Plans firm for Leap To Fame’s NZ Cup campaign

[Wandering Eyes]

By Adam Hamilton 

Leap To Fame will launch his campaign aimed at the $1m IRT New Zealand Trotting Cup with an Albion Park trial on Thursday.

In an exciting twist, trainer-driver Grant Dixon is seriously considering heading across the Tasman earlier than expected.

“There’s a good chance we’ll fly to NZ straight out of Melbourne, rather than go back home and then get a flight to Auckland from Sydney,” Dixon said.

“If we can go straight from Melbourne, it would make sense and save us a lot of other travel.”

Leap To Fame, who hasn’t raced since winning his second Inter Dominion crown on July 19, will be in Melbourne for the $250,000 Group 1 Victoria Cup on October 18.

A flight to NZ soon after that would also open the door for Leap To Fame to have a lead-up race in NZ ahead of the Cup on November 11.

“We’ll worry about that when we lock in his flights,” Dixon said. “But, at the very least, he’s be there early enough for the Cup Trial (at Addington).”

And the news gets better.

Dixon said there was also a growing chance Leap To Fame could tackle the Group 1 NZ Free-For-All on Show Day (November 14) as well as the Cup.

“We’ll take Fate Awaits across for the slot race (Velocity) on the Friday, so if Leap To Fame came through the Cup run well, he could do the free-for-all, too,” he said.

“It’s something we’ll decide at the time, but one of his great strengths is how well he comes through his races and backs up.”

More immediately, Dixon is trying to break his Victoria Cup hoodoo with Leap To Fame.

The six-year-old was beaten into a close third spot as a hot favourite by Act Now and Catch A Wave in 2023.

Last year he was a hot favourite again, but scratched just days before the race with a throat infection.

“We’re really happy with him,” he said. “He’ll have the trial this week and we’ll probably just have time for the one run here before we head down (to Melbourne),” Dixon said.

Fate Awaits, already a three-time Group 1 winner, will accompany Leap To Fame to Melbourne.

“It just makes sense because he can run in the Victoria Derby and travel with ‘Larry’ to NZ,” Dixon said.

Leap To Fame is a $1.60 favourite on the TAB Futures market to win the country’s biggest race, ahead of half brother and two-time champion Swayzee at $5.

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