AUSTRALIA’S top drivers are divided on this epic Ladbrokes Inter Dominion final clash between defending champion Leap To Fame and wonder mare Captains Mistress.
Little separates the pair in betting after the barrier draw, which firmly favours Captains Mistress from the front row (gate six) compared to Leap To Fame’s wide back row draw (gate 11).
Australia’s all-time most successful driver and dual Inter Dominion pacing final winner Chris Alford is the strongest in Leap To Fame’s corner.
“He’ll just sit outside her and be too strong,” he said. “As long as the lead time is fast, it’s basically race over. She (Captains Mistress) won’t be able to just amble to the front like other weeks. Then Leap To Fame will be straight around outside, pouring the pressure on.
“I know she’s been running great times, but to me it’s not what time you run, it’s who you run it against.”
Premiership winning Victorian driver Kate Gath is with Captains Mistress.
“It’s the first time in my life I’ve gone against Leap To Fame and a I feel bad doing it, but this mare is flying. She’s just so fast and now has a much better draw.
“So much will come down to Cam Hart’s drive. He can’t afford to over-drive her trying to beat Leap To Fame, then others will come into play.”
Top WA driver Deni Roberts, who ran second on Minstrel in the 2024 final, also sides slightly with Captains Mistress.
“If he (Leap To Fame) is ever going to get beaten in an Inter Dominion, this is the time,” she said. “She’ll find the front and if she gets one quiet quarter, she’ll just be too fast in the run home.
“What a race it will be though. These are the races the sport needs. Everyone will be watching, especially with the following Leap To Fame has.”
WA Hall of Famer Gary Hall Jr, who won three successive Inter Dominion finals with the brilliant Im Themightyquinn (2011, ’12 and ’13) expects a thrilling clash, but leans to Leap To Fame.
“It’s a tough one, but I come back to the longer 2680m distance and how much that suits Leap To Fame. There could be an upset if they go too hard at each other,” he said.
Champion NSW driver Luke McCarthy, who won the 2024 final on Don Hugo and has beaten Leap To Fame twice with that pacer, is still firmly in Leap To Fame’s corner.
“I’d certainly want to drive him. The step-up from 2138m to 2680m for the final means Leap To Fame can make it a real war and that’s when he’s at his best,” he said.
Trailblazing Victorian reinswoman Kerryn Manning and NSW whiz kid Jett Turnbull are also Team Leap To Fame.
“I’m just in awe of how dominant Larry (Leap To Fame) has been in some of recent wins. He’s at his home track and right in the zone,” Manning said.
Turnbull said: “It’s a huge race and hard to call, but I just keep coming back to Leap To Fame. Let’s not forget it’s a tough seven-year-old stallion against a four-year-old mare.”
Another NSW young gun Will Rixon, who drives $71 warhorse Max Delight in the final, is sitting on the fence.
“I’ve said all along Leap To Fame, but the way the mare won the Rising Sun and now she’s drawn so well, it’s hard to split them.”
Tasmanian pair Barrie Rattray, who part-owns finalist Nyack, and Rohan Hillier, who trains and drives $101 outsider Triedtotellya, both lean to Captains Mistress.
“Oh, she can beat him all right. I’m not saying she will, but she’s flying and the draw is a big advantage,” Rattray said.
Hillier added: “Yeah, I think she can (beat him). Speed-wise I think she’s got him.”
All that just underlines what a tantalizing clash we’re in for.
Bring it on.
PHOTO: Club Menangle/Pacepix
