Catch A Wave Ready to Roll

MIRACLE Mile winner Catch A Wave has “gone to another level” as he prepares to return in the Preux  Chevalier free-for-all (2240m) at Melton on Saturday night.

And he will need to as he prepares for his first clash with the sport’s buzz pacer, Leap To Fame, in the world’s richest harness race, the $2.1mil TAB Eureka at Menangle on September 2.

Catch A Wave, who boasts 17 wins from 22 starts and $1.12 million in earnings, hasn’t raced since completing the huge Miracle Mile/Chariots Of Fire double at Menangle on March 4.

“He spelled really well and came back looking great,” trainer Andy Gath said. “There’s no doubt his work is better at home and in our mind, he’s gone to another level again.

“Sometimes he could be a bit lackadaisical in his work, but over the last two weeks he’s really been savaging the line. You don’t have to ask him, he just wants to put them away. He’s showing killer instinct.

“I guess he started to show signs in his last five or six runs last campaign, but it’s really evident now. He’s a different horse at home.”

Catch A Wave will have just five rivals at Melton and should waltz straight to the lead from gate three with his trademark brilliant gate speed.

“It’s a perfect kick-off race. It’s not overly strong and he should sail to the front and run the race under his own terms.

“We’ve still got plenty of time until the TAB Eureka so we’re more about going through the motions now, we’ve can really screw him down closer to it. He doesn’t need to go out there and do anything special this week.”

Gath is hoping this will be the first of three lead-up races, all in Victoria, for Catch A Wave before the TAB Eureka.

“That’s the ideal plan, as long as the races stand-up. The key for me is having a race here two weeks out from the Eureka. If he misses one in between, we can work around that,” he said.

“We’re not keen on going up to Menangle early for a lead-up race, he’s been there and handled the trip and the track well, he doesn’t need it again before the big one.”

Catch A Wave is $3 second favourite behind Leap To Fame ($2) in prepost TAB Eureka markets.

Like everyone, Gath has been watching Leap To Fame’s continued rise with plenty of interest.

“And plenty of excitement,” he said. “He’s a great horse to watch and I’m really looking forward to the challenge of racing against him for the first time. We’re not shirking the issue, it’s something to be excited about.

“It’s terrific they haven’t raced each other yet, nobody really knows what to think just yet.

“Maybe he’ll be too good for us, but maybe we’ll be good enough to beat him. I can’t wait.

“I also think it’s great they’re both racing this weekend. It’s good for the sport and part of the romance of the TAB Eureka as a race.”

Catch A Wave steps out at 6.32pm Saturday in race four at Melton, while Leap To Fame chases his biggest win at 8.50pm in the $400,000 Group 1 Blacks A Fake at Albion Park.

·       Adam Hamilton is a paid contributor writing on harness racing for News Corp.