Latest news with #BlacksAFake
NZ Herald
5 days ago
- Sport
- NZ Herald
West Coast trying to join four-peat club in Grand National Steeplechase
The four-peaters are a rare breed. The most recent, obvious adored four-peater was Winx, who won four Cox Plates in a row. Mic drop. Yeats won the prestigious Ascot Gold Cup four times and in harness racing Blacks A Fake won the Inter Dominion four times, but not in a row. There have been five-peaters (now there is a term you really don't hear that often). The great Australian sprinter Manikato won the William Reid Stakes five straight years from 1979 to 1983. Then there is the king of the peats, Koral. The big southerner won the Homeby Steeplechase at Riccarton seven times and finished second another. They got so sick of etching his name on the trophy they simply named the race after him. Which brings us to the $200,000 Racecourse Hotel Grand National Steeplechase at Riccarton today. It is the 150th running of the iconic race, which could have so easily been lost had jumps racing been canned. But today's 5600m is a chance for West Coast to join Winx, Yeats and the Penrith Panthers in the four-peat club. West Coast is a magnificent horse. Big, raw-boned but with a certain nobility in the way he stands. What is notable is the way he has carried 73kg in almost every steeplechase he has contested in the past two years, including his second and third Grand Nationals. There is no doubt he is the most accomplished horse in today's Grand National but eventually something has to give. West Coast is now a 10-year-old and carries 7kg more than favourite Jesko, even though the latter has been our form steeplechaser this winter. West Coast may have carried that same daunting weight to win the last two years but there was no Jesko in those races. To rub salt in the wounds, Jesko has stolen West Coast's regular rider Shaun Fannin, who trains the former and so obviously rides him. West Coast will still be our great racing warrior and he will still do what he always does in the home straight today: continue to go forward. But will he join the four-peaters? That may depend on what toll the step up to 5600m takes on Jesko. He had too much speed and too little weight for Captains Run and West Coast in the Koral (yep, that one) last Saturday and if today's race was over the same 4250m trip Jesko would start $1.30 again. But whether his leg speed burns quite so brightly, after 5000m and with 600m more to go, might decide this race. Earlier in the day, West Coast's stablemate Berry The Cash tries for one of those aforementioned three-peats in the Grand National Hurdles. He faces the same weight issues as West Coast but his arch-rival Dictation has been scratched so history awaits him. Michael Guerin wrote his first nationally published racing articles while still in school and started writing about horse racing and the gambling industry for the Herald as a 20-year-old in 1990. He became the Herald's Racing Editor in 1995 and covers the world's biggest horse racing carnivals.
Courier-Mail
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Courier-Mail
Leap To Fame races to Inter Dominion glory
Don't miss out on the headlines from Horse Racing. Followed categories will be added to My News. CHAMPION rival driver Luke McCarthy hailed Leap To Fame the greatest pacer he had seen after the Queensland champion romped his way to a second record-breaking Inter Dominion pacing final win at Albion Park on Saturday night. In front of a packed and one-eyed local crowd, Leap To Fame romped away for his 22nd successive win at his home track and his 56th win from just 69 lifetime starts. The $540,000 first prize also made him the all-time richest pacer in this part of the world with $4,630,884 – surpassing another great Queenslander, Blacks A Fake's $4,575,438 stakes tally. McCarthy, who finished fourth on defending Inter Dominion champion Don Hugo, said: 'He's amazing. He's not just the greatest stayer we've seen, he's the best horse full stop.' • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Leap To Fame has now contested seven Inter Dominion races, five heats and two finals, and won them all. He started the shortest priced favourite ($1.22) since the Inter Dominion began in 1936 and, after being crossed at the start, worked around to take the lead and was never in danger. 'This time it's more of a relief, the expectation was just so huge,' trainer-driver Grant Dixon said. 'We had a little scare during the week. He bucked and knocked his leg, which he's never done, but thankfully it wasn't anything serious.' Leap To Fame became just the eighth pacer to win multiple Inter Dominion finals and owners Kevin and Kay Seymour hinted strongly at chasing a third crown, which only three other pacers have done (Blacks A Fake, Im Themightyquinn and Our Sir Vancelot). 