2023 Australian Harness Horse of the Year and Lawn Derby Awards

2023 Australian Harness Horse of the Year - Leap To Fame. Photo by Dan Costello.

THE buzz time Australian harness racing is enjoying was underlined by champions Leap To Fame and Just Believe fighting-out 2023 Australian Harness Horse of the Year honours.

It was Queensland pacing sensation Leap To Fame who prevailed with almost 70 percent of votes ahead of globetrotting square-gaiter Just Believe with almost 22 percent. 

Leap To Fame raced 16 times last season for 12 wins, three placings and earnings of over $1.25 million. His biggest win came in the Brisbane Inter Dominion final, but he also won at Group 1 level in the Rising Sun and Sunshine Sprint at Albion.

Additionally, Leap to Fame ran second in the inaugural TAB Eureka, the Group 1 Blacks A Fake and third in the Group 1 Victoria Cup.

Just Believe famously had a mid-year stint in Sweden where three starts there netted him two fantastic placings against some of the world’s best trotters.

At home, the son of Orlando Vici raced 11 times in Australia last season for eight wins, two seconds and a third with earnings of $483,300. He won three Group 1 races, including the Great Southern Star and Brisbane Inter Dominion trotting finals.

Naturally, Leap To Fame also won both the Australian Pacer of the Year and the Aged Pacing Gelding/Horse of the Year titles.

The South Australian owned-and-bred Encipher, who upstaged Leap To Fame to win the inaugural $2.1mil TAB Eureka last September, comfortably won the Australian Aged Pacing Mare of the Year crown with over 78 percent of votes.

It was Rickie Alchin’s brilliant Lux Aeterna who easily won the 2YO Pacing Filly of the Year title with over 78 percent of votes from Emma Stewart’s unbeaten Very Pretty (13 percent).

Lux Aeterna raced 12 times last season for nine wins, two seconds, a third and banked $359,823.

Despite the riches being spread in the 2YO Pacing Colts and Geldings features through the season, Emma Stewart’s Timmy Rictor dominated voting with almost 70 percent, ahead of stablemate Stormryder on 13 per cent.

Timmy Rictor, a son of Modern Art, won five of his six starts, including the Group 1 Breeders Crown final at Melton.

Stewart also dominated the three-year-old awards with Major Delight adding the 3YO Pacing Filly crown to the two-year-old title of the previous year, and Petracca scoring over 56 per cent of votes to upstaged brilliant WA youngster Never Ending (17.3 percent) in the 3YO Pacing Colts and Geldings category.

Click here to view the 2023 Horse of the Year Awards presentation