Leap towards Derby treble

A burning desire to win Australia’s three major Derbys is set to see Queensland harness racing star Leap To Fame (Bettor’s Delight) raid Victoria in coming months.

Leviathan owner Kevin Seymour and trainer-driver Grant Dixon are yet to finalise plans, but Seymour gave the strongest indication yet that Victorians will get to see Leap To Fame in the flesh very soon.

Although Dixon is wary of “going to the well” too many times with Leap To Fame as a three-year-old, Seymour revealed a burning desire to complete the NSW/Queensland/Victoria Derby treble.

“That’s my ambition,” he said. “There aren’t many things I haven’t done in harness racing, but that’s one of them and I think we’ve got a horse who can do it.

“Grant and I have to go through all the options because we’ve got the NSW Breeders Challenge and early next year to take into account as well, but I think the (October 8) Victoria Derby and Breeders Crown are the way to go.”

Leap To Fame is trying to become the first pacer since the pint-sized and then unstoppable Captain Joy won Australia’s three biggest Derbys back in 2009.

If Leap To Fame could complete the treble, it would also revive memories of the glorious pillage Courage Under Fire went on in 1999 when he not only won the Victoria, NSW, Queensland and (now defunct) Australian Derbys in Australia, but also the NZ and Great Northern Derbys back in his homeland.

More recently, Line Up won the Victoria and NSW Derbys in 2020, but missed the Queensland Derby with injury.

In 2010, For A Reason won the NSW and Queensland Derbys before finishing eighth in the Victoria Derby.

Leap To Fame is one of harness racing’s hottest properties with Seymour and his wife Kay turning down offers reported to be over $1 million for the pacer before he won last Saturday week’s Queensland Derby in powerhouse fashion.

Beyond his now probable Victorian raid through late September/October, Leap To Fame has a plethora of feature races at his hooves next season.

“He could race for $3 million in stakes over the next 12 months,” Seymour said.

“The tricky part of going to the Derby and Breeders Crown in Victoria is how much of a break we can get into him before the Chariots Of Fire (qualifiers) early next year.

“Then, when you look at the recent great record of four-year-olds in the Miracle Mile, that’s a race we would target, too. I would love to win a Miracle Mile.”

Beyond that, Leap To Fame has huge races like the Blacks A Fake, Rising Sun and Sunshine Sprint in his own backyard next winter.

Then, of course, he is the prepost favourite for the world’s richest race, the inaugural $2.1 million Eureka at Menangle next September.

It’s hard to run in everything, but it’s great to have options.

Dixon is a wonderful trainer and great at placings his horses.

Seymour is a giant in a game and still has some scratches he wants to itch as an owner.

Their planning “chats” behind closed doors promise to be fascinating.

But if we’re to take Seymour on face value and he is a man of his word, you can pretty much lock-in Leap To Fame being in Victoria later this year.

And that sets the scene for something special if Victoria’s own Catch A Wave picks up where he left off.

Even more tantalising is the growing likelihood NZ’s champion three-year-old Akuta could also be at the Breeders Crown.

All three are special.

But, of course, there can only be one winner.

by Adam Hamilton, for HRV