'The big studs have been coming hard at us to retire him, but we'll hold off for at least another year,' Kevin Seymour said. 'We've been in the game over 50 years and this is the horse we've dreamt of getting … Kay won't let me retire him, at least not for a while yet. 'It's important everyone understands the huge role Grant and Trista Dixon have played in making this horse.' In typical Seymour fashion, he said the winning trophy would go to Albion Park track photographer, Dan Costello, who is facing a huge battle with cancer. 'Dan's one of nature's gentlemen and is going through a really hard time. I'd love him to have the trophy and Kay and I will donate $100,000 of the prize money towards Dan's medical bills,' he said. Leap To Fame will have a break before aiming at another first, victory in NZ's most iconic race of any code, the NZ Cup at Addington in Christchurch in November. Earlier, star Victorian trotter Arcee Phoenix smashed through the $1 million prize money barrier with an emotion-charged $500,000 Inter Dominion trotting final win. Arcee Phoenix wins the Inter Dominion Trotting Grand Final Picture: Dan Costello Trainer-driver Chris Svanosio praised his late father-in-law, Dr Alistair McLean, for his guidance with Arcee Phoenix as a talented but raw youngster. 'Without him, this horse may well not have raced at all and now he's here as a six-year-old winning the Inter Dominion,' Svanosio said. 'There's lots of feelings at the moments, emotional, excitement and just relief after such a big build-up … we did it.' Arcee Phoenix became just the fifth Aussie-trained trotter to bank over a million with first prize taking him to $1,016,280. · Adam Hamilton is a paid contributor writing on harness racing for News Corp. PHOTOS: Dan Costello Originally published as Superstar pacer Leap To Fame streaks to effortless Inter Dominion victory
Herald Sun
19-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Herald Sun
Leap To Fame races to Inter Dominion glory
Don't miss out on the headlines from Horse Racing. Followed categories will be added to My News. CHAMPION rival driver Luke McCarthy hailed Leap To Fame the greatest pacer he had seen after the Queensland champion romped his way to a second record-breaking Inter Dominion pacing final win at Albion Park on Saturday night. In front of a packed and one-eyed local crowd, Leap To Fame romped away for his 22nd successive win at his home track and his 56th win from just 69 lifetime starts. The $540,000 first prize also made him the all-time richest pacer in this part of the world with $4,630,884 – surpassing another great Queenslander, Blacks A Fake's $4,575,438 stakes tally. McCarthy, who finished fourth on defending Inter Dominion champion Don Hugo, said: 'He's amazing. He's not just the greatest stayer we've seen, he's the best horse full stop.' • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Leap To Fame has now contested seven Inter Dominion races, five heats and two finals, and won them all. He started the shortest priced favourite ($1.22) since the Inter Dominion began in 1936 and, after being crossed at the start, worked around to take the lead and was never in danger. 'This time it's more of a relief, the expectation was just so huge,' trainer-driver Grant Dixon said. 'We had a little scare during the week. He bucked and knocked his leg, which he's never done, but thankfully it wasn't anything serious.' Leap To Fame became just the eighth pacer to win multiple Inter Dominion finals and owners Kevin and Kay Seymour hinted strongly at chasing a third crown, which only three other pacers have done (Blacks A Fake, Im Themightyquinn and Our Sir Vancelot). 'The big studs have been coming hard at us to retire him, but we'll hold off for at least another year,' Kevin Seymour said. 'We've been in the game over 50 years and this is the horse we've dreamt of getting … Kay won't let me retire him, at least not for a while yet. 'It's important everyone understands the huge role Grant and Trista Dixon have played in making this horse.' In typical Seymour fashion, he said the winning trophy would go to Albion Park track photographer, Dan Costello, who is facing a huge battle with cancer. 