Aussie stars Leap To Fame and Keayang Zahara school rivals at Cambridge
by Adam Hamilton
It was the night the stars shone brightest and the storylines were just as big afterwards.
Champion pacer Leap To Fame (Bettors Delight—Lettucereason) scored arguably the greatest and most dominant win of his phenomenal career on Friday (April 10) in the $1 million Race by Sport Nation at Cambridge.
Just 30 minutes earlier, Aussie trotting queen Keayang Zahara seemingly jogged to her 28th win from 29 starts in the $530,000 TAB Trot.
What a treat to have two of the all-time greatest of their gaits “showing off” on the same night.
And the huge and adoring Cambridge crowd loved it.
As exciting as Leap To Fame’s win was, even better news came soon after it when his owner Kevin Seymour ended months of speculation by declaring the 7-year-old would race on for another season.
It paves the way to chase the one “mega” race missing from Leap To Fame’s stunning CV – the iconic New Zealand Cup at Addington in Christchurch in November.
“How can we retire him when he’s racing like this?” Seymour said. “I know I said we’d wait until the Inter Dominion [in July] to make that call, but he’s never gone better and we’ve always said the horse will tell us when it’s time to retire him.
“He’s telling us anything but at the moment.
“I think that was his best win yet and he’s never raced better.
“[My wife] Kay and I have always wanted to win a New Zealand Cup. We tried with him and ran second in it last year and we’d love to have another go at it.”
As is customary, Leap To Fame overcame a wide draw and did all the work outside the leader and won.
But this time he smashed the best field he has faced by seven lengths.
“You’d have to say it’s his best win,” trainer/driver Grant Dixon said. “It was a stronger field than last year; he did as much work and he won by much further.
“He’s going at least as well as ever. He’s thriving in everything, the travel, at home, and in his races. He’s amazing.”
It was Leap To Fame’s 68th win from 87 starts with another 14 seconds and three thirds.
He’s only missed top three twice and ran fourth both times.
Having already smashed the Australasian prize money record, the son of Bettors Delight moved past $6.3 million with Friday’s triumph.
“Is he the GOAT?” Kevin posed after the win. “If he wasn’t already, surely he is after that. He is to us.”
Leap To Fame will return home to Queensland for a freshen up and then to chase a third Inter Dominion title in his own backyard at Albion Park in July.
Then it will be another break before trying to win that New Zealand Cup.
Given he won’t be starting stud duties later this year, the door is open to chase a three-peat at Cambridge next year.
Kiwi Hall of Fame trainer Mark Purdon peaked former star Akuta on the night and he ran home well for second to Leap To Fame last night.
Leap To Fame’s arch-rival and older half-brother Swayzee came from last under heavy driving on the home bend to finish third.
Most expected Swayzee to lead from gate 2, but he didn’t begin well and was shuffled back, leaving last year’s New Zealand Cup winner Kingman to lead with Leap To Fame outside him.
“I had Kingman beaten a long way out, but I was still worried about horses like The Janitor storming home late, but nothing came,” Dixon said.
Emerging star The Janitor cost himself by galloping before the start and losing three to four lengths. He ran a huge race for fifth.
NSW star Captains Knock ran fourth to give Australia four of the top five placings.
The Aussie dominance was even stronger in the TAB Trot with the three Aussie raiders filling the top three spots. Keayang Zahara beat stablemate Jilliby Ballerini with Queensland star Gus in third spot.
Keayang Zahara’s win took on another dimension when co-trainer Marg Lee revealed the mare almost didn’t make the trip to New Zealand.
“It’s been a stressful few weeks with her, to be honest,” she said. “She had some tying up issues since her Sydney win a month earlier.
“If it had just been up to me, she probably wouldn’t have gone, but the boys [Paddy and Jason Lee] asked me to give the mare more time. It was really that Terang trial [10 days before the Cambridge race] when she was locked in to go.”
Paddy talked deeper about the challenges.
“Despite her being unbeaten, it hasn’t been the easiest campaign,” he said. “Along with the tying up, she strained a muscle earlier, too.
“It makes a win like this as much a relief as exciting.”
The biggest news around Keayang Zahara came in the moments after the win.
Marg Lee said the 5-year-old would bypass the Brisbane Inter Dominion in July.
But in the bigger picture, she also ended talk about Keayang Zahara traveling to a race like the Elitlopp next year.
“She won’t be going overseas, at least not for a race like the Elitlopp,” she said. “New Zealand is as far as she’ll go.
“You can say that now. We all sat around last week and made that decision.
“She can win a lot of prize money here, she already has, without taking on a big challenge like that.”
Keayang Zahara (Volstead—Keayang Yankee) will have two more races before a spell.
She’s got the $60,000 Group 1 Sumthingaboutmaori free-for-all at Melton on April 25 and the $100,000 Group 1 Macarthur Mile at Menangle a week later.
It was last year’s Macarthur Mile where she suffered her only defeat when rundown by the brilliant but injury-plagued Susan Is Her Name in scorching time.
Jilliby Ballerini, who has run second to Keayang Zahara in their past four feature race clashes, will also head to both races.
While Keayang Zahara then heads for a spell, Jilliby Ballerini will push on to the Brisbane Inter Dominion.
“She’s a bigger mare who is thriving on the racing and it’s a chance for her to chase a big win without having ‘Zahara’ to deal with,” Paddy said.
Keayang Zahara will return later in the year for races like the Group 1 Bill Collins Sprint in October and then a return to New Zealand for the Group 1 double — Dominion Trot and New Zealand Trotters’ free-for-all — during New Zealand Cup Week at Addington in November.
