A CHORUS of Down Under legends has anointed Leap To Fame equal of the greats of all time after another record-breaking Inter Dominion win at Albion Park last night.
Inter Dominion “King” Brian Hancock, Hall of Famers Brian Gath, Mark Purdon, Anthony Butt, Gary Hall Sr and current star and key rival Luke McCarthy headlined the greats in awe of Grant Dixon’s six-year-old.
Leap To Fame’s 56th win from just 69 starts made him the richest all-time Down Under harness horse with $A4,630,884 – surpassing Black A Fake’s $A4,575,438.
Gath, who has driven a long list of superstars and won the Inter Dominion pacing final on Markovina, said Leap To Fame’s manners and versatility put him on a pedestal.
“He’s better than most of the greats because he’s everything, except brilliant gate speed,” he said. “I’d have to say he’s as good as we’ve seen. He reminds me of Cardigan Bay, all-round superstar … manners, speed and strength.
“The amazing thing is he’s six but still seems to be getting better. He’s better now than he was last year. The way he’s going and with how well he’s been looked after, he could dominate for another two years yet.”
Butt, winner of four Inter Dominion finals, declared: “He’s the top of the list for me now. It was always Blacks A Fake and Lazarus from a NZ viewpoint, but he’s passed them both now. He’s just so strong and does it all so easily.”
McCarthy said: “He’s not just the greatest stayer we’ve seen, he’s the best horse full stop.”
Hancock won five Inter Dominion titles, including three in succession with Our Sir Vancelot (1997, ’98 and ’99).
“Although it’s hard to compare horses from different eras, Leap To Fame has got it all. He’s special. You can see all the best traits of the Bettors Delight’s come through and Grant (Dixon) has done such a wonderful job with him,” he said.
Hall Sr, who trained the brilliant Im Themightyquinn to win three successive Inter Dominion finals, declared: “He’s the best. Simple, the best I’ve seen.”
Perhaps the most humbling of all recognition came from Purdon, who holds the record with seven Inter Dominion wins and has been involved with many of NZ’s greatest pacers, most notably Lazarus.
“I’ve been lucky with the stars I’ve had and Lazarus is the benchmark, but Leap To Fame is the best I’ve seen. He is just so dominant and doesn’t seem to get tired,” he said.
The six-year-old became only the eight horse to win multiple Inter Dominion finals, following his success in the 2023 Brisbane final. He missed last year’s Sydney final due to illness.
Despite being a stallion with huge breeding potential, owners Kevin and Kay Seymour will likely race him on to chase a third crown back at Albion Park next July.
Leap To Fame already now clearly has the longevity of greatness to match his astonishing strength and talent.
Although he didn’t win a feature race at two, he raced 11 times for eight wins, two seconds and a fourth.
It was as an early three-year-old, when he romped home in the Group 1 NSW Derby at Menangle March 5, 2022 that first signalled his greatness.
That win moved the media shy and ultra conservative trainer-driver Grant Dixon to say Leap To Fame was already the best he had trained.
Then came two more Derby wins in Queensland and Victoria, then, at four, Leap To Fame followed huge placings in the TAB Eureka, Blacks A Fake and Victoria Cup with his first Inter Dominion title at Albion Park on December 16, 2023.
At five he won a Hunter Cup, Miracle Mile, Blacks A Fake and Sunshine Sprint before he got sick and missed the Victoria and NZ Cups and the Sydney Inter Dominion>
There were some doubters early this year when he was beaten into second spot in the Hunter Cup and Miracle Mile, but he silenced them as champions do. First by producing the best performance of his career so far at his first race in New Zealand in the Race by Betcha at Cambridge in April, then his clean sweep of this Inter Dominion series.
What’s next?
Another trip to NZ, this time for the country’s most iconic race of any code – the famed NZ Trotting Cup (actually for pacers) at Addington in Christchurch on November 11.
“He’ll have a break now. We’re going to skip the Victoria Cup this year and focus everything on NZ,” Kevin Seymour said.
“It’s amazing the difference going to NZ and winning that Cambridge race has done for Grant (Dixon’s) mindset. He’s gone from trepidation to asking me all the time when we’re locking in NZ Cup plans.
“It’s because the horse not only raced so well over there, but he thrived during the trip and when he got back home.
“There’s also a great love and passion for harness racing and its stars in NZ, even bigger than in Australia.
“There’s no parochialism or frustration if an Aussie is winning their big races, rather than just enjoy a great horse for what he is and they appreciate us taking him over so they can see him race in the flesh.”
For all of the great moments Leap To Fame has delivered so far, Dixon says an NZ Cup win would rival any of them.
“There’s just something really special about it. It’s like the Melbourne Cup to them (New Zealanders),” he said. “It’s one of the great races, one of the great race days.
“It would mean even more after we were just days from taking him over last year when he got sick and we had to pull the pin.”
Leap To Fame will likely return home to finish the year back at Albion Park for the Group 1 Sunshine Sprint on November 29 and the Group 1 Blacks A Fake on December 6.
COURTESY OF HARNESS RACING UPDATE
