Grant Dixon conceded Leap To Fame’s quest to win his first Victoria Cup “got way harder” after drawing the worst possible barrier in Saturday night’s feature.
The champion pacer landed barrier eight (inside the back row), which means luck and how his rivals are driven could be just as important as his own greatness.
“It’s going to be very difficult now, especially being over just 2240m, not 2760m,” Dixon said.
“If you drag back to get into the clear, you’re conceding a huge start to some really good horses, but if you push through you seriously risk being pocketed and never seeing daylight.
“It’s made it way harder and certainly made for an intriguing race now.”
It’s the second twist in just a few days for Dixon after Leap To Fame’s shock defeat as a $1.04 favourite in his final lead-up race, the Smoken Up Sprint, at Melton last Saturday night.
It was the biggest upset in Australian harness racing for 25 years and Leap To Fame was disappointing his lofty standards.
Just Dixon had turned the page and was getting bullish again, Leap To Fame was dealt the worst possible barrier draw.
It’s fuelled talk of a Victoria Cup hoodoo for Leap To Fame given it’s the one “mega” feature to have eluded him and this will be his first third attempt.
“It’s starting to feel like this is a race that’s just not meant to be for him,” Dixon said.
Barrier eight is the same draw Leap To Fame had when beaten as a hot favourite by Swayzee in the Group 1 Hunter Cup at Melton on February 1.
“It’s uncanny how often he’s drawn the two barriers we don’t want, one or eight” Dixon said. “As I said, at least the Hunter Cup was 2760m and we still got our chance, but it’s much harder again over just 2240m this time.”
Leap To Fame eased from $1.25 to $1.55 after the draw.
So much will now depend on what happens at the start with the two fastest beginners – Catch A Wave and Hi Manameisjeff – drawn one and two and Leap To Fame following out Catch A Wave.
Trainer Andy Gath was thrilled with Catch A Wave’s draw, but thinks NSW speedster Hi Manameisjeff could pack too much speed and cross him at the start.
“He’s very quick out and he doesn’t handle being away from the inside, so they’ll be desperate to lead,” he said. “Sitting on him wouldn’t be the worst thing because I’m sure he wouldn’t hand-up the lead.
“It’s a great draw for us. We’ve got options and with Leap To Fame drawn where he is, we’ve got a really interesting race on our hands now.”
The other major player is Luke McCarthty’s emerging star Kingman, who is drawn well in gate four and will be right on the speed.
TAB Eureka winner Bay Of Biscay will have to overcome a back row draw (gate 10) at his first Grand Circuit test.
Given the draws, much interest centres on who young gun Cam Hart, who won last year’s Victoria Cup on Swayzee, will drive between Bay Of Biscay and Hi Manameisjeff.
The barrier draw for the Aldebaran Park Bill Collins Trotters Sprint was also announced this morning, with star trotting mare Keayang Zahara drawing barrier four and stablemate Jilliby Ballerini barrier two, while TAB Trot and Inter Dominion Trotting Championship winner Arcee Phoenix faces a tricky draw from gate 12.
