Don Hugo winning the 2025 Blacks A Fake
STAR pacer Don Hugo has been as big a win for harness racing as he has been for his passionate owner Tony Licastro.
As he shapes up for a tilt at a second Inter Dominion crown in Brisbane next month, Licastro has peeled off a slice of the $2.7 million prize money Don Hugo has earned to buy a slot in the world’s richest pacing race, the $1.5mil TAB Eureka.
“I love the game. Some people might spend money Don Hugo has won on a boat or a sports car, I’ve put it back into the game,” Licastro said.
“Whether that’s buying new horses, I’m up to about 22 now, or taking slots in races like the Protostar (in Brisbane next month) and now the Eureka. I’m in it for the long haul.”
Licastro was one of five new heavy-hitting slot holders announced this week for the TAB Eureka, which will move to a new November 21 timeslot. The other newbies are: Go Racing (Mick Harvey), Levarg Racing Group (The Lee clan), Rampant Standardbreds (Glenn Holland) and Harnesslink.
The five original slot holders who have extended are: Cordina Racing, Kevin and Kay Seymour, Soho Standardbreds (Rob Watson), Team Zav (Danny and Jo Zavitsanos) and Western Jewel (Wayne Loader).
Licastro’s love for the race is driven by Don Hugo winning the second running in 2024. It started a glorious six months with the pacer going on to add the 2024 Sydney Inter Dominion and 2025 Miracle Mile, where he beat the great Leap To Fame for the first time.
“The past two years this horse has given me and my family has truly been a fairytale,” Licastro said.
Don Hugo is one of just three pacers to have beaten Leap To Fame twice or more, the second time coming in last December’s Group 1 Blacks A Fake at Albion Park. The others are Swayzee (three times) and Kingman (twice).
“It’s a privilege racing against Leap To Fame, who is the best horse I’ve seen in my 25 years in the game,” Licastro said. “Beating is something else and we’ll try and do it again next month.
“Hugo has his final lead up Saturday night at Menangle and it’s a race he really should win to show he’s where he needs to be for Brisbane.”
Licastro’s untapped two-year-old Don Hunter, winner of last Saturday night’s $100,000 Australian Gold final at Menangle, is also Brisbane-bound to run in Licastro’s slot in the $500,000 Group 1 Protostar on July 11.
“Luke loves this horse. He says he’s one of the best two-year-olds he’s trained,” Licastro said.
Leap To Fame, chasing a third Inter Dominion, will also cap his preparation when he clashes with key rival The Janitor in a small but select free-for-all at Albion Park tonight.
Latest markets have Leap To Fame $1.70 favourite for the $1 million Inter Dominion final on July 18. The Janitor is $5 and Don Hugo is $8.
The X-factor in the series is Jason Grimson’s champion four-year-old mare Captains Mistress.
She heads to the $300,000 Group 1 Rising Sun on July 4 where victory would get her a golden ticket into the Inter Dominion final.
Photo courtesy of Dan Costello
