Republican Party and Tact McLeod get great draws for Hunter Cup
By Adam Hamilton
The Hunter Cup has been thrown wide open by a horror draw for defending champion Leap To Fame.
The champion Queenslander drew the worst possible alley – inside the back row (gate eight) – in the 2760m feature at Melton in Victoria on Saturday night.
In contrast, Kiwi pair Republican Party (gate one) and Tact McLeod (two) were the biggest winners from the draw.
The other Kiwi, Team Purdon’s Don't Stop Dreaming, who ran a terrific second to Leap To Fame in last year’s Hunter Cup, fared poorly outside the front row in gate seven. He will move down to six if emergency Hector (three) doesn’t gain a start.
Dual NZ Cup winner Swayzee is the other major player, but he also drew out the back (gate 11).
The draw saw Leap To Fame’s odds drift from $1.40 to $2.20, while Swayzee is at $4.20, Tact McLeod at $6.50 and Republican Party ($7).
The other to benefit from the draw was last month’s Inter Dominion winner Don Hugo (gate four, $5).
Leap To Fame’s trainer-driver Grant Dixon conceded the draw made his task a lot harder.
“Add the draw to Swayzee’s presence and some smart Kiwis and the race has got very hard all of sudden,” trainer-driver Grant Dixon admitted.
“It’s certainly not the draw I wanted. It’s a bit awkward, but at least it’s a staying race (2760m) and not a sprint.
“It’s added a lot of intrigue and made for a really exciting race because it looks hard on paper for us for sure.”
Dixon will now ponder tactics for the next few days. If he opts to push through behind pole-marker Republican Party he could be stuck on the inside without racing room.
“But snagging right out of the bag to avoid the traffic makes life hard, too. You just settle so far off the leaders,” he said.
Dixon rates Leap To Fame’s older half-brother, Swayzee, as the hardest to beat, but has huge respect for the Kiwis raiders, especially Republican Party.
Swayzee famously upset Leap To Fame in the 2023 Group 1 Blacks A Fake in Brisbane, but Leap To Fame has emphatically won their three clashes since.
“He’s a great stayer, Swayzee, and although he’s drawn out the back, it’s a better draw than we have. He’s always the hardest to beat,” he said.
“But there’s a lot of depth to this race. There’s horses coming through the ranks.
“The Kiwis are nice horses. I really liked Republican Party’s run last week (third to Leap To Fame). I’m not sure many horses could’ve done the work he did and still hang on for third and he’s got a great draw (gate one).”
On the upside, Dixon is thrilled with Leap To Fame’s preparation, which was capped by a Melton win last Saturday.
“I’m really pleased we decided to give him that extra run last week,” he said. “It’s definitely brought him on again. I couldn’t be happier with where he’s at, but we’re going to need a pinch or luck or more now from the draw.”
Saturday night’s card also boasts the unique Great Southern Star for trotters, which consists of two heats early in the night into a final two hours later.
The lone Kiwi raider, rejuvenated star Oscar Bonavena, drew barrier five in by far the stronger of the two heats. He is a $3.70 chance behind likely leader The Locomotive ($1.50), who drew ideally in gate one. Arcee Phoenix (gate three, $4.80) is the other key player.
Keayang Chucky, who ran second to The Locomotive in the Inter Dominion, is a commanding $1.55 favourite in heat two despite barrier 10.
Classy Kiwi-owned mare Queen Elida is a $5 chance from gate six in hear two.
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