'Team Dixon' primed for Eureka tilt

By Jordan Gerrans and Andrew Adermann

Champion horseman Grant Dixon couldn’t be happier with his three-pronged attack of runners ahead of the third edition of The Eureka on Saturday evening at Menangle.

The Queensland-based stable present with a trio of stablemates to the world's richest harness racing event: Fate Awaits, Path To Greatness and Call To Order. 

The Eureka is a feature that is restricted to three and four-year-olds and has never been won by the younger age bracket in its two editions so far. 

Fate Awaits created history earlier this year when he became the first three-year-old pacer to win Queensland’s The Rising Sun event against the four-year-olds. 

Since The Rising Sun’s inception in 2021, a three-year-old was yet to beat the older brigade before Fate Awaits landed the $300,000 prize by a neck over 2138 metres.

The imposing son of Always B Miki will be aiming to break the mould once again this Saturday evening in the $2.1 million event.

According to the bookmakers, Dixon’s Fate Awaits is the most likely of his talented trio to claim victory in the rich Sydney race as he is judged as a $11 chance as of Wednesday morning.

He claimed The Rising Sun in his three-year-old campaign and the year before, he nabbed the showpiece two-year-old event of the Brisbane winter, the rich Protostar.

Dixon – as well as his training partner and wife Trista – have long thought Fate Awaits was a star on the rise.

“Trista and I always liked him,” Dixon said.

“The Rising Sun win probably shows he is good enough to beat the four-year-olds. Obviously, he will need something to go his way, somewhere this week. 

“He had a run the other day that was about trying to bring him up to the mark and we feel he has trained along a bit since then. Fingers crossed for Saturday night.”

Following his romp in The Rising Sun, Fate Awaits was placed in the Group 1 Queensland Derby before finishing third in an event against his own age group at Albion Park in late August.

Leading Brisbane driver Brendan Barnes points to Fate Awaits winning nine of his 19 career starts, as well as eight minor finishes, as a marker that the colt had long been a pacer on the rise.

“He has shown for a couple of years that he will be the real deal once he evolves into an older stallion,” Barnes said.

The Dixon team and their major owners Kevin and Kay Seymour have chased The Eureka in recent years. 

The Seymours raced their megastar Leap To Fame in The Eureka back in 2023 and he had to settle for second place behind Encipher.

Path To Greatness will race in the Seymours' slot this year while Fate Awaits was selected by the Western Jewel crew.

The Seymours partnered with the Emma Stewart-trained Bay Of Biscay last year, who also ran second.

“We’re desperate to go one better. We love this race and everything it stands for and means to the industry,” Kevin Seymour said.

Call To Order won Racing Queensland’s slot after claiming The Hayden during the recent Brisbane carnival. 

As a long-time trainer and driver in the sport, Dixon says new initiatives like The Eureka are key for the growth of the industry.

“It is great for harness racing, obviously it is the third running,” he said.

“Hopefully in time it will keep going.

“We always keep the race in mind and obviously it is hard to get in to, unless you have an owner that has a slot, which we are lucky enough to have that with Kevin and Kay Seymour. 

“We always, to a degree, keep one horse in mind around trying to get into this race.”

Of the stable's other runners, Path To Greatness is a $19 chance with bookmakers while Call To Order is judged as a $34 chance in the event.

Brisbane reinsman Adam Sanderson has been booked to partner Call To Order while Robert Morris – who drives at Menangle regularly - takes the seat behind Path To Greatness. 

Call To Order brings winning form into the biggest test of his career after scoring at Albion Park late last month. 

“We have been particularly happy with how Call To Order has come along,” Dixon said.

“He had a little freshen up since his win in The Hayden and he had a good win at Albion Park last week. 

"We feel that he will acquit himself really well. He is just a horse that needs to be driven for luck.

“He will need to go back and be driven for luck on Saturday night.”

Fate Awaits will start from the three alley on Saturday night, Path To Greatness will be alongside him in four and Call To Order has been handed the starting position of nine.

Path To Greatness has not been at the races since finishing ninth in the Queensland Derby in the middle of July. 

“I have a lot of time for Path To Greatness,” Dixon said.

“Even though he hasn’t had a trial going into it, we feel he is right up to the mark. 

"We are very happy with his work; his work is very similar to Fate Awaits.”