QUEENSLAND pacing sensation Leap To Fame’s stranglehold on $2.1mil TAB Eureka favouritism eased slightly after drawing wide when the barriers were revealed today.
But it certainly hasn’t fazed his trainer-driver Grant Dixon, who quickly declared “there’s no way I’d swap him for anything else in the race.”
Leap To Fame, who boasts 23 wins from just 30 starts and almost $1mil in prizemoney, eased from as short as $1.60 to $1.80 after drawing barrier 13. He will start from gate nine if the four emergencies drawn inside him don’t gain a start.
All 10 runners in the world’s richest harness race will start from the front row at Menangle on Saturday night, meaning Leap To Fame will be second from the outside.
“He never seems to have much luck with draws, so we’re quite used to them now,” Dixon said.
“He’s really settled in well here (Menangle) since arriving on Sunday. He had a hopple (workout) with Tims A Trooper yesterday, nothing serious, just to keep them both up to the mark.
“As long as he has a good rest of the week, I’ve got him where I want him and I’m sure he’ll run a great race.”
Dixon has previously declared Leap To Fame the best pacer he’s trained in a 35-year career and his stunning rise through the ranks has drawn comparisons with some of the greats of the sport.
Dixon didn’t hesitate to label Miracle Mile winner Catch A Wave and exciting three-year-old The Lost Storm as the hardest to beat. The Lost Storm gets the advantage of a preferential draw as a three-year-old and will start from barrier two if the emergencies come out.
“Catch A Wave is fast and very good. He’s won a Miracle Mile at this (Menangle) track, so he’s the obvious, but The Lost Storm is very exciting and couldn’t have done any more.
“It’ll be interesting how the three-year-olds measure up, especially him. I guess he’ll actually be four when the race is run under the old (harness) season (which used to end on August 31).”
Catch A Wave will start from right inside Leap To Fame (gate eight) and, adding to the intrigue, long-time TAB Eureka favourite and now query runner, Captain Ravishing, is out wide with them in barrier seven.
“It’s good, but not great. At least we’re inside Leap To Fame,” Catch A Wave’s trainer Andy Gath said. “We’ll go forward, but we won’t be burning out. We’ll just want to stay in front of Leap To Fame to give us options.”
Captain Ravishing’s trainer Ahmed Taiba was pleased with the four-year-old’s Menangle private trial win yesterday and the barrier draw.
“It’s been a good few days and we needed them,” he said. “His work was terrific and we feel back on track and now we’ve drawn quite well, certainly inside Leap To Fame and Catch A Wave. We feel like we’re in it with a chance now.”
The lone mare in the race, the Emma Stewart and Clayton Tonkin-trained Encipher, will start from gate three after the emergencies come out because she’s a preferential draw as a mare.
The biggest winner from the key part of the draw – where all the four-year-old boys drew – is emerging Queensland pacer Speak The Truth, who landed gate six and will start from four.
The Lost Storm’s owner Justin Baker, who was at the draw in Circular Quay, expects a huge showing from his young star.
“We always knew we had to draw well under the preferential conditions and it’s a big reason we’re running,” he said. “We’ve got a huge opinion of this horse and think we’ll all see how good he is this weekend.”
The Lost Storm firmed from $6 to $4.80 straight after the draw, while Catch A Wave ($4 into $3.60) was the other key mover.
· Adam Hamilton is a paid contributor writing on harness racing for News Corp.
