Leap To Fame set to rewrite Grand Circuit history

THE amazing Leap To Fame (Bettor’s Delight) is set to add more harness racing history to his phenomenal CV.

The Queensland megastar will almost certainly become the first pacer to be crowned Australian Grand Circuit champion four times.

Having won the past three titles, he still holds a 10-point lead with just two legs of the 2026 series remaining.

Wonder mare Captains Mistress moved to within 10 points when she followed her Brisbane Inter Dominion win with victory in last Saturday night’s Victoria Cup.

But she will almost certainly miss the last two legs of the Grand Circuit, the Blacks A Fake at Albion Park on December 5 and the WA Pacing Cup six days later.

In contrast, the Blacks A Fake is a definite target for Leap To Fame after his NZ raid in November.

But Captains Mistress has given him a serious contest this year, starting with upstaging Leap To Fame in that epic Brisbane Inter Dominion final on July 18.

She took full advantage of his absence to add the Victoria Cup to her CV.

In doing so, Captains Mistress became the first mare to win the Victoria Cup, which was first run in 1974.

It continued her rampaging 2026 which has so far seen her race 15 times for 14 wins and a luckless fifth in the Miracle Mile.

The Victoria Cup gave her a staggering sixth Group 1 win this year.

Connections are set to chase Victoria’s $1 million Summer of Glory bonus early next year, of which the Victoria Cup was the first leg.

Chasing the bonus would also give her the chance to grab early points towards next year’s Australian Grand Circuit title through the Hunter Cup.

Fans are itching for a rematch between Captains Mistress and Leap To Fame with the score at 1-1.

If it doesn’t come in NZ, where the NZ free-for-all on November 13 looks the only possibility, then the Hunter Cup at Melton on February 13 looks the next logical clash.

GRAND CIRCUIT POINTS TABLE

by Adam Hamilton for Harness Racing Australia