IT was a bizarre and dramatic night of upsets where two of harness racing’s biggest stars were beaten by their older brothers.
Queensland sensation Leap To Fame and Miracle Mile winner Catch A Wave were both expected to continue on their winning way towards a first clash in the world’s richest harness race, the $2.1mil TAB Eureka at Menangle on September 2.
Instead, they both had to settle for second, but in different cities and vastly different circumstances.
There was an aura of disbelief at Melton when Catch A Wave led and dictated terms at his first run since winning the $1mil Miracle Mile on March 4, but was gunned down along the sprint lane late by his older half-brother, Yambukian.
A couple of hours later, Leap To Fame suffered his first defeat this year when a dramatic and brave second to Australia’s most improved pacer, Swayzee, in the $400,000 Group 1 Blacks A Fake at Albion Park.
Straight after the race, it was revealed Leap To Fame sulky sustained a flat tyre with 300m to run, which wrapped around the rim and effectively seized, becoming a brake over the final stages.
His effort to sit outside the winner in near track record time, dragged the wheel and still be beaten just 6.4 metres was beyond belief.
“Not much went right tonight,” owner Kevin Seymour said. “It’s disappointing, but it’s racing and we turn our focus to the TAB Eureka now.
“You’d love to win them all, but it’s racing and I don’t think the horse lost any admirers at all given what he did tonight.”
Leap To Fame will have a brief freshen-up before trainer-driver Grant Dixon gives him a run or two to prime him for the TAB Eureka. He remains a $2 prepost favourite.
Swayzee, an older half-brother to Leap To Fame, continued one of the sport’s most remarkable two years by a trainer with Jason Grimson’s influence in Australasia’s biggest open-class races.
It gave Grimson and his stable driver Cam Hart back-to-back Blacks A Fake wins after Majestic Cruiser last year.
Grimson has also won the past two Inter Dominion finals and countless other major races, all with recycled pacers from other stables.
Hart, who has now 11 Group 1 races, said Swayzee could be the best pacer he’s driven.
“He’s as good as any of them and still on the up. He’s just so strong and loves rolling along. I don’t think anything will beat him in these races when he finds the front,” he said.
Grimson confirmed the $NZ750,000 Group 1 New Zealand Cup at Addington in Christchurch on November 15 would be Swayzee’s next major target.
Back to Catch A Wave and trainer Andy Gath said he was “deflated but not panicking” after the best pacer he has trained was upstaged Yambukian.
“I expected him to win, but I might have overestimated how fit he was. He did star-gaze a bit, you can see at the top of the straight, but I think his fitness gave out, too. He pulled-up blowing quite hard, which surprised us.
“But that’s why you have lead-up runs. He’s been subpar before in lead-up races, but his record shows you can peak him when it matters.
“We’ve got time on our side for the Eureka. He’ll have at least one more lead-up race, maybe two. We’ll have him right when it matters.”
Another major TAB Eureka contender, three-year-old The Lost Storm, made it 10 wins from just 12 starts when he destroyed his rivals in last night’s Group 1 Queensland Derby at Albion Park.
- Adam Hamilton is a paid contributor writing on harness racing for News Corp.
