Rising star Kingman takes Victoria Cup leaving questions surrounding Leap To Fame
by Adam Hamilton
It was a race that posed more questions than it answered for the great Leap To Fame.
And the biggest question is whether his long-awaited first crack at next month’s iconic $1 million New Zealand Cup will actually go ahead.
Leap To Fame was far from disgraced in third spot in last night’s $250,000 Group 1 Victoria Cup at Melton.
It was the first time in two years the champion pacer has been beaten twice in a row.
Of most concern was trainer/driver Grant Dixon’s immediate take after the race.
“That’s two runs down here he hasn’t quite been at his best,” Dixon said. “He seems OK, but his heart rate is higher than normal.”
Leap To Fame was $1.60 (for a $1 bet) to win the New Zealand Cup before last night, but Dixon said a decision on whether the 6-year-old makes the trip would be made in the next few days.
The defeat added to the “hoodoo” of the Victoria Cup for Leap To Fame.
It’s his third attempt to win the race. He was a beaten favorite when third in 2023, scratched just days before last year’s Cup with a throat infection, and was third again last night.
Wherever Leap To Fame goes, he is the headline, but the emerging Kingman dethroned him last night.
Master trainer/driver Luke McCarthy described it as one of his most rewarding wins with the recent stable acquisition.
“It’s like when we got King Of Swing from Gary Hall, Sr. [he became a champion], getting Kingman from great trainers like Emma [Stewart] and Clayton [Tonkin] and having him do this is very satisfying,” McCarthy said. “I drove him for them a few times and you could tell he was a good horse. I was thrilled when Mick [Harvey, owner/breeder] asked if I’d train him a few months back.
“He’s good, really good and should still be getting better. I thought I had him ready to run a mighty race here.”
Kingman won four of his first six races for McCarthy, but this was his defining moment.
But it almost fell to pieces halfway through the race when Kingman galloped for a few strides.
“It was heart in your mouth stuff for sure, but luckily he got down quickly and didn’t lose too much ground,” McCarthy said.
Kingman settled in behind Leap To Fame in the middle stages and then swooped rounding the final bend.
He brushed past a struggling Leap To Fame and gunned down the leader Hi Manameisjeff to win by 1.8 meters in a sizzling 1:52.2 mile rate for 2,240 meters.
Harvey, who has been a part-owner in stars King Of Swing and Hectorjayjay, said this win was his most satisfying yet.
“He’s the first horse I’ve bred… my first born, if you like,” Harvey said. “He’s a really special horse to me. I’ve always had a huge opinion of him. He’s a superstar in the making.”
McCarthy said Kingman would now target the Group 1 Blacks A Fake at Albion Park in December, which allows him to keep his other open-class star, Don Hugo, on a different path.
“Kingman will go to Queensland and then focus on the big bonus series of races, including the Hunter Cup, back here in Victoria early next year,” he said. “Don Hugo will go to the NSW Carnival of Cups, starting with the Wagga race [Nov. 14].”
Runner-up Hi Manameisjeff, who has overcome a string of major injuries, earned a trip to New Zealand for the $200,000 Group 1 New Zealand free-for-all [Nov. 14] with last night’s big showing.
He’s set to travel with stablemate, champion stayer Swayzee, who is chasing a record-equaling third successive win in the New Zealand Cup.
KEAYANG ZAHARA SCORCHES TRACK AT MELTON
The future looks limitless for untapped young trotting mare Keayang Zahara.
The 4-year-old made it 17 wins from just 18 starts when she scorched the fastest last 800 meters ever run by a trotter at Melton last night.
Keayang Zahara worked to the front and beat much-improved stablemate Jilliby Ballerini by 2.2 meters. They beat the rest of the field by a staggering 25 meters.
Keayang Zahara’s last half was a staggering 54.8 seconds with the closing quarter in :26.4.
“Just for a split second halfway down the straight I thought ‘Ballerini’ might run her down, but she lifted and did it well,” co-trainer Paddy Lee said. “It shows how good ‘Zahara’ has come back and how much Ballerini has come on this season.”
The pair just look a class above Australia’s trotters.
One of them will go to chase a string of major races in New Zealand next month, but Lee said it is yet to be decided which one.
“It was always going to be Ballerini, but the way Zahara has come back we’ve got some thinking to do,” he said. “I’d still say Ballerini is favorite because she’s had a longer and better preparation and a recent standing-start [race], too.
“We’ll have to decide in the next week or so.”
The first two major targets are the $400,000 Group 1 Dominion at Addington on Nov. 11 and the $200,000 New Zealand Trotting free-for-all three days later at the same track.
“There’s a big mares’ race after those two races, too,” Lee said. “It’s a good problem to have, they’re both outstanding mares.”
Lee said he and his co-trainer, his mother Marg, also had to factor in a new $500,000 bonus across a string of major trotting races in Victoria early next year.
“It’s tempting to keep Zahara home and really focus on those races with her,” he said.
RYAN SANDERSON WINS FIRST GROUP 1 WITH FOX DAN
What a few months it’s been for top young Victorian driver Ryan Sanderson.
The 23-year-old drove Fox Dan to finish second in the world’s richest harness race, the $2.1 million TAB Eureka, last month.
Last night he drove the same pacer to win his first Group 1 race, the $150,000 Victoria Derby at Melton.
It’s all part of becoming the “go-to” driver for the powerhouse Emma Stewart and Clayton Tonkin stable.
“Without sounding dramatic, it’s life changing stuff to get these opportunities,” Sanderson said. “A real privilege to drive horses like this. Winning this first Group 1 is so special. I’m lost for words a bit, it’s amazing.
“To be able to burn as hard as he did early, then come off a sit and still sprint late like he did was amazing.”
Fox Dan is also a special horse to leviathan owners Danny and Jo Zavitsanos.
“His mum [Jodila] was the first standardbred I ever bought and we named her after my wife [Jo] and daughter, who we call ‘Dila’,” Danny said. “It’s a real credit to Emma and Clayton… he just gets better with every run. That Eureka second was fantastic and winning a Derby means a lot.”
SOHO AMERICANO WINS GROUP 1 VICTORIA OAKS
Soho Americano locked away Australian 3YO Filly of the Year honors with an emphatic win in last night’s Group 1 Victoria Oaks.
It followed a win in July’s Queensland Oaks and second in the NSW Oaks back in May.
But she’s still got one big remaining target, next month’s Group 1 Vicbred series.
“We’ll keep her going for that because when she comes back next year, she’s straight into the biggest mares’ races against the likes of Eye Keep Smiling,” trainer Mick Stanley said. “She’s had the most remarkable season and saved me from a red face with Luke [McCarthy].
“When she was 2, I took her to Bathurst and asked Luke to drive her and told him she was really good… she didn’t even make the Bathurst final. I gave her three months out after that and she’s never looked back.”
Soho Americano has raced 25 times for 12 wins, seven seconds, three thirds and banked over $340,000.
