Much interest in Mantra Blue’s return tonight

Trainer Zachary Butcher doesn’t know whether he likes the new Mantra Blue (Sweet Lou) quite as much as the old one.

The $30,000 Powell Transport North Island Breeders Stakes at Alexandra Park tonight (8.25pm) will go a long way to helping him decide.

Mantra Blue is one of only four horses the superstar driver actually trains and she is undoubtedly a good one, having finished second to the unbeaten Millwood Nike in a Group 1 Nevele R Final at just her third career start.

A month later Mantra Blue was just nosed out in the NZ Oaks but she has only raced sparingly since, just five starts at the back end of last season.

After being given plenty of time to get over that campaign she has returned a different mare but Butcher isn’t sure whether that is for the better or not.

“She has come back very, very relaxed whereas in the past she was always in a real hurry to get anywhere,” says Butcher.

“That could be a good thing as she is now tackling standing start racing and being more relaxed could help.

“But I also can’t be sure. It could be that being an older mare she isn’t quite as interested.

“I don’t think that is the case with her but this race will tell us more.”

Butcher gave Mantra Blue a very short lived standing start trial at Pukekohe last week when he asked her to step away and then when she did that safely pulled her up straight away.

“She is well enough to win this week but so much depends on what your rivals do in a race like this,” he says.

“We are off 20m and if they step and run hard and she has to chase then she will need a breather and that makes it harder to get handy in the middle stages.

“So the tempo will play a big role and I can’t really be advising people to back her because I don’t know what the others are going to do.”

Any one of those “others” could win without shocking as the handicaps make for an even contest with all seven starters having different possible scenarios that would favour them.

Butcher has a great shot as a feature race double as he will partner Halberg in the main trot tonight where he has the manners to overcome his 10m handicap, especially with only three rivals on the front line ahead of him.

There is also nobody better placed to judge the merits of the two favourites in the last race as he is the usual pilot for both Greased Lightnin and Runkle Crunch.

“They are quite different horses. Greased Lightnin is faster while Runkle Crunch is quite tough,” he explains.

“I’m driving Greased Lightnin and if we get the right sort of run he is the one to beat.”

For complete race entries, click here.

by Michael Guerin, for Harness Racing New Zealand