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The Australian
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Australian
Leap To Fame owner has big decision to make for TAB Eureka
Before Kevin Seymour switches back into Leap To Fame mode, he's got his sights set on another mega race with a couple of his other young stars. Seymour is one of the biggest fans of the world's richest harness race, the $2.1m TAB Eureka, and is desperate to win it. Not only was one of the first to snap up a slot in the race when it launched three years ago, but he has also had multiple starters without winning it. Leap To Fame was beaten into second spot by star mare Encipher in the inaugural 2023 TAB Eureka, then Seymour used his slot on young star Bay Of Biscay, who flashed home for second to Don Hugo last year. • 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! He is holding off his decision on his slot runner for the race on September 6, but will be one of his star three-year-olds Fate Awaits or Path To Greatness. 'It's time to go one better as long as I can to make the final call on our slot runner,' he said. 'I think both our three-year-olds deserve slots and will be very competitive, but obviously I can only take one of them. 'Hopefully some of the other remaining slot-owners will snap up one of them, too.' Trainer-driver Grant Dixon added to the intrigue with a curve ball that Fate Awaits and Path To Greatness almost certainly would not race again before the TAB Eureka. 'No, they've both had busy winter campaigns and don't need the risk of a gutbuster before the race,' he said. 'They're very fit and a trial will be enough to sharpen them up.' Fate Awaits would seem the front runner with 18 starts so far netting nine wins, including three at Group 1 level, seven placings and $635,076 in prizemoney. GET YOUR TICKETS FOR THE TAB EUREKA CALCUTTA Seymour took aim at critics of the TAB Eureka and its funding model from within the industry. 'We need to be aspirational and give people a reason to go to the yearling sales and buy a horse with the dream of a life-changing win,' he said. 'The TAB Eureka is the race that does that and it's imperative we not just protect it, but continue to invest in, promote and build it. 'I've got no doubt it's helping our breeding industry by creating added interest in yearling sales. 'Simply, the TAB Eureka is lifting the industry by its bootstraps and making it attractive to people outside of the bubble and that's crucial. 'Look at the success of it in just two years. Menangle hasn't seen crows like it and the quality of horses to come out of it speaks for itself. Not to mention the promotion it drives for the sport.' Leap To Fame and Catch A Wave have become two of Australia's best pacers and multi-millionaires since the inaugural 2023 TAB Eureka and last year's winner, Don Hugo, went on to win the huge Inter Dominion and Miracle Mile just months after his TAB Eureka victory. 'This race is giving the sport national exposure and has become, along the Inter Dominion, a flagship race,' Seymour said. 'It's become iconic and if you don't believe me, ask those who have won it so far and others, like me, who are desperate to win it. 'If we don't have showcase races like this, we won't remain a commercial sport, we'll turn into a hobby sport and slide into oblivion. 'We have to build dreams and create the possibility of winning a pot of gold, a life changing amount of money.' Seymour dismissed suggestions the TAB Eureka was a 'race for the wealthy' in harness racing. 'Anyone can buy or breed a (Australian-bred) yearling with the chance to get into the race, that's the beauty of it,' he said. 'Look at the first winner (Encipher).' Encipher was bred and raced by Kadina hobbyist, Tyson Linke. Seymour added that he was a personal example of the many who have invested more in Australian-bred yearlings because of the TAB Eureka. 'So many of our best (Aussie) horses have been New Zealand-bred, but I'm proud my best recent horses have been Australian-bred like Leap To Fame, Tims A Trooper, Fate Awaits, Path To Glory and others,' he said. * Adam Hamilton is a paid contributor writing on harness racing for News Corp
News.com.au
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- News.com.au
Leap To Fame owner Kevin Seymour to choose between star three-year-olds for TAB Eureka slot
Before Kevin Seymour switches back into Leap To Fame mode, he's got his sights set on another mega race with a couple of his other young stars. Seymour is one of the biggest fans of the world's richest harness race, the $2.1m TAB Eureka, and is desperate to win it. Not only was one of the first to snap up a slot in the race when it launched three years ago, but he has also had multiple starters without winning it. Leap To Fame was beaten into second spot by star mare Encipher in the inaugural 2023 TAB Eureka, then Seymour used his slot on young star Bay Of Biscay, who flashed home for second to Don Hugo last year. He is holding off his decision on his slot runner for the race on September 6, but will be one of his star three-year-olds Fate Awaits or Path To Greatness. 'It's time to go one better as long as I can to make the final call on our slot runner,' he said. 'I think both our three-year-olds deserve slots and will be very competitive, but obviously I can only take one of them. 'Hopefully some of the other remaining slot-owners will snap up one of them, too.' Trainer-driver Grant Dixon added to the intrigue with a curve ball that Fate Awaits and Path To Greatness almost certainly would not race again before the TAB Eureka. 'No, they've both had busy winter campaigns and don't need the risk of a gutbuster before the race,' he said. 