‘A Race for the Ages’: Cameron Hart claims Inter Dominion crown

JUNEE-born harness racing star Cameron Hart has captured one of the sport’s greatest prizes, steering superstar mare Captains Mistress to a thrilling victory in Saturday night’s $1 million Inter Dominion pacing final.

In a race being hailed as one of the greatest Inter Dominion finals in history, Hart produced a masterclass in the sulky to topple champion pacer Leap To Fame and claim harness racing’s most coveted crown.

The victory is another defining moment in the 27-year-old’s remarkable career, cementing his place among Australia’s elite reinsmen and adding the Inter Dominion to an already glittering résumé of Group 1 success.

The triumph also rewrote the record books.

Captains Mistress became the first mare in 37 years to defeat the boys in an Inter Dominion pacing final and only the fifth mare to win the championship in its 96-year history. She also became just the second four-year-old mare to lift the famous trophy.

Trainer Jason Grimson likewise created history, becoming the youngest trainer, at just 32, to win three Inter Dominion pacing finals and only the third to achieve the feat with three different horses, joining Hall of Famers Brian Hancock and Mark Purdon.

Image: The Creek/Toby Coutts

Standing between Hart and harness racing’s ultimate prize was arguably the greatest pacer of the modern era.

Leap To Fame, the richest pacer in Australian history, arrived unbeaten through two previous Inter Dominion campaigns and chasing a historic third title that would further cement his legacy among the sport’s immortals.

But the barrier draw handed Hart a crucial advantage, with Captains Mistress securing a front-row start while the defending champion was forced to begin from the back line.

Far from being intimidated, Hart embraced the challenge.

“I’m not daunted or intimidated, I’m excited,” he said before Saturday night’s final.

“Leap To Fame is the very best and trying to beat him is what it’s all about.

“Captains Mistress can absolutely beat him… we’ve got the draw we wanted. It’s race on.”

What followed justified every bit of Hart’s confidence.

Hart settled Captains Mistress into the perfect rhythm before the race exploded approaching the home turn, with the capacity Albion Park crowd rising almost as one.

Leap To Fame launched one final challenge, drawing alongside the mare and threatening to snatch a historic third Inter Dominion crown.

But Captains Mistress refused to yield.

Driven brilliantly by Hart, she dug deep in the concluding stages to hold the champion at bay by 1.2 metres, stopping the clock in a record-shattering 1:51.8 mile rate and slicing a full second off the 2680-metre track record.

CAPTAINS MISTRESS is your 2026 @ladbrokescomau Inter Dominion champion!

She found the front with ease and never relented, staving off one of the bravest runs you’ll ever see from the champion LEAP TO FAME. One of the great head-to-head battles. @TheCreekAlbion @HarnessAUS pic.twitter.com/jHpk05Ek7w

— RaceQ (@RaceQLD) July 18, 2026

The victory further cemented the partnership between Hart and Captains Mistress as one of the hottest combinations in Australasian harness racing.

Since arriving in Australia from New Zealand and joining Jason Grimson’s stable, the brilliant mare has taken the sport by storm. Earlier this month she announced herself as a genuine Inter Dominion contender by smashing Leap To Fame’s Albion Park track record in the Group 1 Rising Sun to earn a golden ticket into Saturday night’s final.

Hart has repeatedly described Captains Mistress as the most exciting horse he has ever driven.

“I kept telling everyone that she was a bulldog in a fight,” Hart said after the race.

“She never gave up. She’s got a champion’s mentality, that’s for sure.

“She just does not want to get beat. That’s what made this race so special. We had two champions that didn’t want to get beat going right down to the wire.

“I hope everyone in the crowd appreciated that.”

A picture tells the story … epic @tobycouttsphoto long shot of Captains Mistress, Leap To Fame and the rest … bottle it!@TheCreekAlbion @RaceQLD @HarnessAUS @BrittanyTGraham @GregORacingNZ @Punters pic.twitter.com/X7AlZIIxjl

— Adam Hamilton (@AdamHSport) July 19, 2026

The epic finish left even the sport’s biggest names in awe.

Brian Hancock, widely regarded as the “King” of the Inter Dominion after winning five pacing finals as a trainer, was left speechless.

“How do you ever top that?” Hancock said.

“Of course Leap To Fame should’ve won, horses simply don’t go better than that after so much went wrong.

“But let’s give credit to the mare. Leap To Fame threw down the challenge, and seriously threw it down, at the 150 metres and she was up to it. She didn’t buckle when just about every other would’ve. She’s a champion, too.”

One of the greatest races I’ve seen and the biggest run in defeat you’ll ever see … Captains Mistress V Leap To Fame @RaceQLD @TheCreekAlbion @HarnessAUS https://t.co/i3N9GRgWMF

— Adam Hamilton (@AdamHSport) July 18, 2026

The result also ended one of harness racing’s most remarkable winning runs.

Before Saturday night, Leap To Fame had won 30 of his previous 31 starts at Albion Park dating back to November 2023, with his only defeat coming by the barest of margins to Don Hugo last December.

He was also unbeaten in nine Inter Dominion starts — seven qualifying heats and two finals — across three campaigns until Hart and Captains Mistress finally ended the streak.

In a fitting show of respect, and in a sight rarely witnessed in harness racing, the Albion Park crowd gave the champion Queensland pacer a standing ovation as he left the track following defeat.

For Hart, the Inter Dominion crown is the latest milestone in a career that continues to scale new heights.

Saturday’s triumph comes two months after Cameron Hart was crowned Metropolitan and Provincial Driver of the Year at Menangle | Image: Club Menangle

Raised in Junee before relocating to Sydney as a teenager to pursue professional harness racing, the 27-year-old has developed into one of Australia’s premier reinsmen.

The sport’s most coveted trophy now sits alongside an ever-growing collection of Group 1 victories and major honours, including this year’s Metropolitan and Provincial Driver of the Year awards.

For a young driver who grew up behind horses in Junee, there are few bigger prizes to win.

On Saturday night, Cameron Hart claimed one of them.