Leap To Fame confirms place in NZ Trotting Cup

By Adam Hamilton

After a tough week or two, New Zealand harness racing has some seriously good news.

The best pacer in this part of the world and one of the greatest of all time, Leap To Fame, will return for another tilt at the New Zealand Trotting Cup on November 10.

After a few days of deliberating the impact of NZ’s changes, most notably the loss of the two Cambridge slot races, Leap To Fame’s leviathan owner Kevin Seymour confirmed a return to Addington was “the next big focus.”

“Yes, we’ve officially notified the club we will be back in November,” he said. “We just needed some time to assess everything. It’s a blow to have the prize money cut for the Cup and the free-for-all, but it’s still a good option.

“Our focus has now turned to ensuring the horse can get back to Brisbane as soon as possible after (NZ) Cup Week to prepare for the Blacks A Fake here (Albion Park on December 5).

“Just as we did last year, we will play it by ear as far as the (NZ) free-for-all goes. If he comes through the Cup well, it’s likely, as long as he can be on a flight home a few days later.”

Confirmation of the NZ trip means Leap To Fame will not chase the $250,000 Group 1 Victoria Cup at Melton on October 17.

“No, we’ve tried to win that a few times and haven’t, so we will try something different this time,” trainer-driver Grant Dixon said.

“There are lots of options, from doing all his lead-up racing here (Albion Park), having his last run in a free-for-all at Melton just before he flies to NZ, or even going to NZ a bit earlier and having a lead-up race there.

“I’d say going early is unlikely because it would mean so much extra time away from home.”

Dixon said Leap To Fame had come through his monstrous second to Captains Mistress in the Brisbane Inter Dominion final on July 18 in good fashion.

“He had a bit of a quiet time, but was feeling so good, it wasn’t long before we start to do some exercise with him,” he said.

“Now we’ve confirmed NZ, we’ll work backwards from there on timings.

“We’d want to get three or four runs into him because he’ll need plenty of fitness for a tough two mile (3200m) race like that.

“It means he’d be back racing late next month or very early in October.”

Dixon said Leap To Fame’s Inter Dominion run proved he was “racing at least as well as ever” despite being a rising eight-year-old and having been racing at the top level for over five years.

“We’re so proud of how he went in that race,” he said. “The run was massive. He just needed one or two less hurdles.

“The draw always looked tricky and in the end, it made it hard to get at her (Captains Mistress) early enough.

“The mare went great and it’s always going to be a headache when we race against her again because she’s got that (quick) gate speed that Larry doesn’t have.”

In the TAB market Leap To Fame is a $2.20 favourite for the NZ Trotting Cup ahead of Got The Chocolates ($3.20).