AUSTRALIAN pacing’s biggest guns Leap To Fame and Swayzee cap their preparations tomorrow (Saturday) night for another stoush.
The pair are not just arch-rivals, but also siblings. Leap To Fame holds a 4-2 advantage from their six clashes.
Round seven is just 15 days away in the $250,000 Group 1 Victoria Cup at Melton.
The last time the superstar pair clashed at Melton, Swayzee upstaged Leap To Fame to win the Group 1 Hunter Cup on February 1.
Since then, Leap To Fame has made a clean sweep of another Brisbane Inter Dominion series and become the all-time richest pacer in Australasia.
The six-year-old will be chasing his 23rd successive Albion Park win when he returns from a spell in a 2138m free-for-all at Brisbane’s home of harness racing tomorrow (Saturday) night.
“He seems as good as ever,” trainer-driver Grant Dixon said. “He didn’t have long out after the Inter Dominion and this run should top him off nicely for Victoria.”
Leap To Fame should be untroubled to beat his five rivals in what will be his only lead-up race before heading south for the Victoria Cup, which is the one traditional Aussie major race to have so far escaped the champion.
He finished a close third in 2023 and was then scratched just days before last year’s Cup when a raging hot favourite.
It opened the door for Swayzee to win in dominant fashion.
Swayzee’s busy end to 2024 and hectic start to 2025 saw him miss the Brisbane Inter Dominion and have a long spell.
The seven-year-old’s only start since April was a slightly disappointing sixth as favourite in the unsuitably short Group 1 Len Smith Mile on September 6.
Swayzee stretches to 2300m at Menangle tomorrow (Saturday) night and is a $1.15 favourite to regain winning form.
In-form driver Cam Hart, who has dominated Menangle in recent weeks, will take the reins on Swayzee.
Hart will also stick with the mighty stayer in the Victoria Cup, which means connections will have to find a new driver for last month’s TAB Eureka winner Bay Of Biscay for the Cup.
The Victoria Cup will be the first of at least two clashes between Swayzee and Leap To Fame in coming weeks with Aussie’s glamour pair also headed to the iconic $NZ1 million NZ Cup at Addington in Christchurch on November 11.
Swayzee has already created history in the race as the only Australian-trained pacer to win it twice, in the past two years.
But Leap To Fame is a $1.70 favourite in early NZ markets ahead of Swayzee at $4.50.
