Champ heading to NZ via Victoria Cup

By Adam Hamilton 

Champion pacer Leap To Fame’s pathway to his first $1m IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup tilt at Addington Raceway on Tuesday, November 11 has just become much clearer.

In a coup for Victorian fans, trainer-driver Grant Dixon has confirmed the dual Inter Dominion winner will head south for the $250,000 Group 1 Victoria Cup – harness racing’s Cox Plate – at Melton on October 18.

Leap To Fame, Australasia’s all-time richest pacer with over $4.63 million and 56 wins from 69 starts, has chased the Victoria Cup twice without success.

In 2023 he ran third as a commanding favourite, then he returned last year but fell ill just days before the race and was scratched.

Connections had originally planned to bypass the race this year to focus solely on the NZ Cup. In the futures market he is a $1.60 favourite to win the  Cup.  

“When we sat down to work it all out, the timing fits and it guarantees us some strong racing before NZ where he will need to be absolutely primed,” owner Kevin Seymour said.

Dixon said surety around a return flight from Brisbane to Melbourne was the key.

“It’s looking really good and that makes or breaks the Victoria Cup as an option,” he said. “We’d look to get down on the Thursday, nine days before the race and head home a day or so after it.

“We’re building as though that’s the plan. He’s back working strongly again, seems great and because he only had a short break, one lead-up race should be enough.

“We’d look to give him a start here (Albion Park) two weeks ahead of the Victoria Cup.”

Leap To Fame hasn’t raced since completely dominating the Brisbane Inter Dominion series, including the $1m Grand Final on July 19.

It was the second time in three years Leap To Fame has gone through an Inter Dominion series unbeaten.

Confirmation the Victoria Cup is a target sets up another long-awaited clash between Australasia’s two best pacers, half-brothers Leap To Fame and Swayzee.

Swayzee won the Victoria Cup in Leap To Fame’s absence last year and then upstaged Leap To Fame when they last clashed in Victoria in the Group 1 Hunter Cup on February 1.

Leap To Fame holds a 4-2 advantage in their six clashes and they are also likely to clash in the NZ Cup, a race Swayzee has won the past two years.

Dixon also confirmed Leap To Fame’s NZ raid would be a one race “hit-and-run” trip.

“He won’t have a lead-up race over there, it would mean being away for a month,” he said.

“We can fly over a week or so before it, possibly go around in the ‘Cup trial’ at Addington, and then into the Cup itself.

“We’d want to have him spot on before we went to NZ, which is another reason a strong race like the Victoria Cup is attractive.”

Swayzee, who has won 30 of his 67 starts and over $2.2 million, hasn’t raced since finishing fourth in the $1mil Group 1 Nullarbor at Gloucester Park on April 25.

He bypassed the Brisbane Inter Dominion to have a long spell, but is back in serious work for trainer Jason Grimson with the Victoria and NZ Cups his major targets.