'They're very fit and a trial will be enough to sharpen them up.' Fate Awaits would seem the front runner with 18 starts so far netting nine wins, including three at Group 1 level, seven placings and $635,076 in prizemoney. Seymour took aim at critics of the TAB Eureka and its funding model from within the industry. 'We need to be aspirational and give people a reason to go to the yearling sales and buy a horse with the dream of a life-changing win,' he said. 'The TAB Eureka is the race that does that and it's imperative we not just protect it, but continue to invest in, promote and build it. 'I've got no doubt it's helping our breeding industry by creating added interest in yearling sales. 'Simply, the TAB Eureka is lifting the industry by its bootstraps and making it attractive to people outside of the bubble and that's crucial. 'Look at the success of it in just two years. Menangle hasn't seen crows like it and the quality of horses to come out of it speaks for itself. Not to mention the promotion it drives for the sport.' FATE AWAITS 🌟 The rising juvenile takes out the Group 1 NSW Breeders Challenge 2YO Final in style - in record time! ðŸ'¥ Big things in store for this Queensland youngster! @TheCreekAlbion @HRNSW_Harness — RaceQ (@RaceQLD) October 26, 2024 Leap To Fame and Catch A Wave have become two of Australia's best pacers and multi-millionaires since the inaugural 2023 TAB Eureka and last year's winner, Don Hugo, went on to win the huge Inter Dominion and Miracle Mile just months after his TAB Eureka victory. 'This race is giving the sport national exposure and has become, along the Inter Dominion, a flagship race,' Seymour said. 'It's become iconic and if you don't believe me, ask those who have won it so far and others, like me, who are desperate to win it. 'If we don't have showcase races like this, we won't remain a commercial sport, we'll turn into a hobby sport and slide into oblivion. 'We have to build dreams and create the possibility of winning a pot of gold, a life changing amount of money.' Seymour dismissed suggestions the TAB Eureka was a 'race for the wealthy' in harness racing. 'Anyone can buy or breed a (Australian-bred) yearling with the chance to get into the race, that's the beauty of it,' he said. 'Look at the first winner (Encipher).' Encipher was bred and raced by Kadina hobbyist, Tyson Linke. Seymour added that he was a personal example of the many who have invested more in Australian-bred yearlings because of the TAB Eureka. 'So many of our best (Aussie) horses have been New Zealand-bred, but I'm proud my best recent horses have been Australian-bred like Leap To Fame, Tims A Trooper, Fate Awaits, Path To Glory and others,' he said.
The Australian
30-07-2025
- Sport
- The Australian
2025 Beautide: Fighter Command races for Greg Sugars' legacy
Emerging pacer Fighter Command is the strongest lasting equine legacy to Greg Sugars. Before Sugars, who was just 40 and at the peak of powers, passed suddenly on April 26, Fighter Command was his project. A big, raw and highly-gifted gelding with the potential to be a star of the sport. Sugars knew and would tell his close mate, James Herbertson. 'Hes From Heaven and Fighter Command were the same age and came up together. I've always loved Hes From Heaven, but Greg kept telling me Fighter Command was better,' he said. 'We'd still be arguing about it now if he was here.' • 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! Sugars' wife, Jess Tubbs, trains Fighter Command but it is Herbertson who has 'inherited' the driving since Sugars' devastating and unexplained passing. Together, they head to Hobart on Saturday night with Fighter Command, chasing a golden ticket into the world's richest harness race, the $2.1 million TAB Eureka at Menangle on September 6. Sugars will be in the front of their minds. It was Sugars who took the reins 12 months ago at Hobart when Fighter Command won the $80,000 Beautide and snared the resultant Tasracing slot into the TAB Eureka. Excitement turned to heartbreak a few weeks later and just days out from the TAB Eureka when Fighter Command was struck down with a twisted bowel and spent days fighting for his life. His TAB Eureka dream was over and it would be six months before he made it back to the racetrack. Fighter Command has raced eight times on the comeback trail for two wins, a second, a third and two fourths. Tubbs has given him a deliberately slow and meticulous build-up with redemption in mind. Jess Tubbs and the late Greg Sugars. 'He's still a big baby and learning, but the motor is there,' Herbertson said. 'Jess has done a great job with him and we've seen progress this campaign. A few starts back there was a scrimmage and he had to duck and weave through them, something he'd have galloped for a year ago. 'But he's still a work in progress. He's not quite there mentally yet. 'It's as much knowing when to switch on and off. Sometimes he'll be keen on the (starting) gate, others he won't want to be there. Then he'll switch off at a stage of the race you want him focused and raring to go. 'It's all those one per-centres he needs to get right if he's going to be the horse Greg thought he could be.' Quirks aside, Fighter Command should win the Beautide. 'I spoke to Mitch Ford (local driver) and he said he should beat the Tassie horses by a fair way,' Herbertson said. 'I guess he did beat them easily last year and he's got his act together a lot more since then. 'But the Eureka will be a different story. It's not far away and it's a race where he'll need to get it all together. 'Bay Of Biscay is the (Eureka) favourite. I'd say this guy has as much talent, but Bay Of Biscay has more manners and is more versatile right now.' • Adam Hamilton is a paid contributor writing on harness racing for News Corp.
