Champion pacer Leap To Fame has achieved so much during his illustrious career, with records seemingly falling at his mercy.
For example, the Grant Dixon-trained son of Bettors Delight holds the mantle as the southern hemisphere’s richest standardbred, is the only triple Cranbourne Cup winner, has established 10 track records, and is the only pacer drawn wider than barrier six to win the Miracle Mile since its inception in 1967.
Now Leap To Fame is on target to collect the biggest bonus ever paid in Australian harness racing history thanks to his Kilmore Pacing Cup success on Saturday night.
In a phenomenal promotion, Harness Racing Victoria has offered the mouth-watering sum to the connections of any pacer which captures four of the six specified cups.
One of those wins has to be in this weekend’s A G Hunter Cup at Melton.
Leap To Fame’s latest triumph follows his wins in Ballarat and Cranbourne’s flagship events, meaning the stallion has satisfied the ‘country cups’ aspect of the challenge.
Tuesday’s barrier draw for the Grand Circuit event will be crucial to say the least.
Victory in the Hunter Cup will also see Leap To Fame equal the record for the most Group 1s by a pacer bred on this side of the equator.
As it stands, Westburn Grant and Lazarus sit at the top of the table with 16.
But that’s for this weekend; for now it is all about Leap To Fame’s performance in Kilmore.
Given time to settle into his stride from his second row draw, Leap To Fame was sent forward to take the lead from New Zealand raider Republican Party.
Striding clear during the latter stages, the stallion completed a three-metre win from Republican Party, with War Dan Buddy a metre away third.
“As always my initial feeling is relief that everything went right when he crosses the line,” Dixon said. “It was good to be able to back off a little during the middle and use his sprint home.
“He always gives a good feeling during the run and I was very happy as I hit the post as he wasn’t ready to stop and felt strong.
“The $1million bonus dream is still alive, which is amazing. It’s going to be super hard to do, but we’ll give it our best.”
Rating 1:55.2 over 2180 metres, Leap To Fame took his record to an imposing 64 wins and 16 placings from 82 starts for a bankroll of $5,254,859.
