TRAINER-DRIVER Grant Dixon isn’t fazed by racing Leap To Fame at Melton just hours after he arrives in Melbourne.
The champion pacer, who boasts 45 wins from 56 starts, is being flown down from Brisbane and doesn’t arrive in Victoria until early Friday morning.
In a change of heart, Leap To Fame will tackle Saturday night’s Casey Classic (2240m) at Melton to prime him for a title defence in the Group 1 Hunter Cup a week later at the same track.
“He’s a really experienced traveller and I can’t see it bothering him,” Dixon said. “We always wanted to get down well before the Hunter Cup, but that was more about some insurance in case this first flight was cancelled, which can happen.”
Dixon was so impressed with Leap To Fame’s first-up win at Albion Park last Saturday night, he initially said the six-year-old would go straight to the Hunter Cup.
“Then Trista, (Dixon, wife) and I had a chat the next day and just felt another run, especially down on the Melton track where the surface is a bit different to Albion Park, would be best for him,” he said.
“As sharp as he was last week, it was his first run for almost three months and he’s going into a tough staying race (2760m).
“You might not do it with a lot of horses, but one of greatest strengths is how he thrives on racing and bounces out of his races, ready to go again.
“If I think back to that Brisbane Inter Dominion with him, he had four runs in two weeks and came through the final raring to race again the next week.”
Leap To Fame has drawn ideally in gate three in the Casey Classic and dominates betting at $1.15 despite facing quality rivals in Republican Party (gate 11, $8.50), Catch A Wave (five, $10) and Tact McLeod (six, $15).
“It’s great to get a good draw, but it’s still a strong race and I know we’ll have to earn it,” Dixon said.
“Anthony Butt’s an aggressive driver and he’ll probably have a crack for the lead early on Tact McLeod, while we’ve seen how good Catch A Wave and Republican Party are at their best.”
Leap To Fame hasn’t raced at Melton since winning last year’s Hunter Cup.
He came to Melbourne last October for the Victoria Cup, but was scratched with a throat infection, which also ruled him out of the NZ Cup and NSW Inter Dominion series.
“Judging by how well he went last week and the way he’s come through it, that’s all behind us now, hopefully,” Dixon said.
Leap To Fame is a $1.50 prepost for the Hunter Cup. He’s then expected to back-up in the $100,000 Cranbourne Cup on February 8 before heading to NSW to chase a second successive Miracle Mile win in March.
