Newcastle Mile a ‘leap of faith’ for pacing champ

Queensland pacing sensation Leap To Fame (Bettor’s Delight) is chasing a rare feat – winning the Inter Dominion, Hunter Cup and Miracle Mile in the same preparation.

The impressive five-year-old, owned by harness racing ‘royalty’ Kevin and Kay Seymour, added the iconic $500,000 Group 1 Hunter Cup at Melton on Saturday night to his Inter Dominion crown in December and has eyes set on the Miracle Mile at Menangle on March 9.

To qualify for the $1million feature, Kevin Seymour confirmed that trainer-driver Grant Dixon plans to race the New South Wales-bred $2.1million earner in the $100,000 Newcastle Mile on Friday February 23 providing he pulls up well following Saturday night’s Cranbourne Cup.

“I’d prefer to go to Newcastle, which gives us two weeks between it and the Miracle Mile. It’s better than going to the qualifying sprints just a week before the (Miracle) Mile,” said Dixon.

Leap To Fame’s Hunter Cup win was his 32nd victory from just 42 starts, pushing his earnings to $2,103,957.

Newcastle Harness Racing Club General Manager, Kim Treweek is excited by the prospect of the popular pacer coming to town.

“The industry needs a superstar to capture the imagination of people and Leap to Fame has certainly done that,” he said.

“For him to potentially win the Newcastle Mile on his journey to the Miracle Mile is a real coup for our feature night.

“We’re confident the crowds will come out to support him in his quest to rewrite the history books.”

This coup adds to Newcastle’s popular Febfest Carnival and follows the recent announcement of the Club adding the Tommy Reay Sapling Memorial to the feature race calendar.

The $20,000 two-year-old feature will be held on March 1 following heats on February 19.

Tommy Reay was a trainer and driver in his early harness racing career but breeding was his major passion and was a prominent breeder in the Hunter Valley for over 60 years.

For further information contact:

Mr Kim Treweek – Newcastle Harness Racing Club General Manager

024956 1750 / 0429 210 872

From Newcastle HRC