A duo of Queensland stars have been acknowledged for their stellar 2023 seasons at this morning’s Australian Horse of the Year Awards.
Modern day champion Leap To Fame has been officially crowned Australia’s premier standardbred, taking out the 2023 Australian Harness Horse of Year Award.
Leap To Fame’s historic season was cemented by his breathtaking victory in the Group 1 Inter Dominion Pacing Championship at his home track Albion Park in December.
Authoritative victories in both the Sunshine Sprint and The Rising Sun, alongside placings in the Blacks A Fake, Victoria Cup, and the inaugural running of The Eureka, topped off a near impeccable CV in his four-year-old season.
From 16 starts, Leap To Fame claimed a remarkable 12 wins and three placings, along with more than $1.2 million in prize money.
As a result, he was also crowned both Australian Pacer of the Year and Aged Horse of the Year.
This morning’s awards are the latest recognition for Leap To Fame’s record-breaking year, where he also claimed a second successive Queensland Harness Horse of the Year title as well as the HRA Grand Circuit Champion.
“Leap To Fame has transcended the harness racing code in Queensland, and is already laying claim to being one of our all-time greats alongside the likes of Blacks A Fake,” Racing Queensland CEO Jason Scott said.
“You only had to be at Albion Park for the Inter Dominion Championships when the packed crowd let out an almighty roar as Larry turned for home to understand what he means to the sport.
“His 2023 season will go down as one of the great individual performances we’ve seen, and if his first few months of the current season are anything to go by, he may yet reach heights we once thought unimaginable.”