Leap To Fame solidifies legend with monstrous Miracle Mile triumph
by Adam Hamilton
“I call him the mechanical horse… he can’t be real with what he does.”
That’s how rival trainer Shannon Price so superbly summed up the greatness of champion Down Under pacer Leap To Fame after one of the biggest, best and most important wins of his incredible career on Saturday (March 14).
There can’t be many doubters left.
Even the harshest judges would have to rate Leap To Fame (Bettors Delight–Lettucereason) as good as any Down Under pacer in history after yet another monstrous display last night.
As he so often does, Leap To Fame did all the work, had to dig deep when he looked in trouble and still won the $1 million Miracle Mile.
It was his third run in Australasia’s premier speed test in which he has two wins (2024 and Saturday) and a brave and close second to Don Hugo last year.
Just when it seemed emerging star The Janitor was going to swoop past him, Leap To Fame found another gear and kicked-back to win by a half-neck.
It was his 15th Group ١ win, leaving him just one short of Down Under record holders Lazarus and Westburn Grant at 16.
Leap To Fame’s win was his 66th from just ٨٥ starts. He has only finished worse than second on five occasions for three thirds and two fourths.
He took his already Australasian record prize money to $5,883,234.
“He’s what dreams are made of… for us and harness racing,” owner Kevin Seymour said. “[My wife] Kay and I have been in the game over 50 years and he’s the horse we’ve dreamed of getting.
“Has there been one better? Not to us. He’s a champion in every sense of the word and has just kept doing it for four years in the biggest races.”
As co-trainer Trista Dixon stood away from the buzz and watched, she said: “You know, it’s as much relief as anything when you win.
“We’re trying to enjoy every moment now. Even when you get up and go down to the stables in the morning to see him. It won’t last forever.”
There is growing speculation 7-year-old Leap To Fame could be retired after he chases a third Inter Dominion crown at his home track, Albion Park, in July.
“Let’s talk about it then,” Kevin said. “I want to savor this for now.”
Next stop is another trip to New Zealand to defend his crown in the $1 million Race by betcha at Cambridge in New Zealand’s North Island on April 10.
“He’s back home now [to Queensland] and then we’ll bring him back [to Sydney] for a flight to Auckland on Easter Saturday or Sunday,” Dixon said.
Champion driver Luke McCarthy, who finished third on defending champion Don Hugo last night and holds the record with four driving wins in the Miracle Mile, was in awe of Leap To Fame.
“What can you say? He’s just a champion in every possible way,” McCarthy said. “One of the very greatest.”
Pete McMullen, who drove runner-up The Janitor, thought he was going to win.
“Yep, when I really let down, I thought I had him, but he just found and found,” he said.
The hard luck story of the Miracle Mile was superstar 4-year-old mare Captains Mistress, who was held-up three back on the pegs with nowhere to go.
“All credit to the winner, but she’d have been right in the finish with any luck at all,” driver Jye Coney said.
KEAYANG ZAHARA TAKES 15TH CAREER GROUP 1 RACE
The record keeps tumbling for freakish Australian trotting mare Keayang Zahara (Volstead—Keayang Yankee).
The 5-year-old equaled the record for most Group 1 wins by an Australasian trotter with 15 when she romped home in Saturday’s $100,000 Hammerhead Mile.
It matched the 15 Group wins by the great Lyell Creek, who raced with success in North America. He dominated through the late 1990s and early 2000s.
And Keayang Zahara’s scorching 1:51.5 mile last night – seemingly in second gear – equaled Maori Time’s Australasian mile record set at the same race back in 2018.
Keayang Zahara’s winning rampage has sparked comparisons with the greatest Down Under trotters of all time.
Co-trainer Paddy Lee confirmed she would now head to New Zealand next month. The target is the $530,000 TAB Trot at Cambridge in New Zealand’s North Island on April 10.
“We’ll need to find another race for her and ‘Ballerini’ (stablemate Jilliby Ballerini) before they go to New Zealand,” he said.
That could be in their hometown Terang Trotters’ Cup on March 27 where Keayang Zahara and Jilliby Ballerini (Majestic Son—Shesasundon) would switch to standing start racing and come off 30-meter handicaps.
“That looks the best option or if the race doesn’t stand-up, we could give them a private workout that night,” Lee said.
Lee’s brother, Jason, who drove Keayang Zahara said: “She did that pretty easily. I should have asked her for a bit more and we’d have broken that record.”
As she has done so often, Jilliby Ballerini ran a terrific race for second to Keayang Zahara.
“She went enormous because we lost a lot of ground on the home turn when another horse galloped in front of us,” driver Glen Craven. “We should’ve finished much closer, but I’m not saying for a moment we’d have beaten the winner.
“I’m just excited to be driving in these big races, even if we are chasing her home.
“Off to New Zealand we both go and hopefully we’ll run one-two again.”
HOLLYWOOD STRIP WINS EIGHTH STRAIGHT
Unbeaten 3-year-old Hollywood Strip set up a mouth-watering clash when he toyed with his rivals in Saturday’s $200,000 Group 1 NSW Derby.
Despite sitting parked out much of the mile, Hollywood Strip powered past leader and favorite Zeus Lightning to win running way in a career-best 1:49.8 mile.
It was his eighth win from as many starts.
“He’s big, strong, and really good,” trainer/driver Brad Hewitt said. “He’s got a big future.”
Hollywood Strip heads to the Bathurst Gold Carnival now where fans await the first mouth-watering clash between him and boom Victorian 3-year-old Loucasso, who boasts seven wins from nine starts, including two at Group 1 level.
The win capped a huge night for Hewitt, who also drove the exciting Sparkling Sea to a dominant win for his father, trainer David, in the Group 3 Raith Memorial for 3-year-old fillies.
“I’m most pleased that she didn’t quite feel her sharpest self, but dug in and got the win,” he said.
