Fame beckons for Queenslander waiting in the wings

No neutral observer was watching the recent Chariots Of Fire and Miracle Mile with more interest than Grant Dixon.

The champion Queensland harness racing trainer-driver was at Menangle both nights and stood on the side of the track to size-up his looming opposition.

Dixon, of course, trains Queensland’s best pacer and one of the most exciting in the land, Leap To Fame (Bettor’s Delight).

By design, he and owner Kevin Seymour willingly bypassed the huge prize money and lure of the Chariots Of Fire and Miracle Mile to look longer term.

Leap To Fame is nominal favourite for the Group 1 Rising Sun during his home state Queensland Winter Carnival in July and co-favourite at this early stage for the world’s richest race, the $2.1 million TAB Eureka, at Menangle on September 2.

While we’ve seen plenty of his Eureka co-favourites Catch A Wave and Captain Ravishing in recent weeks, Leap To Fame hasn’t raced since winning the Group 1 NSW Breeders Challenge 3YO final at Menangle on October 29.

It capped a remarkable three-year-old season where he became the first pacer since Captain Joy back in 2009 to win the huge Queensland, NSW and Victoria Derby treble.

Leap To Fame’s won four Group 1 races in a career spanning just 23 starts for 17 wins, four seconds and a third.

“It’ll be good to have him back. As great as it would’ve been to be part of those big Sydney races, you can’t run in everything,” Dixon said.

“We made the decision late last year to give him this time off. He’d had a big three-year-old season and we knew how many great races there were for him through the middle and back half of this year.”

Those big races start with $350,000 Group 1 Rising Sun at Albion Park on July 8 and $400,000 Group 1 Blacks A Fake at the same track two weeks later.

“Those two are definite targets. I’m not sure if he’ll run in the Sunshine Sprint as well. It’s such a barrier draw dependent race and he’s probably at his absolute best in races over a bit further than a mile,” Dixon said.

Leap To Fame won’t have Catch A Wave and Captain Ravishing to deal with in Queensland with the connections of both now focusing purely on the TAB Eureka.

While Leap To Fame’s had his time out, his two main rivals get their break now.

Dixon confirmed Leap To Fame would trial at Albion Park tomorrow (Tuesday) and return to racing in coming weeks.

“It’s likely he’ll have this trial and another one before we pick out a race,” he said.

“He’ll have just the three runs this campaign, mainly the APG Gold Bullion (April 15), before another freshen-up and then it’s onto the big winter races.”

While most thought Captain Ravishing would be Leap To Fame’s biggest hurdle in the Eureka, Dixon wasn’t surprised to see Catch A Wave shine in recent weeks.

“He’s a horse I’ve always really liked. He’s probably just back to the sort of potential we thought he had before a couple of below par runs,” he said.

“It’s been a great training performance by Andy (Gath) to take him back home twice in between runs and get to his absolute top for those races.

“He was fantastic in both the Chariots and the Miracle Mile and he’s going to be a hard horse to beat.

“You know Captain Ravishing will bounce back as well.

“There’s going to be some great racing through the back half of the year and it’ll be exciting to be part of it.”

You know it’s a great four-year-old crop when you’ve got three outstanding stables in Dixon, Gath and the Emma Stewart/Clayton Tonkin team saying their horses are the best or potentially best they have ever trained.

You couldn’t have scripted a better first edition of the Eureka.

by Adam Hamilton for Harness Racing Victoria