Leap To Fame winning the 2025 Inter Dominion
CHAMPION pacer Leap To Fame is set to race on and chase a third Inter Dominion crown at Albion Park next year.
Despite the huge interest and immense value of Leap To Fame in the breeding barn, his passionate owners Kevin and Kay Seymour have vowed to continue racing the six-year-old for at least another year.
“He’s a real people’s horse. Wherever we travel him, the love and appreciation for him is so wonderful,” Kevin Seymour said.
“We love sharing him with the people, that’s why we’ve taken him to so many different places and even regional tracks like Cranbourne, Newcastle and Redcliffe.
“As long as Grant (Dixon, trainer-driver) is happy with him, we’ll go at least another year and take him to some new places, too.”
Top of the new places is the home of Australasia’s most iconic harness race and the biggest race of any code in NZ, the NZ Cup, at Addington in Christchurch on November 11.
Leap To Fame will try to become just the third Aussie pacer to win the famed staying race since My Lightning Blue in 1987. The others have been Arden Rooney (2015) and Swayzee in the past two years.
“He’s been to NZ and won up north in the big race in Cambridge (Race by Betcha), but the south island is the spiritual home of harness racing in NZ, probably in Australasia to be honest,” Seymour said.
“He’ll have a bit of a break now and then we’ll map out the plans for NZ.
“We will skip the Victoria Cup this year (October 12) and likely take him to NZ for a lead-up race over there.
“There is a real passion for harness racing in NZ and they loved him going to Cambridge so much and it’ll only be bigger down south.”
Beyond that, another tilt at races like the Hunter Cup, Miracle Mile and a third Inter Dominion crown await Leap To Fame.
Only Blacks A Fake (four wins) and Our Sir Vancelot (three) have been able to win the final three or more times.
Seymour said his wife, Kay, had a strong say in the decision to put any breeding plans on hold.
“Absolutely. Kay wouldn’t let me retire him,” he said. “We’ve been in the game more than 50 years and this is the horse we’ve dreamed of getting.
“After so many good horses, we’ve finally found our champion and, at our age, it’s very special.
“To share it with great people like Grant and Trista (Dixon) makes it even more special. You cannot underestimate the huge role they’ve played in making this horse what he’s become.”
Leap To Fame’s runaway Inter Dominion final win last Saturday night – his 56th win from just 69 starts - made him the richest all-time Australasian harness horse with $4,630,884. He overtook another great Queenslander, Black A Fake’s ($4,575,438).
PHOTO: Leap To Fame winning - Dan Costello
