Freakish win from Leap To Fame

RACE caller Chris Barsby says Leap To Fame is the best pacer in the world and former top Canadian administrator Greg Gangle agrees.

Anyone at Albion Park last night or watching on TV would surely have joined the chorus as the four-year-old destroyed his rivals in the $350,000 Group 1 Rising Sun.

It was both the biggest win of his fledgling career and most stunning.
Sure, Leap To Fame was mesmerising winning the Patrons Purse at Redcliffe two starts back, but last night was a much bigger stage and against stronger opposition.

The “Freak from the Creek” as they are calling him absolutely thrashed them.

Even his notoriously reserved and modest trainer-driver Grant Dixon was struggling to keep a lid on things after the win.

“The most exciting and even surprising part was how easily he did it.
He still felt very strong on the line,” Dixon said.

“To cover the ground he did, run the times he did and still win so easily is very exciting.
“I’m just thrilled for Kevin and Kay (Seymour). They’ve put so much into the game for so long and got the horse they’ve been waiting for.”

Leap To Fame’s win was his 21st from just 27 starts. He’s run another four seconds, a third and a fourth.

Dixon and the Seymours surprised many by bypassing the big Chariots Of Fire and Miracle Mile at the start of the year with Leap To Fame.

“We had a plan to give him a big break after he won those three Derbys last year and focus on a huge back half of this year … it’s looking good so far,” Kevin Seymour said.

The only immediate thinking Dixon and the Seymours have is whether to back-up in next week’s $200,000 Group 1 Sunshine Sprint at Albion Park or wait and go to the $400,000 Group 1 Blacks A Fake a week later.

“We’ll see how he pulls up, chat with Kevin and Kay and make that call,” Dixon said.

Leap To Fame’s domination last night saw his odds slashed from $3.20 to $2.20 for the world’s richest harness race, the $2.1mil TAB Eureka at Menangle on September 2.

That’s remarkably short when you consider his rivals will include Miracle Mile winner Catch A Wave, the brilliant Captain Ravishing and Australia’s best three-year-old The Lost Storm.

“It’s worth so much money, it’s been our biggest aim this campaign,” Seymour said. “But winning big races here, in our backyard, is special. We are proud Queenslanders.”

Beyond the TAB Eureka, Leap To Fame has an Inter Dominion carnival in his own backyard at Albion Park in December.

Leading the charge of Leap To Fame fans is former top Canadian administrator and now Victorian-based Greg Gangle, who has seen many of the world’s greatest pacers in the flesh.

“Leap To Fame is the best horse in the world,” he boomed. “That was simply unbelievable.

“There are certain horses that give you the ‘wow’ factor. It’s been a long time since I’ve seen it … since the days of ‘Beach’ (Somebeachsomewhere).”

*Adam Hamilton is a paid contributor writing on harness racing for News Corp.
PHOTOS: Courtesy of Dan Costello