'Dan's one of nature's gentlemen and is going through a really hard time. I'd love him to have the trophy and Kay and I will donate $100,000 of the prize money towards Dan's medical bills,' he said. Leap To Fame will have a break before aiming at another first, victory in NZ's most iconic race of any code, the NZ Cup at Addington in Christchurch in November. Earlier, star Victorian trotter Arcee Phoenix smashed through the $1 million prize money barrier with an emotion-charged $500,000 Inter Dominion trotting final win. Arcee Phoenix wins the Inter Dominion Trotting Grand Final Picture: Dan Costello Trainer-driver Chris Svanosio praised his late father-in-law, Dr Alistair McLean, for his guidance with Arcee Phoenix as a talented but raw youngster. 'Without him, this horse may well not have raced at all and now he's here as a six-year-old winning the Inter Dominion,' Svanosio said. 'There's lots of feelings at the moments, emotional, excitement and just relief after such a big build-up … we did it.' Arcee Phoenix became just the fifth Aussie-trained trotter to bank over a million with first prize taking him to $1,016,280. · Adam Hamilton is a paid contributor writing on harness racing for News Corp. PHOTOS: Dan Costello Originally published as Superstar pacer Leap To Fame streaks to effortless Inter Dominion victory
News.com.au
22-04-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
2025 Nullarbor: Champion trainer Gary Hall Sr says tough draw means Swayzee can't beat Minstrel at Gloucester Park
Champion stayer Swayzee will have to do something he has never done before to win Friday night's $1.25 million Group 1 Nullarbor at Gloucester Park. For all his greatness, Swayzee has been able to bludgeon his way to the front for the five biggest wins of his stellar career. From barrier 10, as the lone back row runner and with local star Minstrel drawn so well, Swayzee won't be able to find the lead this time. The three times Swayzee hasn't found the lead in a 'major', he has been beaten. He ran third in the 2023 Inter Dominion final, second in last year's Blacks A Fake and a luckless fourth in last month's Miracle Mile. • PUNT LIKE A PRO: Become a Racenet iQ member and get expert tips – with fully transparent return on investment statistics – from Racenet's team of professional punters at our Pro Tips section. SUBSCRIBE NOW! Since the draw, Swayzee's odds have drifted from $2 to $2.80. He's been replaced as favourite by Minstrel at $2.40. Champion WA trainer Gary Hall Sr, who has won more major Gloucester Park races than anyone else, said the draw had ruined Swayzee's chances. 'With Minstrel drawn to lead, Swayzee can't beat him around this (Gloucester Park) track now,' he said. 'I'm not sure anything can beat Minstrel now.' Minstrel will start from gate four and driver Deni Roberts will almost certainly work forward and take the early lead. The winners of the two Nullarbors run so far – Betterzippit (2023) and Catch A Wave (2024) – both drew gate four. ðŸ�† He came, he saw, he conquered! Swayzee is in contention to win the $1million Carnival of Cups bonus after winning the 2024 Cherry City Cup at the Young Carnival of Cups tonight. We caught up with driver Cam Hart after the success ðŸ'‡ — Harness Racing NSW (@HRNSW_Harness) November 8, 2024 Hall Sr admits his own runner, the exciting Mister Smartee, faces a huge task now from a wide draw (gate seven). 'I'm not sure we can win either. Our only chance is if Swayzee comes around and declares Swayzee on and we can stalk them and be the last horse standing,' he said. Ryan Bell, who has outsider Waverider drawn gate three, is also strongly in the Minstrel corner: 'It's Minstrel's race to lose, now.' But Swayzee's ever confident trainer Jason Grimson doesn't see barrier 10 as a major hurdle. 'I actually like it. We're the only horse off the second row and it wouldn't surprise me if we landed in front of a few of our main dangers after the start,' he said. 'He's good enough to go around and sit outside them and win, so the draw doesn't bother me. 'Sure, if he's drawn better he might have got around the field quicker, but he's got enough time (in a 2536m race) to get around and bully them.' Grimson, who won the inaugural Nullarbor with Betterzippit and had Hot And Treacherous run seventh last year, can't wait to unleash Swayzee. 'I've brought a different horse across this year, he's a superstar,' he said. ðŸ�† ID24 We caught up with driver Deni Roberts today who reflected on Minstrel's #ID24 heat win at Newcastle last night. Check it out ðŸ'‡ — Harness Racing NSW (@HRNSW_Harness) November 30, 2024 The gruelling staying trip is certainly Swayzee's biggest plus. The seven-year-old has raced 11 times beyond 2500m for seven wins, two seconds, a third and a fourth. Those wins include two NZ Cups, the Hunter Cup and a Blacks A Fake. Interstate raiders have won both Nullarbors so far. Swayzee and defending champion Catch A Wave are the only two runners from outside WA this year.
