, let alone the favourite."

Rasmussen was born into a harness racing family and became involved in the sport before graduating from nappies.

She would help her father, Vic, a former trainer himself, around the stables before and after school.

Natalie, along with her sisters Kylie and Vicki, were a vital component of the Rasmussen team and were competent drivers by age 10.

"We would all help Dad out whenever we could and were around horses for as long as I can remember," she said. "We got involved in the mini-trotters from a very young age and have never looked back."

While her sisters have kept a low profile, Natalie has emerged as a dominant figure in the sport, training and driving the richest pacer in Australian history.

Together, Rasmussen and Blacks A Fake have won three InterDominions, a Hunter Cup, Victoria Cup and more than $3 million in prize- money. They finished second to Be Good Johnny in 2006, their only previous Miracle Mile start.

Rasmussen is confident "Blacky" can make history as the final Miracle Mile winner at Harold Park.

"He has been such a great horse, he deserves every accolade he receives," she said.

Rasmussen believes winning the Miracle Mile would sit slightly behind her three InterDominion victories.

"Not many horses get to win three of anything so it will be hard to top the InterDominions," she said.

"But the Miracle Mile is one race that we haven't won and it would be right up there."