Leap To Fame
LEAP To Fame resurrected his New Zealand raid with a dominant return to winning form at Melton last night.
Facing a third consecutive defeat for the first time in his stellar 73-start career, the champion pacer delighted trainer-driver Grant Dixon with a easy win over Bulletproof Boy, the veteran who upstaged him two starts back.
Leap To Fame worked across the field from the outside draw to take the lead from Bulletproof Boy and never looked in danger, cruising to a 9.4m win in a slick 1min52.6sec mile rate for 2240m, just 1.5sec outside the track record.
“I couldn’t be happier,” Dixon said. “He felt sharper and did it easily. He did what we needed him to do.
“If you take a line through Bulletproof Boy, who came from a couple of lengths off him and beat him two runs back, this time he sat on his back and we pulled away from him.
“I really got him up and running before the quarter (last 400m) so nothing could out-dash him. He did it well.”
Just as importantly, Leap To Fame came through the win well.
“That was the next step and he seems great this morning. He’s better this morning than he has been after those past couple of runs,” Dixon said.
“At this stage, it’s full steam ahead (for NZ).”
Leap To Fame’s scheduled flight from Melbourne to Christchurch, via Auckland, has been brought forward from November 5 to November 3.
Owner Kevin Seymour floated the possibility of racing the six-year-old again next Saturday night at Melton, but Dixon said that was unlikely.
“If the flight had been on the Wednesday (November 5), then we’d probably have done it, but now it’s Monday, we don’t like racing him so close to a flight,” he said.
Dixon also ruled out a trial for Leap To Fame in NZ before the iconic $NZ1 million NZ Cup at Addington on November 11.
“I know there’s the (NZ) Cup trial six days out from the race, but he’ll only get to Christchurch 24 hours before the trial and it’s too close to travelling to give him a hit out like that,” he said.
“He’s had a good foundation now. He’s fit and that’s the sort of run we needed from him to push ahead with the trip.
“It’s a great race and a tough race over two miles (3200m). He needed to show he’s right at his top for us to go.”
This will be Leap To Fame’s first crack at the NZ Cup, which his older half-brother, Swayzee, has won the past two years.
His only trip to NZ delivered a career-best win in the $NZ1mil Race by betcha at Cambridge on April 4.
Swayzee looks set to accompany Leap To Fame to the Cup, providing he pleases trainer Jason Grimson in a free-for-all at Menangle next Saturday night.
Emerging star Kingman could give Australia a third Cup runner if he handles a standing-start well for the first time in a trial at Menangle on Wednesday.
“That’s what it comes down to. He’s never raced or trialled from a stand. If he steps well, we’ll head across,” trainer-driver Luke McCarthy said.
PHOTO: Stuart McCormick