Daily Mail
16-06-2025
- Sport
- Daily Mail
Jockey is hailed as a hero for saving her horse with an incredibly brave act that saw her get dragged around a racetrack
A New Zealand horse racing star has been hailed for her bravery after she was tipped out of her carriage during a harness race at Alexandra Park but did not let go of the reins in a bid to stop her horse from harming himself. The incident took place on Friday night, with Crystal Hackett having just sealed victory in Race Eight alongside three-year-old gelding Buddy Guy at the Auckland-based track. After finishing the race, the pair had been making their way back around the track to receive their awards. It was here that the young gelding became spooked and bolted to the left, tipping the 21-year-old horsewoman out of her seat. Buddy Guy then began to pick up speed and dashed his way across the infield area at Alexandra Park, with Hackett refusing to let go of the reins. The three-year-old dragged Hackett nearly 100m into the middle of the infield, with the South Auckland horse rider suffering a couple of bumps and bruises along the way. It was a courageous act from Hackett, who held on in a bid to slow her horse down and prevent Buddy Guy from sustaining an injury or harming anyone else on the track. 'I know how bad it could've gone if I had let go,' Hackett told the New Zealand Herald. 'But at the same time, it's just natural instinct to hold and just hope for the best – hope that I can stop the horse. It worked out last night, but it doesn't always.' Eventually, the pair came to a halt in the middle of the infield, with Buddy Guy stopping before a cabled fence. Two stewards then arrived to calm the horse, with Hackett readjusting her carriage before getting back on board and driving the horse off the track. 'Have a look at how brave she is, this is not the first time she's done this,' one commentator on Trackside NZ said when reviewing the footage. Several social media users took to X to lump praise on Hackett, with one writing: 'Awesome effort, gutsy, brave, tough.' Another added: Absolutely could have been disastrous. Well done to all controlling the situation. Crystal is a legend.' Despite feeling a little stiff the following morning, the horse rider laughed off her injuries, pleased in the knowledge that no one, including Buddy Guy, was seriously hurt. 'I've definitely got a few sore spots – a few bruises have come up quick last night – and I was pretty stiff this morning. But the more the day has gone on I've been a bit better,' she laughed. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Crystal Hackett (@ Hackett was cleared by medics to drive in the next race, and she got back to where she left off driving Maro Mackendon to victory in Race Nine. Hackett later revealed that Buddy Guy had suddenly become scared of another horse, which prompted him to bolt off the track. 'The start of it happened in quite slow motion. But when I initially got tipped out, I knew I was going to hit the ground,' she said to the New Zealand Herald, recounting the incident. 'And when I was getting dragged, I thought: "Oh, this could go on for a while". It did feel like I was getting dragged for 10 minutes, but it was only about 20 seconds.' Hackett then revealed that the horse went back to the barn where she said he had settled: 'He was unharmed that's the main thing.' Her mother Michelle Wallis has also spoken of her admiration for her daughter's courage and selflessness, telling the outlet: 'The horse always comes first for her.' It is not the first time Hackett has been dragged along the ground by her mount during a race meeting, with the Kiwi star being dragged during a race at Hawera in January.
