Aussie champ returning for New Zealand Cup

It’s official … Leap To Fame (Bettor’s Delight) will return to NZ.

Owner Kevin Seymour said the $1m IRT New Zealand was a “major target” after he and wife, Kay, declined some “humbling” offers to retire the champion pacer to stud after July’s Brisbane Inter Dominion.

“He’s racing on, you can write that now,” Seymour said.

“The interest from studs has been there a while, but it went to another level after he ticked that extra box and won a big race in NZ, especially the way he did it.

“Larry” clocked his 50th career success with his powerhouse win in this month’s $1m The Race by betcha at Cambridge.

“It is humbling to have so much interest, but I left the final decision to Kay and it was a flat no when it came to retiring him this year,” says Seymour.

“So, he’ll race on for at least another year and that paves the way for us to take him back to NZ for the (NZ) Cup.

“As I’ve said before, winning a NZ Cup would be the pinnacle despite everything he’s already done.’

“It’s not just Kay and I who think so much of the race, either. Grant (Dixon) has talked about it a lot.”

The NZ Cup, a potential three “home” track Inter Dominion finals and the lure of all-time prize money records have driven the Seymours’ decision to race Leap To Fame on.

“As Kay said, we’ve spent over 50 years in the game waiting for a horse like him and we’re going to enjoy him on the track as long as he keeps racing at the amazing level he is,” Kevin Seymour said.

“If anything, he seems to still be getting better if you take a line through that Cambridge win.

“Even Grant said it was his greatest win yet and it’s hard to argue when you consider the work he did and how much he smashed the record by.

“We would love to retire as the greatest of all time and he’s well on the way to doing that, certainly on the prize money front.”

Leap To Fame has raced 63 times across five seasons for a remarkable 50 wins and $A4,009,660 in prize money.

Victory in his next main target, the $1m Brisbane Inter Dominion final at Albion Park on July 19, will see him overtake fellow Queenslander Blacks A Fake’s all-time Australasian record of $A4,575,438.

“And beyond that he’s got races like the Victoria and NZ Cups later this year and then all the big races again next year, now that he’s going on for at least another season,” Seymour said.

Leap To Fame is spelling at home with a view to a racing return in early June.

“The plan is to get two runs into him before the Inter Dominion heats start (July 5),” Grant Dixon said.

by Adam Hamilton, for Harness Racing New Zealand