Leap To Fame claims successive Horse of the Year titles

Leap To Fame has capped off one of the greatest seasons by a local pacer, taking home tonight’s top accolade at the Queensland Harness Awards in Brisbane for a second straight year.

The Grant Dixon-trained and driven superstar was crowned the Queensland Harness Horse of the Year, beating out fellow finalists Blacksadance, Speak The Truth and Future Assured.

Another historic season saw the five-year-old cement his spot amongst some of the state’s greatest legends, headlined by his scintillating victory in the Group 1 Inter Dominion Pacing Championship at Albion Park in December.

Wins in another pair of Group 1 races – the Sunshine Sprint and The Rising Sun – on top of the Group 2 Queensland Cup and Group 3 Patron’s Purse, left the judging panel in unanimity for the state’s top honour.

In addition, placings in the Group 1 Blacks A Fake and Victoria Cup, alongside the inaugural running of The Eureka, topped off a near impeccable 2023 CV.

From 16 starts in 2023, Leap To Fame claimed a remarkable 12 wins and three placings, along with $1,275,970 in prize money.

The record-breaking season also saw him named the Queensland Aged Pacer of the Year and 2023 HRA Grand Circuit Champion, while Dixon was crowned Queensland Trainer of the Year.

The Graham Dwyer-trained Quik Change took out the 2YO Pacer of the Year, following a strong debut season that was capped off with his scintillating triumph in the $150,000 Group 1 QBRED Triad Final for colts and geldings.

Meanwhile, another Group 1 QBRED winner in For Real Life was awarded 3YO Pacer of the Year, in a season that netted eight victories from only 11 starts.

Elsewhere, Adelle was crowned Trotter of the Year after claiming seven wins and seven placings from 23 starts, headlined by her victory in the Group 3 Redcliffe Trotters Cup for trainer Jack Butler.

Finally, Group 3 Fleur De Lil Ladyship Stakes champion Uptown Beachgirl was named Filly or Mare of the Year.

Nathan Dawson’s unparalleled season in the sulky saw him crowned both the Queensland and Australian Driver of the Year, where his 413 wins in 2023 saw him become only the second ever Australian to surpass 400 wins in a season.   

“The 2023 season has been a history-making one for the harness code here in Queensland, headlined by superstar pacer Leap To Fame and driver Nathan Dawson who re-wrote the record books,” Racing Minister Grace Grace said.

“Leap To Fame’s achievements will go down as one of the greatest individual seasons we have seen, capped off by the roaring Albion Park crowd cheering him home in the code’s greatest showpiece, the Inter Dominion.

“We are also immensely proud to see Nathan Dawson bestowed as the top driver in the nation, an award that Queenslanders have dominated for the past three seasons which once again highlights our standing on the national stage.

“I congratulate all of tonight’s deserved winners and look forward to what is already another outstanding season for the code in 2024.”

Young gun Angus Garrard was named the Queensland Concession Driver of the Year for a third consecutive season, in which the 20-year-old finish third in the State Drivers Premiership standings with 171 wins – a fourth centurion tally in as many years.

For her work as part of the Queensland Off-The-Track Program, Amanda Chant was crowned the Queensland Acknowledged Retrainer of the Year.

Since the inception of the QOTT Acknowledged Retrainers Program in 2022, Amanda has successfully retrained and rehomed 11 standardbreds from the industry into a range of rewarding and varied post-racing career pathways.

“Our participants at the coalface of the sport have been instrumental in driving the many successes we have celebrated here this evening, both on and off the track,” RQ CEO Jason Scott said.

“More broadly, we are seeing participation in racing continue to rise, which in turn has led to record levels of returns back to those that keep the sport going.

“There’s no better time to be involved in harness racing in Queensland than now, and we have so much to look forward to for the code in 2024 and beyond.”

In total, close to 40 awards of distinction were presented at this evening’s Awards.