CHAMPION pacer Leap To Fame is loving being back home and that spells trouble for his rivals in Saturday night’s $250,000 Group 1 Blacks A Fake at Albion Park.
Three defeats in his past five starts – all away from home – have raised queries on where Leap To Fame is at, but trainer-driver Grant Dixon said all the signs were great at home after seven weeks travelling to Victoria and then Christchurch.
“He’s enjoying back after so long away as much as I am,” he said. “He’s doing all the things we look for at his top, eating well and bouncing around his yard.
“It’s the longest he’s ever been away from home and I’ve got no doubt he loves it here more than anywhere else.”
That shines through in Leap To Fame’s form, too. The rising seven-year-old hasn’t been beaten at Albion Park for more than two years.
He boasts 23 successive wins at Albion Park since a luckless fourth in the Be Good Johnny Sprint way back on November 4, 2023.
Despite that, punters have unloaded on the Luke McCarthy-trained Don Hugo to beat Leap To Fame for the second time in the Blacks A Fake. He upset the champ in the Miracle Mile at Menangle on March 8.
Don Hugo, who is drawn to find the lead from gate four, has firmed from $3.20 into $2.40, while Leap To Fame (gate 10, back row) has eased from $1.50 to $2.
Most expect Don Hugo to run to the lead, the role he had when he beat Leap To Fame in the Miracle Mile.
The difference in the Blacks A Fake is the much longer 2680m trip, which plays to Leap To Fame’s staying prowess.
In nine Albion Park starts at 2600m or beyond, Leap To Fame has eight and carried a flat tyre when second to Swayzee in the epic 2023 Group 1 Blacks A Fake in the other.
The usually reserved Dixon said he believed Leap To Fame could sit outside and beat Don Hugo this week.
“If that’s how it plays out, I think he can do it. The distance really suits him,” he said.
“It won’t be easy from the draw, especially if Don Hugo leads as most expect, but it’s great having a big race back here at home.
“The Janitor is the other one I really respect. He’s been racing well and stepping up each time. His run was fantastic in the Sunshine Sprint last week.
“He’s drawn the back row (gate 12) with me and I hope I can settle in front of him and get the chance to make the first move.”
Dixon admitted Leap To Fame’s Blacks A Fake performance would go a long way to shaping his racing plans for early next year.
“Obviously the big races in Victoria are an option and they’ve got that ($1 million) bonus, but he’s had a busy time and we’ve put talks about next on hold until we get through this race,” he said.
There is a growing expectation Leap To Fame could be retired to stand at stud after he chases a third Inter Dominion crown in his own backyard at Albion Park in July.
PHOTO: Stuart McCormick
