Don Hugo keeps delivering for Licastro

DON Hugo’s owner Tony Licastro looks back on the TAB Eureka as the race that started his fairytale ride.

Since winning the world’s richest harness race at Menangle 15 months ago, Don Hugo has added an Inter Dominion, Miracle Mile and now Blacks A Fake to his amazing record.

And he’s beating the great Leap To Fame, who is another TAB Eureka graduate, in two of those major races.

“I’ll always look back on the Eureka fondly,” Licastro said. “I still remember sitting in Chin Chin restaurant in Melbourne when Don Hugo had just won a race at Wagga (March 26, last year) and saying I think we can win the Eureka.

“Just last week I had lunch with ‘Singo’ (John Singleton) and we talked about how the ‘Don’ raced in his slot to win it.

“It really was the springboard race for his career.

“I’ve been in the game 25 years and he’s the horse I’ve been waiting for.

“He’s given me so many great moments and hopefully there’s more to come.”

Licastro revealed it was the late great horseman Dennis Wilson who first raised his hopes around Don Hugo.

“I bought him as a yearling from the Melbourne sales and when Dennis was unloading him from the float when he got back to Sydney, I can still recall him saying ‘this is the horse you’ve been waiting for, Tony. He’ll win you some big races’,” he said.

Don Hugo beat Leap To Fame for the second time in their clashes in last Saturday night’s $250,000 Group 1 Blacks A Fake at Albion Park.

It took his record to 22 wins and 19 placings from just 57 starts with earnings of $2,522,974.

So, what’s next?

“That’s something Luke (McCarthy) and I are working through now,” Licastro said.

“I’m sponsoring the Menangle meeting on Saturday week, so he’ll run in the Ultra Air Cup that night.

“Then we’ve got some thinking to do about the remaining NSW Country Cups and a trip to the Hunter Cup.

“Luke’s keen on really targeting the Miracle Mile again and we’ll certainly look at one of the slot races too.”

by Adam Hamilton, for Harness Racing Australia