Dixon Says Drive Will Be Crucial

Leap To Fame. Photo by Dan Costello.

GRANT Dixon says he needs to lift his own game to win Saturday night’s Group 1 Victoria Cup with his star pacer Leap To Fame.

The champion Queensland horseman candidly admitted he had been “a bit disappointed” in his drives on Leap To Fame at his two recent defeats at the top level in the TAB Eureka and Blacks A Fake.

“He’s gone amazingly well both times, I couldn’t ask any more of the horse,” Dixon said. “I have been a bit disappointed at the way I’ve driven him; maybe I could’ve done things a bit differently at certain points of those races and driven him better.”

Leap To Fame did all the work outside the leader in record times and finished second in both features.

Many think he will face the same scenario from barrier five as a $1.90 favourite in Saturday night’s feature.

Leap To Fame will move into gate four if emergency Bulletproof Boy doesn’t get run.

“I can’t complain with the draw. I said going into I’d love barrier four or five,” Dixon said. “There’s also a lot of the speedy beginners drawn off the back row, which is a plus for me.”

As great as Leap To Fame has been winning 24 of his 32 starts, the four-year-old hasn’t shown much of harness racing’s biggest weapon, early gate speed.

“We haven’t asked him to or taught him to, but I think he’ll be able to hold his own and get better at it over time,” Dixon said.

“I’m pretty confident he can hold those outside him this week, and then I’ll assess the race from there.”

The unflappable Dixon isn’t fazed by the pressure of expectation with Australia’s most exciting pacer.

“Even the greatest champions of the past haven’t won every time. He’s only just stepped into the big league, and every big race is a real challenge now,” he said.

“I’ve been proud of his runs in defeat, and, just as importantly, he’s coming through those tough runs really well.”

Leap To Fame landed in Melbourne from Brisbane at 3am and has settled in well at Clinton Welsh’s stables.

“I’m really happy with how he’s travelled and settled in. He’s been here before, and we seem to be able to pretty much replicate what we do at home with him,” Dixon said.

“It was good to have that run at home (Albion Park) last week, and I’ve got him where I want him, but it’s a really good field, and he’ll need to be to win it.”

Champion NSW driver Luke McCarthy partnered with star mare Encipher to upset Leap To Fame in the TAB Eureka at Menangle on September 2 and confirmed he would travel down to take the reins again on Saturday night.

It completes the driver jigsaw for trainer Emma Stewart’s five starters. The others are: David Moran (Honolua Bay), Chris Alford (Amore Vita) and Jodi Quinlan (Act Now).

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