Photo: Stuart McCormick
Hunter Cup hero Leap To Fame will tackle the $1M The Race by Grins.
It’s just a matter of which slot holder owners Kevin and Kay Seymour partner with for the April 12 feature at Cambridge.
Despite the A$1M Miracle Mile being his most immediate major target, Seymour said he would “spend plenty of time” on finalising a The Race by Grins slot deal over the next week.
“We’ve got many, and I mean many, slot owners asking us,” he said.
“So, what I’m going to do this week is settle on a document to send them. It’ll ask for their best offer and, just as importantly, what they will do to promote the race and the sport if they partner with Leap To Fame.
“To be successful, slot races have to be about promoting harness racing, trying to take it to as big an audience as possible.
“We’ve got this great horse and we want to partner with a slot owner who will use the opportunity to put harness racing up in lights.”
Confirmation Leap To Fame will tackle the The Race by Grins – which will be his first race in NZ – is a coup for Cambridge officials and NZ harness racing in general.
The five-year-old took his earnings past A$2.1 million when he posted his 32nd win from just 42 starts in Saturday's A$500,000 Gr.1 Hunter Cup at Melton.
Leap To Fame has more Aussie riches to chase before crossing the ditch.
Seymour confirmed plans, which start with backing-up in the A$100,000 Gr.2 Cranbourne Cup next Saturday night.
“Then he’ll be flown home (to Brisbane) on Monday week,” he said. “It’ll give us nine days at home before taking him on an hour road trip down to the Newcastle Mile (February 23).”
Victory in the A$100,000 Gr.2 Newcastle Mile would get Leap To Fame a ticket straight into the Miracle Mile on March 9.
“He’ll go back home after Newcastle and we’ll head back down (to Menangle) as close as we can to the Miracle Mile,” Seymour said.
“Then it’s back home again and we’ll work out the best plan in that five weeks between the Miracle Mile and the Cambridge race.” - Adam Hamilton
