Harness racing fans were treated to another stunning performance as Leap To Fame was the only runner on the second line, while New Zealand’s Republican Party star was pulled in two.
Shortly after the start, Grant Dixon was able to finish Leap To Fame off the fence, while the Republican Party took the lead from War Dan Buddy. But then Dixon ran Leap To Fame across the field and was able to take on the battle with the Republican Party on his tail.
LEAP TO FAME FEB 7 REPEAT
After taking a breather, Leap To Fame ran its third quarter in 27.8 seconds and the last quarter in 27.1 seconds. The Republican Party tried to rally around Leap To Fame, but he couldn’t make up much ground and Leap To Fame had three yards, giving the impression he still had plenty left.
Clearly the Republican Party’s Carter Dalgety wasn’t going to give his horse a hard run and with next week’s Hunter Cup as the main target he will be improved by the effort. However, he has yet to beat Leap To Fame in their six meetings and it’s hard to see him turning the tables.
War Dan Buddy lost no admirers when he finished third.
Grant Dixon reflected after the event.
We are relieved that he won and that everything went well. Just very happy with him. It was a good run for him because he came very strong at the line. He didn’t have to do all the bull work tonight. And it was good to let him go back halfway through the race and give him a good rest and then let him use his speed home.
It was good to give him a breather in between. Next week we’ll let him get some time together and hopefully he’ll come right next week.
He always makes you feel good while running. I have to let him run a full quarter because point-to-point speed isn’t his biggest asset, it’s more about him maintaining that fast pace for a while. But I was so happy when we hit the post that he wasn’t ready to stop. He was still strong and continued to the line. This is the happiest Trista (Grant’s wife) and I have been with him on his outings. We just hope he has a week without any breakdowns when we hopefully line up next week.
When they come here to these songs, people can see him and take pictures with him. It’s really exciting to be part of Larry’s racing.
The win was Leap To Fame’s 15e Group 1 success and now he is just one behind the record held equally by Westburn Grant and Lazarus.
But beyond that he is edging ever closer to the $1 million bonus offered by harness racing Victoria as he has now won three stages in Ballarat, Cranbourne and now Kilmore. He will get the bonus if he wins the $250,000 AG Hunter Cup next Saturday night.
As the country’s top stakes earner, Leap To Fame has now taken his earnings to over $5,254,859 for 64 wins and 16 placings from 82 appearances.
By Tony Milanese for Harnesslink
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