Leap To Fame scintillating fresh up at Albion Park

By Adam Hamilton

Champion pacer Leap To Fame picked up just where he left off with a scintillating first-up win at Albion Park last night.

Racing for the first time since his Blacks A Fake win on July 27, Leap To Fame did all the work in the rain and still thrashed his rivals in scorching time.

The 1min51.2sec mile rate for 2138m was just 0.2sec outside his own track record.

Leap To Fame, who boasts 43 wins from 54 starts, will now head to Victoria to continue his preparation for November's IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup.

The five-year-old will tackle Saturday night’s $50,000 Smoken Up Sprint ahead of the $300,000 Group 1 Victoria Cup a week later.

The Victoria Cup will be the race of the year so far with his rivals including Swayzee, Catch A Wave, Better Eclipse, District Attorney, Major Moth and others.

Leap To Fame will be out to atone for a narrow defeat when third to Act Now and Catch A Wave in last year’s Victoria Cup.

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New Zealanders are in for a treat when unbeaten Aussie trotting filly Keayang Zahara heads to Christchurch in November.

The daughter of boom sire Volstead made it seven wins from as many starts when she blitzed her rivals to win a heat of the Need For Speed Princess series at Melton last night.

The win came just a day after Keayang Zahara was confirmed in the Ken Breckon and Richard Cole slot for the inaugural $500,000 THE ASCENT at Addington on November 15.

Keayang Zahara will chase her fifth feature race win in the $50,000 Need For Speed final at Melton next Saturday night.

Then comes the $75,000 Group 1 Victoria Trotters’ Oaks at Melton on Victoria Cup night (October 12).

Volstead had a huge night with his three-year-old gelding Derek The Jet also extending his unbeaten record in the colts and geldings equivalent.

Derek The Jet, trained and driven by Nathan Jack, made it eight wins from as many starts.

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It was another huge night for champion WA trainer Gary Hall Sr and his Kiwi imports.

The star of the show was Art Major colt Cyclone Jordy who toyed with his rivals to win the $150,000 Group 1 Golden Slipper, WA’s biggest juvenile race.

The race was basically over once Cyclone Jordy drew the pole and driver Gary Hall Jr made the most of it by leading throughout to win by 10.3m in a 1min57.3sec mile rate, dashing home in 55.9 and 27.8sec.

Cyclone Jordy, who won three of his five NZ runs, has looked terrific winning both WA runs for Hall Sr and looks a star in the making.

Just 30 minutes later, four-year-old Mister Smartee toyed with free-for-all company for the first time and looked every bit a genuine contender for the $450,000 Group 1 WA Pacing Cup on November 8.

Mister Smartee sat parked, but cruised home by 5.1m in a slick 1min54.9sec mile rate for 2130m.

The son of Always B Miki has won nine of 10 WA starts and Halll Sr thinks enough of him to target the WA Pacing Cup ahead of a string of major four-year-old races later in the year.

Hall Sr and Jr combined for four winners at the Gloucester Park meeting.

Hall Jr made it five wins for the night when he won aboard former Kiwi gelding Classic Choice for trainer Debbie Padberg.

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Kiwi-owned mare Virginia Clowers continued her rapid rise through the ranks with victory in the Group 3 Menangle Trotters Cup last night.

It was the Brent Lilley-trained four-year-old’s seventh win from her past 10 starts.

The Menangle free-for-all went to Jason Grimson’s speedy pacer Curly James in a 1min50.6sec mile.