Leap To Fame after winning the 2025 Christmas Cup
CHAMPION pacer Leap To Fame became the first Australasian pacer to top $5 million in prize money with his Albion Park win last night and owner Kevin Seymour insists there is plenty more to come.
Seymour scoffed at talk of retirement for one of the greatest pacers of all time, who boasts 60 wins from just 77 starts, but turns seven at the end of the month.
“I’ve read and heard this talk about retirement, but it’s not something Grant (Dixon, trainer-driver) and I have even talked about,” Seymour said.
“There’s another Inter Dominion here (Albion Park) in July and that’s a definite target. That’s as far ahead as we’ve looked.”
Seymour said Leap To Fame’s races would be more strategically planned and see a different start to 2026 than most expected.
It’s all about minimising his travel after a hectic finish to this year, which saw him spend almost two weeks away from home between Victoria and NZ.
So, Leap To Fame will not chase a potential $1 million bonus in Victoria through January and February.
To win the bonus, a pacer must win four of six Victoria “Cups” races between January 10 and February 14, including the $250,000 Group 1 Hunter Cup.
“Grant’s just not keen to take him away from home for that long again,” Seymour said.
“We’ll go to Victoria, but be more selective. The plan at this stage is to chase a third successive win in the (Group 1) Cranbourne Cup (January 31) and run in the Hunter Cup (February 14), too.
“If he goes for those two races, he can be down and back (from Queensland) inside three weeks, not the two months he’d need to stay to chase the bonus.”
Seymour’s news will excite the connections of Kingman, who won’t have to contend with Leap To Fame, at least in the early legs of the Victorian series.
Beyond Victoria, Seymour said chasing a second Miracle Mile win in March and another trip to Cambridge in New Zealand in April were on the cards.
“Cambridge is a lock. We’ve got our own slot in that race ($NZ1 million Race by betcha). He thrived over there earlier this year and won the race so well,” he said.
“It’s also easy to get in and out of Auckland really quickly, so he won’t need as long away from home.
“If he comes through Victoria well, it makes sense to go to the Miracle Mile because the timing sits well before Cambridge.”
Despite four defeats in his past seven starts, Leap To Fame still has a monstrous 2025 with 22 starts netting 16 wins, five seconds, a third and earnings of $1,758,424.
It is the third successive season Leap To Fame has topped $1 million in earnings and claimed his third Grand Circuit champion title, but the challengers are coming stronger than ever.
Four defeats to Luke McCarthy-trained stars Kingman and Don Hugo (two each), the return of Swayzee, emergence of Captains Knock and Republican Party and potential of The Janitor set the scene for some epic major races in 2026.
PHOTO: Dan Costello
