Leap To Fame owner Kevin Seymour knocks back huge offers to retire him to stud

Stud offers for Leap To Fame have “gone to another level” since his latest win in NZ, but they’re not enough to sway his owner to retire him.

Harness racing superstar Leap To Fame will race on for at least another year. Picture: Dan Costello

Owner Kevin Seymour has knocked back a string of huge offers to retire Leap To Fame to stud and the champion pacer will race on for at least another year.

Stud interest in the six-year-old is nothing new, but Seymour said the offers had “gone to another level” since Leap To Fame stretched his greatness to New Zealand with a career-best performance to win last Friday week’s Race by betcha at Cambridge.

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“Ticking that box and winning a big race in front of the Kiwis, especially the way he did, certainly increased his value as a stallion proposition,” Seymour said.

“The offers have come thick and fast and they’ve been flattering, but we’ve decided to race him on.

“Kay (Seymour’s wife) made the final call. She said we’ve spent 50 years in the game waiting for this horse and we should enjoy him on the track as long as he maintains the sort of form he is in now.

“If anything, he’s still getting better if you look at what he did in New Zealand.

“The credit goes to Grant and Trista (Dixon, trainers), who have always put him first and managed his training and racing superbly.”

Leap To Fame has raced 63 times across five seasons for a remarkable 50 wins and $4,009,660 in prizemoney.

The lure of becoming the richest all-time Australasian pacer, even challenging for the world’s richest, is a driving force in continuing Leap To Fame’s racing days.

So too is the fact the next three $1m Inter Dominion finals will be run in his own backyard at Brisbane’s Albion Park.

Leap To Fame, you are INSANE 🔥

Leap To Fame breaks the track record at Cambridge on the Night of Champions

Grant Dixon trained and driven to victory in the $1m The Race by Betcha for slot holders Solid Earth Pty Ltd (Kevin & Kay Seymour)

Replay: https://t.co/FOnoDPKexI#FNLpic.twitter.com/xtsjS1UMi8

— Trackside NZ (@TracksideNZ) April 4, 2025

“I’m not saying he’ll run in all three, but racing him means at least the next two are on the radar,” Seymour said.

The next Inter Dominion, which starts on July 5, is Leap To Fame’s next major target.

Victory in the final will see him overtake fellow Queenslander Blacks A Fake’s all-time Australasian record of $4,575,438.

The world is a far bigger challenge with the mighty US pacer Foiled Again banking $US7,635,588.

Seymour, who has declined several offers to race Leap To Fame in the US, said the decision to race on also paved the way for another NZ trip.

“It’s no secret we would love to win an NZ Cup with him. In many ways that would be the ultimate,” he said.

“We can set our sights on that now.”

The $NZ1m NZ Cup is at Addington in Christchurch on November 11.

Remarkably, Leap To Fame’s younger brother and fellow Aussie pacer Swayzee has won the past two NZ Cups.

While the breeding barn is on hold, Seymour has ambitious plans when the time is right.

“He’s a champion horse on all levels with so many records and he’s incredibly well bred, too,” he said. “He’s by the champion stallion (Bettors Delight) out of the only (Australasian) mare to produce two individual winners of $4m (Leap To Fame) and $2m (Swayzee).

“Why can’t we reverse the trend of Aussie breeders going to the top US stallions and export his semen to the US? The Americans have been a dominant force in our breeding for too long.”

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

Originally published as Leap To Fame owner Kevin Seymour knocks back huge offers to retire him to stud