By Adam Hamilton
Christchurch and Redcliffe are the big winners from champion pacer Leap To Fame’s crucial standing-start win at Albion Park on Saturday night.
Trainer-driver Grant Dixon was thrilled with how the five-year-old handled his first standing-start race and the way he dashed right away from his rivals in the closing stages of the Flashing Red Discretionary Handicap.
Leap To Fame made light work of a 20m handicap when he made a mid-race move to sit outside the leader and dashed clear to win easily in a brilliant 1min 55.5sec mile rate for the long 2647m standing start.
“He’s in a great place at the moment, we’re really happy with him,” he said.
“And, as far as the stand went, it ticked an important box and he handled it well.”
Dixon is now talking about how he will build towards the iconic Group 1 New Zealand Cup in Christchurch in November, rather than if the race will be a target.
“We had to be sure the stand wouldn’t be a problem and so far, so good,” he said.
Leap To Fame also needed to step away safely in the Flashing Red to be eligible for the $100,000 Group 2 Redcliffe Cup on June 29.
That’s now a lock.
And, in even better news for Redcliffe officials, Dixon is seriously considering taking Leap To Fame to the track for a lead-up run the week before the Cup.
“Yes, the Patrons Purse is a race he won last year and it’s on eight days before the Cup,” he said.
“I think we’ll give him another run before the Cup, so it’ll either be in the Patrons Purse or a free-for-all at Albion Park the night after (June 22).”