“I got up at 4.30am (New York time) to watch him. I wasn’t going to miss it,” he said. “There’s not another horse in the world who could’ve done what he did and there’s not many in (Australian) history who could have.
“It’s the hardest race to win because it’s a mile. Despite the huge opinion I’ve got of him, I was worried. I feared it could get ugly from his wide draw.
“Even he had to go to a new level. They were all there to beat him after the run he had, but it took a champion effort, something you really see, to lift and win.
“In this generation, he’s become so dominant nothing is going to beat him unless something goes wrong.”
Although it’s highly unlikely, Tritton said he would love to see Leap To Fame race against the best in North America.
“I’d love to see it while he’s at his top, say in the next 12 months. He’s capable of anything,” he said.
Tritton won the Menangle and NSW statewide premierships before relocating with wife, Lauren, to Pine Bush in upstate New York in March, 2020.
The Trittons have enjoyed plenty of success and watched many of North America’s best pacers, most recently megastars and Dan Patch (Horse of the Year) winners Confederate (last year) and Bulldog Hanover (2022).
“I’m sure he’s as good as those two,” Shane said.
“As where he sits with the greats back home, Blacks A Fake and Im Themightyquinn are the two benchmark champions I raced against and Leap To Fame is without a doubt in that league with them now and he’s only at the start of his open-class career, with so much to come.”